Day 13

Explain a hobby of yours...

Umm, I have lots of random hobbies.  I've already shared my joy of photography and editing it.

I love cooking, baking, etc. (And my waistline shows it...haha.)

I love sports, both playing (even though I'm out of shape and don't do it like I should) and watching (which ends up happening more often than playing (see previous parenthetical reference)).

I enjoy audio design.  (Hehe, thanks Troy!)

I love acting and being on stage.  Knowing I've shared something with an audience full of people absolutely thrills me.

But more than anything, I love music.  It is through music that I have had my most fulfilling and powerful experiences in my life.  In short, music completes me.

Day 9

Something you are proud of...

So I have a confession...I fell off the blogger band-wagon because of THIS post.  :/  It's all because the thing I'm going to write about I originally didn't want to, because I felt selfish.  So I just didn't post...and didn't post.... and didn't post.  Well, now I'm posting, so I apologize for the selfishness.  :)

Honestly, I am very proud of being the National Champion in Audio Production for the SkillsUSA organization.  I have found something that I LOVE to do, because it seems to bring all of my talents together into one.  I've changed my major because of this, seriously considered pursuing the world of being on-air talent for a career, and made two of the BEST friends I've ever had.  I love them both.  Thank you for everything.  Love you Troy and Shae!  (Or Sheraya as her birth certificate declares....lol.)

Right after we had just won.  Don't we look happy!?

Day 1

A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was...

 

I'm pretty sure that I was supposed to take a picture of myself right now and post it...but I'm not going to.  Lol.  This is from just before Christmas, so it's recent enough, right?  [Just agree with me.  ;)]

Today in a nutshell?  Weird.  And I say weird, because I feel so accomplished!  But I don't really know why!  A group of friends and I decided to each give up something for lent (no, none of us are Catholic, but I do like the whole idea of bettering yourself, plus it was just something for a group of broke college students to do in an effort to entertain ourselves.  Lol.), and I gave up facebook.  

(Insert gasps and shocked looks here). 

I know, I'm in shock too.  It started out because I hadn't been on facebook for a couple of days when we were discussing what to give up, and so I just blurted it out...and then wanted to go post it on my status.  Lol.

It. Has. Been. So. Hard.  Like seriously!  I know it sounds completely stupid, but I have literally had urges to get on!  I've even had thoughts like, "Oh, I can just sneak a peak and noone will ever know....".  Can anyone say addiction!?  Uh, yeah, it's more than slightly ridiculous.  I am determined to do this though.  Anyway, the reason I brought this up?  With no facebook in my life I have been so productive!  It's insane!  And good!  Now I'm just worried how I can moderate my usage when my "fast" of facebook is over...(and yes I want to still use it, because I love being able to keep up with old friends with minimal effort...haha).

Today has consisted of: Organic Chemistry, homework, check e-mail, General Physics laboratory, a shift at the radio station (where I got A LOT of stuff finished up...yes I'm proud!), more work, and blogging.  :)  (Which is a BIG deal!  Lol.)  Tonight is going to consist of more homework, and visiting some friends who I haven't hung out with in far too long.  'Twill be good!  :)

P.S.  I'm really excited to be doing this thing!  :)

Catch-Up

Doesn't everyone love a good catch-up post!?  I sure know I do!  (Please note the bloggy sarcasm...lol)  Here's the deal, in all reality I do indeed love a good catch-up post, but what I love even more is blogging consistently so that it doesn't feel downright overwhelming to blog.

