I'm an artist. Apparently.

I found a link to a personality test. And I took it, because really, why not?

So I am a ISFP.
Introverted (I) 71.43% Extroverted (E) 28.57%
Sensing (S) 58.54% Intuitive (N) 41.46%
Feeling (F) 62.16% Thinking (T) 37.84%
Perceiving (P) 52.5% Judging (J) 47.5%

ISFP - "Artist". Interested in the fine arts. Expression primarily through action or art form. The senses are keener than in other types. 8.8% of total population.

Ok, so maybe. But then I looked at this results page, which has a long list of adjectives, and short lists of favored careers, and disfavored careers. I don't like some of those adjectives. I'll have to take it again sometime, see if things change. It even says that you should take it again. I guess the more you take it, and the more often you get the same result, I guess the more accurate it could be.

So, take the test and tell me what you end up being. And, is it really you?

Déjà vu all over again.

I had an interesting experience the other day. On Tuesday I decided to go to the temple out in Mesa after work. So I find myself driving along the 202, just a mile or two away from my exit at about 5:45 at night. (Traffic was awesomely light! I don’t usually get to that point that quickly on my drive.) And all of a sudden, I remembered being on that road, at that place, at that general time of day, on that very evening, the 23rd of December, exactly four years prior.

It’s not often that I can remember exactly what I was doing any given day of any given year. I usually write down on my calendar some key words of whatever makes a given day special or unique. Then when I read those entries, I can remember that day and what happened. But I needed no words to prompt me to recall that year and that occasion. Just the cloudy sky, lit by the setting sun. My destination that day was so completely different. My activities that evening and that Christmas were just about the polar opposite of this year. This year I spent an evening in the temple, and enjoyed my family on Christmas Eve. Today I’m going to be at my parents’ house, and spend a little more time with them.

There’s no need to go into what happened that Christmas four years ago. But I have been thinking about it, comparing what happened then and where I am now. I don’t know that I’d be who I am today without that Christmas. I’ve learned a lot about myself since then. I’ve learned more of what I want from myself and from my life. Maybe I didn’t need that year and that experience to have gotten to this point, but there it was.

I’ve learned about the Gospel, about forgiveness and repentance. I’ve learned great things about the Atonement and about my relationship with my Savior. I certainly don’t know what my life has in store for me, but I have gained a new acceptance of that not knowing.

I didn’t really intend to get all serious. I was just going to relate a funny moment which contrasted where I’ve been in my life so neatly. But today being Christmas Day, and a time of year to express a renewal of gratitude of Christ and His mission on this earth, and His role in our lives, my thoughts have turned to the lessons that I have learned, and my great gratitude for the effect that the Plan of Salvation has had on my life.

So I hope that all of you have a very Merry Christmas, and strive to always remember that great gift of love that was given to us all. When you exchange your gifts, and you spend time with those you love, make sure to treasure those moments, and express the love that you feel for those around you. Reach out to those that are not present, and make sure that they know that you also think of them. Remember our Father, and His Son, and their great love for you and for me.

EDIT: I realized while I was driving to my parents' house that the title of my post is a little too flippant for the tone that I ended up with. But that really is my style. I joke and I laugh, even at serious subjects or at serious or uncomfortable times. I may laugh and be silly, but inside I'm quite serious and sincere.

While stalking the blogosphere...

The ex non-boyfriend. I saw that phrase while blog-stalking Thursday (the 18th) morning. The phrase as well as the description of the relationship that went along with that title is quite like my relationship with a guy that has occasionally been known as the Bozo. Well, I don't like calling him a bozo, that was just President Shannon's name for him. But it fits, cause really, he didn't always treat me that well. But that's a nice phrase that I can use for him, when I have to talk about him, which is happily not much anymore. But the next time I mention him, maybe I'll toss that term out.

Friday (the 19th) I found this very funny place: Overheard in the Ward. Apparently people send in funny things that they hear in church. I was going back through some of the older posts and found this gem:

Teacher: So the Brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord.
Boy #1: Did he pull it?
Boy #2 pensively: That would have, like, destroyed a mountain.

I nearly fell off my chair laughing. Here's another one, and very appropriate for the time of year:

Child: I’ve been praying to Santa that he would bring me a pony for Christmas.
Mom: You can’t pray to Santa. He only accepts letters.
Child: If I pray to Heavenly Father, will he make Santa give me one?

There's more, but I recommend you visit and see for yourself.

And now on Monday the 22nd: An article at NYTimes.com, about the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. It's a really interesting article, and rather long. But what caught my interest was a quote on the last page of the article. He's talking about why he works so much and so hard, and why he takes such diverse parts. "I try to live my life in such a way that I don’t have profound regrets. That’s probably why I work so much. I don’t want to feel I missed something important." That's just something we should all strive for, to live in a way that we don't end up with those major regrets. Hmm, I have thoughts about regrets, but that needs its own post.

Anyways, that's some of the fun things I've found in the last week or so.

Beethoven

I woke up this morning in a rather bad mood. There are reasons for the mood, but they're not really important at the moment. But contributing to the mood was the fact that I'm very overdue for a visit to the chiropractor. My hips have a tendancy to go out of place, and that rather messes everything else up. My lower back, my shoulders, and my neck are all tight and sore. My legs are affected also. Money has been tight, so I have just been dealing with it. (I'm going to go this afternoon and get all put back in place. That will feel so wonderful.)

Anyways, so in addition to mental turmoil, I don't physically feel well. Not a good combination for a good day. I know that I need music to help me through the day. I chose Beethoven to listen to first. On my little flash drive is a folder that contains Beethoven's 5th through 9th symphonies. Becasue of a quirk of naming within that folder, the 9th symphony always plays first. That is my most favorite piece of music. I don't have the words to describe the joy that the music brings to me. I don't know how to express how much it moves me and comforts me. Ok, so I just told you some of how I feel about it, but these words can't describe it adequately.

