I am 22 years old, female, and I'm single. Apparently, this has placed a large sign on my back saying "SET ME UP!!! INTRODUCE ME TO GUYS!!!" I cannot even begin to tell you how many times people have told me that they have a guy I should meet. Even tonight at the Hip Pocket Theatre (read Lindsey's blog for the full story of this event!) we were talking to a guy who worked there about this pirate picnic they are having and he said, "...and 3 of the pirates are single!" Even complete strangers are trying to fix us up!
There is one person that actually goes further than just mentioning people to me - Gary Cooper. It seems that Gary Cooper's sole purpose in life right now is to get me married off because every time I see him, he has a new "special friend" to introduce me to. He seeks me out at church to introduce me to the boy of the week or to tell me how much he wishes I had been at the wedding the night before because he had a guy to introduce me to there. And here's the thing...I don't mind at all! I mean, if you're going to tell me there is a guy that would be good for me, at least do me the courtesy of introducing me! Now someone just needs to go one step further and actually set me up...I like tall guys.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Friday, June 24, 2005
New Book
I love reading. I love going to Barnes and Noble and just wandering around for hours looking at all the books that I hope to eventually read before finally picking the one that I am going to buy. I like finding obscure authors and reading all of their books, sometimes finding good ones and sometimes finding bad ones. The summer is the perfect time for me to exercise this hobby because during the school year I have too much required reading to do. Even though I don't do a lot of the required reading, I just feel guilty reading something else instead. Now that VBS is over, I finally have time to start reading again. So I will be occasionally posting the current book I am reading and my armchair-critics view of it.
The first book in my summer run is Dean Koontz's Velocity. I actually bought this on an impulse at the grocery store yesterday. I really like Dean Koontz and the display consisted of a picture of a note saying, "If you don't take this not to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher somwhere in Napa County. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have six hours to decide. The choice is yours." Dean Koontz is really an interesting author because in the middle of his mystery novels, he always inserts a great message about faith and redemption and God. It is really cool the way he does it without making it too corny like a lot of Christian authors. I can't wait to get into this one! See you later!
The first book in my summer run is Dean Koontz's Velocity. I actually bought this on an impulse at the grocery store yesterday. I really like Dean Koontz and the display consisted of a picture of a note saying, "If you don't take this not to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher somwhere in Napa County. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have six hours to decide. The choice is yours." Dean Koontz is really an interesting author because in the middle of his mystery novels, he always inserts a great message about faith and redemption and God. It is really cool the way he does it without making it too corny like a lot of Christian authors. I can't wait to get into this one! See you later!
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
To Kelly and Anonymous
I just wanted to clarify my intent behind the last post. VBS is 100% for the kids. I understand that and the cast understands that. It doesn't make me upset at the kids when they clap or scream because we want them to have fun. I loved hearing them go nuts tonight during the disco medley when the plagues were flying around everywhere. But what really bothers me is the teenagers who start it because to them, clapping with the music and screaming when the lights go out has nothing to do with enjoying the show, they do it purely because they think its funny when the kids clap off beat and try to see if they can throw the actors off. Their motives are what bug me. And the reason I don't like clapping with the music is the same reason I don't like it when people don't speak loud enough for mics to pick them up - it drowns out the music and as a wise man once said, "If we can't hear you, you might as well have stayed home tonight." So to sum it all up - kids = good ; vbs = for kids ; emily's blog = not meant to upset people ; emily = sorry
Pet Peeves Part 2
A long time ago, I posted a list of my pet peeves. Today I have a couple to add to the list - all being VBS related.
1. Kids screaming when the lights go out in between scenes. This ONLY happens at Altamesa. I have been to the exact same type of VBS at 3 different churches, Richland Hills, Saturn Road, and Sugar Grove in Houston and no one dreams of doing this. Altamesa has tried different things to stop this phenomenon, one year succeeding by turning on a spot light and waving it all over the room to amaze the kids so much they wouldn't scream, but after the first year of that, it lost its allure and the screaming commenced. We've just accepted it as the norm now, but it still bugs me.
