Reflecting on my grandma...

Tonight we were watching a program where people from my state shared their experiences from World War II. It made me think about my grandmother. During WWII she worked at the air base in Wendover, and her job was to ration and assign fuel to the different airplanes that were flying from that base. She knew how much fuel she had coming in on trains and trucks and she was responsible for portioning it out in the best way. One of the tasks she had, which she found out about later, was to give fuel to the Enola Gay for its famous bombing mission. At the time she didn't know she was doing such a momentous thing, but she said that she did know it was something important because they told her to make sure that she gave fuel to that plane. It's interesting to feel that your family is somehow a small part of such a large piece of history...

Ever had one of those days...

...where things feel a little off? Mine started at about 11:00 today. I'm hoping it's nothing a good night's sleep can't fix.

Naps.

Here's the problem with naps: when I'm down, I'm down. I blame it on the mission, when a P-day nap was an opportunity to catch up on all the rest of the sleep of which you don't seem to manage to get enough during the rest of the week, no matter how many times you eat breakfast while you're studying your scriptures so you can nap during breakfast time. So on P-day we would throw in our laundry and crash for like three hours. And I guess my body got used to it because if I go to sleep during the day now, it's a two- or three-hour proposition. Even if I set an alarm, it's usually at least two hours before I'm awake enough to not just press the snooze button again and keep napping.

So if I nap too late in the day, it's a bad situation because I end up getting a two- or three-hour stretch of sleep, making it so I'm not tired at bedtime. This of course means that I stay up too late and am therefore tired the next day. And of course I get the most tired in the late afternoon or evening, just when it's the worst possible time to take a nap. It's a vicious cycle.

So today I was determined to resist. I was trying to keep myself awake listening to television programs while working on some of my tedious but necessary website work. Then I got too tired to even work on the website, so I decided to just listen to the television program. Then I got a little more comfortable on my pillow. Then I decided that I would set an alarm and get up when it went off... and about three hours later I regained enough consciousness to decide that it was much too late to be napping and I should get up.

I should know better, but the good news (if you can call it that) is that I'm still tired... so maybe I'll be able to go to bed at a reasonable hour after all. Or maybe I'll be getting my second wind just as bedtime rolls around and decide to do a couple hours worth of things (you know, I have a couple of people I want to write letters to) and end up going to bed late. Or worse yet, maybe I'll get in bed and just lay there not sleeping like I did last night. Which is, of course, the reason why I felt so tired later today...

Thank you

Today in church I was sometimes distracted and kept making comments periodically to my friend sitting next to me. I asked her about what kind of music she likes to play on the piano for fun. I told her that I thought the tenor part on one of the hymns we sang was the easiest tenor part ever. And so forth. Finally at one point, I apologized by saying something like, "Thanks for being so nice to me; I'm kind of random."
She responded with something like, "That's why I LOVE you."

Bless you.

And then there were two?

So I just started blogging what, less than a month ago, and I already have two blogs? What's that all about?

I think a good thing to blog about would be things that I am grateful for. As I have become more acquainted with the blogosphere, I have realized that many times, good blogs have a sort of minimalistic theme that they stick to every day. Rather than intermingle my gratitude posts with my other posts, I decided to create a new blog that will be just dedicated to the theme of expressing what I'm grateful for. I hope that blogging about what I'm grateful for will not only make me a more grateful person, but perhaps also inspire others to feel more gratitude in their lives as well.

So feel free to check it out: imgratefulforww.blogspot.com.

My ironic bathroom sink

My bathroom sink has a very interesting problem. It leaks. Well, that's not the interesting part. The interesting part is that it only leaks when it is not clogged. If you open up the cupboard below the sink and look at the P-trap, you'll find that there is currently a container under there, placed to catch the leaks that happen whenever I use the sink. Happily, the leak is rather slow, but if you listen after running the sink you can hear the characteristic "drip drip drip" that means the water is draining from the P-trap into the container below. Oh, and by the way, it only started leaking yesterday. Why yesterday, you ask? Because overnight I put some hair clog remover down the pipes, since the sink was draining quite slowly. Apparently whatever gunk and gook was clogging the pipes was also plugging whatever small hole the leak is coming out of. So, theoretically, I could wait for the sink to just get slow again and my problem will be solved! Or I guess I could eventually go down to Lowe's and buy a new P-trap... but it seems like it would kind of ruin all the fun. :)

More vital information from candy wrappers that you can't live without...

