Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue....

Well... I'm getting married in 5 days! ... That's right, 5! Who would have thought?! :) In honor of my giddy mood and the fact i'm so excited I feel like I could bust.... I decided to post our story on here. It's what we wrote up for our knot.com page. :)
The night we first met ...




HOW WE MET

Meggi's Version:

I convinced 2 of my best friends (Lisa and Ashlee) to go to a 30 Seconds to Mars concert in Bricktown. (Basically we went because we thought it would be hilarious to see Jared Leto try to sing.)

Well the first band played and we all thought they were so good, we went over to buy a CD. I was standing at the Merch table when Joel came up and started talking to me. Next thing we knew, the other 3 bands had played and we were still sitting right next to the merch table talking. We had literally sat there talking for hours. It was weird because we both felt like we had been life long friends! We exchanged numbers and 2 years later we're getting married! :)

... and a little side note - after we left the show that night, I told all my friends I had met my "soulmate" and I was devastated he lives in UT and that I'd never see him again.... Funny how God always has a plan :)


Joel's Version:

I first met Meggi at Bricktown in Oklahoma while my band was playing that night on tour. She was buying our CD when i walked up to our table, so we started talking. It was refreshing to talk to her, because she wasn't trying to impress me, or act all important, or find out where the backstage area was (we were opening for a band who's singer was an attractive famous movie star). We spent the next few hours talking about EVERYTHING from religion to politics to family dynamics. Eventually, our van had to make it's way to the next city, and i had to be on it, so i hugged her and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you around", and she said, "No you won't! you live in Utah, and I live in Oklahoma." So we swapped #'s, and kept in touch as friends for the next several months.

As weekly text messages turned to weekly emails, and weekly emails turned to daily phone calls, i remember saying, "It's a total bummer I can't take you out to a movie, or dinner, or anything like that...even though I think all that typical dating stuff is a total drag, I think we'd have fun." So weeks later, we split the cost of an airplane ticket so that she could come visit me just before Christmas. I was SOOOOO nervous! Here I was, this rock and roll kid, who had just kind of been making his way sleeping on friends' couches and gig-ing at clubs at night, and I'm trying to be comfortable around this cheerleader girl who was all full of energy and loved going to church. The funny thing was, I felt more comfortable and myself around Meggi than I had, well, ever. I didn't feel like I had anything to lose by just being myself, because if she didn't like me, she had to go back to Oklahoma in a few days anyway, and couldn't tell anyone in Utah what a loser I was!

The First Visit to Utah...





At the end of her visit to Utah, we had a conversation that went something like, "Well now what?" We decided that since we lived so far away, that it would be ridiculous to think that we could keep a relationship intact, so we would just be grateful for the amazing week we had, and left it at that. Meggi flew home that Christmas Eve, and it was the loneliest Christmas I ever had.

We visited each other a few more times, and Meggi had mentioned getting a new job, and moving out of Oklahoma. She was talking about maybe taking a job in Arizona, or maybe even California. The next day, I emailed her some job openings in Salt Lake City, Utah, and let her know how the unemployment rate was VERY low out here, and how it's very easy to find a job...hint hint. In April, Meggi moved out to Utah, where we had a chance to really get to know each other better, and fall in love.

The second visit to Utah ...





WHEN WE GOT ENGAGED October 6, 2007

Right before he proposed.....



HOW IT HAPPENED:

Meggi's Version:

Joel's band had a show in LA and I've never been to California so he invited me along. We got into town early so we had all Saturday afternoon to wander around LA. We drove around and he showed me different places around the city, and then we drove over to Venice Beach/Marina Del Ray to walk the shops. We walked around for a couple hours and then went to dinner at this really nice Italian restaurant near the beach.

We were getting ready to head to their gig, but Joel told me we should walk down by the beach before we leave. (He told me since I've never been to California, I can't leave before walking down to the water.) So we walked to the pier and were taking pictures while the sun was setting. We were watching the very last of the sunset and he proposed!! I was SO excited, I actually forgot to say yes! I was just jumping up and down and hugging him haha!



Joel's Version:

When I was thinking about marrying Meggi, I thought to myself "Okay...what do I do now?" So the first thing I did was ask all my closest single friends and family what they thought about the idea, and I knew they would for sure tell me I was crazy, and ultimately talk me out of it. But no dice. They were all like, "Man, I've never seen you so happy. If it's what you want to do you should totally go for it! Meggi's awesome!" So then I thought "Alright, I guess I'd better talk to her folks and make sure it's cool with them." I was pretty nervous about it. I didn't know them so well, since they lived so far away, and I had no clue what they thought about me...I don't even think THEY knew what they thought of me.

