Person of the Day: Eunji

well, i'm here in Fiji, which means I have so many more things to talk about and project into the world besides my random life advice/lesson and love advice. lucky for you all, because i'm sure that gets old fast...

i've decided that everywhere i go, my favorite thing about going there usually ends up being the people i meet! the people in the market, the people i work with, live with, and even those who cross my path for only an hour or two via a random happenstance. i've already let too many of those people pass by without sharing their wisdom or hilarity, so i'm going to start posting the 'person of the day.' it's not going to be every day, but just when i feel like it. 

so, for the first one, i have a real gem. she is about the wisest 10 year old you've ever met and is full of wisdom on north korea and africa, her relationship with God, her worries about not crying and homesickness, and most importantly--love. (see, you still get love advice, but this time it's not from me!)

this is Eunji from Seoul, South Korea. she tried to fit into the refrigerator yesterday because a) it was really hot and b) there was a sudden flood of flying larvae that came out of nowhere and she was genuinely terrified. she loves kimchi, soda, and Beyonce, and she might be my favorite person on the planet right now. last night, Hilary (my co-director) and I were talking to her about boys, and here's the invaluable knowledge i acquired. you're welcome.

how to tell if a boy likes you (verbatim):

1. they kiss you here (the lips) and not here (the cheeks).

2. if he hugs you and spends time with you, he 100% likes you.

3. but if he takes you on dates, and he kisses you (or he lets you kiss him!), he one million no, ALL the percents likes you. 

...but don't have a boyfriend because then you have to make them good food, and look too pretty all the time with all the make ups and hairs and high heels, and that's not fun.

more nuggets of advice:

• if a boy is good and he goes to church and he likes you (see above), then you should just marry him. but if you don't know if you should marry him, wait 5 years and you will know.
• it doesn't matter if you're 45 and he is 50, or if you are 50 and he is 30, or if you are 60 and he is 20, love is love!

other advice on global politics and homesickness:

• why does everyone want to fight? i'm so sad because the mean Korea (north Korea) wants to fight and take all the good people who are poor and trick them with promises. they want to get big and get plenty money and not help people who need help. i don't want to do that to poor people. i don't want to fight anybody.
• why do people take all the nice people in Africa and tell them what to do? they just want to live!
• why doesn't Heavenly Father talk back to me? i just want to sit by him and play with him and eat with him and ask him all the questions!
• when i leave Korea, i wanted to cry so bad, but my mom told me not to cry because my papa's heart is too thin. so now i just work hard at my english to make my oma and papa proud.

"do not let a moment go by that doesn't remind you that your heart beats 900 times a day"

i will always remember today, 11/12/13 for one thing:

the day i realized the old testament and slam poetry have absolutely everything in common. yep, you read that right.

you see, i've had this poem swirly twirling in the back of my mind the last few months (watch below, it's beautiful).

"this is for the fat girls

this one is for the little brothers

this is for the school-yard wimps, and for the childhood bullies that tormented them...

shake the dust...
...do not let a moment go by that doesn't remind you
that your heart beats 900 times a day
and that there are enough gallons of blood
to make you an ocean.
do not settle for letting these waves settle
and the dust to collect in your veins."

-anis mojgani

as it turns out, shaking the dust is no respecter of persons. it's for just about anybody, in just about any circumstance. but what does shaking the dust really mean? anis tells us. it's running head-on with widespread arms into the face of life; often it's allowing things to flow into our beautifully pumping heart (that at times beats more consciously, audibly, and visibly than others). sometimes it's dangerous. sometimes it presents itself as pain. or vulnerability, love, and courage all wrapped into one giant beautiful composition of bright colors and pounding drums. we've all been there.

but here's where it gets better. isaiah (52:2) taught me this today: that shaking the dust means freeing ourselves from enslavement and captivity, quite literally.

"shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem:

loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion."