... and a joke thrown in for good measure.

The following trivia questions come from Nestle Dark Crunch hearts (yay leftover Valentine's candy on sale!)

Which Mouseketeer was Paul Anka pining over when he wrote Puppy Love?
A: Annette Funicello

Who caught Jennifer Aniston's first wedding bouquet toss in July of 2000, after it ricocheted off a hanging lamp?
A: Jennifer Aniston

And here's a joke I learned from Selecciones the other day:
Q: How many economists does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: None. If it were necessary for the lightbulb to change, market forces would have taken care of it already.

Me me me

The following are some questions that I received in an e-mail from a friend. Not being one to send chain e-mail, I decided to cut and paste into my blog instead. Probably TMI, but here you go.

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your Friends. What you are supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire e-mail and paste it onto a new e-mail that you'll send. Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to your friends including the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning?
10ish. Sundays are sweet like that.

2. Diamonds or pearls?
Silver.

3. Last movie you saw?
Probably something on TV. Oh yeah, we saw "Miracle".

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Well, based on the one I watch the most it would probably be Scrapbook Memories. Tee hee. I don't usually sit down and watch TV myself but if my dad has something on I'll often watch with him.

5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
Lately it's been a bowl of cereal. I often get up too late for breakfast and make it sort of an early lunch.

6. What is your middle name?
Don't got one. Honest.

7. What food do you dislike?
Not too much comes to mind. I'm not too fond of olives, although I will eat them on pizza and stuff, and pineapple isn't my favorite, but I'll eat that too.

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Who knows? Chabuca Granda, maybe.

9. What kind of car do you drive?
'94 Toyota Corolla. Such a sweet car.

10. Favorite sandwich?
It changes. I like tuna salad, BLT on rye with pepper jack, Wendy's chicken fillet, hamburgers...

11. What characteristic do you despise?
Hm... I get somewhat irritated when people tell random stories and facts as if they are showing off to look smart. I probably get irritated by this because I do it constantly.

12. Favorite item of clothing?
I have some striped socks that are pretty awesome.

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Wherever I can afford.

14. What color is your bathroom?
Same as the rest of the house. White walls and brown carpet. (Yes, we have carpet in the bathroom. Don't be judgin'!)

15. Favorite brand of clothing?
Brands are lame.

16. Where would you retire to?
Kelowna, B.C. Just kidding.

17. What was your most memorable birthday?
The picnic in Liberty Park was pretty cool.

18. Favorite sport to watch?
Volleyball, gymnastics, football

19. Farthest place you are sending this?
Leave a comment and let me know!

20. Who do you least expect to send this back?
Doesn't apply.

21. Person you expect to send it back first?
Doesn't apply. If you're gonna do this on your blog, let me know.

22. Favorite saying?
Pft. Ergh.

23. When is your birthday?
June 26

24. Are you a morning person or a night person?
It's easy for me to stay up at night, but I'm more productive in the morning.

25. What is your shoe size?
9ish. 40 for Danskos.

26. Pets?
Not currently, but I'd like to have another cat sometime.

27. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?
New and exciting depends on how long it's been since I last filled you in... things are going generally well.

29. What are you now?
A linguist?

30. What is your favorite candy?
Not too picky. I like dark chocolate. My favorite brand is Chocolove.

31. What is your favorite flower?
I'm pretty much the weirdest girl ever because I don't like roses that much. But I like lots of other flowers.

32. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
March 31 -- I'm flying to New York for the TESOL convention

33. What church do you attend?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

34. What is your full name?
Keeping this one private...

35. What are you listening to right now?
A television program about the Old Testament.

36. What was the last thing you ate?
Post-Valentine's sale candy

37. Do you wish on stars?
Not usually

38. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Hm... weird question...

39. How is the weather right now?
I can't tell because it's dark outside. The Yahoo! weather shows a moon with a few thin clouds over it. I did notice earlier tonight that the moon was not quite full and very bright.

40. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
A guy called asking for my Dad tonight

41. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Yep, she's great!