2. Clapping along with the music. Last night, the opening number was a medley of One and Boulevard of Broken Dreams. It was supposed to be very mellow and sad because Moses was alone in the desert and sad, until about 4 bars into One, everyone started clapping with the music, making it absolutely impossible for me to hear the background music and keep on beat and totally ruining the mood of this song. I guess we all of a sudden were happy that he was alone or something. On Night 1, they made an announcement at the beginning saying not to clap with the music, but forgot to make that announcement last night. You could make the announcement on nights 1, 2, and 3, and forget on 4 and they would clap on night 4. I'm hoping the video won't show TOO much of an expression change on my face...
3. Youth Groups. Only during VBS is the youth group my pet peeve, but they are always solely responsible for numbers 1 and 2, so they have to make the list. They start the screaming and consider it an honor when they are responsible for the clapping. And the worst part is, if you tell them not to, it only fuels the fire even more and you are assured that the screaming will be louder and the clapping even more off beat than usual. Gilkey - get control of your hoodlums (all of whom I will start loving again on Thursday morning when VBS is over!)
1. Kids screaming when the lights go out in between scenes. This ONLY happens at Altamesa. I have been to the exact same type of VBS at 3 different churches, Richland Hills, Saturn Road, and Sugar Grove in Houston and no one dreams of doing this. Altamesa has tried different things to stop this phenomenon, one year succeeding by turning on a spot light and waving it all over the room to amaze the kids so much they wouldn't scream, but after the first year of that, it lost its allure and the screaming commenced. We've just accepted it as the norm now, but it still bugs me.
2. Clapping along with the music. Last night, the opening number was a medley of One and Boulevard of Broken Dreams. It was supposed to be very mellow and sad because Moses was alone in the desert and sad, until about 4 bars into One, everyone started clapping with the music, making it absolutely impossible for me to hear the background music and keep on beat and totally ruining the mood of this song. I guess we all of a sudden were happy that he was alone or something. On Night 1, they made an announcement at the beginning saying not to clap with the music, but forgot to make that announcement last night. You could make the announcement on nights 1, 2, and 3, and forget on 4 and they would clap on night 4. I'm hoping the video won't show TOO much of an expression change on my face...
3. Youth Groups. Only during VBS is the youth group my pet peeve, but they are always solely responsible for numbers 1 and 2, so they have to make the list. They start the screaming and consider it an honor when they are responsible for the clapping. And the worst part is, if you tell them not to, it only fuels the fire even more and you are assured that the screaming will be louder and the clapping even more off beat than usual. Gilkey - get control of your hoodlums (all of whom I will start loving again on Thursday morning when VBS is over!)
Monday, June 20, 2005
Texas Rangers and Beach Boys
Katie, Stephen, and I went to the Rangers game on Saturday night. We had great seats and the 4 homeruns in the first 2 innings weren't bad either. But the highlight was the Wells Fargo Fireworks show after the game. They played Beach Boys music and timed the fireworks to match the music that was playing. It was the best fireworks show I have ever seen. So we started talking about what songs we thought would be played. Stephen mentioned Kokomo and I really didn't think it would be played because I didn't think it was a Beach Boys song. So I started arguing that it wasn't Beach Boys - it was the band Cocktail. I just KNEW it was Cocktail because I had a tape when I was little with that song on it that I used to listen to every night before I went to sleep. I knew that Cocktail sang Kokomo, until Stephen informed me the the band Beach Boys sang Kokomo on the MOVIE Cocktail! I have spent my entire life thinking that a band named Cocktail sang that song when I actually had the movie soundtrack. It could have been worse, but it certainly wasn't the least embarrassing moment of my life. What are some things you've believed for a long time that turned out not to be true? Lets all share our semi-embarrassing moments and then go get a sno cone to ease the pain.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
National Abandon Your Blog Day!
Apparently today is National Abandon Your Blog Day and I was not informed! Going down my daily checklist of blogs usually can take up a good hour or so, especially if I comment, and today it has taken 20 min. flat. The only people who posted today were Lindsey (ol' faithful), Trey (new faithful), MC, and Jonathan Root. So now I'm left sitting at home with the dreaded conjunctivitis (ol' pink eye) that has been going around our group with nothing left to read. I've already exhausted the stash of built up TV shows on our TIVO that I saved for a rainy (or should I say, eye runny) day and have nothing left. What do you people have? Lives? Don't let those get in the way of your blogging duties!! Entertain me!!