Isaiah 52:2

i learned that when we shake the dust, that we are actually just taking our rightful place. that we are being freed from enslavement, and claiming what's ours. we are quite literally standing up, (harlem) shaking the dust, and moving to a new, better place waiting for us to merely ask for it. that we are in fact running with widespread arms. that we are "grabbing the world by its clothespins...walk[ing] into [the world], and breath[ing] it" in the best way we know how.

so what's enslaving us? what's keeping us from shaking the dust?? how much dust have we allowed to accumulate on our beautiful bodies? and why?? do we believe we are enough? do we believe in growth?

i know i've had to take some painful introspective glances. do my accomplishments belie whats actually happening in my life? is my path productive, and am i really taking charge in every way that i can? i'm not sure that i am. but that's what this is all about, right?

basically, i'm saying this to myself as much as i am to anyone reading this. shake the dust! become free from your chains. do something that makes you scared and uncomfortable. recognize those places where you could shake the dust out of your lives. get out, and greet the world with open arms, and run like the wind.

someone knew you'd be traveling that way...

here i am, back from blogging oblivion. i don't know how long this will last, and it may be a one-time random occurrence. who knows.

yesterday, i was desperately trying to describe how i am feeling right now in this moment of my life to my best friend. the only analogy i came up with was i felt like i was getting my eye exam done. you know how sometimes while they're flipping heaven-knows-what in that magical chair of theirs, you know without a doubt which prescription or which option will give you the most clarity?? they're like, this one or this one? and you know for SURE it's the first one that's better. but then other times, i sit there, and they have to do it a couple times for me, and i think--IS THIS  A TRICK QUESTION? i get all confused, and second-guess myself, and make a choice in haste because i feel like the answer should be obvious but it really isn't. they always give me the cop out by saying, "...or about the same?" i mean, what does that even mean?!?! if they're about the same, why are you giving me two options??? but then i still have no solid answer. and the worst part is this: that i feel like if i make the wrong choice, i wont be able to see for the next year or two until my next appointment!

or maybe i'm the only looney person who thinks that much about eye appointments. but i take everything i do mostly seriously, and it for reals gives me anxiety. that being said, i feel like right now that's where i'm at! i feel like so many things have been so incredibly clear to me: move to arizona, do the masters' program, live here, go to india, do this, do that. there are so many moments that have been crystal clear. mind you, some clarity has come just in the knick (i actually don't know which kind of nick should be put here so i'm putting both) of time--like moving to arizona in august of 2011 to start only a few days later. but still, they were at one point or another, absolute moments of vision and clarity. but then, it seems like lately, i'm at the end of my eye exam when it starts to get hard, and mucky, and it's all starting to look the same. i'm second-guessing my previous decisions (despite at one point knowing they were what i needed to do), and i'm certainly in the dark as to where i should go next.

well, all of this was swirling around in my head the last week or two, when yesterday, i was looking for some glitter pens (what, you don't use those anymore?! i sure do!). i found this gem hiding in my folder of papers, pictures, and magazine pages i've collected since i was about 12:

which seemed to be nothing but heaven-sent. and then, i decided to "randomly" read one of my top three favorite BYU speeches of all time by elder gong (go read it!!), because i hadn't read it for a while, and there was the clarity all over again, explaining the unexplained:

"Choosing to trust in God takes faith. The best guide of all as we seek to choose faith in every footstep is the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. Teaches President Boyd K. Packer:

Once you really determine to follow that guide, your testimony will grow and you will find provisions set out along the way in unexpected places, as evidence that someone knew that you would be traveling that way. [“Spiritual Crocodiles,” Ensign, May 1976, 31]

On occasion, in unexpected places, I have been grateful—as you have been—to find such provisions."

there was my own personal provision that had been set in the most unexpected place and time waiting for me to discover it. it was the perfect "good game" pat on my butt to help me keep going, and even make decisions about my future.

