Yesterday the Trifecta got together for our weekly meeting at Tiffy's. It's this cute little restaurant/ice cream parlor on Katella and Disneyland Drive. The food isn't, like, the best food ever, but the service is good (our waitress was adorable), and best of all, THEY HAVE PLAYER PAINOS!!!
Always I hear these things playing when we go eat at Tiffy's as a family, but for the first time ever, it was me playing them (well, my quarter, anyway. Mushu put the quarters into the piano).
You're going to have to forgive the sound quality (or lack thereof) as I took this video on my phone. Actually, maybe just mute it as you watch.
Remember those fun times where my roommates and I jump in the car to drive to the beach, and then we get stuck in traffic for a loooong time when we're coming home? Yeah, those are fun times.
Anyway, so Tuesday the roommates and I had a day off (well most of us did). Seeing how it was warm-ish outside, we decided to go to the Beach. Calfy wanted to go to Malibu beach, so I guess sort of we did (is Malibu the same as the Santa Monica Pier? I don't know these California things). The water was Ice Cold, though, so I didn't walk in it. Instead I dug holes into the wet sand, which was also ice cold. And then I read a book. And got tan (but not really on purpose- it's something that just sort of happens when I go out in the sun).
After the roommates were done tanning (that's all they wanted from the beach. Seriously?), we walked over to the Pier and explored. There were some really, really fat pidgeons over there. I tried to take pictures, but it is hard to tell how fat they are when you're not there in person. So just pretend you can tell.
This is the Fat Pidgeon
A weird... game you could play on the Pier. I don't know. It must be a California thing?
Someday, I will own this book. Because I heart it. For now, though, I will just have to enjoy it online, which is OK because it kind of made a nice bedtime story for me tonight.
Your friends called. They want you to have a happy birthday. The song was beautiful. Wish you could have heard it. Especially since it was meant for you and I don't even know you or your friends.
So, I've recently been commissioned to do, what I consider, a moderately huge project. You can see part 1 of 7 on my other blog, as well as a few new photos I have taken, etc. etc. (See here.)
Sometime in the near-ish future I want to go to the Newport Beach temple grounds and take pictures there. I've only ever seen the temple from the freeway, but it's gorgeous. Also, I want to go to the San Diego temple grounds again, because I haven't been there in several years. Only that is a longer drive and will probably have to wait until I go to Sea World. Which I don't know when that will be. Something about having Days Off and Money to Spend and People to Go With (I would feel lame-faced to go to Sea World by myself).
Also, even though I already spend 5/7 days a week in the Parks, I kind of have this pressing desire to go and take pictures around there before the pink blossoms at Partners go away. I kind of feel lame-faced doing that alone, too, even though I shouldn't since I practically live there. I don't know that picture-taking adventure will ever happen, though. We'll have to wait and see, I guess.
And one more also: I think I'm getting carpel tunnel, because my wrists hurt. That's all.
First, I have to admit that the whole marking system of this thing feels a little backwards to me. I mean, the way you're supposed to do it with "x" being "yes, I have done this" and "o" being "no, I have not done this." I understand the logistics of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Nevertheless
"X" marks the things I have done during my lifetime:
(X) Been to Canada (O) Been to Mexico (X) Been to Florida (X) Been to Hawaii (X) Gone on a blind date (X) Skipped school (O) Watched someone die (X) Been on a plane (O) Been on a helicopter (X) Been lost (X) Been an extra in a film (I'm counting TV) (X) Been to a TV show taping (O) Visited Washington, DC (O) Traveled by San Francisco trolley (We walked up those hills. There weren't no trolley's for us!) (O) Traveled to Europe (O) Traveled to Asia (O) Went to the top of the World Trade Center (O) Been to Notre Dame (Cathedral) (O) Been to Jamaica (X) Swam in the ocean (X) Cried yourself to sleep (X) Played cops and robbers (X) Recently colored with crayons (O) Skipped a final exam (X) Sang Karaoke (O) Watched the birth of a child (X) Paid for a meal with coins only (O) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch (X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't (X) Made prank phone calls (O) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans (O) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose (X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue (X) Danced in the rain (X) Written a letter to Santa Claus (O) Been kissed under the mistletoe (X) Watched the sunrise with someone (X) Blown bubbles (X) Gone ice-skating (X) Gone to the movies in 2009 (O) Been deep sea fishing (X) Driven across the United States (O) Been in a hot air balloon (O) Been sky diving (O) Gone snowmobiling (O) Lived in more than one country (X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets (X) Seen a falling star and made a wish (O) Seen the Old Faithful Geyser (X) Seen the Statue of Liberty (O) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle (O) Been on a cruise (it was a dinner cruise - but that counts right?) (X) Traveled by train (Disneyland RR counts, right? Right.) (O) Traveled by motorcycle (X) Been horse back riding (O) Been to Disneyland, Disney World, and Japan's Disneyland (Only one to go...) (X) Been pulled over by a police officer (But I wasn't driving and it wasn't my car) (O) Gotten a ticket (X) Truly believe in the power of prayer (O) Been in a rain forest (O) Seen whales in the ocean (X) Been to Niagara Falls (O) Ridden on an elephant (X) Swam with dolphins (X) Been to the Olympics (O) Sat on a jury (O) Learned to juggle (O) Walked on the Great Wall of China (O) Saw a glacier (O) Been spinnaker flying (O) Been water-skiing (O) Been snow-skiing (O) Been to Westminster Abbey (O) Been to the Louvre (O) Swam in the Mediterranean (O) Been to a Major League Baseball game (O) Been to a National Football League game (O) Been to a Professional Soccer game
Chilly was just barely complaining to me that I never quote her and that she always quotes me. I think this is a slightly skewed view on our conversations, but that is beside the point. We are both Hil. Arious. So. Here are all the funny things that Chilly has said that I have been able to record* (that are blog appropriate- some of them are way too Insider Intensive).
"This is why I have Katria; she's my thought-check."
"I've decided I'm going to start referring to talking about marriage as 'we discussed the doctrines of the kingdom tonight.'"
"She let me get snot on her, how could I not make one small phone call to repay her?"
"I'm often seduced by you. Usually online. You type seductively."
"We had crown burgers and gossip"
"She destatused me, we're not friends"
"The girls are balding... wow."
"That adds a whole new level to "hot"!"
"WE FOUND THE THIRD US!!!!!! I thought it would involve more ice cream, actually..."
"I realize being pale is more attractive than being a raccoon. Or a panda, I guess"
"This would be better if I had a facial"
"But who wants empathy when you can have condescension?"
"True, going to Ogden is somewhat akin to venturing into Babylon, but I think in this case, it's worth the risk."
"I'm glad you're beautiful. It makes it so much easier for you to be my photo a day."
"Bagged stuff is not right to me, it's not right!"
"You were not passive-aggressive. that is not the way!"
"My computer flipped out on me and I had to ctrl alt delete and it said "Are you sure you want to end DEATH?" I was not sure, but I had to anyway." (This is, quite possibly, my all time favorite Chillyism.)
"Honeyed voices are dangerous from women."
"She's so strange looking. Bless her heart."
"You expected Adam and Eve to be wearing parkas? I give you a fig leaf and a woolen pea-coat! Go and procreate!"
"I'm cute and fun and don't hit on gay guys anymore."
"I have high standards of funny. Alluring, though. There's room for alluring."
*Clearly I have not recorded everything funny she has ever said to me. Sometimes there is no computer around, and by the time I get to one, I just can't remember any more! Other sometimes I fail at life and get distracted before I make it to my quote board. I cry myself to sleep at night over this fact. Daily.**
SALT LAKE CITY9 March 2009 Like other large faith groups, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sometimes finds itself on the receiving end of attention from Hollywood or Broadway, television series or books, and the news media. Sometimes depictions of the Church and its people are quite accurate. Sometimes the images are false or play to stereotypes. Occasionally, they are in appallingly bad taste.
As Catholics, Jews and Muslims have known for centuries, such attention is inevitable once an institution or faith group reaches a size or prominence sufficient to attract notice. Yet Latter-day Saints – sometimes known as Mormons - still wonder whether and how they should respond when news or entertainment media insensitively trivialize or misrepresent sacred beliefs or practices.
Church members are about to face that question again. Before the first season of the HBO series Big Love aired more than two years ago, the show’s creators and HBO executives assured the Church that the series wouldn’t be about Mormons. However, Internet references to Big Love indicate that more and more Mormon themes are now being woven into the show and that the characters are often unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous. And according to TV Guide, it now seems the show’s writers are to depict what they understand to be sacred temple ceremonies.
