Holy Colee!

I figured tonight I'd actually include all of the contestants. No idea why I missed David last night, but I completely forgot to watch him and I am not interested enough to go through the tape to find him again.

Carly Smithson – hmm, I didn’t notice the accent last week. The song felt a little disconnected. It was alright, but I don’t love her like Simon does.

Syesha – I officially like this girl. I have never heard that song before, but I think she did it well. I think the judges are lame.

Brooke White – I don’t know if I like her on the guitar or not, but I did enjoy the song. The ending was weird.

Ramiele Malubay – The vocal was ok. The performance was boring

Kristy Lee Cook – She was alright. Nothing to complain about really, but nothing to shout about either.

Angela Overmeyer – She’s 23? I can almost see it when her hair is down… It sounded like she was about ready to cough the whole time. I am not actually sure she hit any of the notes.

Alaina Whitaker – ouch. I kept thinking it would get better. It never did.

Oooh – the movie preview for 10,000 BC. I saw the trailer at another movie – I wanna see it. If anyone needs a movie buddy- holler

Alexandrea Lushington – Wearing shorts in February? It’s like salt in the wound. The song was boring when Chicago sang it, it was even more boring tonight.

Kady Malloy – The song lacked a melody. When there were words she sang them well, but there weren’t many.

Asia’h Epperson – It started off poor, got worse, ended. Celine and Whitney – should both be avoided at all costs.

Is it just me or did a lot of people choose songs that are not actually songs?

Tonight I am choosing to watch with out the judge’s commentary….I might be too much of a cheapskate for tivo – but I know how to work my vcr

Michael Johns – Tennis makes you a jock? I liked him better last week than this week.

Jason Castro – He’s pretty. He’d be prettier with out the dreads. Interesting song, couple of weird notes.

Luke Menard – Queen, really???

Robert Carrico – I still want him to shave. Tonight was better than last week.

Danny Noriega – oooh, also much better this week than last week. Now, I love Karen Carpenter far to much to say he did a great job, but I didn’t have to tune him out.

David Hernandez – huh…well this is a good place to comment on how cool the band is. I am not a musician, but seriously, the band has to play all of these songs every week – flawlessly, so that they don’t distract from the singers. That’s freaking amazing

Jason Yeager – I might have been watching this show too much. I actually heard the words “cruise singer” in my head as he was singing.

Chikeze – I actually think I may like him… His vocal is really good – but his songs are just strange. Clothing was slightly less odd this week. Are the two color shirts back in or was he trying to flashback? No really, I’m asking….

David Cook – of the 2 rockers, he’s the better singer. His hair reminds me of my little brother’s when he needs a hair cut.


Ok, so I found something else that makes watching America Idol even better – They are called Munchies. They are like what would result if a rolo and a kit-kat had children, except it’s made by Nestle. Mmmm is all I can really say.

Well - it's done! The petition for John's visa has been filed. Hooray!!!! Now instead of waiting to wait, we are just waiting :) Hey, it's a step in the right direction :)

Ok, so I had Enrichment tonight and instead of watching AI, I spent the evening learning 20 new recipes for a basic white sauce, and painting pots to put in my kitchen window. But, I caught the last 2, so, um…. yeah

Syesha Mercado – That girl can wail. She’s very pretty. It’s the first time I’ve seen her, but I like her already.

Carly Smithson – She made the song almost bearable. I’ve not heard a version of it that I actually enjoy. If she makes it through, and I kind of think she will, I’ll decide.

From the synopsis I learned that Joanne was painful; Amanda is scary; Amy was flat and boring; Brooke and Alexandrea were both pleasant; Kady had some pitch issues; Asia’h and Ramiele…. seriously what’s with the names this year


Oh - and - it's here! it's here! it's finally here. John's letter came and now we can FINALLY GET THIS APPLICATION SUBMITTED!!!

