So many things to look forward to....

This summer can't come soon enough! I can't wait! Here are the official countdowns!

Pop Star!

So it finally happened. Some agents heard my amazing voice and my incredible singing skills and want me to sign a contract with some record company and create my own album. The exciting thing is that because of all this new praise, I will be one of the opening acts for tomorrow's big Jay-Z/Kelly Clarkson/3rd Eye Blind Concert. FALSE: If anyone has ever heard me sing, they would automatically know that everything I just said was impossible and a total lie. Everything that is except for the part about me being in an opening act for tomorrow's big concert. That's right! But I am playing my fiddle... not singing. There is actually a small ensemble of us string players who get to backup some local rappers for the new Zona Zoo theme song. It's been really fun putting the song together and I'm really excited to get up on the stage tomorrow and do our thing. Supposedly 7,000 tickets have been sold. The best part is that we get to hangout back stage during the entire concert so I really hope to meet some cool peeps (esp Kelly Clarkson! I love her!). So no. I am not a pop star, but if you start seeing me walking around campus wearing a do-rag and some gangsta bling, you now know why!

You Never Know Who's Watching.....

Yes, sometimes in the church we talk about the principle of "you never know who's watching you" in regards to setting a good righteous example etc... Tonight, I realized that this same principle can be applied when driving home and jamming out in your car.
So there I was. It was a very long day and I was finally making my way home for the 1st time since the early afternoon. The time was 9:30 pm. I climb into my car, pull out of the Institute parking lot, and turn onto Campbell. Just then the song comes on the radio from my Ipod, and for some reason this song lit a fire within me. It was Journey's "Separate Ways." The next thing I know all of my best 80's dance moves are being pulled out all at the same time. My head was banging, my arms flying, and I was singing at the top of my lungs. It was just such a wonderful emotional release after a long stressful day of school. Halfway through the song though I realize that I am sitting at a stoplight and while still dancing I glance to my left only to notice a very good looking black man sitting in the passenger seat of a slick gray convertible (which had its top down). There he was smiling... smiling and staring. The shock of seeing him there caused me to panic and freeze. I put both hands on the steering wheel, sat straight up, and stared intently at the red light. My cheeks were blushing. I glanced over again and he was still there as before with a large goofy grin on his face. Not only had he seen me, but I was positive he would have also heard me. I continue to stare at the light. It was the longest red light of my entire life. I really don't know why I cared so much about being "caught," but I really felt like I had revealed to this complete stranger my inner soul. I sat so incredibly still. Afraid to move. I kept hoping for the light to finally turn green again so I could return to my dancing. Finally, it did. I sped quickly away, started the song over again, and all was well in the world once again. Before restarting the song though, I could not help but to burst out laughing. Laughter really is the best medicine.
So there I was again. Slightly embarrassed (but not really... I was mainly just amused by the whole situation), singing along again to the wonderful sounds of Journey, and dancing like no one was watching. The End.

One Year Mark

This entry is going to be short because it is late and tomorrow I have my Senior Recital which is kind of a big deal.... but I just wanted to say that today April 18th is exactly one year from the day that I was released as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I can't believe that it has already been a year. One full year! I still miss being a missionary and would drop everything in a heartbeat and return to Spain if I could. However, I do realize that life must go on and that there really is life after the mission. I honestly am so grateful for all the experiences I have had during this last year and I know that even more wonderful and exciting adventures still await me. Life's great! That's all.

Life is Just One Big Musical

Okay, so that's not actually true. I wish everyone randomly broke out into song and dance during the day but that's not the case. Just a little random side note about me though... even though my life isn't a musical, I still have a theme song for everything. It doesn't matter what is going on in my life, I can guarantee that I have a song in my head to match it. (There are also certain people who I also have assigned theme songs for, but that a totally different story). Sometimes I like to play such songs in my car when driving and I just sing along at the top of my lungs to really express myself and let it all out. Don't expect me to divulge what such theme songs are on this public blog, but I will give a semi-recent example. There was this one time that I was at this party, and then I saw this boy. I met this boy. I talked to this boy (according to my sister I got my flirt on with this boy). I honestly thought I could have been very interested in this boy. Just a few days later though I found out that my really good friend was actually dating that boy. So much for that one eh? Well, you better believe that week one of my theme songs was "Goodbye My Almost Lover" by a Fine Frenzy. Life might not be a musical, but you better believe there is always a musical going on in my head... and who knows, you all might be part of it. Life's just a little bit more fun that way.

Ode to Pam and Jim

Okay.... So if anyone knows me at all (or at least read my "25 things"), they would know I am a hopeless romantic. I will not deny it and I am not ashamed! I am an idealists and sentimental dreamer. There is a reason why I absolutely love reading Jane Austin and all of that good stuff. No I have never actually been in love myself and can only count on one hand the people I've ever been "in like" with at all. However, there are several couples who I am in love with and at the top of that list is Jim and Pam. This blog entry is dedicated to them.

Yes, I realize these aren't real people, but it doesn't mean that their situation can be real for the rest of us. I mean, in my opinion their situation is perfect (obviously minus the whole fact Pam was engaged to someone else for a while, and Jim was with Karen and all, but that just made for good TV). The thing about Jim and Pam is that they were friends first... but not just normal lame friends.... they were the type of friends that could just completely be themselves around each other at all times. They had fun just by being goofy, pulling harmless pranks, and entertaining each other with just pure randomness. I love it! Sitting on the roof in lawn chairs, eating yogurt, while watching cheap fireworks.... I don't think it gets much cuter than that. They just like every little quirky thing about each other. For instance, Jim thinks its way cute how Pam is a dorky dancer. They just have so much in common and like all the same things.

