Playlist: Road Trip

Something I like to do for fun every once in a while is to make playlists for different occasions. I did this pretty often for Divine Comedy, making a specific "setlist" for each show, but even before then I'd been making playlists as a way to pass the time. I figured I'd eventually need to use some of these playlists once in a while, and one opportunity is actually coming up this week. So, as a new kind of post I'll do every so often, I'll post a playlist of 20-30 songs specific to a kind of genre, occasion, or feeling. I'll do my best to post links for each one and explain my reasoning for some of my choices or what each playlist is meant to accomplish.

If you've already read the title, which I hope you have by now, this playlist is meant for road trips, or pretty much any opportunity you'd have to go for long stretches of time cooped up in one place. So these songs are meant to be fun; they help pass the time by distracting you from the tediousness of the road, and in many cases they're already well-known and everyone in the car can sing along. (And it doesn't have to be great singing - again, it's just meant to be a good time.)

• Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen I don't think any road trip music would be complete without this one, so I just got it out of the way to begin with. It's a classic, and for good reason.
• It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - R.E.M. While not everyone may be able to sing along with the lyrics, it's still a fun one to jam out to.
• Albuquerque - Weird Al Yankovic A lot of the songs I put on here kind of tell their own stories on here, and the story that "Albuquerque" tells is quite entertaining.
• The Impresario - Jake Kaufman and Tommy Pedrini This is probably one of the first ones on here that not as many people will know about. The song is taken from a scene in the game Final Fantasy III (or Final Fantasy VI, depending on how technical you want to get – but I digress). The scene itself is an opera, where one of the characters you play as goes undercover as one of the performers, but ends up being kidnapped. This song is basically a rock opera version of what the game's opera is meant to be, and in a lot of ways similar to Bohemian Rhapsody's conveyance of a story. Think Romeo and Juliet, and it'll make a lot of sense.
• On Top of the World - Imagine Dragons Fun to sing along at the chorus, and the music video for this actually has some friends of mine in it!
• Shut Up And Dance - Walk the Moon This is a catchy one that's come out fairly recently. Easy to sing along with the whole time, and the version I linked to is actually a compilation of dance scenes from various films.
• I Want You Back - Jackson 5 I could put probably any song from the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack here, and it'd be an acceptable choice.
• Don't Stop Me Now - Queen Just fun the whole way through.
• Get Lucky - Daft Punk While most of Daft Punk's songs aren't in quite the same style, the top single they released from their most recent album still holds up. Also, there's a cover by George Barnett that takes away the techno feel and puts a bit more funk in it.
• Our Own House - MisterWives I first heard this song (and this artist) from a beer commercial. While I don't drink alcohol myself, the song caught my attention, and I've actually enjoyed a lot of the songs from MisterWives since discovering them.
• Super Rad - The Aquabats A classic ska anthem, this one I listened to quite often back in the day to pump me up and get me energized.
• Hopeless Wanderer - Mumford and Sons This is more for a singalong – if you've got a large group of people in the car with you, the harmonizing can be incredible.
• Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas Making sure there's a healthy balance of classic rock in here, this song (having been the theme song for the show Supernatural) should be pretty recognizable and enjoyable.
• I'm Alive (Life Sounds Like) - Michael Franti & Spearhead Another underrated song, I heard this one in a commercial for a video game (Rayman Legends) and was immediately hooked. It's just happy all the way through, and great for maintaining high spirits.
• Daylight - Matt and Kim Good for just jamming out for a few minutes, even if you don't know all the words.
• Love and Memories - O.A.R. I like singing along with this one, personally, and from what I remember when it came out it was pretty big. Don't know how many people will still remember the lyrics, but they're not hard to learn.
• Don't Stop Believing - Journey THIS one, however, everybody should know and sing along with. Or at least try to sing along with. It's guaranteed to be heard at any karaoke night, so why not include it here?
• Just Give Me a Reason - P!nk feat. Nate Ruess I think this song is actually quite overplayed on the radio these days, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. And if you've got a mix of guys and girls in the car, it makes a fun duet.
• Beat It - Michael Jackson I included this one 1) for the singing aspect and 2) the dancing aspect. I'd kinda like to see someone try to pull off some of the moves from the music video while in the car.
• Tribute - Tenacious D Probably their most famous song, as it gives you a feel for pretty much any other of theirs.
• Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi Another classic rock choice, where everyone can join in on the chorus.
• Freebird - Lynrd Skynyrd I have fond memories of playing this on Guitar Hero 2, going through the whole nine minutes and feeling so accomplished after getting through the second half of this song. Sure, it's not a sing-a-long like the rest of these, but if you wanna rock out, this'll do the job.

