Indexing

I'm currently in a family history class in my ward that meets during the Sunday School hour. It's been so cool for me to be able to use technology and the media to learn more about my ancestors, as well as help others to find their ancestors. One of my favorite things I've learned from that class is indexing. It's basically where you see a scanned document (like a census record) and you type in what it says, so that people can more easily find their ancestors. It's pretty easy to do (as long as the handwriting is legible) and rather addicting. But I suppose that if I had to get addicted to something, this is probably a good choice. :P

This commercial...

...makes me happy.

Normal people in commercials

After the discussion we had in class last week about all the beautiful people on TV, it made me think more about maybe how we only WANT to see beautiful people on TV. We see enough normal people in regular life, right? So the thing that stood out to me was one guy that is especially normal looking (see seconds 24-26), and that's the main thing I remember for the commercial. I'm actually almost turned off from this commercial because of it. Is that bad of me for being so conditioned that I want to see only beautiful people on TV?

Ponderings

Last night, like most Thursday nights, I went to the temple. It's always a nice, needed boost in my crazy life. To prepare, as I drive there, I like to turn off the radio that's pretty much always on in my car and just have it be silent. And then, since I go so late, the person playing the organ isn't there anymore, so it's also quiet in the baptistery. It's so nice to just sit and be still for a while. I am able to feel so much more peace when I'm not constantly surrounded by noise from music, TV, and people talking, like I am pretty much everywhere else.

But what really got me thinking is that last night was a bit different. Normally I feel so uplifted and feel so much peace as I sit there pondering. But last night I started feeling a bit down as I thought about different things going on in my life. A lot of it probably has to do with how crazy this week has been and how tired I am. But I couldn't help but wonder if maybe I unconsciously use music and other media to turn out things I don't really want to think about. I almost felt uncomfortable having it be so quiet. I know that's really bad of me. But it really made me think of how important it is to really stop and decompress in silence. It may be uncomfortable every once in a while, but it really is necessary. And I really do feel better about life now that I worked out those feelings instead of just tuning them out through media.

SEX

My roommate and I had an old episode of CSI: NY on tonight in the background as we were doing homework because we like having some noise. Then, a character said, "Rough Sex" and my roommate immediately reacted, saying, "What?" And she hadn't been paying attention at all. Funny how that word automatically can get our attention...

(And for the record, it was the name of a band.)

Bowed piano

Earlier this week, there was an article in the Daily Universe about something called a bowed piano. I was intrigued. However, I was unable to go to the concert for it, so I looked up a video on YouTube and have been listening to it quite a bit. It's a very unique sound that's kind of creepy and kind of soothing at the same time. I think I like it... :-)

Dollar Theatre

I normally don't spend lots of money on entertainment. I mean, I love going to plays and movies and going out to eat, but I don't feel like I have a lot of extra money to do so. So instead, I tend to stay in my apartment and watch TV and read books and cook quick and easy meals. However, I've been feeling the need to get out of my apartment for some entertainment lately and I so ended up going to the dollar theatre twice in three days. It's so easy to feel okay about dropping 75 cents (on Mondays if you come with a group of three or more) to $2 (on Friday and Saturday nights) to watch a full-length feature film. You really can't beat that. Now I just need to make sure that I don't keep up with that pace and my budget should be okay AND I can still be entertained. :-)

Housing Search

I am so grateful for the technology we have for making searching for housing so much easier. Even though I hate the actual process of moving, I tend to move around a lot because I like moving into new wards to get to know different people. In the search for housing, I have made Craigslist and BYU's Housing website my new best friends. I also occasionally use KSL classifieds and Facebook marketplace. But anyways, I'm very grateful because by using these sites, I just found a great place to live for spring/summer. And I know I'll keep using them as I look for another place for fall.

I Will Be Me

I went to the MDT showcase on Saturday night and it was a great show. One song in particular captured my attention, though. It's called "I Will Be Me" and it's been stuck in my head ever since. I'm really glad I found a version on YouTube so I can listen to it over and over again. It just totally pumps me up for life. Enjoy!