This past semester has been complete and utter insanity.  There is truly no other way to describe it.  The semester started with me getting a new job.  I was hired as a Secretary for the Dean of the Division of Arts and Sciences at the JC I go to, but along with some administrative changes at the school, my job is also changing, just to what exactly I still don't know...all I know is that I've been told that I do have a job.  I still work at the Wingy as a Team Leader, but not very often (for the past couple months only on Thursday and Saturday nights).  I'm going to pick up MANY extra shifts over Christmas break however.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my new job doing administrative things!  It has been really interesting and fun to see the inner workings of business and academia

Auditions for the jc's production of Stephen Sondheims Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street were held on the first night of the semester.  Upon arriving I was informed that the pianist for auditions had flaked out on them and was there any way that I could accompany everyone for auditions!?  BAH!  *Commence freakout now.*  Lol.  It was slightly insane, and while I managed (if you can call it manage...probably more like muddle) to make it through it was definitely frustrating.  Anyway, I ended up being cast in the show as TOBY!  This has been one of my dream roles for forever, but I never thought I'd get it because of age!  I'm forever indebted to the director of the show for giving me the opportunity.  There could have been several posts just about Sweeney, so I won't go on too much longer, but I just need to say what an amazing opportunity it was.  I developed so much as an actor and as a singer, as a performer.  I made amazing friendships and rekindled some old ones. I will always love that role; I will always love the memories.

 And here it is MARCH, and I still haven't finished this "catch-up" post, so I'm just going to post it for what it is...hahaha.  Sorry folks!

Look who's back... ;)

So I know I haven't blogged in forever, but I will try to be better, I promise.  Anyway, I stumbled across this quote today, and it was exactly what I needed to hear.  Enjoy...

“Faith in something greater than ourselves enables us to do what we have said we'll do, to press forward when we are tired or hurt or afraid, to keep going when the challenge seems overwhelming and the course is entirely uncertain.” 

- Gordon B. Hinckley

Yup...I'm just blonde.

Sooooo...in reference to my post a couple of days ago...that probably should have read "Just had an epiphany".... 

What is wrong with me sometimes!?  Am I really the kid that scored a 31 on his ACT?  I wonder sometimes....Hahahaha.

Just had an epitome...

Sadly, I have these all the time...some people would probably just refer to them as "Blonde Moments", but I prefer to view them as an intellectual enlightenment...or maybe I just don't want to admit that I'm occasionally a little stupid.  Lol.

Anyway, you know Christian Bale?  Of Batman Begins and The Dark Night fame?  He was in NEWSIES!  He was the lead!  I was more than a little shocked when I realized this over at the Movie Man's blog today.  Can you say "WOW"?

Although it's not nearly as epic as the time I realized that Madonna and Gwen Stefani weren't the same person, or the time...I should probably just stop there...  Have a great Wednesday!

It's Here!!!

The time has come...one of my favorite events of the year is upon us...
...the 2010 Greek Festival!!!!
I am sooooo happy!  :)  I will be living it up with all the baklava, lamb, fresh pita, cheese pastries, and other gooood greek cuisine you can imagine.  Happy Days!

P.S. I just finished a post I started whilst on my Kansas City trip and published it for anyone that's interested...

Thank you, Thank you.

You know exactly who you are.  You are my best friends in the entire world, and you make me want to be a better person.  Your example pushes me everyday of my life.  Because of you, I finally have the courage to conquer the hurdle that has been holding me up for over a year.  You are amazing, and I love you.


Resigned up for Weight Watchers today...day one of an amazing and profound journey!  :)

Welcome to KC Troy! :D

As long as I have been around, I have never been able to fully understand myself and why I do some of the things in the way/manner that I do.  For instance, why do I always complain about having to wake up early and being "oh so tired", but I don't make a point of going to bed at a time that could ever be considered early... We had to be downtown for our competition to begin today by 8:30 am which meant that we had to leave the hotel by 7...I've blogged enough about Kelton and early mornings that I'm sure you get the picture... ;)  Haha.  At least after the epic "find-the-room" adventure of yesterday we easily navigated our way to the competition space.  :)

We found out that for our competition, we were going to be going to a "Watch-Party" for the World Cup in Downtown KC at the Power & Light District, where there was a HUGE bigscreen TV facing a large open area that was surrounded in a horseshoe shape by shops/restaurants/etc. almost like the Gateway in SLC, but all on one entire block that was kind of boxed in and not open on both ends.  Anyway, we had to create an NPR style news piece about the event that would attract families to it.  Shae was scared because she didn't know anything about Soccer, but a part of me knew that we had it in the bag!  There were probably 1000 people at the event, the energy level was completely out of control, and the whole thing was AMAZING!  So, we had three hours today to gather ALL of our audio, write our script, and record voice-over tracks, and I think we did really well.  Tomorrow we return to the "hidden" room in the KC Muelbach-Marriott to finish the competition during the edit/production phase.