42. Favorite soft drink?
I don't drink soft drinks too much, but I like most of them.

43. Favorite restaurant(s)?
Cafe Rio, The Olympian

44. Hair color?
Blond

46. Favorite day of the year?
Hm... I don't think I have one.

47. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Plastic animals, cars, He-Man, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, listening to records and tapes

48. Summer or winter?
Fall is better than either of these.

49. Hugs or Kisses?
Yes, please!

50. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate!

51. Do you want your friends to email you back?
If you want to post a blog entry or a Facebook note, that would be cool.

52. When was the last time you cried?
Can't remember. I don't cry very often.

53. What is under your bed?
A fire escape ladder and some dust :)

55. What did you do last night?
Hung around at home, watching TV with the fam

56. Favorite smell?
Clean laundry, good perfume, shampoo, the inside of most DVD cases

57. What are you afraid of?
Pleading the fifth on this one...

58. Plain, buttered, or salted Popcorn?
Butter and salt! Or plain with salt.

59. How many keys on your key ring?
11 keys, two laminated tags, and one flashlight that only works sometimes.

60. How many years at your current job?
About 6, but my responsibilities have changed during that time, so I could also answer just a few months.

61. Favorite day of the week?
I used to like Saturday because that was the day I went to the Conference Center. Now Sundays are good.

62. How many towns have you lived in?
Holladay, UT, USA (it used to be unincorporated Salt Lake County but it's the same place so I'll count it as one)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Fort Frances, ON, Canada
Mexico City, Mexico
Kasperske Hory, Czech Republic
Total: 5

63. Do you make friends easily?
I meet new people easily. Becoming close takes time.

64. How many people will you be sending this to?
Whoever reads my blog!

Hello Kitty Bandaids

This is a Hello Kitty bandaid that I have on my computer, just to make me happy.

I believe in the power of Hello Kitty bandaids. I mean, it's pretty much impossible to feel sad while you're wearing an adorable pink bandage bearing the image of Hello Kitty and/or her friends. I bought a pack of them at Target a while ago and I carried a couple around with me, just in case I ran into somebody who needed one. It has nothing to do with whether you have a cut or something. You can put a bandaid on anyway.

Today I gave a Hello Kitty bandaid to one of my friends in church. I pulled out all of my best techniques: I gave her chocolate and a Hello Kitty bandaid, and scratched her back and her head. Actually, I really like doing these things for people, and she was so responsive. I hope it helped.

I remember one time I was watching my next-door neighbor and her daughter (a little girl at the time). The daughter had fallen down and skinned her knee or something, and the mom "kissed it better." Then the girl said something like, "Now it hurts here," and pointed to her cheek...

For a long time I have wished that I could just get some magical bandaids that would cure whatever was ailing the world. Wouldn't it be great if you could just slap a big old bandaid on the world and cry "Heal!" and all the problems of the world would be solved? World hunger, heal! Contention, heal! Abuse and violence, heal! As much as I desire to be able to solve all the world's problems in one go, I don't have that power. But I do have some Hello Kitty bandaids.

(Check out this awesome article by Spencer W. Kimball.)

Messages from candy I ate today

"Kiss someone." -- Hershey's kiss

"Why did the jelly roll? Because it saw the apple turnover." -- Laffy Taffy

Words to live by.

Why I'm a Verizon customer

Today I called Verizon to make a change to my account. After navigating the slightly confusing menu, I was routed to speak with a customer service representative. The customer-service person asked me what change I wanted to make, and as she made the change, she asked me about the weather and we chatted pleasantly. When the change was complete, she asked me if she had resolved my issue. I said yes gratefully and the call was over. Total call duration: 4 minutes, 42 seconds.

In Memoriam

On February 11, 2008, my brother's laptop computer passed away suddenly in his lab, of causes relating to a malfunctioning hard drive, at the age of about 3 1/2.

The computer passed suddenly, giving only a few unusual noises before ceasing to work completely. Also passing with the laptop were many files including computer programs and mp3s.

The Compaq was purchased a few years ago and had been in use basically every day since then. It served as a faithful companion to its owner. He used it for both his engineering homework and entertainment as he listened to music and visited social networking sites and other websites. Although he was thinking of replacing the computer, its demise was a surprise. It will be missed as my brother participates in his research and school projects.

The Compaq is survived by its owner, and by the owner's family, as well as an iPod and a Dell printer. No memorial services are planned. The search for a successor has already begun. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a new computer fund...

