Does Religion Kill?

Just a few things I wanted to note this morning:

• I saw this really interesting article by Maggie Gallagher, Does Religion Kill? It talks about the way the media has been grabbing onto the supposed trend that religion, particularly the Mormons, are steering kids into suicide. Not true, apparently. How surprised are you about that? You shouldn't be.
• So when I'm running late on non-COB days and I'm heading on to campus, I love getting the steel cut oatmeal at Jamba Juice. It's just heavenly, and I never hesitate to pay the $3 for it. Yesterday I went to buy my own because I thought it was ridiculous that I would pay that, and I totally balked at the $6 price for the full can that will deliver me probably 10 or so servings. Kind of silly, right? While I'm talking about breakfast...
• Let me put in a plug for breakfast. Want to know of a good weight loss tip? Eat a good breakfast. It's been shown that people who consume a third or so of their calories in the morning tend to eat few calories throughout the day. You know what I hear from most people about why they don't eat breakfast? "I just can't, my stomach can't really handle it." Well, that's only because you're used to starving yourself until lunch, and then you eat big and that sudden influx of food to digest then makes you sleepy. If at any time during the day you went 8 or so hours without eating, you'd think to yourself, "I really need to eat NOW," right? Then why shouldn't the same apply from the time you go to bed to when you wake up. It jump starts your metabolism, you'll burn your food more efficiently, and having fiber in the morning helps keep you feeling more sated until lunch. I'm just saying.
• How awesome are the videos by Ok Go? This first one was really shot with one single camera, took about six weeks to put together, and does not involve any kind of special effects. The next one is just kinda fun, and I really like the song. The one after that is just a random song I saw posted elsewhere that seemed catchy to me.
• Have a great day, dear hearts.

Here's My Take On Yesterday

Because I know you're all so interested, here are some of my thoughts regarding last night's election:

• The GOP killed it in state legislatures and governorships. They did not fare well at all in the Senate. They gained about 63-67 seats in the House, and so far only 6 Senate seats when most people were projecting 8-9. It looks like they'll get Alaska, and while Colorado and Washington are still up for grabs, and I mean, really up for grabs, somehow Dems always seem to eek out these extremely close races.
• The Republican party itself is much more diverse than people give it credit for. Two Hispanic Americans were elected governors in Nevada and New Mexico, with New Mexico's being the first ever female Hispanic American to be elected governor in the entire country. Two Indian Americans were also elected governors who are convservative Republicans, and several African Americans were elected to various positions throughout the country in behalf of the GOP. The best of all of these, however, is Marco Rubio.
• Marco Rubio is a Cuban American who ended up winning the Senate seat for Florida over former (current?) FL governor Charlie Crist. This guy is a rising star. Between Rubio and Chris Christie, the current governor of New Jersey, there are some real superstars rising in the Republican party. And I don't just mean charismatic and all that. These guys are hard core conservatives on all fronts and they are tough. There are dozens of videos of Governor Christie taking it to various people floating around on the internet. You can't help but get behind a guy like that, and Rubio is no different. 2016 and 2020 look really great for our Presidential prospects.
• The referendum on gay marriage. Here's the interesting thing about gay marriage. Are you ready for it? In every case where gay marriage has been a ballot measure voted on by the citizens, it has always failed (I'm about 95% confident that is correct). The only times when it has been legalized in this country has been when judges have usurped the will of the people and asserted their own opinions as law. This was the case in Iowa in 2009, and you know what happened yesterday? The three justices who were up for reelection yesterday were all voted out. Normally it's just a formality, but that was a definite referendum on those efforts. Last month PEW came out with a poll showing that the American people are becoming more accepting of alternative lifestyles, but my gut says that those results are not truly representative of what's actually occurring. In people's opinions it is always easy to say that they are open and accepting to that point of view about homosexuality, but when it comes down to it, people always vote against endorsing that behavior. That was especially true in California. Polls showed that opponents to Prop 8 were always leading, but when it comes down to it, people don't ever really want to endorse that behavior. That's my gut feeling.
• California reelected Jerry Brown to governor and Barbara Boxer to the Senate. Jerry Brown was the former governor of California back in the late 70s, and he is the current attorney general in California. He is the same guy who refused to defend the California constitutional amendment of Prop 8. Barbara Boxer is just an idiot. They were both reelected in spite of huge unemployment rates and fleeing businesses. Did you know the national unemployment rate is hovering around 9-10%, but in California it is upwards of 12-13%. It's just a terrible economy. I'm pretty sure that California will go bankrupt before the people really start to wake up to what's happening. Concerning California, Jay Nordlinger said:

  How bad does California have to get, before the voters turn from the Democrats? How dire does the state’s economy have to become? Going down the tubes, Californians still know how to do one thing: reach for the Democratic lever. As far as I’m concerned, that’s like grabbing an anvil when you’re drowning.
  
  And as the Republicans vote with their feet, California will become “bluer,” I’m afraid. Businessmen, entrepreneurs -- they’ve been hightailing it to Nevada, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina. They will probably hightail it further, seeking a state that will allow them to flourish.

  I wonder how long it will be until California is completely unsustainable. Sad thoughts. But still, it's a great place. (You're still the only person in the whole world that I know that would complain so much about living there. You know who you are.) Also from NRO:

  Why did the Republican wave stop at the California state line? There will be much speculation about problems with the Whitman and Fiorina campaigns, and some of it will be valid. Nevertheless, much of the answer lies in the makeup of the electorate.
  
  According to the exit poll, Democrats had a 13-point party identification advantage among California voters, compared with an even split nationwide. California voters approved of President Obama’s performance by a ten-point margin, whereas the national electorate disapproved by nine points. It’s just a different kind of state.

  
  
• Harry Reid was reelected to the Senate. Say what you will about him. That guy had every reason to lose yesterday, but he knows how to maneuver. He's an excellent politician, but then again, his opponent was not very strong either. Republicans should have won that seat.
• No matter how the results turned out in the places that you voted, it's always worth voting, if for no other reason than you're expression of faith in the American system of government. We live in an amazing country. The two-party system works, no matter how far off you think the government is from your own personal views. We get the most representative government in the entire world. If you don't think so, try living somewhere else for any amount of time and you'll see how wide-ranging the world's politics are. It will blow your mind.
• I think the GOP is in a really good position. Sure, they only control 2/3 of the elected federal offices, but conditions are still not very good for the incumbent party. The economy is still dragging, and probably will for a while longer. Health care is a mess in spite of the major overhaul. The war abroad is still very nebulous and we haven't seemed to make much progress since the success of the surge a couple years ago. Housing prices are still leveling out. The stock market has rebounded, but the economy continues to lag. If this keeps up, then it will do no favors for the party in power. The GOP can make small strides and the country will too, and then they'll be poised for another strong showing in 2012. The only problem I have with with 2012 is I don't like any of the possible candidates for POTUS that we have in the GOP. I love Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, and Marco, but they all still need some more seasoning. I don't think Palin is right either, but not for the same reasons that most people dislike her. There are some other possibilities - Tim Pawlenty, Huckabee, and Romney. While I like a couple of those all right, the problem is, I don't think any are really nationally appealing.

And that's about all I got.

Happy Halloween!

Let me tell you a little something about Halloween. This is what we did last month:

1. Pumpkin patch
2. Haunted Forest in American Fork
3. Heber Creeper (or Heber Crappy. Seriously, that thing was so lame. Never do it. Not even for free.)
4. Two costume parties.
5. Thriller up at Kingsbury Hall
6. Pumpkin carving with Mike and Lauren while listening to spooky Halloween...music? noises?
7. Halloween photoshoot (an Amy tradition)
8. And topped it all off by wearing coordinating black and orange outfits to church on Sunday with a Halloween treat night at a friend's place

Let me also tell you about Saturday night since that is really actual Halloween here in Utah. Our stake had this activity up at Spring Haven lodge in Hobble Creek canyon. It's a really nice locale, with air hockey, foosball, ping pong, a gym, and other things. There was also a gym where a guy we know was setup playing music for what would later house the dance.

