A Day in the Life...

I love my job, can I just say that? I have been doing sewing/alterations at the laundry now for 2 years! Crazy! Let me just explain a brief bit about what typically happens during my workday...

1. 8:30 or 9 - drive to work and think long and hard about what my opening line for the day will be...something like "Oh my gosh, I had the weirdest dream last night!" or "Gah, why are boys so retarded?"
2. 9 to Noon - share stories from the night before with my coworkers as we laugh hysterically at some of the clothes people bring in for us to sew or at the sewing instructions the front counter writes - for example: "replace butt" or "sew crotch together." I mean, come on, they could just write "mend crotch seam" and we know exactly what to do. Haha
3. Noon to 1 - discuss what we're going to do for lunch and/or wait for a customer to come in who is desperate for his clothes to be altered/mended right then (instead of waiting a week like anyone else). When such a customer comes in, we require a "rush fee" in the form of pizza or chocolate milk or ice cream or orange chicken or any number of other things we've obtained :)
4. Afternoon until we decide to close up and leave - we get a little tired and start laughing at just about anything. Because I've worked there so long, my coworkers ask me for advice about what to do on things and I usually have no idea but I make something up that sounds good, they do it, and it works. Fake it 'till you make it, I guess. :)
5. About 3ish - call my mom and ask her when she is coming to pick me up, and she usually tells me not until 4, but I'm really tired by then and find some random sewing job to keep me busy my last hour.
6. Oh, and in between all that, I sew :)

Ok, I just wanted to do that while I still work there because I won't for much longer. Whoa, crazy how fast the time has gone.

Mission and Farewell info

Hey everyone,
Since I'm pretty much down to my last month before reporting to the MTC, I thought I'd post the info for my mission for you to have if you feel so inclined :)

My farewell will be held on June 28, 2009, at my ward in Lindon (1051 E 200 S, Lindon, Utah). Sacrament starts at 1:00pm but my ward is huge so if you want to come and want to be able to have a seat, I highly recommend being there by 12:30. Not even joking. :) I wish I could just fill the chapel with my friends since I don't even know anybody in my ward but whatever. I'll be playing the piano too. :)

I report to the Provo MTC on July 1, 2009. My address for all of July and August will be:
Hermana Meagan EM Jackson
New Jersey Morristown Mission
Provo MTC
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604

I'll be heading out to New Jersey at the beginning of September so my mission home address for September 2009 - December 2010 will be:
Hermana Meagan EM Jackson
New Jersey Morristown Mission
1719 Route 10 Ste 309
Parsippany, NJ 07054

I hope to hear from you every once in a while on my mission. I love getting letters and will love so even more as a missionary. ;) I will even write you back!

Thanks for your support at different times in my life to get me where I am today. I am SO excited to go and serve the Lord. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I know the gospel is true, otherwise I wouldn't be doing this. :) I love you!

Oh by the way, if you want to send me your address/email so you can get updates or whatever, just email them to me at memj9@yahoo.com. Thanks!

California, here we come!

As promised, I am putting up pictures from my trip to California a couple of weeks ago, which was a blast! My friend, Megan, and I drove down on a Monday to San Diego, where we stayed at our friend Amber's house. However, Amber was already back in Utah for spring term so we just chilled with her family. :) We didn't really have a plan for Tuesday except to hang out in San Diego so Amber left us a San Diego photo scavenger hunt that took us to 7 key places to see in San Diego. We started out going to Balboa Park, then over to Old Town, Seaport Village (our favorite), Hotel del Coronado, San Diego Temple, and then finished off with the sunset at La Jolla Beaches (yes, I know that's only 6...we couldn't find the Cabrillo Monument). But it was such a good idea to do that! We had to take all sorts of random pictures...us at each entrance sign, the craziest person we saw, 3 random statues, 3 sailboats, us jumping off a wall, someone getting married, etc. Here are just a few of our favorite pictures:
Wednesday morning, we drove up to LA area to stay at our friend Amy's place there (who was gone on a study abroad...again, we chilled with the family :) and we spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in Disneyland/CA Adventure. It was a blast but SO exhausting! Growing up fairly close to those parks, I'd never spent more than a day there so 3 days was quite the experience! Her sister, Brenna, and her sister's friend, Adam, flew in to LAX Wednesday night to spend the rest of our trip with us. Don't even worry, we went on the Peter Pan ride on my birthday...you really think I would neglect that? Haha, definitely my favorite :)

Grrrrr.....

Ok, first of all, I had a WONDERFUL road trip to California for my birthday. Pictures and details to come later. But for now, I need to vent and basically I'm venting about my own stupidity.

I always forget to check my oil in my car. My dad is always telling me I should and I always forget. Well, my car had just been in the shop about 2 months ago so for some reason, I had it in my head that that meant the oil had been checked. That, of course, is wrong.

So I didn't check my oil before I went on a road trip to California for a week with my friends. I dropped them all off at LAX on Saturday for them to fly home while I drove myself back up to Utah. I stayed 2 nights at a friend's place in Henderson then finished my drive today. About 5 miles south of Nephi (about an hour south of Provo), my car decided to sputter and die. Luckily I pulled over in time. I called my dad, he called the tow truck and I got towed to Nephi, where he met me. Upon brief inspection of my car by the mechanics, it was determined that I had ruined my transmission or something and it would cost as much money to get it fixed as my car is worth. So we're not getting it fixed. I unloaded everything out of my car, put it in my dad's, and we drove away. My car will now be sent to the junkyard because, well, that's what it is. At least it happened on the way home instead of on the way there and I was pretty close to home so my dad could come get me. Count your blessings, I guess.

