Who says cellists can't rock?

Last thursday I went to a concert called Guitars Unplugged. It's where a bunch of bands play and the best ones get chosen to play again on the last night. Most of the bands were normal college bands with a drummer, a couple guitarists, and a vocalist. There were a few single acts and a few tambourines thrown in every once in awhile, but there was one group that was my favorite. I may be a little biased because I knew all of them from Symphony and one of them is in my ward. They all play the cello, so they decided to play a song by the band Apocalyptica. I thought it was awesome. They didn't have an electric guitar, but they did have a drummer. It was hilarious to see them on stage banging their heads because I'm used to seeing them on the Barrus stage playing Bruckner. I told my friend later that night that I thought they did amazing and he said his head hurt like none other! I guess that aspect of things they'll have to get used to a little more. I looked videos up on youtube and I'm pretty sure this is the song they did.

Good News

These past 2 weeks have been horrible for me. It seems like everything that could've gone wrong, did. I didn't know if I was going to make it through and I did get behind on a few things. But I'm beginning to get out of that. And today I got some really good news. Well, not so much for me, but for my good friend. I met Alex about a month ago and when I first met him I just knew he was one of those people that's always happy and can make good out of any situation. But there was one thing about him that made me sad. Alex has cancer. I'm not exactly sure, but it's some type of skin cancer. He has a very good attitude about it and isn't afraid to talk about it and even does so jokingly with a smile on his face. A week ago he went home to California to get some tests done. We were all very nervous for him because these tests were to decide if his treatments were doing any good. If they weren't, he was to stop and eventually he would pass away. He got back to Rexburg last night and dropped by my apartment today. He told us that he is one of those lucky people (he said 1 in 200) that is going to survive! It made me so happy to hear that because he is so adorable and kind and I'm so happy for his good news. So after all the terrible things that have happened, that was definitely a high point. Today was a good day.

Laughter is Contagious

I love this video and I thought you would all enjoy! Laughter is the best medicine!

Andy

Today, my baby brother left on his mission. I really love my family so it was very hard to say good-bye. I'm going to miss him a lot, but I know he's doing what he should. The last thing he said to me was "You sound like a man". Him and Joni decided to call me at 7:30 in the morning. It woke me up so I still had my morning voice. It was a very special moment. Here's a video that he would listen to every once in awhile. If I was ever on the computer, he would always have me look it up. So Andy, here's to you buddy.

Sick

I'm just now starting to get over some sickness I have had for the past week. It was probably just a bad cold, but it made life pretty miserable. I spent last friday night watching 4 movies with my roommate. I've realized that when you're sick, everything seems a lot worse because you can't do much without making yourself more sick. So the frustration comes into play. So you get mad and frustrated, which is not a good combination. But things are much better now. I was very glad to be feeling better because yesterday we had our pass-offs in symphony. I'm still not quite sure how it went. Twice, our conductor who we had to play for said "Well, it could've gone worse". I don't know how to take that. But he didn't say we had to come back and play for him again so I'm guessing that's a good thing. I have a feeling things are going to start picking up a bit more in school. I'm not too excited about this, but I guess it could be worse. I'm taking a few easy classes so it shouldn't be too bad. I just hope no more sicknesses come my way!

Horoscope

Joni read me my horoscope this morning and it said I should write in my journal and that it could change my life, so I figured this was the next best thing. This week I've been very stressed. Things seem to be building up all around me. I've been doing pretty good in dealing with it so far, but I think things will be getting just a little more hectic in the next few weeks. School will probably get a little more difficult and my friends are wanting to spend more time together. I think I'm going to have to ask for a few less hours at work. I'm really trying to stay on top of things and I'm worried that with all this stress and being in the flu season, I'm afraid I might get sick. This is a little disjointed, but I just need to get it out of my head. I look forward to the end of the semester because then I'll have a nice, long break. Maybe a little too long. But at least during the summer I can work on perfecting my portfolio and trying to figure out what to do with my life after graduation. I have a few different options including just trying to start my own photography studio or going to more school to get my masters degree in art history. I'm going to try and figure things out. But until then, I'll just do my best taking life one day at a time.

Goals

I've decided that this semester I'm going to have a goal. It doesn't have anything to do with school because I don't need much more motivation to do good in that area. I haven't really had much trouble getting myself to do homework or do my best in classes. I know sometimes my grades don't reflect how much I do try in classes, but I do my best. No, this goal is on the social side of life. I heard once that you should be balanced in 3 aspects of life: Education/Career, Social, and Spiritual. I think I'm doing fine on the outer 2, it's the middle one I've always had a problem with. This is my goal, to do something social at least once a week and to go out on a date with a normal boy (not a weird one which is usually the kind of boy I attract). I try to fool myself and say that I don't have time for a social life because I'm taking 14 credits and I have a job, but if I really wanted, I could set aside one night to do something with people. I don't have a problem doing things with people, it's just getting it started. I never know who to invite or what to do or any of that stuff. But I'm going to try. Even though most of my friends aren't here this semester. I'm going to try. As for the date, I don't know what to do about that. I could either ask the guy on the date (which I've heard a lot of guys don't really like, but they never ask girls on dates so that's annoying), try to flirt a lot which I'm not the best at, or get other people to fix me up on dates. The guy I was trying to date last semester seems to have lost interest so I'm back at square one. Although, every time I talk to his friend, he makes little comments about how I know everything about what's going on with this guy and how we always hang out (which we don't anymore). So maybe there is still hope. Or maybe not. Maybe him and my mom can get together and get this guy to get on the stick! (just kitting mom...I really don't want you to talk to J-dawg, but I might have a talk with Adam and see if I can get him to figure things out) So those are my goals. I don't know how well this is going to work out. If anyone has suggestions for social things I can do or any advice for dating junk, let me know! I need the help.