My favorite movement is the last one, the one that gives the symphony the moniker of "Choral". Maybe I'll give you the words later, but for now I'm feeling a little bit emotional about it. Suffice it to say, most of the words are from a poem by Friedrich Schiller called Ode to Joy. It's all about joy. Joy in life, joy in brotherhood, joy in knowing a loving God and Creator is looking down on us.

When I listen to that symphony, and the last movement in particular, it makes me happy. I have fond memories of performing it. The basic melody of it was one of the first little tunes I learned when I first started playing the flute. The music and the chorus and the wonderful majesty of it can always change my mood for the better. When I listened to it this afternoon, my mental turmoil eased and my physical pains didn't seem so bad.

When next you see me holding up my little warning sign that tells you I'm in a bad mood, just take me aside and tell me to go and listen to Beethoven.

the cloudy sky

I caught a glimpse of the sky through my bedroom blinds. Then I had to take a longer look. The sky this morning was grey and gloomy and overcast. The kind of sky that back East you'd think had weather attached to it. If the clouds would darken just a little bit more, I could think for just a minute that snow would fall.

I miss that. I miss the snow. I miss being able to look out my window and see trees and the snow falling among the bare branches. I miss being bundled up in scarves and hats and gloves and big warm coats.

And then I walked out the door with just a light jacket over my t-shirt. And then I see the news story about the ice storm that shut down a good deal of the Northeast. And then I'm glad to be here.

But I still miss watching the snow fall.

A musical number

So a couple of weeks ago I posted this entry about all the musical stuff that I have to do this month. Yesterday one of the items got checked off the list. I had complained about having to sing in a trio, a song that I had no input in? Well, that's what we sang yesterday. And after the meeting, I felt a bit bad about how I intially felt about it. Especially that I posted my feelings for everyone to see.

We sang in another ward's Relief Society meeting. It was all about Christ, and His birth. We sang at the end of the hour, and had to leave as soon as we finished, because my roommate and I had other meetings to get to. But it was mentioned at the beginning of the meeting that the ward (or maybe just the Relief Society) had dedicated their fast to praying for one sister to be able to get pregnant. Well, I'm aquainted with this sister, and had no idea that she had been having problems. And it seems that there might be other difficulties going on in her life that might or might not be tied to this. (I'm not telling who, because that's just not my business to share.) And then the entire lesson is about the birth of Christ, and how this little baby grew up to be our Savior. And the song we sang is called My Son, My King. All about Mary and her thoughts about her little baby and how He was to save the world.

This forced me to adjust my thinking. To realize that this sister has struggles that I couldn't see. That no matter how strained or stressed or sad she may be, she puts on a cheerful happy face. I think it might have been difficult for her to sit through this meeting, but she stayed, and cried a little (but so did several other people in the room), and participated.

I don't know if I really have a point to make. I've totally lost track of where I was going to go with this. But it's been on my mind all day long, so I thought I would share.

I guess one thing I could learn is to not resent when people ask me to share my talent. I really shouldn't complain when people want me to sing for them. Especially when I get to sing about the Savior. Oh, and to not complain in general. Too often I allow my bad mood to affect the way I treat others. I'm trying to be more aware of this. Well, I guess I need a reminder every so often that I need to be more aware of that. Oh, and to try to remember that everyone has their struggles, and don't let everybody know everything. So I need to not judge people on the outward appearance. Or judge them by their mood or the face they present for others to see. Ok, so I learned lots from yesterday's experience.

Christmas Wish List

There are so many geeky things that I want that I can't afford to buy myself. Maybe one of my friends wants an idea for a gift? Heh, well, I wanted to put this out there, just for fun. (And if I really wanted these things from my friends, I seriously should have posted this list earlier, but in my defense, the first item on the list was only announced yesterday.)

This is the annual ornament offered by the author of one of my favorite webcomics. Only $13.99, and it's only available until the end of the year. Here is where you can go to order it. There are also t-shirts, several of which I do like, but the ornament is the only time-limited thing on there.

This is a cd, compiling the first season of the podcast Writing Excuses. This order page lists all the episodes and bonus features that are on it. I'm not much of a writer, but there are things that as a reader are very interesting to me.

And here is Volume 3 of Schlock Mercenary. There's a bunch of stuff here that I like. Under New Management and The Blackness Between are the 2 volumes I don't have yet. Also in this store is the book Hold on to Your Horses (and the poster), a set of magnets, and other random stuff.

Finally this is one of the offerings from the Sam and Fuzzy store. This is Ninja Showdown, but I also like Conscience Cat, My Skills Are as Varied as They Are Impractical, Cowbell Advisory, and Obtuse Reference. (All shirts are shown in the store link above.)

Let's see, have I forgotten anything? Oh! That's right, one more store.

This is from Brandon Sanderson's store. It's a necklace with a symbol from his book Elantris. It's $49, and comes with several different symbols and colors. I just think they're really pretty. (Info on this is the Silver with Enamel, with the Emerald color background.)

Other stuff in the store include signed hardcover copies of his first books and a couple of random shirts.

Anyways, that's some of the random things I like. Not that I'm expecting any of it, but it was fun to go poke around and find some of this stuff again.

The Messiah

I will be singing in a performance of The Messiah on December 14, at 7pm. It's at the Rose Garden Stake Center. (2939 W Rose Garden Lane) It is requested that you be seated by 6:50, but I know that this event is always well-attended, so you should show up earlier to get good seats.

It has been fun singing and learning this music, but I will be glad to get to the performance.