"I'll See You Again"

So a friend of mine and I ended up going through our music last night, showing each other different songs the other hadn't heard before. He absolutely loves Westlife, and while I do like them, I had kind of forgotten about them and had no idea they had 10 albums out! I think I have two... maybe.

Anyway, I just got their latest album and was just listening through it and the last song came on. It's called "I'll See You Again." I couldn't help but think about my grandpa, who passed away almost two months ago now. Now, for reasons unknown to me, my tears hardly ever work so I didn't cry when I listened to it, but I have a feeling that the average person would. Thus, I warn you that this song I am posting below MAY make you cry if you have lost someone close to you - especially if it was recent.

I really like the lyrics, so I am going to post those below the link for you to read if you so choose. The link is from YouTube and is just a user's interpretation of the song, taking video clips from certain films. Anyway, enjoy. :)

I'll See You Again: 

Always you will be part of me
And I will forever feel your strength
When I need it most
You’re gone now, gone but not forgotten
I can’t say this to your face
But I know you hear

Chorus:
I’ll see you again
You never really left
I feel you walk beside me
I know I’ll see you again
When I’m lost, when I’m missing you like crazy
I tell myself I’m so blessed
To have had you in my life, my life

Chorus

When I had the time to tell you
Never thought I’d live to see the day
When the words I should have said
Would come to haunt me
In my darkest hour I tell myself
I’ll see you again

Chorus x 2

I will see you again
I’ll see you again
I miss you like crazy
You’re gone but not forgotten
I’ll never forget you
Someday I’ll see you again
I feel you walk beside me
Never leave you, yeah
Gone but not forgotten
I feel you by my side
No this is not goodbye

Facebook ... "Friends"

First of all, thank you all for reading my blog. Secondly, why does no one ever comment!?! :( If I didn't have a tracker embedded into my page, I would think that no one reads it and might stop posting. *hint hint* Yes, please comment so I know you are all alive! :) AND... if you have a blog, give me the link and I will comment on yours!!

Now, onto today's topic: facebook friends. Some people have 100 or less, some have over 1,000. But how well do we really know all of our facebook friends? Most of us are 'friends' with them because we at one point in our lives were actually friends, but have since gone our separate ways and may not make contact for years at a time now. I know a lot of people who "facebook purge" every now and then and delete a huge chunk of their friends because they haven't talked with them in over a year, etc. I totally understand that, yet I cannot will myself to actually do that... and this is why.

Somehow, for reasons I do not know, I always have a few random run-ins/"reconnections" each year. Someone who is on my friend list whom I barely know will randomly reappear in my life. I had a friend from middle school whom I had not seen since 2000, and found out she had moved to L.A. So when I moved to L.A., we actually met up. I never thought I'd actually see her again, but because I didn't delete her, we did! Exact same scenario but with a friend from high school, also.

I've gotten work a couple of times from friends I went to school with (and haven't seen since) who knew I did sound and knew of someone who needed a sound person. Had I deleted them... no work! Also, there have been instances where I never thought I'd see the person again and he/she ends up in the same complex or ward! That has been the latest.

I have been 'facebook friends' with an old friend's ex-boyfriend ever since they dated... 3 years ago. I just never got around to deleting him, but as it turns out, it's a good thing I didn't because he just moved into my ward! I just can't make myself delete people! But in my defense, I *do* know all but about 3 on my list. And those few whom I don't actually know are for networking purposes. They work in film, we have about 30 friends in common, and they want to keep me on the back burner for the next time they need a sound person. I'm okay with accepting adds for work possibilities!

Anyway, this is a very random post of strange thoughts of mine that I happened to write out. Enjoy.

The New Age of Sledding

So my ward had a sledding activity today. We just went to a park and found places to sled - no real 'ramps' or whatever. We hiked up this path and used that as our sledding spot. Half the time involved massive snowball fights instead of actual sledding, but it was awesome. We had a few tubes and those worked the best - putting 3 people on it made it go the fastest!

The best part, though... was at the end. We were all done, almost all packed up, and ready to go. But then someone had the bright idea to attach a rope to the back of Rob's car and two people could sit on the tube, hold on to the rope, and let the car pull you down the street (which was covered in snow/ice). Jess and I did it the first time and it proved to be a pretty stupid idea. The tube ended up going faster than the car and we almost ran into the moving tires! So we improved it a bit. We got much closer to the car, put our feet on the back bumper, and tried again. However, this time Jess and Matt were on the tube. I was in the back of the car videoing the whole thing. And Isaac and JJ joined in as well. It's a pretty awesome video. Enjoy.

Zumba, Pilates, and Weights, Oh My!

