DONE.

This semester is OVER. 100% DONE. Now I get to go home and relax for a few weeks. Well, not the whole time. Remember when I said I'd never go back to Baskin-Robbins? I'm eating those words now. They're cold and taste like a paycheck. This post really has no point but celebrating the end of a wonderful semester. I had great roommates, a great FHE group, a great ward, and great classes. I'm so grateful for the people that helped me through. Anywho, I'm off to play Robot Unicorn Attack until the bus arrives.

Long Live the "Vote for Change" shirt worn ironically.

Because of the awful weather, I didn't drive back to Rexburg. I flew! The flight was fine, but the shuttle from SLC broke down. It was awful. I pulled out the only time-passer in my bag whose batteries wouldn't die--my scriptures. I laughed when I got to D&C 121:10-- "Thou art not yet as Job." I felt better then. I did skip my morning class, though.

My tripod and camera remote are here! So despite how I looked today, I HAD to test it out. Chelsea's in this picture giving me a weird look, but I cropped her out on her request.

Baby, I Can Drive Your Car!

At nearly nineteen years old, I can finally function normally in adult society. Not because I registered to vote two weeks ago, but because I can legally operate a car by myself. Took me long enough, but I got it done. Huzzah.

Actually, I Just Hate to Go Up Stairs Slowly.

I never thought it was possible, but I may have run out of things to say for the time being.

I've got a lot on my mind, just not anything I can publish.

I'm just cold. So you guys get this today.



Okay, and maybe some thoughts on homesickness. (Okay, so I really never run out of things to say.) I don't think I've ever really been homesick. Occasionally I miss certain people (except I miss Minnie all the time), or going certain places, but I've never just ached to be back in California. Even when I went to Italy when I was 15, I only missed my mom, Dallin and Minnie a little bit. (Sorry, rest of the family. You know how I was at that age.)

But I do miss the way things were sometimes. A lot of my friends are going on missions and getting married and having babies and it's just weird. Not gonna lie, I'm kind of terrified to grow up. It's like I have this enormous canvas and some oil paints in front of me. I have a basic idea of what I want to paint, but what if I choose the wrong colors or designs or I accidentally punch a hole in it? It's daunting. I hate getting things wrong.

image via

But of course, being scared of the future won't make it go away. All you can do is be prepared. (And "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear," right?)

Side note to the curious: The title of this post is part of one of the other things on my mind. Don't read too much into it.

Songs to Sum Up 2009

"We don't live in a in a single song. We move from song to song, from lyric to lyric, from chord to chord. There is no ending here. It's an infinite playlist." ~David Levithan in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Heroes and Thieves--Vanessa Carlton
Empire State of Mind--Jay-Z
"Coronation" Mass in C K.317--Mozart
Gravity--Sara Bareilles
Larger Than Life--Backstreet Boys
Magic--University of Chicago's Voices in Your Head
White Houses--Vanessa Carlton
I've Just Seen a Face--The Beatles
In-N-Out (Animal Style)--We the Kings
Home--Vanessa Carlton

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

I flew by myself for the first time yesterday.

Hugh and Luana got me to the airport and got me all checked in. My suitcase weighed 40 pounds - the fear of extra charges relieved.

Then I went through security. Stuck in line behind the guy who would smell really good if he hadn't overdone it so much. Axe is an art, gentlemen. Then to the screening. Shoes off, sweater off, pockets empty, belt off. I don't think I've ever been more self-concious in my life than when I was taking off my belt. I watched as the Newman of the TSA watched the X-Ray of my bag. Then a nice TSA lady took me aside and sent me back out on the other side so that I could empty my water bottle. So I dumped out all the water and went through the same thing all over again. At least I wore my Target Converse instead of my boots-much easier to put on.

After that came the long wait at the gate. My sweet tooth demanded a sacrifice, so I snacked on overpriced Red Vines as I read Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist for the umpteenth time. Then, all out of nowhere...

I find dear FHE daughter/loyal reader/good friend/wonderful person Melissa! Her tiny Frontier gate was right next to my tiny Jet Blue gate and her flight had just been delayed. It was wonderful to see a familiar face-especially one I won't see until the fall! (That is, of course, I find my way to Georgia or Melissa comes up here.)

The flight itself was nothing special. A few lights over Salt Lake, then darkness. Then all of a sudden-

The Valley outside my window. It was b-e-a-utiful. I had missed those lights. I missed lights in general-just a few days before the power had gone out in Rexburg. When we landed and I got off the plane, I wasn't cold. I was home.

I'll Be Home for Christmas.

Los Angeles as seen from The Griffith Observatory

While I'm home, let's: 

1. Go to the beach!

2. Go to Disneyland!

3. Grab a Vanilla Crème at Starbucks!

4. See The Princess and the Frog!  

 

5. Get me street legal!

6. Have the Taylor Christmas Pageant at Bill and Carin's on Christmas Eve (as per tradition!)

7. Get some allergy medicine into me so that I can sleep in the same room as my beloved Minnie!

8. Have all the Morgans come down for Noah's baptism!

9. Shop at Target!

10. Not worry about school!

New York

THURSDAY: We met at the school at FIVE in the morning to catch our flight out of LAX at 8:00. We arrived at 5:00 pm in Newark, New Jersey. After getting into the city, we dropped everything off at the hotel and went to the Rockefeller Center for ice skating. I have little natural athletic ability, so David helped me out. We had a lovely time. The next day, I discovered that the skates had hated me...



FRIDAY: We went to the Actor's Temple and had a workshop with some of the cast from Phantom of the Opera. They taught us "Masquerade." They said that we were the best group they'd worked with in years. We were able to do the six part music and all the choreography correctly. We had so much fun!

That night we went to the Minskoff Theatre to see The Lion King, which was fantabutastic! My roomate Desiray and I love musicals and were very excited. And let me tell you. I have never seen so many hot black men in one place in my life. ;D


SATURDAY: After a four hour rehearsal in the morning, we went to Bubba Gump's for lunch. I hate seafood, but that was the best salad of my life. Lunch with Emma is always fun.




Then we went to Top of the Rock, where you take a big elevator up to the top of the Rockefeller Center. It was pretty much the only time I spent with my family the whole trip.

That night they let us loose in Times Square. That's when Emma, Kasey, Rachel, Katy Mel, Jen, Christina, Emily, and I got all our shopping done.




SUNDAY: After a two hour rehearsal, one of our chaperones took the four of us Mormon kids to church. We cut through Central Park. The cool thing is that this building is a regular stake center on some floors and the temple on others.






CARNEGIE HALL IS MIND BOGGLINGLY FANTASTIC. Just so you know. I'm front and center, just to the left of the really short girl. This ensemble was made up of a high school from Minnesota; a high school from Canada; the top two groups from Mount San Antonio College, a JC in Walnut; and UHS.

After the performance, all 150 or so of us went on a harbor cruise...but because of the blizzard, it ended up being just a dance on a boat. I had a good time because it was really the only thing we did with the other choirs. But it was kind of uncomfortable with some of the kids from MTSAC getting drunk out of their minds. Whose bright idea was it to open the bar??

MONDAY: We took the subway to Trinity Church, where we performed. The Chorale sang "City Called Heaven" from our fall set, but Ally, the soloist, didn't come to New York, so I took care of it for her. =]
We also went to Ground Zero and St. Paul's, which is the unofficial temporary 9/11 memorial. Estrada begged the people at the church to let us sing, so we sang The Star Spangled Banner and made everyone cry. Estrada kept getting us lost and it was soooooooo cold. This is the view from my hotel window that morning.


TUESDAY: We went home. =[