basically what i'm trying to say is this: keep at it. don't get discouraged. as a matter of fact, have courage, and stand by 1) the feelings you've had (even if they don't make sense, or didn't play out the way you thought they would in your head), and the 2) direction you feel you've been given. because when you do, you'll all of a sudden find those provisions, those little bread crumbs saying you're doing just fine, and you'll have that vision you've been seeking become clear all over again.

alright, that's all folks. love you all.

xoxo, brookie

help and comfort

little munchkin cheering because he got a toilet--counting his many blessings...

well, for those who haven't heard, india couldn't get enough of me and isn't allowing me to leave! it's now saturday night, and i was supposed to leave on wednesday for a few days in dubai, and then back to the states to start off a new semester (a week late!).

when i arrived at the airport, i went to pull my passport out and it was nowhere to be found. i was a little confused, pulled everything out, and after searching for 2 hours, realized i wasn't going to be getting it back. after i sent my last two interns on their way, i was stuck at the airport with quite the unanswerable question of what to do. it was almost as if the huge cement structure which was meant to house millions in just a weeks' time was screaming out to me how alone i was and how little control i had over my life.

yet, today, three days after i was supposed to depart this beautiful place, i got yet another small push in the right direction, as i sat and played the piano in a church congregation. we were singing "count your blessings," a hymn which i'd heard a thousand times before, and one (to be completely honest) which never really tickled my fancy. i bucked up, pulled my shoulders back, started pounding out the notes, when we got to the last verse, and suddenly i froze as 30 individuals expectantly waited for me to play. there it was on a silver platter:

So amid the conflict whether great or small

Do not be discouraged; God is over all!

Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

i realized that i had been given help, comfort, and blessings at every bend in the road, from:

1. the adorable, kind, handsome police officer that escorted me around the airport for 4.5 hours going from one place to another, calling the airlines, chewing out the help desk, watching my luggage, and telling me to stop crying and think calmly to figure out what i'm supposed to learn from this
2. to the cab driver who took us there (and to the airport many times before) who personally took me under his wing, escorted me, proposed to me (another story for another time-hilarous!), and made sure that i got home safely
3. to my parents who were so willing at my beckoning call to do anything i asked and never left my side
4. to the wonderful man in my church who came with me an entire day in the boiling hot sun to translate and commiserate with me as i'd start bawling because the police officers wouldn't give me an important document, or as the consulate wouldn't let me in
5. to the sweet elder and sister hatch who took me into their home and have cared for me, spent long days at the embassy with me, and have cared for me more than they'll ever know
6. to the wonderful ladies at the consulate who laughed and cried with me, and made sure i had an emergency passport done and ready in less than 5 hours (really quite the miracle!)
7. to the wonderful office manager at HELP International's HQ who made it her personal task to help me book a flight, negotiate prices, and figure out flight schedules/times when it's the end of the summer and she has a thousand and one other things to do
8. to so many many more things/people/circumstances/situations i can't even list even if i had the rest of the night to do so........

here's the thing. not everything's sorted out. as a matter of fact, it's not nearly close to being sorted out, but i can't help but keep my chin up and have my heart beat a little more steadily. there's no denying i've been taught patience in all things this summer, and most of all i've been reminded countless (pun intended) times that: God is over all.

love you, each of you.

xo

The Hydraband!

So, sometimes I write really sentimental, serious posts, like this one I did for our team blog. Other times, despite the long work days (or maybe because of the long work days--the hot sun does a number on ya sometimes!) dealing with serious, heart-wrenching development work our team likes to have fun.

We have started a band that does everything from our own covers, to music videos. Our latest is quite the masterpiece, and edited by yours truly. I'm hoping this will get me on the ellen show someday....Please enjoy our latest here:


and our older number one hits here:


and here:

the fro-yo level

so my cousin sent me this quote because it reminded her of me:

"So needless to say, this is not activity J. Law and I would be doing if/when we became friends. We’d probably just remain on the fro-yo level for a long time.

