Come Thou Fount

Sooo . . .  Some people may cringe at this or think me sacrilegious, but I have to say it.  Come Thou Fount, a popular hymn that is, in fact, not in the current LDS hymnal, is the Mormon equivalent of a song that is played too much on the radio.  To be sure, it is a lovely song, but it is overplayed.  Way too overplayed.*  Particularly as special musical numbers in church.  I can hear it now: a soft and slow opening followed by even slower tempos for the remainder of the song.  But don't worry; the musician will speed it up now and then in a frantic sort of style before dramatically slowing it down again.  And by the time it's finished, you'll feel like you should feel something life-changing, even though you don't -- because everybody "loooves this song."

What I wonder is, why was it removed from the LDS hymnal?  Apparently, it was included in the original hymnbook (or so I hear), but it was removed and didn't get much exposure until Mormon Tabernacle Choir director Mack Wilberg arranged the hymn a few years ago.  Ever since then, Mormons have performed it in sacrament meetings a lot.  That's fine, I guess; I just don't understand why -- with so many choices (over 300!) -- people play "Come Thou Fount" so often.  Plus, if it's not in the current hymnal, why is it played so much?  That's an honest question, by the way . . .  I often wonder whether we should just stick to the hymnal for special musical numbers during regular Sunday church service.  (If you have an argument either way, please -- by all means -- make it known!)

I dunno . . .  I feel awful to even express these feelings, but I had to get it off my chest.  What do you guys think?



Thing I'm thankful for: sitting behind a blonde 3-year-old at church today.  She gave me a laugh, when it was all I could do not to fall asleep.  At one point, she said the following to her dad:  "I have to go poop!"  Hahaha.  :)

Excellent User Experience!

While doing some shopping at Wal-Mart, I noticed this excellent example of good user experience:

Here, take a closer look:

Pretty cool, huh?  Just a little extra effort goes a long way to making the shopping experience better, and if Wal-Mart can consistently make that happen, more people will shop there.  And they'll make more money.  And everybody will be happy.

Welcome to what I want to do when I grow up.  :)

 Want more?  Here's A Study in Usability.


Thing I'm thankful for: freshly-made tortillas from H-E-B

A Sales Call

Around 1:00 today, my work phone rang.  It made me jump a little, as I don't normally receive phone calls at my office.  (I'm just a lowly graduate research assistant; I'm really not important enough to call.)

It turns out that the call was a sales call from AT&T.  They wanted my business.  Here's about how the conversation went down:

Sales Rep:  I'm calling to tell you about AT&T's blah blah blah . . .
Me:  I don't want to be rude, but I'm not interested.
Sales Rep:  Is there a particular reason why?
Me:  I have another provider, and I'm just not interested.
Sales Rep:  Even though we can save you money?
Me:  Yeah, I'm just not interested.
Sales Rep:  But with AT&T blah blah blah . . .
Me:  [Interrupts Sales Rep]  "I'm not interested."
Sales Rep:  Well, I still have to do my job.
Me:  [Seriously?  That's your response??? Well, unfortunately for you, I don't have to listen???]  "Well, I'm just not interested, so I'm gonna hang up now."

And that's exactly what I did.  Normally, I'm fairly amiable on the phone, but I said I wasn't interested nicely.  Three times.  I don't mind talking on the phone to strangers, either; in fact, I love it.  This wasn't a day I could talk, though, and I politely said so.  The thing is, is that I wasn't even angry; I was more amused than anything.  Since when did "Well, I still have to do my job" become a reason for someone to stay on the phone with a phone sales rep?  I guess it's as good a reason as any, really . . .  Props to her, I guess?  At least she gave me a chuckle today.  :)


Thing I'm thankful for: fresh, cool water to drink

This Video Brings Me Joy, Pt. 2

It's been a few years since I posted this video; I thought it was high time I posted it again.  Happy Friday.  :)




Thing I'm thankful for: my classmate Henna.  She's real smart.

My Thumb is Turning Green!

I did it!  I finally kept a plant alive!  Look!

I have killed more plants than I care to admit.  (I think my problem is that I tend to over-water them.)  When the guys at church passed these flowers out to all the girls on Mother's Day, though, I was determined to keep my little plant growing.

One day passed, and it was already starting to look sad.  The lone flower at the top turned a slight brown, and the petals began to crumple.  Instead of giving up, I watered it only when the soil was dry and made sure I put it on the kitchen windowsill every morning.  Every day after work, I checked to see that it was still alive.  I was a little worried about it when I went to Dallas for a day, but on coming home, I saw that another delicate flower had blossomed during my absence.  I can't remember the last time I was so pleased.  That's when I realized why people love to garden.

Carrie, my last Atlanta roommate, is one of the smartest people I know.  She reads books well, and she reads people well.  She is practical and talented in all sorts of ways -- so much so, that she reminds me of those accomplished women in Austen novels.  She sews, plays the piano, fights epidemics, and I know not what!  She also spends a significant amount of time cultivating her land.  That's right; she owns a house.  She does all the landscaping and gardening, and it was so fascinating to watch the front and back yards change over time because of her handiwork.  I always wondered, though, why she spent so much time doing something that seemed so boring.  "Why would anyone," I thought, "find pleasure in something like watering plants every day?"