What was annoying about that part was that being in the gym, and not having a lot of people there, people were using the gym like it was a gym, and not a dance floor. The lights were all on, guys were shooting hoops and a few people were hitting around a volleyball, that is, until they hit the DJ's $4000 piece of equipment. Some people are so dumb. This is the second (or maybe third) year in a row he has done the stake Halloween event, and he's always done it for free, just as a favor to everyone. Amy and I were ready to turn that mother out, so we suggested that we turn out the lights, and get all those nerds with the balls out. It's so funny to me that turning lights off is like an automatic call for people to come to the dance floor. And it was no different in this case.

We started the dance party, and went through about three different groups of friends who filtered in and out through the evening, while we stayed for the next three hours until everything ended with the B-52s, classic church dance song, though not my favorite.

I kind of love that Amy and I outlasted everyone there, and even better, I just love that we can dance the whole night and not give a care as to who else is there with us. Sometimes we mixed in with our groups of friends, and other times it was just us two off to the side, or outside while it sprinkled and we were trying to cool off, but not ever stopping because the rhymes he was kickin' were quite bootylicious (name that tune! not sure anyone who reads this can).

And you know what else? Maybe I shouldn't, but I get legitimately get annoyed and upset with anyone who doesn't like Halloween or doesn't properly celebrate it. What's wrong with you people? Do you not like fun? or happiness?

So to all those who enjoyed the holiday in full effect, I salute you. It's just about my most favorite month of the year.

(As always, you can find more photos on Amy's blog linked on the side.)

Hey Party People

I have gotten away from blogging and I actually really do miss it, but it's a busy season for me. A few things:

• I just got back some fresh data at the COB, and this is my first project that is all on my own. Since I started here I've been working on projects that the other intern hadn't finished yet, so I feel like this one is kind of my baby, and I am really excited about it. It's just really cool to be tapping into the pulse of the church, you know?
• I was feeling entirely overwhelmed yesterday and stayed up until way-too
  -late-o'clock last night, but somehow today I feel rejuvenated. It's nice to feel empowered, and I know that I have higher powers at work to thank for that.

Two nights ago Amy and I went to Salt Lake and ate here:

It was very tasty, very affordable, and very quaint. Then we went and saw this:

This is fast becoming my favorite Halloween activity, besides the blood and guts and dressing up of Halloween itself. The show is always so fun, it's in an awesome theater, and it is just really entertaining. Worth the price of admission. We would have gone here following the show (probably my favorite little bakery in the world) with some friends, but then winter happened.

Friday Round-Up

A couple of awesome things from around the web:

• Check this out. A student Rick Rolls his professor by hiding the lyrics of the Rick Astley classic along the entire left side of his paper.
  
• And this from an old Bill Simmons' article where he creates a vengeance scale.

  In 1988, Harden knocked out two of Largent's teeth with an illegal hit and put him on the IR for a bunch of games. The next time Seattle played Denver, Harden picked off a pass intended for Brian Blades and looked like he was going to score, but Largent scorched his way across the field and just destroyed Harden with a devastating and perfect-form tackle. Largent hit him so hard that the ball came loose and Largent recovered it. The hit was so nasty that it was a part of NFL telecast montages for years afterwards. Later, Largent called it the favorite play of his career. And this guy is in the Hall of Fame. Whenever sports vengeance is mentioned, that hit stands out for me. Totally legal and totally bloodless.

The hit comes at about 0:09 and the replay where you get the full feel of the impact comes at 1:14. My favorite part is that Largent was so focused on destroying Harden that it takes him a second to notice that he jarred the ball loose, and then he gets up after the play is dead and stares him down. Just so awesome.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

The Bane...

A guy I know virtually stalk, posted his thesis hideaway:


I guess every grad program has its own type of grueling test to overcome. Lawyers have the bar. Accountants have their CPA exams. Medical school itself is its own beast, although I heard the actual certifying exams have a really high passing rate, but that probably has a lot to do with the fact that those people are already in med school anyway, so it's not like they're people who let themselves fall behind.

Mine is the thesis. Thesis this year. Dissertation next year. And I hate it.

I hate it hate it hate it.

I tried telling Amy about this the other night, just how much it weighs on me, this constant dark cloud that makes it hard for me to sleep at night when I know I'm not progressing like I should, that forces me to kick and scream and run and hide whenever I actually have to start working on it. I feel like I can keep up with everything else, except for this most major part of my program. I just hate it.

I've become pretty good friends with this other girl I work with and we were talking about our thesis work yesterday. She had a meeting with her advisor about it and her goal was to make it through the meeting without crying in front of him. The funny thing is, she's totally smart and capable, but like just about everyone else I know, her thesis makes her whimper and crumble too.

She came back to our chat declaring "unsuccessful!" And I could only laugh at her plight. I typically don't release my emotions in that way, but it certainly takes its toll on me in other ways.

To try and find some sympathy, I took to the interwebs to find a forum of like-minded individuals who also hate their theses/dissertations and I happened upon this site - PhinisheD. Know how I found it? I searched "thesis support groups." And I kind of love this site. There are thousands of members, and they have threads on just about everything you can think of. The thing I like most about it will probably be the different goal setting groups and other people to hold yourself accountable to (because apparently myself and my committee chair aren't enough).

Anyway, I just love it, and I think it'll be a tremendous resource.

I Can't Wait

Last night I kind of unloaded on Amy all of the things that I had been feeling burdened by recently - school and my calling, mostly - and it was just nice to have someone listen. It's a busy season in my life, and while I know that there will be breaks here and there, I kind of think that it's only going to get more busy and more crowded with things to do so I better just learn how to get it all together now while it's still not so bad.

Sometimes I feel like I'm on top of everything when it comes to my calling, and then there are other times like this last Sunday when I feel like I'm dropping balls left and right. We need to be doing more formal PPIs. I need to visit these new members in the ward. These girls haven't been home taught in months, so what's it going to take to get her home teachers out to see them? There is FHE on Monday, home teaching set up for Tuesday, institute on Wednesday, ward temple night on Thursday, and the stake retreat on Saturday, and then visits and meetings on Sunday. But you know what? I'm in a very active singles ward, and for the time being, I don't have to worry about the real problems that leaders face in family wards. No families are going through a divorce. If someone loses his/her job, it's much easier to handle because it's not a whole group of individuals who are dependent upon one person. Nobody is dying. Nobody is really sick. Nobody has any serious problems. So I should enjoy this time while it lasts, right?

I don't know if school will ever really feel better. I was reading a friend's blog, and she mentioned her husband was working an 80 hour week that week. I'm having to do this without three kids, a mortgage, and a host of other real responsibilities. Sometimes it's just about perspective.

But you know what? I'm so grateful that I can get up each day and have another chance to get it right. I died as to the person I was yesterday and the events that unfolded then, and I can get up, say a prayer that I can get it right today, and I can have another chance to try and catch up a little bit on everything that I didn't get right the day before. I died as to that person, and I'm reborn as to this new one who can try and set it straight today. I just love that symbolism.

You know what else I'm grateful for? 80s music. I have a playlist with over 300 80s songs, about 2 GB worth, and it just makes me happy. This is my most recent fave.

Okay, let's try and get it right today. Go!

Live Broadly

Last night I had some training with our Stake leadership and they had us do some reading on some remarks by Elder Bednar. The piece was actually the transcript of a "conversation" with Elder Bednar, and he covered some topics of leadership, and at the end he opened it up to questions. Probably the neatest thing about the article was just how real he was about everything. He was just really frank, and not so full of the niceties that are so common in the church.

A few of the points that I especially liked:

• "If you haven't been rebuked by the Holy Ghost in your personal prayers lately, I'd recommend you improve the meaningfulness of your personal prayers. To be rebuked is to be corrected and counseled."
• "When we fail to give needed correction or counsel, it's because we're thinking of ourselves. We normally think, 'Well, you know, I don't want to hurt this person's feelings.' No, that's really not true; you just want to be liked. And the reason I'm not going to tell you what really needs to be said is because I don't want to be viewed negatively or fall into disfavor. It is far more loving to appropriately provide correction and counsel than it is to duck the issue."
• This was actually from Elder Richard L. Evans, "It's good to be faithful, but it's better to be faithful and competent."

