"That's the Island Greeting that We Send to You from the Land where Palm Trees Sway..."

I have an inexplicable love for the "Hawaii Five-O" theme song. I've never seen a single episode of the show (new or old version) and I've probably only heard the theme once or twice in my whole life; I just pick up things like that really quickly and they stay in my head. It's comparable to whistling that song at the beginning of the Disney "Robin Hood" cartoon, except I've seen that movie a million times (on account of it's totally awesome).

So there I was, going on with a life occasionally accented by a random TV theme song, when my mom started watching the new version of "Hawaii Five-O". She started an episode last night, and while I didn't feel like watching the whole thing, I decided to watch until the beginning credits rolled. As the song began to play, I got all excited and starting dancing in my seat (because we all know how much I love dancing like a fool). Of course, my mother starting laughing at me and said, "Haven't you ever seen this before?", to which I replied that I had not, which was when I started wondering why on earth I enjoyed it so much. I honestly don't know why I love that song so much; it could just be that I really like the tune. It's not like I have any sort of emotional connection with the show, or even Hawaii itself, for that matter.

I guess I really don't need a reason to like this particular theme song so much. If I look at it like it's any other song, it's not a stretch of the imagination to say that I just like the sound of it. I think that will now be my official position on my love of a random theme song.

Thanks for your help, friends.

P.S. The title of this post comes from the song "Mele Kalikimaka", sung by Bing Crosby.

Effect and Effect...and Effect

One of my friends and I have a tendency to name things that we find attractive in guys. In the past, we have come up with The Clark Kent Effect (guys with glasses) and The Hodgins Effect (based on Jack Hodgins on Bones and extended to include smart guys that you suddenly realize are hot). The theories are more detailed than that, but you get the idea. Today I present to you The Returned Missionary Effect. It would probably be good to point out that I'm not currently sway-able by the effects of this...Effect, but I came up with it today while discussing a returned missionary with said friend (who is in this particular phase of life). She mentioned that she had known this guy for her whole life, but now that he had returned from his mission she found him incredibly attractive and didn't know why. I think we all experienced this in our early early twenties, but why?

The answer, my friends, is two fold. One, boys grow up on their missions and come back men. The picture we see in our heads when we think of guys on missions is forcefully disrupted when we see their older, handsomer faces. We girls have missed an entire two years of gangliness and it's like someone hit the fast-forward button. BAM! Awkward, pimple-faced boy-next-door is suddenly confident, smooth-skinned and possibly taller. In addition to this, you often see this boy for the first time since his return at his homecoming (I mean missionary themed meeting...) where he is wearing a suit, which, let's face it ladies, just makes a guy that much more attractive. What's a twenty-ish year old girl to do?

I'm starting to feel that I'm sharing too much, so let's move on to the second aspect of returned-missionary-attractiveness: returned missionaries are now eligible for marriage. It's like there's a little switch in our heads that gets flipped and starts saying things (because switches say things, right?) like "Wow, I bet he's looking to get married now. Hey, I'm supposed to be at least looking for a serious relationship. Hmmmm...he's here, I'm here. Why not?" Okay, that sounds kind of creepy, but you know what I mean. These things happen.

So there you have it. Boy comes home. Boy re-meets girl. Girl finds boy extremely attractive and wonders how she might win his affections. I remember it well. I hope you've enjoyed this journey into my past as much as I have. Well, I don't know how much I enjoyed it, but maybe you can at least glean a little amusement from the way that girls think.

Until next time, friends.

The Title is the Hardest Part to Come up With

Having worked several years in retail, I'm used to the speech about customer service making more of a difference than other factors, even price, to a customer. On the other hand, I've been a poor college student for about 7 years, so I believe that sometimes you have to go on the cheap side. I don't often go much for customer service. I might be a bit annoyed if I am treated incredibly poorly, but it's usually not enough to drive me away, so I've never had much personal experience with that particular branch of customer service philosophy.

That all changed today. I wasn't sure if my parents' insurance was still covering my prescriptions, so I've had to contemplate various possibilities for a few days (I tend to procrastinate and worry about things, rather than just doing them). I thought about what I would do if my prescriptions were no longer covered and came to the conclusion that, unless the cost became ridiculously outrageous, I would pay the extra money to stay at my pharmacy. Why? Because I love my pharmacy!

My family has been filling prescriptions at one particular pharmacy for as long as I can remember. When I was a little kid, I loved going with my mom through the drive-through to pick up our medications (...my family has a variety of minor health issues...). The pharmacists would put Smarties in the bag for the kids, which we always looked forward to. There was a period in our insurance where we had to get all of our medications by mail, which was terrible. The prescriptions never arrived on time, and the company always found a problem with our credit card, even though the card was perfectly valid. Eventually....my dad got a new job and our insurance again allowed us to fill prescriptions locally, and I was so happy!

The people at my pharmacy know me, or at least my face, and are always so peppy and helpful. I guess I just really love my pharmacy :)

P.S. My prescriptions are still covered, and even if they weren't it wouldn't be way super expensive. Hurray!

General Conference = My New Year

I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. In the first place, I've been a student for the last 20 years of my life, and January 1st never seemed as much the beginning of the year as say, August 25th or so. In addition, January is in the middle of the winter. What about winter possibly symbolizes anything new? Besides, New Year's resolutions have always felt cliche to me. Everyone makes New Year's resolutions, and what for? Because everyone else does. I suppose there are a few people out there that are truly inspired to change by the beginning of the new year, but I think a lot of us just make something up so we have something to say when someone asks us what we have resolved for the new year.

I do, however, believe in General Conference resolutions. I absolutely love having the opportunity to listen to the leaders of the church as they speak on matters relevant to our day. I get to sit on my couch, notebook and pen in hand, and write down the words of the prophets and any inspiration that comes my way. As a result of the spiritual high that I get during General Conference, I feel a deep and genuine desire to be a better person and try a little bit harder in life. Mary N. Cook (of the General Young Women's Presidency) spoke about the birth of her granddaughter (I believe it was her granddaughter), Ruby, and how she encouraged Ruby's mother to teach her to be a virtuous woman. The mother replied "I am starting today." Obviously, I don't have a daughter to teach about virtue, but I was really struck by the words "I am starting today." It's really easy for me to get caught up in what I'm doing wrong and sometimes it feels really hard to change my habits and behaviors. From now on, I need to stop myself and just say "I am starting today". So what if I've had a hard time with whatever for days, weeks, or even months? Today is a new day, and I can start all over again. I heard somewhere that no matter what our pasts are, our futures are spotless. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that forgives me when I repent and gives me another chance to be the best person that I can be. I know that I would be very lost without the guidance of the Holy Ghost in my life to stay on the right path. I am grateful for the temple covenants that I have made and for the blessings I receive when I attend regularly.

There were so many wonderful talks during Conference, and I can't wait to get the Ensign next month and go over the talks all over again. I just love General Conference.