Monday, December 22, 2008

The TWILIGHT Zone

Oh, my dear Amy friend. I went to see my good friend a bit ago and she told me all about when she went to go see Twilight. I don't think that I have seen anyone get this excited about the Twilight movie. I mean, I saw the pre-sale ticket records set by frantic mothers and teenagers and saw the facebook status updates that said, "I just saw Twilight for the 8th time and am now MORE in luv with Edward than ever be4!" But this girl? She topped it all. She couldn't stop laughing the whole time she talked. "Jennica," she said,"you have to see it. And you have to take me with you. I want to watch you watch it." Now, that may seem a little creepy, but Amy and I have been friends for over 10 years and I knew that there was some serious fun in store. About a week later I was on my way to the theater. When we walked into the theater at 4 minutes to go time, the place was deserted. I was just saying, "Amy, the place is ours! We can talk and LAUGH as much as we want!", when a lady and her daughter came in and I quit talking midsentence. (Knowing full well what a Twilight fan might do to me just knowing that I was thinking about laughing at this movie) Anyway, the lady turns to us and says, "Oh, I know, it's too bad you're not alone in here. Now you can't go up and kiss the screen. I might still do it anway though, watch out!"

Thanks lady. Every crazy Twilight fan stereotype was just solidified in you. Wow.

Well, the movie was GREAT. Seriously, I don't think something has been this unintentionally entertaining since...since...well, maybe never. There is nothing like excessive brooding, angsty teenagers, too much breathing, stellar special effects and a bedazzler gone wrong to a make a quality film. I would go into more detail, but I fear mocking Twilight in print. However, if you haven't seen this movie, go see it - and take me with you. I want to watch you watch it.

Speaking of a Twilight Zone experience, I sure had one after the movie, when I got home. When I came home I was on the phone with my dear friend Erin. I was in the middle of saying, "So, you mean that I actually have to trust the Lord on this one?", when I looked up and saw two men who looked a great deal like policemen standing at the end of the hallway that leads to our apartment. They looked at me funny, but I figured that they were just amused by the very loud conversation I was having on the phone. I was a little apprehensive, but didn't think much of them as they didn't seem to think much of me. I put my key in the lock of our apartment and as I opened the door I was greeted by 5, count them, 5 U.S. Marshals decked out in full regalia.

Now, my first thought was, "That freak of nature came back and broke into our apartment and obviously did some serious damage as the entire SWAT team was called out and my roommates are most likely either dead or have been seriously violated." I am a bit embarrassed to admit that they way this concern was shown was by me taking in the scene and feeling sufficiently frightened and overwhelmed enough to let a out an, "Oh, *#@%." I am not exactly sure if the U.S. Marshals appreciated my display of verbal prowess. I am pretty sure however, that I did break the ice regarding whatever had been happening in my apartment prior to my entrance. After my stunning display of grace, the Marshals started making jokes. They were teasing about how I was the one that they had come looking for and something about an expired parking permit. I knew they were laughing, but I was still just a little confused about what they were all doing in my apartment. I tried my best to be witty, but sometimes even my abundant wit fails me under such pressure.

While they were joking I looked around and saw that both of my roommates were safe and sound. *relief!* Hali was flipping through the ward directory with one of the Marshals and Lindsay was laughing at me with the rest of the crew. As it turns out they had come looking for someone name Haley and I guess some bright person thought Hali was close enough and sent them to our door. I guess this Haley has some spurious friends who were the actual cause of this crazy visit. About 5 minutes before I arrived, the Marshals had knocked on the door and come in with guns drawn looking for Haley. They found that all we had was a Hali (not Haley), but they searched our entire apartment anyway, maybe for good measure? But, it was just another day at the 469. We were all good chums by the end of the visit and had it been just a few minutes longer, I am sure that we would have offered them all hot cocoa and cookies.

The female of the bunch left us with the following advice, "Well, keep those beds made. You never know who may stop by." She was right. You never know. And for the record, all of our beds were made.

Monday, December 8, 2008

FIRST PRIZE!

