Enjoying Some Post-Apocalyptic Shakespeare with My Sister

It seems my sister's immediate circle of friends has a shortage of people who really like Shakespeare plays. So, she invited me to attend a showing of "Midsummer Night's Dream" with her this evening. The play had a post-apocalyptic theme to it in the costuming and in the set design, and it was well done. It was very entertaining, and it was a true pleasure and blessing to attend it with my sister.

Rain When the Sun is Out

Well, the rain came during a barbeque, which literally put a damper on things. But, the sky was so fantastic because the sun was brightly shining in the west while the clouds hovered high and dark grey at the east mountains. It rained while the sun was shining, which is always fascinating to me. Plus, the rain was very refreshing on my skin that had been feeling the hot summer heat of the day.

Happy to Help, Happy to Learn

One of my church responsibilities is to organize the music for weekly church meetings, including who will play the piano (the pianist) and who will lead the congregation in singing they hymns (the chorister). Tonight, I made these assignments in preparation for this coming Sunday.

The person I approached about serving as this week's chorister admitted that they didn't know how to conduct music, but they were willing to learn. I am grateful for this person's willingness to take on this responsibility and to take the time to learn how to do it well. I am grateful for people who are happy to learn.

Time to Study, and Time to Serve

True, I have a term paper to write, a magazine article to help design, some lines of Beowulf to parse and translate, and a bunch of textbook pages to read. I also work every morning and some evenings. Nevertheless, my summer schedule is benevolent enough to all ow me the time to help a friend prepare for her quizzes and tests tomorrow.

Hugs

I appreciate hugs, especially when they are given sincerely. I am grateful for those who give good, sincere hugs that express appreciation and real friendship.

Memorial Day

I am grateful for those who have fought and who do now fight for freedom. Jesus Christ taught that the greatest in the kingdom of God are those who serve (Matthew 20:27-28). Indeed, service in the military is a highly respected form of service in this country, and I am grateful for those who have served in the military and who do now serve there. It is a great blessing to have people who believe in "that liberty in the which God hath made us free." (Alma 61:9, page 362 in The Book of Mormon)

You Can Sing, Trust Me

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I am given a responsibility in the congregation, a "calling" from the local church leaders. For two years I have been serving as the music chair. I really enjoy this calling because I get to be involved in organizing musical performances in church meetings and events. I am also involved in the local church choir.

This afternoon, I visited a few apartments to meet new people and to recruit them for ward choir. I would like a dollar for every time I've heard someone say, " I don't sing," or "I'm not a good singer." I am generally skeptical of that, since only a very small percentage of people are actually tone deaf.

Anyway, I am grateful for the people who came to choir practice for the first time today. Some of them gave me that disclaimer about not singing well, but they had the courage to come anyway.

True Convenience Stores

It is truly convenient to have multiple restaurants and shops within a five minute walk from my apartment. It was very helpful when I needed to get some toothpaste and cereal. I just walked over to the store and came back, with a slight detour at a Mexican restaurant first. I am grateful I was able to run those errands today without a car.

The Ducks in Residence

There are a lot of ducks that like to hang out all over campus. I don't blame them because there are a couple of really nice ponds nearby, and the students here are so nice that no one would dream of chasing or hunting them down. So these ducks waddle about like they own the campus. After lunch, I saw a mother duck with twelve little ducklings. Together, they crossed a street, waddling in single file. It was truly an adorable sight. It made my day, and judging by the the smiles on other people's faces when they saw the ducks, it made several people's day a little brighter. :)

I found Das Reingold!

One of the reasons I love my current student job is successes like the one below:

A library patron came to the desk to ask about a DVD that was checked out to him but was missing through no fault of his own. We talked to someone at another desk, and they didn't have it. I went back to my desk and found the DVD ("Das Reingold," the first volume of Wagner's Ring Cycle)! I rushed to the library entrance just in time to catch the patron before he walked out the door. We were both very happy that the lost item was found and the patron's library record was cleared of the overdue charges. I like to think that this was a story as thick as a Wagnerian opera, and that I had successfully found "the ring" that was missing. I actually felt a bit heroic once I had solved the issue. That adventure alone made this a good day.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

I am grateful for this:
https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation

Nearly thirty years ago, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints released a proclamation that acts as the church's official statement on marriage and family. I am grateful for this document and the doctrines it teaches. I am grateful for its statements about our relationship with God as His children, our purpose on earth, and our potential to live a life of happiness here and in the hereafter. This document was given by the Lord's prophet and apostles in our day.