You know the fro-yo level. The person you call to get fro-yo with you when you feel too ashamed to go alone — yet, crave it so badly that you can’t stand to live another moment with that cold self-serve fro-yo handle in your hand. If you know what I’m talking about, you KNOW what I’m talking about."

apparently it's someone talking about some celebrity picture. but the point is this: i totally have the fro-yo level. although i'm pretty sure i'm at the fro-yo level with every human. the more i thought about it, the more i realized i have a hierarchy of individuals i call on the fro-yo level, and i'd like to expound on this idea.

ladies and gentlemen, i would like to introduce to you the fro-yo level hierarchy of love:

1. the person to call first: roommate. here's the thing. you're not fooling your roommate about your work out or diet plans. they know every single detail usually, and is the most willing to "take one for the team." plus roommates are most easily coerced if you say stuff like "i'll drive" (or if you have any sort of income--aka not me--things like "i'll pay!").

all people hereafter are back-up plans:

2. the friend having a really terrible day. yes, i realize this is terribly unfair, and you am taking full advantage of their vulnerable situation and state. however, they usually always say yes and i promise fro-yo solves all problems.
3. casual school friends/co-workers. these individuals can also be easily coerced by saying "let's swing by after class/work/during lunch/take a break," etc. you don't have to talk about deep things and you're both happy. you can easily fool them into thinking you're normally healthy but this one time you want to splurge.
4. love interest you feel lukewarm about. fro-yo is a good testing ground. which toppings do they get? do they pay? conversations could easily swing from light and casual, to deep and monumental.
5. love interest you know likes you but you're not interested. again, i'm aware of taking advantage of situations. a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to get some fro-yo.

**the last resort**

6. last but not least: parents/family/bffs (if they're not 1 or 2). here's the thing about this one--play your cards right. you're not fooling anyone in this category about your diet/exercise plans, and they will make you feel bad about every single bite you take!!!! but again, if you must do this, then you must do this!

well, that's that. got we got that cleared up, and next time you swing by yogurtland or your neighborhood fro-yo place, just remember:

who you gonna call??

the "green bean"

one of the first few weeks here in india, i had the chance to celebrate my birthday.

as part of the birthday celebration, we went to a beautifully displayed buffet of veg and non-veg food. i was elated beyond my wildest dreams when to my surprise i saw a spread of freshly cut vegetables! i grabbed a plate full of carrots, cucumbers, red peppers, and what i thought was green beans. when i joyously brought the plate back to my table, i took a giant bite out of the green beans, and to my dismay my mouth suddenly self-combusted. okay not really, but my lips swelled, and i started sweating from every possible orifice on my face. 

turns out, the "green bean" was a spicy spicy green pepper. i almost died on my 26th birthday, but i learned a valuable lesson...don't judge a book by it's cover!

no, but in all reality, i didn't really learn a lesson that night except how to make my mouth not so hot--yogurt and sugar does the trick. the lesson i was to learn from that singular experience came several weeks later in the form of a church talk on june 24th. what i learned was this:

when we are eating sweet fruits (like mangos and pineapples) we enjoy how they taste. however, when we partake of things that are bitter, spicy, and overpowering (GREEN PEPPERS), we can no longer taste the sweet fruit. the woman telling this analogy related those to embittered sentiments, frustration, jealousy, impatience, etc. when we are experiencing these feelings it's difficult to see the good and to continue to live a "sweet life."

this woman at church taught me such a simple, yet powerful lesson. honestly, when i ate that chili pepper, i could think of no other things. i couldn't think about the delicious coconut rice or sweet mago lassi i had just had--all i could think about was how to make my whole body not go into shock and how to retain my taste buds. 

much like what she taught, it's a good reminder to keep ourselves free from things that will taint our sweetness. let's try to smile a little more, and to think more positively about those who surround us daily.

much love from india,

brookie

there you have it

picture i took in vietnam, quote i took from someone who told me...i can't remember whom, but it was good.