Blogstalkers welcome

Tonight a little after 8:00 I was feeling kind of sleepy, but I knew that if I slept for too long I wouldn't be able to go to sleep at a reasonable hour of night, so I just decided to nod off while sitting up for a bit. Then, at some point, I lay down, and didn't really regain consciousness until around 11:00. Don't tell my eye doctor, because I'm not supposed to sleep with my contacts in, and when I woke up they were covered with a cloudy film. Anyhoo, since it'll probably be a couple of hours until I go to bed for real, I guess I have plenty of time to write in my blog.

Today I found out that a long-time friend has been "blogstalking" me. Welcome! I hope that people are actually reading this blog. I don't know how interesting everything that I write on here is to people, and I still have some reservations about blogging (see my blog about it lol) but it looks like it's a part of my regular habits, at least for a while. I would actually really be happy to know that people are reading. So feel free to stalk, but also feel free to send me a comment or even an e-mail or a Facebook message to let me know that you read. If you're curious about some topic, I'm pretty verbose, so feel free to make suggestions...

I've kind of been thinking about how people act by doing sort of the opposite of whatever trait they feel they lack. That is, people who aren't sure of their smarts will sometimes use big words and tell a lot of stories to appear smarter. People who are insecure and feel inferior will often act big in an attempt to look confident. And, I often act really outgoing and friendly, because I sometimes feel alone. I think people would call me an outgoing person, and a lot of people at church, for example, tell me that I'm one of the first people in the ward who talked to them. I believe that quite a bit of my friendliness is motivated by the fact that I feel lonely and I want people to pay attention to me. It has worked quite well for me in the past -- I usually always find someone to sit by.

In a way this is one of the loneliest times in my life; of my three closest friends, two of them got married and the other moved to another state in 2007, so I don't have a lot of regular contact with my most intimate friends. It's been liberating for me to discover yet again that I'm okay, and that reading scripture and attending church brings so much comfort and such a calming influence into my life. Surely that's one of the manifestations of the Holy Ghost (Galatians 5:22-23). However, in my lonely moments it doesn't always occur to me to turn to the scriptures and I long to hold a trusted friend. I appreciate the people in my life who do fill up the emptiness in my arms temporarily, and those who have seen past my outgoing behavior to realize that I LOVE it when you come up to me and give me a hug.

I used to have a friend, actually, who understood this side of me very well. She, like me, was very comfortable with physical contact. We would often hold hands as we were sitting together in Sunday School or Relief Society, just because we both liked it. She moved on to other phases of her life about two years ago but I still miss her often. No one since has understood me on that level in the same way that she did.

I have learned that there are good reasons why many people don't want to be hugged or touched. I try not to come on too strong because it's counterproductive; it drives people away and it seems to me that it would be disrespecting people that I care about if they're not interested in that kind of attention. For others it sometimes just takes a longer time to warm up to people. As a result I won't often express a lot of physical affection toward people unless I know that they are comfortable with it, which often involves us having a discussion about it at some point. But in case you're wondering why I hold you close when you give me a hug or why I linger a little when you take my hand, now you know. Thank you.

Opera and Links

Here's a link to an interesting question I saw on Best of Answers lately:
See the question

I just discovered that BYU-TV has decided to show again "1856: Long Walk Home", a concert opera that covers the experiences of pioneers from the Willie and Martin handcart companies. I really enjoy this opera for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the amazing performance of Jennifer Welch-Babidge (I've been a fan of hers ever since I heard her in person in Logan a few years ago). About halfway through the opera she sings an incredible solo ("Mother, I dream of warmth..."). You can see the program here for the next month or so after posting:
See the opera

Oh, do I ever love opera! Hearing an opera on CD or the radio isn't usually that exciting, and seeing an opera on TV is better but not always gripping, but seeing an opera in the theater is my absolute favorite form of entertainment. I even like Wagner and modern operas that many people don't seem to like. Unfortunately, so many operas have material that I think is inappropriate. Before I would attend an opera, I would check the synopsis carefully to make sure it didn't have anything I would regret seeing. For example, I thought the music of Thaïs was so wonderful the first time I heard it on the radio I would even listen to it on the radio... but then I discovered that there is a scene in the opera where one of the main characters has an erotic dream about the other character, and apparently this scene is often performed in the nude. If anyone is interested in inviting me to an appropriate opera, I would gladly go and have a great time. The combination of music and theater: what could be better? As I recall, the first time I saw an opera in the theater I was so mesmerized that I was surprised when the first act was over; it had seemed to me that only a short time had gone by.