Sorry, I'm going a little stir crazy. Little side note though: I can't find my glasses and can't wear contacts right now, so my mom took me to buy new glasses after my eye doctor appointment today! Pink eye has it's upsides. And since there is no such thing as generic brand glasses anymore (if you've bought any recently, you know what I mean) I got to buy a pair of Kate Spade glasses....nearly the cheapest ones in the store next to Dolce and Gabbana, Vera Wang, Versace, and some super-special swedish brand that weighs less than 2 paperclips. Its a designer world out there now and I'm getting my (very) small part of it.
Sorry, I'm going a little stir crazy. Little side note though: I can't find my glasses and can't wear contacts right now, so my mom took me to buy new glasses after my eye doctor appointment today! Pink eye has it's upsides. And since there is no such thing as generic brand glasses anymore (if you've bought any recently, you know what I mean) I got to buy a pair of Kate Spade glasses....nearly the cheapest ones in the store next to Dolce and Gabbana, Vera Wang, Versace, and some super-special swedish brand that weighs less than 2 paperclips. Its a designer world out there now and I'm getting my (very) small part of it.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Bridesmaids and Wedding Bouquets
This weekend, I was a bridesmaid at the wedding of my best friend from ACU, Ashley Bruner (now Ashley Lee). I could probably write about 100 different anecdotes about this weekend, including one about the tragedy of having a name changed to Ashley Lee, but for now, I want to talk about the tradition of tossing the bouquet.
Tossing the bouquet has always been a fun part of a wedding reception, all the single girls get in a clump and fight over the flowers in hopes of being "the next to get married." But in the past couple of years, this tradition has become a little bit of a downer. Not because I'm still one of the single girls, that doesn't really bother me, but the fact that I feel like I'm not allowed to catch the bouquet. This is because it has become a part of the tradition that the only person allowed to even TRY to catch the bouquet is the bridesmaid with the most serious relationship. Anyone else diving for the flowers is given the look of death and promptly asked to leave. Not really, but close!
So back to yesterday...I am not in a relationship of any kind, much less a serious one. One of the other bridesmaids, Bethany, has been dating a guy for a few months that she thinks is "the one." So before the toss, Bethany was talking about how she wanted it and Nichole said, "Don't worry, the rest of us will back away from it for you so you can get it." and tried to tell Ashley to throw it to Bethany. I was annoyed because I hate feeling like I can't even try just because I don't have a boyfriend. But when Ashley said, "I'm not throwing it to anyone! Whoever gets it, gets it!" I knew that this was my only chance. So we all get in our little clump, Ashley stands with her back to us, and makes the toss. It is headed right towards Bethany who is standing 2 people over from me, so I, in my freakishly tall glory (our shoes made me 6 ft. tall), reach right over the head of the flower girl and pluck it out of the air right in front of Bethany's face! I broke the mold! I did end up feeling bad though, since I don't have anyone to pressure into proposing, so I said that Bethany and I "tied" and gave it to her. But I know that I caught it and everyone thought it was really funny and an awesome catch! So even though I chickened out on my own version of Custer's last stand against unattached, single girl discrimination by giving Bethany the bouquet, I know in my own heart that I defeated the heinous crime that has happened to the grand tradition of bouquet tossing.
Tossing the bouquet has always been a fun part of a wedding reception, all the single girls get in a clump and fight over the flowers in hopes of being "the next to get married." But in the past couple of years, this tradition has become a little bit of a downer. Not because I'm still one of the single girls, that doesn't really bother me, but the fact that I feel like I'm not allowed to catch the bouquet. This is because it has become a part of the tradition that the only person allowed to even TRY to catch the bouquet is the bridesmaid with the most serious relationship. Anyone else diving for the flowers is given the look of death and promptly asked to leave. Not really, but close!