Movie soundtracks, especially Disney songs, are quite acceptable as well. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments, and feel free to include links or say why you think they're great for a road trip!

Memorial Day

Saved this post for today instead of Sunday because, well... see the title.
Not too much to say in this week's post, but I did want to share this:

I feel like this pretty accurately portrays the toll taken in any given war. While the recent slew of Marvel movies have been amazing and quite enjoyable, this is a side they don't really cover all that much: the actual number of men and women who give their lives, and even those whose lives are innocently taken from them, in order for one side to claim victory. Captain America here, having now been through literal World Wars and fought on the front lines of battle, knows exactly what each fight means and how it affects everyone involved.

I'm not in the military. I never have been, and never plan to. But I do understand the sacrifice that many have made for this country, and I am grateful for it, so that I can enjoy the rights and freedoms I have. I do have a brother-in-law currently serving in the Navy, and I'm grateful for the service he provides as well. And while we're not in the best situation politically speaking, it's not nearly the size of a World War we're fighting, so I'm grateful for the time I live in where I can say that for the most part, I have enjoyed peace.

Credit goes to Dan Hipp for the image, and my friend Ryan Stevens for finding it in the first place.

May journal update

*If you're wondering why there was no post last week, it was Mother's Day, so I was spending the entire day with family. That, and I put up two posts the week before, so as far as a count for the year I'm still on track with one a week.*

Man I'm tired... But for good reason.

I got to play some laser tag with these awesome guys last night, mostly in celebration of a wedding for the two on the far right, Nicole Scheidt and Chance Molen. They're getting married in a few weeks down in San Diego, and I've been asked to be a groomsman for it. Pretty much everyone here knows them from the ward we were all in together (not quite at the same time, but mostly all together) and I'm super excited for them to finally tie the knot. And getting to take a trip to California will be pretty enjoyable as well, so hopefully while I'm down there I'll be able to do a bunch of fun stuff. A vacation feels pretty warranted at this point...

I'm still working at Deseret Book and PetSmart, and both are getting me at least 20 hours every week. So it's like working full-time, though I usually get a few more from Deseret Book. I switched from doing just receiving to housekeeping and maintenance, with receiving after I get regular chores done. This week required me to fix a toilet in the men's bathroom, as the lever inside the tank ended up breaking. I gotta say, I kinda felt like Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor from Home Improvement. It wasn't a huge repair by any means, but it just felt... I dunno, manly. *insert manly grunt here*

I'm writing this as my parents are talking with my niece over FaceTime. It's just hilarious because she's trying to get them to see the end part of National Treasure (or "Natural Treasure" as she's been calling it) even though they've seen it multiple times. She, and my sister's family, will get to come visit us in about a month, and seeing as how they're living in Hawaii it'll be a real treat to see them again.

I have some pretty stinkin' adorable nieces and nephews.

I may end up finding something besides PetSmart in the next month or two. I like it, but between that and Deseret Book I much prefer DB. I could see myself staying there and possibly making a career out of that much more than PetSmart, but as both are just part-time jobs at the moment we'll see what happens.

That's about it for now. Again, I'll be heading down to SoCal early next month and will probably be taking a TON of pictures, so I'll make sure to post them once I'm home. There may not be a post that week as I'll be driving home on that Sunday, but if that's the case I'll make up for it afterwards.

Plight of the Provo Bachelor: Notes from John Bytheway

So last week I was able to go see a fireside from someone I've always considered to be a great speaker, John Bytheway. (And for those who have never heard of him before, yes, "By the way" is actually his last name.) For as long as I can remember he's been a motivational speaker of sorts in the church, having given multiple talks and firesides, taught at EFY, written many uplifting books alone and with others, and one of his most noticeable traits is that he's just funny. He connects well with audiences because he knows how to make them feel comfortable and happy to be there. This fireside he gave was at a building called the Alpine Tabernacle, and there were at least 700 young single adults in attendance (young single adults meaning within the age range of 18 to 30). No one there, from what I noticed, ever fell asleep, walked out early, carried on their own conversations, anything you might usually see in a group of that size.

Being the audience of young single adults that he was talking to (and if you've noticed the title of this post), you can probably guess what his subject matter was: dating, marriage, and love in a gospel setting. But again, it was all enjoyable; many times when this subject comes up, a groan, audible or not, passes through the crowd. Brother Bytheway made it so enthralling that the majority of people I saw were actually taking notes (another less common occurrence for these kinds of things).