And yet, there had to be something to it.  My mom grew roses and tulips in the flowerbed in front of my childhood home.  My friends Michelle and Alissa and Heather made a living by tending to plants.  What was the fuss about?

I've decided the fuss is about helping something flourish.  There is a small place somewhere in the tissues of my heart that jumped a little with excitement each time I came home and my plant was not only alive but thriving.  It feels good, and it feels important.

I think this is the beginning of a favorite hobby . . .


Thing I'm thankful for: a good day at work

A Case for Watches

Minus a hamburger dinner with my roommate, I spent two and a half days in solitude.  (It really wasn't long enough.  I could spend another week completely alone, and I think I'd be happy.)  I wrote and edited, spent two hours trying to connect my desktop to my wireless network, and listened to The Bends.  On Friday night, I went to Nordstrom Rack and bought this little gem for $24.99:

I sent a picture to my sister to get her opinion.  This was her response:

It's funny that you wear watches. I always like the idea of it and tried in middle school, but they just kind of bother me and seem useless because clocks are everywhere.

To my sister I say:  Useless?!?  Useless?!?  Indeed, they are not!  Clocks are not everywhere, unless you count cell phones as clocks, and in that case, you can't see all of them, anyway.  You could use your own cell phone to check the time, but sometimes it's a hassle to get your phone out of your purse or pocket, when all you'd have to do with a watch is quickly look at your wrist.  And if you own a smartphone, the chance of getting distracted when you check the time is probably pretty high.  Also, what if you want to be cellphone-free for a little while?  (It's a shock that anyone would want to, I know, but it does happen from time to time.)  A watch would help you gauge the time.

But these things are all secondary, really.  In my opinion, the best reason to wear a watch is to "see" time.  It's so easy to forget about time because we can't see it.  I, myself, waste hours on the Internet, watching videos and reading articles that probably aren't that important.  I'll look at the time after a few of these videos and be amazed (and disgusted) at how much time has passed.  Sure, that probably still happens to people who own watches and analog clocks, but I wonder if it happens less.  The ability to visualize chunks of time makes me, at least, more aware of it.  In as concrete as time can be represented, a watch shows me how much time has passed, and how much time is left.  If a watch-wearer is very observant, he can even hear time pass; each tick of the second hand serves as the watch's voice, which seems to say, "Are you spending this time wisely?"

It's been years since I wore a watch, mostly because the last watch I had broke and I never got around to getting it fixed.  At the same time, cell phones were becoming ubiquitous, and I thought maybe I could save money by using my own phone to tell time.

It's been two days since I bought this orange watch at Nordstrom Rack, and I feel better about that purchase every time I think about it.  I daresay it is the best purchase I've made this year.  I wonder if it will help me use time better.  We shall see . . .


Thing I'm thankful for: my comfortable bed

Nothing is Final

In the summer of 1998, an old fable with a clever twist was projected onto the silver screen.  Generation X women remember it as Ever After: A Cinderella Story, and they are able to quote at least a couple of lines from it.  They remember Dougray Scott's fifteen minutes of fame as Prince Charming and Drew Barrymore's wonderful performance in the title role.  They recall the ornate dresses and hairstyles, the angel wings, and Da Vinci's painting.

I remember all of those things myself, but more than anything else, I remember a line from Angelica Huston, who plays the evil step-mother.  She says, "Nothing is final until you're dead, and even then, I'm sure God negotiates."

Here, watch it yourself (at the 5:30 mark):



I'll write it again, so you can let it sink into your bones:

Nothing is final until you're dead, and even then, I'm sure God negotiates.

Although I believe there are some basic moral rules everyone should live by, I also believe that Ms. Step-Mother was right.  I believe in a God who encourages change, but who knows how long he'll give each one of us to actually change?  I like to believe that it will be longer than we live on this earth.


Thing I'm thankful for: movies!

Just a Quote and a Thought

Philip Glass is a composer, and this is what he says about style:

In order to arrive at a personal style, you have to have a technique to begin with. In other words, when I say that style is a special case of technique, you have to have the technique—you have to have a place to make the choices from. If you don't have a basis on which to make the choice, then you don't have a style at all. You have a series of accidents.

When I heard it, I loved it, but mostly because I changed the quote around in my mind to this:

You have to have a place to make choices from.  If you don't have a basis on which to make choices, then you don't have an identity at all.  You have a series of accidents.

I think there are two reasons why I believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ:

1. I believe in the reality and sanctifying power of the atonement of Christ.
2. It gives me a basis on which to make choices.

In the same way that technique lends itself to style, as Philip Glass described, following the gospel of Jesus Christ lends itself to the creation of my identity.  Lots of things probably stand as the foundation for other people's identities—Catholicism, Judaism, Agnosticism, Atheism, etc.  Christianity is mine.  More particularly, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is mine.


Thing I'm thankful for: a mid-afternoon Dutch baby pancake