Music Day

I just feel like sharing all the music I've been obsessing over recently.

It's gonna be a random day.

First, PENTATONIX. I love them. I've been following them since they started on the Sing-Off. And their new single is AMAZING.

Can't Sleep Love

Like, I just keep listening to it. Pentatonix's blend and balance as a group is phenomenal, and they've done such an amazing job with this song. Plus, it's just so dang catchy, the lyrics are great, and the video (although almost a sensory overload) is just so much eye-candy that you can keep coming back to it. It's marvelous.

More Pentatonix- this cover they've just released. I love what was done as far as staging and videography, and musically, it's just wonderful.

Where Are U Now

It's just great. I also love that it's simpler, and you can get a lot more of the emotion out of it. Plus, Mitch's dance party. :D (Mitch being the one in the black sweater) I really love watching Pentatonix perform, especially because I sing, and it's incredible what they do with a capella music. It's so great to watch them, because they are SO committed to what they're doing.

Moving on! Joe Hisaishi in Budokan - Studio Ghibli 25 Years Concert. Studio Ghibli makes these magical, beautiful animated films that I love intensely. Joe Hisaishi is responsible for most (if not all) or the soundtracks, and this concert is incredible. It's also like an hour long, so you may want to just listen to it while doing other things.

I especially love the moments following:
from 0:19:40 to 0:24:10
from 0:45:21 to 0:46:58
and 1:08:42 to 1:15:50
but it's all phenomenal. Ghibli movies are wonderful. And the music is incredible. I've listened to bits and pieces of this concert and the whole thing so often. And I've got a Joe Hisaishi station on my Pandora radio. So that's that.

And my last musical obsession of today is MIKA. He's AMAZING. He's recently released an album called "No Place In Heaven" that's absolutely outstanding. My siblings and I have basically had it on repeat since we bought it a few weeks ago. And I'm just gonna share a few of my favourite moments.

Talk About You

It's just so cheerful and happy, and great to jam out to. Plus, he's so fun to watch perform, and I adore the staging and choreography in this video.

Good Guys

Again with the staging and choreography thing. What they did with this video is phenomenal- I love the interpretative dance feeling, and the costuming. It's great. Also, the crescendo at 2:18. It's awesome. And finally, the line, "If we are all in the gutter, it doesn't change who we are, cuz some of us in the gutter are looking up at the stars." I love that idea- it doesn't matter where you are, it matters where your focus is, where you're going.

Last Party 

It's perfect. I love the emotional feel of this song, and what they did with this video is perfect. Devastatingly perfect. And I love the music- all the effects with the various strings, the gentle continuous build of the whole song, the backing vocals and subtle harmonies, and then the HUGE crescendo with the runs in the flutes that starts at 2:50--- and then it just all cuts out, at 3:17. Oh. My. Gosh. It's PERFECT.

And finally, my current obsession and the song I've had on repeat for days:

Hurts

I just love it. It's devastating, lyrically, and so painfully relatable. "You say it's only words, and that it will get easier with time, but nothing's only words, that's how hearts get hurt." The piano part is incredible. The vocals are simple, and the backing is minimal, and the simplicity just adds to the emotion. And I intensely love the "I can't- I can't- I can't stop..." at the beginning of each chorus (first time at 0:58). To me, it sounds like the feeling of crying to hard to talk, just "I can't, I can't, I can't" and then you finally manage to say it. It's so wonderful.

Yeah. That's my current musical obsession. But everything in this post is something I adore.

Where You Want Me To Go

IT CAME, IT   F I N A L L Y   CAME!

But before I talk about opening my call, I've gotta talk about some other things relating to the mission.

Like I talked about in this post back in April, I spent the past school year debating and fasting and praying about whether to go to college or to go on a mission this fall. And I eventually made the decision to go on a mission, and received confirmation that it was right for me.

So I excitedly began working on my paperwork, hoping to finish it quickly. I was hoping to have it done in May, and to leave in September, right after I turned 19, but then... Life has a way of doing things.

