The Old Shoe

Two blogs two days in a row? *looks around* Where are the flying pigs? The four horseman of the apocalypse? Hmm...*shrugs* I think I'll blame it to the fact that I discovered that I can blog now at work. And since I basically just sit here and read all day at work because we are so busy that nobody comes in, I have plenty of time to do it. (Let's just hope my supervisors don't catch me, and I get in trouble.) Honestly though, most of my supervisors don't really care, so I should be fine. In actuality, it was one of my lead tellers that suggested that I do this specific blog today.

Today I want to talk about an old shoe I used to have.

Several years ago, I saw a shoe at the store. It wasn't my regular type of shoe, but my friend liked it, so he bought it, and wore it for a while. It seemed to suit him pretty well, but I became jealous of his shoe, and wanted it for myself. I expressed my desire to have his shoe, and I probably bugged him a bit by how I admired it. After some time, he got tired of the shoe, and parted with it. I found it a short while later at the DI, and I decided that I should buy it. However, only a short while later, I lost it, and couldn't find it for some time. At the time I was pretty sad that I couldn't wear it any more. But I moved on and returned to the store to find a new shoe to wear. I tried on a few pairs, and I thought I had found a good skate shoe to wear, but alas, my mind continued to think of the old and used shoe, and I couldn't really settle on one that I wanted.

More time passed, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I found the shoe again. I was definitely caught by surprise, and happily put the shoe back on. However, despite my happiness at having the shoe again, and time went on, I discovered that the shoe didn't fit quite as well as before. It gave me blisters and sores all over my foot. Even though it was uncomfortable, I kept wearing it with the belief that it would come through as before. My friends saw me wearing it, and could see how it was hurting my foot, and suggested that I get a new one. I didn't listen, and kept wearing it, and trying not to think about the pain. Time continued on and it really only got worse. I began considering throwing it away and finding a new shoe that would be more comfortable, but for some reason I kept it. That blasted shoe!

One day I went looking for it to give it a good clean up and give it some new laces, but I couldn't find it. I think it had ran away on it's own. (What a strange thing for a shoe to do!) I searched for a while, only to find someone else wearing it. That person I knew had some sort of foot fungus, and it made me want the shoe even less. Somehow and for unexplainable reason, I got the shoe back, and with much hesitation, I put it back on, and continued to wear it.

Something about the shoe felt even more different now. I don't know if it was the foot fungus or what, but something was there. I wondered often if there was a rock in there I couldn't see. On another day, I became so frustrated by the pain from the shoe that I took it off and didn't put it on for a couple days. But the familiarity of it pulled me back, and I couldn't let it go. My brother especially didn't like the shoe, along with the rest of my family. They said it smelled funny, and there were even times that my mother forbid me to wear it. She said there were better shoes to wear.

Finally, one day, I lost the shoe real good. For days and days I looked, but the old shoe was nowhere to be found. I even asked around my friends to see if any of them knew where it was. No such luck. After a few more days, I went to another friend, and he told me that he knew where it was. Someone ELSE was wearing the old shoe. Same guy as before, but it turns out, I was wrong. He didn't have foot fungus, just athletes foot. That was enough for me! I decided that I was finally done with the shoe. I can only stand having it used by others so many times you see.

My foot definitely felt better. Where all of the blisters and sores were healed and after some time, it felt good to walk on it again.

Time wore on, and I found several different shoes that were a lot more comfortable to wear. There were some Air Jordan's that were nice, and I even went to a nerdy converse shoe. Anything was better than that old shoe! I was a bit unfortunate that year though as my shoes wore out pretty quickly, and I went through several pairs as the new ones started to hurt as well.

A couple years later, I couldn't believe it, but I ran into my old shoe again! I thought I wasn't going to have to see it again, but there she was, ah, err...I mean there IT was. I wasn't surprised to see it was still being worn by the guy I previously mentioned. He seemed to like the shoe so much, that he made a smaller one that looked sort of like it. He even had cleaned up the old shoe a bit too. However, the shoe no longer sparked my interest any longer. I couldn't ever see myself wearing that thing again. Nowadays, I hear when people see it, they say, "Isn't that the shoe Andrew used to wear?" and even rumors that I'm still wearing it. Well rest assured, I'm not wearing a painful shoe any longer, nor do I have any desire to. At this moment in my life, I'm looking for the best shoe, and one that doesn't hurt my foot, and treats me well.

I hope you enjoyed that story. I can never forget that story of "The Old Shoe". :D

Huh?

Holy crap!! What a really weird week. Anything and everything seems to be going down.
Despite my past experiences, and my sincere claims that I only get sick once per year, I have been caught off guard this last week or so with a nasty cold and cough that won't go away. That makes it two sicknesses this year. EPIC LAME! So I'm hoping that it will count for next year, and that I won't get sick for all of 2011. That would be nice.
Christmas was good this week. I had some good times spent with the fam. For Christmas my main gifts were a George Foreman grill and a Magic Bullet. (It's a personal blender/smoothie making thingy...surely you must have seen the infomercials..."And in one, two, threeeeeeeeeee seconds, you have some salsa") The rest of my gifts were excellent as well. Over all, it was a good haul.
The end of this week got really crazy though. I won't go into details due to some of the readers of this blog, but from the 26th to yesterday, tons of different things just sort of got all messed up. I'm really caught by surprise too. As I've said before, and I'm sure you've all experienced it as well, life can seem all peachy, then someone grabs the snow globe of your life and gives it a good shake. *shrugs* Life moves on though.
Anyway, I didn't really have anything I particularly wanted to talk about in this post. Just sort of updating in my boredom at work.
One question I had to anyone reading this post; Can any of you see me becoming a lawyer? How about a politician? Let me know!

Just some thoughts...

Somehow I knew when I woke up today that I'd be writing another blog tonight. It was one of those ideas that was in my head when I woke up this morning. What I'm going to blog about is still a mystery to me.

It seems like I usually approach my blog when I'm in a terribly reflective mood. Don't ask my why I'm in that mood today, it's just something that happens naturally I suppose. I can't recall exactly anything special that has happened today that would cause me to be so. Hmm...

Life for me has finally taken a different direction, and after much stressing, I'm finally in a different situation of life as well. I'm now sitting on my bed in my new apartment in Provo, an hour away from home. I've started at another branch of America F

irst and I'm working as a teller again, although I still do a bit of loan stuff when needed. That's all I can really say to bring you up to date. Nothing especially spectacular seems to be going on right now. Perhaps it's because we're in the winter months, and everything starts to slow down, unlike the eventful months of summer. *shrugs* I dunno.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I think I've realized why I've felt so

reflective lately. It IS because it's the winter months! I'm coming up on the last couple weeks of the year, and now I'm

looking back across this year and thinking about the things that I've done. The more I think about it, it feels like I've done a ton. If I just sit here and let my mind wander across it, I go to all sorts of memories. The thing is, it's not necessarily to events, at least, not just one at a time. It really just hops to different faces of people I've met or interacted with this year, and my experiences with them. Each one sort of has it's own twist to it.

Am I making any sense here? I feel like I'm sort of just rambling on, but you know, it feels good just to write what pops into my head.

So as these faces pop around in there, has it's sort of tale that tells the story of my year. I wonder if I skim over it some of you may catch on to what or who I'm talking about. That's sort of dangerous in itself. Although, my oldest brother dislikes it very much if I start getting vague, but then again, I'm not quite sure if he reads this blog or not. In fact, I have no idea if anyone still reads this blog at all. It's sort of thought provoking as I continue to write in here from time to time.

I suppose if I were to skim vaguely across my past year, I'd come to all sorts of names. It's just something interesting to ponder about. As they say, my life has been molded this year by the people I've met. Some good molds, some not. I've reached some amazing highs this years, yet there was some deep lows as well. "Opposition in all things" I suppose. There were several moments throughout this whole year when I thought my life was content, others when I thought I'd never be happier. On the other end, there were times this year when I've felt terribly sad, some when I felt my heart was broken, and some when I just found myself crying. I feel proud for the things I have accomplished, yet there are also several things I really regret about this year. Life is a roller coaster, no doubt. I seem to be recognizing that more and more in these last couple years. It must be that transition into adult life that I am beginning to feel more and more as time goes on.