The competition got over today a little earlier today than we had originally been informed, so were just kind of bumming around waiting for T-man (our Communications Prof.) to get there when I bought a bratwurst from a street vendor, and was then promptly informed by another man selling hotdogs that the stand I had purchased from was set up illegally, and would I please not purchase from said "illicit" hot-dog stand anymore...I pretended to feel bad and just walked away.  It was seriously sooooo funny!

Troy arrived just in time for us to get in line for the free backpack/tshirt/commemorative pin giveaway (I don't really intend on ever using any of these things, but hey, they were FREE!  Haha.)  After this, Troy took us to see the KC Municipal Auditorium that he knew Shae and I would love...let me just say that the Music Hall was BEAUTIFUL!  We went on stage, and kind of poked around the backstage area, and I am still in awe.  The hall had the most amazing acoustics ever, and I wanted to do nothing more than just start belting something out! 

They really just plain don't make theater's like this anymore, and it's a shame.

After escaping the heat-wave-humidity-infested downtown KC in Troy's rented Ford Fusion (the car I desperately want/need to purchase for myself....) we went back to the hotel and changed, and then went in pursuit of some genuine Southern BBQ.  Troy had a friend that suggested we try out Gates Brothers BBQ.  It took us a little while to find it, and the phone call to the restaurant didn't help.  The woman simply said, "Oh, well we're across the street from Fritz's!"  ...Well, that does us no good...WTH is Fritz's!?   We eventually found it, sure enough...right across from Fritz's...Haha.

So we go inside, and are immediately assaulted by this teenage black girl, "HI, MAY I HELP YOU!?!?!?"  Except, it wasn't a question at all, but a statement.  While standing there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do she simply repeats herself, only louder this time, "HI, MAY I HELP YOU."  Finally, Troy speaks up and says, "Umm, I don't know, we've never been here before."  And then it was like we'd just summoned the Fairy Godmother of BBQ, because from out of nowhere, we hear this woman saying in a very loud southern manner, "You never been here!?  Well, let me help you out,"  and she proceeds to take us through the entire menu, until she gets to the "Four Boner".  It was one of those moments where you think to yourself, "Did she just say what I think she said??", and almost in answer to your question she immediately repeats herself.  It took every ounce of my strength to not burst out laughing!  Hahaha.  We decided to order two of these...platters... to share, and we hear her yell back to the kitchen, "SHAREEN!  This gentleman wants an EIGHT BONER!"  Yet another fit of laughter had to be stifled...It was soooo funny!  And then come to find out, the woman wasn't just pronouncing it funny, they actually call their BBQ ribs "Boners".  But don't worry, the BBQ was actually very good.  :)

After our BBQ escapade, we were driving around, (can I just say though that since Troy has gotten here, we have done more and had a more fun time in just a few short hours than we had the two entire days we were here by ourselves...) and Troy remembered this really fun diner place he had eaten at before, so we stopped for dessert...aka the most enormous milkshake ever!

Yes, that is an ARM behind that milkshake.  It was insane, but really good!  And then the Comm Professor decided to give us all a lesson about non-verbal communication...  In short, our waitress was HOTT!  Seriously, ever time she walked by I went all googly, to the point that one time (I don't exactly remember the specifics of what happened, but I've been graciously informed by those who were accompanying me...) I was in the middle of a sentence to Troy and Shae when she walked up to the table next to ours, and I was just staring at her, and didn't even finish my thought to T and S.  And then Troy tells me that when I looked at her my eyes dilated, which is apparently a sign of arousal...uh...yikes?  But she was really hot.  :)

Sorry this post is so long, but there were just to many juicy details of today that couldn't be left out!