Certainly Church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding. Last week some Church members began e-mail chains calling for cancellations of subscriptions to AOL, which, like HBO, is owned by Time Warner. Certainly such a boycott by hundreds of thousands of computer-savvy Latter-day Saints could have an economic impact on the company. Individual Latter-day Saints have the right to take such actions if they choose.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an institution does not call for boycotts. Such a step would simply generate the kind of controversy that the media loves and in the end would increase audiences for the series. As Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Robert D. Hales of the Council of the Twelve Apostles have both said recently, when expressing themselves in the public arena, Latter-day Saints should conduct themselves with dignity and thoughtfulness.
Not only is this the model that Jesus Christ taught and demonstrated in his own life, but it also reflects the reality of the strength and maturity of Church members today. As someone recently said, “This isn’t 1830, and there aren’t just six of us anymore.” In other words, with a global membership of thirteen and a half million there is no need to feel defensive when the Church is moving forward so rapidly. The Church’s strength is in its faithful members in 170-plus countries, and there is no evidence that extreme misrepresentations in the media that appeal only to a narrow audience have any long-term negative effect on the Church.
Examples:
During the Mitt Romney election campaign for the presidency of the United States, commentator Lawrence O’Donnell hurled abuse at the Church in a television moment that became known among many Church members as “the O’Donnell rant.” Today, his statements are remembered only as a testament to intolerance and ignorance. They had no effect on the Church that can be measured.
When the comedy writers for South Park produced a gross portrayal of Church history, individual Church members no doubt felt uncomfortable. But once again it inflicted no perceptible or lasting damage to a church that is growing by at least a quarter of a million new members every year.
When an independent film company produced a grossly distorted version of the Mountain Meadows Massacre two years ago, the Church ignored it. Perhaps partly as a result of that refusal to engender the controversy that the producers hoped for, the movie flopped at the box office and lost millions.
In recent months, some gay activists have barraged the media with accusations about “hateful” attitudes of Latter-day Saints in supporting Proposition 8 in California, which maintained the traditional definition of marriage. They even organized a protest march around the Salt Lake Temple. Again, the Church has refused to be goaded into a Mormons versus gays battle and has simply stated its position in tones that are reasonable and respectful. Meanwhile, missionary work and Church members in California remain as robust and vibrant as ever, and support for the Church has come from many unexpected quarters — including some former critics and other churches.
Now comes another series of Big Love, and despite earlier assurances from HBO it once again blurs the distinctions between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the show’s fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices. Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints.
If the Church allowed critics and opponents to choose the ground on which its battles are fought, it would risk being distracted from the focus and mission it has pursued successfully for nearly 180 years. Instead, the Church itself will determine its own course as it continues to preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
So, I think my head is about to explode. This is the 3rd migraine I've had in two weeks and I'm getting desperate. If you know of a really good doctor in Orange County, let me know. I prefer someone not scary, but I'll almost take anyone. This is how desperate I am.
Anyway, other than that small detail, life is still good! Last week my Love Duck and parents came to visit me. There were 12 days of Disney in a row (what with work and all that), but it was the first time I've really played in the parks since I got here 2 months ago. I screamed my lungs out on Splash Mountain (I think I mostly just scream because, you know, I can, not because I'm scared), rode Small Word for the first time since it re-opened last month (so cute!), and ate like a million marshmallow sticks. I love those things so much. Surprisingly enough, though, I didn't take many pictures! This was probably a mistake on my part, but I think it's because I take so many pictures at work that, when I'm not working, I find it is kind of nice to be able to see more of the world than what's in a view finder.
Mondays have basically become my favorite day of the week, despite having class on what is usually my day off. For this coming Monday, I believe I am looking forward to a non-dance party at Barnes and Noble, and I'm pretty sure it will be the best non-dance party in the history of non-dance parties.
So, yup. That's basically life right now. I need to run out to Target today to pick up Pinocchio and probably The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, but we'll see if I actually make it that far. I guess it's more of a want than a need, anyway. Probably I will, though, seeing as how I'm nice and don't really know how to say "no" to people, so I'm taking a fellow CP to some train station by the Honda Center in about 20 minutes.
And, oh yeah! Bless the IRS, because I got my tax return today! That was excitement in my bank account. I'm now trying to decide if I can justify buying a macro lens for my camera or not. It's a lot of money for one of those puppies, though, so it may have to wait a little longer. I kind of like seeing bigger numbers in my savings account.