Where have I been?

Well I'll tell you...I've been in school!! Yes yes, school is my life once again and this semester has already been a trek. Just a week or so ago I studied non stop for an American National Government exam. It was one of those where the professor gave us four questions to study, then on the day of the exam he'd pick two and we had to write a 2 page essay for each. Yeah...it was a little crazy. Fortunately, I aced it, and I feel really good about it. Goes to show that studying pays off. I'm also working on a research paper that is basically my whole grade for English, so that is fun also...but not really.
Other than that, life goes on. A couple weeks ago I started at a new branch for my work. I'm a loan interviewer yet again!! Hooray! I definitely like this job a lot more than being a teller. The great part is this time around I'm actually doing mostly loans, instead of last time where I only did new accounts. It's also good because I know what I'm doing better this time around, so I'm a lot more confident in my job. Also...I have THE MOST COMFORTABLE CHAIR!! Yeah, it's epic. I love sitting at my desk.
Anyway, just a small update. I don't really have anything specific I wanted to talk about. Just letting you know I'm still alive here.

P.S. I'm totally being a zombie for halloween!

The Hard Thing About Blogging Is...

So I swear I haven't been avoiding this blog for the last month. In fact I return to it quite frequently. But I'll get to that in a bit. Life goes on at the moment. School started up again for me last week and I'm going into what may possibly be the most boring semester ever. Understanding Technology, English, and American National Government. Hooray for generals....all of them are mostly lecture only and a lot of reading outside of class. I really hope I can get into some of my Major based classes next semester and save myself from further boredom.

Anyway, back to talking about blogging. So yes, at least twice a week I log onto my blog with the hopes to blog about something. However each time I get to the point of writing something I decide not to. Here's the problem; the things I want to write about are things going on in my life or a commentary about someones actions to me or someone else. There are things I want to say about people that would probably come back and kick me in the butt later and I'll be in trouble.

I want to be able to say, "Hey this happened to me and it sucked..." or "this girl did this or that, or treated me badly, or snubbed me, or rejected me, and I think it's lame because..." or "Don't you hate it when someone does something like my friend here...". Stuff like that. I can't. People will get offended. I want to openly ask the people that read this for advice or what they think on thing that happen to be, but it would create more problems if I do.

It's such a temptation to create a whole new blog under a fake name and background and change peoples names and then write about what happened. I could then write about what's REALLY going on in my life, what's REALLY bothering me, and what I deal with day to day. The problem with that is no one I know will read it because they won't know the blog exists, or if they did find it and if they knew me well enough, they could probably connect the dots and know it was me. Then they'd know a lot I bet.

Anyway, yeah, there isn't really a good solution. So just know that even though there aren't a lot of blog posts put up, the thought is still there. It just takes a bit more to come up with something that isn't quite as problem causing.

Can I trust you?

Well the response to my last blog was really interesting. Most of the reception was relayed to me by other means than commenting at the bottom of the post. Who knew creating a (incomplete) list of what I would like in a girl (other than organs) would create quite a stir? Such responses included laughter, saying it was like what little Beehive girls do when they are 12, disagreement (especially on my opinions on physical attraction), support, saying that the list was too general, or just the general "rolling of the eyes" attitude. I'm not quite sure how to respond to it all. I thought it was a good list...

Now that I've posted the list I have been pondering about other things that I could put on it. I'm repeating myself when I say it wasn't a complete list of what I'm looking for. It was just a general summary of things. Anyway, one that came to mind this last week is especially sticking out and I'm surprised that it didn't make it on there.

Ever since a bad long-term relationship in high school I've had a hard time trusting girls. Yes, I know, high school is stupid, and most of the time good healthy relationships don't form there, and there is loads of drama and nonsense. In my defense, that was my first experience of dating, and it left a lasting impression. Since then it's been sort of an interesting experience. (I'm sure you are tired of me referring to my dating life too) There hasn't been that many good experiences (in the end) for me when it comes to dating girls. I've been cheated on, lied to, and played (that one happens the most). All of it just continually adds to my dislike of dating at all. If it were up to me I'd almost consider an arraigned marriage to be rid of it, or just shave my head and move to India to become a monk. But I digress...

The point I want to make is that trust is a pretty big deal to me. It takes a while to build, and only seconds to destroy. I want to be able to trust the person that I'm dating, and not have those small negative thoughts that they are just going to treat me badly in the end.

Trust is defined as "to rely upon or place confidence in someone or something". Let me throw some synonyms out there with it.
Integrity, "Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character"
Confidence, "Full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing"
Honesty, "The quality or fact of being honest, uprightness and fairness. Truthfulness, sincerity, or frankness

Now, nobody is perfect, but can't one guy ask for a little trust? Someone who won't lie to me (by omission or to my face), cheat on me, or play me (use me for a little while then toss me to the side)? It's pretty simple, if I can't trust you, I won't date you. I try to work harder at not letting those little thoughts in, and give the benefit of the doubt. However, if I'm dating someone and find out they are doing any of those things, it's a deal breaker. Period.

Sorry, this isn't aimed at anyone specifically, just some thoughts. It's a big deal for me, especially because of my past. So yes, I want a girl I can trust (I would think most guys would agree with me). I can't say that enough.

The List (dun dun dun)

Well I'm happy to announce I'm mostly stress free at the moment. I finally was able to meet with my academic advisor yesterday and plan the next 4 years of my life with my major, my apartment for the next year is squared away, and now I'm just waiting for the next semester of school to start in a month. About the only this that stresses me now is dating and being financially stable while paying rent and tuition.

Speaking of dating, right now at work I'm the only single person on staff. Everyone else that works here is married. The end result of that is I'm constantly asked how dating is going, who I'm interested in, updates on girls I have mentioned, etc since they no longer are in the dating mess. I've gotten used to it as this isn't the first branch I've worked at that puts me in this situation. It also doesn't help that most of the staff are girls. Anyway, the last couple weeks I've been asked what my "List" is, meaning what I look for in a girl and what not (looks, qualities, traits). Although most people wouldn't believe me, call me a liar, or say I'm kidding myself, looks actually only takes up a couple spots on this list. Even though an initial physical attraction is important, and usually is part of the first sparks of dating and what not, I look more into the other parts of that list. So I thought I'd post a portion of that list here for kicks and more just to see it here for myself jotted down. I'm not putting it here for attention or to imply certain things to certain individuals or anything of that sort. Just for fun. So without further introduction, here's part of the list. (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

-I want to date someone that is less than a foot shorter than me (I'm 6'3"). I've dated a couple girls that didn't fall under that, and it was just awkward, especially hugging them

-If I was dating a girl, and I randomly said, "Hey let's go skydiving!", the correct response would be "Heck yes! Let's do it!" or something along those lines. The reason being is not only because skydiving would be way fun, but because I want to date a girl that would be spontaneous like that. The girl I'd want to date would be willing to do things on they fly, and not be afraid to try new things.