I realized after typing this up that I seem to have a lot of opionions on hair... kind of ironic coming from a girl who puts her hair in the same twist every day because she has no idea what to do with it but doesn't want to cut it off.....

I am thinking I should send Randy a thesaurus…. Do you think he would be able to find words that mean the same thing as dawg, dude, and yo yo yo?

Dave Hernandez – What the crap was he wearing? His song was ok, but nothing special or unique

Chikezie – ouch, the beginning of his song was just painful. I am not sure it actually got better. His suit was atrocious

David Cook – Was he singing? I honestly couldn’t tell until he hit the chorus. His hair bugs. It’s like the updated version of a comb over.

Jason Yeager – Mark McGrath hair went out with Sugar Ray. For a crooner, I found it enjoyable. He kind of has Osmond teeth… don't laugh, you know exactly what I mean.

Robbie Carrico – Beau Byce wannabe? The vocal was ok, but there was nothing original about the vocal or arrangement. I really need him to shave.

David Archuleta – I kind of think I went to class with his brother, maybe it was a cousin. It was better than the original, but I didn’t love the original. There were a couple of pitch issues, but he’s likeable, it will get him far.

Is Paula being extra cheesy tonight or is it just me?

Danny Noriega – this year’s look is better than last year, he still needs a haircut. When singing Elvis, make sure it is different enough not to be compared to the original. He was the King for a reason.

Luke Menard – I like his speaking voice better than his singing voice. He also made it official, the stylists this year need to be replaced.

Colton Berry – He’s right, her looks like Ellen. Fortunately, he doesn’t sound like her. Well, that’s not fair, I’ve never heard Ellen try to sing, and I do rather enjoy her show… sorry back to Colton…Again with the Elvis songs. I will revert to, he was the King for a reason.

Garret Haley – His hair is far too big for his head. He is the first person I actually had to stop listening to.

Jason Castro – He was definitely enjoying himself – or faking it well. Quite possibly my favorite performance of the night.

Michael Johns – There were a couple of pitch issues, but I still really enjoyed it. The scarf was a bit odd, but I tuned it out; I am getting good at tuning things out.

So, apparently it has been written in the stars that I am only to visit the city of Cincinnati in the winter. I realized that this is my 3rd time to the city, and it is always the Feb/early March time frame. This year I am here for a team meetings. We are 2 days in, and it has been going very well. I have learned a lot of new things and it is exciting to see the directions for the new year. Our exec VP even came in and went through his goals for this year. I must admit the "after hours" activities are almost as informative as the actual meetings. I miss having the people I work with in the same area. It is not only informational, but enjoyable to spend time with people who understand what you do all day ;) at least once in a while ;) Other times it is nice to just walk away and leave it in the office. Tomorrow I get to give my presentation... hopefully I can stay awake through it... It's almost 1:30 and I am having a rough time actually sleeping (hence the blog entry)
Tonight we went to Dave and Buster's and I learned how to play shuffle board. Well, let's say that I played... "learned how to play," might be pushing it. If we were picking teams, I'd probably still be the last one you would want to call on :P I also discovered that I still like to play arcade games. I'm not willing to waste my own money on them - but if someone else is payin', I say WHY NOT?

Ok, I should probably try that sleep thing again. Wish me luck!

