Fun, Fun, Fun

I have a problem. Everything is fun. The game was fun. Being with that group was fun. My night was fun. Anything I've enjoyed recently can be described as fun.

Sounds good, right? Not exactly. What I mean is that I can't come up with another word to describe these things. Sure, fun may be an apt description, but I say it entirely too often. For example, my personal journal entry for 28 January 2008 is about half of one side of a 5x7 page. The reason the word "fun" only appears once is because I crossed it out the second time and wrote a different sentence. 12 sentences in the entry total. I have the same problem when I'm writing letters to my family. Usually I notice by about the second or third time I'm saying it, but I really need to expand my descriptive vocabulary about enjoyable things.

Let's see what thesaurus.com has to suggest:

amusing, boisterous, convivial, diverting, enjoyable, entertaining, good, lively, merry, pleasant, witty

I'm glad my life is convivial and entertaining so often. I just wish I could describe it better. Plus, once you think about it for too long (like I did on my way to work this morning), "fun" is a really weird word.

Children's voices, oh how sweet

One of the more interesting things about a singles ward is that it is completely silent during some parts of church, particularly during the passing of Sacrament and in between testimonies on Fast Sunday. You can literally hear a pin drop.

Josh and Courtney accompanied me to church yesterday, after I went to Mass with them. They have the most adorable five-month-old son. During the Sacrament, Doran was contentedly bouncing around on my lap and made only a few vocalizations of his happiness. Of course they were adorable, but they reverberated around the silent room. Those whose faces I saw were smiling, and most of us love babies and weren't bothered. In a regular ward, there would be many children making similar noises.

As if my presence wasn't already known to the congregation, following the Sacrament, the counselor in the bishopric got up and thanked us for our reverence and so forth and then added:

"Amanda, thanks to your friends for bringing their son and allowing us to hear the sounds of innocence." I smiled at him, but I think all three of us were somewhat embarrassed. He continued:

"We'll now have three wonderful speakers, and Amanda will give us a special musical number. Sister #1 will speak, followed by Sister #2, and then Amanda Stretch will sing 'How Great Thou Art' ".

Not only did he point me out and say my name three times in less than three minutes, I had to get up shortly and sing, a capella, in front of the entire congregation. It's no wonder my heart was pounding by that time.

Thanks kiddo. It's a good thing you're so cute.

We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet

I was still in my last year of Primary when Gordon B. Hinckley was sustained as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While I remember Presidents Benson and Hunter, it was President Hinckley I really grew up with. He was our prophet as I gained my own testimony. I loved his humor and gentle spirit as much as I loved his candor and plain speaking. There was no doubt in my mind that he knew that Christ is our Savior and that this is His church. President Hinckley was a tremendous mouthpiece of the Lord and an unwavering example of the service and love we all should embody. He will truly be missed, though the work will most certainly go on. He must be overjoyed to be with his beloved Marjorie again, as he has missed her so. My thoughts are with their family at this time.

I look forward to the work and teachings of his successors, and my thoughts are also with those who will soon take on their new responsibilities. They will certainly be strengthened by the Lord.

Thank you, President Hinckley.

Let the memory live again

Since music is such a big part of my life, it should be no surprise that I have many memories related to it. There are lots of songs that remind me of lots of occasions, both good and bad. For example, God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You by N*Sync will always remind me of my 9th grade "he's-not-my-boyfriend". He wrote the lyrics on the Val-a-Gram he sent me for Valentine's Day. Butterfly by Crazy Town will always remind me of cruising around in my blue pickup with my best friend, Aubrey, in high school. I could go on for a while. Sometimes, I've had to stop listening to certain songs because of the memories they conjure. Also, I'm always surprised when I'm listening to something without memories attached and one comes rushing back. If I'm lucky, it's a pleasant memory.

