On the cusp leaving all that is prime. Never to return.

I'm turning 23 tomorrow and for the first time in my life I am genuinely upset about getting older. I've been in a funk all day. I never want to not be turning 23. And to top things off, it is incorrect to use two spaces after a period.

All About Steve

All About Steve: The Story of Steve Jobs and Apple from the Pages of Fortune by The Editors of Fortune

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was such a great book. It was basically a compilation of the important articles published in Fortune magazine. This perspective was nice because each article wasn't influenced by the fact that Steve Jobs and Apple are a booming success. I learned that Steve Jobs should be respected for his genius innovative mind, not for who he was as a person. The last article in the book was incredible. I wish I would have written this myself, because it is exactly how I feel. It reads:

I want to take this opportunity, before time and our common mortality rob me of the chance to do so, to thank you, Steve Jobs, for all that you have done for me. No, I never had the privilege of meeting you, or had a chance to get yelled at by you in a business meeting, or even watch your charisma transform an audience into acolytes. But I feel as if I know you well enough to express, as you ascend to your new role as chairman, the sadness I feel and my gratitude for so many of the good things that you have brought to my life. It's not business. It's personal.

I want to thank you for my graphical interface. There were computers, of course, before you made that first Mac. They could run only one program at a time. They had no graphics. You knew that was lame. You imagined the alternative-multiple programs, launched by clicks, running concurrently in a windowed field. Last night I watched a movie, printed photos, harvested e-mail, and bought a bunch of business socks, al at the same time. So thanks for my GUI.

I want to thank you for my mouse. Can you imagine a world without mouses? I can't. Before you bred them for commercial use, a person needed a host of keyboard commands to get anything done, and a lot of programming code to produce words and numbers on paper. I read somewhere that you got the vision after you visited Xerox's PARC. They showed you what they were up to, but they sort of didn't know what they had. You ran with it. Because that's the way you did everything. All in. Feet first.

I want to thank you for all Macs, great and small. I went to your Apple Store the other day and saw a tidy row of new machines, from the slender new Airs to the massive towers of power. I wanted every one. They're pretty and shiny, unlike my big old black rubberized clunker the corporation gave me, and the last time I got a virus was just before I put my Windows PC into the closet. That was when I sent the phrase "I love you" to 22,000 fellow employees and the CEO. "I love you too, Bing, but let's not let anybody know," he e-mailed back.

I want to thank you for my Airport Extreme, the small white box through which I get my Internet. Before it, I used to have to plug in and configure this horrible router. It never worked. I often ended up screaming and crying and throwing hardware at the wall. This thing? You just plug it in and use it. Sometimes as I fall asleep I watch the little fellow, with its round eye glowing green in the darkness, a beacon of easy functionality.

Thanks for my iPod, which pretty much defined how I listen to music now. And for iTunes, which you made too easy not to understand. And for my iPad too, which despite all protestations is really nothing more than an Angry Birds machine. No, you can't work on it. So what? Work isn't everything.

And thanks for my new iPhone, which channels a million apps and does everything well except the phone part. A pompous Silicon Valley dude I know used to say, with a weary grin, :Every year is the year for mobile." Until you decided it was, Steve. And so I never have to generate a single unaided thought for the rest of my life. What a relief.

And oh, yeah. Thanks for Toy Story too. an Up. Really loved Up.

It's been your world, Steve. And we've been lucky enough to run along behind you, picking up goodies as you dropped them in our path. It's a little scary to think that one day you'll go off to your famous mountaintop and not return with the next big thing. But at least we can all say we lived in a time when there was a person with such an imagination, and offer thanks in whatever digital or analog format we choose, wherever on earth we may be. We can do that now.

Written by Stanley Bing



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Brooklyn

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín




The entire time I was reading this book I couldn't help but wonder why one earth my mother loved this book so much. Then I realized, after completing the last chapter, that my mother loved the book called "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." And now I am too burned out on the whole Irish immigrant thing that I don't think I'll ever read the right Brooklyn book.



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Paul is 25.

Back on June 16th we celebrated Paul's Birthday.  Him and I indulged in a feast of sushi, which was a rare occasion for both of us.  We also were surprised when our mutual friend Hayley came over with a home made birthday cake.  It  was delicious.  We also had a bbq with some friends.  I took terrible pictures, but here are the ones I have. 

I think he may have been embarrassed that we sang a stirring rendition of Happy Birthday.

Two of our favorite friends Alyse and Brooke.  (I have no clue how to spell Alyse's name.) 

This is Levi!  I love this guy too.

Hayley the cake maker.

Jane Austen

So now that I am officially caught up on my blog, I get to post stuff like this.  

I am currently reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  I am really enjoying it!  The writing style is different then what I have been reading lately.  I love you J.K. Rowlings, but you don't challenge my intellect like Jane Austen.  Before reading this book I read a short biography on her life.  I am so glad I did this because it was nice to know that her stories reflect the social structure she was plopped in. 