I was planning on selling my car before I leave on my mission and using the money to help pay for my mission but I guess that won't be happening now. Please don't tell me I was dumb for not checking my oil because I think I know that. Thanks. My next post, which will be about the rest of my road trip, will make no mention of the car breaking down so it will be happy...but I needed to vent for a second.

If only I had known it was going to break down...I wouldn't have topped off the gas in Cedar City... :)

But, Whatever Shall I Do?

Life is just grand. I'm sitting here, mulling over the thought that I have finished my finals! That means I am DONE for a full 20 months! That's right...Done. Yongwan. Hecho. (Note: Please remember, I don't speak Spanish...yet). How long has it been since I've experienced this kind of freedom? Try...NEVER! Yeah, I'm just a little overwhelmed as to what I should do with myself now...

Oh wait, nevermind, it's planned (you really think I'm going to waste time just waiting for something to happen this summer?):

• Road trip to San Diego/Disneyland with my friend for our birthdays! Yes, 3 days in Disneyland for $70...I'd say that's a deal. Oh, and P.S. This trip obviously includes In 'N Out.
  
• HOBY! That blessed time when I make friends with high school kids again and tire my voice out from doing cheers and skits.
• Wisdom teeth...note that this does NOT deserve an exclamation mark...or special colors...or bigger font...grrr...
• Road trip to Bakersfield/Santa Barbara with my mom! One last girl's week before my mission.
• Strawberries 'N Cream frappuccinos every day for a week with my best friend ever, Jessica, who gets home from her mission one week before I leave on mine.
  
• And of course in between all that...sewing away at work. It's a party there during the summer though so no big deal.

Needless to say, this next 2.5 months will fly by. And it is going to be amazing. :)

Women's Chorus

I have been so blessed this last 3 years by having the chance to be in the BYU Women's Chorus. Every day at 3:00, I have wandered into the HFAC to spend an hour singing with some of the most amazing girls on campus. I cannot imagine my BYU experience without it.

I have never been on staff or anything for choir, but I didn't want to let that stop me this year from being involved. As the year progressed, I adopted the role of the unofficial photographer and took pictures at every event we had...concerts, parties, service projects, retreats, etc. I loved it. My goal was to get every girl pictured, so of course I wanted to know who every girl was. Those girls have truly changed my life for the better. Some of them I only just really got to know last week and some of them have been good friends of mine for all 3 years now. Wow, it's been a crazy ride but oh so worth it.

This last weekend we had the chance to do a performance to be filmed and later nationally televised on PBS. All 4 auditioned choirs, along with the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra, sang/played pieces centered around the theme "Pilgrim's Journey Home." We explored all different aspects of the theme...war-torn times, service, faltering in faith, enduring to the end, and reaching our eternal home. As we sang, I was just trying to soak in every second of being on that stage...the cameras zooming in on my face, the feel of the lights, the look of the dimmed audience, the sound of the choirs and orchestra reverberating through the hall. It was the closest thing to perfection I've ever felt.

Ever since I got my mission call, I have never felt such strong feelings of doubt and inadequacy flood my mind. But the final closing numbers (which consisted of all 5 groups) were beautiful arrangements of Come Come Ye Saints and Lead Kindly Light. The words to both of those hymns and the power and conviction of all 700+ performers on that stage brought me to tears. Especially on the third verse of Lead Kindly Light, "So long thy power hath blessed me sure it still will lead me on!" I thought of all the times I have called on the power of the Lord in the past and I have been blessed with it. It will be the same on my mission. The Lord wants every one of us to know that He is near, always looking out for us, and He will bless us with the power we need to further His work upon the earth. I had no idea if a camera was zooming in on me right then, but I knew that I wanted whoever was looking at my face to know that I know, and to have a desire to come to know it for themselves. I felt like we had a little glimpse into missionary work by having the responsibility to portray the pure love of Christ through our music, our faces, and our spirits.

Sorry I've been rambling on, but Women's Chorus was so much more than a choir to me. It was a time that I could set aside to feel the spirit, strengthen my testimony, and strengthen my friendships every day. If anybody reading this was in Women's Chorus with me this year, thank you. Thank you for your patience as I passed out ;) , for your support in hard times, for your smiles in wonderful times, and for your love in all times. I love you!

CALLED TO SERVE!

I have been called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am assigned to labor in the NEW JERSEY MORRISTOWN Mission. I report to the Provo MTC on July 1, 2009. I will prepare to preach the gospel in the SPANISH language!!!

So there you have it. I cannot believe I am going on a mission! When I opened my call and started reading the words, I knew that I have been called to be where I need to be, speaking the language I need to speak, in order to teach the people I need to teach. It is an amazing feeling. I haven't stopped thinking about it since I opened it last night. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord for 18 months of my life. He has given me everything. Thanks for all your support during different stages of my life to get me to this point! I love you!


We started out the evening with a rousing rendition of "Called to Serve"
At this point, I was really really nervous...
And then I freaked out...
Where's a map? :)
I love my family. I'm so glad they live close so we were able to celebrate this special day together.
Oh yeah, and I decided to cut my hair, as you can see in these pictures. But don't judge too harshly, it had been raining all day :)