So a year and a half ago, I did this workout program. I learned how to exercise properly as well as how to eat healthier. I was really good at it for 3 or 4 months, but it kind of died down after that. I still stuck with the healthy eating portion of it for the most part, but the exercise/weight training part sort of went down the drain. I would do it here and there if I remembered, but it never was a permanent or set thing.

Well in October, I decided that I wanted to get back on track, so I finally caved and bought another gym membership. My plan was to go at least 3 times a week to start with. But then I got a film, and that plan quickly died. Films are so exhausting that it's hard to make yourself go to the gym after a long day/night - especially if you're not already used to going every day. And then I was home most of December so that sort of impeded my plan once again. And the very night I got back to Utah, I got a call for work in L.A. and off I went.

But NOW... I am back in Utah, and hopefully will be for quite some time (please, no more suitcase-living!). My roommate, Karie, finally got me to go to a Zumba class with her. It was the first "class" at the gym that I had ever been to. I don't know why, but I had always been a bit leery of the classes and had never gotten around to trying them out. As it turns out, I loved it! Granted, I felt absolutely retarded trying to figure everything out, I still had a blast and an awesome workout. (Zumba is kind of like Latin dancing + aerobics).

So I started going with Karie to more of those classes. Yesterday, I decided to branch out and try a new class: Pilates. Oh man, it kicked my butt! Luckily, I was fully prepared for that. I had heard from others how intense a Pilates class can be, so I was ready to be whooped. It fully succeeded in major butt-kicking, but it was awesome. I felt like I got a really good workout with muscles I didn't even know existed! lol. After the class was over, I did my upper body workout, and then got on one of the bikes for about 15 minutes to fully destroy myself. haha. I am definitely feeling it today!

I am trying to use as much of my "free time" as productive time, and while that isn't *always* going so well, the gym part is rocking. I went 3 or 4 times last week for an hour or more each day. I went on Monday for an hour, yesterday for two hours, and I am about to head there again for another Zumba class and then either weights or some more cardio afterward. I have FINALLY gotten into some sort of gym schedule and it is awesome! I highly recommend it. :D

Holy Wind, Batman!

Oh my goodness!  Tonight we had the craziest windstorm in Provo!! I haven't been in wind that strong since hurricane season when I lived in Orlando! And apparently weather.com isn't quite as trustworthy as one may think: it said that we had winds that were 17mph. Pah! Well, weather.com, then tell me why we had our back fence entirely RIPPED off, and our door twisted and thrown to the ground! It's pretty safe to say that the wind was MUCH stronger than a piddly 17mph!!

I was actually so bummed that I couldn't stay for the whole storm! I later found out from my roommate who was here the whole time that she didn't dare go upstairs because the entire house was rattling and whatnot. Ahh! I wish I could have been there. I think there is something wrong with me: I love storms! I actually quite enjoyed prepping the house for a hurricane and then watching the storm from the safety of my house (Orlando was lucky - we never got too terrible of ones because we were far enough inland). Once, it picked up our trampoline and flipped it upside-down!! And it ripped massive branches from our trees as if they were twigs!

The best part about this storm though, was that it started right as I was getting out of the theater from watching 2012. I had gone out to see it with someone from my ward and as we were driving back, we could literally feel the pull of the wind on his car! It was almost kind of freaky! So we were joking about it being "the end of the world!" since we'd just come from that movie. I got home and actually went in my front door for once (almost always use the back door - it's where the parking is), changed, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then headed out for the concert I was going to...

That was when I discovered my door:
Hmm, not quite what I was expecting on my way out! I opened the sliding door and was slammed with a huge gust of wind and just by instinct, I yanked my body back into the house and quickly closed the door. I stood and watched for a few moments, and then thought, "never a better time to get some awesome pictures and video!" So I grabbed my camera, prepped myself a bit more for the strength of the wind, and took some pictures. It was then that I realized that it wasn't just our door that was gone. Our next door neighbors lost their door as well! 

It was completely torn off! I took a few more pictures of other backyards and finally headed off to the concert. I initially thought I was going to be slightly late, but I forgot that you can give a couple hours of buffer time with all of the opening bands. So I got there with plenty of time to spare. And the concert itself was pretty good. The headlining bands were Safetysuit and Parachute. Safetysuit was the real reason I went to see it, and they rocked.

I thought for sure that the wind would have died down once I got home, but oh was I wrong! I drove up my street and it was crazy to see all of the wreckage done to my neighbors' fences as well as my own! From the time I left to the time I got back, half of us had lost doors and/or fences entirely! Here are some of the pictures:

When I got home, my next door neighbor Jessica was over and we got talking about all of the fun things we could do with the wreckage. The first idea was to take some of the larger pieces of debris, save it, and use it as wicked sleds for the next time it snows! We still might do that... But our second idea of fun with the wreckage was to take pictures underneath it. These were the results:

Happy People Just Don't Shoot Their Husbands!