country hip hop dancing > hip hop > country

remember that one time i hated country music?
remember how....
whitney was the first to try to convert me, and she definitely laid out the ground work. i may have been able to recognize a rascal flatts song or two.
a few years down the road, heather did all she could to get me to love it. being from down south, she was born and raised on this musical snack. we even had a "white trash bash" where she put together a play list of her favorite most country stuff she could find.

then my dear cousin/roomie karina tried her best, but i would whine and whine when country music was on. seriously, that stuff USED to make my ears bleed.
*honorable mention goes to bronwyn


well, a few weeks ago i went to a free kellie pickler concert, and it made all the difference. this girl was gorgeous, charming, and had the cutest stories to go behind the cutest songs. that was the day i was converted to country. not only that, but i dug up my old white trash bash mix, and was playing it the other day BEFORE i went out to....wait for it....country dancing! i know, i know. i'm so proud of myself.

however, combining the best of both worlds would be ideal (watch this, you wont be disappointed):

Christmas

here i am in Cupertino. this place smells, feels like, and looks like home. it is home to me. i've had a lovely time being with my family, and remanscing about beautiful and hilarious times we've had with just the three of us.

i've been thinking about lot about Christmas, and what it means to me, and in all honesty, i think it all comes down to love. us needing, sharing, understanding, and living love in our lives, and the only way to be able to gain more and more for even those we may not want to love is through Christ.

i hope you've all had a gorgeous Christmas, and that you've all been able to soak up all the warm fuzzies Christmas has to offer. hopefully you've filled your heart (and stomach) so you feel like if you sit around any longer you might explode, and hopefully you can find more ways to love others.

this video made me cry (although sometimes it doesn't take a lot to make me cry haha). the simple little 3-min video combined: the weepies, BYU's modern dance program, and modern dance, all of which are my favorites. click on the link to see his actual Web site (and the making-of which is inspiring!!!!), but for now just enjoy the video.

love, warm fuzzies, and cold noses,
xoxo
brookie*

can't get enough of love

i've decided to commandeer the title of "love advocate."

it seems i can't get enough of it lately.

finding love(ly) tunes, melodies, movies, clips, pictures, etc.

here are two of my latest favorite clips:

1. stardust. (sorry michelle, i know you dislike this movie, but this may be the best monologue on love that ever did exist. i dare you to find better--if you do, leave it in my comments). yvaine, a star, confesses her love to her travel buddy....

2. this sweet trailer for upcoming movie "restless." i have to admit, it looks a little cheesy/weird (okay he has a friend that's a japanese ghost), but i looooove the line at the end. you're lying to me if you say you haven't ever felt like that.

xoxo
ps. i couldn't wait until 11:11 tonight to post this, so i'm doing 2:09 (which adds up to 11)

Garth and Kat

this is a shout out to Michelle and Lizzy

ever really hyper or bored one night?? try this, and try not to pee your pants of laughing too hard
ps the very last one is the funniest

and since we've been talking about love....

xoxo
brookie

speak louder than the words before you

"...and give them meaning

no one else has found

say everything you've always wanted

be not afraid of who you really are....

and i would give the world to you."

whilst chatting it up at the latest local hang out (yogurt stop--it's embarrassing how addicted i am), we were talking about which youtube vids we watch almost every day. well, this is mine.

it inspires me. it uplifts me. it makes me smile. and it gives me courage.

xoxo

brookie
ps. is that a real dog in the video??? i've wondered that for all 8 months i've watched this vid. it's practically a horse!!

social media

unlocking the awesome potential of behavioral disorders:

oh, btw follow me on twitter

friend me on facebrook and foursquare

:)

from despair

loooove!

recently, i've had this little debate going on inside my head with myself. although, i guess if it's inside my head, who else would it be with?? uhhh...anyways

what is love?

does it really exist? is it something that we can all hope to find? and does it last?