I had a couple phone conversations with Meggi's parents, and after hours of twisting both their arms, I convinced them it wouldn't be completely terrible if I got married to their daughter.
My band had a concert at a club in L.A., and Meggi had mentioned that she had never been to California before, so we invited her along for the trip. Little did she know, I was bringing a ring! (Thanks to Meggi's sis, Mandi for all the wonderful suggestions and helpful pictures over the internet) I didn't have anything planned out. I guess I was just kind of using "the force" and kept the ring in my pocket just in case the right time came.

On Oct 6th, 2007, we went walking around Venice Beach and Marina Del Ray, and then ate at a great little Italian place called C&O's. Something was telling me I had to ask her soon, so I asked the guys in my band to carry our leftovers and get lost for a little while so that we could go walking on the pier. They knew what was going on, so they were happy to help facilitate. The sun was setting perfectly over the ocean, and I told Meggi I loved her and pulled out the ring, and she just lit up like a firecracker and hugged me huge!...she still hadn't said yes, OR looked at the ring (she told me later that she didn't want to look at the ring yet, just in case it was horrible, and knew that if it was, I'd see it in the reaction on her face). She said yes, and then got a good look at the ring. She approved.

It was picture perfect. There was even a sailboat drifting along in front of the sunset...kay, super cheesy, but seriously, there was a freaking sailboat in the sunset!
Meggi, thanks soooo much for saying "yes"! I'm really excited to start the rest of our lives together, and hope you can deal with my insomnia and my occasional snoring.

One of our Engagement photos....

Apple is taking over the world...

Whats on your Ipod??

I'm totally stealing this from someone else's blog. It's kind of fun to see what everyone has on their Ipod.

Here's what you do. Put your ipod on shuffle and post the first 10 songs that come on. Then, tell me which of those songs you listen to a lot or have no idea what they are but they are on there because they were on the cd of other songs.


1. It's beginning to get to me - Snow Patrol (not one of my faves)

2. Pardon Me - Incubus (wouldn't be right if one of theirs didn't pop up)

3. Brand New Key - Melanie (Love this! It's so creepy ha!)

4. Til I'm already Gone (LIVE) - The Hero Factor (LOVE THIS! My fav Oklahoma band!)

5. Fault Line - 10 Years (haven't listened to this in over a year)

6. LoveStoned/I Think She Knows Interlude- JT (used to jam out to this ha!)

7. Someday (LIVE) - The Hero Factor (i have lots of their songs apparently)

8. Proof of Life - Mr. Luci (aww... makes me miss Lulu!)

9. Freshmen - Verve Pipe

10. Dirty Little Secrets - Joel Pack (i have lots of his songs too) :)

Let's go fishin'

Oh how i miss my friends from home! Below is a blog I copied and pasted from one of my wittiest friends ... :) I miss you BDowns!! Brian, i'm sorry i stole this but it's too good to pass up.

Mermaid Thoughts -by Brian Downs

A lot of the sexiness of mermaids would be taken away if they were actually portrayed as having real fish traits.

Sure, some human traits would carry over to mermaids, like talking and rational thought. Someone should make a movie about a mermaid that shows her eating her own poop. That would take the allure out of mermaids fairly quickly. Maybe Disney can incorporate this into "The Little Mermaid 2: Ariel Gets Dysentery."

The prince she falls in love with would be like, "Whoa, what’d you do that for?" She’d be like, "I’m just eating." He’d say, "Yeah, but that’s your own shit." Then she’d say, "So? I’m hungry. That’s what I do. I’m a fish." He’d be all wise and say, "You are only half-fish." And she’d say, "Well, I inherited the half that likes to eat my own crap. Deal with it."

Then we’d learn an important lesson about accepting people for who they are

Emily Dickinson and drear...

02/07/08

“I like not only to be loved, but to be told that I am loved; the realm of silence is large enough beyond the grave”

“Silence in love betrays more woe"

I found these 2 quotes above while surfing on the internet like I often do late when boredom hits me. ... For some reason, they conjured up how much I loved reading Emily Dickinson in school... yes, i was one of those dorks who LOVED reading all those boring books in English ...and Creative Writing was the highlight of my day. So here is my Dickinson-inspired nonsense.... no it doesn't rhyme... Enjoy.... or Hate ... it's whatever.

Silence in the soul. Should it comfort and honor comfort? Should it frighten contentment? Should it shriek at feeling complacent? Is the silence a warning to deeper caverns? A flicker of light on the fire that has been smothered by what ifs. how can fear and uncertainty engulf happiness and craved arrival? Is their release from such things? Where seeking silence is the quietening of the silent roar internal. Giving away known reality for vulnerable apprehension.... and security for soul. Running has long been detoured and turned on end. Hidden from the fear of lust. Lustful wanting of such departures bound. Life beyond is little without, but life with is failure pending. Failure of self or failure of sustaining.

