With the classes I'm taking the semester, I only have one midterm coming this week. So in the time I should be spending reading, sleeping and eating, I'm looking up videos. I'm sharing them with you.
But now that I'm done, I'm off to study my brains out for History 201. And when I say I'm off to study my brains out, I really mean I'm going up to Salt Lake.
Too. Much. Information. To. Memorize.
The concept of this video is very interesting and quite creative. Also, I love Russell's voice.
I love NBC. I just realized that the majority of the shows I watch are broadcasted from this channel--30 Rock, Community, SNL, The Voice--and they're singing a song from "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" (weird...I posted about Community, The Voice and "How To Succeed" in the same post).
#savecommunity
So yes, I have blogged many times about my new bike and how one day I will ride it once I've gotten over my fear.
That one day is one day closer.
Pretty soon I'll be zooming around Provo on my bike. And I will not be afraid. I have found comfort and inspiration from the words of this little boy.
Even with an orchestra and bagpipes and such, why is it that background music makes anything that much more exciting?
Though, confession: I think the bagpipes can be very beautiful. Also, they remind me of "Braveheart."
Anyway, I'm stoked about riding my bike finally. I've teased Utah enough with even the mere thought of riding my bike. There's no snow, so there's little chance I will slip. And pretty much, I will never fall, since I have wheels on both sides to protect me.
Now, I know that by having such bicycle accessories may bring about three different reactions:
"Aw, Eden! Good for you! You can do it!" (Complete with back pats.)
First, I'm seeing Aretha Franklin perform tonight.
Second, New Year's is just around the corner. I don't have many resolutions, but I do have a big project I am working on. However, feedback on this project is well needed and much appreciated so please comment!
What I am trying to do is to consolidate all the happenings of Provo/Orem into one calendar (and should I expand?). It's a bit of a taxing experiment so I want to know if I should continue or not.
Click above or here to see the calendar. (Also, go to the January calendar to start seeing events.)
The reason I named it The Calendar Owl is first, because I like owls (the song may have had an impact on such an adoration of the animal). Second, I've practically become nocturnal trying to get the event details/finding places and such...so I've become an owl.
Third, some of my resolutions include...
1. Drinking more water.
2. Getting over my fear of the bicycle.
3. Learning Cantonese fast....before I go off to Hong Kong for the summer.
4. Working my butt off in order to get into the PR program.
5. Tweeting more.
And that's really all I can think of now...
Happy New Year, my friends. Take a cup of kindness yet, for days of auld lang syne.
The days leading up to Christmas, we listen to Christmas music all day, erryday. My personal favorite? Frank Sinatra's Christmas record. Round and round it spins on the record player.
Every Christmas eve, my family and I gather around in the family room and huddle as we drink hot cocoa. We listen to the fire crackling as we watch "It's A Wonderful Life." One by one, we fall asleep to the film and by the end, we wake up to in time to sing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "Auld Lang Syne" with the citizens of Bedford Falls.
Right before everyone drudges into their beds, we read the Christmas story, the birth of the Savior of the world, the birth of my Redeemer. Christmas is a time to celebrate the anniversary of that blessed birth.
It really is a wonderful life.
Oh, then we stay up the rest of the night watching "A Christmas Story;" Deck the halls with boughs of horry, fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra.
I got a bike. That's right, I got a bike despite my fear of them.
It's a beauty, though. Purple with yellow accents. But this is not the reason for this post.
Around 6 pm Monday, I was headed out to dinner with my anthropology class when I realized my wallet was missing. Rachel, thankfully, covered for me that night.
2:21 am Tuesday, I get a phone call. It was my one chance at sleeping in, but all I heard was my phone buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. It buzzed again because the caller left a message. I went back to sleep.
2:25 am, buzz buzz buzz. This time, noticing that it was the same number calling, I listened to the messages.
"HeyyEden," the guy slurred. I got chills hearing my name come from an unknown person. "I have yourID. So, callmeback. xxx-xxx-xxxx."
Next message.
"Hey Eden, it'sNigel again. Um, so I don't only have your ID. I haveyourwallet. And I'm going to Hawaiiin the morning and I just can'tgo, I can'tgo, there withyour wallet. Sooocallmeback."
Chills. And a pounding headache. I was pretty creeped out. I considered calling my dad, but it would be 4 in the morning there. I logged onto Facebook and saw that Daehyeon was online. I called him and he told me to wait till the morning. I think it was because it was 2 in the morning that I thought I needed to ask someone what I should do.
I'm sorry I haven't posted. I've decided not to have a set a day for blogging as that will get your hopes up and then I will let you all down yet again...because I know you all refresh my blog every Tuesday just for a new post. Admit it. It's what you do.
