Just A Couple Of Things

Was reading Jay Nordlinger's Impromptu's again, and found these items:

One subject I’d like to be done with, for now, is bumper stickers — we’ve devoted a lot of time to it in this column. But I’d like to bring up one more — brought to my attention by a reader. The sticker says, “Don’t Pray in My School. I Won’t Think in Your Church.” Is that the most pretentious and arrogant sticker of all time? Of all time? Quite possibly.

I mean really, truly, so very offensive. For all the stuff I hear about liberals from conservatives voices, while a lot of it is attacking, it is never so belittling as what comes from the left. Never.

Have you guys heard of the Born Alive Act? It is an act that provides protection for those babies that survive late term abortions. Basically, in spite of attempts to end its life, should a living baby be expelled from the mothers womb it means that the baby won't be killed after that point. Even for pro-choice people it would seem that this would be something that they could support...right?
Not Obama. He voted to block it. But remember, this is also the guy who doesn't think teenage girls should be "punished" to have kids and should have abortion available on demand.

I know you might discount my opinion because I am pretty hard right when it comes to my politics, but Barack Obama is way to the left even for people who lean left. He supports same sex marriage, increasing taxes (especially for the rich), universal (socialized) health care, abortion on demand, not just big government, but huge government, negotiating with dictators and withdrawing from Iraq immediately, and everything far left of center. He represents a tiny sliver of those people whose viewpoints are the most extreme of anyone. Please realize this. He does not represent your interests.

Saw this a week or two ago and I thought it was really clever. You know who put it together? The RNC. It's a play off of the massive popularity of Obama's facebook page. If you Google the term Facebook, his page is the second result to come up after the website itself.

And for something a little bit lighter, but still Facebook related, check this out:

Another Obama Socialism Extension

How do you feel when you're buying groceries and the cashier asks you to donate a dollar to such and such cause? Or when you're at the movie theater and when you're just wanting to go see a movie, the person behind the glass wall asks you to make a donation? Do you respond to television ads pleading for children and asking for your donations? I'm always very skeptical of these kinds of ploys. The only organization I truly trust to handle my charitable donations is the church. After that my donations only go to those organizations recommended to me by people I trust. I just don't like giving money away when I only hear some kind of buzz word like poverty, disease, or children, but nothing else about how the organization actually operates. I just want to know that every cent of every dollar I'm giving up is going to the cause for which it's really intended.

So, how would you feel about giving your money to leaders of third world countries? Mind you, these are countries whose leaders are usually corrupt and the resulting decrepit conditions are a result of their poor management. Don't you want to give those guys your money? Don't you think it's going to help those suffering people and not line the pockets of the people who are already doing fine? Remember hearing this story about Myanmar and all that aid that was intended to go victims of the cyclone? For an extended period immediately following the cyclone, the country wasn't even allowing rescue workers in. Ugh.

So how about a tax that siphons about $2,000 of your money each year to go to these kinds of nations? Sorry. I guess this really only applies to the people on the higher side of the 50% of income earners in this nation since those below that line really don't pay taxes, or at least a tiny percentage of the taxes in this country. And so you have the Obama-produced Global Poverty Act. And it's not that I'm opposed to trying to end poverty, but taxing the American people and expecting our country to foot the bill is not the way to do it. Here is an article that explains some of the problems associated with this bill. And the following is from that article:

A statement from Obama's office says: "With billions of people living on just dollars a day around the world, global poverty remains one of the greatest challenges and tragedies the international community faces. It must be a priority of American foreign policy to commit to eliminating extreme poverty and ensuring every child has food, shelter and clean drinking water."

These are worthy goals, but note there's no mention of spreading democracy, expanding free trade, promoting entrepreneurial capitalism or ridding the world of despots who rule and ravage countries such as Zimbabwe and Sudan.

Obama would give them all a fish without teaching them how to fish. Pledging to cut global poverty in half on the backs of U.S. taxpayers is a ridiculous and impossible goal.

...Obama's bill would force U.S. taxpayers to fork over 0.7% of our gross domestic product every year to fund a global war on poverty, spending well above the $16.3 billion in global poverty aid the U.S. already spends.

Over a 13-year period, from 2002, when the U.N.'s Financing for Development Conference was held, to the target year of 2015, when the U.S is expected to meet its part of the U.N. Millennium goals, we would be spending an additional $65 billion annually for a total of $845 billion.

During a time of economic uncertainty, the plan would cost every American taxpayer around $2,500.

Please, don't give this guy your vote. This is not the kind of leadership we need.

Suck On This A One Time!