And I happened to be one of the ones taking notes. I'm going to post most of them here, with the hope that 1) anyone reading this can make sense of them, and 2) they uplift others in the same way the fireside uplifted me. I have yet to read it, but it felt like most of the talk was taken from a book he wrote called What I Wish I'd Known When I Was Single. And, by the way, he didn't get married until he was 33 years old. So there's still definitely hope!

I've never really transcribed anything before for a blog, so what I think I'll do is just copy what I wrote down here, then if anyone wants me to expound then I can .

• Alma 52: why would you ever, ever leave your stronghold? It's never a good idea, even for a minute.
• King David stepped out of his stronghold and ended up having all his problems with Bathsheba
• James E. Faust, Nov. '97 Ensign – saw men fall, web of stupidity - all of us must constantly guard against Satan
• Get your act together, then build the forts and swords
• President Uchtdorf's "Stop it!"
• As a bishop, his ward chooses a specific theme each year. One year it was "Onward and upward together". The next was "What is your next step?"
• Article that he wrote from the New Era: "I Have No Friends"
• Don't focus on the things you can't control
• Marriage is pretty much the only commandment you can't keep yourself
• Liberty Jail – there wasn't even a bathroom for them
• D&C 123:17 – let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power
• If you don't feel like you're going anywhere, get a plan, get a course; get multiple plans and keep moving forward
• What I Wish I'd Known When I Was Single
• Boyd K. Packer talked about the DTR – have some patience
• 1982, Bruce C. Hafen, "The Gospel and Romantic Love" – don't date someone you know you'd never marry
• You can hurt them a little or hurt them a lot in a DTR. Don't postpone the inevitable; if it's a rejection, it'll be either cutting their leg clean off or doing it an inch at a time.
• Patience and honesty
• Don't get your dating advice from unofficial Church musicals
• Bruce R. McConkie – I never asked the Lord who to marry, I asked the Lord to confirm it
• Boyd K. Packer, "Eternal Love" – no belief in "soul mates"
• "Faith Precedes the Miracle" – Spencer W. Kimball
• The Lord loves you too much to let your life be too easy
• Take it a day at a time
• Sometimes going back to "just friends" is impossible
• The wrong one is the right one to lead you to the best one
• Make a chart with two columns, on the left make a list of what others think of you and on the right make a list of what God thinks of you. Which do you believe is correct?
• "What more can He say than to you He hath said?"
• Express affection carefully – approaching the law of chastity with honesty
• Is it possible to lie with our actions?
• Another New Era article he wrote: "What Do Kisses Mean?"
• Always be emotionally honest about expressions of affection
• Worldly idea of "friends with benefits" is wrong; the "non-committal make out" is a lie
• Thomas S. Monson, Nov. '90 Ensign – take care not to make women weep, for God counts their tears
• What is "falling in love"?
• "In love" is an irrational state – it's odd that people seek out temporary insanity like that
• David O. McKay – Gospel Ideals – If you meet a girl who inspires you to do your best...
• Ezra Taft Benson – a good yardstick – do you think your noblest thoughts around them? Do they make you want to be better?
• Marry someone you respect and admire
• We get why it's so important, but why is it so urgent?
• It avoids risks of temptation, promotes family growth, it's an ordinance, our biological clocks are ticking, our choices of potential spouses narrow out as we get older, and it's just a better way to live
• Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball – marriage is a greater ecstasy than the human mind can conceive
• Mark E. Peterson – take as few problems to the altar as you can
• Marriage is not a place to change someone else
• The key to spiritual guidance is worthiness
• Play what you can play, sing at the top of your lungs
• Karen Lynn Davidson – "I have yet to see marriage by itself turn an unhappy person into a happy one"
• 1 Nephi 4:6 – "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."
• D&C 111:11 – I will order all things for your good
• March '89 Ensign, Cormack – marriage is likely to come naturally – live life fully
• March 2, 1997, Jeffrey R. Holland – "let not your heart be troubled" is a commandment
• Neal A. Maxwell – '85 conference talk – in the pattern He has planned
• "I would if I could" – wanting and doing all you can is of inestimable value
• Come up to higher ground and let the Lord help you

I'm sure a lot of these notes can apply to those already in relationships or even those already married, but again I just wanted to share them because they were uplifting to me. And the video below is one of the talks he gave at an Education Week at BYU in 2003, entitled "Especially for Young Single Adults: Who, When, and Why We Marry". I'm going to watch it later when I get the chance, as it's about an hour long, but if it's anything like his other talks it'll be just as entertaining.

