The World Will Know

[Newsies Soundtrack]

Sometimes I feel weird about getting emotional 9/11 is brought up in discussions. I mean I didn't lose anyone personally or even distantly close. I wasn't in NYC at the time. All that it was to me was a scary event on the news. I think I was too young to even comprehend the enormous number of loss or the impact it had across the country. But if you are American, it just simply affects you. That's just the way it is. 

The "ONE" WTC Bldg, 9/11 Memorial Bldg, and Waterfall.

I can't remember if I have relayed my experience that gruesome day, but I guess now's a better time than any.

I was a senior in High School. I got up. Got ready. And went to school. Just like any regular day. My first class of the day was American Problems with Mr. Hatdfield. He was my favorite teacher of all time.  And that class is likely the only class that really taught me anything.

If I had to be anywhere at that time I think I prefer to be just where I was.

I was early to school that day. A rarity for sure. I walked into the empty class room to see Mr. Hatdfield standing in front of the TV screen with one arm crossed over his body supporting the other as he rubbed his chin. His face displayed shock.

He didn't notice me at first. He was engulfed in the tragedy. I can't remember if I asked him what was wrong, if he eventually spoke up, or if I saw the TV screen relaying the events. It is kind of a haze of memories.

I do know this. When I had walked into the class room both airplanes had already crashed. One Mr. Hatdfield came to, he started writing on the whiteboard. He made a timeline. During this time, we watched as the Pentagon was broadcast as another hit. He added this to our timeline. Not only was he trying to explain what happened to his students, but now that I look back on it, he was trying to make sense of it himself.

In American Problems we simulated world events and history. We had already been through a simulation where we basically played a life-size game of risk. Each student had been assigned a country. I was assigned Palestine. My country card gave me a number of secret terrorist attacks each day. I could use them or not. Regardless, I learned quickly about how terrorists affect the world.

As Hatdfield explained, he brought our previous risk simulation into the conversation. I appreciate how the whole situation was explained to me. I appreciate that rather than sit depressed at his desk, my teacher actively used this to help us through the situation and become more educated. He was such a passionate teacher and really helped calm me that day. Feeling more enlightened made sitting through the replays for the next 4 classes less painful. Eventually we were allowed to go home.

At home, my mom was in tears. She had received word that my sister Krick was unaccounted for. She had been serving an LDS mission in Washington DC miles from the Pentagon. Later that day, we received information that she was fine, but for a minute it was frightening that something could have happened to her.

As we visited the 9/11 memorial during our vacation, these events replayed in my head. As I said before, I didn't lose anyone. But, seeing all the names engraved in the stone along the waterfalls was humbling. It made me grateful to be able to visit with my loved ones. It reminded me to tell the important people in my life how much they mean to me. Life is so precious and fragile. 

South Pool

South Pool

North Pool with "ONE" WTC in the background (donning flag)

The only living tree that survived the blast.

Me, Krick, Hilz, Katie, and Bec 

Me, Hilz, Bec, Krick, and Katie

Now go tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. I love you all!

Run for Your Life

[Beatles]

I've been reminiscent lately. And seriously, running is the best place for thinking about memories. So it only makes sense to have my half-marathon mix right now as a soundtrack of life.

These songs all have a place in my life and bring up memories. The lyrics aren't necessarily a reflection of my life. It's simply about the feeling I get when I listen to this music.

Mile 1: Trix are for kids 

[Songs from my childhood]

Me @ probably age 3 or 4

Walk Like an Egyptian

Copacabana

Funkytown

Mile 2: Sing into a Hair Brush

[Girly songs from my Junior High years]

Scary Spice
Halloween 1999

Wannabe

Soda Pop

Genie in a Bottle

Mile 3: Boy Bands

[Do I really need to explain this? Justin Timberlake, AJ, Jacob Underwood...a teenage girl's dream!]

My 1st Concert = NSync

Larger than Life

Bye, Bye, Bye

Liquid Dreams

Mile 4: Oh, Ricky!

[Just read this]

So glad I found a full photo of the cardboard cutout.
Ha.

Lola, Lola

Livin' La Vida Loca

She Bangs

Mile 5: Good Times

[High School Summers with my girlfriends] 

Graduation '02

Shoop

Blister in the Sun

Rosa Parks

It's Tricky

Mile 6: Being Pissed

[Songs for getting through your parent's divorce]

Father of Mine

FatLip

Strange Things

Mile 7: Dances and Dating

[Songs from...self-explanatory]

All My Life

Country Grammar

Higher Ground

Buddy Holly

Mile 8: Starting to Run

[Songs you'd see on my minidisc player early on]

Cottonwood Height Turkey Trot

Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go)

Take It Off

Rollin'

Mile 9: Falling in Love

[Songs KC and I listened to while dating]

Ah...the photobooth.