And this one was my favorite point:

Questioner: When viewed by the outside world we seem very different. We think differently, we dress differently, we speak differently. So much of that difference is about us trying to do the Lord's work and build the Lord's kingdom, and not bring in the world, so we want to continue "being different" to move the work forward. Yet the Lord's put a lot of truth and a lot of good things into the world. So as a leader, when you think about using all the good things the world has to offer, how can one pick out the best of the world and use that towards building a more collaborative culture - see the goodness in the world and help that goodness to build the kingdom?

Elder Bednar - Well, the thought that comes to my mind is prove all things and hold fast to that which is good. I think we need to be looking broadly. Some of us have regular opportunities to travel broadly. And from that you see things that can be brought to bear in building the Lord's kingdom.

I just really liked this idea of living broadly. There are so many ways in which we live narrowly. Some examples:

• Reading - off the top of my head I can think of a dozen different girls who read only the teen fiction types of books. It's Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, and nothing else. And other people, just not at all. And guys have their niches too.
  
• Eating - some people are just meat and potatoes. They eat the same thing at the same restaurants every time they go out.
  
• Traveling - some people just never go anywhere. Some people rarely go beyond the confines of their own homes. Do you have siblings or friends that live in different states or countries and have never visited them? Have you ever been to the east coast? Out of the United States?
• Living - we do the same things every weekend, with the same people, at the same places.

I know that there are a good number of people who don't share these same kinds of philosophies, but I can see how from a leadership perspective, when we live narrowly and keep our experiences limited to a small number of things, we have less range in the kinds of people that we can relate to. When we have a small number of experiences and interests, then we also become really limited in the types of friends that we can have. And I think that's when the real tragedy occurs - just not being able to reach as many people as we might be able to otherwise, right? People bring richness to our lives.

Awooooooo!

I can't believe it's taken so long to get my inaugural October/Halloween post up. I must apologize for that.

Last weekend, Amy and I went to the Haunted Forest over in American Fork. Last year I went to Nightmare on 13th, which I thought was really good, but I think that this one was actually better. They had an opening little indoor haunted house, and then a huge waiting area, and then another outside one that is really long. The whole thing took about an hour and a half, with only about a half or so waiting in line. I hadn't been to this one in years...2003, methinks. There were a lot of good cheap scares. My favorite ones are always the ones where they divert your attention with one thing, and then surprise you with another. There was this one area where there was this circling light placed at about eye level, and then it went dark, and I had just assumed that it turned off. Instead, some shrouded monster type guy came right at us and he totally caught me off guard. Another good one was when two monster-guys were working together. You were so focused on the one that when the other surprised you, there was just no chance.

I really do love all things Halloween. What makes life even more grand is that Amy is totally into it too. We finally came up with our couples costume last night. That's actually been hard because not only have we been wanting to come up with something that is unique, but also well known enough that it's that something that most people can recognize. On top of that, her costume philosophy involves characters that she can act out and that are funny, and mine tends to the more scary variety. Well, we found a compromise and I'm pretty pleased about it. And no one else will find out until after we've donned our costumes. Sadly, it doesn't feature any makeup, but I'm kind of thinking that I need a second costume anyway, right? So maybe I can still come up with something else.

Still ahead on our itinerary: Heeber Creeper, Thriller by the Odyssey Dance Company, Scary Movies, Halloween get togethers, and so forth. Will keep you posted.

Stay scared!

Last Year v. This Year

I'd like you to observe the difference between last year in Long Beach and this year in St. George.

GrimacingSmiling

Not wanting to die, mostly. Plus, you have no idea how good that protein chocolate milk was. This might become a yearly photograph now.

Bit O' Honey

You know what's weird? I just noticed that someone that invited me to be her friend on Facebook ended up defriending me. And she sent that invitation not long after she had invited Amy and I over for dinner one night. We haven't had any kind of negative interaction since then, but I have noticed a cooling on her part towards me. I thought I was just reading into it, but then I noticed that today and it just surprised me, you know? People are weird.

Hockey season starts today. The baseball postseason started yesterday. It's strange being so removed from the baseball playoffs. Usually I really look forward to this time of year, as the Angels are usually contenders, but they faltered badly this season. Their signings didn't work out.

Kent, you were right, and I was wrong. They should have resigned Vladdy. Hideki wasn't a good option, but if you look at his numbers, he actually wasn't bad either. It's just that no one noticed it with them playing so poorly. Losing Kendry was a huge blow in the early to middle part of the season. Their starting pitching was good though. Their bullpen was terrible. Lots of room to grow. You know why I'm really optimistic though? Because Arte Moreno is our owner. They'll bounce back. In the meantime, I'm rooting for the Braves and Rays.

BYU football is terrible. I don't care if I don't watch another game this whole season, that is, unless I get invited to the Cougar Club again. Mike?

And you know why I can't allow myself to care about BYU football? Because the Raiders are 1-3. I can't be a diehard for multiple losing football teams. My heart just can't take it.

I haven't exercised once this week and I love it.

I love several shows right now - Modern Family (like everyone else in the whole world, and rightfully so), Community, Running Wilde...and there are some others that I really like. But I watch those ones pretty religiously. Outsourced may have some potential.

How are world affairs? Okay, I guess. There is no end to dumb stuff that people and countries will do. Yale welcomed with open arms the President of Iran. I wish I could communicate how idiotic that is. The midterm elections are forthcoming and the beauty of our two-party system will reveal itself as the country will swing back to the middle.

You know what else? I'm dating the sweetest girl in the whole world. My roommates are awesome. I have wonderful friends. And it's October, which may be my favorite month in the whole year. A friend of mine pointed out on her blog that there are 5 Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays this month. How great is that?

Watch Stars Wars in 3 minutes through the timeless art of construction paper stop action filming here:

And this movie really intrigues me:

But I'm a little sad because I guess it's going to be a pirate movie and I haven't seen one of those in almost a year.

And with that, I'm back to work. Have a great day, dear ones!

St. George Marathon

Here it comes. The first post that I actually have been excited to write in months. This is a long one, so scroll to the second to last paragraph if you just want to know my time. Here goes…

I don’t know how clear it came across in the last post, but I had been feeling pretty down on marathon running for a little while now. The training for this one felt much harder than the previous two. I never had any really great runs that felt like I was really making some progress. I didn’t get in any of the speed training that I was hoping for, and I didn’t have the kind of consistency that would allow for a better race than my previous two. Or so I thought.

We arrived Friday evening in St. George. After putting some of our stuff away we visited the Expo to pick up my packet and take a gander at the different booths that were setup to attract the runners. The Expo itself wasn’t that impressive, about the same size as Long Beach. I wish anyone else could have seen Chicago and how big it was and how many different things were setup. I just loved that one. What was really nice, however, was how organized the packet pickup was. We could have been in and out of there in about 2 minutes if we wanted to, and that’s pretty impressive given that 7400 were running this race all showing up on that one day. The race shirt is a pretty nice long-sleeve shirt, which I’m pretty pleased with. That’s two weeks in a row with decent shirts at races. I would pay an extra few bucks to have more than just a screen-printed white cotton tee.

That night I got a good sized meal at The Pizza Factory, which nobody really seemed to appreciate, but at least I got my carbs in, and then it was off to bed at a somewhat decent hour (10:30). I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping much anyway that night, so I wasn’t too concerned about it. I got up at 4am to head over to the buses by 4:30 (thanks, Amy). And this is where the fun began…

I met up with Tyler, a friend from home, and who has since become my most enthusiastic disciple. We rode the buses up to the beginning of the course. It was crazy seeing how much of a descent there was throughout the entire course, but something that would be really welcomed later. This was my first time running a marathon where the start and finish weren’t in about the same spot, instead going from up north of St. George down into the downtown area of the city. The course descends almost 2600 feet, and that has to be one of the main reasons that so many people use it as their race attempt at qualifying for Boston. I’m sure it helped contribute to my finish time.

I knew going into the race that I knew of several other people running it, but it turned out there were a few more. The one that I was most excited about was my first young men’s leader, Greg King. I’m pretty sure it had been more than 10 years since I had seen him. I saw Charlotte up in the starting area. I saw Matt Paul in the finisher’s area. I saw another kid from a class that I teach. While running I passed up a girl in my ward who was retreating to a port-o-potty. It was so nice to run into everyone, but especially Tyler. I think that he and I will be running many more marathons in the future. We rode up on the buses together and talked the whole way about our training, how we were feeling, how we slept the night before, what time we were hoping to reach, and what marathons we’re looking at in the future. I can’t help but get all excited when I get around him. It’s infectious.