To all my friends out there who are single, enjoy!

Some random thoughts while sick

These musings today may just come because of the fact that my head's in a little bit different of a place right now; I've been sick/suffering from allergies since last night, and it feels like I just haven't felt like... my usual self today. But what I'm writing tonight is hopefully going to be uplifting, not only for me, but for anyone who ends up reading this.


There are some things that I absolutely love about the gospel, and one of them is that, if we mess up, we always have the chance to try again. And again. And again. And again, and again, and again until we eventually, hopefully, get it right. I know that my life right now isn't near where I thought it'd be a few years ago. By the time I turned 25 I thought I'd already be done with school; I thought I'd have a job in a field that I'm actually interested in making into a career; I thought I would be married, or at the very least in a relationship heading in that direction. A lot of the things that I thought I'd have achieved by now I haven't reached mostly due to the fact that I have messed up. There were some things that were out of my control, yes, but a lot of it is my own fault – procrastination, miscommunication, just bad choices, etc. And while it's not the end of the world, it's not been the best of times for me. Compared with most friends who are my age I have a lot of catching up to do with life.

Today especially was simply not the best of days for me. I left my first job a little early and had someone cover for my other job because I'm feeling sick (and strangely sore in my back – I say strangely because I have no idea what would have caused it to be sore the way it is). I've been worrying about bills and loans to pay off, trying to make some concrete plans for my future, and it's difficult to predict a timeline where I'm financially comfortable. Certain memories from my past still haunt me, still bother me more than they should. A lot of the social events that I have planned over the next couple months are weddings of other friends, which, while I'm incredibly happy for my friends for taking that step forward, reminds me of my own singleness and how far I am from a relationship of my own.

One of the nice things about my life lately, and one of the other things that I love about the gospel, is that I've had a lot more time to visit the temple. And with the temple comes not only the opportunity to serve, but to leave behind, for a little while, all the stresses and cares of the world. It's a place while I can always find peace and relaxation. And I don't mean to say that it's me trying to escape from my problems; it's been more that I've been able to take a break and refocus on what matters most. Regardless of what I end up doing there, just being there gets me to feel better. It helps me feel solitude when the thoughts in my head are rushing around and bringing me down.

I don't know if I've ever talked about the background I've been using for this blog. I found it a long, long time ago, back when I first made the blog (so a few years ago?) and I chose it for a very specific reason. It's not because it's "artsy", or "stylish". (I mean, it kinda is, but it's not the point.) If you notice, it's a mostly white background, but there are a lot of black splotches at the top that fade as you go down the page. I chose the background because I felt like it accurately portrays how I try to write these posts: while I may start off with some scatterbrained thoughts and topics, and it all just seems like a big mess, as you go farther down along the post things start to clear up a bit and make more sense. It's cleaner, and more enjoyable. And by the end, well, the messy, erratic nature that it may have had in the beginning is barely noticeable, and what you're left with is the post in the middle that you've finished reading, which would be the point I'm trying to get at for that post.

Going to the temple has the same effect for me. Many a day has come where my thoughts, which in the ideal situation would be under control and sensical, just bombard me with things that I either don't want to think about or just have a hard time managing at all. And it's hard for me! I hate it! A lot of the time I want to shut down and be completely unproductive, maybe watch a movie, play some video game that really doesn't matter in the long run, because then my mind gets to avoid all the issues. But if I manage to make the choice – because it isn't always an easy choice – to go to this place of refuge, turn myself off from the outside world physically for a couple hours, then spiritually I can concentrate. I can sort out those things in my head that are bugging me, make plans that are necessary, forget about and erase those unnecessary thoughts that are only there to bring me down. While the issues are still there, after a while in the temple they're much more manageable.

I will always be grateful for temples and the peace they bring to me. Because a lot of the time... I need it. And I get it.

No post this week

I went to a fireside with John Bytheway tonight, and it gave me a lot to write about. So I'll start working on a Plight of the Provo Bachelor post tomorrow, and should have it done by next Sunday. It'll be a bit lighter-spirited than most posts in that series, as most of the commentary will be based on his talk.

Writer's block and a workaround

SCRAPPED IDEA


I'd had an idea for a new kind of daily blog, and actually tried it for a few days, but ended up scrapping the idea.

If you see this post and are curious, I can tell you about it. It may still happen in the future in some form, just not for now.