I love concerts! Woo!!

So last night, Suz and I went to see Marié Digby at Kilby Court and it was amazing!!! Neither of us had ever really been to that small of a venue before...we really liked it. It was such an intimate setting and we were right up in the front the whole time. Yeah, we were totally rockin to the music. The guy that opened - Eric Hutchinson - was awesome and FuNkY! While he was performing, he was having a secret contest to see who had the most enthusiasm in the audience, and he picked me! So I got a free cd! woo! That was pretty sweet. I fell in love with Marié's acoustic guitar...it was a custom Gibson with a beautiful pick guard, fret board, and sound. Her and her band totally rocked...music is so much better live! She is so talented - she rocked out on the guitar, the piano, and her voice is amazing. After, Suzy and I met her and I felt like a total idiot because I was so nervous. Isn't that so weird how that happens? You just don't know what to say... you want to tell them "I love you, man! You rock! I love your music! blah blah..." but then everyone says those things and you don't want to be trite. So then you want to say something interesting or witty or funny, but then it just ends up being awkward. Anyway, I thought it went pretty well, and she was way nice probably because she could sense my nervousness. Oh, and she signed my guitar strap! Hooray!!! Even though she's not way popular yet, I think this is the most star-struck I've ever been. I'm just a really big fan of hers, and plus I haven't really met a lot of famous people in the past besides the random bands I've met at warped tour. So it really was amazing. I feel like such a dork for making such a big deal out of it! lol. This was basically the best night I've had in a really long time. And going with Suze made it even more fun - I love hanging out with my sista. And Suze is basically the person who gave me my musical taste - I grew up listening to everything that she listened to, like Tori Amos, DMB, Metallica, Nirvana, Blues Traveler, etc... so now we like a lot of the same kind of music. Thanks Suze!:) So to sum up, if you're feeling stressed, overwhelmed, complacent, sad, (or even if you're not) go to a concert!! It'll definitely give ya a lil boost of joyness! :)

I don't get it...

So evidently, I am horrible at blogging... although I have maintained my goal of blogging at least once a month. I've decided that I'm going to be better at this, starting...NOW!:)

Now on to what I actually wanted to write about... so today I had an interesting discussion with one of my friends. I was venting to him about my job, about my parents, about what I'm going to do this fall for school, and just all these issues that have been preoccupying my mind for quite a while lately. And then on some random tangent, we started talking about the earthquake in China and all the people who were devasted by it...and this led me to think about all the other people who are suffering in this world - people who don't even have the luxury of a cup of clean water, girls being sold and exploited, people dying from natural disasters and from genocide - and I suddenly felt the urge to slap myself in the face. Who was I to sit there and complain about what now seemed to be just silly, trivial problems in my life? I may not have the greatest job right now, but at least I actually have one that pays me decently and I feel safe. I might have issues with ma and pa, but they really have been great parents and they kept me safe and fed and clothed. School can be stressful, but I at least have the opportunity just to go and to be able to afford it. And on top of all this, I was born with the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. My faith might not always be as strong as I wish, but I know that having this church in my life has blessed me and made me a better person. I guess my point is...as I think about all of these amazing privileges I have and how millions of others hardly have anything, it truly makes me wonder WHY. Why am I so lucky to have the life that I have, when there are so many others who suffer so much? I don't feel like that great of a person to deserve all that I have. Perhaps I have been blessed so much so that I might be enabled to help those in need? I dunno... it just seems so unfair. I feel both incredibly lucky, and also incredibly undeserving. With everything that I have, it would be a shame if I didn't reach out and try to help people in need. I need to do that more often... man, I'm such a pansy.

Jazz! Jazz! Jazz!

This was the most amazing way to celebrate the end of college finals and exams!

Tonight, I was reminded why I love basketball so much. The Jazz obliterated the Rockets. The crowd was insane. D Williams is sick nasty. This was one of the best NBA games I've ever been to, definitely top 3. If you've never been to a playoff game, I highly recommend it! Even if you're not a big fan of basketball, I guarantee you will have fun! Go Jazz! Woo hoo!

I Love Baby's Giggles!

I realized I haven't written a blog since my first one (which was laaame) so I decided it was time for another one. This bloggin business is tough...

So my big sis Randi and her husband Jason and daughter Layla have been living with us for about a month because they're going to be moving up to Logan in May, so they're kinda making the transition right now. There's always noise in the house somewhere and it's been pretty chaotic, but in a good way. It's been such a privilege to be able to spend so much time with my beautiful niece! Randi and Jay are cool too, but Layla is the most fun;). Layla is so hilarious... she does the quirkiest things. She has a recent tendency to growl. It's the most funny when we're in church. The ladies in relief society look at her and think "demon child!" haha. Layla's latest trick is clapping her hands! It's so cool! She's only 7ish months and she can totally clap! It's quite impressive. But out of all her many good qualities, my favorite thing about her has to be her laugh. I've gotten her to laugh before (it's not really that hard - she's so silly), but last night I got her to laugh harder than I had ever seen her! It was so random too - I was just laying down with her on my bed just chillin and I pretended to sneeze... and that was it! She giggled, and so I pretend-sneezed again, and she giggled harder, and so on and so forth. I had to pause for a few seconds between sneezes so she could catch her breath! ahh it was the most precious thing. It started sounding like a real giggle rather than a little baby giggle haha. It went on for about 10 minutes, and she probably would've kept laughing, but it was ME who was too tired to keep going! Jason recorded it on his phone... I wish I could figure out how to upload it on here! If I can figure it out later, i'll try to post it on another future blog or something. Anyway, just thought I'd share that lil story with y'all... I've noticed a lot of people post blogs about their children, and since I don't have any, I can just talk about other people's kids! that sounds kinda creepy...

Since I don't have a video of her, here's a recent picture of her at the top. And it has Will and Tanner in it too!

Monika's First Blog!

So this week is my spring break, and rather than going on a carazy road trip with friends - I decided to take it as an opportunity to start a blog. I consistently write in a journal, but lately I've been having a hard time getting around to it because I'm always at school or playing tennis or basketball or I'm at the library... well, something that keeps me away from my house. So I figured since I always have my laptop with me, why not have my journal be online? I still have yet to decide if this is a good idea... it might not be a good thing to let my friends and family read my random thoughts about life - because when I say random, I really mean random. So really, this blog is for my own satisfaction, and to help me sort out my thoughts and contemplations. If others happen to enjoy it as well, that would be excellent. I don't really have much else to say right now... so I guess this is it!

(After re-reading this, I've decided I haven't gotten off to a very good start. This is my very first post, and all I can talk about is how I've decided to start a blog. Wow.)