YouTube, Ya'll (2).

As I've said before, I am all about some YouTube. And I like showing folks some of my favorites off of the biggest time-waster on the internet.

I won't post the actual "Leave Britney Alone!" video on here, but clearly, I've provided a link...the reason being that, 1.) Chris Crocker is all sorts of ugly and 2.) this is a kid-friendly blog...ol' Crocker sports quite the potty mouth. So if you don't want to hear that, skip it. However, if you haven't seen it...I mean, its pretty funny...so watch it.

Now onto what we're really here for.

Best Day of the Week.

I just want to say that tonight's episode of The Office was the best yet. Holy freaking crap. I don't want to ruin it for anybody. But seriously. So good.

Yes. Another Post about Musick.

This time, the band at hand is Eisley.

Eisley is a family quintet out of Tyler, Texas. The band is made up of four siblings and a cousin...they could change their name to the DuPree Family band. One of the sisters is engaged to Adam Lazzara, the lead singer of Taking Back Sunday and another sister is married to Chad Gilbert, a guitarist in A New Found Glory. Not that any of these facts are really relevant...but I mean, it's cool, right?

Anyway, I just bought their new record, Combinations and it's pretty radical. It's a bit harder than their last record, Room Noises, but I wholeheartedly approve of both disks. Incidentally, they'll be playing here in November. I'm definitely going.

The girls are the singers in the band. The lead singer, Sherri, has a super pretty voice that's most definitely not main-stream-sounding the all of those supposed pop "Divas," but it's not all breathy or weird like a lot of the female vocalists in the Indie rock world are these days. It's just super pretty. There is also some pretty mad harmonizing going on with the other sisters on backing vocals. As a human with a decently functioning brain residing somewhere in my skull, I love harmonizing, and Eisley doesn't at all hold back in that department.

I like Eisley because they're mega chill. And really pretty and soft. And their lyrics are way cool. Look at the lyrics to "Plenty of Paper."

If you're into the downloading scene, check out "Come Clean" off of the new record or "Plenty of Paper" from Room Noises. Or if downloading isn't your bag (it's not mine), just click the Eisley purevolume link at the very top of this entry.

Plans.

I feel like there is nothing left for me to do before I leave. This summer was kind of rad, so I'm satisfied.

However, I've still got some things to do.

The Starting Line is playing here next weekend, the 28th. Also, hopefully Across the Universe will actually be released here sometime. Since it is apparently not being shown here on the 21st.

The first weekend of October, my sister LeAndrea and her family are coming up to visit. Sometime after that, all of my family is supposed to go to Chattanooga for a mountain retreat of sorts, so we can all be together once more before I leave. Also in October, The Academy Is... is playing here. Should be pretty boss.

In November, my brothers Wade and Reed, their families and I are going to DISNEY WORLD the week after Thanksgiving. We're spending Thanksgiving at Le's house. Then we're off to the happiest place on earth. Our cousin Matt will be joining us, which will be rad. And Cartel is playing here! I just saw them last month in Nashville and I saw them another time here in town. They are probably the best band I've seen live.

In December, I go to be a missionary.

Also between now and then, I have to buy a whole lot of crap for my mission: 2 suits, dress pants, dress shoes, WINTER BOOTS, 15-20 (!) pairs of socks, a winter coat, and a slew of other necessities. One thing about being a missionary is that this will be the easiest packing list of my life. I'll basically wear the same thing every day, so it's no biggie.

And then after the mission, I'll spend Christmas here with my family. My best pal, Matt is in the MTC right now, headed for Toronto, Canada. He's also speaking Spanish, so will be communicating nonstop in la lengua de nuestras misiones. Which should be pretty buck.

Then I'm off to BYU in Provo.

Holy cow. Life is finally happening to me. And it's really, really terrific.

This is All I Frigging Think About (2).

::// Please Note: The contents of this blog have been very limitedly edited to ensure that my brother Reed will get off of my proverbial case. By way of information, the modifier is no longer misplaced.

Duh, my mission!


As you can see, that big blue blob up there is Argentina. The parts (that's right, parts...with an "s" at the end) in orange are the boundaries of my mission. I'll serve in northern Buenos Aires and surrounding areas--the smaller orange section towards the north--and in the provinces Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego--the larger section in the deep, deep south. Tierra del Fuego, the part floating off the mainland, according to Wikipedia has an annual average temperature of 5.3ºC--COLD.

Down in the south, I might run into the endings of the Andes Mountains. Hopefully, with both of my areas having borders on the ocean, I'll be able to see the Atlantic from the Southern Hemisphere. I will not, like I was stupidly thinking originally, be able to see the Pacific (which is a life goal). Maybe I'll see the Strait of Magellan. That would be cool.

I report to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah on December 12. I'll be there for two months learning Spanish and how to be a missionary, so I won't actually get to Argentina until February of next year. According to a friend of mine, who just left the MTC a week or two ago, the MTC is like the movie Groundhog Day; you do the same exact thing every day. For two months.

Some guys in my ward (a "ward" is a Mormon congregation) Andrew and Taylor Blain are going to be in the MTC in late January, so I'll probably run into them. And my second cousin (isn't that what you call your first cousin's children? Or is it "first cousin once removed"?) Bryan will be in the MTC a week after I get there. He won't be speaking a foreign language, though, so he'll leave after only a couple weeks. And my buddy Steven will get to the MTC about a month before I do. It will be neat to see all of those guys. Just for information's sake, Andrew is going to Monterrey, Mexico; Taylor is going to Arequipa, Peru; Bryan is going to Charleston, West Virginia; and Steven is going to Hong Kong. Good stuff.

My sister Marlena served a mission in Anaheim, California and spoke Spanish. She tells me Argentine Spanish, called Castellano, is super different from anything Mexican. So I'm thinking that although I've had some Spanish training, it will all be for naught when I actually get down there. But who knows.

At any rate, I am more excited now than I have ever been in my life. And "excitement" is an emotion that comes in huge quantities with me. I have never felt so determined that what I'm doing is right and good. I have never felt so happy. I am overwhelmingly stoked to work hard, to struggle with whatever obstacles I've got coming, to learn so much about myself, God, and others. I am confident that it will be the greatest experience of my life.

Argentina. Man. How awesome is that?

The Mission Call.

My Call, from the Office of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

"Dear Elder Garrett:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.

You should report to the Missionary Training Center at Provo, Utah on Wednesday, 12 December 2007. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language. Your Mission President may modify your specific assignment according to the needs of the mission.

You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president. As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As you serve with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are prepared to be baptized.

The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place in you our confidence and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary.

You will be set apart by your stake president. Please send your written acceptance promptly, endorsed by your bishop.

Sincerly,
Gordon B. Hinckley, President."

Buenos Aires! How cool is that?! I am unbelievably stoked.