Wouldn't It Be Nice

Do You Love Me?

I Think We're Alone Now

Mile 10: Getting Married

[Songs from our wedding]

July 19, 2008

All You Need is Love

Here Comes the Sun

Stand By Me

Mile 11: Broadway

[Seeing my first broadway show on our Honeymoon, followed by many more]

Wicked NYC

Popular

December 1963

Bend and Snap

Mile 12: The Bay State

[Living in Massachusetts]

Red Sox Game

Hello Beautiful

Down with OPP

Sweet Caroline[Can't do it...not a Neil Diamond fan]

Just a Kiss

Mile 13: Killing this race

[Here and now]

SLC Half Marathon T-Shirt

Part of Me

Good Day

The Edge of Glory

I Count the Minutes

[Ricky Martin]

Get ready to learn how big of a nerd I really am.

I hope you'll speak to me after this post. 

Christmas of 2000. I was 16 years old. It was a period in my life where my family had very little. My parents were going through a horrendous divorce that cause a bankruptcy, foreclosure on our house, and my family to split apart. We went from almost a million dollar home to poverty. Yet, somehow my mom saved up enough money to drive us to Cali to stay with family for the winter break. We lived off of sandwiches and $1 burritos at taco bell for the duration of the trip. But it was one of the best vacations.

My aunt and uncle are musicians and have a recording studio in their house located in Pasadena. So as part of my Christmas, my mom and aunt worked out a time during our vacation where I could go into the studio and record a song.

I am NOT a singer by any means. And if you've heard this recording, then you can consider yourself UN-lucky. I'll save the rest of you from the torture by not sharing here.

The song I chose was, "Be careful" by Ricky Martin. With my aunt being a stanch catholic, I wasn't going to make her hearing go by having her 16 year old niece sing "She bangs". So, I picked one of the "cleaner" Ricky songs, but nonetheless, a song I still adored.

To be honest, though, pretty much anything that was associated with Ricky Martin was something I adored. Rather, loved. No, obsessed over.

Back home in Utah, you could have found a purple carpeted room with magazine inserts lining the wall and closet doors; all displaying the unbuttoned shirt and leather wearing Latin sex god. My bed neatly made had a black and white pillow donning his beautiful face; a gift from my best friend, Jason, for my sixteen birthday. The window sill would have been lined with books, TV Guides, Magazines, trading cards, cd covers, and a glass jar from his hotel room at the Hotel Monaco in SLC.

Yet, the main focal point of the room, being....drumroll please...

My prized possession, a Ricky Martin cardboard cutout.

[These pics were from my Junior prom. Gotta love the hairstyle. Who let me have those bangs? And thank goodness I figured out later on how to do makeup and picked up running. Otherwise, where would I be now?]

If you asked me or didn't ask, I would have told you that I was exactly 12 years, 3 months, 18 days younger than my future husband. I made a birthday cake on Christmas Eve (Ricky's b-day). And I refused to discuss the topic of whether he was gay or not. That subject was off limits, solely, because it didn't fit the stories playing out in my head.

I look back and realize, I really just needed a boyfriend at the time. As soon as that happened, I got normal. [It's kind of something all the girls in my family went through. Krick, superman. Hilary, Johnny Depp. Kelsy, David Archuletta.]

But during the years of 15-18, I was in insanely in love insane and in love with Ricky Martin.

I could go into some other stories to convince you of this, like the fact that I listened to his self titled CD so much that I went through 3 copies. Or that I took Honors Spanish in high school so that I could interpret his Spanish songs. Not to leave out the day I turned 16, I decided to wear my best outfit which was a Ricky Martin t-shirt.

Pic from Camp 2001?

But I don't want you to think I am THAT crazy. Though I am. So let's skip those stories.

The real story here is this.

My mom promised me that if Ricky came within 500 miles, she would take me to his concert. With Las Vegas being 420 miles away, it really gave me 2 shots. A Las Vegas show or a Salt Lake show. I watched as the tour dates came out, ecstatic to see a Las Vegas show on the list. I begged my mom, reminding her of the promise. However, living in a conservative household, she didn't feel comfortable bringing a 16 year to a Vegas show. So the concert came and went without my attendance.

Years later, he came to SLC, but by then I was college poor and had a boyfriend (being past my Ricky phase). I chose not to scrounge up the dough or make endless calls to radio stations in the valley.

As I get older, I regret not having gone to either of those concerts [I also regret not going to the Spice Girls reunion, but that's another story for another day]. Ricky was an amazing entertainer on screen, I can't imagine what he would have been like live. But nonetheless, I didn't get to experience it.