Still feel like a 15 year old...

In the event of a tie in any of the SkillsUSA Championships (there are almost 100 or something), the tie is broken by your performance on a "SkillsUSA Etiquette" exam that the entire Utah delegation had to take at seven this morning, and it is seriously the dumbest thing in the world.  "When dining, what is considered improper use of the napkin?"  Exactly what kind of a question is that?  I'll tell you, a ridiculous one, and it had 49 little friends who were all bothering Kelton at 7 am when he would have much rather been sleeping.  Haha.  Shae and I didn't have to be downtown for our Competition Information Meeting until 2, so I spent the morning finishing The Bible (soundeffects version), and regaining the sleep that was stolen from me by a stupid test.

We wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to find our meeting room, so we planned to catch one of the shuttle buses at noon.  I was shocked to realize that the "buses" were school buses!  Yup, this trip is definitely making me feel like I'm only fifteen years old.  Oh well.  I'll live.  :)  I'm definitely glad we planned for the extra time to find our meeting room, because it took forever.  The Downtown Marriott in Kansas City is the most contorted building ever.  It's like it was added onto fifteen or so times, so none of the hallways actually connect to each other.  Here was the process to get to our room (which we're lucky to have found at all)

1. Go in front door.
2. Go upstairs.
3. Go downstairs (and yes, you had to go upstairs first.)
4. Walk past restaurant (where we ended up having lunch.  Not too bad either.)
5. Down more stairs.
6. Walk down the most beautiful hallway ever!  (Beautiful marble and wooden paneling everywhere).
7. Go up gorgeous marble staircase.
8. Go down a very, very long escalator.

And seriously, none of these places were connected to each other in any way other than by following the path I just described to you; it was very, very odd.

In case you were wondering, Kansas City is  HOT  and HUMID which makes it feel even HOTTER.  Like to a ridiculous degree.  Right now it is 93 degrees, but feels like 107.  The sidewalk is 123 degrees, and metal slides are upwards of 143 degrees; a report on the news just said that little kids are actually getting really bad burns from slides.  The ride back from KC to our hotel (about a thirty minute ride) on the good ole' school bus was seriously misery.  I'm back in my hotel room now, and the air conditioner seriously only shuts off for like 30 seconds before it turns back on.  I tried to play nice and cooperate with the heat and humidity, but that sneaky little hoe got the best of me.

Shae and are now going to take the hotel shuttle (NOT a school bus, thank heavens) to find a Wal-Mart, a mall, and some dinner.  Twill be a fun evening!

PS: I would have uploaded some pictures, but downtown Kansas City (at least where we were today) isn't really that picturesque...hopefully we'll have more luck in this department!

Apparently I'm 15 Years Old

So I've stated before that I am so totally not a morning person, like not at all, and much to my dismay this morning began at 4:30...WHAT!?  It was a feat in and of itself that Kelton was up and at 'em that early to be ready to leave.  We had to leave College/Hometown in enough time to pick up Shae in Orem and then be to the Airport and get through security and everything.  Our Communication Professor is currently enrolled in a Doctoral program and won't be able to join us in Kansas City until Wednesday, so we got to hitch a ride with the Welding department who also qualified to come to Nationals for SkillsUSA, and let me just say...what an experience!  The flight was largely uneventful, consisting mainly of me listening to my iPod, coming in and out of consciousness, and trying to reread The Sound Effects Bible in preparation for competition.  The flight from SLC International Airport to the Kansas City International Airport was just under two hours.  Upon disembarking from the plane we were greeted with the commensurate b--ch slap known as humidity...ugh.  Haha.

Shae and I pretending to enjoy the insta-wet humidity.