-A really big thing for me is that I don't want to date a girl that is shy. It's not something that attracts me to a girl I'm afraid. (I refer again to the spontaneous point above) I want to date a girl that is willing to speak up in groups instead of being quiet on the side. Don't get me wrong, I have some great friends that are shy like that, and I know they are great.

-A girl would stick out a lot to me if she didn't fall back to all of the hints and games I talked about in one of my previous posts. (http://andrewbaham.blogspot.com/2011/05/dating-hints-and-games-lame.html) I want a girl to tell me how she's feeling about things instead of leaving hints and hoping that I get them and vis versa.

-About the only other physical feature that I'd put on here (but isn't required) would be the color of hair. Currently my favorites are redheads and brunettes. I dunno why, but I like them. I've never really dated anyone with red hair, mostly because they seem uncommon, but everyone else I've dated has had brown hair. It just seems to work out that way.

-You're probably also expecting this one too since everyone puts it on their list, but hey, it's important; Sense of humor. A girl that can take jokes and dish them out would be great. This also falls under the "not being shy" category.

-Anyone who knows my family or how we are would know how much we kid around or be sarcastic with each other. Each family meal is in itself it's own adventure. Usually when someone is getting to know me better I tell them that if they knew my family or saw me around them, they'd understand why I am the way I am better. We're all a little strange. My family is great, so if a girl is okay with how they are when she ever meets them, it's a good thing. (And believe me, a lot rests on this point, more for her than me)

-I also don't want to date a girl that is a "Debbie Downer" (taken from SNL). She should be upbeat, positive, and help keep me the same way. We all have down moments and I wouldn't expect her to be exempt from those, but if she's able to positively think her way out of those instead of dwelling, great.

-The biggest and most important thing I'd put on this list is her testimony of and willingness to follow the standards of the Church. Putting it bluntly I want to date someone who wants to and is working towards being married in the temple. If we end up getting married, I want them to be strong enough to keep those standards and testimony strong through family life. I want those standards to be important to her, not something that is followed just because.

-Lastly, (at least for this part of the list I'm posting) I'd like the girl to be smart. Girls that overuse the word "like" or have nothing else to talk about other than Greys Anatomy or what happened in the latest episode of the Bachelor aren't attractive to me. Sorry but it's not. As one of my friends recently said, I'd like someone who can carry on an intelligent conversation.

Anyway, that's the list for now. Yeah, I have high hopes, and the chances aren't the best. I'm describing the perfect girl for me. Usually when I share parts of this list with people they roll their eyes and say "Good luck", but I say when you dream, dream big. I know probably won't end up dating/marrying a girl that hits everything on this list (or the complete one), but as long as she hits some of them (especially the standards) it should be good. (Long post....sorry!)

P.S. If you feel like you fall under this list, are single, and I haven't asked you on a date yet, you have my permission to come up and smack me.  :)

Large and In Charge

Another day at work, and another blog posted. I'm really tired today. Thankfully I have a four day weekend starting tomorrow because of the 24th of July and I'll be able to catch up on some sleep. Speaking of work, I just put in for a position in the Provo branch, and I'd be a Loan Interviewer again. I really hope I get it. I'm so sick of tellering. It's just the same thing over and over again, but with loans there's at least a bit of variety and thought involved. So here's hoping that I get it.

My friend got home from his mission this past week and it was really neat to see him. All was great except one thing; the first thing he said to me was "Man...you got fat!". It's sad.

For those of you who knew me in high school know that I was the skinniest thing you've ever seen. I was usually around 140-160 lbs and just as tall as I am now (6 foot 3 inches). Right now I'm at about 210 lbs and I don't look the same at all. In fact, most people that I haven't seen in a while barely recognize me. Going back to seeing my friend at the airport, when I was walking to where he would come out I passed his sister and her husband (both knew me before my mission) and they didn't know who I was, and thought some stranger was just randomly talking to them. The thing is that I put on most of my weight before I left.

After I graduated I started going to the gym and taking protein supplements and I jumped up to 185. On my mission I went up 14 lbs (a stone) in my first two transfers, but then I lost it shortly afterwards and I actually came home just about the exact same weight at 187. My friends still don't believe that though, they say I was fat when I came home. In reality my face just filled out while I was gone and it was misleading. (I swear it's true!) Downside was I came home with a broken foot so I couldn't run for a while, then I had my concussion a month later and couldn't exercise for a bit. By the end of all of that I was out of the habit of exercising, and all the muscle I built up on the mission turned to fat, and brought me up to 225 for a time. For most of last year I struggled getting back to being in shape. (yeah yeah, "round is a shape") Since the beginning of this year I've been working on getting back to my 185 again, and I'm slowly making progress towards that goal. The BMI index said that 194 is the highest I can go to be at a healthy weight, so that's the first mark I have to hit, then I'll shoot for 185. It can happen. It will happen.

Anyway, yeah, this is a weird post about my weight. I'd like to be healthy and fit again. I'm trying to cut down portions and eat more vegetables and have less sugar. I'm also exercising more and trying to just sit around less. (It doesn't help that I sit down 10 hours a day at work.)

What I'd like to know is if any of you have suggestions to help me speed up the progress. What's worked well for you? I'd appreciate the input.

Andrew Narrated...Literally

Another fun day here at work. I'm trying to recover from lack of sleep last night because I was up late watching Harry Potter 4. Good movie...but bleh, I need sleep. I also played a way fun game of Ultimate Frisbee yesterday which has added to my tiredness. Worth it though. Luckily for me I have the next two days off from work, but I'll be back in Kaysville yet again for various reasons (2nd trip this week) until Friday. Other than the movie last night, I feel like I'm barely finding time to take a break and rest a bit, not just physically but mentally. It's been non stop since last week; apartment hunting, working out my major at UVU, driving all the way to WSU to pick up a transcript, cleaning checks, etc etc. Mixed in all of that is trying to juggle all of my friends so I can spend time with them. It's frustrating at times. My mind is also recovering from some things going down with my friends having hard times and trying to help them out with it. So yeah, let's just say my brain is mush at the moment.


You know...I just realized a flaw in my blog title (it only took me a year to notice...). It says "My Life on Paper". This blog isn't paper. It's white electronic words with a brown background. There is no paper involved. Hmm....I can't call it "Andrew Narrated: My Life Presented via Electronic Document". That's just a mouthful. *shrugs* Do any of you have any ideas for a new blog title? I'm not even sure if it will let me change it, but if it does I'm open to suggestions.