I believe God is our Father in Heaven.
I believe Jesus Christ made eternal life possible for all people.
I believe that God wants His children to be happy in this life and in the next.
I believe that "the family is ordained of God." (Proclamation, 7th paragraph)
I believe in marriage between a man and a woman.
I believe that God knows and loves us individually and always has the welfare of His children in His heart.

I am grateful to know these things. I would be ungrateful if I didn't express my thanks for the eternal truths I have come to know and love.

Greek Tragedies

I have a couple of friends who are taking a class on Greek and Roman literature. Right now they are reading through a few Greek tragedies. They invited me to read "Prometheus Bound" with them. We read the different parts out loud, and we even chanted and sang when the script called for it. I never had so much fun with a Greek play before, and I understood what was going on too!

A Joke Came to Mind...

Today I am grateful for original jokes that just pop into my head. I love puns and all sorts of word play. Occasionally, an idea for a clever (or not-so-clever) joke would come to mind. Such a moment happened to me during dinner today, and I told it to my sister. The joke is as follows:

Stormcloud Bill approaches Stormcloud Dave. The two storm clouds greet each other. Bill asks, "From where you you hail, my good fellow?" Dave says to Bill, "Oh, usually about 5,000 feet above Pittsburgh."

Hope you all have a pleasant day. :)

The Hospital Where I Was Born

Today I am grateful for the hospital in which I was born. Obviously, they did a great job taking care of me in my first moments of mortal existence, and that's something to be grateful for. They did the same for all of my siblings. Also, my grandfather is recovering from a surgery at this very same hospital. My mother and I were able to visit him today, and he's doing better now. As you can see, there are many reasons for me to be grateful for that hospital.

The Lego Movie

I am grateful for The Lego Movie, because it's awesome! I saw it for the third time tonight with several friends. It is wonderfully clever and a fabulous tribute to a toy that became a staple of my childhood.

Disc Golf

I am grateful for disc golf, because disc golf is fun. My roommate brought me out to a local disc golf course. He is a serious disc golf player, and he has a bag full of a couple dozen discs of various sizes and colors. Some are built for long distances, some for medium distances, and some for short "putt" shots. He taught me a couple of throws and we went through the course. I had never seriously played disc golf before, and I enjoyed it a lot, especially when my roommate threw his disc over a long distance over the field. Some of those shots were simply gorgeous. Anyway, I'm glad that happened.

"On the Fifteenth of May..."

"On the fifteenth of May, and in the Jungle of Nool...Horton the Elephant heard a small noise."

Today, I am reminded of one of my favorite musicals: Seussical the Musical. This was my high school's fall musical during my freshman year back in 2005. I worked backstage, and I had a lot of fun building the crazy colorful set. During the show itself I was an extra hand, ready to help backstage when needed. It was during this production that I started to fall in love with theater and music. The music of Seussical inspired me and moved me. I felt I could truly relate to the characters of the show. When I wasn't doing anything backstage, I would stand out of the way of everyone else and move with the music, dancing in a small space, basking in the experience of being involved in a musical.

Today, I am grateful for the experiences I had working on Seussical. It had a profound impact on me and the rest of my high school career. From then on I was more determined to try out for subsequent shows, involve myself in the high school speech team, and enjoy my experiences in high school orchestras and choirs. My confidence grew, as did my hope for the future. I owe at least part of my growth as a youth to my involvement in these high school activities, which didn't really take off until I had become involved in Seussical.

Happy Fifteenth of May!

Longer Days in the Summer

I am grateful for longer days in the summer because my sister left work this evening and the sun was barely setting. She felt safer walking back to her apartment by herself because it wasn't dark. That's one of the many nice things about the summer months.

I Know My Way Around

I've been going to college for a few years now, so I know my way around campus really well. This turned out to be useful when I saw a group of people that looked lost. They were looking for a place to park a bike. I am grateful that I was able to help them find the nearest bike parking place.

An Awesome Library

Today, I had the opportunity to help direct visitors to the campus library for a seminar. There were people in the group from all over South and Latin America. It is satisfying to show off the lovely campus and the wonderful library in which I work. I truly am blessed to work here and go to school here.

And to top it all off, I got a free t-shirt for volunteering!

Thank you, Mom.

Who accepted a divine job offer? Who loved me and believed in me when I didn't believe in myself? Who always worked hard to fulfill her most important responsibilities in the home? Who raised three grateful children by taking on a thankless job? It was Mom.