I just hope now that I can see how things have gone this last year, I can look to the next, and see what improvements I can make. I feel better prepared looking into 2011 unlike how I was going into 2010. Let's just hope I can make this year a better one.

Thank you Terry

Just a quick blog today. (two in a row....wooo!)


Today turned out to not be the happiest for me. It seems that bad news usually comes at the most unexpected times.

I was at my brothers apartment when I got a text from Cami letting me know that a man I was able to tract into on my mission, teach, and have the opportunity to baptize personally passed away.

Terry Hallam.

I want to give a tribute to him here, and share my experience with him.

I was on exchange with my district leader back in the beginning of 2009. I was currently serving in the town of Stamford, and we had been struggling for some sort of success. We tracted into him, shared a short message with him on his doorstep, and he let us in. We taught him the first lesson, and also watched the Restoration film. We found out that he had found his mother dead a few weeks earlier, and he was looking to go back to a church so he could find some sort of solace. It was very apparent how badly her death was affecting him. He really took in our next lesson on the Plan of Salvation, and he prayed for the first time with us then. You could really tell that he was looking for peace and answers. The lessons continued on, and he even came with us to General Conference. He struggled for some time trying to give up smoking, drinking, and a few other things, but he accepted the commitment for baptism. He and I became very close as I kept pushing him further and harder to overcome what he needed to, because we both knew that baptism would help him a lot.

He called us a couple times each day asking for answers to questions he had, or even just for encouragement to do what he knew he wanted to do. Eventually the day came, and I had the great opportunity of baptizing him. We continued to see him often after that, and he came to church and was very active and a great member of the church. He would always brighten up when we saw him, and the members liked him a lot too. A month or so later, I was moved to another area, and that was the last time I saw him face to face. A month after that I recieved a letter from him with a picture of him standing outside the London Temple. I was SO happy! That was the last time that I ever heard from him. I wrote him twice more during my mission, but he didn't respond.

I returned home from my mission, and this past February, I recieved word that he was diagnosed with lung cancer. I was saddened for him, but I was also comforted hearing that he was still staying active in the church, and going on their temple trips when he could. A month or so later, I heard that he had gone into the hospital for an operation, and that was the last I heard until today. I don't know any of the details as to why he passed away, just that he did.

I just want to say that Terry is such a huge example to me of overcoming trials, and staying strong through them. He didn't renounce his faith when it hit him, he relied on God. He is truly one of my heroes. I have never seen a man change so much in my life. He went from one of the saddest people to the happiest through what we shared with him. My biggest regret is that I didn't write him since I've been home.


I've cried through writing this whole blog, but I just wanted to share it with you. He really was a great man, and I look forward to giving him a huge hug when I see him in the next life.

God bless you Terry.

Wanted: Texting Buddy

Ah yes. I'm back here again ready for another blog. It's not quite 11pm at night yet, so I'm still mostly awake, so you should all hope for some sort of sane post here, as compared to some other times I have blogged. (Well...at least when I blogged more often...) I honestly need to stop doing this at the beginning of every blog that I do lately. I comment on my lack of blogging, talk a bit about what's going on with me, then get to the heart and topic of the blog that day. I'm not very...creative sometimes when it comes to that. Who knows? Perhaps I'll switch it up one of these days....today is not that day in case you were wondering.

Today seemed to drag something terrible, especially at school. Work did yesterday as well...I think something unusual is going on...I wasn't able to leave campus today until about 2:30, which is saying something since my last class ended at 12:20. So yeah. I'm trying to get my credits and test scores sent down to UVU, but they had me running all over the place. Back and forth and back and forth (at least 20 times I swear). Oh well...I got it mostly taken care of. Just one more phonecall....:S

Anyway, on to the title of this blog.

I had to make sure I didn't contradict myself in writing this one, so I looked back to my past post on texting. I'm safe. *phew* As you can see from my title, I'm in search of a "Texting Buddy". What I would describe that is someone that I can text regularly, and can respond most of the time. Usually when I'm dating someone, or make a new friend, we text quite a lot, and I enjoy being able to have someone I can talk to at the ready. Lately, I haven't really had that much. Some of you may have noticed I have been texting you a bit more than normal. That's probably me trying to get used to not having anyone to text regularly anymore. What I've decided is that I will either find one, (and right now it doesn't seem to be happening) or just get used to texting less. My guess is that it will be the latter. I'm still in the habit of looking at my phone expecting a text to be there, only to find that there isn't one. Now, I'm not trying for the pity vote, mind you, because I don't want a pity texting buddy. Those are lame. It's just nice to have one I suppose.

So if any of you are up to it, just let me know!

P.S. I've found this band I'm really liking, Windsor Drive. You should all check them out.

Also Known As

Okay, I'm here back again in an attempt to start blogging a bit more than once a month. I keep having all of these idea that pop into my head almost daily for something that I want to blog about, but I never get around to it.
Life for me continues to move on. I'm single again, and getting ready to move down to Provo to attend UVU. I'm pretty excited about it, because I enjoyed having independence from home, sort of like on the mission, plus I'm way ready for a fresh start. I think moving an hour away will allow me to do that.
There were a few things that I wanted to blog about today, but the more I think about them, the more I realize that I might offend a few people if I did. Contrary to what I said in my very first blog, I'm not sure how much name dropping I want to do, and even if I describe what is going on, they'll know it's them I'm referring to, so I have to be careful.
So instead, I'll just talk shortly about what I've been pondering about lately.
Back when I was 14, my best friend Ryan and I were hanging out at his house, and he was starting to learn the drums in school, and had recently gotten a drumset. We went down into his basement and he played a bit while I watched. It was then that I saw there was a white electric guitar in that same room, and I picked it up and attempted to play. We did this for a few times, and all I really could get out was rubbish, until one day I was able to play "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. Time went on and I learned a bunch of other simple songs, and my desire to learn began to grow. We even played at a retirement home for a christmas thing when I was 15. Eventually I was able to get my own red electric guitar, and I could play at home, and not depend on going to Ryans to be able to play. I continued to learn different songs from guitar tabs off of the internet, and my skill improved. After graduation from high school I bought an electric acoustic guitar of of my brothers friend, and I knew I was in love. I love playing that guitar! Once I had that, I learned more songs at a faster rate, and found much solace from playing it after a bad day.
Anyway, after my mission, I've now purchased a bass guitar too, and I'm starting to learn that as well. So now I have the makings off a band myself. In the last 6 months I've been really considering starting a band instead of soloing by myself all of the time. I think it would be a way fun experience. I've always thought music to be my main talent, and I figure it would be good to work on it a bit, and improve on it.
Now, I'm not amazing at the guitar, most likely because I haven't had any private instruction, and I've taught myself the whole time, so if I did, I'd probably start out on the bass to get myself going. There doesn't seem to be a lot of bass players out there, since most people usually pick up the guitar or drums, so I would hope that I'd be picked quick to join a band. It's possible that Ryan can play the drums with me since we'll both be down in Provo, so we'll see.
So yeah, just with all the music I've been listening to lately, and also the concerts I go to have just made me feel that it's something I want to do do.
What do you all think? Can you see me in a band? Just let me know!

P.S. "Also Known As" was one of our ideas for a band name (Ryan and I). Do you have any ideas you want a band to be called? Maybe we could use it....

Bleh...

What a weekend....Better yet, what a week....I feel like I've been tossed all over the place and I don't know why. My mind seems to not be working properly or something. I don't even know how to properly comment on it really. Weird stuff. Ever have those feelings like something is amiss, but you can't put your finger on it? It could be anything, but no matter how you think about it, you can't really narrow it down? That's what is going on with me I think, and it's messing me up. It's almost like in my brain is the big blue "ERROR!" screen, and I can't get past it. I don't know what's going on. There are all sorts of things in my life right now that are...unusual.
Life has been messing me up, I suppose. I've got a lot to prepare for in the next coming months as I get ready to move down to Provo. The three main things are transferring to UVU, finding an apartment that isn't too costly (but not ghetto), and hopefully transferring my job at America First down there. If I can accomplish those three things, I'll be sorted. They probably don't sound like a lot to some, but they occupy my mind quite a bit. If one doesn't work out, I'm slightly in trouble, and may have to postpone moving down there, and if that is the case, I'll miss spring semester at school. It all seems like a mess. Hopefully it works out. I found an opening today at my work at an American Fork branch that I would move to in December, which would be perfect, and hopefully with better pay. If that goes well, a huge stone will be passed. It's my main worry to get a job down there.
*sigh* Anyway...I'm just...down a bit I suppose. I'll be fine though. Most things work out in the end, and no matter what happens, I can move forward positively if I choose to, which I should. It's easier said than done I suppose.
So sorry for sounding all depressed or something. I don't mean to, and I'm not really. I just felt like venting my feelings for a bit. Don't pay too much mind to it.