now, some may argue that i may be jaded, or bitter, but trust me when i'm say i'm definitely not either of those. i just feel that it's something that everyone should question (like whether or not you believe in a higher being or Heavenly Father), and really i'd rather question it now while i'm not in any sort of committed relationship.

background:

i used to be really cheesy. like really really cheesy. i've told two boys i love them. i also used to be a crusader for love. like so badly that my profile on here says "i think the world needs more love." but that's the thing. the more i thought about the first boy i told i loved, the more i realize that i didn't really love him. i probably said it back, because that's what girls do. that's just the next step in the progression of life, and if you don't love someone there's is something really wrong with you.

the second boy i told that i loved him, i actually seriously considered spending eternity with the kid. funny how i remember feeling that when we broke up, that i would never feel anything again. it was sort of this feeling of numbness that i had, and i felt that nothing could ever stir up emotions inside me again. i thought that i was a lost calloused soul for life and that nothing could make me more terribly happy than when i was with him, and nothing could make me more terribly sad than when we broke up. boy was i wrong.

and that's where my questioning came into place. i figure, if i had told both of those boys (and countless friends and family) that i love them, but somehow i don't love them anymore, does that mean that love does not exist? does that mean that it is just a hormonal imbalance where we trick ourselves into being in love just so we can get married or just so that we can feel close to someone? can't we feel close without saying "i love you?" didn't the Savior admonish us to love people? how can we do so if it's not real?

i have drawn my conclusion. but really, i want to hear what you think first.
so i'll leave my conclusions on love for a later post. for now, here's a new favorite song:

my turf

since my definition would sound too white for this type of dance....here's the definition according to urban dictionary:

"Controlled movements like popping (struttin) but with a more fluid movements and not as precise as poppin. Turfin started in Oakland, Ca. Oakland has a long history of poppin (such as the Oakland Street Poppers etc) and have been doin it for a long time. When you see "Turfin" one can't help but see the popping influences (mixed with a little bayness like poppin collars and the general swagger baydestrians tend to have) and the general bay surroundings. Since the west coast basically perfected popping, it was only natural for similar derivatives to come out. It is a natural evolution from it's b-boying roots to it's mainstream popularity today. Elementary to high school students to twenty-somethings are turfin and it's has since become the dance of the bay area. Lots of folks have been doing this type of dancing, but just recently it's been given a title."


and here is the illest video i've found of turfing so far. the dancing starts around 1:15. get ready to have your mind blown away.





xoxo
your utah baydestrian

need a backbone??

then buy a pair:

but seriously....my two favorite things combined in one?? anatomy + awesome shoes = brook heaven. 

Wanna split an ice cube or something?

stumbled across this and probably watched it like five times already......

unfortunately, it's a little too true (although i'd probably change the show to the bachelor/ette)

"what does she think about it and how does she feel

about the way she thinks about it?"

"i digested a huge gust of wind on the way to work" hahahahha

xoxo

I FORGOT ABOUT HER FACE.....

no, the title isn't a reference to how you feel about me.

i know, i know, i've been the worst blogger ever in the planet of bad bloggers.

but here's why:

1. christmas happened. our family has issues with christmas--bad bad christmas history. maybe i'll elaborate in another post.

2. i got really enthralled in a project that consumed all of my january and then i quit. elaborating will also take place later.

3. then february happened. i think february is the most.depressing.month.ever. (no, it has nothing to do with v-day...i actually love vday)

4. i have some hilarious dating stories. i also have some single people stories along with work stories, draper stories, church stories, more dating stories, and just brook's funny life stories. but most involve other people. and some of those other people read this blog, and wouldn't appreciate being talked about probably.

5. i've determined to start blogging consistently again. although, i've been doing some seriously deep thinking lately so maybe expect some serious posts.

6. why is this SNL actress SO STINKING HILARIOUS???? watch, and fall in love:

xoxoxo