Happy Thanksgiving!

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.

And then the world will end.

I jolted up, gasping for air. I had crashed the car. The first time that I borrow someone else's car and I crash it. Ten points for Eden.

All I had wanted to do was to see City and Colour perform.

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.

Music, and Musings of Eden: 11/7/11

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. 

Happy November and review of Mylo Xyloto.

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.

I guess I'm saying I prefer "Kingdom Come" and "Warning Sign" over "Major Minus" and "Charlie Brown."

Nevertheless, I still love Coldplay.

I'm alive...barely.

My friends, it's been a while. Where to begin, where to begin...

I've been really busy. When I'm not working, I'm in class. When I'm not in class, I'm at the PR lab. When I'm not in the PR lab, I'm in the Wilk eating. When I'm not in the Wilk eating, I'm at home reading Marx. When I'm not at home reading Marx, I'm in my bed sleeping with a billion thoughts running through my head.

On weekends, I make an effort to socialize. I end up internally curling up into a ball due to exhaustion from the week as I sit back and do what I do best: observe, listen and laugh.

But looking back at the calendar, here's what you missed in my life:
My article about Asians made The Student Review.

My Asian friends.

It's weird. It was like this photo was the start of something new. I met all of them (with the exception of Crystal...the one right above me) that day. And now the guy in the yellow shirt is my home teacher and the girl in the yellow shirt is my FHE mom. It's funny how the world works.

I have a newfound love for kittens. Can't you just see me snuggling up with a little kitten in my arms? Can't you?

My friend showed me this. I laughed. But it's kind of how I feel about kittens.

I found out Sunday that I'm lactose intolerant. Did you know that it is most prevalent among Asian peoples? Yeah, I found that out too. Also, it's hard to stop taking in dairy when you have been for all your life. On Thursday, I was catering with friends at a friend's friend's engagement party. They had soup shots that were to die for. I had at least fifty shots. Problem was that it was Wisconsin cheese and cauliflower. And I had at least fifty. FIFTY. I didn't feel so well, but I got paid and I got to meet and mingle with wonderful people.

There were a group of people there who had Power Ranger shirts on. They were the coolest as they are accepting me in their exclusive club and offered me a membership. I had offered to be the Yellow Ranger.

That's right, I'm popular.

I got Bradley PR labber of the week a couple weeks ago. I'm still savoring the pound of fudge and pride I received that day.

Marx has taken over my life. I'm reading him for my Anthropology class and the other day, I caught myself saying something quite Marxian. It was in a joking manner, but nevertheless, it kind of scared me.

Currently, I am in the process of creating a device that recaptures all the lost thoughts that fall through the holes of my mind. It's becoming more and more prevalent in my thought process--probably due to my lack of sleep?--and it just happened to me. I remembered something important that I had to do, but it just escaped me.....

Here is a song for you to enjoy as I close this long awaited post.

Have a beautiful day, my friends.

News flash.

I am officially changing my blogging days. I don't know to which day, but definitely not on Mondays. Too stressful.

I still love you all.

Happy Mid-Autumn!

Currently, I'm trying to breeze through this blogpost because I just received my email from Pottermore and heck, I am spending the rest of the day on it (after homework, of course, like the responsible Asian student that I am).

Quick life update: I started work today at the Blue Line Deli in the Tanner Building (visit me). Not bad for the first day, though it was kind of hectic. And it is inevitable: everytime I wear white pants, I will always spill something onto it. Also, it gets super hot there, yes it does.

This was me. But not really....it wasn't that bad.

Also, I joined the Asian Ward. Officially. Papers and records are IN.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Moon Festival. I was reading up on the traditions on Wikipedia and I came across some customs I didn't know before so I'm guessing you never known either. I shall educate you:

1. Eating mooncake. Let's be honest: I knew about this because it involves one of three things that I love and are almost always at Chinese festivals (food, money/redpackets, and lanterns). I have a huge mooncake sitting in my pantry now calling to me. And when I say "sitting in my pantry," I mean "in my hands about to be devoured."

2. Matchmaking. I think of Mulan everytime. And a little of The Fiddler on the Roof.

3. Carrying brightly lit lanterns. I have lanterns. And birthday candles.

But not really. Because I'm safe.

4. Burning incense for deities. 

5. Dragon Dances.

6. Celebrating the fullest and brightest moon of the year.

So go out and enjoy the moon tonight. It should be beautiful.

And here is an unrelated song for you to enjoy as I close.

Blah blah blah.

Um. This post is mainly to keep up with my promise of posting every Monday (or Sunday). I apologize. And I need to go and do homework now because I didn't do any today. Boo.

So yes. I was going to post earlier, but I did not. I also was going to do homework earlier, but I did not. Instead, I had a "Community" marathon with my roommates and friends, worked on a 1000 piece puzzle, and made dinner for five. I also played my ukulele on a rooftop for a little bit and Crystal and I made up a song on the spot. Keep an eye out for "Ukulele Meditations," releasing soon in a music store near you.

Meh, I don't mean to get too emotional-ish in my posts, but I feel somewhat...not special. I mean, I walk outside the other day and someone down the street is jammin' on their uke with twice the skill I have. I've kinda grown into a closet musician because there are just so many here. I'm second rate, second best and I don't really deserve to be called a musician...I'm kinda...replaceable. And I am not saying this to get pity. It's really how I feel. Anyway, enough of real emotions.