I think I'm going to just stop apologizing for neglecting you guys. So this will be the last time.
Wait, I'll apologize now for not being consistent in the future.
Okay, now no more apologizing.
Finals. I only have two left. Score. Thank goodness for in class finals and essays. Hated doing them, but now they're over before finals week. And now I can take my sweet, sweet time taking my New Testament final and writing my anthropology essay.
I've been pretty bad at studying and writing essays though. A couple nights ago, I went to Nicol's house to study and we were planning on studying 6 pm - 12 am straight. Around 9 pm, we both got ADD and decided we wanted to watch a movie. So we called up Estelle and Jesse and we watched "He's Just Not That Into You." Ugh, Scarlett Johansson made me sick. (Christmas break UPDATE: just watched the Biography Channel's segment on Scarlett. I kept on gaining and losing and gaining respect for her again and again throughout the whole thing. Love the Biography Channel.)
Romantic comedies will be the death of me.
And Facebook. Facebook has been so entertaining lately. Thank you friends for posting awesome things.
I've tried occupying the library. There are literally no seats available. Every corner, every hallway, every elevator is inhabited by students and their books.
But the Tanner building is completely empty. Seriously guys, study there. Or study with me. I watch movies and then pull all-nighters. It's fun.
Good luck, my friends, with your finals. If I can help you guys with anything, let me know. I am good company. And now I have a bike so I can come to you. (I'll get the brakes assembled and the tires pumped first...then I can come to you.)
Too many things. I am thankful for too many things. But I can narrow things down to the present.
Right now, I'm thankful for especially poofy jackets that make my niece's cheeks seem chubbier.
I'm thankful for the opportunities I have to travel. My parents and I officially planned for me to go to Hong Kong this summer to work, brush up on my Cantonese and learn wing chun. Obviously not for combative situations, but for speed and agility, reflexes and awesomeness. So I can be like Ip Man (below) and Sherlock Holmes. And Bruce Lee and my dad.
(From the movie "Ip Man," based on a true story, is available on Netflix; Rated R for violence.)
I'm thankful for my health. I chugged a whole gallon of orange juice last weekend in hopes that I will avoid the stomach bug (unlike last year).
I'm thankful for the power of prayer. They will be answered.
I'm thankful for people who care. For my family and their wise advice. For my sister and brother-in-law for letting me live in their home for a couple days. For my roommates, for my good friends.
I'm thankful for the goodness of God. There was this quote that was on my friend's corkboard. It said this:
God does notice us, and He watches over us. But it is usually through another person that He meets our needs. - Spencer W. Kimball
There were a couple random days when I felt completely dejected and stressed by everything. Everything happened at the wrong time. But, there was always someone out there ready to help me out whether through their words, their hugs or their music. They do not know how much they mean to me but I thank God for them everyday.
Happy Thanksgiving, my friends! Last, but most definitely not least, I'm thankful for you all!
Live with gratitude each day.
p.s. My niece is thankful for: ggggggggdsssaq15iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicccccc suyyyyu zxzxzzzzzzzxzzzxzzzzzzzzzzzxxxxxxxxxxxxcxzxcvbvvbvbvvbbvbvbvbvbvbvbbvbvgddddddddddfdfddffdfdfffffffdd 11111111111111111111qqqqqqq
p.p.s. This song makes me nostalgic for something...I don't know what, but I feel happy and grateful for living a good life.
But, thankfully, the after-haze of waking from the blasted dream dissipated and I realized that it was Friday, the day of the concert. My body ached from the stress of just thinking about driving my neighbor's car. The second her keys touched my palm, every imaginable horror that could occur raced through my head.
A fifty car pileup that I caused.
A freak pillar of fire coming from the heavens.
A hoard of genetically mutated apes attacking.
Anything could have happened and I believed it.
Throughout the rest of the day, I had an annoying voice in the back of my head saying, "Careful Eden. If you crash this, not only will you die, but so will Nicolle (who was going with me) and then your family will owe Matea (my neighbor who so generously let an Asian borrow her car) a bajillion dollars! And then you'll throw your family in debt because the insurance will go up! And then...! And then...! AND THEN...the world will end!"
Sigh.
Thank heavens. It was not bad at all. I think I was freaking out mostly because I had relied on a GPS all my life. Nicolle was exceptional at giving directions and so really, thanks to her, we got there in one piece.
The opener was fun to dance to. Nuff said.
Then came Dallas Green...the man behind City and Colour. And thus began the perfect ending to a stressful day.
His tender voice never failed to hit those high falsetto notes. In many songs, I put my hand in the center of my chest as I closed my eyes and felt the bass drum beat into my soul. I almost cried. (Dang, I just realized that I'm way too emotionally attached to music...but I just love it so.)