So back to yesterday...I am not in a relationship of any kind, much less a serious one. One of the other bridesmaids, Bethany, has been dating a guy for a few months that she thinks is "the one." So before the toss, Bethany was talking about how she wanted it and Nichole said, "Don't worry, the rest of us will back away from it for you so you can get it." and tried to tell Ashley to throw it to Bethany. I was annoyed because I hate feeling like I can't even try just because I don't have a boyfriend. But when Ashley said, "I'm not throwing it to anyone! Whoever gets it, gets it!" I knew that this was my only chance. So we all get in our little clump, Ashley stands with her back to us, and makes the toss. It is headed right towards Bethany who is standing 2 people over from me, so I, in my freakishly tall glory (our shoes made me 6 ft. tall), reach right over the head of the flower girl and pluck it out of the air right in front of Bethany's face! I broke the mold! I did end up feeling bad though, since I don't have anyone to pressure into proposing, so I said that Bethany and I "tied" and gave it to her. But I know that I caught it and everyone thought it was really funny and an awesome catch! So even though I chickened out on my own version of Custer's last stand against unattached, single girl discrimination by giving Bethany the bouquet, I know in my own heart that I defeated the heinous crime that has happened to the grand tradition of bouquet tossing.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Post 2 for the Night
The trailer for the movie version of Rent was released today! Watch it here. The website for the movie is http://sony.com/rent. I know at least Katie and Stephen will be excited with me...
I see your point...
Today I went to lunch with my dad and saw a guy wearing a shirt that said, "I see your point, but I still think you're stupid." I couldn't stop laughing because it really struck a chord with me. I used to be a debater. Not a technical goes-to-competition debater, but I loved taking politics, religion, anything I had an opinion on and talking it to death until I convinced the other person I was right. I did this any chance I got, so much that I even had my picture on MTV's Choose or Lose website during the presidential elections because I wrote a really well thought out post that caught their attention. A lot of times, convincing people I was right was pretty easy - several of my friends were severely uneducated on current affairs and would basically believe anything I told them. But every now and then, I would meet my match with someone just as opinionated as me, just as stubborn, and on the opposite side of the issue. Even if I knew I was 100% right and could prove it, these people would argue with me on and on because they thought they were 100% right.
In the past year or so, I have discovered that this debating is completely pointless. No matter how many concrete facts I present, no matter how much knowledge I have on the issue, if I am talking to someone who is just like me only opposite, the conversation will go nowhere because neither one of us will change our minds. My life has been a little easier over the last year or two after recognizing this. I have just decided that if it is an issue that I will never sway on, why should I expect someone else to? So from now on, when someone tries to get me into a debate about George Bush by saying he is the worst thing ever to happen to this country and trying to throw quotes from Farenheit 911 in my face (Michael Moore - another topic completely!), I will just smile politely and think to myself, "I see your point, but I still think you're stupid."
***Disclaimer***
Before people jump all over me in comments, I don't think that if you dislike George Bush, you are automatically stupid. People are entitled to their own opinions and I respect that. I just think that a lot of people use flawed reasoning in their dislikes, but I probably use some flawed reasoning in my dislikes of other politicians. The last sentence of the post was merely an example of a very common debate that people have attempted to drag me into.
In the past year or so, I have discovered that this debating is completely pointless. No matter how many concrete facts I present, no matter how much knowledge I have on the issue, if I am talking to someone who is just like me only opposite, the conversation will go nowhere because neither one of us will change our minds. My life has been a little easier over the last year or two after recognizing this. I have just decided that if it is an issue that I will never sway on, why should I expect someone else to? So from now on, when someone tries to get me into a debate about George Bush by saying he is the worst thing ever to happen to this country and trying to throw quotes from Farenheit 911 in my face (Michael Moore - another topic completely!), I will just smile politely and think to myself, "I see your point, but I still think you're stupid."