We then made the journey from the terminal to the rental car agency (which was slightly epic with 12 people trying to get on the same shuttle).  The next stage of our journey (from airport to hotel) in reality should have taken like 30 minutes (according to our Comm. Prof.), but we all ended up getting lost.  Yes, two van loads of Utahns trying to find their way in the Midwest, crisscrossing the Missouri/Kansas State line at least a dozen times for almost TWO HOURS!!  And let me share just a glimpse of the conversation had between us during those two hours...

Welder 1: Kansas, huh.

Welder 2: Yeah, isn't this where that Dolores b--ch is from? (Pardon the insinuated profanity)

Me: ...Umm, do you mean Dorothy?

 ...it literally took every ounce of strength I had not to laugh out loud and appear really rude.   

Anyway, we finally found the hotel where we were provided the most entertaining debriefing of my life by the Utah State SkillsUSA Organization...in short even though I'm almost 21 years old and in college, I'm being treated like a high school kid.  Curfew is 11 pm.  11!?  What the crap!?  And then the infamous "no boys in girls rooms or girls in boys rooms EVER".  Umm, hate to break it to you SkillsUSA peeps, but I've gone on a few "Co-Ed" roadtrips where everyone slept in the same room the whole time...oops!  And furthermore, I know you're trying to avoid sexual promiscuity, but guess what, I'm over 18!  I'm legal!  (Not that it matters, I have no desire to do anything, but a part of me likes throwing the facts back in their faces...haha.)  This week has the potential to either be the best or worst ever.

Tonight was mostly lounging around the hotel (in Kansas City, KS), but tomorrow we're going into Kansas City, MO (where competition events are being held) for some information meetings and such, so much more exploring will take place and will be documented!  

My room isn't too shabby though.  :)

Oh, hello. And you are?

Dude!  My life is running away from me so quickly that there is no way I will ever catch up!  Or will I?  Ugh...I sure hope I do.  Seriously though people, my car is disgusting and has needed to be cleaned for months, my bedroom is a complete disaster area, and it is all driving me absolutely insane!!!  I work almost everyday at the wingy, and whenever my dad is around and I'm not at Winger's we're working on the house (in case you're wondering why there haven't really been update posts about that, it's because we're not really any farther along...there was a minor setback where we had to move the location down the street a bit, so we had to move the sewer and electrical connection and stuff, but we're back on track now and should pour footings by the end of the week.), and on top of that National Radio Broadcast competition is next week, and I'm starting to get a little nervous about it.  I just want Shae and I to do an awesome job while we're there...

I feel like so much has happened lately that I haven't really posted a thing about!  One of my besties, Whitney, (who has promised me that she will start a blog in the near future...) got married recently.  The Saturday before her wedding Meg, Fa'ah, and I took her to dinner at a way nice restaurant and then seriously stayed up until almost five in the morning talking (poor Whit had to work at eight...haha).  It was one of the best nights EVER.  It was so nice and refreshing to sit and talk with your friends and to realize the importance they hold in your life.  Friendship is so amazing people, don't ever take it for granted, even if it only exists in the smallest, quirkiest way.  The day of Whit's wedding was actually a little hard for me, because a couple of months ago she had invited me that she wanted me to get ready and go through the temple around the same time as her so that I could go to her sealing.  In short, I was completely flattered, because that just meant soooo much to me...unfortunately now I will always regret that I didn't do the things I new I should have to be able to be there and share that special time with her.  At the reception, (which was absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous btw) she gave me the sweetest letter ever that means more to me now than she will ever know.  I seriously love this girl so much, she is the best friend anyone could ask for!  She and her new husband are the most amazing people ever, and luckily I'm in OChem with him this next year, so hopefully I have a chance of passing.... ;)

My good friend Bre also got married recently, and her reception was absolutely beautiful. They had it in their yard, and I kid you not, these people have the most amazing yard ever.  It was beautiful beyond description.  So amazing.

Tomorrow I am going to seriously tackle the problem that is my bedroom.  I am then going to practice for Nationals with Shae, and then if I can go up to Provo for dinner and a movie (Tucano's anyone!?) with Meg and my Fa'ah the Beast.  :)

After writing this post that started out a little whiny, I've realized how completely blessed I am.  I am surrounded everyday by people who I love and who love me...at home, work, school, and play, I am soooo blessed.  I love it, and I love my life.
:)

It WORKED!!!

