Angels of Harlem

I think I've mentioned this before, but look below for one of my top reasons for wanting to stay in New York.

Starting with me (because the world clearly revolves around me) and going clockwise, my angels are (tangential aside: "Angel of Harlem" is a U2 song written as a tribute to Billie Holiday--it's hard to tell that from the lyrics, but it's still a good song): Jen, who organized my going-away dinner, at which this picture was taken, and who would've likely won the stake ping pong tournament if she had been able to use "Angel" as her entrance music, instead of the weird, non-Michael-Jackson "Bad" we chose instead; Amy, who I would accidentally smack in the face a few seconds after this picture was taken; Holly and Elin, sisters, co-hosts of the dinner, and my usual travel companions to church on Sundays; Becca, the one that organized my cheering section at the Apollo; and Ashley, who I stood and sat with at La Boheme.

(Tangential aside #2: I want to apologize to Ashley for assuming that you didn't go on a mission, just because you weren't joining in on telling mission stories. You must've realized that stories people tell about their missions or their dreams (and some people, myself included, managed to do both at the same time) are never as interesting as they think they are.)

(Tangential aside #3: While telling mission stories in regular conversations is not always great, I get annoyed when people apologize in talks or lessons for sharing mission experiences (or other personal experiences). Hopefully your mission was a great time in your life, where you had many experiences that would be relevant when shared in a church setting. Sharing personal experiences are way more powerful than reading about someone else's experiences--so don't apologize!)

Anyway...at most non-Sunday-time-block church events (FHE, Institute, temple trips, parties, whatever), the scene was very similar to the above picture. The girl-to-guy ratio was usually about five or six to one. It was pretty sweet. In fact, to negate this, Jen insisted I invite some dudes to this dinner, and I reluctantly agreed.

So, on my last night in New York, I had good company, good stew, and heard a good fireside address from Elder Nelson. Before I go, here's a bonus pic of Jen in her onion-chopping goggles.

Lookin' good, angel!