We arrived up there at about 5:20 or so. We stood around and warmed up around the fires they had up there for the runners. When it finally got to about time to start getting ready to go, we placed ourselves just slightly behind the pace group for 3:30. We started out in the dark, and it wasn’t long before the sun started creeping up over the mountains on our left. I have to say, it’s just so exciting starting out in those races with everyone brimming with anticipation. People are always so unbelievably friendly and supportive of one another. It’s a similar dynamic to how when a group of strangers is going through something together, something they may or may not enjoy, and they start interacting and building bonds because of the simple fact that we’re all going through the exact same thing. We’re all feeling a little jittery; we hope that can run the race well and that we don’t have any injuries; we all hope that we can get to the end still smiling. It’s really cool. Before the race started I started chatting with this older gentleman who was running in his 20th or so marathon, with more than ten of those being at St. George. He was running because his friend was running his 200th, and although he hadn’t run a marathon in almost ten years, he felt like he should be there for his buddy. He told me that if I could make it through the first 13 miles with some energy that it would be possible to have a negative split on the second half. That point in particular was something I was really hopeful for because my first two experiences running these I have had some significant drop-offs in time at the end, slowing more than a minute per mile in my pacing the last few miles. I really wanted to avoid that this time around.

So the race began, and Tyler and I stayed together the first few miles. Unfortunately for him, he had just gotten a cold that week so breathing was hard for him right from the start. He had to slow up a little bit, and whereas before the race I thought we would be running together, I now found myself alone. I continued on my pace, soon catching up with the 3:30 group. I had no idea at that point if I could keep up with them for the duration of the race, but I thought I would just stay with them as long as I could and hope for the best. By mile 5 or 6 I felt good enough to break off on my own, but I also knew that I was having some stomach problems. I wanted to create enough space between myself and them so that when I did feel like I would have to evacuate, I could finish in time that I could catch back up with them. At mile 9 I couldn’t wait anymore, so I went, finished my business, and came out about one or two minutes later, finding myself just behind the group.

I was so immensely grateful for that because the pace leader was a marathon vet, having run in a few dozen other marathons, having won a few himself. Tommy, from New York, was a talker, and he told stories from the time that I started running with them until when I finally left them. I couldn’t believe the amount of stories that he had, and it served as such a wonderful distraction. He would tell one story and by the time he was done, he would point out which mile marker we had passed and that he had managed to keep us distracted for that entire eight minute interval. One tip that he shared with someone that I think proved instrumental for me was not relying on Gatorade so much because that additional sugar leads to cramping. In my first two marathons, and with just about all of my long runs, I always have some pretty severe cramping that is pretty debilitating, so from about mile 12 and on, I only drank water. I didn’t have any of the same kind of cramping problems that I normally have.

At mile 20 or 21, he told our group that if anyone was still feeling pretty good, now was the time to take off, so I went for it. I picked up my pace, getting myself far enough removed that I could no longer here Tommy’s constant stream of consciousness. The crazy thing was, I was feeling great. Although I hadn’t really put in the miles or done any training to improve my pace, I was keeping up a faster pace than I had run all summer. The fastest I had gone on any long run was 8:11, and that was over only 16 miles. At mile 22 in this race, I had a real shot at coming in ahead of 3:30, which is an 8:00 minute/mile pace.

At 21, I thought I’d see Amy. I didn’t, but at 23 there she was, hooting and hollering and making me feel so good about myself. People really don’t know how much that means unless they have actually been through this experience. When I was at mile 20, and I thought i was at 19, some older black guy ran up by me and said, “you’re looking really good, keep it up, only 6 more miles to go.” That blew my mind, not only because I had a mile less than i was thinking I had, but just because he was so encouraging when he himself was doing the same thing I was. There’s always one or two of those kinds of things in these marathons that gives me exactly what I need.

Mile 23 also happens to be when you can start to really see the city of St. George and you’re still descending and you can look up and see about where the finish line was. At mile 24 I felt like I was starting to slow down, and sure enough, that was about when I started to hear Tommy gaining on me. His loud, east coast speech propelled me forward those last few miles.

There’s nothing like making what you know is the last turn of the race. This one happened to be on 2nd or 3rd North, heading east, with the finish line sitting on 4th east. Although the race is a closed course for the most part, there are plenty of people who are lining up the most difficult and most important part of the race – those last few miles.

I couldn’t keep a good, strong, steady pace until the end, but I was feeling good enough that I could put forth pretty significant bursts that got me close enough to see the official marathon clock ticking at 3:29 about a hundred yards or so away.

Apparently, my race supporters were all there to witness it, but I didn’t even notice them, although I reacted as though I did. I was just so happy to beat the clock to 3:30 that I didn’t really think about much else. I was wobbly at the finish line, but I didn’t need to sit down right away.

I really, really loved the post-race treats. In my other experiences, they are always serving beer after the race, and Tommy even mentioned that there is never a better time for a beer than after finishing a marathon. Previous to Saturday, I always thought that was such a dumb idea, but when the Coke truck was serving water and soda, I coolly asked for the Coke over the H2O. My favorite, favorite thing, though, was the chocolate and vanilla fudgesicle. I couldn’t believe how good that thing was.

I ended up finishing the race in 3:28:05. That’s a full nine minutes faster than my previous best. Without any real rigorous training, (well, I guess besides the whole marathon training part) I have been able to shave off 15 minutes from my marathon time. Now I’m 18 minutes from a Boston qualifying time, and now I’m all kinds of inspired to see if I can do it. I don’t know when that will be, but the motivation that I lacked before Saturday is suddenly back in full force. Also, I did end up having a negative split. I covered the first 13 in 1:46 and the last half in 1:42. That’s the thing that’s most surprising to me about all of this because finishing off a marathon is the one thing I haven’t been able to do before.

As always, emotions always get so close to the surface in these extreme physical circumstances, and the feeling that always rises to the top for me is gratitude. I am always so immensely grateful for my friends who come out to support, and for every person who volunteers their time to help a few thousand morons beat themselves into the ground trying to cover a pretty lengthy amount of distance. So thank you to Dave, Caitlin, and Mason. Thank you to that black man who told me I was looking good. Thanks to the girl who rubbed Icy/Hot on my calf at mile 22. Thanks to the organizers for putting port-o-pottys at every aid station. Thanks to Tommy who’s jibber-jabberin’ kept me going for about two and half hours of the race, and that was loud enough to keep me going through the very end. Thanks to all of the water-hander-outters. Thanks to Tyler and Greg and Charlotte and Matt and Paul and Melissa just for being there. Thanks, Elisha, for suggesting chia seeds. I really do think those made a difference in helping me maintain that push through the end. And most of all, thanks to my sweet, sweet girlfriend, Amy, for letting me say good night early on the nights I had to go to bed early and leave me alone to do my training. It looks like there is going to be some more of this.

Fortunately.

Drago!!!!

I am a little surprised at how little I have written about marathons and running and marathon training in the last few months. It's obviously different now than it was the first couple of times, but it's still something that encompasses so much of my time and attention while I'm doing it.

This time around was much harder for me, training-wise. Maybe it's just being in a dating relationship, but I have been so resistant to running and spending as much time in the past to run this time around. As a result, I have no expectations when it comes to my time tomorrow because I really just don't know. I have had an incredible range in how I've felt on each of my long runs, and how I've been able to run that I really can't tell what this time will be like. Couple all of that with the different type of running course and I really can't say whether I'll be faster or slower, or feel better or worse when I cross that finish line tomorrow. The only thing I'd really like to have happen would be to finish faster than my PR of 3:37. If I can top that, then I think I should be pleased with myself, given that I've done absolutely no speed training this time around like I was hoping I would.