I miss blogging...

So I'm sitting here in my English 1010 class up at Weber....it's a disturbing class. I still don't understand how it could claim to be an "English" class. All we discuss it torture, rape, and other disturbing things from a book called "The Lucifer Effect", which discusses why people turn evil. So yeah...it's weird.
As far as blogging goes, I really wish I would do it more. Right now I'm getting to about one per month, which is nothing like in the summer where I got about one posted per day. Thing is, I've had loads of things I'd like to blog about, but I never get around to it. I'd call it a mixture of laziness and being busy with school, work, homework, and my girlfriend Andrea. Saying that, I would think those four things are a bit more important than a blog, so I'm not terribly disappointed that I haven't, I just enjoy blogging. It helps me vent or talk about things that are going on.
Anyway, life moves on for me. Those four things I mentioned are really all that I do nowdays. I'm sure most of you my age are in a similar situation.
Nowdays I'm trying to decide on which major I want to aim for in college. When I got home from the mission, I had decided that I wanted to do a psychology degree aiming for either school counselor or family counseling. At the end of spring semester, I changed my mind, and now I'm working for a communications degree either aiming for public relations or journalism. This last week, Andrea and I were discussing it, and came up with some other options for me to do. I had been thinking to changing my major to something to do with computers such as web design or something like that because most things on computers come naturally to me, and I took several computer classes in high school and got A's in all of them. Andrea and I looked at the major list just for BYU, and a few other options came up. One I'm considering right now is to become a teacher, probably for junior high, or high school. If I did that, it would probably be for theater, music (band or orchestra), computers (any type of that class), or a science teacher. It's a bit all over the place for that one, but they seem interesting to me. I enjoy teaching and explaining things to people, so I think it would be a good option. Andrea suggested that I stick with counseling of some sort, probably in a school.
Anyway, I'd love some input on this topic. What do you think about those classes I'm thinking about? Is there any major you think I would be good at? Let me know.

Where is my hand?

And if you look to your left, you'll see the blog that has been ignored to to lack of time, motivation, and school starting....



I think it's becoming a tradition that I begin every blog that way these days. What can I say? Life has become especially hectic since school started. However, life is going good, so I can't complain. I'm really enjoying the classes that I'm taking; English, Math, Public Speaking, and Kempo (it's like Karate, but faster hits, just not as hard). It's definitely a bit easier than last semester. Things with Andrea also continue to go well. We decided that seeing each other only once a week on Saturdays was not enough, so now we've both been putting a lot of miles on our cars to see each other. It's okay though, it's worth it. :)



The past little while has been a little weird though, and that's what I wanted to talk about today. I've been running quite low on sleep, and it's been difficult. Now, on my mission, I got used to being exhausted all the time, and usually getting less than 8 hours of sleep per night. This being said, I've been pretty much okay with getting up early for school and work and such. However, in the last two weeks or so, I've been lucky to get more than 6 hours each night. Some of you may be used that, and it's no biggie, but I suppose my body doesn't agree with it that well. The first while wasn't too bad, but as the two weeks continued on, my mind began to go downhill quickly. I began to not act like myself all the time. I often was easily irritable, or I would zone out a ton. Several times I found myself so locked in a stare, that I wouldn't even realize that someone was talking to me. It was really weird, I haven't had this happen before. I was really starting to lose track of reality.

It got so bad that I found myself drifting off to sleep easily. Normally once I'm awake, I STAY awake until it's time for bed. With this, my mind got so bad that I started to say things that I don't even know why I said them. I'd look back and think, "Why'd I say that?".,..not in a regrettable tone, mind you, but more of sheer oddity and confusion to myself. My mind got to the state that I would start to remember things that didn't happen, and if they did happen, it must have done so in one of my dreams. I would start to get confused with which was a real memory, and which one was just a dream I've had.

Then last night, while I was with Andrea, I began to drift off to sleep, and I started to speak. However, it wasn't in a dream...it was out loud. "Do you know what's scary about Provo to Orem?" I asked as I jerked out of sleep. I immediately realized what I had said, and started to laugh at how weird it was, as Andrea was in a state of confusion. A short while later, it happened again, "Where is my hand?". Yeah, it was getting pretty bad.

SO....I decided that my mind needed to be fixed, so I slept for over ten hours last night, and woke up at 1:10 PM today, and I already felt much better. It was such a good sleep, that I had a dream within a dream, and I can remember it happening. For those of you who have seen the movie Inception, that was the first thing I thought of when I woke up. I had a dream that I was hanging around with some friends, then fell asleep watching TV and onto a remote, and I began to dream in the "second level" of dreaming about going to a bookstore to look at things. After a while that dream ended, and I woke up in the first dream with my side hurting from falling asleep on a remote. After a while, that dream ended too and I woke up for real, and saw how long I had been asleep. It was crazy.

Anyway, I'm in no means complaining at all about my lack of sleep. It was purely by choice, and I don't regret missing out on sleep at all. I just thought I would share my experience with you.

What about you guys? Any of you have any sleep deprived experiences? What about dreams within a dream experiences? Feel free to comment.

Again, sorry for the lack of posting.

22!!

Yeah, I think I'm overdue for a blog post yet again. I'm a bit worried that when school starts next week, I will only get one post a month in or something. That would be lame. Life has been going well this past week. I was able to go on a trip up to the Snake River in Wyoming with my singles ward to do some river rafting. It was good fun despite it being my 8th time going up to raft that river. We had some good times. (even though I was zip tied into my tent Friday morning and I had to bite through it because I REALLY had to go to the bathroom). I also had fun times yesterday at a party for my friend DJ, as he built a mud slide, and we had a good time on that. Today was good, as it was the day my family celebrated my birthday since I won't be around for the actual day. Andrea came down for the weekend, I got to speak in church on forgiveness, and my family came over for food and games in the evening.

Well it just turned midnight, so I'm officially 22 now. It's weird. 22 feels like an odd age to be. I'm now a year beyond the official "adult age", and all the birthdays from now on don't quite have that special meaning, or any significant ones that have a positive connotation. (30 and 40 are bad) This last year seems to have gone by super fast, but I feel like I've done a ton of stuff. So in this blog post, I thought I might reminisce on the past year, and go over things that happened to me, or that I've done.

When I turned 21 last year, I was still on my mission in Walsall, England, and serving with Elder Benson McKay. It was a good birthday, and I got a couple good parcels from home, which I thoroughly enjoyed. After being with Elder Mckay for a bit longer, there was another emergency transfer and I got Elder Spencer Wright, and I served with him until the end of my mission. It was good times.

I returned home from my mission on Nov. 25, and spent the next long while adjusting to normal life again. I worked to get my old job back, and also registered for my first semester of college at WSU. The following months in the spring went interestingly, but good. I came home with a broken foot, and once that healed, I had a concussion by crashing hardcore on my wooden floor. Putting my injuries aside, the semester of college moved on. I got my old job back at America First in February, and I'm still working there to this day. During that time I went on a few dates, but nothing especially came out of them in the end. I also found a couple new groups of friends that I met through old friends, and my social life began to flourish a bit more. Other than that, the time of that semester was pretty monotonous, and I was glad for it to end.

At the end of the semester, I moved up my hours at work, and took the summer off from school to prepare for the fall semester. It also gave me some time to think of what I wanted to do academically. I had previously been looking to go for a Psychology degree, but I have since changed my mind, and I'm now wanting to get a degree in Communications. With all of that, I looked for options to other schools I may attend. Right now it's looking like I'm going to move up to UVU next year, and try to move over to BYU in the years following that.

