Top 5 Concerts

We had a construction dumpster delivered to our house today. After work, I started making trips from the back yard to the dumpster in the driveway with arms full of cabinets, scrap wood, and tree branches. I listened to my ipod the whole time, and I got super excited every time a Killers song came on. Yang, G, M and I are going the Killers concert in Portland this Saturday. I can’t wait! I have not been to a rock concert in a really long time. I started thinking of the last concert I went to and all the concerts before that. So, dear readers, please indulge me as I take a trip down rock concert memory lane.

The last concert I went to was Indigo Girls in SLC with Jenn (I've been to three other IG shows). Before that I went to see Psychedelic Furs with K and G in Baltimore. The first concert I ever went to was The Cure (Wish tour) when I was 13 (I’m not counting MC Hammer because my friend gave me those tickets and I didn’t really want to go). I also saw The Cure’s Wild Mood Swings tour. I’ve seen Depeche Mode three times (Devoted, Ultra, and a Singles tour in London in 1998). K won front row tickets and back stage passes to the Devoted tour in 1994. Being the best sister ever, she invited me to go with her.

I’ve seen Everclear, Howard Jones, Eve 6, U2 (Popmart tour—worst U2 tour ever), Toad the Wet Sprocket, B-52s, Semisonic, and Matchbox 20. I had to lie to my mom and/or sneak out in order to see the following concerts: Tool, Marilyn Manson, and 311. I should have gone to the following shows, but didn’t because of various conflicts/problems: Sarah McLoughlin, Dave Matthews Band, and The Cranberries.

My top 5:

1. Depeche Mode Devoted (ahhh, Dave Gahan)
2. The Cure Wild Mood Swings (oh so very fun)
3. Indigo Girls (each concert was like an arena campfire sing along)
4. B-52s (I had a girl crush on Kate Pierson)
5. Matchbox 20 (not a great show, but my first concert with Yang)

The youths

The Church asks me to assist with the youth. In both this ward and the last ward. I am more than happy to do so. I sometimes wonder why they pick me, I don't consider myself a role model. I am fairly adept at the camping/carving/hiking/etc. . . that is typical with the youth programs, but quite honestly, I prefer those activities alone, not with half a dozen teenagers in tow. There are a lot of others who I think would be better at it than me. Anyway, in addition to outdoor stuff and Sunday meetings, we meet once a week and do the typical church/youth program things. Sometimes its fun, sometimes its something civic or service related. To be fair, with the bunch I left in the last ward, I actually had a lot of fun. Perhaps with a little more time, this bunch will be the same way.

Earlier this evening I had a typical activity which went well enough, but when it was over, the kids run off and try to get in some typical teenage clownery before their parents come to pick them up. I try to keep a lid on this to some degree, so nothing gets burned down. Tonight I was distracted for a few minutes by one of the other adults, and the youths slipped away. During this time, one of the boys decided it would be funny to give one of the younger boys a wedgie. Well, the wedgie was delivered with enough purpose that it actually ripped the choneys right off the poor kid. He was fairly upset, understandably.

I really don't know exactly how best to discipline a kid who super-wedgies another. Perhaps there isn't a good way.

My TV Addiction

I was a teaching assistant in law school. In addition to grading writing assignments, the TAs were supposed to offer, if requested, quasi-counseling to the 1Ls that had difficulty adjusting to the demands of law school. To help us in that regard, the writing department distributed pamphlets to all TAs discussing inappropriate stress management/coping strategies. At the time, I was convinced all my coping strategies were proper, and I looked forward to helping those with improper ones. I started reading the list of items that were not my problem: excessive alcohol use, illicit drug use, overeating, gambling, sex addiction, excessive television watching...wha? Wait a minute. What do they mean by excessive? I don’t watch THAT much TV. I don’t have a problem. I can quit anytime I want to. Well if I do have a problem, it’s law school’s fault. Leave me alone.

I realized at that point that I was addicted to TV. I still am. Network shows are my drug of choice (with a little E! and Discovery on the weekends) and Tivo is my enabler.

Now that I’ve admitted my problem, I’d like to discuss the shows I watched last night. Heroes. Best. Show. On. Television. ‘Nuff said.

I also watched the first half of PBS’s documentary called The Mormons. As a mormon, I was really impressed with the show. I thought it was relatively balanced and respectful. I think it presented mormon history as complex, disturbing, heroic and extraordinary, which is how I view our history. It did a good job of providing context to events such as the Mountain Meadows Massacre and polygamy. I’m excited to watch the second installment tonight.