Today I had the disgusting thought of how many more years I will be in school... at least 7 more years (9 if you include mission time). Yuck. I'll be 27 by the time I am done with all my schooling. If I'm sick of college now, one semester into my college experience, I can't stomach the thought of graduating with a doctorate degree 9 years in the future. 9 years! That is how old my youngest sister is, and it seems like forever ago she was born. I cannot express my distaste toward 14 more semesters of college. Good thing I'll get a two year respite from my mission I suppose!
mission countdowns
122 days until I start my papers
153 days until my papers go in
275 days until my 19th birthday!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Conference
One of my favorite talks from general conference was Elder Ballard's talk, "O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One." He spoke very movingly on devices that Satan uses to ensnare and capture us with. He made a very impressive analogy between a fly fisherman hand carving a lure to capture a fish. He said, "The goal of the fly fisherman is to catch trout through skillful deception. The adept fisherman studies trout behavior, weather, the water current, and the types of insects trout eat and when those insects hatch. He will often craft by hand the lures he uses. He knows these artificial insects embedded with tiny hooks need to be a perfect deception because the trout will identify even the slightest flaw and reject the fly." He compared this to how Satan "handcrafts" his lures to ensnare the children of God. One of the traps that Satan uses in our modern days, is addictions. Elder Ballard spoke of the usual addictions that plagues our world today, but he added a new addiction to the list. One I had never thought as something that could be addicting. Elder Ballard spoke of the technology that addicts us as a human race. He said, "There is also great concern about some of the pernicious, addictive behaviors like gambling and evil pornography that are so personally destructive and so rampant in our society. Remember, brothers and sisters, any kind of addiction is to surrender to something, thus relinquishing agency and becoming dependent. Thus, video-gaming and texting on cell phones need to be added to the list. Some gamers claim to spend up to 18 hours a day going through level after level of video games, neglecting all other aspects of their lives. Texting on cell phones can become an addiction, causing the important interpersonal human communication to become lost. Not long ago a bishop told me two of his youth were standing side by side texting one another rather than talking to each other." I have never thought that I could ever be addicted to texting, but now looking back, I can see that I have been! Another technology that can be addicting is that of Facebook. I spend WAY too much time on Facebook, keeping myself updated on aspects of people's lives, that I just frankly don't care too much about, and yet, I can't stop! Every time I log onto firefox, I find myself automatically typing in Facebook's web address. Technology should be use for furthering the gospel, and every time something comes along to further the gospel, Satan jumps in with his counterfeit. Trying to ensnare us in something to prevent us from furthering God's plan for His children. Use the advancements of technology for good, not for your own pleasure! I know I have things to work on!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Disclaimer
I wrote my last blog post before president Uchtdorf's talk in the October 2nd priesthood session of general conference. I had no idea he would speak on almost the exact same thing!
I'm slowly begninng to hate sports
Don't get me wrong I LOVE sports. I do enjoy watching sports, but the rivalries are draining my love for it. For example I love BYU, but because I love BYU I am expected to hate the U of U. I think the U of U is a fine school, and i think they have fine athletic programs. I was reading some comments on my friend's facebook status about Utah State's win over BYU, and the things this young man was saying about BYU and my religon was terrible. I don't understand how anybody can have such hate and enmity towards a school, and every person that attends that school. I think rivalries could be a fun simple things, but people take them WAY too far. The BYU and U of U rivalry is now completely blown out of proportion, and the people who are participating in the awful fight, frankly need to grow up. People attending and participating in the rivalry are in college, they are seen as adults in the United State's eyes, and they behave like spoiled children. As Elder Quentin L. Cook said in the second session of general conference, "treat ever person as a son and daughter of God. The fact that I am now prone to get in an argument every time my favorite team loses to Utah University, or any sports team in general, has completely ruined the enjoyment of watching sports. Fans all over the world, please... just grow up.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Why can't we be friends?
Chunky peanut butter or smooth peanut butter? The two types of peanut butter seem to be bitter rivals. Like BYU and U of U, it seems like you can't like either one, unless you are a weirdo. I'm one of those weirdos who enjoys both chunky and smooth peanut butter. Both have delicious peanutty benefits, and it doesn't seem like either has a negative side to it. You get your nice "crunch" from the peanut butter, and the nice smooth feeling from the smooth. Why everybody can't enjoy both styles is beyond me. Every time I mention that I enjoy both styles, I get very odd looks back. Nobody enjoys both! Peanut butter is peanut butter, it doesn't matter the texture of the peanut butter. Stop arguing! Just enjoy the sweet peanutty taste of peanut butter!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
I like college
I'm starting to enjoy college now. Here is a list of my favorite things. (In no particular order)
1. Playing a piano with four broken keys
2. Losing 6 pounds in four weeks
3. Playing spoons until 2 in the morning
4. Playing ward volleyball with 20 teammates
5. Pita Pit
6. 4 games of bowling for $5.00
7. Having my roommate disappear for a week
8. Getting drenched with foam
9. Having my name appear on a fridge for no apparent reason
10. Taking 9 tests in 2 weeks
11. Tripping on every staircase I walk on
12. The football practice horn
13. Leaving the football game at halftime, then finding out that the game went into 4 overtimes, and Weber in fact won the game.
14. Seeing my bowling teacher at the football game without a shirt
15. Watching 5 seasons of the office in two weeks
16. Forgetting my ID, and running back to my dorm room to get it so I can get into a class
17. Having one of my coworkers leaving work early because he was too hungover
18. Leaving my ID at pizza factory
19. Remember the Titans
20. Discovering that Oreos are dark brown, not black.
1. Playing a piano with four broken keys
2. Losing 6 pounds in four weeks
3. Playing spoons until 2 in the morning
4. Playing ward volleyball with 20 teammates
5. Pita Pit
6. 4 games of bowling for $5.00
7. Having my roommate disappear for a week
8. Getting drenched with foam
9. Having my name appear on a fridge for no apparent reason
10. Taking 9 tests in 2 weeks
11. Tripping on every staircase I walk on
12. The football practice horn
13. Leaving the football game at halftime, then finding out that the game went into 4 overtimes, and Weber in fact won the game.
