Birds

For those of you who don't know, 'The Wrens' are one of my top 3 all time favorite bands. They are musical geniuses. Plus they are a bunch of forty-something year old dudes who rock and roll harder than most twenty year olds. These guys are so fantastic. If you have never heard of them or listened to them, I strongly suggest that you download...I mean buy their album "The Meadowlands." It is one of the greatest albums of all time. You will not be disappointed I promise. So I decided it was time to post more music on this here blog because it has been about a week since the last little bit. I looked on youtube for some Wrens stuff and I found the greatest video of all time. It's brilliant. I will also include the guys description of the video because this is exactly the type of guys that these guys are. After Chris and I saw them in Seattle in 2005 it was apparent that these are some of the nicest guys in the world. So enjoy this video and first the description to it.

You know when you really really like a band or a person, and you think of them in the highest possible regard, so if/when you find out they're really assholes, it crushes your soul and makes you reconsider everything you hold dear. For those who are fans of the critically acclaimed New Jersey band, The Wrens, you need not worry. Not only are they not assholes, they turned out to be the nicest most genuine people I have met in a very long time (and incredible musicians). How nice you ask? Well nice enough to find time between two sold out Chicago shows to stop by a fan's apartment and give him one of the most amazing experiences of his young life. That fan was me... And the experience was seeing my favorite band (seriously, I am not just saying that) play an acoustic version of my favorite song using my family's guitars. and in a bind for a percussion instrument, the drummer, Jerry, utilized of all things one of my favorite breakfast foods. All of this took place in the living room of my Chicago apartment, and it was a surreal experience, one that we captured on film, so without further ado, THE WRENS LIVE AT BRENDAN'S!

Dashed Expectations

This post is in response to Nic's post: "Ingrateful Lepers," especially the last part where he talks about self-entitlement. I didn't want to leave this as a comment because it's long. Anyway, I've recently begun to realize something that goes right along with what Nic is saying in his post. The biggest problem I run into with people at my job is when they're expecting something and it's not there, and then they end up disappointed and angry. When someone comes in expecting scrambled eggs and bacon, but we're only serving hard-boiled eggs and sausage, they get mad at me. I think that they have these expectations of what they think they deserve or what they think they are entitled to.

One of my professors once said, "Happiness is reasonable expectations" and that has really stuck with me. I've seen the evidence of this everywhere, even in my own life. I've realized that the times when I get upset/frustrated with Justin are always the times when I expect something from him, something that I didn't communicate and so, therefore, something he had no knowledge about.

I bet if we made up a schedule at work of what we were serving every day and gave it to the guests when they check in, it would reduce the amount of disappointed people considerably. Their expectations would match what is actually going to be there. Of course, there will always be those people who feel entitled to things just because they do. Those people are frustrating. Maybe this is because we, as people, are entitled to certain things like freedom, being treated humanely, etc. and then we take it too far and get carried away.

Justin and I have talked extensively on this subject. We've also talked about the fact that most people (me included) feel on edge a lot because we feel like people are going to take advantage of us, or rip us off, because it happens so often. Everyone is so wary of people they don't know. Example: the other day Justin and I went to Staples to get a hard-disc-holder-thingy and they wanted us to sign up for their free rewards card. Sure, why not, right? The guy told us one of the perks is that if we bring in our empty ink cartridges, they will pay us three dollars an ink cartridge. Awesome. So, a few days later we rounded up 10 empty cartridges and carted them to Staples. She handed us a receipt back. Oh, because the guy didn't tell us that the money goes on our account and at the end of the quarter they mail you a check.

When Justin and I left, we were kind of annoyed. Why didn't he tell us? It's not a big deal, not to us. Then we started talking about this idea that he probably didn't tell us because he was afraid we would freak out, that we would think he was trying to trick us somehow, and that we wouldn't sign up for the stupid rewards program. And we understood this because both Justin and I have worked in customer service for years, and people are always wary of anything you tell them, even if you're trying to help them save money, or give them something free, or anything. This ties into what I was saying in the beginning. Customers come up to the counter at Hollywood Video, expecting to rent a movie, and Justin starts telling them about promotions and discounts and packages...He is violating their expectations, and they think he's trying to trick them, so they freak out. They get angry, offended, impatient. They demand more, or something different, and get mad when he tells them it doesn't work that way.

I guess what I'm trying to say with all of this is that although it's very annoying when someone feels entitled, I can understand why they feel that way. (Except for the stupid people that feel entitled because they think they are the best thing ever.) I think people are good, and they're trying to live the best way they know how, but they get caught up in all this stuff that puts them in the defensive. They get angry to self-protect.

This is starting to sound a little preachy, and I don't mean it that way at all. Believe me, I can barely handle people who feel all entitled. Today at work I served hard-boiled eggs, sausage patties, and hashbrowns. This man came up to me and asked, "Do you have any real eggs?" Hm...real eggs, huh? I guess he didn't consider hard-boiled eggs "real." I nearly lost it at him. I think I need a new profession. And suggestions?

