Tammy Vs. Agnus

Agnus is a Samoan women in our ward who sings so loudly, that she competes with the organ.
Tammy is the girl who plays the organ.
Agnus likes the hymns to be sung VERY slowly.
Tammy likes the hymns to be sung at a REASONABLE pace (ie. much faster than Agnus)

Today, Tammy started the introduction to 'Let us all press on' nice and quickly (as marked in the hymnbook).

Agnus came in at the first verse, singing from her place in the 4th row, and slowed the entire congregation down (including the chorister) from about 100 beats a minute to about 40 beats a minute - in 3 bars flat!

Tammy put up a good fight. Every time the congregation had a whole note, Tammy sped up the other notes in the bar with her accompaniment.

But Agnus was awfully good.

Tammy frowned and scowled and powered ahead as much as she could without getting an entire line out of sync with the congregation.... but to no avail!

By the end of the second verse, Tammy graciously conceded defeat and worked at controlling her sudden desire to giggle.

*sigh*

Tammy finds it frustrating that Agnus won the battle. Especially since she's pretty sure Agnus is completely unaware that the battle even took place!

xo Tammy

Memoirs of a Lazy Weekend

Friday
Was very excited when I woke up on Friday. Really love Fridays. Work was a bit of a blur, and by the time I got home I was desperate to go out and do something FUN! Unfortunately, I sat down for a moment, and got really tired, so the GOING OUT turned into FLOPPING OUT on the couch.... But I watched a really great little film with some of my family. Brecken and Justin, I think you guys should really track this one down if you can, because I think you'd really like it. It's called 'Razzle Dazzle' and it's a little Australian Mockumentary about the world of children's dance eisteddfods! We were laughing really hard, and we haven't stopped quoting it. I warn you though: It's full of that dead-pan Aussie humor that tends to go over American heads... but I think you 2 will be safe :)


Saturday
Saturday Morning I got up at about 7am, because I was taking the twins to their basketball game. The game was way out past Ipswich, so it was about an hour and a half west - out in the country :) I was a little bit 'groan I wanted to sleep' at first, but I actually really enjoyed the drive. It was a gorgeous morning, and it's just starting to head out of winter here, so there was that crispness in the air that makes everything feel clean and fresh. We rolled down the windows (especially on the way home, when we had two smelly post-game 16 year olds in the car), and turned up the music (country of course. Saturday morning drives and boppy country are a really great match), and we drove through some beautiful bushland. It reminded me a little of the Saturday spring jeep rides up into the mountains that I used to love when I was living in Utah. I I just love how beautiful the world is sometimes :) And the twins won their game 75-11, so the morning was a success :)

The rest of Saturday was pretty normal, did a few things around the house, watched a little West Wing on DVD (haven't seen session 6, so watched a couple of episodes). I'm actually trying to remember what exactly I did on Saturday night, and nothing's coming to me... so I'm guessing it wasn't anything too exciting.... :)

Sunday

Got up early and prepared my Sunday School lesson. I teach the 16-17 year old class and we were looking at the chapters in Alma where Alma's teaching Corianton about the resurrection. Really enjoyed the class. The kids ask really interesting questions sometimes, and I love learning and helping them learn and understand the beautiful truths of the gospel. Sometimes they ask a question that tells me they really don't understand a principle properly, and I really feel blessed to be able to help them understand something that will make a difference to the way they think. Nothing big, just little lights that go on here and there - and more often than not they're lights going on in my own head.

I played the organ as usual. Didn't really worry about the fancy foot peddle work this week :) And I banged my knee against the corner of the organ - really hard - when I got up after the intermediate hymn. That wasn't good. Still hurts. I think it's bruising... *sniff* ... My sister Bethany gave a lovely talk, and my friend Brodie taught a lovely Relief Society lesson.

After church we rushed home because we had a friend coming over for dinner and we had a bit of work left to do. We had an early dinner (4:45pm) because we all had to head off in different directions in the evening. Dad and the twins went to Bishop's Youth Discussion, and James, Abby and I went to choir practise.

And I really enjoyed choir practise! This is a choir that's being put together for a musical fireside in October, and it was an 'invitation only' choir - which is a bit unusual. From what I understand, they invited people who were musically inclined, and who they thought would be committed, so I guess the 3 of us were lucky we got picked :) It's been a really long time (years I think) since I've sung in a choir, and Sunday night was the first night. I expected it would be good, but I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did! It was SO fun to be singing some really beautiful songs and to make wonderful harmonies as a group :) Rehearsal went for an hour and a half, and I could easily have continued for another few hours! I was a little dismayed to feel how rusty my throat is, but hopefully it'll shape up over the next few months as we practise.