My web-surfing habits revolve around going from my Google Reader feeds (thanks Karen for making me commit to it), a couple other political websites, and ESPN. I'll check on these throughout the day about 100 times. Toward the end of the day yesterday I had happened upon the ESPN website and any breaking news in sports that they have is always noted in a red box on the right of the page above the headlines. That red box always means something interesting is happening.

The first time it had any real significance for one of my teams that I noticed was several years ago when the Angels signed Vladimir Guerrero in the offseason. Last season it was the Pau Gasol trade. Yesterday, I saw the red, but I didn't get a chance to see what the actual headline was. Most of the time, probably 95/100 that highlighted red box has no bearing on my team so it's usually something interesting, but won't affect my boys in anyway. But just seeing it and knowing it was there, it's tantalizing. The problem was, I didn't get a chance to get back to see what it was.

On my drive home, I caught it briefly listening to the Petros and Money show on 570AM. Money said that Teixeira was going to the Angels, but rather than focus on the good LA baseball team, they were talking about how this affects the sucky Doiyers across town and didn't say one more thing about the Angels. I went to the ESPN talk radio station and they were talking football. I couldn't believe my freakin' ears. I wasn't sure if it really happened, and if it did, I wanted to know what we had to give up to get him.

Turns out almost nothing at all - Casey Kotchman, and a relief pitcher in Double-A. So it was almost a straight up deal for Casey. Granted, I love Casey. Awesome defense, and I think he has only upside. He'll probably be a 20 home run, 80 RBI, .280-.300 hitter in his career, with gold glove defense. And Mark Teixeira is a free agent after the season so there is a chance we could lose him. BUT, Mark is also a gold-glover at 1st base, and over his career he averages about 35 home runs, with 110 RBIs. This guy gives Vlad the protection in the lineup we have never had in his time with us. Seriously, it's unbelievable how awesome this makes them now. They were probably the best team in the majors before this move, or at least had the best record, but now they are the clear favorites to win the title. And I'm not even going to be here in the fall for the postseason.

After hearing the news, I flipped on the game against the Red Sox when I got back from work, and they were up 6-0. Again, I was missing the big headline though because John Lackey was carrying a no-hitter into the ninth inning. Although he lost it, as well as the shut-out at 8 1/3 innings, they still won the game and the series. They've freakin' beat those mothers 7 straight games now. Nobody I hate more than Boston sports teams. All of them. Jerks. All. Hate them. So suck on this a one time! This is ours to lose, baby. Not like those Lakers.

Back In The USSR?

Okay...I was going to start this post out differently, but you know what's pretty awesome? When you type in "John Galt's Oath" in the Google search engine, my post with that title comes up among the top five. Kinda cool...

I just looked over that post and this is not unlike that one that I had published previously.

There is a serious problem with Barack Obama and it has everything to do with his economic policies. I am reading a couple of articles now about wealth redistribution and I should probably wait until I finish those before writing more on this subject, but I'm too anxious to wait until I get around to it to put down some quick thoughts.

I read this article this morning about Obama's socialist policies. That really isn't an exaggeration by any means. If you have any doubts, check out some of these proposed investments by the Obama camp:

• "Universal," "guaranteed" health care.
• "Free" college tuition.
• "Universal national service" (a la Havana).
• "Universal 401(k)s" (in which the government would match contributions made by "low- and moderate-income families").
• "Free" job training (even for criminals).
• "Wage insurance" (to supplement dislocated union workers' old income levels).
• Free "child care and "universal" preschool.
• More subsidized public housing.
• A fatter earned income tax credit for "working poor."
• And even a Global Poverty Act that amounts to a Marshall Plan for the Third World, first and foremost Africa.

I hope we can all recognize those things for what they are - socialist ideas. His policies all center on government taking and redistributing the wealth of the people who have earned it. I don't even have any assets or wealth to speak of and I'm pissed about it. Government matches for 401ks? Are you kidding me? So where does the government get money to fund that kind of program? Taxes. Who gets taxed? The rich. Do you have any idea how the tax burden is currently distributed? The top 1% of Americans in terms of earned income pay for nearly a third of federal tax burden. The top 25% pays for nearly 75% of all of the tax burden (source data).

Hey...if you still haven't read Atlas Shrugged, I highly recommend it. The book isn't necessarily all that well written, but the political message is so important. Taking money from the most capable people pisses them off and makes them not want to produce anymore. It's one of the single greatest arguments for capitalism over a market economy. But the story mainly revolves around the thrust of John Galt's oath:

I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.

There is no fixed pie. These socialist ideas don't work. They just don't. Is the entire 20th century not evidence enough? When Reagan came into power and championed the trickle down philosophy, record gains were had by people of all income levels, from the poorest to the richest.

As a nation, if we begin to adopt the economics of redistribution, there will come a point when Atlas will shrug and toss off that burden of carrying the world.