See, I have this old leg injury from the summer of 2012. Another girl and I kicked shins REALLY hard during a game of pick-up soccer. I had a pretty deep bruise, but it went away after a few weeks, and I felt fine. Then, towards the end of cross country season that year, my leg started to ache a little, right in that spot. But the season ended, and the ache went away. I wasn't able to run the next season, and my leg never bothered me. But last fall, 2014, I got to run again. I started running in July (pre-season conditioning!) and by the end of September, this pain in my leg was back with a vengeance. I ran through it all season, sitting out a couple of tough workouts and even one meet, and nothing we did fixed it. It hurt. BAD. We went to a doctor here in Myneton, who specialises in sports injuries, and he diagnosed it as a fascial tear, with nothing to be done but a tiny surgery, which he suggested postponing 'til summer. Throughout this year, random stuff, like walk/running around Disneyland for two days, would aggravate my leg again, and it would hurt. It was really frustrating, but I trusted the doctor and waited to schedule the procedure he said I needed.
But, back to this May, as I'm working on my papers, and we start getting all my medical worked out, my mom decides we should get a second opinion on my leg. The first week of June, we went to a clinic in Salt Lake City, the closest big(ish) city to Myneton. (fun fact of the day: Myneton is a small town in northeastern Nevada and Podunk is an even samller town in northern Utah. the move was fun....) The doctor there disagreed with the fascial tear diagnosis, saying that he didn't feel anything equivalent to that, and he called it something else. He gave me a prescription for an anti-inflammatory cream, told me to use it for a month, then start really running again, and get it aggravated up, then schedule an MRI and a follow-up with him.

So I did. Everything else with my papers was done, all my other medical, and I just needed this one old leg injury cleared. It was frustrating to me to watch the time slip closer and closer to September, when I wanted to be leaving. I spent all of June using this anti-inflammatory cream on my old injury, and then all of July running and playing Just Dance, and trying to get the impacts I needed to annoy this old injury. We finally got an MRI and an appointment scheduled in the middle of August:

The good news: I don't have cancer, it's no serious issue, and it's something that can be fixed. It is indeed his diagnosis of something else, which is basically just line level nineteen shin splints.

The bad news: the treatment is to leave it alone and hope it goes away (umm, it's been three years and one of those I didn't run, I don't think that's it...) or to do this crazy procedure where you basically cut the leg open, flay all the muscle off the bone, and let it put itself back. It heals better than it started. That procedure takes at least six months to recover from. (six months?? that's so long!!)

The best news: it shouldn't interfere with my going on a mission. Because what tends to aggravate my injury is high-impact stuff, running and whatnot, mission life should be fine. Walking, biking, no big deal, just no running or jogging. We decided to wait until after my mission to see if we need the surgery, and I got my last piece of medical clearance!

But now, in the middle of August, I faced a new dilemma. My big brother is supposed to be home from his mission in Mexico City at the end of October or beginning of November. I've seen a few people put their papers in, get a call two weeks later, and leave a month after that. If I got one of those, I would miss my brother by a week. And I struggled with what to do for my availability date.

My original plan had been to leave in September. Overlapping my big brother for a few months wouldn't have bothered me... But a week. A WEEK. I worked on finishing up my paperwork, and I debated my availability date. And I prayed.

And then, somewhere along the way, I thought of something. Almost five years ago, when we found out we'd have to move from Podunk, Utah, to Myneton, Nevada, I made the hymn "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" my life's motto. My parents had fasted and prayed, and they knew that it was right. So I trusted God. And of course, as I'd been working on my mission papers, the song had often been in mind. But as I wondered what to do about my availability date, I realised that it's not just about going where the Lord wants me, it's about going when He wants me. With that in mind, I put my date as September 9, the earliest I could with my summer job. My call can always come for a later date, but it can't come for an earlier one. So I put my trust in the Lord.

After interviewing with my bishop and my stake president, my papers got submitted to Salt Lake the first week of September. And the waiting began. In the meantime, we've found out that my brother is scheduled to be home October 17- a week earlier than we expected. BUT. He's also applied for an extension, because he's been called to train, and he wants to finish the full two transfers with his greenie. The extension would probably put him home in December.

