Hey!

Hey is a good word. It has lots of wonderful usages.

The ever-repetitive cheer in The Hey Song. (pretty dumb song anyway).

The universal "greet and nod" word used when you encounter people you sort of know.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

your roommate's friends that you don't know very well
a previous crush that you've definitely been over for a while
someone you know you know from class, work, your previous or current ward, or your mission
someone from your home stake who you've never seen since living in that stake
relatives that you should know better, but you don't
and all sorts of other random people you've met once upon a time.

The first word of Hey, Baby! Also the first word of Hey, Soul Sister. Both of which are very good songs.

It's a rill good attention getter. It's a catchy word.

A great word to say on road trips when you see hay bales in the fields to the side of the road. People fall for it all the time. (Think it through peeps).

An incredibly professional greeting for when you meet the president of your school. At least I thought so, when I so blatantly blurted it out upon meeting Pres. Samuelson last Saturday. Oh well.

Lockers

I have three lockers at school. My bass clarinet locker is a new locker from when the instrument lockers were redesigned this summer. The new lockers don't have a latch or anything; after you get to the last number, you just turn it a little more to the right and it clicks open. It should be easy, right?

Ha. It's not. It usually takes me about three times before I can open it.

Because of the redesign of the instrument lockers, smaller instruments are no longer provided with lockers in that area of the HFAC. So I have a locker for my clarinet in the photography wing of the HFAC (10 pts to any HFAC dweller who can tell me where that is!). It's a regular locker, but for some reason, it took me a least a dozen spins of the dial to get it to open correctly today. I felt rill ding-dang-dong stupid. And since it's on the bottom, I normally just squat to open it and quickly grab my instrument. But no, today, I had to literally kneel down on the ground, put my stuff in my arms on the ground, spin the dial with one hand and hit the locker with the other. Did it open? Good golly, not yet! It just needed a good kick. Ok, great. Now I have my instrument. Fast forward a couple of hours, and I have to open the locker again to put my instrument away. Yet again, another ding-dang-dong stupid feeling moment. Normally the traffic in that hall of lockers is very limited. But no, today the girl who has the locker two away from mine came to her locker at the same time. "Oh great, she'll think I don't know how to work the locker combination." I wasn't wanting another lesson on "Spin clockwise to the first number, spin counter-clockwise for the next number, passing it once, spin clockwise to the third number and lift latch." Yeah, the spinning part is great, it's the latch part that's the catch (play on words, get it?). Another kick, another slam, another sigh of frustration, and FINALLY, I could open my locker! And it was shortly after that other girl came, too, so she didn't see me looking like a fool talking to an inanimate object in frustration. Yay.

Oh, but then, I get to the stadium for marching band. I have another locker there for my marching clarinet and music. Normally I have no problems whatsoever with the lock or locker. But when I get to the stadium today, I realize that I hadn't properly closed it the last time, so it was still wide open.

Yeah. I remember in fourth grade when we first started using lockers at Parker Elementary, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Definitely not anymore.

Opposites

So I was talking to my roommates the other night about boys. It's a common conversation topic among us girls. What's not so common is that the four of us are ever home to have these types of conversations (and actually, the night I'm thinking of, there were only three of us). And to be honest, since school started, I don't think about boys nearly as much as I did over the summer. Mostly 'cause I'm busy with other stuff. Like school, work, band, my calling (which doesn't really involve many guys), etc. But occasionally, I cast a thought in the direction of the opposite gender.

Here's a recent discovery I made.

A few months ago I had a big crush on a guy in my ward (who will remain nameless for the sake of my anonymous blog audience here). He was very attractive, he's very smart and friendly, and he's a hard worker, and he was a good listener. Which, if you know me at all, you know I like to talk. Bonus points, right? As I got to know him more, I realized that we didn't really have a lot in common. Our interests were about as opposite as night and day. I'm pretty sure he had never set foot in the HFAC, and he probably had no idea what a clarinet even looked like. Yeah, it was that bad. And his sense of humor . .. .okay, his lack of humor, really .. .was so not like mine. I had to remember not to tell corny jokes or puns around him because he never got them, and then I would just feel ridiculous trying to explain why the pencil joke had no point. Sigh. Sad, eh? Yet, I still liked him quite a bit. I felt all giddy and excited around him-sometimes to the point where I didn't know what to say or how to act. And of course, I always tried to sit next to him at church and find excuses to talk to him .. . you know, the normal signs. But then he moved, and I got over him (unlike Ernie and his childhood fish). On the plus side, it's nice to be able to get over a crush quickly, especially when I didn't even have a rebound!