I know some people see love as this big passionate fall for each other at first sight kind of experience, but I don't really see it that way. I see it as having this amazing friend who you can tell anything and be yourself around. Someone who you can have fun with under any circumstance. Someone who just thinks your the greatest person ever despite your little oddities. Someone who just wants to be near you just because. In my opinion Jim and Pam = true love! Even after they start dating they still just love doing cute random things for each other. They are always so supportive of each other too. Man, I really could just go on forever : )but I won't.

In conclusion, one day I hope to have what Jim and Pam have. I would love to meet someone who likes me despite my dorkiness and embraces my more quirky qualities. I just want to meet my best friend and then let it progress from there. I don't need some drop dead gorgeous vampire who lights a fire of passion within me. I just want to meet someone who likes what I like and shares my same goals. Wow, this is a way sappier entry than I originally planned. So sorry to whoever is actually reading this.... I did include a video though to share a little bit of the Jim and Pam spirit. Enjoy!

The Little Random Things....

I just love the little random things that happen on a day to day basis which are totally unexpected but humorous in their own quirky way. It's like how a few days ago while sitting in one of the computer labs on campus, I couldn't but help notice the boy in front of me laughing out loud hysterically. The room dead silent and the only noise that good be heard was this kid's out of control laugh. You would of thought he was watching the funniest thing in the whole wide world. Finally my interest was peaked enough to lean forward and take a glance at his computer screen. I almost burst out laughing myself when I realized that the source and cause of his laughter was because of funny images of cats on one of those weird cat people's websites (they were like the kinds of images you would imagine Angela from the Office being entertained by). I seriously loved the fact that this was what was driving this 22 year old boy into such a fit of laughter. One of the images he kept getting a kick out of was of a cat dressed like a pirate steering a home made cardboard ship that was sitting in the middle of the floor in someones living room. This wonderful experience of seeing the fanatical cat man in the library totally and completely made my day!
Today's random event was extremely unique and left me smiling for hours. Here in Tucson we have this giant park that is surrounded by a 3 mile walking loop. I love to go there to run and rollerblade. There are always such interesting people out and about whether it is the group of young mothers with their jogging strollers or the old men in their shiny jump suits. Today I chose to rollerblade the loop twice for a grand total of 6 miles. I love when I rollerblade because I really do feel like I am super fast or something since continually pass all of the walkers and joggers who are in front of me. I feel powerful. Today however something completely unexpected occured... while finishing up my 2nd time around the loop I saw this extremely buff Hispanic man jogging in front of me. I pass him with ease and start to continue on my way. The next thing I know and this same man has run up beside me and is keeping pace with me. We stayed there locked side by side for what seemed like a pretty long minute before I decided to go ahead and push forward. As I sped up, I noticed he sped up as well. I tried going faster. He ran faster. It then dawned on me.... we were in a race! I must admit I was amazed at how fast this man was running considering I was on rollarblades and keeping a pretty decent pace myself. I definitely never made it to top speed, mainly because I was smiling and about to burst out laughing because of the extreme randomness of the situation. We stayed locked side by side for what seemed like at least 200 meters or more, neither one of us being able to break ahead of the other. I must admit it was pretty intense : ) Seriously though. A race? Finally the man's endurance gave out and I continued the rest of the way to may car. I was just smiling though because of the complete randomness of the whole thing. I just love stuff like that! I just can't wait to see what little random things will happen to me each day. It just makes life that much more exciting!

Dumpster Diving

So every Wednesday on campus all of the food vendors offer a special $3.00 student lunch. I must admit it is one my favorite days of the week. Lately my campus restaurant of choice is this salad place called Core. It has every healthy and delectable salad topping you could ever imagine (from fresh strawberries to artichoke hearts... it's just amazing!) So for the last several weeks my Wednesday tradition has been to buy one of these delicious salads, eat some of it during my big geography lecture, put the leftovers in the Institute fridge, and then eat the rest of it for dinner as soon as I finish teaching. This weekly ritual was really working well for me and there has never been a single problem with it before. However, today when putting my leftovers in the fridge for later, I missed the note taped to the door warning people about the "spring fridge clean out" that would be taking place this afternoon.
While sitting in orchestra later this afternoon I couldn't stop thinking about the beautiful salad that was waiting for me. As soon as I finished teaching violin, I raced across campus, trotted through the Institute doors, and v-lined it for the kitchen. I enthusiastically swung open the shiny white door only to be greeted by barren and empty shelves staring mockingly back at me. What!?! Where is my salad? I then talked to the missionary couple and much to my dismay I discovered that the fridge had been cleaned out just 15 minutes prior to my arrival. I left the institute building in total dismay. There was nothing I wanted more in that moment then my luscious, flavorful salad While walking through the parking lot to my car, I walked directly past the dumpster. It sat there smiling at me. I don't know why, but it lured me closer and closer. The next thing I knew, I was hanging over the side of the dumpster reaching for the black plastic garbage bag sitting on the top of the heap. (don't worry... I checked the parking lot first to make sure no one was watching because that would have been embarrassing). I rip open the shiny black bag to see my beautiful salad container sitting there right on top. I grab it. It is still cold. I climb down from the dumpster and start walking again towards my car. I just couldn't stop smiling. I was so proud of myself! You better believe I went straight to my car where I sat there gloating and eating my $3.00 salad. Did I dig through the dumpster today to find food for dinner? Sure did! And it was worth every bite!