In all of that, I started to date a girl named Marlee, but that didn't work out in the end either, so after two weeks, I went back to single life. Soon after, my blog began here. :D I was able to go on a few good vacations to Louisiana and Snowbird, and I finished those up in the end of June. When those were done, I began to date Andrea, and we are still dating to this day. It's been really awesome. That's been the main highlight for July and also up to my birthday now.

So, it's been a fun past year, and I'm looking forward to the coming year as well. I plan to make it even more epic than the last. Let's see how it goes!

Adjusted?

You see? I'm doing a bit better here. More than one blog per week. I'm starting to get back into it here. I'm just sitting here on my bed, and the thought kept coming to do a blog, so here I am. Don't expect anything especially special here though. Probably just rambling mostly, but hey, it's fun for me to do either way.

Tonight I FINALLY organized my mission photos. I found out that the total pictures I had including small movies was 1,323! I didn't realize it was so many. I suppose that over the space of two years, with around 730 days, that means I took on average 2 per day, which isn't too bad. It was the first time since I've been home (almost 9 months now...Aaaahh!) that I've looked through all of them. I definitely had a good laugh, but I also found myself missing the mission terribly. It's days like today that I really wish that I could go back and keep serving. On the "mish", or all missions for that matter, the term "trunky" comes up. To be Trunky means you are looking forward to going home, and usually are missing a certain part when feeling the trunky emotion. The term comes from one being near or thinking of their trunk (or suitcase). Well, since I'm home already, I now change it, and say I'm feeling trunky for my mission. I had so many good times there. Taking those two years out of my life, and dedicating them to the Lord and spreading the Gospel full-time was the best decision I ever made. EVER. I don't regret it at all. I had a BLAST! Sure there were hard days, when no one would listen, I didn't get along with my companion, or I was feeling a bit homesick, but I feel like I grew so much out there and learned so much. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Today I was having a bit of a downer day, and not feeling so positive. Life had become stressful and difficult lately with all sorts of stuff (friend drama, apartment finding issues, etc), that it was starting to wear on me. In the evening, I was talking to Andrea, and we decided to show our mission pictures to each other tomorrow. So tonight I began to go through them and organize them for that first time, and I immediately began to feel better. It took a couple hours, but it was well worth it to go through those memories again. Now I'm feeling great and positive. =)

Anyway, those were just my thoughts for tonight. Am I adjusted? I think so. Do I still miss the mission? Absolutely.

Epic Fail Again...

What's happened here? I thought I used to be a daily blogger. Now I'm lucky to get one in once a week. I'm failing miserably here, and it's no bueno. I still have plenty to blog about, I just never get around to it. Boo on me.

Life is still going really well. I feel very positive about everything. My friends and I are really close to getting an apartment, I'm dating the most wonderful girl, and school will be starting soon. I also have a river trip coming up, which is exciting, and my birthday, which is a bit less exciting, since I'm getting old (yes, 22 feels old), but it should still be great. Other than that, life moves on. Oh! I'm also much much better. I'm no longer sick it seems. My throat is good, and I barely cough at all anymore. It's great.

Tonight I just wanted to mention a bit about my writing. I won't say too much. Even though I have this blog here, I still enjoy writing stories, and starting novels and such. It all started back my sophomore year in high school, when a friend approached me and asked me to write a random chapter for a book he was putting together. That chapter sparked a novel I began, and tried to write all the way through high school called "The War of the Elements". It was a basic fantasy story about some youth (based on high school friends) that go off and have an adventure. Sadly, it became too involved with my social life, and the story more or less got ruined. I guess it couldn't be helped, as I had never written anything quite so extensive in my life, and my writing was in much need of improving. I only got fourteen and a half chapters into it (each chapter being around ten to fifteen pages), but it got better as it got on, but still couldn't be saved. So I have since scratched it, and started over with a better storyline, no involvement of real life counterparts, and just generally better writing altogether.

Through high school, several other ideas cropped up that I tried to start. I had one that got three chapters in about marching band, and a secret war going on between rival bands (Davis and American Fork), but that one ended quickly as I ran out of ideas, and it was mostly ranting anyway about the rival band. That one was titled, "From the Eyes of a Band Member". Another that didn't get very far was called "Game", and was about virtual reality sparring games played by the whole world that are very realistic that involved medieval combat. Other ideas that never really got anywhere included one about an epilogue about the Matrix, or a romance story based on my high school girlfriend (yeah, it was lame, don't ask). I'm sure there were plenty of other ideas I played with, but none really came to fruition.

After high school I fell a bit out of practice, and didn't write too much for a while. One day, out of nowhere, I was in a writing mood, and remembered an idea I had for a story called "Erin", which was supposed to be a story about a girl with mental powers and how she went through life with them. This writing mood, however, came with a large sarcastic mood as well. I kept thinking about writing, and wanted to try "Erin", but it just wouldn't come. So, I just opened a blank Word document, and started writing. Then, "Brian" was born. Brian brought a whole new style of writing I hadn't done before, as I do the whole story in a first person perspective, as if HE is telling the story to you. The part I liked about it is his general sarcastic view on things, and he goes off on tangents all the time. I denied it for the first while, but Brian is loosely based on experiences I had in high school, and a general narration on them. I focused mainly on how ridiculous and/or dramatic they were, and make fun of them mostly. However, Brian is built with a twist that continues to build as I write it. I'm thinking of taking the story in two directions, and I very well may do that. We shall see. I've only gotten six chapters into his story, but my excuse is that to write him, it requires that I am in a certain mood that I've discovered cannot be duplicated or forced to come out. So it will take some time. I was actually surprised about his story, as it was pretty popular for some time, and my friends actually asked when I was going to write another chapter. This gave me a bit of hope for the future. Although I may not do it as a career, it will be fun to write on the side, and see where things go.

Other than that, the reason I'm talking about my writing today, is that I actually got into a "writing mood" this afternoon, and began another story. I've always been a fan of apocalyptic stories/movies, and wanted to write one, so I thought I'd start. I'm only three pages in, so we'll see how it goes.

I just really enjoy writing, as it helps let out frustration, or anything that I'm feeling at that particular moment, and I am free to express myself creatively as much as I want.

Anyway, I've probably bored you enough with talking about my writing. If you are curious at all, I'm more than happy to share ANY of my writing with anybody. I may be embarrassed with some of it, but I'll let you read if you ask. I still have it all saved since day one. Just ask, and I'll send it to you.

Feelin' pretty good....

Life has just gotten pretty awesome in the last couple days. There have been a bunch of ups and downs, but I've finished so far back again on the up end. My sickness is getting a bit better. My throat started to swell up something fierce Friday night and it was terribly painful, so on Saturday morning I demanded that we go somewhere where a doctor could see me. (when you get that sick, you get a bit grumpy). I had gotten up in the night with pain, and looked in the mirror to find my left tonsil inflamed, and my uvula 4 times it's size. (It was a sign...that I was sick) Thankfully, we saw a doctor, and I was told I had Strep Throat, although the test came back negative. The doctor said she was pretty sure, so I'm still not sure if I have it or not...Then I got the biggest shot I've ever had, and that was it. The throat problem continued on until this morning, and now it's feeling much better.


The rest of Saturday went really well. Not only did I have work off (and got paid for it :D), but I also was able to go on another really great date with Andrea. We were able to hop over to "A Little Taste of Britain", and eat some native food from our mission. It was close, but not quite the same, BUT the battered Mars bar at the end made up for it. After playing Quelf with my fam, we lit off some fireworks (legal ones...mostly....), and finished just talking on the porch swing. It was great. Now we're officially dating, and I'm really happy about it. :)



Several blogs ago, I talked about how facebook is taking over every ones lives, and the world as we know it. This time, I want to put a plug in about texting. First, I want to start with a confession. I am quite the texter. I text6,000 most of the time, and I enjoy doing it. To put it clearly, in the month of June alone, the total sent and received texts from my phone were over 6,000. It's sad, I know...

So I decided (with help) to throw in some pros and cons here of texting.



Let's start with the cons.