For those of you who know me fairly well, you know that I'm a pretty big thinker. Not that I'm exceptionally smart or anything, but I think things out A LOT. I believe I've mentioned before that I'm an over thinker. It's definitely a flaw of mine, but I'm not quite sure how to remedy it. I feel like I look at all the small details and create something big from it that probably doesn't exist or is incorrect. Either that or I just create a ton of scenarios or possible outcomes of an upcoming event...usually dates or things involving dating in general, (I just don't want things to go wrong I suppose), and then stress a little.
Anyway, without trying to sound crazy or anything like that, usually when this over thinking happens it's usually like I'm narrating myself in my head. Do any of you do that? It's like having a conversation with yourself in your head. It's not like having split personality or something like that, and it's not outloud either. The more I'm writing about this the crazier it's starting to sound. It's sort of like in cartoons where it zooms in on the characters head and you hear what they are thinking. That's the best way I can describe it. I'm not quite sure why I'm talking about this topic really. I'm just bored at work and it sort of popped into my head, so I thought I'd present the idea of it to see if I'm not the only one that does it.

So yeah, that's about it for now. I'm quite chuffed (British for pleased) that I've had two blogs posts this close together. Perhaps I'll be able to get going again with this blog.

Risk Taking

It's nearly 1am...and I can't fall asleep for some reason. *shrugs*

This week has been pretty good for me. Even though my vacation at snowbird ended over a week ago, I still feel like I'm on vacation somewhat. My work schedule has been set up in such a way that I keep having these 3 or 4 day breaks, and some of them have days that I get paid time off (like the 4th of July...booyah!). The sad part is I'm starting to run out of things to do. I still have a month left of summer break! I can't be running out of ideas yet! I still need to go wake boarding/water skiing this year! It needs to happen. Hopefully it happens. I have to have hope.

This week I worked Wednesday and Thursday, then I won't be back to work again until Monday. It's crazy to have both Friday and Saturday off...I honestly don't think that's happened (minus vacations) since I've been home from my mission, which is a pretty long time. I've been keeping myself pretty busy though. I've been looking at apartments yesterday and today, and I think I now know which place I'm going to move into. The complex is called Crestwood Apartments. I'll be paying around $320 per month (private room) for a year including utilities, and it looks LOADS better than where I'm living. I'll have a bigger room too! (and a private sink in there too *shrugs*) I'm crossing my fingers that this coming year there I'll make some great memories. This week I've also been working with UVU and getting my Major squared away. I'm now declared as a Graphics Design Major. Woo Woo! (I'm also crossing my fingers for that one) So yes...a productive couple of days off.

Anyway, enough of the update on my life. I actually have a decent topic tonight! Risks. For some reason that keeps being brought up in conversations I've had lately so it inspired me to mention it here. Here's some quotes to start us off;
"If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything."
"A ship is safe in the harbor, but that's not what ships are for." -John A. Shedd
"Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something."
"You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take." -Wayne Gretzky
Well I could quote you into oblivion about taking risks, but I won't. (Although there at TONS of great ones. Take a chance to Google some!)
The reason taking risks came up in my conversations lately is because the person I was talking to was afraid of something. Now, we all know that fear is one of the great things that affect us in our life. However, there's fears like the fear of spiders or snakes, and there is the fear of making decisions/fear of failure. I wish to discuss the latter. Too often I think we miss out of great opportunities in life because we don't take a leap of faith and take a risk in a decision we were afraid of. If not fear, it might be because we think we'll look stupid, or think it's a dumb decision. Such examples include asking a girl you like on a date, applying for a job, choosing a major (heh heh), telling someone "no" (or "yes"), taking out a loan, moving, etc etc etc. The list could go on forever.
Bah! I feel like I'm rambling. (this it why I avoid "topics" late at night). My point is that LIFE IS ABOUT TAKING RISKS. If we didn't, we wouldn't learn nearly as much, not to mention all the experiences we'd miss out on. Now there are dumb DUMB things that shouldn't be risked, like our integrity and values, (or taking the risk of "well I haven't tried smoking before, so..." and things like that) but I think as long as those aren't being compromised, why not take the risk if there is the possibility of a positive/rewarding outcome? Yes, I know, you're thinking "Andrew, you can't take a risk on every decision that comes your way...", but I say, if you give it some thought, and the only negative part you can think of with the decision is that you are afraid of it, build up some courage and TAKE IT! If you feel like you are one who lacks courage, seek to build it up so that you don't miss great opportunities! Take smart risks! If it turns out the decision you made didn't work out in your favor, or you did end up looking foolish, that doesn't mean you should stop taking risks. Think about what happened, and apply it to your thought process for next time. It will help your risks be smarter.
Think of the people who thought, "You know, just because I'm black doesn't mean I have to sit on the back of this bus..." or  "What if I got on a boat and sailed around to prove the Earth is round?" or  "Why don't I drop out of college to work on my computer invention?". If they didn't decide to take those risks, think of where we would be now. Yes, those are a bit extreme examples, BUT the example still stands. Never underestimate what can happen by having the courage to take a risk. Don't let it turn you away, but rather motivate you to take some!
Finally I'll just say in my own words (I'm sure it's been said before); You never know until you try, and if you never try, you'll never know!

Anyway, I know I jumped around a lot in there, but I hope some semblance of thought made it out there and helped you ponder on it a bit. If not, I refer again to the late hour.




I dunno what else to say.

One Year And Counting

Well sheesh. I miss out on blogging for two months, and I missed the one year anniversary of it. Shame on me...or somenthing. This blog makes the total count to 54 in the last year. If my calculations are correct that means on average I get a new post out about once per week. For those of you who have been reading since the beginning know that is obviously not true (you also probably notice I begin most blogs talking about my blog or lack of blogging).

I can't believe it's been a year already. People say that a lot, but you know, it's pretty much true. (Thinking on that, perhaps we are all wrong. We all keep saying that time seems to be flowing fast, but if that happens so often, shouldn't we start calling it normal?) Just one year ago I decided to start a blog right before I left on vacation to Louisiana. Those were some good times to be sure. I did pretty well for the first few months, but as time went on, it's definitely slowed down from 20 per month to 2 or 3 (if that). There just seems to be less things to blog about lately. I'm sure you are tired hearing about my dating life, and sometime I find that I have to stretch to find topics to blog about. I'm not like those families (usually moms/wives) that can blog about the day to day of their family life, such as pictures of children, silly things the kids have done, or some art/craft that day I can show off. *shrugs*

So anyway, life has been pretty chill for me lately. I'm starting to wish I had done some summer classes for school, because I'm running out of things to do on my days off from work. I've been trying to work more on my portfolio as far as my photoshop projects go. I haven't done any lately due to my recent vacation to Snowbird, but the one I'm currently working on nobody gets to see because it's of my sister and my mother doesn't want me posting pictures of her anywhere on the internet. It will just be for my sister for fun I guess. She wanted one of her with wings (like Maximum Ride, if you've ever read those books...I haven't) so I've been doing that in some of my spare time. I'm still looking for ideas as to what to do next. (one person suggested having me photoshop them riding a bison...probably won't happen)

Well I thought I more to say today, but I suppose not. Perhaps it will come to me later on in the week. For now, I hope you all have a good day/week!

