Not quite where I wanted to go, but...

So last night was the much-anticipated, somewhat feared, and definitely long-worked for 2007 Year in review c.d. exchange...and all in all, was pretty much a success. We had about 12 people here...and almost as many c.d.s. It was an eclectic group, with family, friends, frenemies, old loves, new friends, and a plethora of musical tastes.

I, of course, had a mini minor melt-down...but let me say, I feel it was justified for the following reasons. Wait, let's give the story first for the readers who were not there...so, Adam and Jess. Everyone was playing their favorite songs from the c.d., and they were being received well. Then I got up and put on "One Man Guy" by Rufus. Immediately, some of the people there started questioning the title, disparaging Rufus, and just generally making fun of my choice. So, I said that nobody got to listen to the song...in other words, the spirit of the moment was gone...and I put on a different song while everyone half-heartedly said "Jenny, No." Now I know it was all in jest, but once again, I feel my (very very) minor flare-up was justified because:

1. Just because Rufus is gay does not mean that every song is about sex with men. So, stop looking for homosexual references in the title. Give the song a chance. Everyone else got a listen through.

2. I love this song. I feel like Rufus infuses it with a great deal of urgency, and sings it with the kind of emoti0n and care that only someone who is singing a song their parents sang/loved can. BTW, his dad wrote the song. So, I felt like when your judging my favorite song, you are hurting me a little. O.k., I know that is a bit irrational, and I know I am acting like a girl, but indulge me a bit because

3. I just had a life-changing day yesterday. I made a huge decision, and am saying good-bye to a phase of my life that lasted 12 years. A phase I gave everything to. I am a little on edge, and scared to death of the future. One where I have to be alone in church...a place where I have always felt so safe and comfortable, and have had someone to give the elbow to in Sunday School. So, I am sorry I freaked out a little, but I'm a little confused right now.

4. I put my heart and soul into this c.d. I know that some may have just found their favorite songs, and I will be the first to admit that I did that last year, but I spent literally months putting this project together. Picking and discarding music since about October, trying to make the playlist work since the beginning of December, planning the title and cover, putting a poem that I wrote on the cover, i.e. exposing a bit of myself I usually keep pretty hidden, and at the last minute finding I couldn't get some of the songs, and so having to re-work it again (although, I think I am even more pleased with the result!!) was an absolute labor of love. It is also a very revealing cd, because each song reflects my emotions regarding some of my experiences this last year. So, I know you were all just joking around, but it felt like you were stepping on my heart, just a little.

O.k., that was a little overly-dramatic, but just because I am 30, and going to try to become an adult, doesn't mean I can keep it up all the time. Besides, I have been reading poetry lately, and you all know what that does to me...

"I have spread my dreams under your feet-
Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams." Yeats

Anyway, I hope you all know I still love you all, and know you will give my c.d. a try. I can not wait to listen to everyone's creations. I am listening to my first one this morning, and it is both affirming of what I know about this person, yet also surprising in what it reveals about him/her.

Thanks to Denise for creating the group and bringing us all together.

Sorry about the rant-but if you can't do it here...

Please don't give up on me now - tomorrow will be a much better post.

jko

Chistmas makes you feel...murderous?

So, instead of going back to bed for 30 minutes after my shower (truly, one of my very favorite things to do!!), I have decided to write this morning and tell a little bit about my day yesterday.

It all began when I went over to the Mall to help judge the submissions for the Christmas story contest. The stories had to be written by someone from Kindergarten to Grade 5, and they had to start with either " 'Twas the night before Christmas..." or "Once upon a Time". So, three of us read through the 411 submissions. It didn't take as long as I thought it would for the following reasons:

1. Most of the stories were pretty short - usually about a page long.

2. Tons of them borrowed heavily from recent Christmas movies. There was a lot of Jack Frosts, Gingy (from Shrek...not a Christmas move, but Gingerbread man, come on), and some evil elf named Grimley showed up in about 50 stories??!! As soon as I saw these characters, I would pretty much stop reading as originality was the main criteria.

3. You could also stop as soon as you saw one or (shockingly) all of the following: knives, grenades, evil Santa, any killing of Santa, demons, Santa vs the Easter Bunny, wars, and any story cover absolutely bristling with glitter (I think there is still some in my my hair...) There are some seriously twisted kids out there who want to kill Santa, and who have seen movies that I probably still wouldn't watch...Saw 4 shown at the store isn't sounding so controversial anymore becuase of my favorite title of the day:

4."The night I thought I saw Jason Voorhies on Christmas and my Birthday" complete with illustration of a young child cowering under the covers while a fully-suited Jason stands menacingly in the doorway. This from a grade 4 student. I mean, I think Santa saved the kid, but it is still highly disturbing, nonetheless.

The winners wrote some sweet and original stories, and Chapters gave them 50 dollar gift cards. Tne winning school also received a 500 dollar gift card.

Have a wonderful morning and day, everyone!!

"Don't lie to the missionaries"

So I am officially trying to do something with my life.

This week I applied for two jobs, and got an on-the-spot interview at one of them. I applied for a legal assistant job, and the interview for that one went very well!! I know that there are a lot of more qualified people out there, but I did a pretty great job of impressing the lady who quizzed me. I thought I gave intelligent and thought-provoking answers, and I think she liked me.

The second job is the one closest to my heart, and it is an Event Planning job at the College. Yay!! I wrote a killer cover-letter, and I hope to hear if I get an interview sometime early next week. Cross your fingers, say a prayer, whatever!!! I would love this job!! Even if I don't get either job, however, it is good to be doing something. It is great to have a place to channel my energies, and come on! Who doesn't love the endless possibility of rejection? We all know I am an absolute sucker for it.