I do have under my belt three runs of about 20+ miles, and I have no injury concerns. Everything on my body feels just fine, and I went for a short run the other night and I have to admit, I feel really fresh. The taper is such a wonderful thing. It makes you feel like you lose all of the fitness between the time you have your last long run and the day of the race, but as it turns out, you feel renewed. That mud run last week was much harder than I expected it to be, but at least all of that soreness is gone now. I've even been able to get some decent amounts of rest the last few days, although that has been sprinkled with my early SLC days when I get kind of no sleep. I dunno. We'll see, I guess.

Like I said before, this time around is very different. When I finished Long Beach last year, I already had planned on trying another one this year, but this time I don't have similar aspirations. True, there are still some marathons I'd like to try out - New York, Arizona - but it's not the same kind of drive as I've had before. I think I need to do something different. That doesn't mean I won't be running, but I need an alteration in my approach or something. Again, we'll see what that means.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow though. Last year was my first marathon with someone I knew. This time I can think of four people off the top of my head that I know who are running St. George, so that's kind of fun. One of them, I'll be meeting up with tonight and we'll have our pre-game talk about everything. He's the same guy I ran Long Beach with last year. He's become my little protege, of sorts. We text about running all the time, and I kind of love him for it.

I won't be running with any music, as is my marathon custom, but this song will be playing in my head at various stages of the race. I wish I could just have an edited clip of Rocky quotes on an MP3 file:

Going in one more round when you don't think you can - that's what makes all the difference in your life.

Here goes nothin'.

Mud Running

Okay, I guess I'll blog now.

I'll let you go ahead and head over to Amy's blog to see more pictures, but I ran the Dirty Dash this past weekend up in Midway. I ended up running into a few people from Irvine at the packet pick-up that were also running it. One of the girls I hadn't seen since high school, and Casey asked me if I was running it with anyone else. I thought I would be, but turns out that the only person that I knew that was running it would be running much later than I was. Hopefully next time around I can get some more interest.


The run ended up being much harder than I expected it to be. There was a lot of elevation change, and there was a pretty extensive deep mud section where I had to pick up my feet a lot. The next few days after I was much more sore following this race than I had been after any of marathon training runs.

This is my race review: few aid stations, not enough obstacles, no race photography except for the very end, should be run in June instead of September, great participants, huge slip and slide was my favorite, the mud put at the end was really great, mostly a pretty good race.

Next one is a 5k in May. Are you in?

Friday Round-Up

In high school I was signed up for this surveying company that tested consumer response to a number of different products. Whenever they were testing my demographic I would get called in to try something and they would pay us cash for filling out a five minute survey. It was always pretty awesome for a teenager to get paid $30 for his thoughts on eating a chicken sandwich. That would be pretty awesome for me now, actually.

Anyway, this morning I was kind of realizing that I'm currently signed up for a bunch of things that give me pretty good access to free or heavily discounted things, and I know that I have some readers who might appreciate some of this stuff (if you know of anything, hit me up in the comments):

• In the Utah area there is this text/email service that sends out a daily notification about an eatery that offers some great discount on a dining experience. It used to be called the Daily Skweez and was only offered around here, but it appears to have expanded (Boise and Lubbock, TX) and dropped the "Daily" and now is just called Skweez. They have one that fits my likes at least once or twice a week. Go here to try it.
• This one is getting pretty big everywhere, but it's worth touting anyway - Groupon. How it works is they feature some daily deal as well and offer some coupon worth 50% off or more the regular price, provided that a set number of people buy into the day's Groupon. This week I bought a set of 4 movie tickets that have to be used within 90 days for $20, so that includes IMAX and evening showings of just about everything. Last week I got concert tickets for $7 to see Neon Trees which would have gone for $16 or more. They have awesome deals though, sometimes as much as 80-90% off stuff. They have this for all major cities. Go here to try it.
• These two are similar - Gilt and Jack Threads. Gilt is a site that features daily sales on different high end clothing brands for both men and women. Jack Threads is for guys and features streetwear kinds of stuff. Gilt has really awesome deals, but it's for expensive items to begin with, so it'll have 50% or more off of items that are hundreds and even thousands of dollars. If you're vigilant though, you can find some pretty awesome stuff. A few weeks ago I was able to get a Maui and Sons anniversary t-shirt for $15 that normally goes for $40. If I would have seen the sale earlier, I could have gotten this Hugo Boss suit that I have been looking at for awhile now, MSRP $800, going for $388. The good stuff goes quickly, so you have to keep your eye out for it, but for guys at least, they have stuff from Hugo Boss, CK, Diesel, John Varvatos, and the like for awesome prices. I decided that when I grow out of my t-shirt phase and have a real salary, I'll do some wardrobe upgrading there. Jack Threads doesn't often have stuff I like, but this week they did feature RVCA and E's and Matix, so there is potential there.
  
• And then there are all the Backcountry affiliates that most people know about that always have good deals on something - Whiskey Militia, Steep and Cheap, and all the others that you'll find linked on either of those websites. Each of them caters to a specific crowd, so you can find stuff for cyclists, MXers, skiers/snowboarders/surfers, basically anything kind of extreme/edgy.
  
• This one I just signed up for - Mystery Guest. I imagine in big metro areas you'll have more offerings, but this one is what it sounds like: sign up to be a mystery shopper/diner, fill out a survey of your experience, and get some kind of reimbursement for it. You can sign up and accept or decline whatever assignments you want, follow the list of guidelines, and then they pretty much comp you for it. The one they have right now is for Cheesecake Factory, which I'm really excited about. They're just asking for 2 or more people to sign up, eat, observe a few things, fill out a survey by the next morning, and then they give a $40 gift card. Cool, right?

So that's all kind of fun stuff. Wanna another link? So I have a site meter for this blog, and it gives me the low down on who is coming here, how they get here, how much time is spent here, and then where they go. (Yes, I have a pretty good idea of who my individual visitors are. I'm looking in your direction, Waltons.) Anyway, someone earlier this week was referred to my blog through what I thought was a really interesting idea - We Feel Fine. This is their mission statement:

We Feel Fine is an exploration of human emotion on a global scale.

Since August 2005, We Feel Fine has been harvesting human feelings from a large number of weblogs. Every few minutes, the system searches the world's newly posted blog entries for occurrences of the phrases "I feel" and "I am feeling". When it finds such a phrase, it records the full sentence, up to the period, and identifies the "feeling" expressed in that sentence (e.g. sad, happy, depressed, etc.). Because blogs are structured in largely standard ways, the age, gender, and geographical location of the author can often be extracted and saved along with the sentence, as can the local weather conditions at the time the sentence was written. All of this information is saved.

The result is a database of several million human feelings, increasing by 15,000 - 20,000 new feelings per day. Using a series of playful interfaces, the feelings can be searched and sorted across a number of demographic slices, offering responses to specific questions like: do Europeans feel sad more often than Americans? Do women feel fat more often than men? Does rainy weather affect how we feel? What are the most representative feelings of female New Yorkers in their 20s? What do people feel right now in Baghdad? What were people feeling on Valentine's Day? Which are the happiest cities in the world? The saddest? And so on.

The interface to this data is a self-organizing particle system, where each particle represents a single feeling posted by a single individual. The particles' properties – color, size, shape, opacity – indicate the nature of the feeling inside, and any particle can be clicked to reveal the full sentence or photograph it contains. The particles careen wildly around the screen until asked to self-organize along any number of axes, expressing various pictures of human emotion. We Feel Fine paints these pictures in six formal movements titled: Madness, Murmurs, Montage, Mobs, Metrics, and Mounds.

At its core, We Feel Fine is an artwork authored by everyone. It will grow and change as we grow and change, reflecting what's on our blogs, what's in our hearts, what's in our minds. We hope it makes the world seem a little smaller, and we hope it helps people see beauty in the everyday ups and downs of life.

Check it out. It's kinda neat.

As is customary for this blog, I'll leave you with some music. When I was in my pit of despair a couple weeks ago not sleeping, I realized that I was way down on some of my 80s favorites. Back in the day, freshman year, my friends Laura and Brenna went and saw Depeche Mode which I thought was really funny, that is, until I was downloading a bunch of music and realized that I kind of love Depeche Mode. I was wrong for making fun of you, Laura.

So, Enjoy the Silence:


Incidentally, just one more offering...I used to use GoMusic for downloading music (9 or 15 cents a pop), but I've since switched to Legal Sounds. They have more music, it's cheaper, you get more free music, and it's better quality than GoMusic.