Oh my goodness. I think that if everyone could realize how AWESOME it is to exercise, we'd have people banging on the doors of all gyms to get inside! Okay, maybe not. But shoot, I love it! And see, it's one of those love/hate relationships because I really do love going to the gym - it's just a matter of actually getting myself there!  It's like how I was with swimming and lacrosse - I always hated the initial going TO practice part, but once I was there, I loved it and didn't want to leave!

Same goes with the gym. I always have the hardest time getting there, but then once I'm there, I can't believe it took me so long to get there! My roommate Karie finally convinced me to go to Zumba with her last Friday and I loved it! Zumba is kind of like a workout routine of the Latin-dance persuasion. It totally felt like a dance class to me, and it was awesome. So I went with her again today and it was a blast! And afterward, we did our arm routine (weights) again! Dang, I hadn't done that in far too long!

Karie and I did this workout program a few summers ago where our trainer taught us how to properly 'train' and whatnot. He was a nutritionist as well, so he got us on a more healthy eating plan as well. But his workout routines were for upper and lower body. We usually just call it "arms" or "legs." So we decided to do arms today and I'm definitely going to be feeling it tomorrow! But I love being sore! Might sound weird, but I love it because I know I worked hard at it!

After the gym, I came home, got ready for institute, and went... and immediately following, I went country dancing! Yay for dancing! I hadn't been since the first week in December and I'd missed it dearly. It never ceases to disappoint me! I still can't believe the night and day difference from the before and after times of my 'epiphany on life' (see here for story). It just baffles me. I seriously used to never get asked and now, even if I try to sit one out, I still get asked! It's crazy! I love dancing, and I love life! :)

Post title: quote from Legally Blonde

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Today... was awesome. On all accounts. It had three parts to it, and all three parts rocked.
It started with meeting up with a bunch of old friends from freshman year. Dave's birthday is tomorrow and a bunch of us went out to eat to celebrate, and then to a friend's house afterward to play games. For those of you who know the crew, we had Dave, Eric, Allan, Tim, Kevin and his wife, and Dan and his wife. Most everyone had to leave before we played games though, so Dave, Eric, Allan, and I went back to Eric and Allen's to play games. But it's always fun to get a group like that together and reminisce. The best part though, was that any story that we remembered about Tim, he couldn't remember. Even after we tried to jog his memory, he still had absolutely no recollection of said event ever actually happening. We all got quite a kick out of it.

We played the Italian game "Bang" at Eric's and I was 1st to 'die', so since I still had a talk to write, I decided I ought to leave. (It was 5, and I had plans at 7:30 and still had to get ready, too). But for some unexplainable reason, I decided to call my friend Josh before I left Alta (where Eric lives). I hadn't seen him since before his mission and knew that once upon a time he lived in Alta, so I thought "Why not? I'll check and see." As it turns out, he DOES live in Alta again! All those plans of actually writing my talk at a decent hour immediately went out the window. We had far too much to catch up on.

A quick background for those who don't know who Josh is (since I've only started blogging in the last year or two)... Josh and I met freshman year and became really good friends. He wasn't a member at the time, but a few years later he ended up joining, and a year after that, he decided to serve a mission! (And a random side note - his mission president happened to be my old stake president from when I lived in Florida! Weird!) Anyway, he was one of my best guy friends and I would talk with him about everything.

But then he left on his mission and I hadn't seen him since! So it was an awesome little mini-reunion. We barely skimmed the surface of the last 3 years of each others' lives, and definitely need more catching up. But it was just SO good to see him again! Have you ever had a friend who no matter what just automatically puts you in a good mood? I can't not be in a great mood whenever he and I talk. I am so happy to have such a great friend back!

I left there around 7, got home, and had barely any time to get ready for the dance thing tonight. Oh, this dance is apparently every week at the Murray Arts Center and it's a dance full of classic dancing! (ie ballroom) Oh my gosh it was awesome. It kind of depressed me at the same time because I was never made so aware as to how much ballroom dancing I have forgotten over the years; but aside from that, it was awesome. Every song that came on was truly danceable and EVERY song was partner-dancing! I danced triple step swing, two step swing, west coast swing, fox trot, cha-cha, samba, salsa, and waltz. It... rocked. And the best ones were when I got asked by someone who really knew what he was doing and I could follow. All I really need is just a refresher course and then I'd be good to go, and that's how it was with those dances.