I'm most surprised when a seemingly random object brings back something. If it's not something I care to remember, I get at least a little mad. This afternoon, I was at the grocery store picking up some last items for a dinner I hosted tonight, when I walked past a display of Cadbury's Creme Eggs. My first thought was one of rejoicing, as I quite like them. Then, I suddenly remembered someone I dated for a few weeks last March and how Cadbury's was one of the things that brought us together. Realizing that it will probably be a while, if ever, before Cadbury's Creme Eggs are just a special Easter candy I happen to love and nothing else, I was not happy. I was already cranky and this just added to it. It wasn't until I was leaving the store twenty minutes later that I remembered it was January and that the candies were out awfully early. (To add to my cranky day, I got to my car only to realize I had forgotten to purchase a rather crucial ingredient, so I had to go back to the store. Grr.)

Occasionally, I wish I could just erase certain memories, a la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In the end, however, that would just create more trouble than it's worth. Still.

What are some things that bring back random memories for you?

And I'll brush my hair

I have emo hair today, and I love it.

Who needs sleep?

Once again, I'm having trouble sleeping. I'm really not a fan of not sleeping when I'm anxious and stressed. That's when I need sleep the most! Yet, sleep is quite elusive during these times, and I can only think of one night in the last ten days or so that I've had a good night's sleep. I feel so helpless, lying awake in the dark, staring at the ceiling. Or at the left side of the room. Or the right side of the room. Reading or watching a movie doesn't help, because I won't fall asleep doing that unless I'm completely exhausted. I've always been leery of sleeping pills. So I lay there. Frustrated. Sometimes it takes an hour to fall asleep, sometimes longer.

Not sleeping Friday night was likely my fault. I went out to hear one of my friends' bands play in a sports bar and our very attentive waiter kept refilling our Cokes the minute the glass was only half-full. Since I kept absent-mindedly sipping my drink during the show, I probably had the equivalent to five or six glasses of Coca-Cola.

Oops. I'd been nursing a Coke from about 8:30 (at dinner at a different place) to 1 AM. I'd asked for Diet, but it hadn't happened. I rarely drink that much caffeine, or soda in general, so between that and all the sugar in my drinks, it's no surprise I didn't fall asleep until after 4:30 AM. After lying awake in bed for a couple hours, I eventually fell asleep after finishing a movie on my couch downstairs. I felt groggy most of Saturday. Hooray for Mormon "hangovers"!

Last night, however, was not my fault. But at 2 AM, I was sitting on the floor, mere inches from my TV and the History Channel (no contacts/glasses), eating ice cream straight out of the carton.

Not good. The weird thing is that I'm not very tired today. Hopefully I'll be tired when it's time to sleep tonight.

Rattlesnakes

I totally failed to mention that my blog post yesterday was my 100th! Hooray!

To celebrate, I pulled an old meme off of Mister Me's blog.

The rules: Put your iPod on Shuffle and answer the following questions with the song titles. No cheating by skipping next until you find something interesting! (My blog title, by Tori Amos, is the first song it came up with.)

1. How does the world see you?
Yellow Submarine (The Beatles)

"And our friends are all aboard" I suppose I can live with that.

2. Will I have a happy life?
Carbon (Tori Amos)

"Keep your eye on the horizon" A little ambiguous, but at least it's not a definite no.

3. What do my friends really think of me?

Allison (Eve 6)

No! It's Amanda! How many times do I have to tell you?

4. Do people secretly lust after me?

Paint the Sky with Stars (Enya)

"Only dreams they cannot keep" - I'll take that as a yes. I knew it!

5. How can I make myself happy?

Sweet Dreams (Tori Amos)

Keep dreaming? Done!

6. What should I do with my life?

Radioactive Royal (Instant Winner)

Be a poisonous queen? That has the makings of a fun Disney movie . . . The song is about a girl that a guy can't stop thinking about, so that's not bad.

7. Will I ever have children?
Marry Me (No Doubt)

Right! I have to get married first. Duh!

8. What is some good advice for me?

Baker Baker (Tori Amos)

Well, I do like sweet things to eat, but I really don't need the extra poundage . . .

9. How will I be remembered?

There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought of It Yet (Panic! At the Disco)

"I bet to them your name is cheap" I think my iPod hates me today.

10. What is my signature song?
Redundant (Green Day)

Now I'm convinced my iPod hates me. *harrumph*

11. What do I think my current theme song is?
I Didn't Want to Need You (Heart)

Considering certain events, this might actually be right.