P.S. On a quick side note, I just checked the stats for my blog and I somehow have gotten over 670 pageviews in the month of June so far. It's unusual because I normally just get close to 200. I dunno what happened but thank you for viewing. I guess I get more views when I'm not posting than when I regularly do. :P

Dating Hints and Games = Lame

This is another one of those blog topics that I find myself slightly hesitant in writing. However, I feel especially motivated to do so today, so I apologize in advance if I offend any of you.
I try to refrain from talking about my dating life in here, because, as I have mentioned in previous blogs, people read WAY to much into it or get the wrong idea about me. BUT this blog idea has been on my mind for some time now I think I'll feel better once I've expressed my thoughts about it.
As you can read front the title, it's about the games that girls play or hints that they try to give when dating. I'll bluntly say this; I HATE THEM!! I think they are the most ridiculous part of dating. I honestly think that girls make dating a LOT harder than it needs to be. Yes, I'm sure the girls who read this will probably say it right back to me for guys. But you know, even if guys seem to make dating hard, I honestly don't think we make it nearly as difficult as girls.
I've talked to several girls about this. They agreed that they "are weird" and "can make dating difficult". When asked why, if they realize what they are doing, they don't stop it. Their answer; "I don't know."
There's a great scene in Hitch (great movie for this point I'm making, by the way) where they are at a speed dating place and the main character, Alex Hitchins, vents his frustration at women. "Does it ever occur to women that maybe a guy might like to have a plan...because he's nervous? He's not sure that he could just walk up to you and you'd respond if he said: I like you. I LIKE YOU!!". Then you have the response to the men listening nearby. "That sounds good to me.", "True, you can't tell them you like them.","I tried that, it didn't go well.","I've crashed and burned on that."
Why? Why can't guys do that? I think most guys feel intimidated to telling girls that they are interested. If they flat out told the girl, she'd probably say "thank you" if she's nice, then she'd probably back away thinking you were really forward or weird or something. So instead, in the "dating game" us guys are supposed to plan out how to get the girl to understand we like them. The funny thing is that in relationship girls will get upset because the guy "isn't communicating enough". So why is it that we're supposed to rely on hints while in the dating process, but when there is an actual relationship we are open and communicate on everything. Does that make sense to any of you? It sure doesn't for me.
Here are some direct quotes from a friend of mine about girls and dating (she's a girl too):

"Girls are inexperienced at dating and for some idiotic reason we think it is easier and on the guy(which it totally isn't) if we just completely drop the ball and ignore them once we realized we aren't interested in that way. Its hard to suck it up and reject men to there face, and so we think its easier to sugar coat it until they get the hint, but that a lot of the time ends in us leading on guys. What is an obvious rejection to a girl, like her forgetting to return text messages and phone calls then coming up with lame vague excuses, isn't so obvious to a guy and so they continue thinking the girl is interested until a complete avoidance happens.

"It's not the guys fault, its the girls fault most of the time they are so subtle about it no one can tell they are loosing interest. The girl is the only one that really knows how she feels because she cant properly express herself and then she blows up and makes a huge deal about it because she doesn't understand why the guy is still pursuing her when to the guy she hasn't really made any hints at all that she isn't interested.

"So yeah...that's the girls mind from my point of view; a very confusing and deceitful place of wishful happy endings and broke hearts."

Anyway, I'll leave those thoughts for now. I'm sure I'll come back to the topic again.

British vs American English (Part 1)

Most of you know that I served my mission in the great two countries of England and Wales (mostly England for my mission). My first month or so there I could barely understand what people were saying. Not only was the accent strong, but the vocabulary used over there is a lot different than ours. Sure they call it English that they speak, but so do we here in America. Thus we have the terms "British" and "American" English. By the end of my mission I had (and still am) convinced that they are two different languages. From that, I have decided that I am bilingual since I can comfortably understand both. I was thinking about it for the last little bit, and thought I would share some of the words and phrases from "across the pond" that you might find interesting. To all my friends from England or that served over there with me, feel free to comment and add some more if you like (or correct me if I mistranslated). I put "Part 1" on the title, because there are so many here, that I won't do them all in one post. I'll do another in a while. Also, these are just the translations as I understand them. I'm sure in different parts of the country they may have other meanings.

*In No Particular Order*

DODGE - "Not to be trusted". This is probably my favorite I picked up there. We'd usually say it if there was "dodgy doctrine" which would mean it was deep. Also we'd say things were "dodgy" if someone was immodest or say/do something....unclean.
FAG - Nope, it's not an insult. This actually is what they call a cigarette. So if you called someone a fag there, I'm not sure how offended they'd be.
TA/CHEERS - Either of those means "Thank You".
TAKING THE PISS/MICK - Generally this would mean that you are making fun or teasing someone. It's usually asked as a question, "Are you taking the mick?"
BISCUIT - This actually refers to what we call a cookie. This is also used to refer to crackers.
TARA/TERRAH/TADA - I heard all sorts of variations on this one while I was in England. It was often followed by "butt" or "love". This expression means "goodbye".
BUTT/LOVE/CHICK/CHICKEN - These are actually used as terms of endearment, mostly meaning "friend". I heard this a lot when people were thanking me. "Cheers butt!"
BANGERS AND MASH - This is a dish which is mashed potatoes with sausages and a type of sauce on top.
ZED/HATCH - These are the pronunciations of the letters Z and H in the alphabet. Zed sounds just as it looks, and Hatch is like how we Americans pronounce H, but with an H sound in front of it.
SNOG - Most of you have probably heard this used in Harry Potter. It means "making out" or "serious kissing".
FORKING - If you ever meet someone from Europe, and they hold out their hand in a backwards peace sign towards you (palm facing towards them, pointer and middle finger up) it's not a good thing. This is the equivalent to someone in America giving you the middle finger and it's offensive and rude. Sometimes it's called the "Two Finger Salute".
GUTTED - This means you are really upset or disappointed about something. For example you would be 'gutted' if your football team lost a match.
CHEEKY - This would be the same as calling someone flippant. In America we might say "are you being smart with me?", in Britain it would be "you cheeky little monkey!"
YORKSHIRE PUDDING - Pretty much the best thing to eat. It's not a pudding like jello or anything like that. It's a biscuit type food that's in a cup shape. You can just put butter or honey on it to eat, but the usual (and my favorite) way to eat it is with a roast and you fill it full of gravy. YUM!
PUDDING - This word just means dessert. "After dinner we'll have pudding."