***Disclaimer***
Before people jump all over me in comments, I don't think that if you dislike George Bush, you are automatically stupid. People are entitled to their own opinions and I respect that. I just think that a lot of people use flawed reasoning in their dislikes, but I probably use some flawed reasoning in my dislikes of other politicians. The last sentence of the post was merely an example of a very common debate that people have attempted to drag me into.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Out of the Early Majority
As most of you know, I just graduated with a marketing degree. One fundamental concept in marketing is target markets and market segments. People who adopt new products or ideas before most people know about them are innovators, followed by early adopters, early majority, late majority, and finally laggards. I have recently realized that when it comes to good television shows, I tend to stick to the early or late majority while my best friends are all early adopters. They all see a commercial for a new show and immediately start watching it from the first episode. I guess I usually wait a while so I don't waste my time on a show that isn't good, but I find myself dismissing shows that I eventually love and feeling really stupid for mocking the show in the past. Here are a few prime examples:
- America's Next Top Model: I made fun of Lindsey SO much for watching this show until I got the flu and caught the VH1 marathon last february. I now love it so much that I Tivo'd the 1st season marathon that happened yesterday.
- Survivor: Once again, mocked the Weaver's for watching Season 1 until Patty forced me to watch the 1st episode of season 2 after the superbowl. I've been hooked ever since.
- Amazing Race: Never made fun of anyone, but just didn't really desire to watch it. Now I love it.
- Bachelor/Bachelorette: refused to watch the first 2 seasons, then started loving it, now wishing I had stuck with my original evaluation.
- Gilmore Girls: Thought it sounded stupid. Now I know it is one of the best shows on television
- Alias: I know you're probably shocked to see this one on the list, but Patty tried to get me to watch it for a while and it wasn't until last year when my roommates rented the DVDs that I started watching it at all!
- Last Comic Standing: refused to watch season 1, friends got me started on season 2 and now I wish they would keep going with it!
- Grey's Anatomy: I have watched this since the first episode, but I am putting it on the list because there is no way I would have ever watched this on my own if people around me hadn't just turned it on. But I was not excited about watching it.
I think I do this because when just spoken, the premise of ANY show sounds ridiculous and kinda stupid, but when they are actually on screen, they end up being good. The point of all of this is that Entertainment Weekly just listed a line-up of some of the new shows starting next season. Right now not one of them sounds good to me at all. One is about 4400 people that were abducted by aliens coming back to save the world and most of the others follow suit. But I have decided that I am going to start giving new shows a chance to prove themselves (so Lindsey, I will be watching The Cut with you at first....) so that I don't feel so dumb when I end up loving them later. If anyone wants to join me in my new show marathon, give me a call and we'll get together next fall to start my ascent out of the early majority.
- America's Next Top Model: I made fun of Lindsey SO much for watching this show until I got the flu and caught the VH1 marathon last february. I now love it so much that I Tivo'd the 1st season marathon that happened yesterday.
- Survivor: Once again, mocked the Weaver's for watching Season 1 until Patty forced me to watch the 1st episode of season 2 after the superbowl. I've been hooked ever since.
- Amazing Race: Never made fun of anyone, but just didn't really desire to watch it. Now I love it.
- Bachelor/Bachelorette: refused to watch the first 2 seasons, then started loving it, now wishing I had stuck with my original evaluation.
- Gilmore Girls: Thought it sounded stupid. Now I know it is one of the best shows on television
- Alias: I know you're probably shocked to see this one on the list, but Patty tried to get me to watch it for a while and it wasn't until last year when my roommates rented the DVDs that I started watching it at all!
- Last Comic Standing: refused to watch season 1, friends got me started on season 2 and now I wish they would keep going with it!
- Grey's Anatomy: I have watched this since the first episode, but I am putting it on the list because there is no way I would have ever watched this on my own if people around me hadn't just turned it on. But I was not excited about watching it.
I think I do this because when just spoken, the premise of ANY show sounds ridiculous and kinda stupid, but when they are actually on screen, they end up being good. The point of all of this is that Entertainment Weekly just listed a line-up of some of the new shows starting next season. Right now not one of them sounds good to me at all. One is about 4400 people that were abducted by aliens coming back to save the world and most of the others follow suit. But I have decided that I am going to start giving new shows a chance to prove themselves (so Lindsey, I will be watching The Cut with you at first....) so that I don't feel so dumb when I end up loving them later. If anyone wants to join me in my new show marathon, give me a call and we'll get together next fall to start my ascent out of the early majority.
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