Fast forward to fall semester. New friends, new stuff, new ward, lots of new things. And I'm discovering the exact opposite of what happened to me this summer!! Here's how. So, I'm starting to be pretty good friends with some new people, and one guy in particular is very much like me. He's not crazy enough to study music like me, but he enjoys it. Quite a bit, actually. Not only does he enjoy my lame sense of humor, but he has a pretty lame humor himself. He's so easy to talk to, and I always feel comfortable around him. Not only does he let me talk and listen to me, but he always contributes, too, so I don't feel dumb for dominating the conversation. I feel good when I'm around him, and he always makes me smile. Here's the catch. I just don't feel attracted to him!! I should, right? He fits everything on my "future husband" list that I rewrote and revised about a dozen times over the last several years of my life. I feel good when I'm around him, yet I don't have that excited "Hey-I-really-like-you" feeling around him, and I'm not constantly trying to be aware of him. (You know what I'm talking about, right?). That spark just isn't there no matter how much I wish it could be there.

So, maybe by the next time my roommate conversation about boys comes up again, I'll finally have it right! I'll actually feel excited AND comfortable around a boy I like! I'll keep you updated.

Corned Beef

A random title for a random post. But it's all true.
For being canned meat (doesn't that just give you a gross image?), corned beef isn't bad. And it's rill good in a casserole dish . ..you know, with white sauce, cheese and bread. Yummy! And it's prolly pretty tasty fried, but I've never tried it that way. But I think I've figured out a few reasons why it's not a staple in the American diet:
1. It's dang expensive. $5+ for one can. Just think: you can buy another can that has the letters "C-o-r-n" for as low as $.69. . . . Hmm.
2. What is it made out of anyway? How is it made? Who really knows? And what makes it corned? And how is "corn" a verb? I don't get it.
3. Well, have you looked at it raw? Gross. Especially the off-white fatty chunks molded into it.
4. "And I'd like one of those meat cans you have to open with a key" (10 pts for anyone who really knows what I'm quoting). Seriously. A key?! Keys are usually used to open cool things, like your apartment or car door, the mailbox, a safe deposit box .. .but food? (That makes it sound like food is not cool, but it often is). Why do you need a key to open food? It's like a finger obstacle course for a fat guy. You probably burn brain calories trying to figure out how to open it. Either that or you injure yourself. Or you accidentally break off the tab thing, and you're left with a key and nowhere to insert it. Great. An unopenable can of gross looking expensive meat. But if by some miracle, you master the key thing, how do you get it to come out of the can? Yeah, you got half an inch stickin' out, but how do you get the rest of it out? Then comes the awkward downward thrusts of the can to oblige the fatty meat to slide on outta there. But usually, besides not helping the meat come out, it just makes you wonder once again why you even bought that expensive, mysterious, seclusive chunk of meat in a can.

Baby Steps

For those of you who haven't heard yet, my wonderful brother, Spencer, and his equally wonderful wife, Whitney, have been approved to adopt!! Theirs has been and will continue to be a long and emotional journey to find their baby, but anyone who knows them can't help but love them. As I follow their story, I can't help but love them more and more. And I know that somebody out there will come across their profile and love them as much as we do. Someone out there will love and trust them enough to place their baby in their loving home.
Whitney and Spencer are two of the most beautiful people you will ever meet. Seriously. Besides looking beautiful (all the time), they act beautifully in everything that they do. Spencer will always bring a smile to your face. It may be his zumba moves on the local news station, his funny sayings or nicknames, or just his general ability to make you feel comfortable and inspired. Whitney creates beauty in everything she does. Be it scrapbooking, sculpting, making cards, taking pictures or just making masterpieces out of everyday stuff . ..she is amazing.
I've always felt that beauty is an expression of love. So I kid you not when I tell you that Whitney and Spencer have the greatest love to offer.
Help them find their baby!
Here is a link to their adoption profile, and you can follow their blog here.
Like them on facebook, follow them online. Spread the word to those you know. The more people who check out their profile, the more likely they will find their baby.
I promise it won't take you a long time to fall in love with them like we have.

Diligence Pays Off

I tend to put lots of details in my stories. Here's one just like that.

So once upon a time, I didn't think I'd still play in concert bands after my mission. The old ElEd program prevented me from taking classes during rehearsal times, so I just assumed that the year before my mission would be my last year in Wind Symphony. Which was way cool, because we ended with a bang with our tour to Korea and Japan.

But then, I got home and things changed. I missed playing in band soo much. When I first got back, I learned that my major program changed a little bit, requiring an additional minor and yet another semester of school. At first I was a little bummed. But then, I realized that with those changes . ..I could still be in band! And then I realized that the Wind Symphony was touring. Again. International tour. Again. I thought of it as "Wow, that would be really cool, but I don't know how I can do it and still be on track to graduate . . ." But it just kept creeping back into my thoughts.