Well that's enough for today. There are a LOT more that I left out, but these were some of my favorites. There will definitely be a Part 2, and possibly a Part 3. We shall see!

Degrees and Majors

Don't you just love those moments of inspiration? I'm going to give credit to Wendy (who just commented a bunch on here recently, and thank you!) and just pure boredom at work today for making the setting right for it to happen. It's like setting the stage for evolution...dun dun dun.

Anyway, I've done a blog previously about trying to decide on a major in college, but I still hadn't made a decision. (At least that's what I think it was about) I've hopped around ideas for some time now, but I still couldn't make a solid decision. First it was Psychology with an emphasis in family work, then it was Communications focusing in Public Relations for businesses. After that I remained undecided, but had until now been seriously considering Seconday Education. I hadn't fully chosen that one yet because I couldn't figure out which subject I wanted to teach. I was thinking something in the arts (like theatre, or orchestra/band), or possibly a computer teacher. The only problem with teaching computers is it's an ever changing degree as new technology and programs come out so I'd have to deal with that.
With that, I've just been doing generals in school this semester hoping that I could figure it out. It's been kind of stressful though. I need to decide soon, but it's a life changing decision! It's intimidating to be sure. I want to be sure that I'm choosing a major that will lead to a career that I will enjoy, if at least a little bit, and that will allow me to provide for my future family.

Keeping that all in mind, I was perusing through my blogs and comments and there were a few comments throughout the blogs from people enjoying my style of writing, or said I'm a good writer. As I was reading those the thought came to mind of Journalism. I enjoy writing, and I think doing that would be a fun and rewarding career.
More props to Wendy for my next inspiration. I've done two posts here about my love of Photoshopping pictures, or just making some from scratch. (http://andrewbaham.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-look-old-hobby.html) Wendy commented on my most recent one saying they looked good and gave a link to her friend that does graphic design. The more I've been thinking about it today, the more I realize that I could try for that as well as a career.
As far as teaching goes, I think I'll take my stupor of thought as to what subject to choose as a subject to focus on. So now I'm seriously considering these two; Graphic Design and Journalism.

So what do you all think? I'd really like some feedback on this.

P.S. The request is still there to re-post my blog to your facebook pages. (Just click "share" at the top of the page) I'd love to have some more readers so the help would be much appreciated! (Bryson was the only one who reposted, thanks bro!)

Fetch!

I'm blogging at work again. Yeah yeah, shame on me.
My thanks to those who replied to my last blog post (I found it amusing that half of you decided to remain anonymous) seeing if I should keep blogging along. I've decided to continue, so here we go. (See bottom of this post for a personal request)

I just finished reading an article on the Deseret News website about a kid in Utah who started a club called the "No Cussing Club" and the ongoing debate on swearing vs. clean speech.(http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700125591/Swearing-off-swearing.html)
The article mentioned that Utahns swear less than anywhere in the country. Surprised? I'm not. Although I bet if we replaced all of our fake swear words with the real ones we'd rank up there pretty high. (flip, fetch, crap, dang, etc)
For me, I give kudos to the kid who started this club at his high school. For one, it probably took a lot of guts to do that and stand up for what he feels. Also, I'm totally with him for being against swearing and profanities.
It's been an obvious trend that the standards once held years ago in media and the public have been continuing to drop significantly. The things we see now in movies and on television wouldn't be acceptable at all 30 years ago. I think the same goes for swearing. It seems to get more prevalent as time goes on, and people seem to become more accepting of it, or turn a blind eye to it if they don't swear themselves. There are a lot of movies I've gone to see that put in tons of profanity that is unnecessary. They could all be better movies without them in my opinion.
I think we've all become desensitized to it all, and we barely give recognition to it when someone does. I heard the F-word so many times while I was in England that I'm almost the same way with it. It's sad that it doesn't affect me anymore. The only time I cringe now days is when someone takes the Lords name in vain. :S

In my blunt opinion on it; I feel swearing is the attempt of an uneducated mind to express itself clearly. It's not neccessary. I think it's really lame when people use swear words as adverbs. It's always "that's f-ing cool" or "that's an f-ing awesome guitar" etc etc. How does that even describe what you are talking about? What sort of descriptive word is that? I don't get it. Why not "that's a good looking guitar you have there..." instead? Yes, I think swearing shows a lack of intelligence/education.

I also might add that when I hear a girl swear, it's very unattractive to me.

Anyway, in conclusion, although I support the right to free speech in this country we don't seem to have "free hearing" when it comes to swearing.

What do you think?

P.S. I'm trying to get my blog out there to more readers and looking for more feedback to what I write. If any of you feel so inclined, I'd love for you to link this blog post, any other posts I've done, or just my blog in general to your facebook wall/page. That would be great! Thanks!

Helloooooo?

So I've been reflecting on this blog (and also why I begin a lot of things with the word "so") and I'm wondering if it is worth continuing. My thanks to Sarah for being the only one that comments on it anymore. Most of my page views are from random visits people make while blog surfing I've recently discovered. I'm not sure how many friends I have that actually read it. I don't hear much from my 14 official followers.
I mean, if there isn't much of a reception to it, do I continue? Perhaps it would be better just to start a journal and give up the blog.
I guess this is just a small blog wondering who reads this. Should I continue?

Let me know.

I am the Eggman

Okay, first things first. Let's resolve a couple things. In the last few months of my blogging I've had comments come back to me about people concerned about what I'm saying, think I'm depressed, a whiner, attention seeking, etc etc. Also, comments come to me from people reading WAY too much into what I'm writing. I'm almost bugged that I have to explain this. For example when I jokingly put a paragraph about my fake happenings in life, I felt obliged to explain that I wasn't trying to be depressing and what not. Other things said to me recently were that I sound like I'm all dating and marriage obsessed. BAH!
This blog is just my thoughts for the moment. I talk about what's going on in my life. I talk about things that pop into my head. The End. That's it. I mean, the reason I talk about things like dating, trials, or how things are in Provo is because that's what people are always asking me about. So I figure, why not post it here and save a few questions? To me it's like that's what people want to read about or hear about from me is how my dating life is going. Yet when I blog about it, people all take it the wrong way.
So to set the record straight;
1. I'm not dating or marriage obsessed.
2. I'm not depressed, sad or anything like that. I'm actually quite content and pleased with life at the moment, and have been for some time now.
3. No, I'm not trying to add extra meaning to my blogs or hint that I'm in desperate need of attention. I start to feel like John Lennon when people were looking into deep meanings of his songs. He got so fed up with it that he wrote the song "I Am The Walrus" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnpil_pRUiw&feature=related) and said something along the lines of, "Ha! Let's see what they make of that."

So NYEH! By all means, keep reading my blog, I'm flattered that you do, just keep those three things in mind.