This one guy asked me to dance on one of the waltzes and I later found out that he was or is on one of the BYU ballroom teams, so he definitely knew what he was doing... and each new move we did, I kept thinking, "Oh yeah!" or "I remember this one now!" or "I can even remember what comes next!" It made me happy. I will have to go to those more often, because THAT is real dancing. THAT is how dances should still be. If dances were still like that, I would probably be a dance junkie, because I absolutely love ballroom style dancing!

We Are All A Little Weird

I don't know why this is, but for some reason I am always incredibly good at keeping my blog up-to-date whenever I'm in California, but the second I get back to Utah... not so much. So I'm going to try to do better...

On the 13th, Jackie and I went to the temple. It was really exciting for both of us: for Jackie, because it was her first time; and for me, because I had never before gone with anyone who had never been. And it was just overall a really awesome experience. And randomly, we ran into one of her home teachers who had been trying to get her to go, as well as a good friend in her ward who had just been talking to her about the temple a couple days prior. We celebrated afterward by going out for sushi! Yay for sushi. :) And then, of course, stayed up WAY too late chatting. I was originally going to leave for Utah at 7 or 8am... yeah, definitely didn't even wake UP until 9. But I figured, I should probably get at least 6ish hours of sleep before a 10-hour drive. :P

I actually made record time getting back to Utah. I left Jackie's right after 10, and pulled into my 'driveway' at 7:47pm. But it worked out really well, because I actually had a date that night and getting in that early gave me enough time to actually unpack my car, shower, change, etc. When I found out we were going for sushi before the movie, I laughed, but loved it. I had sushi Monday, Wednesday, AND Thursday nights this week. It has been an excellent week. :P

After sushi, we went and saw quite possibly the absolute weirdest movie I have ever seen. It was called "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus." It was Heath Ledger's last movie and he died in the middle of filming it, so they got Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell to play different parts of his character. Oddly enough, they actually made *that* part make sense. Though, that was about the only thing in the movie that did make sense! It was like one big acid trip or something. I left the theater feeling the like world should be swirling in different colors. Later on, I discovered that it was directed by the same guy who directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and the insanity made a little more sense, but it was still an incredibly odd movie.

In other news, I finally got to hear the engagement story of a very close friend of mine! Jameson has been like my surrogate 'big brother' for quite a few years now, and so I was ecstatic when he called me on New Year's to tell me he was engaged! But he didn't have time to tell the story then, so I had to wait until today! In case he doesn't want the story posted about, I will refrain, but suffice it to say that he definitely had it *very* thought out and it was incredibly cute. :) Congratulations, Jameson. It makes me happy. :)

Post title: a quote I happened upon and it just struck me funny.

Boo to R

Oh my goodness this just keeps getting more difficult and/or frustrating. I got an email today from the Utah Film Commission inviting me to a "cast and crew" screening of Frozen at Sundance this year. Haven't I had enough tests for one measly little week? Apparently the term "when it rains, it pours" can apply to many different facets.

See, the issue at hand is that this film is rated R. And in the last week, I have realized now more than ever WHY I need to "stand fast" to my decision. But it just sucks, because how often do you have a film that you worked on premiere at Sundance?? That's not exactly a tiny little film festival. It is in fact, the "largest independent cinema festival in the U.S." ::sigh:: There *is* a cast/crew party beforehand that I might go to. We'll see. Maybe I'll still get the tickets (they're free) and just give them to a friend of mine who really wants to go.

Or, you know, I could actually work on films I *want* to see the final product of! Wouldn't that be nice. One day, right?

I Love to See the Temple

Well, since I no longer have work to worry about, I met up with a good friend of mine today - Jackie. Jackie and I met originally at a party last summer, then randomly ended up working on the same film short together, and we just became really good friends. She was an investigator at the time and once I was back in Provo, I found out that she finally had an official baptism date set. So, her friend Paul and I carpooled from Utah down to L.A. in September for the baptism and I hadn't *seen* her since then.

It was great to catch up with her, and amidst our conversation, I found out that she hasn't been to the temple yet. She really wants to go, but she's just a little nervous about going. That and I guess she lost her recommend a few weeks ago and hadn't been able to find it. So, since I really have no need to be in either place (UT or L.A.) right now, I said "Shoot, I'll go with you!"


I was originally going to leave tomorrow, but oddly enough, I'd had this really odd desire to go to the L.A. temple before I went back to UT, so this was perfect! After we came back from lunch, we looked through all the places she thought the recommend might be and voila! we found it. Yay! So now we're going to go on Wednesday night and then I'm going to stay with her that night and drive back to Utah on Thursday. I'm so excited!