Monday

Not technically part of the weekend, I know. But I thought I'd mention Monday. My new assistant started - so that was exciting! She seems good, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things go. Turns out it's not quite like picking something off a menu. With food, you pretty much know everything once you've taken the first bite. With people, you have to give them time to settle in... I'll keep you posted :)

Monday night was FHE. Once a month or so we try and have an extended family FHE, and last night it was at Abby and James' house. Jonny and Jessima (who's due in 2 weeks, so she's VERY ready to pop), and the rest of us didn't get there till a little after 7:30pm because of work etc., and I know we were all (well, I was) feeling VERY tired, but I'm glad we did it, because I had a fun time hanging out with everyone. Jessima gave a lovely lesson, I gave the 'preach my gospel' spot, and mum did the activity. She made the game up, and it had a few holes ;) but it was really funny and we were all laughing by the end. After it finished, we sat around for a bit and ate fairy bread made by Bethy for supper. We were talking about accents, and how everyone in our family (not just me, it turns out) always end up in an Indian accent whenever we try and speak in an accent! It also turns out that Ben does the best Indian accent in the family. We told him to pick up a book and read it in an accent (so we could laugh), and he picked up a Yoga book that abby had on the coffee table (have you ever even read it abby?). Somehow, we convinced Jonny to stand in the middle of room, and follow the yoga instructions with his body as Ben read them out loud. I haven't laughed that hard in a while. Jonny didn't have a clue what he was doing (turns out 'the mountain pose' is standing up straight with your palms pressed together as if you're praying; NOT - as Jonny assumed - bent over with your hands and feet on the floor and your bottom in the air... especially since Jonny looked more like a crooked 'hill' in that position than a 'mountain'). Jonny's also very UNflexable so there was lots of accidental rolls to the side and high pitched 'ahhhh's. Good times!

So there you have it: my weekend :)

xo Tammy

I'll have what she's having

I once heard a fabulous story (told by a wonderfully entertaining storyteller) about a kid who was riding his bike really fast down a steep hill, when he saw a large tree right in the middle of his path. In the several seconds leading up to his impact with the tree, he tried desperately to decide whether he wanted to veer left around the tree, or right around the tree. Alas and alack, the poor fellow couldn't make up his mind and so instead crashed straight into the tree.

I have a giant pile of empathy for that kid.

Caesar Salad or something new that I've never had? Caesar Salad or something new? Caesar Salad? Something new? ... oh sorry. My turn? .... ah..... has everyone else ordered? Oh, okay, ah. ........ I'm just - .... hmmmm.... what would you recommend? ..... Right.... Um, I'm just - did you all order? .... (Caesar Salad? or Something new? Caesar Salad? or Something new?) .... Sorry! Ahh..... I'll have the Caesar Salad please! ..... *deflating sigh* ... (I should have ordered the something new...).... *sad, disappointed sigh*

*sniffle*

Recently, at work, I was given a personal assistant! I used to share an assistant with the other 2 women, but 2 weeks ago we restructured, and I was given one of my own! Yay! The plan was for me to now start working normal hours and actually start having a life :) And I was really excited because she's a lovely girl who I already new really well, and I was thrilled at the idea of having someone I could work closely with, and share the load with, and have fun with....

So things at work were going very well... Until she suddenly quit! *gasp* She got a job as a project manager at another production house, and I don't blame her for taking the job - it was a big promotion for her, and she was much too talented and capable to be an assistant anyway :(
I figured I'd be back to working ridiculously long hours for a while, and I was actually taking the whole abandonment thing quite well (hark! a violin!) until someone pointed out the obvious fact that I now had to interview and hire someone new!

*gasp*

It's hard enough trying to decide what to order at a restaurant or which way to go around a tree, without having to make a decision that could dramatically effect another person's WHOLE LIFE! What if I hire someone who doesn't really need this job, instead of someone who desperately needs the job?! Talk about pressure! The old assistant (we'll call her the 'traitor' just for the purposes of this blog entry) posted an add online, and within 2 days, I had over 80 applications in my inbox (at which point I pleaded with the traitor to take the post down again). I felt like I should give every resume a fair go (I mean they did take the time to put it together), and it took AGES! Luckily, some of them were OBVIOUSLY terrible (couldn't spell, entire sentences didn't make sense, couldn't actually speak English, etc.) so that was great :) I had about 20 people that I thought we should interview, but luckily, the traitor was able to help me narrow it down. In the end we interviewed 4 people. And oh, how I agonized! 2 off them were obviously not as good as the other 2, so that was sad, but helpful! (like realizing you can exclude the entire satay side of the menu because you're allergic to peanuts).

But the other two were BOTH perfect!

It was a very traumatic few days! There was lots of hand holding from the traitor (why oh why is she leaving me?!) who sat in on interviews and was very gently helpful with her suggestions about which one she thought would be better, and I complained loudly enough that a few people at work have offered to conduct the interviews FOR me next time (thank goodness!)

But finally, (dare I say it) we had a decision! Calling the girl who didn't get it was hard (especially since I realized - as soon as she picked up the phone - that she'd thought she'd gotten the job). And now, I'm worrying about whether or not we made the right decision! Ahhh! The new girl seems lovely, and she was SO excited to get the job, so that was wonderful... And she's very capable... and very eager to learn... and very fast... but.... What if I should have ordered something else?!

She starts on Monday.