And with that, have a wonderful weekend, dear ones!

Right Back Where We Started From

It’s funny how often I feel like I’m saying “thank you” or some variation on “everything’s gonna be alright” in the course of my blog. I think I have a dozen different posts that incorporate some variations on this theme. If I’m so consistently grateful and optimistic, then I’ve got at least some things figured out, right?

It’s also funny how one event can influence the demeanor of a whole broad range of thoughts and emotions, such that everything just seems to be great. How is school? Great. How is work? Long, but great. How is marathon training? Okay, you got me there, but then again, I might still say great just because it’s actually over for all intents and purposes.

Last week I was running along University Avenue up towards Provo Canyon and I was feeling really inspired to write, just stories, really. What inspired me specifically? A dog carcass. Saw it two weeks ago, and then I saw it’s at least one week decayed remains still stinking up the gravel trail that I traverse. I was just generally feeling motivated to pick up a number of projects, writing being one of them, but the main theme of all of the projects being just the generally conveying of some message and delivering a story. I’m really fascinated by this and have been for quite a while now.

Things that I’m excited about right now:

• The Dirty Dash this Saturday
• BYU football with Cougar Club privileges
• Modern Family
• Halloween and all things pertaining to it, which includes costumes, haunted houses, Thriller by the Odyssey dance company, candy, scary stories, and my annual Stephen King novel (this year’s selection being It)
• Seeing Dave and Caitlin and Mason next week
• Trying to compartmentalize work, school, spiritual, and personal life better
• General Conference
• Shifting into my jeans and t-shirts fall attire from my shorts and t-shirts summer attire
• The November elections and the taking back of the House by the GOP and the pushback against over-reaching government forces, and more specifically, The Pledge

And so on. I even already posted Bob Marley's Three Little Birds a couple of months ago. I was going to post Naughty by Nature's song Everything's Gonna Be Alright, but I'm afraid that song my upset your sensitivities, so you're going to get something different altogether. Enjoy.

(Smiling)

If you want the scoop, drop me a line!

That's Really Catching On

Thanks

Thank you thank you thank you, to everyone who reads this and even to those who don't. I can't believe the amount of support that I have from the people around me. It really is so neat to issue a cry for help (because let's face it, that's what that last blog post was about) and then to feel such a warm response from the people around me. Thanks for the calls, the texts, the chats, the comments, and just your time and concern. I feel so very loved.

This weekend ended up being about what I expected it to be. I'm on an alternating sleep/no-sleep schedule, but not so much out of sadness, just thinking. I can't get myself to stop thinking, so I spend one night awake for most of the night thinking, and by the time the next night comes, I pretty much just crash. It's not so bad really, but I wonder how much it's slowing down my recovery from running 22 miles on Saturday (which went well, thanks for asking).

It's kind of a weird thing to be so well acquainted with a specific kind of pain and sorrow. I was counting up the number of break-ups I have had over the years and I think that there have been about 10 or so that I'd qualify as actual break-ups, and not just walking away from a misguided relationship. They basically fall into two categories, 1) the awful, horrific, earth-shattering kind that leaves you writhing in agony on the floor, the blinds drawn, with Celine's All By Myself humming in the background, and 2) the dull constant throbbing that follows closely your heart beat and ebbs and flows when something reminds you of that person, but is manageable. There were three of the first variety all with Becca, and others scattered here and there with others. The thing about breaking up when I'm 30 v. when I'm 22 or even 25 is just how much all my prior experience helps to guide me through the process. Anyway, nowadays, breakups don't really fall into the first category anymore. They're something that I think I've learned to deal with quite well.

I guess I'd compare it to getting the same kind of injury over and over, or suffering through a certain kind of illness or disease repeatedly. The pain and suffering might feel the same, but all that prior experience lets you know that not only are you going to survive through it and the pain will subside, but that life goes on and full recovery is available if you just give it a little bit of time. Knowing all of that makes the whole thing much more manageable. Everyone has gotten the flu, and while it always sucks to feel so crappy, you also know what foods you like, the medicines that you prefer, and you get through it. Above all, you know the prognosis, and you know that better days are ahead.

I guess it's pretty obvious, but it's still interesting to me that there are just certain people that everyone has for seeking comfort. This time around has been different than other times for me. Dave is always my #1 go to person, but I've also been able to rely on a few different people that I never have before, and I've just been so grateful for them and their listening ears and well thought out advice. Some people can say certain things and because it's that person speaking from his or her particular experience, their advice feels so wise, whereas other people saying similar things just feels so hollow.

What's been really cool is going through this experience with my new roommates and realizing just how awesome they are. One roommate in particular is just wonderful. He's such a funny combination. He's in the military, rides a Harley, goes fishing and camping all of the time, but is a male nurse. And I just love it when he introduces himself as such, "it's Shay, the male nurse." He's super funny, and I never realized this until the last few weeks of living with him, but he is so naturally geared toward being sympathetic and compassionate, that the nurse thing actually feels just so perfectly fitting. I am so glad to get to know him and become better friends with him.

In any case, I'm just so grateful to know the people I know, and I'm grateful for the experiences I'm having. In spite of whatever ups or downs I have in my life, I absolutely know that God is aware of me and is providing a path that marks the way to much fulfillment and lots of happiness.

I went to my bishop last week just for some counsel, but also to ask for a blessing with the intent of having my pain alleviated. And at one point in our conversation before I even asked for a blessing, he said, "I wish I could just lay my hands on your head and remove the pain that you're feeling, but pain is part of the process," and with that, I've felt content to allow the pain to persist. I think, for me, I usually spend so much time trying to avoid and rid myself of pain that I have almost entirely forgotten how valuable it can be as a teacher. What is it that C.S. Lewis said, "the pain now is part of the happiness then...that's the deal." I know that's true, and somehow remembering that it's not only something to be escaped but to be understood helps to make it all the more manageable.

Sleepless in Provo

Everyone has their own way of dealing with emotional trauma. I was talking to a friend tonight and she was telling me that she starts off by having a long ugly cry with her mom, then watches the six hour version of Pride and Prejudice, eats any and every potato chip available, and mails it in with school/work until she feels like she can see the sunlight again.

For me, I lose my appetite and I just don't sleep. Usually I want to be around other people. I'll talk out my feelings until I feel like I've exhausted my friends with the subject, and then I'll just take every opportunity I can to be around other people. If that can't happen, then TV and movies get me through the day. That becomes my way of numbing myself. The last several years exercise has become another outlet for me.

Another friend was over at my place tonight and she was talking about how people will use disorders/addictions as their own coping mechanisms. People naturally need to process emotions, but when they can't, they resort to other dysfunctional behaviors as a way of staving off the emotions that they're facing.

The best way, I think, to cope comes through relationships. We learn to rely on those around us for succor, whether it be family or friends. People need people, and then, most importantly, people need to learn to foster their relationship with God.

I think I've covered the spectrum in searching for my coping mechanisms. My reaction to my worst breakup was watching tons of TV, not sleeping, and not eating. It got to the point where I was just feeling lethargic and kind of sick all of the time so I went and saw a doctor. She told me that I was anemic, and then asked me if I was going through anything at that time. When my mom had her difficulties, I learned to rely on my brother and the Reids very heavily. Dave has always been my greatest resource in this manner.

Anyway, so tonight I've been dealing. I said some prayers, talked with a few friends, but mostly just laid in my bed for the last 5 hours thinking about how things have arrived at this point. These are my conclusions for what's in store this weekend - there will be some movie watching, lots of running, lots of talking, and lots of calling on the powers of heaven to help me figure this out. At 5:30 in the AM, I think I'm just starting to get a grasp of how to move next. And it's nice to finally feel like there are some ways to assert myself and not feel completely powerless.

Just a Dream

Hey adoring fans. I just have not been that interested in blogging lately. I think it's mostly because I just feel like I'm too busy for it, or that if I devote any amount of time to it, it means that I'm taking away valuable time that I should be dedicating to the other pursuits I have ongoing.

This is how my time is supposed to break down these days:

20 hours (COB)+4 hours travel time (min.)+20 hours (psych department for internship coordinator)+5-10 hours (research assistantship)+7.5 hours (field study)+15-20 hours (thesis work)=64-74 hours a week.

And that doesn't take into account my bowling class, calling stuff, running, and Amy time, and Chris time.

Fortunately, I can overlap on a good number of those hours, but still, that's pretty busy, right? So while I'm still reading a good amount of stuff, and trying to keep up with everything, blogging is definitely taking a backseat these days to everything else. I might be able to squeeze something out during my lunch hour at the COB, but that might be a stretch too. I haven't had any hours there yet this week so that contributes partly to my lack of blogging.

Here's the latest: just got back from Vancouver, Canada on a fun little trip with Amy to visit her digs. Now I'm just trying to get in my last hard training week for St. George, still trying to finalize housing there, and otherwise just trying to keep my head above water.

Two things I want you to check out in the meantime - this piece of awesomeness from Arcade Fire. And then this comeback song from Nelly. Remember him? I kinda missed him.

Near, Far, Wherever You Are

I couldn't think of an appropriate title for this and that song just happened to be playing at one of the desks near me. You know what this post marks? The return of the work blog post while I'm killing some extra minutes at work. It's funny how some work things are remarkably different here at the Church Office Building as opposed to other work environments, hereafter referred at as the COB:

• Missionary attire everywhere. Women (sisters) where midcalf skirts, although they don't have to wear pantyhose. Guys are all in white shirts, and on the 18th floor, I am supposed to wear a suit coat because you just never know when some higher up will walk out of the Presiding Bishopric offices.
• ID badges and gates that will stop you if you don't have proper authorization.
• Some valet guy with white gloves that waits down in the VIP parking area.
• Weekly devotional meeting with your department.
• Church art everywhere.

And then other things that are remarkably similar:

• Tech guys some desks over that are reading and laughing at the Busted Tees website.
• Somebody's radio playing just normal music. I don't know why that surprised me. I guess I just assumed it would be only MoTab or classical music playing.
• Water cooler talk.
• Someone bringing in treats and the email that goes out letting everyone know that the lifesaving vittles have arrived to get you from that seemingly endless gap from breakfast to lunch.

These days are incredibly long when I'm waking up at 5am to get here at 6:30 and then out by 4:30, but I love how quickly the mornings go. Plus, my desk faces east and the one benefit to being here so early is seeing the sun come up over the mountains.

The best part is, I like what I'm doing with people that I like, at a place that I feel comfortable...mostly. (I have confirmed once again that I never want to work at a place permanently with business formal wear.)

On my drive up by myself, I remembered that I used to drive up a few days a week up to Claremont from Irvine while I was attending school there. For the first year I was going up four times a week, driving 45 minutes each way, if there wasn't any traffic. Traffic made that commute easily an hour and some change. Even when I lived in Irvine and worked in next door Newport Beach, it took me a half hour to travel the 10-15 mile distance that it was. My point is...this commute is no trouble at all. Especially at the hours that I'm traveling.

Anyway, there are a lot of things that I'm remembering about work, one of which is my customary lunch blog post, so maybe you will be seeing some more regularly scheduled programming around here.

Maybe.

My Name is Jona(h)s

After her session working at the temple, Amy briefly mentioned to me what a privilege and responsibility it is to use the priesthood. It really is amazing the amount of trust that Lord places in us to bear his priesthood and carry out his work. I was thinking about this point last Sunday while in elders quorum, and then during Sunday school.

I came into church that morning not feeling on top of my game, spiritually. In the week prior I had been feeling like I had been coming up short in a number of different areas, and I was hopeful for something that could inspire a turnaround, to where I could just start over, and also that I could feel like I could have another shot at redeeming myself for the ways I had been lacking previously. What really amazed me was that during our priesthood meeting, I really felt that; I was conducting, and I felt energized and enthused in a way that I hadn't been feeling for a little while. We had a number of new elders in the quorum, and we had an awesome lesson taught to us by one of the guys who normally teaches institute when school is in session. I was so grateful to be conducting because it allowed for me to have an opportunity to speak to the elders and bear my testimony while feeling the burst of energy that I had during the meeting.

Sunday school was just as enlightening. Something that I really appreciate about the Old Testament is just how flawed all the people are throughout that book, and that's especially true in the case of Jonah. What I really appreciate about this story is how forthright it is in telling his story, but I appreciate even more how the Lord gives the opportunity to act in his name even when we are reluctant to do so. He works through us despite the many foibles and weaknesses that we have, and in that process, we come to be molded and sharpened into the people that he needs us to be.

I am all too aware of my own shortcomings. I feel like so often I can look at my life and the opportunities and responsibilities that have been entrusted to me, and think to myself that I am either undeserving or underqualified in being able to meet those opportunities and needs, but I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father loves me and will work through me in spite of how many reasons I give him to not do so. It's a great thing to be a part of his gospel.

Remember Me?

Remember how I used to be the guy that would blog regularly about 4-5 times a week? I had a whole range of topics that you could choose from - politics, sports, current events, psych stuff, relationships and dating, running and exercise, and my own personal life and churchy things. The next year, I think, will be a really busy.

Last week I got back from California and then got moving the very next day. As I've grown older, it's now taking me longer to move. It's more involved. I own pieces of furniture. I have cookware. I don't own a spice rack, though I do desperately crave one, I have more than a dozen different spices. Isn't that crazy? I inherited a pretty awesome bookshelf in my last apartment and a desk. I bought a file cabinet. I have a TV stand. And last Friday I bought my first real piece of furniture - a dresser. Granted, it was from Ikea, but I actually really love it. It has eight drawers, a little taller than waist high, and of the black/brown variety. As I start moving my clothes around, I always get interested in how many t-shirts I have. It's up to 35 now, with about 25 of those that I would not hesitate to wear in any casual situation, not including the dozen or so white and black t-shirts that I also have in my repertoire. I love me some t-shirts, but if you think I have a lot, you ought to ask Dave about his collection. He's the king. It's beautiful.

I moved over everything by the weekend, but this morning I finally started getting settled in with everything. It's really nice. It's nice to feel at home. My roommates are super cool. I love that they're all really clean too. When I was younger I used to be pretty passive-aggressive, or just outright aggressive, about cleanliness. If a roommate had a newspaper subscription and let them pile at the door, I'd wait until there was a few weeks worth and then pile them all on his bed. I'd put dirty dishes in bed. One of my mission companions used to do that all the time, and I adopted it as my own. In the last couple years, I just cleaned everything without any complaint. Sometimes my roommates would help out, sometimes they wouldn't, but I'd just go ahead and stay on top of it, regardless. That got tiring with the last pair of roommates that I had, so it's nice to feel like I'm not alone in the upkeep of our apartment.

Anyway, I'm excited for the fall. I'm settled. I've started working at the church office building. Classes start next week, although I don't really have any real classes. My research assistantship will start the following week. And now it's time to just really get cracking on my thesis.

On my car ride home from work yesterday I was thinking how different today is than one year ago. I had totally different roommates. Different apartment. Different Utah friends. Different Utah dating interests. Calling. Position in school. And then I started thinking about how different next year at this same time will be too. I was mostly thinking in terms of my resume. I'll have a year's worth of research with one of the top Marriot school professors under my belt. I'll have had a year's worth of work with a huge international, widespread organization doing research and evaluation with them. I'll have my thesis done. But who knows what next August 25th will bring, right? Changes are always happening, and I kind of love it, and I'm so grateful for it.

Oh, and play this game. It will change your life - Robot Unicorn Attack. It's so funny.

The Me Update

A bunch of things going on:

• Was in California from Friday until this past Tuesday. This is what happened: Angels game, Big Bang Friday Fireworks, ran 21 miles, beach, Northwood Pizza, Wii, stake conference, shopping, Sunday night dinner, games with me killing at the last round of Ticket to Ride, more beach, some Jack's, Mo's, some more running Wild Rivers, the end.
• I always say this, but I really can never believe how nice it is to run at home. The humidity is so nice. It makes breathing so much easier. The elevation I'm sure helps too. And really I just love running around my familiar streets. Just love that.
• I have spent the last couple of days moving, just down the street with some guys I know in my ward. I have to say, I am so excited for the move. I am currently residing in the largest bedroom in my life. My full bed hardly occupies any space in it. I have my bookshelf, desk, and TV on a stand, an end table, and I still have room for another table in here. It's crazy. I thought I had a lot of clothes, but then it turns out that I really only have enough to take up one side of my walk-in closet. I feel so spoiled right now. I wonder when I'll have another room this big again.
• I had my first day of work at church HQ yesterday. I was so tired throughout the day. I can't believe that I now have to get up at a normal time like the rest of the world. Well, except for today. I slept until 9:30 today because I just felt like it. And it felt good.
  
• It turns out that I have three paid positions this year. How crazy is that? One professor I was working with last year said he made $60k one year while in the program, and I wondered how that was possible, but now I have an idea of how he worked that. Not that I'm making that much. I'm still well below that, but I'm making a pretty substantial amount. Probably more than most of the teachers around here.
  

That's the short of it. Everything is going really well, and in spite of myself, things keep moving forward. I'm hoping that once I get all settled in my new place I can finally get crackin' on my thesis again. That kind of went by the way-side in the last week or two. Oops.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Further Prop 8 Reading

More articles on Prop 8.

This one is by John Eastman about how the judge should have recused himself from the trial. This one from Ed Whelan about the supposed "lack of evidence" or marriages procreative purposes. And then some notes about Judge Walker's ruling today about a stay of anti-Prop 8 judgment pending appeal.

Beware of False Prophets and False Teachers

A few weeks ago I was searching online for some information about karaoke places around Provo that allow you to rent private rooms for groups, and that was when I happened upon this site - LDS Skinny Dipping. It piqued my curiosity, so I began digging around the site and was surprised to learn that there seems to be a somewhat thriving community of LDS members who enjoy naturism, aka nudism. What I found most interesting was the extent to which these people will go to find gospel-reasoned justification for the activities that they engage in, noting the difference between social/chaste nudity v. worldly nudity. Here's a quote from the preface to the site:

Understanding and respecting nature does not make us "the natural man." We obey natural laws just as we obey spiritual laws - as both come from the same divine source. The natural man is one who does not master his appetites and passions. The natural man reacts, rather than responds - is given to rash action, rather than considered response. The natural man is driven by selfish interests, by animal-like lusts and desires - not by principles and disciplined thinking.

Being naked IS natural, but it is not undisciplined, unprincipled, and inconsiderate of others. It is a form of humble vulnerability - not a lustful feast of the flesh, but an act of contrition and discipline. Rather than fear the flesh or give into the flesh, the honest nudist seeks to master the flesh. He is committed to common decency, and shows self-mastery when naked. This makes a bold statement as to the inherent goodness of man. It's a valiant, and dignified statement. No matter what we wear, we are not subject to the lusts of the flesh but strive to live in harmony with the Spirit of the Lord.

And in their forums they'll go on to talk about general conference talks and how they haven't specifically ruled out naturism/nudism, and that they're good for another six months, or they'll cite some obscure quote by some ranking leader in the church from years ago and how that leader went swimming naked, or something to that effect, as if those things are justification for the behaviors they'd like to engage in.

Anyway, the point is that people will find a way to justify anything. They will twist and bend words and ideas until they are no longer recognizable in an attempt to justify their own beliefs or behaviors. Such is very much the case when it comes to this issue of same-sex relationships.

I'm pretty sure that I already quoted this talk at length awhile ago, and Dave quoted it on a blog post last week as well, but I think it deserves some further highlighting given the exchange that I just posted earlier.

About a decade ago, Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the 12, gave a talk bearing the same name as the title of this post. You can find the talk by clicking here. Here are some relevant excerpts to the exchange I had a few days ago:

Brothers and sisters, the exact time of the Second Coming is known only to the Father (see Matt. 24:36). There are, however, signs that scriptural prophecy relating to that tumultuous day is being fulfilled. Jesus cautioned several times that prior to His Second Coming, “many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Matt. 24:11). As Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is our duty to be watchmen on the tower, warning Church members to beware of false prophets and false teachers who lie in wait to ensnare and destroy faith and testimony. Today we warn you that there are false prophets and false teachers arising; and if we are not careful, even those who are among the faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will fall victim to their deception.

President Joseph F. Smith gave wise and clear counsel that applies to us today:

“We can accept nothing as authoritative but that which comes directly through the appointed channel, the constituted organizations of the Priesthood, which is the channel that God has appointed through which to make known His mind and will to the world. … And the moment that individuals look to any other source, that moment they throw themselves open to the seductive influences of Satan, and render themselves liable to become servants of the devil; they lose sight of the true order through which the blessings of the Priesthood are to be enjoyed; they step outside of the pale of the kingdom of God, and are on dangerous ground. Whenever you see a man rise up claiming to have received direct revelation from the Lord to the Church, independent of the order and channel of the Priesthood, you may set him down as an imposter” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 41–42).

When we think of false prophets and false teachers, we tend to think of those who espouse an obviously false doctrine or presume to have authority to teach the true gospel of Christ according to their own interpretation. We often assume that such individuals are associated with small radical groups on the fringes of society. However, I reiterate: there are false prophets and false teachers who have or at least claim to have membership in the Church. There are those who, without authority, claim Church endorsement to their products and practices. Beware of such.

...President Joseph F. Smith warned when he spoke of the “proud and self-vaunting ones, who read by the lamps of their own conceit; who interpret by rules of their own contriving; who have become a law unto themselves, and so pose as the sole judges of their own doings” (Gospel Doctrine, 381).

...False prophets and false teachers are also those who attempt to change the God-given and scripturally based doctrines that protect the sanctity of marriage, the divine nature of the family, and the essential doctrine of personal morality. They advocate a redefinition of morality to justify fornication, adultery, and homosexual relationships. Some openly champion the legalization of so-called same-gender marriages. To justify their rejection of God’s immutable laws that protect the family, these false prophets and false teachers even attack the inspired proclamation on the family issued to the world in 1995 by the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles.

Regardless of which particular false doctrines they teach, false prophets and false teachers are an inevitable part of the last days. “False prophets,” according to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “always arise to oppose the true prophets” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 365).

However, in the Lord’s Church there is no such thing as a “loyal opposition.” One is either for the kingdom of God and stands in defense of God’s prophets and apostles, or one stands opposed.

It's funny how something like this issue all of a sudden sparks my interest in politics and culture again. There are two things that are sure to spark all of my ire, 1) when my neighbors downstairs bang on our floors as if they think we're being loud on purpose, and at times when we're not even being very noisy, and 2) this issue of same sex marriage, and pretending that they are spiritually inspired when their views are in clear contrast to the expressed positions of the church.

I've made a similar statement to this a number of other times on my blog, but we really need to make an effort to be informed on the issues that confront us as a nation, and be ready to take a stand for those things that we believe in. Most importantly, we need to be truly guided by the spirit in our efforts as we become more expressive of those opinions. I love how Elder Ballard puts it:

As members of the Church, each of us needs to model what it truly means to be a believing and behaving Latter-day Saint. Our example will have a powerful effect on others, making the restored gospel become much more relevant, meaningful, convincing, and desirable to them. Let us, each one, radiate to others the joy, confidence, love, and warmth of being part of the true Church of Christ. Our discipleship is not something to be endured with long face and heavy heart. Nor is it something to be jealously clutched to our bosoms and not shared with others. As we come to understand the love of the Father and the Son for us, our spirits will soar, and we will “come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy” (D&C 45:71).

Let us reach out in friendship and love to our neighbors, including those of other faiths, thus helping to build better family-to-family relationships and greater harmony in our neighborhoods. Remember, too often our behavior is a bigger deterrent to others than is our doctrine. In the spirit of love for all men, women, and children, help them to understand and to feel accepted and appreciated.

Let us remember that it is our duty to be faithful to the restored truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It takes faith—real faith, total and unreserved—to accept and strive to live prophetic counsel. Lucifer, the adversary of truth, does not want us to feel or exhibit that kind of faith. He encourages disobedience, planting defiance in the hearts of the unwary. If he is successful, they will turn away from the light into the darkness of the world. Our safety, our peace, lies in working as hard as we can to live as the Father and Son would have us live, in fleeing from false prophets and false teachers, and in being anxiously engaged in good causes.

Such is our mission and duty in this life.