Well, as if you couldn't notice for yourself, but I tried the Kevin and Amanda Post Font thing again, and it worked like a charm!  I LOVE it!  I really don't know what I did wrong the last time, but I don't even care because I'm so happy and ecstatic about the results.  It is a GOOD day people!  :)

Darn...

So, I have this really bad habit of not posting for what seems like FOREVER, and then I just keep not posting, because I feel like soooo much has happened, and I don't know how to update life very well...haha.  But, I decided tonight that I would just buckle down and get to it!  Haha.

Well, as you have probably noticed, the blog got a minor overhaul, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  My favorite part is the new blog signature, of which I may or not be a little obsessed...I'll let you be the judge... ;)  I failed at an attempt to change the font of my post titles, post dates, and sidebar titles as given by the tutorial over at Kevin & Amanda, but I'm so obsessed with fonts, that I quite possibly might attempt it again even though I really don't think my sanity could cope with another fail.  But now, only two days after my overhaul, Blogger has come up with this new template generator that I'm not sure I like...none of them are as clean and simple as the old ones were, and yet I'm sure noone really cares what Mr. K's opinion on the matter was anyway...Haha.

Right now I am needing to get to a Wedding Reception for my friend Bre, so this post will be continued later!

Photo Phun

I don't have much schooling, but I have absolutely fallen in love with photography and the editing of it.  Here is my latest edit, I stole my friends profile pic from ye ole' facebook, and I LOVE how it turned out.  Comments appreciated...lol.

:)

Exactly what I needed.

So lately, every night it seems, almost as soon as it gets dark, I have the craziest desire to curl up on the couch with a blanket and watch a movie, and I don't know why!!  Even if I've worked that night (which has been quite frequent lately since I've picked up way more shifts now that school is out) I get home and can't go right to sleep because I'm too wound up, so I just want to watch a movie.  I've tried to curb these desires in an effort to maintain some sort of ability to accomplish something with my life, but it kind of has become a losing battle...Haha.  I've actually had quite the time reliving some childhood favorites like Dennis the Menace and Mrs. Doubtfire (I never realized how dirty it is!  Haha.), a ton of Disney (random guilty pleasure), way too many musicals (including Phantom, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, The Music Man, Mamma Mia!, and many many others...), and my all time favorites Australia, and The Man From Snowy River (both set in Australia...weird...haha).

Anyway, there is another movie on the list of recent watches, Forever Strong.  I can't even describe to you the effect this movie has had on me for the better.  Lately I've been struggling a little with church and stuff, and by a little unfortunately I mean a lot...  As many of you know, I've had a serious blow to my self-esteem and morale in the past year, and for about six to nine months I just tried to ignore it, and never dealt with the issue, and it eventually caught up with me, and I fell, really hard.  Luckily for me, no matter how much I have wanted to (and believe me, I have wanted to and unfortunately seriously considered doing so) just forget about the Church and just start a new life as just me, just Kelton, I cannot deny the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know that He died for me and that no matter what He love me, yes ME!  That testimony has not left me, and I don't think it ever will, and because of that I cannot deny the Church of which I have a sure testimony that He is the Head.  I recently met with my Bishop, and just spilled my guts.  I told him everything I have been feeling recently, and just totally laid it out on the table, which was odd for me, because I've always been the good kid who never had anything to discuss with the bishop.  Other than the yearly interview and the occasional conversation, I've never talked with the Bishop like this before, and I had no idea the power that could come from it.  It was such a weight off of my shoulders to admit and want to fix the pain I've been feeling for a year now.  The power of the Atonement is REAL people!!  So totally amazing.  I just love my Bishop.  He gave me the most wonderful blessing ever, and the best counsel I have ever heard. 