I won't lie. I love to win things. It may have something to do with the fact that I never win anything. Who knows? However, tonight was different! We made ginger bread (graham cracker) houses for FHE. Graham crackers are an interesting medium to work with and we all had to get a little creative to make things work. We ended up with a cottage, a trailer home, a tree house, the twin towers, and a crazy castle from a video game. Lindsay and I teamed up to create our masterpiece and lucky for us, the evening ended with a little friendly competition. One of the boys was eager to win the night, so he went out and found three impartial judges. By impartial I mean that he grabbed some random people out of our complex. And guess what, folks?! Two of three voted for US! WE were the winners of the night. I won!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Happy December!

So today, it feels like Christmas. Even though the sun is shinning brightly and there is no snow, the world at large is still blessing us with cheer. My cheer today came in two ways:

1. Val brought The Muppet Christmas Carol soundtrack to the office. We may have spent the better part of the morning listening to it (and perhaps singing along).
2. Grammy Noms are out!

To celebrate this wondrous occasion I would like to list my picks for some of this year's winners. I purposely left out categories like "Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album", "Best Polka Album", or "Best Chamber Album". Please find it in your heart to forgive me.

My votes for the 51st Grammy Awards:

Record Of The Year
(Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s), if other than the artist.)

  • Chasing Pavements
    Adele
  • Viva La Vida
    Coldplay
    I wish I could vote for Adele here, but Coldplay has it in the bag.
  • Bleeding Love
    Leona Lewis

  • Paper Planes
    M.I.A

  • Please Read The Letter
    Robert Plant & Alison Krauss


Album Of The Year
(Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s)/Mixer(s) & Mastering Engineer(s), if other than the artist.)

  • Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
    Coldplay

  • Tha Carter III
    Lil Wayne

  • Year Of The Gentleman
    Ne-Yo

  • Raising Sand
    Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

  • In Rainbows
    Radiohead
    Seriously? These guys were a powerhouse this year. Who else could release a record and let fans pay whatever they wanted for it? Don't even mess with Radiohead.

Song Of The Year
(A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)

  • American Boy
    William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters (Estelle Featuring Kanye West)

  • Chasing Pavements
    Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters (Adele)

  • I'm Yours
    Jason Mraz, songwriter (Jason Mraz)
This song is currently my ringtone. I would love to have a Grammy Award winning ringtone. Go Jason!
  • Love Song
    Sara Bareilles, songwriter (Sara Bareilles)


  • Viva La Vida
    Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay)

Best New Artist
(For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.)

  • Adele
    I have been an Adele fan since she was just a free download of the week on itunes. and I TOTALLY back her up on the win for best new artisit!

  • Duffy

  • Jonas Brothers

  • Lady Antebellum

  • Jazmine Sullivan

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

  • Chasing Pavements
    Adele

  • Love Song
    Sara Bareilles

  • Mercy
    Duffy

  • Bleeding Love
  • Leona Lewis
This one is for Hali. BTW, props to the British lady invasion this year.
  • I Kissed A Girl
    Katy Perry

  • So What
    Pink

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

  • All Summer Long
    Kid Rock

  • Say
    John Mayer


  • That Was Me
    Paul McCartney

  • I'm Yours
  • Jason Mraz
Go ringtone!
  • Closer
    Ne-Yo


  • Wichita Lineman
    James Taylor

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
(For established duos or groups, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)

  • Viva La Vida
    Coldplay

  • Waiting In The Weeds
    Eagles

  • Going On
    Gnarls Barkley

  • Won't Go Home Without You
    Maroon 5

  • Apologize
    OneRepublic

    This one is for Leilani.

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
(For a collaborative performance, with vocals, by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.)

  • Lesson Learned
    Alicia Keys & John Mayer


  • 4 Minutes
    Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland
    They get the grammy just for being who they are. He brought sexy back and she is 50. Nuff said.
  • Rich Woman
    Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

  • If I Never See Your Face Again
    Rihanna & Maroon 5

  • No Air
    Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown