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.