She herself never got married, but certainly felt the social pressures too and spent way too much time developing the skills to beome a proper wife.  During this time (the turn of the 19th century) women could not make a cent on their own.  They were defined by the husband they married, and spent their time developing skills that would make them more qualified for a better match.  BLAUGH.  I threw up in my mouth a little when I read this.  Can you think of anything worse?  The only, only, ONLY cool thing about this was that piano happened to be one of these skills that were developed. 

The fact that the brilliance of Jane Austen emerged from this time is incredible.  Her father encouraged reading and writing which was her saving grace.  The Austen family would spend evenings acting out different plays often written by Austen herself.  I read one of them called Love and Friendship.  It was very funny! She was only 14 when she wrote it.  I love that I too came from a family where education was such a high priority.  I never questioned whether or not I would be going to college because it simply was the next thing you do once you graduate.  Reading was such an important part of growing up.  I think some of my favorite memories are at Barnes and Nobles with both my mom and dad.  It is still one of my favorite places in Bountiful.  

Lauren use to read out loud to me every single night.  To this day I can't think of anything better to fall asleep to!  

Senior Recital

In order to graduate as a piano performance major I was required to give a 60 minute recital.  I got to perform in the Utah State University Performance Hall which is a world renowned venue (for good reason).  Not only were the acoustics blow your mind amazing (as the performer you can LITERALLY hear any whisper from the audience perfectly) but I was also playing on a hand picked Steinway from the New York Steinway Factory.  For all you bikers, this was like going from a Sedona Hybrid to the bike Lance Armstrong road winning the Tour De France...only WAY better.

This recital has been stressing me out perpetually for four solid years.  The anticipation of the event was far more difficult emotionally then the actual performance.  In fact with each passing piece performed I felt a bit disappointed that it was that much closer to ending.  I knew that once the recital concluded, so was a chapter in my life.  I was probably eleven years old when I knew I would be graduating in piano performance.  Aside from this, nothing else was nearly as certain.  These were some of the things running through my mind as I was playing all of these pieces that have become apart of who I am.

I was also thinking about my mom, who created this huge world for me.  She was so sensitive to what was needed in order for me to pursue this passion.  She knew how much I would grow to love piano way before I did.  She observed every piano lesson, became close friends with most my teachers, and NEVER missed a performance.  The most incredible thing about all of this is I never felt pressured or stressed in reaction to her.  She was always 100% supportive.  Never critical, never disappointed, and always proud.  Mom, could you teach this to everyone else?  My students parents could use a seminar.

And I was of course thinking of Paul in the audience.  So grateful that he lets me (as he puts it) "nerd out" about piano and so many other things.  He comes to not only all of my performances but also my students, which is a whole new level of boredom.  He listens to me rant and rave about the piano department no matter how endless the conversation seems to be.  He gives me a million reasons to not become too immersed in practicing or stressed about performing.  Life became balanced when he came along.  I realized everything I had been missing out on, and we are slowly making up for it.  Not that I regret committing to school in the ways that I did, but I am glad to have a more healthy perspective on what matters most.

So my senior recital was one of the few events in life that was built up to be something huge, and ended up being even bigger then I thought.  It was perfect.  My playing of course could have been much better, but over all I felt good about the performance.  But probably the best part of it was knowing I could skip entire measures or play in the wrong key and those that mattered would still love me just the same.  I will never forget the way they clapped in between almost every movement of my pieces, but sometimes not in between one piece to the next.  Thank you all for coming to this event, and know that I will remember you were there forever!  (Lindsay, I know you wanted to make it and that is good enough for me :). 

They came all the way from St. George!

Both Lauren and Melissa spent many early mornings cursing my name from their beds.

Bridget McBride (left) and Jaime Caliendo (right) are the two most pre-college influential piano teachers I had.  Jaime sparked my love for piano then continued to fuel the fire way after our lessons ended. 

My high school buddies George (left) and Kels-Dawg (right) even came!

I know there are a lot of weird pictures of us three like this one, but oh how I adore them all.

I stinking love this girl.  She is a budding musician.  In the car if she is upset Melissa can turn on classical music and she stops fussing immediately.  Best. Thing.  Ever.

This is Mattie, a very close friend of mine in Logan.

Graduation BBQ

In May we had a BBQ celebrating graduation.

Gary and Kitty (Paul's parents) bought us all of the necessary supplies to do yard work (including a lawn mower).  And if that wasn't enough, Gary DID all the yard work!  It was no small job.  I don't think he grasps the concept of a vacation.

Paul and his mom Kitty.

Our hand-me-down grill was replaced with the one you see in this picture thanks to Kitty and Gary!  Gary gives me plenty of grief for being a vegetarian.  When Paul told him I don't eat meat his response was, not even chicken?  Paul's parents are phenomenal cooks.  They went to the grocery store while they were here and cooked us dinner every night.  I think they were confused...Paul and I weren't supposed to be treated like the guests!

Any event that doesn't allow Chacos is not for Paul and I.  Do I talk a lot about Chacos?

The dude jamming next to Paul is our friend Walter.  Not everybody was as lucky as T-dizzle, he managed to score the only back stage pass.