adventurous sabbath

Last night, there was supposed to be a YSA fireside in Plano (north of Dallas). So Margo, Hector, Jim, and I tried to go down there for it. "Tried" is an operative word in that sentence. And really, the whole thing could probably be put down as my fault. Here's what happened.

After church, Jim asked me if I would get directions for the meetinghouse in Plano, since he's the ward clerk and therefore had to stay after church. He usually gets done by around 6:00 pm, but we needed to leave here around 6:30 to make sure we had enough time to find the place. So I readily agreed to find the directions. I asked around a little after church, and no one was entirely sure where the fireside would be, but someone thought it was probably at the Roundrock chapel. That sounded all right to me, and from what I could tell from the bulletin board at the church, there seemed to be only two chapels in Plano. When we came home, I got online and found the address for the Roundrock chapel, along with the driving directions (thanks, GoogleMaps!). I also found that the Roundrock chapel is the stake center, so that seemed likely to be where the fireside would be held. Just to be on the safe side, I thought I'd get the directions from Roundrock to the other chapel, in case we got there and found that wasn't the right place.

Jim and Hector (who is also a clerk in our ward) came over about 6:00, and we decided that Margo would drive. We set out, with directions in our hands and hope in our hearts. :) But fate seemed to be against us. First, there was a whole debacle with the tollway ... but that's for another day. In any case, we got off at the correct exit in Plano and followed our directions until all we had left was to turn onto Roundrock Trail and find the chapel. But we couldn't find Roundrock. After several miles, we decided to stop at a gas station and ask for directions. The man at the counter didn't know where Roundrock Trail was, but he did have some maps that we were able to use to figure out where we'd gone wrong.

We finally found Roundrock Trail and the chapel ... but there was no one there. In fact, there was some kind of construction going on, at least in the parking lot, if nowhere else. So we figured it must be at the other chapel. Good thing we wrote down those directions, right? We followed the directions with no trouble, until -- once again -- all we had left was to find a street called Legacy and then find the chapel. But we couldn't find Legacy (does this sound at all familiar?). We did eventually find the chapel, and there were at least a few cars out in the parking lot, so we got out and went inside. It didn't take us long, though, to figure out that this wasn't actually the chapel. We think it may have been a Korean church -- we're not sure. We got back in the car and continued down the street ... and finally found the chapel. For real, this time. There were some cars out in the parking lot, and there was a group of three young adults standing outside, which seemed to us like a good sign. So we went inside.

There were people there in the building, and we thought we were in the clear. We were about half an hour late, but hey! at least we'd made it, right? Wrong. About the time we got to the chapel (where you'd expect the fireside to be held), some folks sitting in the foyer asked if we were looking for something, and could they help us? We explained that we were looking for the fireside, and they all looked a bit blank. Apparently we weren't in the right chapel, after all. One of them finally found an events calendar that actually said which chapel the fireside was being held in, and they gave us directions to get there. Margo prudently asked them, though, how long it would take us to get there, and they estimated about 20 minutes. By the time we got there, the fireside would be over.

So we went back home instead. And ate cookies that Hector had brought us. And life was good.

At least we can say that we made a darn good effort to get to the YSA activity, next time the bishop asks.

"Look, Daddy, a bear!"

"No, honey, that's a frog. Bears wear hats."

(21 points)

I'm a bit disappointed that no one seems to know the last quote, but if you get this one, it might help. In other words, the last quote is still open for point-getting. I also have to add that Erin is barred from guessing on today's quote, since I just quoted it to her the other day, but she can still get points for the last one.

celebrating the pathetic

Yesterday I spent a good couple of hours (on a break from my homework ...) playing Noah's Ark. I did the free-fall style, and I got further than I've ever gotten before. I just had to share that accomplishment with you all, since I know you care deeply.

LEVEL: 102
ANIMALS SAVED: 4,956
COMBOS: 359
BIGGEST COMBO: x12
TOTAL POINTS: 1,535,130
RANK: Super Beastmaster

The last quote was, indeed, from "A Close Shave," a classic short film starring Wallace and Gromit.

