My Spider Sense

So, I’ve determined that I have a spider sense.  I can tell when they are in the room.

For instance, one morning I got up to take a shower and as soon as I stepped foot in the bathroom I felt nervous and twitchy. And sure enough, when I pulled back the shower curtain there was a big one in the tub that couldn’t get out. So, I disposed of that one.

While I was taking a shower I was still really nervous and jumpy. I had this quick thought, “What if there is one above my head.” I looked up just in time to see a big black one repelling from the ceiling. It dropped into the tub and down the drain, thank heavens.

Then, the next day, Daniel and I were sitting at the table. My eyes kept being drawn to the corner. After a couple times I saw a big brown spider in the corner.

I think I’d rather have another sense than a spider sense. Because I really hate spiders.

Off to Brazil!

So, this morning I went with my mom and dad to take my brother to the airport. He is serving a mission in Santa Maria, Brazil.

Jacob is the first missionary in our family, and the closest in age to me. I have to admit that it was harder to see him go than I thought it was going to be. We’ve become pretty close, especially since he moved out to college.

I couldn’t believe how grown up he looked in his suit and tie and name tag in the airport today. It was nice to be reassured that this is definitely something he can do. I’m going to miss him a lot, but I will know that he’s okay.

As hard as this is going to be for me, I have to admit I feel worse for my dad. He’s really losing a best friend. Jacob and my dad liked all the same movies, TV shows, and goofy/sarcastic sense of humor.

The highlight of the morning was when Jacob gave me a hug and said that he would miss me.

(btw, the picture above is pretty old. We don’t take pictures together very often..lol)

Kids Say the Darndest Things

So, I’ve had some funny experiences in my few short weeks at my new job that I’d like to share.

We have this program on the computers at school called LanSchool. I think it is literally the best thing ever invented. Basically, it allows me to see all the computers on the network and monitor students’ activity. I can shut down programs, send messages, blank screens, etc. It’s like ultimate power. It’s even awesomer when I tell someone to get off Solitaire or something and they say, “Hey! How’d you know I was on that?” I just say, “I can tell.” Then, most of them try to see if they can get around the program (which they can’t). Or, they start writing me messages on Word documents to see if I am reading their stuff and will answer back. Strangely, they get a big kick out of me taking over their computers.

A boy came in the other day to check out a laptop for a teacher. He said, “Do guys every try to flirt with you on the computer?” I said, “Uh...no.” And he said, “Oh, because my buddy said that he was writing stuff on his computer to try to flirt with you the other day.” I said, “Huh, well I didn’t notice. And, that’s pretty lame.” He agreed.

As I was leaving work on Wednesday a girl stopped me in the hall and said that she thought I was cool for telling people to stop playing games. She said, “I never have the guts to tell people to stop doing things, so it’s nice that someone is willing to take charge.” I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or what. I don’t like telling people to get off games, but I kind of have to.

One thing I’ve learned though is how good people are at rationalizing everything they do. In the elementary school I worked at before I realized that these kids can come up with excuses for everything. That doesn’t change in high school, they just get better at it.

My Hymnbook

I had a neat experience today in sacrament meeting. Daniel and I were sitting in the foyer because we came in a little late and there wasn’t much room in the chapel.  Near the end of the meeting this older woman came and sat next to me. When we started singing the closing song she said that I should come to choir and sing alto because I have a lovely voice. I said thank you and that I had been meaning to come to choir but just forgot.

I have a German hymn book in my scripture bag. I don’t speak really fluently, mostly I just like looking at the translation and trying to find the songs in the English version. Well, I had it out and was looking at the German version of the song. The woman next to me said, “I had a hymn book just like that when I lived in Germany. But, I gave it away when I left because a gentleman there wanted an English one.” Then she looked closer at my hymn book and said, “That’s in German!! Where did you get that?” I said that I had received it as a gift a few years back. I said that I liked looking at the translation, but that my German wasn’t very good.

Well, after the closing prayer I turned to her and asked her if she’d like the book. She refused at first, but I could tell that she really wanted it so I insisted. She wanted to pay me for it, but in the end I convinced her to just take it.  Really, it wasn’t much of a sacrifice for me. I rarely used the book, and it was given to me by someone I’d rather not remember. Daniel has already promised to buy me a new one anyway. :) But, it was nice to put a smile on her face. I’m sure she’ll enjoy the book.

Beauty and the Beast

I’ve been meaning to blog about this for the past week now, and just haven’t had a chance.

I had such an awesome time doing this play. It was a lot of work, and I’m not going to lie, I’m glad it’s over.  It’s nice to have my evenings back.

But, I had some amazing experiences that I’d like to share.  Half-way through our run, we had some technical problems that forced us to redo much of the show. We had to change the beginning, some of the leads had to learn up to 3 pages of dialogue, and Belle had to learn a whole new song; all within a few hours. The rest of the cast found out about the changes as we came in for hair and makeup. Everyone was really upset and the feeling was very tense.  But, we had our cast meeting and did some last minute blocking and said a prayer.

While we were waiting for the show to start I was talking to one of my fellow actors.  I said that I had a good feeling about the show and thought that we’d be able to pull it together well. He agreed and we started talking about the ambition and talents of our lead characters. Our conversation reminded me of a few experiences in my life that I shared with him.

The first was when I was a communications student at BYU. I was working for the Daily Universe during the Spring/Summer terms. I did a profile on the head of the Piano Performance major. I asked him what it was like to be the head of a major that many people in this area don’t take seriously as a career. He said that when he chose his major during school, many looked down on it. But, because he had a natural talent and the ambition to stick with it, doors were opened to him. He said that he felt like every profession could be that way. If you have the natural talent and ambition for something, go for it. The opportunities will come. That was a changing point in my life. I decided then that I would do what I felt was right and take advantage of opportunities given to me. And it really has paid off.

The second thing I was reminded of was when I was a senior in high school. The only class I had at the high school was choir. Near the end of the year we went on choir tour to Los Angeles. It was a really neat experience. We got tickets to see the Lion King on broadway at the Orange County theater. It was absolutely fantastic. I had never seen a professional musical production before. The experience totally changed my outlook on theater. I was left with a feeling of awe and wonder. Whenever I performed after that, I tried to bring that same sense of awe and wonder to the audience.

That night we had an amazing performance. When we came out for curtain call I was along the side of the auditorium. When Belle came out I saw these two little girls in the audience. I wish I could have taken a picture of their faces. They were just absolutely glowing. That night we got a standing ovation, and got more compliments than just about any other night. I could hardly believe that no one noticed the changes we had made to the program.

Then, on Saturday night, we were opening the curtain for the number “Gaston” one of the benches got caught on the grand. When the curtain was lifted it ripped a hole in the grand about 10 feet wide. The bottom of the curtain just split at the seam. I was sitting right behind it and heard that rip and thought, oh shoot. But, we kept going through the number. At intermission about 6 women got some needles and thread and we sewed the curtain back up. It wasn’t the best job, but it kept the show going.

It may be weird to say this, but all these experiences were testimony building for me. It proved a sense of community and pride in our work. We had several other things happen in the play. There were deaths of family members, fires, and torrential rain. But, when things got bad, we trusted in the Lord. And we succeeded. Our Monday matinee was completely sold out, and every seat in the house was filled, plus some.

Thanks to all of you who took time to come see it. Your support made it all worth it.

PS
I don’t have pictures of the play yet, but I will post them when I get them.