On that note, and really anything pertaining to the year 2007, I am narrowing down (once again) my picks for the year in review cd. There is an awesome amount of people participating, and I want to make this album the. best. ever. Some might be saying that it is not a competition, and believe you me, I was right there with you until yesterday. However, one Eric Garner, brother of Denise, raised the stakes by saying that his was going to be the best. Anyone who knows me knows that if you even mention competition, every nerve starts to tingle, the fists come out, and you have yourself a throw-down, courtesy of JKO. Uh-huh.

Just saying. Be prepared.

Anyway, it is officially the weekend and...no, wait. I have to work tomorrow. So, Denise, you can say I got the day off today, but you better lock your door in the morning, 'cause there will be a punching of throats tomorrow for anyone who is still in bed when I leave. At least I will get to be on cash where it won't be too busy...no, wait...

Ah, downstairs right now, there is my favorite show going on, as performed, as always by Jarrett and his girlfriend. On her part there is the screaming, crying, and begging, and he is maniacally laughing. Really, it is just the classiest people that live down there. If Denise was here, she may yell at them that Jesus doesn't like it when you beat your girl-friend, but as I have to go change my laundry in about 15 minutes, I don't want to make any waves. Hopefully I'll get a taste of my second-favorite show that goes on when I venture down there...

Ciao (or chow), all you beautiful people!!

Never go up against Jenny when Mocha is on the line...

O.k., this is it. Blog #100.

Wow. I don't really know what to say, besides "thank-you to everyone who helped me get this far"

Anyway, I have to start by thanking Denise for saying that she lost/I won the bet. I can tell you that it was definitely over the minute I took my first sip of the Italian Soda. Sorry to everyone who doesn't know what the bet was about...Ask me sometime and I'll tell you. Except Braden. I enjoy torturing you.

This weekend, we had a wonderful party for Keely on Friday. Unfortunately, I was absent for about 90 minutes of it, but what I was there for was fantastic!! If anything, it gave me a reason to clean my room!! On Saturday, we had the Ward Christmas Party, which was great! I think my favorite parts of the night included: the mad scramble to get the desserts prepared, Joseph mumbling to me something about the piano after my musical number, double death grip in the kitchen, the killer apron I got to wear, Santa at the party, and London Road's plethora of skits and dance numbers.

Have a wonderful week, one and all!!

"Say what you need to say"

"Even if your hands are shaking
And your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closing
Do it with a heart wide open-

-John Mayer

Oh, John, remember when I dreamed that we were dating and you would sing "Your Body is a Wonderland" to me with your guitar, and you would be wearing that sleeveless shirt like in the Gap ad... You will always be justifiably sleeveless to me... Here is a line from the song I am writing about you:

"People thought you were ugly for so long
You had to wear the sleeveless shirt to prove them wrong
Justifiably Sleeveless!!!"

Just so all of you are aware, I am...a little drunk right now. Seriously, I am mere moments away from an obnoxious phone call to the one who loves them the most. Anyway, today was a pretty good day - nothing overly exciting. Tonight I am practicing with Mark Bruce, as we are singing in church next Sunday. Awesome!!

So, everyone enjoy your evening, and I will catch you on the way down!

Cheers. Frasier. Whatever.

In the air there's a feeling of...

A great big thank-you to John Mayer for helping me with my "Album of the Year" quandary. Seriously, people, I was losing sleep over finding my pick of 2007. John (consequently, my music boyfriend) re-released "Continuum" last month with some extra live songs and a brand-spankin' new single, thereby making this album my pick for the year. If you want my feelings on the previously released material, go to my blog in about November of 2006- I describe my (visceral) reaction in great detail. I have sampled some of the live stuff (added) and it is of course wonderful. I also enjoy the new song "Say", mostly for its Jenny-emotion-inducing lyrics. So. I can finally get to sleep and also buy this album. today.

Well, it has been action-packed couple of days since I last updated all of my devoted readers (At last count...about 4!! Hey, you gotta start somewhere) First, the LSAT.

Words I would use to describe the experience of writing the LSAT are, in no particular order:
grueling
panic-inducing
lengthy
cruel
enlightening

The experience is over, thank the angels/angles above, and I will probably write it again. I don't know if I want to wait another year to apply to Law School, but I should probably just see what my score is before I make too many long-term plans.

Second on my thoughts is the extra amount of not-so-nice people shopping in the store this Christmas. All day yesterday, the customer were cranky, and I was forced to play mom, and get extra-defensive on behalf of younger co-workers. I get that Christmas shopping is sometimes stressful. but her are a few ideas to make it a better experience.

1. Stop spending so much money!!! You don't have to buy everyone you know gifts, and you don't need to spend over 100 dollars on those you love. Having said this,I am probably in the wrong business, and I can't tell you how much the constant encouraging of people to spend, spend, spend on a daily basis makes me ill.

2. Focus on/create new traditions that are cheap and memory-making. On Sunday, we decorated sugar cookies and took them to the Bishop's house. There, we sang Christmas carols. A.fun.time.was.had.by.all. In my family we have the appetizer night on Christmas eve. I am telling you, it is going to be killer.

3. Remember that Christmas is what you make of it. Don't go into it feeling stressed about everything. Decide that you are going to be less commercial, and focus on the service, the funny caroling, the good food, etc. People will respect your sticking-it-to-the-Corporate-Man-attitude, and will enjoy your enjoyment of the holiday.

Merry Christmas everyone (never too early), and wish me luck with my present making. Heaven knows, I am going to need it!!!