Beware running with scissors or any other pointy object. It's all good fun, until someone loses an eye. (17 points)

what's been going on

I know I haven't posted for quite some time, so I thought I'd take a minute or two today. The last few weeks have been really eventful, and really great, mainly due to the fact that I have started seeing this guy from my ward, Jim, who I really like (no, I mean really a lot!). He's absolutely amazing, and I'm constantly shocked that he would be at all interested in me, but miracles never cease, and he is. I would tell you about all the great things he does, but they would just sound silly and mushy to most of you, not being able to hear about them in person. Suffice it to say that he's wonderful, he really likes me, and I really like him, too.

We went to the Mozart concert last week that I talked about in my last post, and it was wonderful! Honestly, how can you go wrong with Mozart, the Dallas Opera orchestra, and UNT and SMU singers?

I'm trying to think if there's anything else I should tell you all about, but that's pretty much it. I spend a lot of time with Jim these days, and that means that I don't spend a lot of time with my homework anymore, or with anything else. Nevertheless, my classes are going all right, though they would be much better if I were putting in more time and energy with them. I have a lot of reading to do, and I'm way behind. Mondays are the worst day of the week for me these days, because I have a really long day, which is not at all conducive to seeing Jim. So that means that I do a lot of sitting around starting blankly at walls with a silly grin on my face, or just staring blankly at pages of stuff I'm supposed to be reading, without getting anything done. Today, though, I'm really determined to get productive things done. In about half an hour here, I'm going to go to Curves and do my work-out, reading on the bus, and then I'm actually going to go to both my classes today! It should be a good day.

Margo also can't think of anything else I should talk about, so I guess that means I'm done.

Elizabeth was right with the last quote, from a song called "You're Just in Love".

Not even Wensleydale? (32 points)

concerts

I am just loving the fact that this year is the 250th anniversary of my favorite composer's birth. (That would be Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart, in case you weren't sure.) It means that there are all kinds of great Mozart evens going on all year. Some of them are here at UNT, and I'm so excited for them.

Next week there's a concert at the university that's actually called "Celebrating Mozart". They will have opera students from UNT and SMU working together to perform some of the most popular pieces from Mozart's operas. Later in the semester, the UNT opera is going to be Cosi fan tutte, which I've never heard or seen, so I'm excited about that one, too. And there are a couple of other events going on that sound really great. I just hope I can find people to go with me to all of these -- my roommates don't have much time, and some of the events also cost a pretty penny (even for UNT students). I'll have to ask around a bit and see what I can work out.

For that matter, there's another concert next week that I'm really interested in. It's the UNT symphony orchestra, and they'll be performing some pieces by Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and some other Russian composers.

Going to concerts like this always remeinds me of the time I went to see the Utah Symphony in concert at Abravanell Hall in Salt Lake. They were performing a Mahler symphony, and even though Mahler is one of my least favorite composers, I really enjoyed the concert. That was largely because Keith Lockhart was conducting. Mr. Lockhart currently conducts the Boston Pops orchestra, and in his "spare time" he comes to Utah to work with the Utah Symphony. He is an amazing conductor, and just plain fun to watch -- he was so in to what he was doing, jumping up and down on his little stand, and all. *sigh* Good times.

And speaking of concerts, guess what I'm doing on March 17th? That's right, friends, I'm going to Fort Worth to see Michael Buble in concert! I'm so excited! I have never been to this kind of concert before, and I think this will be a really fun one. I do love Michael. I'll have to listen to him more now, just to make sure I know all the songs. :)

The last quote was from ... well, actually I'm going to leave it open for a little while longer. I'm pretty sure Erin knows it (but she hasn't posted yet), and I'm still interested to see if Paul really found the right one. But in the meantime, here's another one for you.

I keep tossing in my sleep at night, and what's more I've lost my appetite. (23 points)

just peachy

I just got reading through my second-to-last post, and realized how awful it sounded. I want to reassure everyone that I'm actually quite happy still (I generally am, you know). Even though I'm not thrilled with some things right now, I'm still perfectly happy to be where I am. I love my roommates to death, I have wonderful friends in the ward, and I'm generally in quite good health. So, all in all, things are good.

The last couple of quotes were from Pride and Prejudice and The Big Store, respectively. I have to give Elizabeth credit for getting The Big Store so quickly. I knew she was a big Marx Brothers fan and all, but I didn't think she'd manage it that quickly.

I'm a concientious objecter.

A what?

You know, a coward.

(68 points)