12. What does everyone else think my current theme song is?

The Beauty Is (Reprise) (from The Light in the Piazza)

So I'm just as beautiful the second time around? Interesting.

13. What song will play at my funeral?

Don't Wish Too Hard (The Boy From Oz)

Sorry, kids, I'm not coming back no matter how much you miss me.

14. What type of men/women do I like?
Braver Than We Are (Reprise) (German) (from The Dance of the Vampires)

That's true! I want my man to be braver than me. I guess I just had to look at my iPod sternly.

15. What is my day going to be like?
Monument (Depeche Mode)

A monumental day? Yes, please!

This should be evidence that I really do have one of the most random music collections out there, plus a lot of Tori Amos. Not the most accurate of fortune-telling devices though.

But, if I want a fortune, I suppose I could just sell my blog.

My blog is worth $7,903.56.
How much is your blog worth?

Oh, what a night, late December back in '63

Maybe it's not 1963, but it's certainly retro day here at the library.

Some of the things I've found in a pile of donations:

Yes, dear internets, 4 MB of RAM is all that is needed to run this sweet program. My phone has 5 times that.

When was the last time you saw one of these?

Finally,

The Music Man on FILMSTRIP. What the. . .? That's going to be so useful.

I feel my wood-paneling walls closing in around me. What? You think I'm kidding?

Notice the titles of binders. Yes, some of my checkouts are still on paper. I'm working to fix that.

Did I ever tell you that the people I replaced here were in their 80s? Yes. My library is just that awesome.

In the city, the city of Compton

I bet you never guessed I'd use a Tupac song lyric. Well, I did. So there.

I borrowed this meme from Miss Nemesis. You list all the cities you spent at least one night in for 2007. Following her lead, I'm also going to do 2006 and my projected list for 2008. I also tried to do them in order.

2006

Orem, UT
Anaheim, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Provo, UT
Morris Plains, NJ
Grand Island, NE
Chicago, IL
Alexandria, VA
Where I Live Now, VA
Brooklyn, NY
Orem, UT (again, but this time as a visitor)

2007

Where I Live Now, VA
Corolla, NC
Orem, UT
Reston, VA
Nashville, TN
Rockville, MD
Lingfield, UK
Paris, France

2008 (Projected)

Where I Live Now, VA
Ft. Bragg, NC (maybe)
Orlando, FL
Corolla, NC
New York City, NY (maybe)
Orem, UT

My list gets shorter and shorter, but I still think that's not too shabby. Where have you stayed? Leave a comment or a link to your blog!

Turn off the idiot box!

From Kate:

The Top Five...

...Movies I'm ashamed to admit I will watch if they're on TV:

• The Wedding Planner
• Raising Helen
• Harry Potter movies (I really like them, but my roommate has on DVD)
• Anything with Amanda Bynes
• The Prince and Me

...TV Infomercials I can't change the channel away from:

• Some exercise products
• Ginsu knives (mostly so I can mentally make fun of them)
• And that's it. I love TiVo.

...Products I've purchased from a TV Infomercial

• A series of Winsor Pilates DVDs

...Odd combinations of foods I like to eat

• Cottage cheese and peaches
• Strawberries and marscapone cheese
• Fried eggs and Stove Top stuffing (So this happened once, but it really hit the spot that day.)
• Wendy's french fries dipped in a Frosty
• Ranch dressing on a baked potato

...Lines I'm famous for

• "Scout THIS!" (courtesy of Fran)
• "iiiI KNOW!" (courtesy of Monica Gellar)
• "Whatever you say, Kessler." (courtesy of Harold Green)
• "Yes, Heidi."
• "Sew, very old one! Sew like the wind!" (courtesy of Ned Nederlander)

...Things I do that No One should know about

• Go to sleep with makeup on
• Wash my laundry one day and put it away a week later
• Read crappy teen chick lit
• Dance when no one is watching, no matter what I'm wearing, or not wearing . . .
• Hold onto notes from the past, from people I'm no longer in contact with

I tag anyone who cares to be tagged. :)