Firstly, texting takes away personality from a conversation (minus the emoticons, but still). It can often be difficult to tell the tone that a person is presenting in those words. (much like a letter). There is also no body language involved, minus your fingers, but...they can't see those either. Also, texting takes you away from the world. It is very distracting, and you are paying more attention to your phone, than you are to what is going on around you (especially driving). When that beep goes off, a lot of people immediately drop whatever they are doing, and look at the phone. (like in a doctors office, classroom, work, family dinner, etc) Speaking of beeping, to other people, it can get incredibly annoying to hear it go off over and over and over (hence why they invented the vibrate feature). It also creates a laziness in language, and even is causing it to break down. Words and acronyms like LOL, ROFL, G2G, and TTYL didn't exist before this. Even in texting people abbreviate so much to the point of ridiculousness. "Hey bro, Hws it goin? Were gng to Jims hse l8tr. Cya!"....serious? Texting affects the educational world as well. Several students use the discreetness of their phone, to allow them to cheat, or again, distract them from the lesson. Also, combining with the language degradation, it has been causing writing abilities to go down significantly. (http://www.techlearning.com/)



Leaving the cons aside, there are also several benefits from being able to text.

Being discreet is also a positive part of texting. You can quietly have a conversation with someone without interrupting something else (as long as it is in an appropriate place. Texting also helps you get to the point a lot quicker than normal conversations. Instead of a whole build up to something, you can take off a small piece, and send it to someone, and you'll have your answer quicker. Texting also helps save the awkwardness of the ending of some conversations. In fact, you don't always have to end a conversation with someone while texting, it's almost like a continuous thing going. You can also have conversations with someone throughout the day, and still do the things would normally be doing. For me, I enjoy texting for that reason. I like to keep up to date with my friends and such, without having to interrupt anything, and they can text me back when it's convenient.



Anyway, that's all I have for now. What do you think? Are there any pros or cons that I missed. Feel free to comment!

Finally....Drugs!!

You know you haven't blogged in a while when Blogger stops automatically signing you in, and you have to do it again. (man, those 5 seconds lost that I'll never get back....) As to the title here, I am still finding myself sick, contrary to what the doctor predicted, SO...he ordered me in a prescription today, and hopefully now my recovery will quicken. Thankfully...it's still just a cough. But you have NO IDEA how annoying it is. Some mornings it will seems like I'm all better, then around ten it comes back, almost like that annoying person that never seems to go away. No matter how far you try to separate yourself from them, they come back. And let me tell you, Bronchitis is a masterful hunter. Humperdinc would be most jealous (Princess Bride reference if you didn't get it...I'm not really sure how do spell his name). It gets embarrassing sometimes, I'll be in the middle of a conversation, and then right at an important part, the cough will come. The thing is, it doesn't leave me woozy either. I have a really bad coughing fit, so much that people will beginning to look at me, then I'll stop and look like nothing had happened. It's weird....

ANYWAY, on to the topic of tonight. I want to share with you my Most Embarrassing Moment. It still embarrasses me to this day a bit, although I can laugh about it, but I figure, the more I share it, the less embarrassed I will feel about it. It all starts back in band camp my sophomore year. Yes, I was in marching band. *sigh* Now I need to defend that fact that I'm not a nerd again. SO, most high schools generally feel that people in the marching band are "band geeks", and to be fair, they are mostly right. EXCEPT...for Davis High School. In Davis, it's actually a really cool thing to be in the marching band. I think the saying went, "if you weren't in the marching band, you were friends with someone who was. We had up to 300 members at a time. Even some of the SBO's were in the marching band. Also, Kaysville, the city of the Darts, LOVED the marching band. There were so many supporters at our competitions (especially Davis Cup) and parades and such, it was unbelievable. So my point is, Davis High Marching Band: cool people.

ANYWAY...(again), on the Thursday of band camp we usually make a trip to Delta to go swimming in the public pool. It's AMAZINGLY refreshing after many hot days in the sun, especially when it's your first year. The pool is pretty large, and we have all sorts of traditions there, like making huge waves, or whirlpools. It also has two diving boards, a high and low one. I prefer the high dive to the other one, so I spent most of my time on that. (Also, I want to add that I was 50 pounds skinnier then) That year I was sporting a swimsuit that only tied up in the front, and wasn't too tight around my waist. (can you already see where this is going?) After several jumps, I thought I should go for a straight dive in the water. I lined myself up, jumped, went vertical, and went straight down into the water with a lot of force. I got to the bottom of the pool, and had the strangest sensation, like I was missing something. I looked up, and there, floating above my head, was my swimsuit. (dun dun dun) I hastily grabbed it and put it on. After that, I hesitantly came to the surface of the pool, hoping no one had noticed, but from some of the stares and smiles, I knew I hadn't gotten away with it. I was embarrassed beyond all belief. Long story short, I was pretty quiet the rest of the pool visit, and I had a lot of looks the rest of the time swimming.
So yes, that was my most embarrassing moment. I hope you got a good laugh at it. That's it for now. I hope to post again soon.

5 Second Games

Perhaps I have become the "blog every other day" type....I enjoy blogging. I really do, but since I've been ill, the desire to blog at night has decreased significantly. The doctor said I should be better in a week or two, and that was last monday, so here's hoping. Yesterday wasn't so bad, but today my cough wanted some attention, so it made itself noticeable.
Yesterday was very enjoyable though. Not only was I feeling a bit better, but I got to go up to Wyoming again to meet more of Andrea's family. It was really interesting to meet them, because I was strangely reminded of my own family in the way they made sarcastic remarks, and bantered all of the time. It made me feel a bit more comfortable in that respect.
One of the better parts was going outside and playing games with her nephews. We ranged from baseball, to hide and seek, to golfing, and we finished with a game of 500. With the baseball game, the rules can be quite interesting when you play with young children, especially with where the bases are. They would hit the ball (it was plastic) and run to a random place. I was so confused that I was unable to get them out. Even after over 10 years of baseball experience, I was owned by two young boys. Next came the game of hide and seek. Now, nothing against Andrea's family or where they chose to live, but there wasn't really any places in their open backyard to hide. I think we found a total of 4 or 5. With four of us playing, they were used up pretty quick. BUT, we played several times, so we had to get a bit creative. I ended up hiding behind her dad once, and another time I cheated and sneaked through the fence, and hid in the front yard for a while. The other games were equally fun. Sometimes her nephews would forget that they were playing one game, and start another before the other had finished (like the time I hid behind her dad...), and we would switch games every few minutes. It was a blast.
Also, how could one forget finishing with a few roasted marshmallows and some fireworks. Not to mention their family friend playing around with black powder on the fire, and almost losing his eyebrows. :D
Anyway, just thought I'd share that fun day with you. There were a lot of other things that went on (like Beyond Balderdash!!!), but those were a highlight. I really enjoyed myself.

Spiderman, My Friend

Bleh, I just want to say that today took forever. I had another early morning meeting at 8AM, and worked until 615PM. It was a bit crazy at work too because they had me doing everything. I worked at my desk, then covered the receptionist desk while she was at lunch, then worked as a temporary teller on the teller line, etc etc etc. (I'm like a swiss army knife I swear) It just made the day interesting. The good part is it finished with a fun trip to a friends house to go swimming. I was also grateful because I didn't cough as much then, probably due to the water, and more importantly the steam from the hot tub.

Anyway, I've had more than one request to talk about my obsession with Spiderman, so I'll give it a go here. A long time ago in my younger years, I remember watching television with my brother, and a television show came on that was called Spiderman. (it was the newer one where Peter Parker narrates his life) This was my first introduction to the super hero. It sparked my interest, but not much came of it then. My favorite super hero ranged through the years for me from the Power Rangers, to the X-Men. Then one bright sunny day in the evening (yeah...huh?) my brother and I decided to go to the movie theatre to go see a movie that had come out that was also called Spiderman. We saw it in the Kaysville theatre so it had been out for a while, and was probably close to coming out on video/dvd. I was instantly mesmorized and enthralled. I LOVED THAT MOVIE!! It was great. The next movie came out in 2004, and I waited in line for over 11 hours to see the premiere. The third movie came out, and I waited in line for over a day to see it. I even had a Spiderman mask, web shooters, etc. It was amazing! Those movies, well, more specifically Spiderman 2, tie for first on my favorite movie list.

The reason I like those movies so much is that I feel that I can relate to Peter Parker in some ways. Not that I have super powers or anything, just some of the situations he's been in that I feel I have experienced....somewhat...in a different sort of way. It's hard to explain. I also like Spiderman a lot because I feel he is a bit more human-like that some other heroes in the sense that he deals with a more normal life. He's not a billionaire or somthing unrealistic (yes, I know spider powers aren't realistic either, but you are missing the point). He has to deal with a girlfriend (or love interest), getting and keeping a job, and making his way through school, all while dealing with a friend whose trust has been betrayed. You really start to feel bad for the guy in the end.