To break from tradition, I'll just leave a quick update and finish. I ate a bowl of Golden Grahams today. Also, I play Duke Frederick in a scene I'm doing. Also, it turns out, my room smells like dusty cardboard. Lastly, my roommate likes to build trains in the front room.

The End.

The way to my heart is...

So here's the thing. I think I have this nervous twitch to blog nowdays. I'll get to my apartment after work, school, or whatever, sit down on my bed or chair, and think, "I should blog...". The thought process continues until I realize, "I have nothing in particular to blog about..."

This is a serious problem if you ask me. Have I run out of topics? No. Are there topics I could still be doing? Yes. Do I know what they are? No.

I really need to stop beginning my blogs talking about blogging...

I'm currently listening to Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, II. Can I just say; To any girls out there...if you want to know one quick way to my heart, it's through classical music. This is especially true when it comes to music like the one I just mentioned, slow solo piano music, or music like Mozart's Requiem. In fact, most classical music will do. I can sit and listen to that genre all day and never get tired. The great thing about it is it's never in short supply. There is so much, so many composers, who did several several pieces of music. It's fantastic. If you can appreciate that kind of music, discuss it, or whatever, you have my attention. I think that to appreciate that kind of music shows intelligence. Man I miss playing music in orchestra. If I had only dedicated myself more with my instruments I could still be playing with people. I don't think I'm good enough, nor practiced up enough to play in the college orchestra, so I'm sort of stuck. I played in a community orchestra for a bit back home before I moved to Provo, but it just didn't cut it. I need a full blown orchestra like the legendary one I was in at Davis High. Man we were epic. Those were great days and great memories.

Speaking of classical music, let me tell you why it's so great. Not only can I listen to it all day, but it's great for just sitting back and just pondering over things. For me it helps me think extra clearly. If life starts to get stressful or I get nervous about things (such as dates), classical music is there to relax my mind and calm me down. Sure, different things work for different people, but this is what works for me.

According to a Stanford study, "...listening to classical music provides physiological rewards. Blood flow increases to several brain areas, activating autonomic, cognitive, and emotional centers, while another area of the brain releases dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that, among other things, affects mood and the ability to feel pleasure. This dopamine release, occurring as the other brain areas interact, allows a heightened sense of well-being."


Yeah...that's good enough for me. If you want some good ideas for classical music (or similar types), let me suggest a few songs you may consider listening to. I bet you've heard a few already.


Romance Larghetto, Chopin - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrxGNupbB_0
Symphony No. 7, II, Beethoven - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBQvhKkG1x8
Requiem, Mozart - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi8vJ_lMxQI
Ases Tod, Grieg - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30Di6vH7-Ds
Ave Maria, Bach (performed by Il Divo) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG2TUaeKBs0
The Planets - Mars, Gustav Holst - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0bcRCCg01I
The Moldau, Smetana - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8n-avUkyPk

Those are just to name a couple. Please take a look. (also, disregard the pictures in the videos. I found them for the music, not for the video)

Anyway, that's it for tonight.

A Happy Attitude

It's past 2 in the morning. I'm still awake. Yes, this is when my blogs start to get really interesting. I'm hoping to not get TOO weird, but hey, weird is what keeps things interesting. Normal is just...well...normal.


First off, WOO!! 2,000 pageviews of my blog. I've come a long way since June of last year. Yeah, 2,000 isn't that much, but for me, I consider it an accomplishment. We'll see what this year brings.


Anyway, for those of you who have been reading my blog since the beginning, on July 5th, I wrote a blog called "Attitude is EVERYTHING!!". Tonight, (or this morning I guess) I want to revisit that point for a moment, and do a bit of a "re-blog" if you will.


Lately, (and by "lately" I mean the last couple weeks) I've been in a pretty good mood. I took some time to ponder about it today while I was at work. I thought for sure there must be a specific reason why I felt so good. I tried to narrow it down to things that were happening in my life. The more I thought about it, the less I was able to put my thumb on it and say "Yes, this is what's happening that's making me feel so good." BUT, I couldn't. That's when I reflected back to that previous blog and I realized, it's just my attitude about life right now that's doing it. Somehow without realizing it, I just decided to be happy and positive about things. 


I'll quote my last blog about attitude;
"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."
I think I kept hitting these bad spots in the last while, and I wasn't working to get myself out of them. However I started to build a strong desire to be happy and positive about things. This led to my action of just being happy, and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. (again, I'm not dying)


Another quote from that same blog;
"Every time 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."


So there you have it. Just be happy about things. Just because life goes sourly doesn't mean you need to go along with it.


Laugh when you can,
apologize when you should,
and let go of what you can't change.
Life's too short to be anything...but happy

I won't lie to you...

Ah yes, another blog. I'm actually not doing too bad this year with my blogs. I'm not doing nearly as well as I was last summer, but hey, improvement still counts for something, right? Right.
Anyway, as for my life update, it's actually taken a great turn for the better. I found out I'm doing really good in all of my classes, and may be eligible for a good scholarship. I also got a promotion AND a bonus at work this week. More money for me! Wooo!! Not to mention I found a better apartment than the one I'm in that's nicer, yet cheaper rent. I get to move in April! Lastly, I met this girl about a month ago when I started classes, and we've been seeing each other every night for the last month. I really feel like I love her, and she feels the same. Her name is Trisha. We talked about marriage Sunday night, and we're going ring shopping this weekend!! It's awesome.


Yeah...don't you dare think any of that paragraph is true, because it's not. I WISH that was true, but it's not. (and you better be laughing, I didn't write that to be depressing)

Well back to reality, today is my half birthday. Only six months until I'm 23. *shudders* I threw out my back a couple weeks ago, so I already feel old. Yeah yeah yeah, 23 is nothing, but hey, it's older than I've ever been. In fact, right NOW I'm older than I've ever been. It's weird to think about. But yes, if I follow my oldest brothers path, I should be getting married in the next year. That's even weirder to think about.

I don't really have much I wanted to blog about today. A quick update on the UFO stuff in my last post. KSL posted a story trying to explain what they were. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=14365462
They tried to pass it off as Chinese lanterns or radio controlled airplanes at night. Personally, I'm not buying it. I saw Chinese lanterns all the time on my mission, and they looked nothing like that, not to mention when we saw them they weren't moving. The same goes for radio controlled airplanes. My current guess is that it was something military. But who knows? Your guess is as good as mine.

Anyway, that's all for now. Yeah, I know it isn't much, but there you go.

P.S. If you thought I sounded depressed in this blog, I WASN'T. :D Just blogging along...

