A laid-back guy

Last month, when I had my interview at the Joseph Smith Papers, they asked me if I preferred a professional environment or a laid-back environment. I said that I preferred a laid-back environment, and they said I seemed like a laid-back person.

That surprised me, because I think of myself as coming across as very boring and serious. If I were to describe myself, "laid back" wouldn't be a term I would think of.

But this week I realized that in some ways, I really am laid back.

Monday was St. Patrick's Day, and I was all decked out in green. I had on a grey St. Patrick's Day Snoopy shirt that's too big for me, green glasses with an eight-year-old prescription, a green hoodie, green pants, green socks with subtle shamrocks on them, and brand-new neon green Vans. Except for the hoodie and the shoes, these are all things that I basically only wear once a year, for varying reasons. All together, I think they clashed a little bit. But it's fun to wear all green. I've seen a few things online saying you shouldn't dress all in green on St. Patrick's Day. Of course it looks ridiculous. That's the whole point--it's the one day of the year you can get away with it. It's like those articles called "How to Avoid Overeating on Thanksgiving." They miss the point.

On Tuesday, I went to the CD release concert for Cherie Call's new album, Homeless Songs. I really like Cherie Call a lot, but if you read my blog, you might have already known that. I think she is really underappreciated in Mormon music, although her latest album is not at all religious. Her Facebook page only has 1,240 likes. On the other hand, Hilary Weeks has 26,978 likes, and Jenny Phillips has 30,540. What?! Jenny Phillips is Boring with a capital B. Cherie Call has some of the cleverest lyrics I know of, and while many singers have similar voices, I know of absolutely no one with a voice similar to Cherie Call's.

On my way to the concert, I missed the turn. I do that a lot. But instead of making a sudden turn or doing a U-turn, I kept driving until I could turn around. But I ended up having to drive in a parking lot to turn around. I got lost going to the same place on Halloween. I get lost a lot, and when I do, I take kind of an "Oh, well" attitude. I find my way eventually.

As for the concert, it was good, but it had its problems. They had a whole band, and the sound system wasn't the greatest, so it was often hard to hear her singing. I find it's often hit and miss when you see Cherie Call live; I think this was the eighth time I've seen her. I like her new album, but I don't think it's her strongest work; if I were to recommend an album of hers, I would do Heart Made of Wind (for non-religious), The Ocean in Me (for religious), or Grace (for some of both). Maybe I'll do a full review of her new album sometime.

On Wednesday, I had a graduation banquet for the Department of Linguistics and English Language. They said it was "Sunday best dress." But I thought, why should I give the same respect to this banquet as I do to the Lord? So I didn't dress like I do when I go to church. I did wear a tie, but the rest of my clothes were things I would normally wear on an ordinary day. I don't like dressing up on a Wednesday.

Last June, I wrote a paper in which I likened language to clothes. I said that different kinds of language are appropriate for different situations, just as different kinds of clothes are appropriate for different situations. But I find that I tend to prefer more informal kinds of both clothing and speech in most situations. Often when I am editing, I will point out a grammatical structure or some punctuation, and I will say, "The Chicago Manual of Style says we should do this, but personally I don't care." I also found it silly to dress up for the banquet. I would like the world to be a more laid back, less formal place.

At the banquet, they gave out different prizes. The only "prize" I got was recognition that I worked on the linguistic student journal Schwa. They gave out prizes for people who had a 3.90 GPA at the end of fall semester. I didn't get one. I had a 3.89 at the beginning of fall, but Groundwater and Geology 210 dropped me down from there. Since academics is the only thing I'm good at, it irks me when I'm not the best, since I'm so conceited like that.

I had a French test this week, and last time we had a test, we didn't have class right before the test. So I thought we didn't have class on Thursday, and I dilly-dallied my way around that morning. My roommate Jordan said he was going to class, and I told him we didn't have it. But he said we did. So he went to class and texted me and said we did have it. So I was ten minutes late. I've never been that late to a college class before! I felt so foolish for having thought we didn't have class. That's why you take classes with your roommate.

Friday night, my ward helped out with the BYU Experience, which is a time for college-age people with Down Syndrome and other disabilities to hang out and have fun. I helped out with it four years ago (!), and it has changed a lot. Last time, it was a two-day thing. The first day we had dinner with them on Friday night before doing karaoke; then the second day, we did bowling, a trip to the Bean Museum, lunch, and a movie. This time around, it was very simple. It was only for a few hours on Friday. There were a few game booths for them, and then the ever-popular karaoke afterwards. I, along with other people, helped out two kids named Bryan and Dylan. I was flattered when Dylan wrote my name down on the coloring tablecloth. I was really impressed that their handwriting is better than mine. The karaoke with them was enjoyable. The MC was a higher-functioning person, and he made funny commentary. One girl was singing a song called "Walking Away," and you couldn't understand most of what she said (I don't think she knew the lyrics), except for "walking away," which she screamed into the microphone. After her performance, the "emcee" said, "Isn't she loud?" After a mere three hours, it was done--much shorter than the two-day experience four years ago.

I took my French test yesterday. I don't think I did particularly well. But since I'm laid back, my thought is, "Oh, well!"