Now, I know Spiderman probably would lose in a fight against some other heroes/super powered guys (Superman, Darth Vader, Voldemort, etc), but that doesn't make him any less cool in his world. He's a nerd, yes, but "nerds are cool" -Andrea. I just want to say that I think Spiderman is awesome, and I am not ashamed to say that. Plus, there are some good thoughtful lines from the movies.

"With great power, comes great responsibility..." -Ben Parker

"Knowledge is a gift to be used for the good of mankind." -Otto Octavius (Doc Oc)

There are plenty others, but I've run out of time to blog.

So yes, Spiderman is my favorite hero out of all the rest. William Wallace comes in a close second.

I'm back!!

Man, what a slacker I am. It's been almost a week since I've put a blog post up. However, I'm am fully prepared with a legitimate excuse which I hope those of you who had been asking why I hadn't put one up in a while will understand. (wow, that was a long sentance...)

I've been pretty sick with Bronchitis. It's super lame. It's given me plenty of annoying symptoms, and I have a few others that don't come with it, yet I'm guessing are related. The two biggest are that I have this really bad dry cough in my lower throat that won't go away (hence the annoyance) and it helps maintain this six day migraine that I've had that ALSO won't go away. Other syptoms include morning dizzyness, upset stomach (well, more just like a weird feeling, not to the point of blowing chunks), no appetite (I've lost 9 pounds!! Woo!!), body aches, general constant exhaustion, and the inability to sleep. Yeah...it sucks. We didn't even know what it was until we finally went to the doctor yesterday and he told us. Our ideas before ranged from as little as a cold to as far reaching as the swine flu and male menopause (THANK GOODNESS!!). The trip to the doctor was very interesting too. On my way there, I discovered that chewing gum was more effective at supressing my cough than the cough drops were. Go figure....Also, I was surprised to find that I had a fever of 101. I thought I had a long enough list of symptoms already to make some people think I was making it up or somthing, then I get there and they add two or three more! Weird...

The down side is that unless it gets worse in the next week, I don't get any medicine, the doctor just told me to trust in my immune system....*sigh* So now I just take two Extra Strength Excedrine Migraine and a Melatonin (it's a natural herb that helps you sleep) before bed, and that usually works. The whole day is like a roller coaster though. My symptoms come and go as they please, and I never know which one is going to stop by for a visit. (you'd think they'd give a bit of a notice or something. How rude....)

So here's hoping that I get better soon. I didn't mean this blog to be one generally for complaining, it's just fun to see what I was going through on paper (electronic paper, that is...), and to basically get caught up on everything. I should have a topic going tomorrow.

Also, in my absence from my blog, I've been able to formulate some good ideas for future blogs. Such ideas include "Spiderman, My Hero", "Like? or Lust?", "Drama, Is it REALLY Necessary?", "My Most Embarassing Moment". So here's to hoping that they actually get posted.

Fail...

So I forgot yet again to do a blog post yesterday. I think I might give up the goal to blog everyday. I think I'll change it to "Blog everyday I can, and every day that I'm not completely tired." How does that sound? Good? Good.

Unfortunately, tonight is another one of those nights. I'm EXHAUSTED!!....and I don't know why. I worked from 845 to 615 today, just like a normal day at work. However, we were UNBEARABLY slow. (think I can CAPS enough words?) So you'd think that I'd have a bit more energy....but no, I don't. It's reallly weird. It's like my body is asleep, but my mind is awake. It doesn't really make sense to me. Maybe a doctor would be able to figure out. Perhaps it's those hot dogs in BBQ sauce my brother gave me last night that tasted a little funky. Who knows?
Anyway, I was planning on doing a blog about Spiderman, but I suppose that will have to wait. Perhaps tomorrow I will....if I'm not exhausted again. My stamina has been a little wacky these days. I'm tired a lot, have a few more headaches than usual, AND I'm thirsty all of the time. What does this mean? I dunno, but I think I'll go to sleep now. (Maybe those voodoo spirits will help me out...)

I remember....

Today was especially good. (like salted pork....If you don't get that reference, I'll understand) I was able to go to lunch with a dear friend of mine. As a quick background story, we met years and years ago while at a birthday party for another friend, and everyone was downstairs. She came late because of a driving exam thingy, and rushed down the stairs and (I don't know why I was in this exact location) slammed open the door, crushing me behind it. That's how my friendship with Lindsie began. She stuck around with me through a really bad break up with a mutual friend of ours, and we enjoy good times together still. It's just great to have a friend to be completely open with and let everything out that's been on your mind without fear of judgement. Even though we only get to see each other about once a month these days due to one reason or another, it's still great to see her. We had a good time. :D

I only got one comment requesting a topic on my last post (I'll still accept requests on something you want me to blog on, just drop a comment by on any post, and I'll see what I can do) and it was asking about my very earliest memory. It's a little hazy, but here goes.

The farthest back I can remember is when I was four years old. I can't get and further back than that. I'm sure in the next life it will be fun to see what went on before that, and what kind of young baby I was. (my mum says I just threw up a lot, go figure) If I recall correctly, it is of me and my mum driving in a car in north Kaysville up to take me to preschool. I remember the colour of the seats were grey, and I couldn't see above the dash very well. I also remember looking to my right and seeing a tree. The preschool I went to was in a blue building, that looked more like a storage place. It was in this plot that didn't have much in it other than long dead grass, and a few trees here and there. Thinking about it now, it seemed a little dreary, but at that age I didn't mind. The playground was just a simple metal swingset, and a small wooden teeter-totter. I especially liked my first day of class because there were these small blue platform things on wheels (only about a square foot big) that we would lay on our stomachs, and push ourselves around with our feet. That's all I can really remember. All other memories come after that, but none other after that day. I hope that answers your request. (any others?)

"I'm going to make the sound of an elephant!" "QUACK!!"

Ah yes, tonight was an excellent night, which finished off with a bunch of clips from the show "Who's Line Is It Anyway" that I watched with some friends. We mostly watched a part called Sound Effects, where audience members do the SFX for the two actors (Ryan and Collin). It was HILARIOUS!! My stomach and cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. I love it.

Unfortunately for tonight, I'm not feeling especially in a bloggy mood. (there goes that word again....is it a real word? Hmm....

I keep having these great ideas for blogs I want to do on certain topics (these all come during the day) but when I get to my computer to write, I don't feel up to writing a long, drawn out thing about them. I mean, yes, I'm sure I could do a short little blip about them, but if it's an especially good topic, I'd feel unsatisfied unless I wrote about it to the full potential in my mind (which, sadly, is only a few paragraphs). However, I'm especially fond of requests. If any of you who end up reading this, (and I'm really not sure who does these days) would like me to talk about a certain topic and my feelings on it, feel free to ask. I'll try to do my best. If it's something I can't talk a lot about, or there isn't much for me to say about it, I'll let you know. BUT, ask away. :D

Attitude is EVERYTHING!!

Today was a weird day. 'Nuff said.



I have had the opportunities throughout the years to counsel my friends through thick and thin. At some times, I wonder if my secret calling is the psychologist of my different groups of friends. It's interesting...Don't get me wrong though, it's not like I'm upset by it. I find myself being grateful that they consider me a good enough friend to confide in, or come to with their problems. Now I don't by any means consider myself and expert at all when it comes to advice, or on any of the topics that they bring me. All I can do is give them my honest opinion, and share any advice I have. After that I try to stick by them and try to keep them happy. I just quickly wanted to expound on one of the biggest pieces of advice that I follow, and encourage them to do the same. It's two principles I learned before my mission, yet were reinforced a lot while I was out serving for two years.

It's the principles of attitude and desire. These two things fuel most of what we do. If we have a strong enough desire for something, or for something to happen, it causes us to act, to move, and to do what needs to be done in order to obtain our desires. If something happens to us, whether good or bad or whatever, our attitude determines how we respond, or go about it. When we can get these two principles in order, life will go well.