And I'm waiting for my call. THEN. This Tuesday, the 22 of September, it finally came! We invited a bunch of my friends over, and got all my family and some long distance friends on skype and phone calls, and I opened my envelope and read:

Dear Sister Harris:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Germany Frankfurt Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, December 9, 2015. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the German language.

And I cried.
And I just... WOW. The Spirit I felt was overwhelming, confirming to me that this IS what I'm supposed to be doing, and this is when and where I'm supposed to be going.

And it's kinda crazy, because Germany has been the joke the whole time. I took three years of German during high school, and I did really well. My cousin Sep went German speaking, to Germany and Austria and Switzerland. And just this last weekend, we were in Utah for a family gathering, joking about if I went to Germany, and Sep says, "Hey, if you do, I can hand you a German Book of Mormon right now." My friends have teased me about it. But it's actually happening, and I KNOW that it's the right thing for me!

I am so excited to share my testimony of this Gospel and its light and truth with the people of Germany!
76 days. But who's counting? :)

World Domination, pt II

So, a while back, I wrote this post about a conversation Bon and I were having about taking over the world. (I would recommend reading it before reading this post, but anyway) We'd been discussing all sorts of things, but in that post, the conversation ended here:

Me: What part of actually ruling the world is less fun than a failed attempt?

Bon: It's the excitement of not knowing if you will succeed, the tension of thinking you're monsters will eat your face, then the relief as you wrest control at the last second. It's exhilarating! Or painful...

Me: I prefer the exhilaration with as little pain as possible. It that's boring, then I guess that's me!

But now I have more! Okay, I've had more for a while... The previous post was the conversation up to August 14. I'm going to post the rest of it now, which covers August 15-17. Bon and I then started talking about missions, because he left for his on August 19, and then our conversation really ended.
But! The rest of the world domination conversation:

Bon: But the fun is in the gamble! Plus if you do it enough times, maybe the heroes will get inept. Or you win, it's a win win! (unless you get killed by monsters)

Me: I suppose I can see your point... But I'd still like to stack the odds a little farther in our favour.

Bon: Fair enough...

Me: It'll be worth the wait when we rule the world.

Then the conversation moved on to that mission life and whatnot. And now he's kickin' it in Louisiana, which is wonderful.

And here's the deal. I'm seriously so glad I knew this kid. He was one of my best friends sixth grade (when I met him) through eighth grade (after which I moved from Podunk to Myneton), and reconnecting with him these last few months was awesome. He's the funny best friend I remembered, although taller... But it was so great to rekindle that bond, to get to know him again, and to realise that some friendships just... Never go away. He's seriously great.

RandomSauce

So, first off, to accompany this post from a few days ago, about "At The Ballet" from A Chorus Line, there's this video that Rle found. It's a poor quality video with decent sound of the original cast performing the song, and it's incredible to watch. It's also neat to get more intro to the song, and why it happens. WATCH THIS.

Next, an update on my Midsummer Night's Dream life: at the end of rehearsal today, our director goes, "Oh, and I forgot to put it on the schedule for this week, when you're supposed to be off book-"
I START TO PANIC INTERNALLY BECAUSE OFF-BOOK THIS WEEK IS NOT A THING- "and it's by Thursday, August 24, which is next Thursday."
Okay, still terrifying, but manageable. I might make it. We'll see.

And then there's this dream I had the other day that I told Rle about, and she thinks it's the funniest thing in the whole world, so I'm sharing- and because it's written, I get to make it seem really dramatic. Here goes!

The dream opens and I'm in this dark, crowded room, music playing, and flashing lights, an almost club-like atmosphere. Everyone is dressed up, semi-formal. I'm with my cousin, Sep, when a cute blonde in a bold pink dress walks by, and he stops her- "Hey, do you think I could buy you something?" She says yes, and begins to walk quickly away, as Sep glances back over his shoulder at me, clearly excited about this girl. I don't think she's all that interested in him, she just wants the food. In the way of dreams, I am suddenly aware that the point of this crowded room is food- if you're a guy, to offer to buy some for a girl, if you're a girl, to hope a guy approaches you. The food could be a meal or dessert, that's not clear to me, but not important.

