I Like You People

I really do. I had some really interesting conversations with various different friends and acquaintances over the weekend. One friend recently started his residency program at UCLA and will be working primarily at the VA for the next couple of years. I can't even tell you how much I love this guy. He's the most interesting combination of skills and abilities - mostly he amazes me in that I think he can do anything.

This is the guy who trained for the St. George marathon and ran it in 3:18, missing the Boston Marathon cutoff by 8 minutes. Two years ago his friend signed him up for the Las Vegas Marathon two weeks before it was going to occur, and he basically rolled out of bed without any training and then ran it in just over 4 hours. He sold his Exxon stock last summer after watching it increase 300% over the last few years. And he won a Texas Hold 'Em tournament at Treasure Island in Las Vegas. His sister is a lawyer at a firm in Salt Lake City; she's taking a two year (!) sabbatical and wants to become a professional gambler. Oh, and his little brother is one of the three American finalists for the Mr. Hong Kong pageant. They are the most super-charged, ridiculously talented group of people ever. The only other equivalent I can think of is the Clayton family in Orange County.

What I love about this guy, though, is just how nondescript he is about all of this stuff. He only brings it up because I know that if I dig and just keep asking him questions, he'll divulge and usually his opinions on everything and his experiences are SO interesting and so well-thought out. Greg and I started to talking to him about the healthcare situation in our country, and future prospects for medicine. It basically confirmed my conservative positions, but it was really informative, nonetheless.

At church yesterday in branch council we talked about a letter from church headquarters about the recent developments with the recent reversal of Proposition 22 by the state judiciary and how as members we need to be clear about where we stand on the issue and lend our support when possible. I wished that I had an hour to sit down with the branch president to get his views because I'm sure he has a lot to say considering that his professional background is marriage and family therapy. I guess I want his take not only because of his experience, but because he's very deliberate with the way he processes information and forms his opinions and I'm sure he has some great insights on the subject.

Just before dinner yesterday I was talking with Joe and Ashley about the same topic and then he started to recount his experience dealing with the issue personally within his own family. He always freely shares his thoughts, but it was interesting to hear her take on how they've dealt with that whole subject. I guess I should realize this because I'm the same way, but usually the people that tend to be more reserved in expressing themselves often have some of the most interesting thoughts. Not that what I have to say is all that useful all the time (maybe a little useful some of the time?), but these people sure do have some great well-developed opinions and it's nice to hear them when they come up.

I guess I only bring this up because these are just a few instances of many others that I've had with all of you at one point or another. I guess I just feel really lucky to be surrounded by people who are so thoughtful in almost every regard. There is such a wealth of experience in just my own little circle, and I'm really grateful for those times when I'm fully keen on how impressive all you people are.