Everytime a friend tells me they are angry at what someone did, I ask them who made them angry. The reply is always that the other party caused it. In reality, it is only us who chooses our attitudes and emotions. You've heard it before, but the only person who can make you happy, mad, sad, etc, is YOU. You choose how to react in a situation, not anybody else.

When a friend tells me that life isn't going well, I ask them why, and what they are doing about it. Usually the answer can be "I don't know", (which means, "I don't care" or "I haven't thought about it". -P. Moffat) or a long list of things comes out of how everything has gone wrong for them lately, or one thing or another. Most of the time, they aren't doing much to fix it. This is where desire comes in. If their desire was strong enough for their life to get better, they would do something about it. No matter how many times they tell me that they do want it to get better, I always remind them of that.

True desire fuels action, and most of what we get in life is the result of our desires. Of course, things do happen that we didn't plan for, and they weren't our desires. That's when attitude comes in, and we choose how we deal and react to it.

These are just my thoughts, I could keep expouding on them, but I'd start to repeat myself, so I'll end here.

"Can she get a sample of that one?"

Epic win. (I'll spare you the details. She's already upset with me about it as it is...)

I just got back from Provo, and yet another awesome date with this girl. (the one that is upset with me for winning the competition) It was our second date, and things are looking good (or at least I hope they are). We definitely had a good time.

Tonight I'm blogging about freedom, and how great America is seeing as it's that time of the year, and this blog will be posted throught the 4th of July. Isn't it great that we (all the Americans that read this) live in such a great country that affords us so many great blessings and opportunities? We get so much here that most countries don't have. It seems like too many people like to point out how many things are going wrong here, and fail to notice how good we really have it. Everyone like to point fingers at any of the presidents we have while we have them, or at congress, or the government, etc. Now, I don't mean to excuse whenever they do something wrong, but people should be grateful that at least they have a decent government. Our ancestors FOUGHT so we can have the country that we have now. The Revolutionary War, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, and many other wars were fought to protect the freedoms we enjoy, and provide freedom for others. This is the "land of the free", the "home of the brave". OUR FREE COUNTRY!! And now, just like every year before, we get to celebrate that we have it. I for one, LOVE America, and LOVE the message that it gives the world. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

P.S. ..."One Nation, Under GOD..."

PONY! PONY! PONY!

If you are already looking at me funny due to my title, I'll explain. Acutally...now you are probably giving even weirder looks because you can't actually LOOK at me, seeing as this is a blog post, and you are reading it after the fact. Not to mention that it still wouldn't be me anyway, since it's a webpage, but anyway....

Today at work I had to help a member who had some serious issues, and the whole ordeal took almost an hour. We were originally trying to get her and her sister a joint account together, but she had a bad past with America First and caused it losses, so we spent forever trying to resolve it, and a million other things she had to do, and in the end, they decided to give up and not open the account anymore, so yeah...BUT at the end of the day, one of the loan officers sitting behind me starting singing Lady Gaga, and her and all the other peoples on the loan side surrounded me (five people) and started chanting "Pony! Pony! Pony!" and presented me with this small, pink toy pony that you'd probably get in a McDonalds Happy Meal, and informed me that it is passed around the loan side to those who did the most member service for the day, or had a hard member to deal with. It was pretty epic...odd, but epic. They all cheered and had big grins on their faces. Not knowing how to react to such an odd situation, I decided to smile back, and pump the toy pony in the air and celebrate too. So now anyone who comes to my desk to open a new account, gets to see this pony with a toy comb in its' hair.



Anyway, that's all I'm really in the mood for blogging about today. It's late, and I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow; work, family get together, and a date. It's going to be great. So yes, I'll try to be a bit more bloggy another time. (bloggy?)





P.S. God Bless America

Pokemon and Cami

What a day...I am EXHAUSTED!! I feel kind of bad for not putting a blog post up last night, but I got home late from wasting my time at the Last Airbender premiere. (super lame, I don't recommend it...at all) I only got around 4 hours of sleep, and I worked all day. It's been a bit crazy. I'm surprised I'm still awake at all now.

With the lack of an idea for my blog tonight, (again, probably due to my brain not functioning correctly in my current state) I resorted to outside sources for an idea to blog about. I was told to blog about Pokemon, and my good friend Cami.

Pokemon....the long, drawn out fad that seems to never die. I remember when it came out while I was in elementary school. It was the coolest thing ever at the time. Everyone started collecting the cards, and not a single episode on saturday cartoons was missed. Soon my friends and I would pretend we were Pokemon trainers, or just the pokemon themselves. Then we would right songs about them. (don't laugh, you know you did it too) Eventually, everything that we could find that involved it, we collected, bought, and traded for other stuff our friends had. I dare say it was the biggest fad of my generation. (beyond yo yo's, skateboards, and pogs) It pretty much ran our lives. Then the video games came out, and that reinforced everything again. (or was it vis versa? and the video games were first....I honestly can't remember) I'll never forget the day that Pokemon cards were banned at my elementary school. We were DEVASTATED!! No more "battling" at recess...no more gawking at other kids cards...how would we survive?? Well somehow we did...and the fad still didn't die. Then came the knock off shows that tried to make money off of the fad; Digimon, Monster Rancher, etc. Those caught on for a bit...then died too. Yet as my interest faded in the show, and soon the games, it still seems to stick around. This young boy that goes out into the world and tries to catch these creatures so he can use them to fight someone elses' creatures. They also never seem to stop finding new ones too. First it was 150, then another 100, then another...and another. It's getting ridiculous...(as if it wasn't enough in the first place.

I think it's well beyond the point, sort of like Power Rangers. The first set of them growing up were AWESOME! (for my age I mean) But those kept going on, and on, and on into oblivion as well. Has creativity been left by the wayside when it comes to childrens television? (I say yes, due to the fact that they made a show about Piniatas that are alive and have adventures....) Now were several years down the road, and it's still around and children are still eating it up. I mean I'm sure it's good business to keep something going that is still working, but the same thing happens every episode I swear! First we join the trainers as they go on their adventure, then they meet some person they become friends with for that episode only, then they meet a new Pokemon, then Team Rocket tries to steal it, then they get defeated, and the episode ends with the new friend thanking the trainers as they leave. The End. It's ridiculous. But oh well....

Cami Cami Cami.........Cami happens to be a Sister Missionary that I met on my mission while serving in England. She was a very dedicated missionary in spreading the Gospel to others despite having the occasional trouble with her leaders and her getting along (gotta love that CSP....I'm joking.....sort of). Cami also flew home from the mission with my group of missionaries, and we sat together on the plane. She was quite disappointed with me when I watched the movies on the flight home. Her and I ran into each other again in a random trip of mine down to Las Vegas. She prefers that I call her Sister Russell, like she was in the mission, but not everyone can get their way :P and I'm sure she will live. She also happened to train another Sister Missionary, Sister Andrea Winn, who happens to be the person who suggested the two topics for tonights blog. (coincidence....) They served in the same area as me for a time while I was in Birmingham. Really though, Cami is a cool person, and fun to get along with.

That's all for tonight I guess. I apologize for the randomness. You can blame Andrea for that one....ha ha!

P.S. Why shouldn't you take a Pokemon in the bathroom? Because it might Pikachu!!

P.S.S. How do you get Pikachu on a train? You Pokemon!!

It's a brave new world...

For some reason tonight, as I was driving home, that line popped in my head, and I thought, "Hmm...I should make that the title of my blog...even though it doesn't make any sense at all...". So there it is, a line from one of my favorite TV shows, Heroes.

Today, since I'm tired, my blog will be short, but to the point. (I seem to say this every night...and I usually make them long instead, but at least I can say that my intentions were there...) I just want to make a shout out to the two best book series of all time, (If you dared think of Twilight when I said that....) The Belgariad, and the Mallorean, both written by David Eddings.

If you haven't heard of these, let me fill you in on a few details. They are both 5 book series (so 10 total) written about the same characters, following the same timeline, just two quests that they do. There are also 3 books that follow after them which are also the same storyline. Yes, they fall in the fantasy genre, but it's so much more than that. There is some amazing character development, and you really begin to love the characters in the story. It has suspense, thrill, humor (you will literally laugh out loud several times while reading each book, especially when it involves a character named Silk) and many other elements to get you involved and loving the books.