So, to get back on track with the original thread of this post...(I have actually been avoiding blogging lately because I knew what my outlook on life was, and deep down it isn't who I want to be, so I just never bothered to blog...kind of weird I know...haha) Forever Strong just made me cry, and re-realize the power of Christ in my life as my Savior.  It has made me want to be a better person, and to change the things about me that make me unhappy.  I am going to go on a mission.  Someday, somehow, I will be there.  It's not going to be easy, but it will be so worth it, and I know it's what I want to do.  It's weird, but I'm finally loving life again!

 :)

Commencement, The Beginning

Well, it was commencement today!!!  While I actually graduated back in December, the JC only has one Commencement Ceremony each academic year.  It was actually a pretty sweet day!

(By the way, this is the most picture rich post I've ever created, so my apologies, but at the same time, who cares!  Haha.)

This is me before the procession from the auditorium to the athletic center. (The gold cords are for graduating magna cum laude, the blue cords are for graduating as a service learning scholar, and the medal is for my service as a JC Ambassador.)

So, I actually really, really like all of the traditional ceremonial shiz associated with the commencement ceremony.  It's weird, but I really think it's cool.  I loved the procession, and being able to see all of my professors decked out in all of their Academic Regalia was way fun.

Me, my best friend Whit, and my best friend Davey during the Processional.

This is what it looked like from the head of the line.  The students all split in two lines and applaud the faculty while they march through us.  Later, the faculty split in two lines and applaud the students.

The head of the faculty line.

Two of the Theatre Professors marching.  Head of technical theatre on the left, and head of acting on the right.  They are seriously my favorites!

The Governor of Utah was the Commencement speaker this year, which was a real honor, and despite my worries, his speech wasn't boring at all!

Me and Whit after commencing and receiving our "degrees".  

(The folder that your degree will one day go in...haha.)

Me, Fa'ah, Whit, and the other KW at the reception following graduation.

My Ambassador Family!  I'm going to miss all of these people sooooo much!!

(Not everyone was there for the picture...but here are part of us anyway.)

In a nutshell, Commencement was way, way fun!  I had a fabulous time walking with some of my best friends ever, and the feeling of happiness and accomplishment has been so intense.  I've been contemplating all the memories I have of my friends over the past two years at the Junior College, and I seriously feel so blessed.  My friend Nick was co-Valedictorian, and his speech was funny.  The governor delivered a very nice address discussing the future of Junior College, and it was very inspirational.  Even the speech from "President Wilford Woodruff" was good.  ;)  

After the reception in the student center I went to lunch with the family, and it was just overall a fabulous day.

The past year has been sooooo amazing!  It is really crazy to look back and see how much you have grown over a year.  One year ago I had no intention of graduating this spring, and I had no intention of  being at the Junior College this year (and here I am planning to attend a third year...What the Crap!?  Haha.).  Life is very interesting, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  :)

Guess what....

We won! 

Do you remember that competition I was telling you about?  The Radio/Audio Production competition!?  Well, Shae and I are now State Champs!!  AND we get to travel to the National Competition in June!!!  I AM SO EXCITED!!!! 

We'd been practicing almost non-stop for the competition for about a week, staying up really late to finish our projects, and I was getting basically no sleep by the time I compounded practicing with attempting to study and stay on top of things for all of my other classes.  To be honest, I was so happy to just have the whole thing over so that I could remove a level of stress from my life.

Our Professor (who has totally gone out of his way to help and to be there for us, and is truly an awesome guy) had been told by the Director of the State Competition that the competition would consist of a written test taken entirely from The Sound Effects Bible by Ric Viers (the apparent pioneer of Digital Sound Effects in Hollywood), and then the production of a 5 to 10 minute mini-documentary on a subject matter that we would find out at the competition. 

In an effort to be well prepared (which any idiot would do I think) we began the process of reading this book cover to cover as well as continually practicing the production of mini-docs (which was no small feat by the way).  All would have been fine except that THE DAY BEFORE the competition the State Director contacts our Professor and informs him that the format of the competition has changed a little and that we will now be producing a 60 second PSA (public service announcement) about the Skills USA organization itself..  That is a significant change of gears!  My initial reaction?  Ugh.  What a waste of time.  (I'm slowly admitting to myself that I'm somewhat of a pessimist.)