I finally did something worth writing about!!!
So tonight, Monica and I decided we wanted to go to the sold out Mika concert. Well, depending on where you looked for tickets, about half the places said it was sold out. We got home around 4 and decided we would run to the SmithTix that was closest to the Venue and see if we could still get tickets there. The line was SOOO long, and the cashier was SOOOO slow. When we get there we realize they do have tickets, but it's cash only. So we went through the check out, bought our gum and tried to get cash back. There is a huge sign that says to limit cash back to $20, but we need 4 tickets, and they are $30 a piece, so we conveniently ignored the sign. The self help cashier lady was NOT pleased with us. We won the battle, she gave us our cash, and we finally got our tickets from the other super slow cashier.
So, we drive back to the Venue (yes, this is the name of a place, not just the venue as in the location of the concert). Monica drops me off to go find a place in line. The concert is general admission and we were determined to get fabulous seats (I use the term "seats" loosely). When I finally figure out which end of the line is the end I am supposed to be in, it turned out there were only about 50 people in front of us. Not bad when you know they sold 1500 tickets. So, we waited. The concert was supposed to start at 7, with doors opening at 6. We figured we were good. We had coats and gloves, and it was a rather mild day for Salt Lake City in February. 6 o'clock came and went. We were still standing, now in the dark, and getting colder. 7 o'clock came and went. We were still standing, now very much frozen. Sometime, ask me to tell you about the amusement we got from the people we were standing near in line.
7:30- they finally start letting us in the door. Yes, you did the math correctly. We waited outside in the cold for 3 hours. Apparently, Mika's production was stuck in Wyoming, along with the opening band. Instead of cancelling the concert, they decided to rent some equipment and do an accoustic show. They offered everyone a chance to get their money back - I don't think anyone took it, or if you still wanted to come to the show, you just got $10 back instead. ANYWAY... 9:00, they finally start the show. Our place in line had scored us the seats we desired, the venue is general admission - STANDING ROOM ONLY. 1500 people crammed so tightly into a room that when a person moved, the whole room swayed. We managed to go through the 21 and older area and score a spot on the catwalk that overlooks the room and stage. We were probably 30-40 feet away. It was totally worth all the drama.
Mika was AWESOME. The songs all sounded a little different than we're used to, but truth be told, I think they were even better live and accoustic, which is not something most musicians can pull off these days. The crowd was so loud (speaking of the crowd, remind me sometime to tell you about the guy I ended up standing next too... very very very drunk, completely amusing). I honestly don't think it would have been any better if the production equipment had showed up. He mentioned a couple of times that he had thought it was going to be a disaster. He also promised to come back to SLC again. If the crowd was that excited, and most of them had been standing outside in the cold for over 2 hours, they deserve a show where they can get in without the dramatics ;) The band was great; the drummer was awesome; the guitarist was amusing; the bongo dude was random; and the bassist,well, he played the bass. I haven't been to a concert in far too long. I am going to have to figure out a remedy to that ;)
If I can figure out how to get pictures from my new blackberry to my computer, I'll post them...Oh yes, I have a new phone. It's pretty, but that's a story for another day.

Tonight, I miss my superbowl friends. I have never really been much of a football follower. I know enough about the game to enjoy it, but I don't pick a team or follow certain players. I do however, enjoy a good superbowl party. The superbowl is not about football for me. Superbowl means going over to Janice's house where random work friends get together and bring their favorite treats. Kids run chaotically in the bedrooms and the guys sit in the living room watching the game. The ladies congregate behind and chat and eat. Superbowl is an excuse to make that dip you've been wanting to try but never have a reason to make. Superbowl is about talking through the game and being quiet during the commercials. Superbowl is about hanging out with people and having a good time.

Tonight, I miss my superbowl friends.

This week the world lost an amazing man. While I did not ever meet him personally, he has been my prophet and leader for over a decade. He was a remarkable man. His testimony was ever born. His smile was infectious and his love could not be missed. A poem was shared with me earlier this week that I think I will post here. (Thanks Brooke)

Prophetic Passing

I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,
Yes, running, not waving his cane.
I see him embracing his father and mother
While they keep repeating his name.

I see him now meeting his forebears,
Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.
Sweet reunion of prophets, united by service
That only such noble men share.

I see him embraced by the Savior
While Father says, "Good and well done.
So faithful in stalwart endurance, I welcome
My noble, most excellent son."

I then hear the ripples of laughter
As he says the reception's just fine,
But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two
Since there's no need to waste any time.

I can hear his clear voice in the stillness
At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,
Have faith and move forward, there's work to be done.
President Hinckley would want it that way.

Anna M. Molgard
January 27, 2008