I don't want to give you a plot description, because I don't want to give anything away, and if I give just a small detail, it could give away a lot when you read them. (that's how good they are) Very vaguely, they follow the boy, Garion, as he grows up and goes through life and has many adventures as he figures out the mystery of who he is, and what he is meant for. They are based soley in a Dark Ages time (with kings, castles, magic, wars, etc).

I know of several articles published about them in reading magazines, newspapers and such that praise these books. I believe one said, "The Belgariad is one of the most UNDERAPPRECIATED book series of our time...". That's one of the problems, you won't find them advertised anywhere. For that, I'm not really sure why, because I know of many MANY people who read them. Perhaps they are so good, that advertisements are not necessary.

Let's pull a few quotes from various sites on the internet to further my point.

"The Belgariad series is by far the best ever written. Eddings' style appeals to the senses as well as the mind. If you enjoy any type of fantasy reading, this is a series you can't pass up." -Teenink.com

"I found each book held my attention...I never lost interest, the pages were easy to turn, and I would willingly read it again." -Evelyn Keys, Suite101.com

"David Eddings' Belgariad is an incredible, five book epic series...Eddings writing style is engaging and full of dry wit...These are the sort of books where you'll find yourself having to stop as you read to to read paragraphs aloud to people so they can also appreciate Eddings' sly humor. And once you start reading, you'll find that you don't want to stop." -Laurie Thayer, Assistant Book Editor, Rambles.net

The praise goes on and on. You'll be lucky to find a bad review anywhere on these books. My family loves them so much, that we all read the series at least once per year. (not all at the same time of course) SO, if you like to read, or are looking for something to read, check them out.(you should just check them out regardless) The first book is called "Pawn Of Prophecy". It's about 300 pages, and can be found at most book stores. (Barnes and Noble is your best bet)

Also, if you've read them already, please post comments on what you thought here as you also know how great they are to help further the point.

P.S. No seriously, go find those books and start reading. You won't reget it.

Success!!

Today was a thrilling day. After many weeks of training and preparation, I opened a new account today at my desk, all by myself. (it sounds lame, I know, but trust me, it's not as easy as it sounds) I was quite pleased. I'm still rusty about it, but I'll get there in the end.

I'm feeling kind of dumb at the moment too. I just barely found the spell check thingy for this....

I honestly don't know what I want to blog about tonight. It must be one of those nights I suppose. (then again, it's also 2AM again...I'm officially naming it "Blogging Time") I just know that if I start typing without thinking, that a lot of weird thoughts are going to come out, and it's going to be horribly disorganized.

Let's see....thoughts thoughts thoughts. AH! I have one! Let's talk about Facebook.

Now this one is hard to blog about, because I'm part of the problem as well, but I'm going to do it anyway. Have any of you noticed how much Facebook (or Twitter, or MySpace, or whatever it is, I'll just use Facebook in this context, but I mean them all really...) is taking over the world? It's seriously like the new villian that a superhero is going to have to face or something. EVERYONE seems to be on it, and it's taking over their lives. (yes, you already know I'm on it as well) Some people spend HOURS on it! The media isn't helping either, nowdays you see ads about ANYTHING, and right at the end of the add you hear, "follow this product on Facebook". Even one of my favorite comedians, Stephen Colbert, spent almost ten minutes on one of his show once talking about how he was "Tweeting" something he wanted everyone to look at. I felt so betrayed. Now most phones have applications specifically for these sites (or just phone built just to use social networking sites). All websites now seem to have this bar that allows you to follow their website on all social networking sites. Even in the news now, they have comments that they put on from people "posting" about what they thought of a particular story.



Pretty soon the CEO of Facebook is going to be put in the oval office, and no one will notice the difference......(I bet Obama has a Facebook page that no one knows about....)


I seriously think everyone needs to give it a BREAK, slow down a bit, and stop letting it take over their lives. I didn't think it was THAT bad when I left on my mission, but when I got home, and older people began to use it (over 35), younger people began to use it (under 12), animals began to use it (like dogs), and even INANIMATE OBJECTS have started to use it (I'm currently a friend with "Nick's Bed").
Seriously, it's out of control. If you honestly take a step back and look at it, you'll see it.

But what do you think? What are your thoughts about social networking taking over the world? Feel free to comment and let me know! (I'm ending sooner than expected, but I'm falling asleep)


P.S. Just when the world thought it was safe...a new evil appeared....



P.S.S And before you say it, I don't consider my Blog to be part of thise evil. I do it because I like to write, and express my thoughts. In an odd sense, it's like I'm writing for a newspaper. This site just happens to be one that allows me to publish online.

TURTLE!!!

I'm quite happy now. After looking through some of my friends blogs, I noticed that they had this "Playlist" thingy that would cause their page to have music. After much searching, and many trial and errors, I was able to figure it out, and get it on my page. (No, I couldn't call or text anyone to ask...it was too late at night....again)

Today went pretty well. I took another trip in my car down in a southern direction for a homecoming of a sister from my mission. It was so cool to hear her speak in church, especially because she used a lot of lingo from the mission that I had forgotten about! ("flogged" was my favorite) Other than that is was the wonderfuly pork roast dinner that my dad makes, followed by a movie night. (We watched "9". I recommend it, although it's a Tim Burton film, so be prepared)

I'm not planning on making this a long blog tonight. I really need to get some sleep, and it's hard to focus tonight. (this seems to keep happening...) I'll start with a definition from Dictionary.com;

Awkward: Lacking skill or dexterity; clumsy, lacking social grace or manners, requiring caution; somewhat hazardous; dangerous, embarassing or inconvenient; caused by lack of social grace, marked by or causing embarassment or discomfort.

I felt inspired by a good friend of mine to write the blog today about this. (I don't have a lot to say about it though.) Awkward moments happen a lot to us in our lives. It's inevitable, it's going to happen. (especially if your name begins with A-N-D-R-E...:P) For me it's usually when somebody does something that makes me uncomfortable whether it's something they say, or something they start doing around me or to me. (Like slapping my butt and saying "good game". You know who you are....-_-) On my mission, when an awkward moment would happen, (which it tends to happen a lot in the field, especially on doors) as my companion and I would walk away from it, we would make the sign of the "Awkward Turtle" with our hands (as can be seen in the above picture). For example, the other night I was with some friends in an apartment that our other friend was living in (Yes, I'm being vague on purpose) but that friend wasn't there, and it was just us four there alone talking. Well, the roommates showed up while we were, and our conversation quickly ended as it was blatently obvious that they didn't want us there. One of them even had these crazy eyes as she walked around the kitchen. They informed us that they were about to start watching a movie, but warned us because it was rated R. After they told us that, they just...looked at us. So...we left the apartment pretty quick. I made sure to make the "Awkward Turtle" sign as it was neccessary. (when we got outside, they locked the door...I think we weren't wanted or something...)

Anyway, my general feeling on awkward situations are that they are only as awkward as you make them. If something awkward happens, and everyone just sits there in silence and shock, that's PROBABLY going to make it more awkward. (Think I'm using "awkward" enough here?) However, if someone laughs, or breaks the silence humorously, the awkwardness is bound to leave sooner. One of the main awkward times seems to be on dates. There's always got to be SOMETHING that happens and makes the other uncomfortable. (like when your date plucks a piece of hair out of your head and eats it, then proceeds to say "there, now you will be a part of me forever...".............no joke, it happened to me. I'm sorry, but no laughter would have saved that moment from being awkward. I call it an exception) Usually it's both parties not really knowing each other well, or one of them likes the other, but isn't sure how the other feels, and they don't know what to do, etc etc. As for me, since I've been home from my mish, it's been my goal to try to prevent every date I go on from being uncomfortable and awkward. The best way that works for me is to have the attitude of "I'm going to relax and have fun on this date.". If I can keep that in mind, things usually go well. Dates are supposed to be fun anyway, (it's not like you're going out to take a final or something) and should be pushed towards that direction as much as possible.

Of course, as I mentioned before, not every situation can be saved from it's awkwardness, BUT...a lot of them can. It's all about attitude. Another way, just laugh at it. It helpes even more because most laughs are catchy, and when you attitude about it is right, it will be easier to and it will be a real (not one of those fake awkward laughs, that only continue to hinder the situation further).

P.s. Awkward number count: At least 14...(I skimmed pretty quick, so I could have missed some)