When his autobiography came out last year, I read it and it reignited a (lesser, more normal) love for the Latin singer.

Nearly 1 week after I finished the bio, the news reported he would be starring in the revival of Evita on Broadway.

Naturally, always looking for an excuse to go to the big apple, I threw out an invite to some family members for a girls trip. I owed it to my teenage self to see him live once in my life. And it can't get better than 4th row on Broadway.

One month of 13 years of waiting left.

I. Can't. Wait.

So now that you know this...can we still be friends?

Have you ever had a ridiculous obsession/crush on a Celebrity?

[Time Out]

Recently while hanging with Randy and Krick, we watched a clip from Jimmy Fallon where he interviews  Mark-Paul Gosselaar  Zach Morris. Here's the clip:



After laughing histerically, I made the comment that I wanted to watch Saved by the Bell again. So for Christmas Krick gave me a set of DVDs from the show Saved by the Bell.

Today, while being house bound with a cold I cracked open the set of DVDs.

Oh. Man.

It seems like I had flashbacks to sitting at the kitchen counter after school watching these shows on a 10" black and white screen we had on the counter. Hilary and I would make a package of top ramen and dip saltines into the soup while watching Zach, Kelly, Screech, Slater, Jesse, and Lisa.

One of my favorite episodes from back in the days came onto today. You know the one where Mr. Belvedere talks the guys into standing up to their women because they were "MEN!". And then the guys end up trying to make it up to the girls by re-doing their moments of mistake. And Screech dresses as Kelly.

Anyway, such an awesomely fun show. And the perfect way to spend a sick day.

#worstdate

1. I love Jimmy Fallon. Love HIM.
2. check out the hashtag #worstdate on twitter right now.

Jimmy Fallon last night asked everyone to post their worst date memories to that hash tag. I have been laughing all day at the stream. I posted:

@jimmyfallon My prom date had a gold chain necklace w/a gold eagle pendant. I had to ask him to button up his tux. Start to the #worstdate

Seriously loving twitter right now. Getting kind of sick of all the crap that comes with facebook. eh.


Anyway, I got to thinking about my worst dates. [Laughter]. I have some good ones. But there are REALLY two that are notable:

Story #1: The Gold Eagle Pendant Prom Date

Story #2: The Boy in the Hoodie

============================================================

Story #1

Illustration by Malia Gillette

Let me first say, that my Junior prom was just as you could have always wanted. A good friend of mine took me. I loved Jr. Prom. Good food, good fun, good guy, good group. I had such a good time that when I got asked out to prom as a Senior (which was rare), I was excited for another fun evening.

One of my bff's Lena was going to be in our group, since her boy and mine were best friends. They even  asked us to prom at the same time. With roses and all. We were enthused about the event, to say the least.

The day after I got asked to the dance, I went to the fabric store and got material to sew my own dress. It was gorgeous. Maroon and black. A large full skirt. Corset top. I loved it. But even more, I had invested more into the dance.

The day of the dance came. And in Salt Lake City, Utah, the expectation for the entire day is filled with activities. So at 7am, I got a call that they needed directions to come pick me up for breakfast. My address was a tricky one. Yay, surprise breakfast, NOT. What girl wants to go on a date, not having time to have showered or properly dress? But I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even in my pajamas. It was the thought that counts, right?

They found my house, with enough time to brush my teeth, put makeup on, and brush my hair. But I knew that Lena would die if she had to wear PJs and I didn't, so I left those the same. We went to get waffles and pancakes. It was fun. We laughed and had great conversation.

The second activity of the day was build-a-bear. Cheesy, yes. Seventeen self, enjoyed it (probably because they let us go home and get dressed). Lena and I picked out bears and dressed them in tuxedos. Aw, cute. [haha]. We even put little briefs on them.

Why I named him Mr. Paint. Clueless. Really? I am sure it was an inside joke about my prom date. But twenty-six year old self can't remember. (Lena, if your reading and remember...please fill me in.)

The way home, every couple played the "Make out at the stop light game"...well, every couple but Lena/her guy and Me/my guy. We were rather sickened by it. [haha...oh gen (shaking head)].

So so far, so good, right? I agree. Breakfast. Cute stuffed animal. Good date. Not so fast...let me finish.

Sinclair shows up (his name was Sinclair, should have known then). I am in the kitchen, getting my hair curled while my mom sits at the sewing machine finishing the sleeves on my dress. (I couldn't sew sleeves back then.) So Sinclair sits in our front room and waits, while we rap things up. I felt bad. But that is normal...especially for prom...especially in our family.