14. Seeing my bowling teacher at the football game without a shirt
15. Watching 5 seasons of the office in two weeks
16. Forgetting my ID, and running back to my dorm room to get it so I can get into a class
17. Having one of my coworkers leaving work early because he was too hungover
18. Leaving my ID at pizza factory
19. Remember the Titans
20. Discovering that Oreos are dark brown, not black.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
History of Music
So i haven't blogged in quite a while.... ha sorry. Anyway I wrote this Essay about my own personal music history. Hope everyone enjoys it!
My first memory of being exposed to music was ten years and 36 days ago. On my 8th birthday my sweet mother introduced me to the beauty of the piano through formal piano lessons. Very rapidly in my studies of the piano I was introduced to wondrous and beauty melodies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. While I was learning basic musical theory and classical style music on the piano, my mother once again introduced me to music coupled with words, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Although I did receive many queer looks from my schoolmates when I informed them that my favorite music was classical, I was very proud of my musical tastes. The combination of classical music and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir served as a base to my favorite musical styles for years to come.
After my 8th birthday, the only music I can recall listening to (other than piano music I was playing and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) was in the movies that I watched. I quickly developed a taste for musical scores from movies. In fact, the first song I ever purchased was a song from the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean”, and I still enjoy musical scores today. Through grade school and seventh grade I participated in the band programs as a percussionist to stay involved with orchestra type music. I even won a student of the year award, and from that award I was able to obtain an acoustic guitar. I quickly set to work teaching myself the rhythms of the acoustic guitar, and I still have a small knowledge of that instrument today. By 8th grade I was able to play the piano, the acoustic guitar, snare drums, bass drums, vibraphone, xylophone, and many more percussion instruments fluently.
When I entered 8th grade, I quickly found my musical selection changing. Because of my background in piano, acoustic guitar, and percussion, I was drawn to music that had primarily those three instruments. In time I found my favorite artists: The Fray, Jack Johnson, and Jon Schmidt. All three have piano, guitar, or percussion as the main instrument portrayed. While I do enjoy other types of music; the more piano, acoustic guitar, or percussion a song has in the song, the more drawn I am to enjoy it. My background with these three instruments helps me relate to the song better.
Music to me is a way to serve. A wise man once told me, “May you have the sense of using your talent as a means of bringing beauty and joy into the lives of others.”I believe that music is a way to uplift and make people feel good. I strive to use the music that I play to serve people. I consider myself a musician, and as such I make music quite often. While I love playing music, I still love to listen to other artists as a consumer. Listening to other artists as a consumer helps me also as a musician. It helps me imagine new music puzzle pieces that I put together when I create my own music.
I enrolled in Music 1010 hoping that it would be an introductory course on musical theory. I was sorely disappointed on my first day of music 1010. I took the class because of the fine arts credit offered, but I stay because of the fascinating information I learn about my own craft. From learning the history of music, I can provide a more melodic future for music.
My first memory of being exposed to music was ten years and 36 days ago. On my 8th birthday my sweet mother introduced me to the beauty of the piano through formal piano lessons. Very rapidly in my studies of the piano I was introduced to wondrous and beauty melodies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. While I was learning basic musical theory and classical style music on the piano, my mother once again introduced me to music coupled with words, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Although I did receive many queer looks from my schoolmates when I informed them that my favorite music was classical, I was very proud of my musical tastes. The combination of classical music and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir served as a base to my favorite musical styles for years to come.
After my 8th birthday, the only music I can recall listening to (other than piano music I was playing and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) was in the movies that I watched. I quickly developed a taste for musical scores from movies. In fact, the first song I ever purchased was a song from the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean”, and I still enjoy musical scores today. Through grade school and seventh grade I participated in the band programs as a percussionist to stay involved with orchestra type music. I even won a student of the year award, and from that award I was able to obtain an acoustic guitar. I quickly set to work teaching myself the rhythms of the acoustic guitar, and I still have a small knowledge of that instrument today. By 8th grade I was able to play the piano, the acoustic guitar, snare drums, bass drums, vibraphone, xylophone, and many more percussion instruments fluently.
When I entered 8th grade, I quickly found my musical selection changing. Because of my background in piano, acoustic guitar, and percussion, I was drawn to music that had primarily those three instruments. In time I found my favorite artists: The Fray, Jack Johnson, and Jon Schmidt. All three have piano, guitar, or percussion as the main instrument portrayed. While I do enjoy other types of music; the more piano, acoustic guitar, or percussion a song has in the song, the more drawn I am to enjoy it. My background with these three instruments helps me relate to the song better.
Music to me is a way to serve. A wise man once told me, “May you have the sense of using your talent as a means of bringing beauty and joy into the lives of others.”I believe that music is a way to uplift and make people feel good. I strive to use the music that I play to serve people. I consider myself a musician, and as such I make music quite often. While I love playing music, I still love to listen to other artists as a consumer. Listening to other artists as a consumer helps me also as a musician. It helps me imagine new music puzzle pieces that I put together when I create my own music.
I enrolled in Music 1010 hoping that it would be an introductory course on musical theory. I was sorely disappointed on my first day of music 1010. I took the class because of the fine arts credit offered, but I stay because of the fascinating information I learn about my own craft. From learning the history of music, I can provide a more melodic future for music.
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