Caroling

Last week met some of the zaniest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.  A few friends and I decided that we wanted to go caroling to an asisited living center.  We had prepared some nice little gifts for those we were going to sing to.  We gave each peson a plate of cookies and a Christmas card to help their holidays be a little brighter.  Many of the recipiants of our holiday visit didn’t even realize that we were there… or if they did, they certainly didn’t show it.  There was one lady, however, whom I will not soon forget.  Her name was Doris. 

Doris was a very small and fragile little old lady.  She was sitting on her bed, leaning on her walker when we entered.  She gazed up at us looking a little dejected as we asked if we could sing to her.  She nodded.  We started our caroling with “Hark the Herald Angles Sing.”  As we sang, I could see her eyes start to twinkle, and she started to sing along.  It was an awesome feeling.  I felt like I we were just making her day.  As we finished up with the last “In excelsis deeee-eeee-ooooo!” I heard her shout emphatically, “I’m from ENGLAND!”  Then she just sat there and smiled.  We all tried to contain our laughter.  Her comment caught us completely off guard.  She then proceeded to explain that when she was a in England, she had sang that same song during Christmas time.  We sang her a few more songs, and she sang with us.  When we finished singing, we handed her the plate.  She said, “What’s this?”  “It’s your Christmas present.” We replied.  She took the card off the top of the plate and revealed the cookies.  Her eyes just about popped out of her sockets. “GOODIES!!” She yelled.  She buried her face in the plate.  When she came up for air, she pointed at each one telling us when she was going to eat them.  “I’ll eat this one now, I’ll save this one for tomorrow, and maybe I’ll eat one for breakfast too!”  It was so nice to see that dreams really do come true.  We helped Doris by giving her exactly what she wanted… a visit, some memories and “GOODIES!”

1 comment.

Clueless

Finals are over and Christmas is fast approaching.  I have my Christmas shopping done for everyone in my family except for my Mom.  I went shopping for almost four hours yesterday with my roomie, Steve.  Neither of us could find a gift that we thought would appropriately demonstrate the love and appreciation we feel towards our mothers.   Isn’t it funny that the people who you know best are the people it is so hard to shop for?  Here’s the dilemma:  My mom has pretty bad allergies, so I can’t buy her some fancy smelly soap, a perfume, lotion or a scented candle.  I don’t want to cop out and just buy her jewlery or shampoo.  A gift card is a cop-out that says I couldn’t think of anything to get you so… just take this pre-spent money, and you just don’t buy clothes for a girl if she’s not there to try them on.  Basically, all of the traditional ‘mom’ presants are out of the question.  If anyone has any ideas as to what she might want, pleeease feel free to give me your advice and councel.  I would really appreciate it. 

7 comments.

Procrasti’NATE’

This week is the busiest week of the year here in Utah County.  Half of the city is being fueled by EasyMac, pepperoni pizza, Mountain Dew and roughly 2 hours of sleep.  All of the stress resulting from three months of procrastination has built up to the result of our performances in the next few days.  It is officially crunch time.  The irony of it all is that although I have four finals to study for and various papers to write, I sit here writing on my blog.  Not only that, but I write about what I should be doing instead of actually doing it.  I do, however, feel fortunate.  I go to UVSC.  Classes are over, finals are approaching, yet most of my teachers are still offering extra credit and allowing late assignments to be turned in.  I love it.  Good luck to all who are preparing for the ultimate acedemic binge and purge.  May you purge sufficiently.

                            You know you do it.      

                           The ultimate finals week gift pack.

no comments yet.

The Power We Have

Each of us holds a great amount of power far greater, I think, than we imagine.  We hold the power of edification and destruction.  In my life, I have found that it is so much easier to destroy something than it is to build it.  I think I learned that when I was child obsessed with LEGOS.  I would sit there for hours connecting the blocks, meticulously following every little instruction in the little booklet so that my pirate ships, Imperial Walkers, and dinosaurs would come out looking perfect.  I vividly remember the times a careless drop, an overzealous friend, or a crazed sibling ruined my carefully assembled structures.  It always took a considerably longer amount of time to reconstruct them than it did to destroy them.

To this day, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the biggest buildings in our nation came crashing down to a heap of rubble and bones.  September 11th is a day we will always remember.  It was the day that thousands and thousands of lives were ruined within a matter of minutes.  It took years to build the towers, and decades to build the lives that worked within them.  They were destroyed in a manner of seconds.  Years later our nation still hasn’t recovered from it

You may be wondering why exactly I am writing about these experiences.  I am a subscriber to an advertising webpage.  Every week they send me an e-mail of their top 5 ads of the week.  I was recently sent an ad that had a major impact on me, and made me realize that I just may hold way too much power.  I know nothing about carpentry, I could never come close to constructing anything that resembles building.  I am completely clueless when it comes to cars.  I know where the gas pedal is, and I know where to put the gas.  I do have the ability, however, to build or destroy a person.  It is a scary feeling that someone’s self esteem rests in my hands.  I have the ability to throw it out the window, spit on it and stomp it under my foot; or I have the option of nurturing it, and helping it grow and bloom into something beautiful.  The epidemic of depression and ‘low self esteem’ is running rampant in our society, especially among women.  So many of them feel worthless, ugly and imperfect simply because nobody has the guts to tell them otherwise.  It  has become commonplace in our society to point out the flaws in others rather than the things that make them so beautiful.  We are terrified to say something nice.  “Somebody might think something!”  We are too comfortable bashing on each other and being mean to each other… even in jest.  If you ask me, this is a serious problem, and we need to do something about it.  Instead of being sarcastic, why not be sincere?  Instead of being defensive, why not give a compliment?  Not only do we have the power to change the world, we have the responsibility.  Please watch these videos (even if it’s just one or two), and then you tell me there isn’t a  need for a change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U&mode=related&search

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li3mg1GrKe0&mode=related&search

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omf2gwLUE8E&mode=related&search

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4euUdCLuZo&mode=related&search

1 comment.