So once, I was finally ready... (Note: My mom had to cut me out of my shirt so I would ruin my hair...poor Ricky Martin shirt..RIP)...I went into the front room. I notice this:

@jimmyfallon My prom date had a gold chain necklace w/a gold eagle pendant. I had to ask him to button up his tux. Start to the #worstdate

It was just the eagles head. It was gold. And it rested on his 17 year old, kinda growing some hair, chest. The tuxedo shirt unbuttoned a few notches. [Cringe]. I couldn't take my eyes off it. Really, we are going out of the house...to the highschool dance...where all my friends will be....and he is wearing that! Barf...

Me: "Nice necklace. You need to button up your shirt and hide it before we leave. Thanks!"

[bitch!]

So maybe that is why it was a bad date. But no. It gets worse. He opens my door and I cram my dress into the jeep. [Seriously, big skirt]. We head get to our dinner destination, Desert Star Playhouse.  We get a pizza. Okay, I am not high maintenance. Pizza is good.  Even for prom. And the play was kinda blah, but whatever. Let's put those items aside for a minute. Let's talk about the real issue at dinner.

Gramp's Cologne

That is probably all I need to say. But for those of you who don't catch on quickly. My date and I were sitting so close, I probably should have just sat on his lap. And due to the closeness of the seating in the playhouse. I could smell, very strongly, my dates cologne. Note to all guys. Smelling like a grandpa is a turn off. Unless you are a playmate, in which I won't speak for you.

I lean over to Lena and say "He smells like a grandpa." And I will never forget her facial expression. It was perfect. [Lena, thank you for being on that date with us. Seriously wouldn't have survived without you].

Okay, so some bad things happened. Should I stop now and let you think that was my worse date? I could. But really? REALLY? do you want that? Really?

No! That is what I thought...

So we finally get to the dance. We get in line for pictures. Find out, no pictures were purchased. [Hence why Malia drew a picture of me in my dress. I don't actually have any pictures from that night].

We get out of line. We dance. Lena and I love to dance. So we are goofing off, while the guys do the typical "sway and stand". I do something dumb. Lena points it out. I get embarrassed. And that's that. Moving on..

Of course, Lena and I look hot. So the guys try to freak with us (mom close your eyes....). So we do. Just a bit. Just high school version. But really, my dress was so big, that we couldn't do much. (k, mom you can open your eyes again).

The guys get more crazy as the night goes on. They definitely had teenage guy stuff on the mind. And it didn't help that our entire group was macking on each other. Don't give them ideas. I didn't find him that attractive. Plus he smelled like a grandpa!

So Lena and I just kinda held onto each other most of the night.

We left the dance at the last moment. Last song. We were hoping that no activities were planned for afterwards. Because in reality, we knew what kind of activities were probably planned. Eeek!

So we get back in the jJep. And thank goodness, end up at European Connection. Well that is after the guys hand out mini glow in the dark sticks to everyone. I stick mine in my purse. 

We ate crepes. And then Lena and I told them it was time to get home "for curfew". [in reality curfew was a couple hours later.]We also told them that they could drop us both off at Lena's place. I was supposedly sleeping over [also not true]. 

So we get back into the car. And the guys throw their mini glowie sticks into the their mouths. Lena jokingly teases them by doing the same. My date pressure me to do it to. So I stick the green stick in my mouth. We drive away. My date is hitting on me. Lena's date is hitting on her. They obviously wanted to make out with these green and purple glowing things.

We pull out of the parking lot and on the turn right onto Ft. Union get into a car wreck. A minor one. With some damage. No one was hurt. It was my dates problem. And my date decides to drive away.

"No!", I said as I spit out the glowing stick, "You turn this [bleeping] car around RIGHT now! How dare you try to drive away. Get the [bleep] back there and talk to the [bleeping] guy!" [This was big for me,  I never cussed back then]

My date was pissed. But did as I said. [Thank you very much]. The guy and him talked it out. He got back in the car. We never said a word to each other after. Not on the date. Not at school. Never.

So that is the end of the story. Not quite.

Lena and I see her date at school the following Monday. [My date is nowhere to be seen].  He dishes out the real details of the night:

1. They were boozing all day.
2. The cologne was stolen from Nordstroms earlier in the day. Between Build-a-Bear and Prom night pickup.
3. They had "borrowed" the car from a friend. They claim it was a friend. But still skeptical.
4. Mine and Sinclair's dinners and play tickets were paid for by Lena's date. I offered to pay him back. He said no. [He was a nice guy. How they were friends...who knows?]
5. The build-a-bear undies/briefs were stolen and never paid for. [Lena and I went back to the store and paid for them. Haha.]

So there it is. Story #1. I'll save story #2 for another day. I need to talk to Krick first. I've blocked most of it from my memory.