The First Week

Well, I've successfully made it through the first week of school. It was a little difficult, but I think I've found my stride. I'm actually really excited for my classes. This is one of those semesters where I love being an art major. I'm taking two classes where pretty much all we get to do is look at works of art. This may not sound like fun for some people, but I love it. One of my many plans in life is to get my Masters degree in Art History (or something equivalent to that). I love doing the readings for class and I love hearing the discussions about it. Why wouldn't you love it when there are so many pictures to look at? I'm also taking 2 music classes. Symphony is always fun and I enjoy it. But this semester I'm trying something new. I'm taking a class called Group Organ Instruction. It's supposed to give us the skills so that we can be the ward organist. The path that led me to this class was very frustrating, but I think it's going to be fun. We had our first class yesterday and played a little bit. The teacher told me she thought I was going to be very good at playing the organ. We'll just see how that opinion holds out for the rest of the semester. I'm also taking a business class. It's going to be interesting because I've never taken a class like this before. But it will be good for me. I think it will take a lot of time, but it will all be stuff that will help me in starting my own studio.
The roommate situation is definitely starting to get better. I'm learning that I don't have to hide in my room all the time (although sometimes I do just because the rest of the apartment is so cold) and that the girls I'm with are actually pretty nice. It just takes awhile for me to get used to new people. But I've successfully talked to all of them at least a little bit, except one. That's the other roommate who always hides in her room. I've tried a couple times to start a conversation, but no response yet. I'll just keep trying. But I think this semester will actually turn out to be pretty fun. I'm looking forward to it.

And Now We Begin

This week is the start of many things for me. Today was the first day of school and the second day in my apartment. School wasn't too bad. I don't really get that nervous for classes (although in some cases I probably should be). My classes I went to today are both going to be very interesting. I'm taking a business class for my cluster. When I went to class, I was 1 of 4 girls in a class of about 30. I'm used to classes being female-dominated because I mostly take art and music, so this will be a new experience. My other class is a class I probably should've taken when I was a freshman. It's Art 101- Intro to Visual Arts. I feel very old in that class because most of the other students are freshman and I'm a junior. But it does seem like a fun and easy class, so I'm looking forward to it. I was supposed to have another class, but the teacher won't be here the first week so we'll meet for the first time next tuesday.
My apartment is pretty nice. It's a lot bigger than either of the other apartments I've lived in and I get my own room. I'm just not quite sure what to think about my roommates. One of them is very nice and will talk to me and try to get to know me. I found out tonight that she's going into nursing. The other roommates are going to be interesting. They're not the most.....happy bunch. I don't see them smile or joke around as much. When I walk into the apartment and they're in the living room, I usually try to smile and say hi. The response I usually get back is a blank stare and sometimes I'll get a hello back. If we're both in front of the vanity getting ready for the day, I try to at least make eye contact once and smile, but I usually don't get any response. It's a little difficult for me because I'm not the most outgoing person and tend to rely on others to get the ball rolling. I have been doing my best to be friendly. For me, I think I'm being really outgoing and getting out of my comfort zone because it's hard for me to make friends with someone I don't feel is giving back those friendly vibes. Other people might not see my actions as that bold, but I'm doing my best.
Well, that's all for right now. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night because I kept having this dream that I was married to this guy that seemed to only tolerate my presence. I think it may have represented how I think my roommates view me. And also because I'm very afraid that I'll marry someone who doesn't really like me all that much. That I would just be settling for that. But I kept having that dream over and over throughout the night so I didn't sleep well. So I'm going to pray for better dreams tonight. Sweet dreams!

New Year

I thought I should blog for the first time this year and mention all the new things that will be coming with this new year.
Today I started moving into my new apartment. There are good and bad things about this. It is a lot bigger than my old apartment and I get my own room this time. Some bad things are I have to get used to brand new roommates and start all over with the getting-to-know-you game. I really hate that game. But it's always good to make more friends, I guess. I'll miss all my buddies at Greenbrier, but I can always go back and visit them I guess. Another bad thing is I have to move away from my kitty. I love Burns.
Next week I start new classes. It's going to be interesting. I'm taking 2 classes I should've taken when I was a freshman and a business class. I'm not sure what to think about that. But I am taking a class with one of my bestest buddy so I am looking forward to that. And I did manage to fit Symphony in my schedule again. It always makes me happy when I can get that accomplished.
Those are the immediate changes happening in my life. I'm not sure if they're all for good, but I really hope so. I want this to be a good year.