And then the clincher for me was one class of Institute. Yeah, surprisingly I got something out of Institute over the summer. That particular day, we discussed Elder Oaks' talk about desire. It was sitting in that room when I realized I had a desire. And I needed to work to achieve that desire.

For me the tour hype isn't so much as traveling to another part of the world. To me, the tour experience is a missionary experience. We share something that is so much a part of who we are, and it literally does invite people to come unto Christ. I remember having those same feelings right before our Asia tour as well. So, I started praying rill hard to have the opportunity to tour again.

But as I learned in Institute, desires or faith without action do no good. So I started practicing. Thanks to good home teachers who inspired me to work on a personal goal for the month, I made a personal goal to practice more often. I even set a goal to not read a pleasure book (one of my favorite summer pasttimes) until I had practiced. I admit, I hadn't practiced much (or hardly at all really) since before my mission. But I started it up again. Scales and etudes have always been tough for me because technicality just isn't my thing, but I started with those anyway. Luckily, I few days after I started practicing, I received the specific audition materials! That got me really working. I'd spend an hour or so a day, just working on those 6 short orchestra excerpts, often times later in the evening. I even scheduled a lesson with Dr. Hinckley who gave me lots of help. I tried to remember to pray every time I started practicing, and that helped my practice sessions a whole lot. I even found time to practice during band camp week. Who knew there was extra time in that week? It felt so good to notice improvement in myself, and I seemed to be making a lot of life connections from practicing to other aspects of life. Meanwhile, I just kept working and praying.

Fast forward to the first day of school. Audition time for pretty much every studio in the School of Music. Clarinet studio auditions are blind auditions, and mine went pretty well, I suppose. I honestly don't remember at all how I played. All I remember is feeling so calm. About everything. I wasn't nervous, I wasn't over-confident, I wasn't in tears, I wasn't angry. I was just calm. It's like that feeling you get in the temple I suppose.

I received the results today. Not only did I make the Wind Symphony, but I placed second. That's the highest I've ever placed in the Wind Symphony since even before my mission!! And I was assigned to play in an orchestra this year, too! (I still have mixed feelings about that one because I'm assigned to play bass clarinet which I've never ever played before in my life).
I think the main feeling I have right now is .. .well, definitely an element of surprise for how well I did, but mostly it's just gratitude. And an even greater knowledge that the Lord knows what He's doing. He knows who needs to be in that touring band, and He made it possible for those people to be in it. I'm not meaning to praise my playing ability by any means when I say that, but I have an even greater testimony now of how the Lord rewards our righteous desires and diligent efforts. I haven't even had our first rehearsal yet, and I'm already super excited for the touring year. =)

In My Element

Well, folks, I've finished another successful week of Band Camp with the BYU Cougar Marching Band. In just a few days, I have:

-memorized and passed off several tunes
-made lots of new friends
-had a good time with lots of old friends who are still in band
-got fitted for my uniform
-drank lots and lots of water
-sweat lots and lots
-got several shades redder . .. well, just darker, really.

With my section I have:
-had a pre-band camp party
-dressed up as a dementor to help us win the spirit stick on Harry Potter day
-made too many lame jokes. They already know me for that.
-helped section members learn and pass off music

With the entire band, I have:
-enjoyed the Band Social and lasagna dinner on Wednesday night
-been filmed by a BYU news team (we might be famous!)
-played at the New Student Orientation presentation thing in the stadium
-learned/played over 40 tunes. Oh yeah, you better believe it.
-come up with some cool new visuals for our stand cheers.
-learned the entire Pregame show
-learned the opener for Show A (I can't give away any secrets, but I am going to say that it'll be pretty awesome)
-learned half of our opener for the Rocky Mountain show.

And then there's just the random things from band camp, like giving rides to section members, going out to eat with random baritone players, and eating lunch with fellow Nauvoo Band members (from the original 2008 family). And then there's the things that make me laugh, like Bro. Mac's great quotes (Don't be a musical chicken!), the sexy sax man theme, the way we all try to cram in the shade of the Rameumptum during water breaks because there is literally no other shade on the hot asphalt. Oh, and then there was a day that was supposed to be super hot, and there ended up being a nice cloud cover and a sprinkling of rain.

My friend Lisa said it well when she said that what makes band kids unique is that we're so comfortable around each other. And I would have to agree. Band puts me in my element. With band buddies, I feel the most like myself. And there's nothing comparable to the feeling you get when you nail a drill or hit that awesome set or totally tear through that tough lick. So even though I'm still in awe that the week has ended so quickly, it was probably one of the greatest weeks I've had all summer. What can I say. I LOVE BAND!