Randomness and UFO's

Okay. I've been to this very screen several times in the last couple days, determined to blog. Yet, when I have done so, I either get distracted, or the desire to do so leaves suddenly, and no blog surfaces. So now, I'm just going to keep writing until something surfaces. Yes, that will work...I think. Or perhaps someone will give me a topic to write about, or inspire me to do so. Thing is, I'm in my room and it's midnight. The chances of running into someone while I'm sitting on my bed are very slim. (especially because it's pretty difficult to run while you are sitting on a bed)
You know...it's hard to blog about your own thoughts when there are a million going through your head at a particular moment. If I tried to do exactly that, I wouldn't make sense at all. Let me give you an example;
Cheese is good. I ate cheese today. It was on my pizza. That pizza went especially good with that posh ranch sauce I put on it. Posh. Hmm...that's an interesting word. It looks silly when I type it, yet it is pleasing to say I suppose. Well, I suppose I can say I suppose. I mean, I suppose I really mean it...I suppose. Who thought I could put the word "I" and "Suppose" so many times in a sentence. You know...can "I" really be considered a word? Is it even a word? No, I suppose not. It's more a letter. But I digress...
So yeah, there you go. I think that's a healthy portion of my mind. If you followed that, good job. I congratulate you on your success. I've now brought you to my level.
Ooo! Okay, I remember a topic I could blog about. I'll begin with the preface not to judge me by it. I'll reaffirm that I am NOT a nerd, nor do I consider myself as such. I'm well rounded in my interests. And that's final.
Anyway. It's about UFO's.
Let me say that I don't believe in aliens or or in their spacecraft or whatever. However, I do believe in UFO's in the sense of the acronym; Unidentified Flying Object, with the emphasis of "unidentified". Cast your mind with me as I share this true story with you. A couple weeks ago on January 26th, my co-workers and I had just finished for the night, and were leaving to our cars. Before we got there, one of them pointed to the sky and said, "What in the world?" We looked up to see these bright, glowing red dots in the sky. (it was about 7:15 PM, see inserted picture for what we saw) They seemed a lot brighter than airplane lights, and there were 4 of them I think, but they weren't moving. At first I thought it could be the space station passing overhead, but again, they remained still, almost as if they were really brilliant red stars. We stared at them in disbelief for a few minutes, then got in our cars and left. After that, I didn't give them much thought.
Fast forward to today at work when my supervisor comes back to me and says, "Remember those red things we saw in the sky a couple weeks ago? KSL is doing a story on them this sunday to explain what they were." This sparked my interest again so I thought I'd check it out a bit. Turns out lots of people saw the same thing, and they only stayed around from 715-730. Here's the link for the main story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5yZnL-qdBc&feature=related
As I was on youtube at work (yeah, I broke the rules a bit), I started to find several videos of people in American Fork (which is where I work) seeing what I saw.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb1EGsiRCMY  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o18mLOyJIsQ   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCuZAcUPrsc
Next thing I know, I began to stumble on several other videos across youtube from people across the world seeing the same if not similar thing in their night sky all within a week or so of us seeing them in Utah.
Moscow, Russia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te117n8i-NE
London, UK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQs6FzP5iNY&feature=related
Lake Elsinore, CA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VwiN9a3cio&feature=related
There are several others I found such as in New York, Brooklyn, Mexico, and Oregon.
Honestly, I don't know what they are. Military operation? Possibly, especially since at the same time the lights were spotted in UT, a military base shut down at the same time not letting people in or out for several hours right outside Utah County. What do you think?
One last thing to add. One other sighting also happened in the same week in Jerusalem. Take a look at the videos. Weird thing is, when whatever they see jumps into the sky, when they look up, they see red dots.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKzcmyf3vRQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zPmZnXCOEk&feature=related

Anyway, sorry the blog got so long. You can make the decision for yourself. My conclusion? I have none. :D

A hopeless romantic?

It's with a bit of hesitation that I'm actually writing about this topic tonight. It's not something that I would normally share for the public to view. However, it's been on my mind a lot as of late, and since this is my thoughts turned blog, I figure it couldn't hurt to get my view/feelings on this out there.
I usually begin my blog with an update on life, BUT...there is none. Same old, same old. Nothing particularly new in life, just working and going to school. Rinse and repeat. I am shampoo, it seems. Or the usage of it.
I've been living in Provo for close to two months now, and it's been really interesting to observe it, and the goings on of it all. Sure, there are a lot of rumors about it, and peoples misconceptions of how it really is, but I've blogged about it before, so I won't try to hit too much on it again. The thing is, since I've been here, there seems to be this feeling instilled in to me, (and mostly everyone else) to have this need to be in a relationship with someone. Yeah, I know it's weird, and you're probably thinking, "Typical Provo...". I'm not saying it's just me, and that I have some sort of desperate desire to be dating someone, but it seems to press on the mind while living here, and everyone seems to be getting the vibe and trying. Perhaps it that it's a major college town (seeing as it contains two universities) and there are all sorts of young people down here ready for the next stage(s) of their life. Perhaps there is something in the water. *shrugs* Hard to say why, but what I AM saying, is that the feeling is there, and it wasn't there before I got here.
Anyway, so now I'm here, with the desire to meet people, and, if possible, to find someone to date. This brings me to my next point. Lately, I've had several friends start calling me a "hopeless romantic", because I view dating as such a "non-casual" thing. I'll readily admit that perhaps, compared to the modern world, my views on dating are a bit "old fashioned", but heck, that's not a bad thing in my point of view. (hence the reason that I prefer it that way)
I guess in my mind I keep imagining this perfect dating thing to happen, and it working out great. No awkwardness, just flowing smoothly, and very few bumps along the road. I also keep trying to picture this perfect girl, not perfect as in flawless, but more perfect for each other. Yeah, I know it sounds cheesy, but when you think about it, doesn't everyone prefer it that way? (so it's only cheesy because I put it into words?)
Here's the next problem, and I'll preamble this with an apology to her if she happens to read this post. I won't use her name, but she probably will guess that it's her that I'm talking about. I hope she doesn't mind. My problem right now is that I keep comparing girls I meet and would consider asking on a date to another girl I used to date. We broke up on good terms so far as I know from my side. She had her reasons, which were justifiable for ending it. I also respect her decision and will leave her to it and not press the matter again unless she chose to. I have no ill feelings towards her whatsoever. Thing is, she was probably one of the most amazing people I have met. I thought we got along well, and, in my "hopeless romantic" sort of way, I thought things were fitting pretty perfectly.
Things are obviously over now, but now my problem is that I feel that if I meet a girl that I would consider taking on a date (or whatever), in my mind, it's like that bar has been raised to my ex's status, and I feel I would be settling if I dated them (not in a judging sort of way, more of the thinking of how well we would get along, etc). This has been troubling my mind for some time now, and I've been trying to figure myself out and what to do. (No, I'm not writing this blog to try and get something out of her, or whatever this is merely more of my feelings on my dating life) I have some good friends that I've talked to about it, and they all have shared great advice to me. But one of the best pieces of advice came from my friend/co-worker. When we talked about it a couple weeks ago, she said something that really made sense, and comforted me a lot.
Her words were along the lines of this; "It wouldn't make sense or be fair for God to have you meet this amazing person who you really connected with, only to have it not work out, and in the end you'd just have to settle on someone not as great for eternity. Rather, if would make more sense that when you do find 'the one', they will either be just as great, if not better than before." I thought that was really great.
So yes, still on the journey to find the right one. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in a terrible rush or hurry to find one, I hope I'm not coming across that way. Sure, a relationship and marriage would be great, and I feel that I'm ready in my life for that to happen if it happens, but if I have to wait, so be it.