I'm writing for the Student Review, as I said in the previous post. Not only that, I'm in charge of highlighting a YouTube video every issue (because I'm a YouTubaholic). So I chose five videos and now it's time to vote on one.

Ghost

Instrumental Cover

Wong Fu

Harry Potter

Dual Step

Let me know which one you like the most by commenting with the name of the video.

Thank you, my friends. Have a beautiful rest of your evening.

To the guy on his bike...

To the guy on his bike who I almost knocked off,

I apologize. Honestly, I just woke up and I didn't even see you zooming down the road and by the time I saw you (or rather, heard you...never have I ever heard "Woah!" said with such fear...), I was just like a deer in headlights. I'm sorry I just stood there and I hope I didn't completely ruin your day. Ride safe and I promise to look both ways more thoroughly.

Sincerely,
Eden

I'm glad this didn't happen.

On another note, I started school today. I'm in the middle of yet another two/three hour break and I hate it. I just want to go to school and be done, but with the classes I'm taking, the best teachers are teaching at these sporadic hours. But hey, now I know that I will have time to blog on Mondays. Maybe.

It's ridiculously hot here. I don't like it at all. Plus, I keep on forgetting that this is a freaking desert so I'm constantly dehydrated. If you see me on campus, no matter where I am, just tell me to drink water. Chances are I just forget to hydrate and I'm just drudging along. Or better yet, remind me to buy a water bottle or something. I just need to drink water....

Also, there was an independent student newspaper here at BYU back in the day that died because of lack of funds. But, it is being revived. Guess who has her own column. That's right. Me. I'm supposed to represent the Asian at BYU (I wonder why...) and it was fun finishing my first article. But anyway, if you want to see this article in all its glory, please donate a little bit. It would stink to have done all this work and not to even have a first copy. So on behalf of BYU's Student Review:
thestudentreview.org/donations

Anyway, lots of love and prayers for my family and friends on the East Coast. Update on my family: they're doing fine. All of my town has no power so that means it will take at least a week to get things running again.

I hope you all have a beautiful day.

Hurricane Irene.

Hopefully, you've heard about Hurricane Irene.

So, a couple Sundays ago, we had a whole Sunday school devoted to hurricane preparedness. An area authority of my church felt inspired to talk about it to the congregations in the area. They began the presentation with the statement, "The last major hurricane to hit the NYC area was September 21, 1938." And according to weather patterns and stuff, we were long long long overdue for one. (ready4tomorrow.org)

I was at the gym today and was gasping for air, not because my cardio workout was too much. It was because I was watching the weather.

While I am here in Utah, my family, friends, my home is in Connecticut. I saw my heart rate soar on my cardio machine.

I had just barely finished storing water for my family before I left for the airport. And the week before I left, I finished their 72-hour kits.

There was also an earthquake in Virginia that my sister felt in Connecticut. I received her text on Tuesday:

Earthquake! The kitchen cabinet was rattling but i though a big truch was just driving by the house Hehe

I had friends in Virginia, but they're all good. They just said that the "house was making some weird noises."

Blah...I'm just worrying right now. Almost every single home in Connecticut is surrounded by trees and power lines.

My East Coast readers, please be safe. Charge your phones, buy water, food, batteries.

I don't know, I may be overreacting, but I'll be praying for you guys anyway.

Back to school.

Today, I bought five college-ruled, 70 paged notebooks, two cases of 12 pencils, one case of 10 pens, and one folder. The total came out to be $1.48. Also, my most expensive textbook, coming in around $150, I got for $50. That's right. I know how to save money.

So, here I am, back in Utah. I got in late Saturday, early Sunday. Saturday was the strangest day for me. My family and I went to Flushing, Queens, with some friends when all of a sudden, I spotted someone in the corner of the dim sum restaurant we were in. My older sister and my brother-in-law's friends, who recently moved to New York, were just finishing up. Out of all the places in the world, we bumped into each other in that restaurant. I love them much. They were the ones who got me General Conference tickets last April and the October before. And they're genuinely good people.

I love dim sum.

Then, on the plane, my friend's mom had the seat across the aisle from me. And it turned out another family in my ward was on the same plane. One was attending a wedding, the other was having a wedding. Too many weddings.

Anyway, when I got off the plane, all of a sudden, I realized I couldn't really breathe. My friend's mom was trying to talk to me but I kept having to cough and catch my breath. I cursed Utah's arid air and high elevation, Connecticut's moisture-saturated air, and my own body. Had my body not been accustomed to Connecticut's humidity, then Utah's dryness probably would not have gotten to me. The high elevation...meh.

I am quite excited for this year. I'm trying to figure out if I want to change my major to Public Relation and switch my Anthropology major to a minor (which would help with my PR major). It's still in the works. Either way, it'd be easy for me to make Anthropology a minor; I just need to take 16 credits of Anthropology classes. I'm also taking a Anthropology class on China and I am totally psyched for that. I've really gotten in touch with my roots this summer.

(Sadly, none of the "good" pictures came out well...these were the best.)

Still jet lagged and tired. And it's hot here. And dry. And there are no trees. On the plus side, gas is at a more reasonable price. But I don't own a car.