Shaky picture #1
I realize I have shaky hands. I've always sucked at taking pictures.
This guy was pretty awesome.
My only good picture from the night.
Sigh.
And when he sang "The Girl," the song I wake up to every morning, my heart told me he was singing to me and only me.
While I'm off chasing my own dreams
Sailing around the world
Please know that I'm yours to keep
My beautiful girl.
--Dallas Green
And then we went to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
And then I realized that the world will end with apes becoming smart via a weird virus that kills off mankind.
by Eden Wen
--------
Frozen in time, closed off from worlds
All I can hear are dissonant chords
That resonate soundly from shadows of my past
But it’s time I renew my life so it can begin at last.
Unable to find a place where I could belong.
Each group I chose to enter just always seemed wrong.
Old friendships die (though tonight one proven true),
New friendships too young; I'm lingering in limbo, and nothing can soothe.
I compare myself to others, I acknowledge this flaw
So when they achieve wonders, I sit in awe
Feeling that time is slipping, passing me by
And I feel I can do nothing but sit and cry.
I wish I could run, fly away from my troubles
And leave my yesterdays and escape mounds of rubble.
But, alas, I am here, alive in the present
With only two goals: beating time and regaining acceptance.
--------
Written on 11/7/11
This poem may or may not be about me. And it may or may not be about Aang, the last airbender.
But just maybe.
Moving on.
Two things.
One. On the fifth of November, I watched "V For Vendetta." It was a pretty awesome film about censorship and such. I love dystopian novels (love love love Kurt Vonnegut) so this movie was right up my alley. But here's the funny thing: we had watched the edited version and they completely cut out one of the prisoner's life stories and they didn't cut out the violently graphic scenes (those make me queasy). She was arrested because of the sole reason that she was homosexual. And the editing company edited it out. And it wasn't even explicit. Ironic. Really ironic.
Two. I love Singaporeans with every fiber of my being to the point where I actually kind of want to be one. Everytime I'm with them, I feel happy. I never really understood their accent before, but after weekly dinners with my sister and brother-in-law (who is Singaporean), it's grown on me and I enjoy just listening to them talk.
And insanity, you guys! I'm starting to be consistent in my blogging! Here's a song to celebrate.
I honestly love fun. with all my heart. And adding Janelle Monae is the cherry on the sundae. Just look at their beautiful smiles and listen to their beautiful voices.
Also, I'm going to go see City and Colour this weekend!
Gah! So excited!
I only need to go through this stress-filled week. Yay.
I've decided that I'm going to be better about blogging starting this month. I may have potentially found my blogging days (Tuesdays) and by having a solid day, I will blog more consistently. I guess I will confirm next Tuesday.
So, there are lots to talk about and because I've been so behind on blogging, please bear with me as I talk about past subjects (for example, my final conclusions on Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto, which can be found in this post) and for this long first-post-in-a-while. But before we go on, guess what I was for Halloween.
Yes, I was the greatest Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum and it only cost me a total of 50 cents (for the ornament, which I then painted with my neighbor's paint set). I proudly showed it off at multiple dances Halloween weekend and Halloween night.
I need to sleep.
What were you?
Mylo Xyloto
I have already expressed my undying loyalty to the greatest band alive on this planet here, but it'd be incredibly horrid as an avid Coldplay aficionado to forego reviewing their newest album.
Words cannot express what I felt when I first listened to this album. I slipped on my headphones and sat on my couch for 44 minutes and seven seconds and it was one of the best 44 minutes and seven seconds that I have ever spent. I sobbed tears of ecstasy for the next five minutes. It was that good.
As I listened on--four, five, ten times--and as I discussed the musicality and the lyrics of Mylo Xyloto with fellow Coldplay fans (Rachel was the one who convinced me in the end), I've come to the conclusion that Coldplay has, in fact, sold out.
What had happened, Coldplay? Chris? Jonny? Guy? Will? Anyone? Though some of their best songs have been overplayed, lyrics like "Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones and I will try to fix you" stick with you and in a good way. In Mylo Xyloto, they are catchy songs and some are quite creative ("Hurts Like Heaven," instead of hurts like hell, and "Princess of China"), but really. Listen. "Para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, ohhoooh hoohoho."
On the other hand, I absolute love love love the first track "Mylo Xyloto" going into "Hurts Like Heaven," and my niece does too. That's all she dances to when I'm babysitting and we're having a private dance party. The album was an attempt at something creative and it told a story (of falling in and then back out of love and finding hope for new love), but one has to admit that Coldplay's lyric writing has gone downhill.