New Look? Old Hobby.

Well...I decided that my blog should get a change of scenery, so last week I thought I'd give it a touch up. Turns out, Blogger doesn't even offer my old format anymore. Go figure. So here's the new one (for now). What do you think about it? I'm not completely sold with the world map in the background, but I liked the color scheme that came along with it, so I settled. It's a work in progress, we'll see how it goes.
Another thing I thought I'd add was what books I'm currently reading. It was kind of a random decision, but there it is. I might add another one that lists my favorite songs of the week. *shrugs*
This week has been fun, lots of work and school. So I suppose not so much fun. (well that was a quick contradiction) Well....it wasn't so bad. I'll call it a neutral week, or as my co-worker said today, it was a pass week. It passed.

One thing I'm happy that I've started again is photoshopping. (For those of you that thought that meant I was shopping for photos, shame on you) I've been able to get a hold of Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 5, and I've been having fun with it again. I used to Photoshop a bunch before my mission, but, like my writing, it sort of fell out of practice once I got home. So now, a year later, I'm back at it again. Mind you, I've only done two pictures so far, but I think it's a good start, especially with how much time I invest in them. Each photo, if I want a good job done to meet my satisfaction, will take at least an hour. I've done photos in less time, but they don't usually turn out as good. (I'll post them at the bottom of this blog)

I enjoy editing pictures, and I'm sort of considering getting a decent camera to take photos with so I can continue to edit more. The two that I recently did I made from scratch, but building off of current pictures is great too. Also, if you want me to do any photoshopping for you, I'd be more than happy to do any. Just let me know what you'd like, and I'll see what I can do. I need more practice, and I want to learn more techniques too.

So here are the two photos. (click on them for a larger version)
The first is based off of the old original Tron movie. The second is based off of the newer Tron: Legacy film.

You aren't dying...

Yup, it's true. I'm not dying. Well, I AM dying in the sense that everyone who is born is dying, but not in the sense that it's going to be sooner than expected. Make sense? Good.
The reason I mention that is the because I want to blog about the scare that I had these last two days. It made me super reflective. I always seem to blog every time I get reflective. Perhaps I should rename my blog to "Andrews Reflections" or something. Although...that sort of sounds like I'm putting in a submission for that contest that they have in high school. Nah, I'll pass. I'll keep the name as it is. It IS my thoughts after all. They just tend to be reflective usually. Well if you have been reading it for a while, that may be what you've come to expect. So yeah...
Anyway, on to my story.
This past Friday, I was out hanging with Ryan at his apartment with some of his roommates and friends. We were playing Mario on his Wii, and a game called Telestrations (I recommend it). It got late, so I finally headed back to my own apartment to sleep. I had a date the next morning, and was also heading back up to K-town for the weekend. By then I was starting to feel sort of weird, but I shrugged it off. It was almost 2am when I got to my apartment and when I got to my room door, I found it locked. In my apartment complex they have keys you can lock your room with, but you have to go to the main office to get your key, and I hadn't done that yet so I was in sort of a tricky situation. Thirty minutes later, and with the help of my roommate and a kitchen knife, I was in my room again.
I'll spare you the fine details on this, but I'll just say that shortly after I got into my room I started to develop some really unusual symptoms that I've never had before, and I'll tell you, they were scary. Since it was 2 in the morning, I didn't have many other options, so I went online to several different medical websites. (Yeah, I know, "don't trust the internet". These sites seem pretty legit though...) I typed in my symptoms, and the results came back on them saying "You might have cancer."
So I thought I was scared before when I started having the symptoms...now I was literally freaking out. I almost called my brother (who is medically trained) or my parents right then, but for some reason I didn't. I was having all sorts of crazy thoughts fly through my head. Some were that I wouldn't wake up if I went to sleep, or that I might bleed to death in the night, or that I only had two years left to live, etc. Yeah, I was scared.
Somehow I managed to calm myself down, and I went to sleep. Saturday morning I called my brother as soon as I was awake and he didn't answer. A while later I called my parents and talked to my mum (who is also medically trained) and she called to set up a doctors appointment after I talked to her. She helped calm me down, and I felt a bit better as she said it could be something minor, but that I should get checked out.
I got back home to K-town and we were off the doctor.
Thankfully, after I was looked over by the doctor, he told us what it was, and that it wasn't cancer. He said I was "too young for that type of cancer". I was pretty relieved. (stupid internet...) He said one part of it seemed slightly suspicious, so I might be called in again if it doesn't go away, if not, I'm good. Now I just have to take some medicine, and I should be good.
So yeah, pretty scary, but good ending. There are few times I've been that shaken up before, but I'm good now. :D

Now what?

This blog marks #40. Woo woo! I think that's an accomplishment, even if you don't. So nyah nyah! (Yes, I realize that 50 is a bit more of an impressive and typically used number, but meh, 40 works too)

I've already mentioned that I'm living in Provo now, and I'm pretty much settled in. All that is left is for school to start and the transition will be complete. Will I become a true Provo-ite then? I dunno. Perhaps I would need to get married first after a one month relationship. That would do it...I think. There seems to be a terrible amount of ideas of how people are down here. (or UP here, depending on where you are reading this) Everyone seems to think people here are full of themselves. "Holier than thou art" I believe people say. I've only been here just about a month, and I haven't noticed anything like that. *shrugs* Maybe I'm like that too...*looks around* Uh oh...I hope not.

As the transition continues, I continue to feel more and more lonely down here. Yeah, I know, I need to make new friends down here. I'm working on it, I promise. School starting will help with that too I imagine. *shrugs again* I have a lot of good friends up in K-town and the surrounding parts, and they are easy to miss. I guess I just miss having people to talk to. My roommates typically keep to themselves, and I don't get much out of them longer than two minutes of conversation. To each their own I suppose. I've blogged about it before, but I want a texting buddy! I've had a couple come and go recently, but I'm left again without one. So in my need to find conversation, I text lots of people during the day to try to spark conversations...fail. Fail fail fail. Perhaps people are tired of texting me...hmm...there's a thought. Well, if you would like to be, I'm open to all applicants. :D

So anyway, I know this is sort of a repeat blog. I apologize. I'm hoping to find more meaningful topics in the future.

Cheers!!