I'll let you know how she tastes - I mean, how she goes.

um.....

At least I didn't crash into the tree, right?

xo Tammy

I was tagged...

Okay, I've always ignored being tagged in the past, but this time I was tagged by two people at the same time, so I guess I'll give it a try :) I must warn you though: I find the whole 'list four things' a little restrictive, and I will probably need to make disclaimers as I go... :)


4 places I 've lived:
1. Brisbane, Australia
2. Port Morseby, Papua New Guinea
3. Provo, Utah
4. That's it! I've only really lived in 3 places... Well, I've lived in several houses more than that, you know, several different parts of Brisbane... and now, technically, I live in 'Logan City' which is right next to Brisbane City... Maybe I should have made Logan City number four.... It also depends how long you have to 'be somewhere' to be living there, and I bet you had to have been in a 'house' and not a 'hotel'... I spent a week in Italy living with a host family once.... And I spent 2 weeks in Colorado over Christmas once (anyone remember THAT part of my life? haha!)



4 shows I watch
Well, we don't actually watch TV in our house... strange I know... but it works for us :) We have a television set, but no antenna, so we only watch DVDs. We love watching TV series on DVD though... :) Some of my favourites have been
1. Gilmour Girls (yay!)
2. Prison Break
3. Numbers
4. Veronica Mars (only the first one and a half seasons though... then it got soap opera-y)
Oh - the rule though, is that you have to sing the theme song really loudly with the people around you :) (Here is where Numbers loses out - you really can't sing their theme song...) I've never seen monk... maybe it's one I should look into since so many of you love it!



4 jobs I have had
I've had lots I think! So I'll just list the last four... :)
1. BYU Computer Tech (haha. STILL think that's funny)
2. Office person '2nd 2nd AD' (on Jeff's film)
3. Lecturer/Teacher (film school here in Brisbane)
4. Producer (current job!)



4 places I've visited
1. Europe (London, Dover, Paris, Bonn, Zurich, Rome, Florence, Venice) - on a music tour when I was 14 - SUCH a lucky girl :)
2. Parts of Western US (Utah, Idaho, California, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico)
3. Hawaii - for free! (thank you Devine Comedy!)
4. And then there's the places I've seen the airports of (Singapore, Tokyo, Some other Japanese city I can't remember, Philippines, Auckland in New Zealand)

4 blogs I read regularly.
1. Brecken
2. Emily
3. Jess
4. Jenny
(That's the order of blogs most regularly updated too... haha!)

4 favorite foods
1. Chocolate!
2. Ceasar Salad
3. Avocado
4. Watermelon
5. And here's one I really miss: Cafe Rio Salads.... *sob*


4 places i would like to visit
1. New York
2. London
3. Utah
4. Seattle
And LUCKILY, I know people in each of those places.... :)


4 things I do in my spare time.
1. Read
2. Going to the mall (movies and shopping)
3. Talk with family/friends
4. Sleep! (I'm always tired!)

4 favorite things to do with kids/family
1. Just sit and talk and laugh
2. Go to a movie
3. Have family fun days (scavenger hunts, survivor olympics, silly and childish games)
4. Just sit and talk and laugh :)

I tag: Jenny! So she'll write on her blog again!

Happy Thoughts

2 inches off the bottom

I've been desperately needing a haircut for about 4 months now! Lots of split ends and rats tails, so on Saturday I finally sat down and asked Mum to trim my hair for me. She ended up taking about 2 inches off I think (which really isn't that much), but it made my hair much shorter! Well, shorter to me. No one has mentioned my drastically shorter hair, so I'm assuming it's actually looking exactly the same as it did before, but no mind! It's enough! I feel like a new woman :) Isn't it wonderful how even a small change can make you feel like you've got the opportunity for a fresh start?

There is beauty all around

Every morning on the way to work, I drive the short road at the top of the Kangaroo Point cliffs, over looking the city, and lately the mornings have been beautiful. This is my favourite view of the city, and I especially love it when the sun shimmers on the water :) I didn't take this photo (thank you google!) but this is pretty much what

I see to my left every morning.

And then, just to make the morning even better, if I glance to my right I see the Brisbane Temple. Again, I didn't take this picture (and it's not the best one), but you get the point: Every morning I see these two wonderful views, and then 2 minutes later, I get to work in a good mood :)

International Phone calls
I was lucky to speak to a few friends on the phone this week - and that made me really happy :) Blogging is wonderful because it means that when you speak with someone after a long period of 'not speaking', you're able to pickup exactly where you are. What a wonderful blessing!

From Bikes to Cars

This morning, as I did the seminary run around 6am (Dad's been sick this week, so I've been dropping the twins to seminary), I saw a guy doing his paper run, in a car! He was driving really slowly, and throwing the newspapers out of the car window, over the car, and into peoples yards. I guess bikes are outdated - especially in winter! Anyway, this made me smile, because it reminded me of that delightfully pointless scene in 'While you were Sleeping' where the paperboy falls of his bike :)

Well, have a happy day!

xo Tammy