A past that has built itself on salt. Sinking silently into the seen. Blank acceptance commanding shovels. Pouring each layer of salt out of empty vessels. Constant reassurance plagues and lingers. While silence grows its vines. Each twisting finger overpowering each simple word. Is this all that's left? A forest overgrown with grief for things unseen. For desires parked each kilometer per mile. For paper hearts fading in the sunlight. The stage is so enduring with standing ovations. And who can resist with reviews of opening night. Even withering mesh is naked. And the naked will flush into emptiness.

Quarter-life Crisis

It is believed that the most comforting thing to a human is their own image. Psychologists have said that people are often the most attracted to those who look the most similar to us. Yet those reflections are the mere result of genetics. It's true that people try to portray on the outside who they are on the inside but only through products that were mass-manufactured.

It's interesting to me that the reflection in which we find so much comfort is only our facade to everything outside of us.


When is it that we embrace the presence of our reality? So many times, i float through the day without ever really being present. The mundane tasks that society deems important are so habitual that they often take care of themselves. Have you ever driven somewhere only to realize you don't recollect a single moment of the drive? When is it that our presence becomes truly present with our everyday life? I believe that some people may go through their life without ever fully being present. They go through their day never really coming to terms with their reality. This overall loss of presence is something that I think gets lost in the realm of society... it gets lost in the traffic on the highway, the bills on the counter, and the communication breakdown at work. People forget to be present, they forget to be who they are. Or maybe they are just scared to.

I used to be that way. I was "present" only around my closest friends and only when I was having a good day. Other than that I was frighteningly quiet, reserved, and self-conscious. In college I slowly was able to change that to where I could be present more often. The years of silent observance had made me skilled in a strange way. I was able to be present in the way people needed me to be. I could randomly be the shadow, the clown, the social butterfly... and then shut it off when needs be. I found my delight and happiness only revolved around making those around me happy. Only recently did the truth hit me, I wasn't really being present at all, i was merely being the magnified version of what I had always been. It was only with the closest of friends or in the deepest of conversations that I was actually being true to me. Not to say I was being Fake, because I was still being me. I was just being the me that I thought I needed to be. The me that cared what other people thought and wanted to live by the do's and don'ts modern society have deemed important. And I think most importantly, I was being the me that would fit in.

Within the past several months, I came to the realization that more than ever, I truly don't care about society standards. The measures of wealth, happiness, and success that society throws at us from every direction have never been farther from my own. The latest fashion set forth by a human being equal to all others and placed on a page of a paper saying it is the new most important thing for 2008... is just that and that alone. The workaholic at the high-paying job to pay for the large house, is still only a worker bee with too much space.

When will we come to terms that life IS short and really does "fly by." A couple weeks ago my dad was talking about how he will turn 62 this year. He asked me, "Did you ever think you'd have a Dad who's turnin' 62?!" ... I laughed and said "Yeah, but I thought I'd feel a lot older by the time you did!" ... and then he said something that struck me, he said "You never will." I know i know, you're thinking, how did that simple little statement make an impact. But it is so true. I am only 24 and I already don't feel my age. Before I've always viewed people "feeling old" as a sad thing. Now i see it differently. It made me want to re-evaluate my life. I want to only regret that it passes so quickly because every day is a blessing that I'm living to the fullest, not that I'm losing out on the "best years of my life."

Joel and I had a conversation about a month ago that also has stayed with me. We were talking about the infamous mid-life crisis. In our random conversation style, we started discussing why we think they are so prevalent, especially within the past 5 years. Is it because we are getting to an age where more people are nearing "middle age".... or is it because society has praised overworked fast-paced lifestyles .. or is it that people get scared when they realize their life is not what they "thought" it would be? .. we didn't come to any sort of conclusion other than many times a mid-life crisis is the final eruption of buried desires. We talked in depth about how we want to live our life in the way that makes us happy. Call me idealistic, but I don't want to restrain myself to be something that i "should" be. I want to live my life knowing that I never turned down something just because it isn't viewed as "responsible" by the faceless crowd.

Blood.... red

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Red

Your color is red, the color of racy sportscars, blushing cheeks, and luscious roses. Red symbolizes passion, romance, and love. So, since you're ruled by red, you probably trust your feelings more than your brain and tend to act spontaneously. If you see something you want, you go for it without thinking twice — impulsive is your middle name. You don't wait around for people to make decisions, either; you dive right in. Quite the romantic, you pay close attention to your emotions. In fact, if your heart isn't in what you're doing, you won't be satisfied. Of course, even when you do pour all your energy into the projects you tackle, your impetuous nature means your passions can shift as frequently as the wind. That's why some reds have trouble with commitment. Our advice? Next time you're feeling fickle, think before you act, if possible. You might be surprised at the results. Overall, though, it's great to be red. No one lives life more completely than you do.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652