So check out the opera at the link above and see why I like it. The composition is very nice, but above all I just can't get over Jennifer Welch-Babidge's performance. Maybe I'll talk her into being my voice teacher someday. ;)

And while you're at it, see this YouTube page for the opera "The Dreamweaver", by Erica Glenn. Dreamweaver and the other operas on this channel were the winners of a national opera composition contest last year (but Dreamweaver took number 1). I'm pretty proud to claim the composer as one of my friends. I was at the performance last year where the videos were made. To download a better-quality copy of the audio, see vocalworks.org.

And in case you're not aware, Marie Callender's semi-annual pie sale is on this month. I've eaten a lot of pie today. :)

Voting

Wouldn't it be so awesome if you could go to the polls and say something like, "Wow, I just don't know which candidate to vote for. I mean, they're all so good!"

Wouldn't it be awesome?

Claims to Fame

Claims to fame are an interesting thing. I guess the idea is that if you don't have a reason to feel as good about yourself as you want to, you can try to borrow fame from others to boost your self-esteem. I believe my biggest shot at fame is coming up with some sort of linguistic hypothesis. But let's be honest; the most famous linguist ever is probably Henry Higgins, the phonetician, who happens to be a fictional character in "My Fair Lady". If I feel the need for fame, I guess I can try some of the following. The following is a short but incomplete list of some of my best claims to fame:

• A friend of mine is going to be a famous composer someday. She just graduated from ASU with a degree in music composition.
• I once interviewed Eunice Kennedy Shriver (JFK's sister) for my high-school newspaper.
• My high school counselor's son used to play drums for Natalie Merchant.
• I've shaken the hand of Thurl Bailey.
• I used to go to school with Donny Osmond's nephew.
• The winner of the TV reality show "The Rebel Billionaire" graduated in my high-school class. We used to take sophomore English together, as I recall.
• Technically, I'm a professional musician... I was paid a small amount of money for performing music at a church activity at the state prison.
• Technically, I'm a professional poet... I was paid $10 for a poem I wrote as an adolescent and which was later published in a magazine.
• I go to church with a pastry chef from a fancy local hotel.

With claims to fame like that, I'm afraid I'm going to have to look elsewhere for a sense of self-esteem...

The man I want

Let me just preface this blog post by saying that if any person that I'm dating ever reads this in the future, you shouldn't take this as a set-in-stone list. Some of the items on this list are more important than others. So if you're my potential mate, don't think that this is a list of qualifications that you have to perfectly fill.

I want a man who:

• is a worthy priesthood and temple recommend holder.
  
• knows the scriptures and wants to study them and discuss them, by himself and together with me and our family.
  
• is about the same height as me.
• sings baritone, or bass, or tenor. :)
• plays the piano better than me, but doesn't play the guitar better than me. (Okay, actually it would be cool if he played guitar better than me.) Other instruments are a bonus.
  
• has empathy. It is so kind when I can see the look of empathy on another's face.
• speaks kindly of people; doesn't gossip.
• appreciates appropriate entertainment.
• isn't one of those people who just looks at the hymn book instead of singing in church.
• laughs at my jokes when they are funny. He doesn't have to laugh at the nonfunny ones. I make quite a few of those.
• fills up the empty feeling in my arms.
• enjoys holding hands, touching, kissing, and other forms of physical affection.
  
• is trustworthy. I would like to feel safe to tell him anything I have on my mind.
• appreciates education and will read to our children and participate in their education.
• doesn't necessarily know about linguistics. I already know about that. I'd like to learn something new from him. But he should probably be willing to listen about linguistics for long periods of time. :)
  
• quietly serves at things that need to be done, even though that service doesn't bring him a lot of recognition.
• doesn't feel the need to show off. He's secure about who he is.
• sincerely loves others and is interested in serving them.

Well, that's quite a list, so I guess I'll leave it there. I'd love to get comments.

"El tiempo borra el dolor."