See how I couldn't just put all this in a comment?? Oh, and sorry Bryan, you probably didn't want to read all this either. Maybe someday all blog posts will just be videos and keyboards will go extinct. :)

My favorite thing

My favorite thing in the whole world is to go shopping. Psych. I freaking hate shopping almost more than anything else in this entire world. There are many reasons for this. First of all, nothing in this world is made for my body type. Pants for example, I have long legs and a small waist. Well guess what? No I don't, because nobody does in this whole world. Everyone is a bunch of fatties, so if they are tall they also must be fat. It's freaking impossible for me to find pants. Secondly, shirts. I have the same problem here. If I buy the larges they are too dang wide so if I buy a smaller size so I am not eight trains wide, then they are too short. It's ridiculous. Somebody needs to inform these people that there are tall people in this world that aren't retardedly wide. That seems logical though right? Hmmm....the taller they get the wider they must also get, right? Yep, sounds good. I decided they need to make a tall and thin store. I could shop at this place. In fact, I could be the model for all the clothing. They would use me to fit all the shirts of every size. I could get on board with this. Anyway, I kind of got off topic here. My point to all of this is that I believe the hardest thing to buy is a belt.
Look, a new paragraph. I have purchased many belts over the last couple years and it is almost impossible to know what you are buying. They put those little stupid clippy things on the one thing that goes through the holes so you can't even try them on. What's up with that?! And I have bought about five belts that were all size 32 and they are all different sizes and they have different hole placement. So the last belt I bought was a 34 and it was way too big. So then Jesse, bless her heart, bought me a belt at D.I when we were in Idaho. It was good but a little too small, and then it broke. But both belts that I had, the 34 and the one Jesse bought me both created bunching on the waist line. It's maddening I tell you. So this past week we went down to St. George to have some bling put in my mouth and afterward we went to Ross. We found a Tommy Hilfiger belt that I liked and Jesse broke off the thingy on the clip so I could try it on. It fit perfectly. I put it on a little while ago when I got out of the shower and it is perfect on my pants. I only had to put it in the second hole (that's what she said) and it creates no bunching. I love my new belt. I feel hot.

You Don't Know Me

Hey, so, I hope you all haven't forgotten about the book club! The month is coming to a close and the discussions are starting up on forum.ibetts.net. If you haven't registered, do it! Once you sign in, just click on book club and start discussing. I hope everyone enjoyed "You Don't Know Me" and that we'll have some interesting conversations about it. yay!

Hey Now Now

Ok, so we all are just dying to know who is the other half of Bryan's "we." I know that sounds weird but let's just roll with it. I think I have it narrowed down to three people. These following individuals are the one's that I believe are the most likely options. Candidate #1- Shawn. This better not be who it is because then I would be quite disappointed. No offense to Sean but I am just hoping it is somebody a little more girly. And sorry if I spelled Shaun incorrectly, but see what I did there? I spelled it all three ways so I know I got it right at some point. Candidate #2-The Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. I believe this is a large possibility. I think Bryan may be on his campaign team so obviously he was not able to disclose who it was in his blog post. Bryan must be his secret weapon and obviously you don't want to give that away. But don't worry, we got the message. We'll keep it secret, keep it safe. Candidate #3- Some girl. I believe this is probably the most likely scenario. I think she probably has dark hair and a name that starts with a letter between a-p or q-z. But be careful, she could just be trying to out you as Shurtleff's secret weapon. Keep your cards pretty close to the chest. Popcorn.

What's goin on with us? Thanks for asking!

Justin and I have both been accepted to Dixie State College where we will both be getting our Bachelor's Degree in Communications, Film Emphasis. We're very very excited! We're not big fans of SUU. I got a small scholarship which should help us out a ton. We also got financial aid because, well, let's face it, we're not really rollin in the dough. We decided to get into all the same classes for the first semester so it will be easier to commute and have jobs and be busy, etc. Our classes are: Intro to Communication Theory, Intro to Mass Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Professional Ethics, and Screenwriting. I'm most excited about the Screenwriting class. The others sound sort of awful. But, they are the intro level classes. When we get past them, then we'll be into more interesting stuff like Directing for the Camera and Storyboarding and Illustration. I know that I'm pretty much starting over, and it's probably going to be 4 semesters before I graduate...gulp...but, I think I'm finally doing something I'm way excited about. I also think that for the first time Justin is excited about going to school. Film is what he loves, what he's passionate about, what he cares about, and it's what he wants to do. I just think it's hilarious, and Justin pointed this out to me, that I've been to 3 different colleges and I'm ending up at the one in my home town, the one that I swore I would never go to in a million years. But, if I had just started out there in the first place, I would have graduated sooner, but I wouldn't have done all the things I've done, learned all the lessons I've learned, and experienced all the experiences. Most importantly, I wouldn't have met the most important person to me, Justin. And Justin gets frustrated with himself, he wishes he was further along in school and that he had done things differently but, he met me in the process. So how can that be wrong?

CNN

So, as you all know, I watch CNN at work all the time because we are required to have it on in the breakfast room. Well, when Obama was elected into office, CNN did a series called "The First 100 Days." Every day, they would update and discuss what Obama was up to. Apparently, those first 100 days are soon coming to a close. Yea. So, today on CNN, they announced a new series called "The Next 100 Days." Hm. It makes me wonder, what are they gunna do after that? "Another 100 Days...Followed by these 100 Days...And then this 100 Days...oh, and Don't Forget These 100 Days...and the 100 Days After That..." Or maybe they'll do something like, "100 Summer Days...Obama's Most Important 100 Days...100 Days Continued...100 More Days...100 More...and 100 More..." until Obama's stay in office is up? Why not just do a series called "Obama's 1,460 Days in Office, Pending Re-election, of course." I could get on board with a series like that.