To the woman who worked hard to make sure she was home when her kids were back from school, to the woman who encouraged me (essentially forced me) to get involved in music and theater at a young age, to the woman who raised me and my brother and my sister, to the woman who enjoys talking to me every week over the phone just to see how I'm doing, to the woman who taught me how to love and obey God through her words and through her actions, to the woman who expressed the greatest amount of excitement and enthusiasm when I returned home from my mission two years ago, to the woman who loved me unconditionally for the past twenty-three and a half years:

Thank you.

A Sushi Restaurant

For the record, I don't really like sushi (except the one time I had sweet potato sushi, that was good). But, I went to a sushi place with my sister, my aunt and uncle, and several cousins. The chefs cooked our food in front of us, and that was fascinating! The flame, the smoke, the sizzle, the smell, the sounds of metal on food on metal, and the look of that food on your plate. I am grateful for that place. It was a lot of fun.

Of course, no matter where we would have gone for dinner, I am certainly grateful that I was able to spend time with some extended family. :)

Forever Stamps

I am grateful for forever stamps. It is nice to be able to buy postage stamps once and use them anytime once I have them, even if postage prices change. Plus, some stamps look really nice! I got a set of Pixar stamps, and they make me smile. They add just a little touch of joy to each envelope they stick to. :)

At Peace With Myself

The Lord is truly aware of every one of us. Today, just like every day, a lot of things to do and figure out pressed on my mind. On my evening walk from campus back to my apartment tonight, I thought about my life and took a bit of a personal inventory. I took some time to be still, while I continued to walk. I felt at peace with myself. It meant a lot because I still have many concerns and questions still unanswered or unsolved, but I felt I was going the right direction. I know every good thing comes from God, and I know He blessed me tonight with a personal assurance in my mind and in my heart, given by the Holy Spirit, that I am okay and that everything will work out as long as I continue to do what is right. I am grateful for that God-given peace of mind and peace of heart.

Sharing Stories

I have a cool roommate. He likes a good fiction story as much as I do. We even like to share our story ideas. I have many reasons to be grateful to have the roommate I have, but today I am grateful we can share stories.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Today, in remembrance of Cinco de Mayo, I express gratitude for our neighbor to the south, Mexico. Mexico and its citizens have contributed much by way of resources and culture. I am especially grateful for Mexico's cultural contribution in food, music, and dance.

Tonight's CES Devotional

Several times each school year, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints speak to members of the church aged 18-30. These are known as CES (Church Education System) devotionals. Today, one of the twelve apostles spoke, and his message was very relevant and timely. He spoke on proper use of technology, the battle against pornography, and the institution of marriage. These are three topics that directly apply to people in my generation, and I am grateful for Elder Ballard's words.

You can watch Elder M. Russell Ballard's message here: https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/watch/ces-devotionals/2014/05?cid=HPFR050214762&lang=eng

The text of the devotional will soon be available on that same website.

International Interactions

In my growing-up years, I occasionally heard that the education system of the United States is average or even mediocre in comparison to the rest of the world. Though it is far from perfect, it is very good. I continue to be amazed at the number of people who come to this country from all around the world to achieve proficiency in English and to earn a degree in an American university. My apartment complex in particular seems to attract international students because of its proximity to an English Language Center.

Because of all of this, I have been privileged to meet many peers from other countries. In the past two years, I have had real conversations with students from Canada, China, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Kenya, South Korea, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan, and many other places around the world. This is truly a blessing, one that I am grateful for today.

Classy 80s Fashion

Today I was invited to an 80s-themed birthday party. I wasn't sure what I could wear because I don't have a great deal of bright-colored things to make a good 80s outfit. Then, I was reminded of the fact that it was popular to wear a nice blazer jacket with jeans. I certainly had a suit jacket and jeans, so I did that for my outfit. So, although this was just a costume for a party, it was fun to review a little bit about 80s fashion and go a little retro with a classy outfit.

The Blog

A friend of mine recently released a really neat blog as a way to publish a study he has done on the abundance of commandments listed in a book of scripture, and the blessings associated with those commandments (http://commandmentsandblessings.blogspot.com/).

Today I am grateful for the blog, I mean the invention of the blog. It has made a tremendous difference in the way we communicate our ideas on the internet. I am also grateful that anyone can create and manage a blog. That allows me and anyone else to speak up online. Reading and writing and continuing to communicate in meaningful ways, helps to make us all better people.