Anyway, in order to be in Salt Lake in time for the competition, we had to leave home/collegetown by 7 am.  (By the way, have I mentioned that I am so totally NOT a morning person?  At all?)  Ugh again.  The competition started almost as soon as we arrived, and started out fairly well.  I pretty much sped through the exam portion which was a relief, and then wasted no time developing an outline that I wanted our production to follow.  We were the first team to finish the test, and the first team to go out to other competition areas to begin gathering audio.  That also put me in better spirits.  :)  The theme that I wanted our PSA to portray was one in which there would be a general statement like "Skills USA is"... and then a whole bunch of different people giving one to two word "clips".  (I had an even better idea in the middle of editing in which we would get many people saying "My name is (insert name here) and I am Skills USA", but by that point it was way too late to go out and gather new audio.)  We were running out of time, and I absolutely refused to turn it in late and receive a penalty, so I was starting to get a little irritated, but I got it all edited and compiled and we were like 10 seconds over, which would have been a 10 point penalty, and I just don't do penalties.  So, in the midst of frantically trying to cut 10 seconds and re-transition everything so that it would be smooth flowing, and then mix-down the project, and then burn it to CD all in about 2 minutes by the time we turned the disk in I wasn't entirely sure what the final project sounded like.  And that my friends was SCARY. 

Luckily we were the only collegiate team to turn our project in on time which would mean that we were already 20 points ahead of them.  The worst part of the competition was that we all got to sit and listen to everyones projects while the judges did their critique.  When they played ours, I was a little horrified to note that some of our transitions had been muffled and weren't as great as I knew we could produce, but overall our audio quality and levels were better than the other teams, but it was largely up in the air.

Then came the wait.  The competition finished up at about 3 p.m. and we had to wait until 6 for the awards ceremony to start up.  I was starving by this point because I hadn't eaten anything all day (I can't eat when I'm nervous...) so our Professor treated us to lunch.  :)  He asked us if we liked greek food and I had  a minor freak out because I don't like it,  I LOVE the stuff.  So he took us to this awesome place called the Greek Souvlaki that was truly divine.  If you remotely like greek food, I would definitely reccomend it!  I had the Gyro Plate, and was completely stuffed! 

To be completely honest, no matter how many times our professor told us that he thought we had done really well and had probably taken gold, I just knew in my mind that we had lost.  Epic.  Fail.  (Another evidence of my pessimism...yikes!)  We arrived in plenty of time for the awards ceremony, were in our seats by 5:45 and then waited.  And waited.  And waited.  AND WAITED!  The stupid thing didn't even get going until after 6:30.  Ugh, yet again.  Then we looked at the program, and Audio Production didn't even get announced until the very end out of almost 70 competitions!  Ugh, again again.  For me, the longer I had to wait the more my nerves got completely out of control, to the point that I really had to focus on breathing by the time they announced our competition.  When they said "Team 502, [Junior College]" I was soooooo dumbfounded, but SOOOOOOO excited!!!!  All our hard work had TOTALLY paid off!!!!  It was one of those euphoric feelings comprised of relief, gratitude, and so much more.  Definite happiness.  :)

(Oh yeah, and btw, the written exam didn't have anything from The Sound Effects Bible on it.  WTF!? Oh well.)

 

T-Minus 55 Minutes

In exactly 55 minutes from when I began writing this post my birthday will be here and I will no longer be a teenager.  Am I still kind of freaked out by it and actually having major issues with it?  Yes I am.  That is why I just indulged myself in the deep-fried goodness that is Apple Fritters which Meg and I randomly decided to practically invent and then make...yes they were delicious, yes I now feel like I could puke, and no I kind of have no regrets about the fresh whipped cream either...

Oh well...here goes nothin 20's!