Recently I got out one of my CDs and listened to it again. It's a collection of hits by Chabuca Granda, the great Peruvian songstress. In my knowledge of Peruvian music, Chabuca Granda seems to be universally recognized as one of the greats. I learned her song "La Flor de la Canela" while in my first Spanish class and performed it for the other students. As my knowledge of Spanish has increased, my appreciation for her lyrics has deepened. The title of this post is a line from "En la margen opuesta": "Time erases pain."

Here are some websites where you can learn more about Chabuca Granda:
Wikipedia
A biography from a music publisher
A fan site with a few interesting facts

In case you're wondering, I got interested in Chabuca Granda and Peruvian music in general through my interest in Afro-Peruvian music... check it out!

Yay Sunday!

If I can make it to church on Sunday, I'll be all right after that.

I got an e-mail tonight that included sheet music from the new hymn, "What is This Thing that Men Call Death", with text by Gordon B. Hinckley and music by Janice Kapp Perry. The e-mail also included some text that seemed to have been written by the author about how the hymn was written. I'm not one to fall for e-mail hoaxes, so I decided to check it out... and found out the story was true.

Apparently Sister Perry found out about a poem that Gordon B. Hinckley had written and they printed it in the program for her niece's funeral just a couple of weeks ago. Then Sister Perry requested permission from President Hinckley to set the poem to music. She did, and sent a copy to him for his approval. The approval arrived just after his death.

Sister Perry has made the sheet music of the hymn available to anyone who would like to use it for noncommercial church or home use. You can get a copy e-mailed to you following the instructions on her website:
Janice Kapp Perry
You can also download a copy from the website of Steven Kapp Perry's radio podcast:
The Cricket and the Seagull Fireside Chat
And here are a couple of news stories about the hymn, including the one from ABC 4 with video footage of the coverage:
ABC 4
Deseret Morning News

President Hinckley's Funeral and Saturday links

Today was President Hinckley's funeral. It was a very nice service. I believe at one point the reporters on the radio were mentioning how people were hearing the reporting outside of the Salt Lake area, and I couldn't help but think that it was so appropriate that President Hinckley's funeral would be heard and experienced by people all over the world through media means, since he was so good at using the media to further the purposes of the Lord. As the funeral procession proceeded up South Temple, the bells of the Cathedral of the Madeleine were ringing, which was a very nice tribute from our Catholic friends. People were waving white handkerchiefs and canes as the funeral procession passed by. BYU-TV had coverage of the funeral for much of the day, anchored by Jane Clayson Johnson and Don Olsen.

A photo that I took on my last day at the Conference Center, Spring 2007. I think sunset is the best time of day to be on the roof of the Conference Center.

As a hostess at the Conference Center for several years, many times I felt the "spirit of the Conference Center", which I experienced as a happy feeling that usually hit me almost immediately after I entered the building. If I had any problems or worries, I think I often forgot about them completely after a relatively short time in the Conference Center. I believe that the happy feeling was the Holy Ghost testifying to me that the words that President Hinckley spoke in the Conference Center were the words of the Lord. I know that President Hinckley is a prophet of God.

Here are a couple of links to some things I ran across this week that were interesting:
Why Music Sounds Right
Getting Things Done (When You Really Have To)

Beautiful Singing

I would say if there is one thing that most people who know me know, it's that I love to sing. Despite the fact that I have sung my whole life, I have never formally taken voice lessons, even though I would very much like to. So imagine how excited I was last spring when I first saw the program "Beautiful Singing: Not Just for the Chosen" on BYU-TV. It's an hour-long television program that is basically a condensed complete course of voice lessons. It introduces principles, based in physics and solid vocal pedagogy, that can help people to improve the quality of their singing.

The program is actually based on a longer experience called "Vocal Beauty Boot Camp", which is a week-long intensive group voice lesson offered by the developer of the program, Clayne Robison. He's a performer and voice teacher who works at Brigham Young University. My mom and I were even talking about going to that program and we were disappointed when we found out that last summer's boot camp was canceled. Yesterday, I found out from my choir director that the reason it was canceled is that Bro. Robison and his wife are currently on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he will offer more boot camps after he returns! According to the website registration for the boot camps will be available on the website starting in April.

I'm excited about the possibility to attend this program and I hope it will work out for my schedule. In the meantime, keep checking back at the BYU-TV website for "Beautiful Singing" to see when the program will be airing on their stream again. You can watch the program anytime for about a month after it airs.