As Sep walks away, I glance around again and become aware that I am with Rle. The two of us are waiting, hoping someone will approach us. Oddly, we're sitting on the ground. Apparently, there are no free tables, and we are too lazy to stand. Suddenly, a boy approaches; nice-looking, blonde, he offers to buy me food, and I accept. We walk over to the food line, waiting to order, I accidentally bump him once, then we get our food. In the way of dreams, I am suddenly aware that I am alone; it didn't work out with me and the boy (whether I thought he was a jerk or he thought I was too awkward, I'll never know). But at least he still bought me food. I begin to make my way back to where I left Rle sitting on the floor, but in our blank floorspace, there is a table with several chairs. Rle is sitting at it, with a boy and food. I joined them, with just my food.

And that was the whole dream. Rle thought it was HILARIOUS. I guess it is. The funniest thing for me was retelling it to my sister, with Rle listening again, as I try to explain the concept of this place we were in: "I guess it was like dating, but condensed? The whole point was food, guys to buy it for girls, or girls to get offered... I'm not really sure, but that's what it was." And then my sister just goes, "So like, a bar for Mormons."
Yes. That exactly. Nailed it.

I guess that's the RandomSauce for today.... We'll see what else I manage to write about later.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

So, I'm waiting for my mission call to come. And so I've involved myself in the local college's production of Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' because it runs in October, and I might as well!

And I LOVE this show! The first time I saw it was the summer before I started eighth grade, so... 2010. A while ago. But my older brother played Lysander, and a bunch of my other friends were in the production, and I just remember thinking what and INCREDIBLE show it was. It was so. funny. and so clever!

If you don't know A Midsummer Night's Dream, I recommend this helpful summary (although it does have a slight language issue.) But it's really good.

So of course, when I found out auditions were being held, I had to go! Rle auditioned too, which is great. Yay friends! But anyhow- Auditions were last week, and the cast list came out last Friday- Rle got cast as Egeus, Hermia's father, and I got cast as Titania, the fairy queen.

Which is wonderful! Except for one thing- I am an AWKWARD soul. I am not at all what I would envision as a fairy queen. Like, when I told my sister that there are several scenes where the fairies dance, and one where I have the line, "We shall dance with fairy grace," she just laughed. And one of my friends, an adult lady named Jor, who's helping with costuming/tech for the show, did the same thing. GUYS. I am NOT graceful at all! It's gonna be one fun adventure...

Seriously, though, I am SO STOKED to be in this show. I love it so much, and it's going to be wonderful!

Unless the fairy queen Titania trips onstage and takes out Oberon the fairy king, or some other equally awful idea. I guess we'll see.

At The Ballet

So, my voice teacher, G.M. found this incredible performance of this AMAZING song from Chorus Line.
A little background- Chorus Line is a musical about auditioning to be in the chorus line for a show, and as part of the auditions, the casting director asks each of the dancers to tell him something about themselves. That's when "At The Ballet" happens.

OK. So, I LOVE Audra McDonald, and I LOVE Kelli O'Hara, and I don't know Megan Hilty but I need to look into her more. And this song is just... WOW.

I used to dance ballet. I danced for five years, and my sister danced for seven, and we only stopped because we moved to Podunk, where there weren't any good ballet schools. Usually, I'm fine, but watching this video- oh! that was it, exactly. Dancing was home, and it was beautiful. And at 4:50, when the music just swells, and then the dancers came out, I cried. I miss dancing, I do.

Also, I've since grown up into the most physically awkward person, but that's off-topic.

Anyhow, so then I found two more things, the original cast recording and Seth Rudetsky. So here's the deal. The original cast doesn't sing as well as Audra and Megan and Kelli, but that's because they're DANCERS. And hearing the emotion in their voice is just incredible. And then Seth- he's this Broadway pianist who posts videos dissecting Broadway shows and songs and people, and everything he says about "At The Ballet" is just so cool, and it adds so much to the song, and the whole story. It's incredible.

original cast recording

Seth Rudetsky

And finally, I found this performance, of the original cast, fifteen years later. WATCHING them do it, and knowing what Seth said about the stories... It's wow.

the song starts 40 seconds in

I'm just obsessed with this song. It's beautiful and heartbreaking and everything.

Yeah. I think that's it for today.