Home Prices

I came across this video that was on one of the blogs that I follow. It's a graphic illustration of the fluctuation of housing prices since 1890, set to roller coaster scenery. It gives you a good visual sense as to why the housing market has been suffering, and why it had to decrease so 'suddenly.' On the bottom right of the video it will note the years that the rollercoaster is hitting, so you see the 90s downturn, and then it peaks at 2007. It's interesting...check it out.

Week 7 - It's Getting Harder

That's what she said? Oh...that's in poor taste.

Anyway, the running is getting a lot harder. Last week was 3-6-3, and then a 12 mile run on Saturday. I missed my first run on Monday because I was pretty pooped after going to the taping and being on my feet all day for So You Think You Can Dance. I did run the 6 miles the next day, but this week I was all about not feeling a ton of motivation for any of the runs. That really hasn't been the case for me since I've started the training, but I was not feeling so pumped this week. I think I might have pushed it a little too much toward the end of the Tuesday night run because my right calf was feeling pretty tight all week and I was really feeling it there on the long run on Saturday. More on that in a bit.

The 6 miles I ran in 48 minutes. I was pushing the pace a little more than I normally have to, but I was just feeling pretty tight all around. Now I'm realizing that the almost 8 mph pace I kept up the previous Saturday is on the higher end of what I can achieve right now. I think. It's been hard to tell because I've been feeling so knicked up the last couple of weeks.

I still won't stop playing soccer on Wednesday nights, but this week was an especially bad choice considering that we were playing on the hardwood floor as opposed to the carpeted room. I had problems when we had to play there previously and I should have just opted out, but I was dying to play that night. I don't know what it is about playing on those floors, because playing basketball on it isn't a problem, but playing soccer on those floors is so much higher impact than anywhere else. It didn't hurt me in my run this morning, but my left knee felt pretty tender for the next couple of days, and it wasn't until the last couple of miles on the long run, but my big toe and second (index?) toe had a dull pain. I'm pretty sure it's a mild case of turf toe.

Thursday right after work I went on the short run, but I felt sluggish the whole time. My hardest weeks always seem in the three week pattern always seem to be the week of the drop down in mileage, and initial uptick of mileage. The third week with the longest runs I always seem to feel the strongest in. It's kind of weird. I was going to try and run Friday to make up for missing Monday, but I was so exhausted. I was going to jump rope and do some other stuff, but I was dunfer.

Friday night I had kind of a big dinner that was mostly just carbs. I ate a good amount and anticipated going to bed early Friday night and waking up early to start the run by 8 am. No such luck. Sometimes ping pong and NBA Jam comes calling and you play until 2 am. Why does it feel like I have such little self control sometimes? I can make myself exercise consistently, eat right, and get up at a decent hour, but for the life of me I have the hardest time making myself go to bed. That has always been a problem. This time it wasn't a big deal because I didn't really have anything going on Saturday, but as I get closer to the marathon, I'd like to more closely simulate racing conditions by keeping those runs as early in the morning as possible, at least the long runs on the weekends.

So the Saturday run. This run was by far the toughest. And I don't think it was only because it was the longest that I've done, because the 11 miles I ran two weeks ago really wasn't much of a problem for me. I think the main problem was that I didn't rest very well (bed too late, up too early, and I just don't do as well getting up after 9 am, ever), I ate too much the day of the run, and I waited too long to run following my big meal Friday night. What does that mean you ask? Well, for the last 6 miles of the run I was sure that I was either going to have to use a bathroom, or just poop my pants. No joke. Those peristaltic waves in my bowels were killing me. That, more than anything else, is what slowed my pace the most. The pain in my calf and in my toes was annoying, but I could endure it. The constant feeling like I'm about to empty my bowels every couple of minutes was almost more than I could take.

Hydration and energy were fine. On my other long runs, I would just carry water bottles, but this time I just stashed a couple of 16 oz. bottles of Gatorade along my route. I liked that a whole lot more. If there is anyway I can avoid wearing a fuel belt or just carrying bottles for entire runs, I'd love to figure it out. I also ran earlier in the evening starting at about 4 pm, so hydration was more of a factor than usual because of the heat and the length of the run. I know now that water doesn't seem to absorb as quickly so downing a whole bottle of g-rade in a time period that is too short causes me to feel too heavy for the rest of the run.

I ended up covering the 12.2 miles Saturday in 1:42. I guess that puts me at about 7.06 mph, which is about a 8.5 minute mile pace. I guess that's decent, considering the length of the run and how I was feeling, but I think after the last couple of long runs I was feeling like I could do better. Again...I need to remember to not get ahead of myself and get overly ambitious.

I went out for a short run yesterday morning before work. Even though I got almost no sleep the night before, the run wasn't bad at all and I actually had more energy by the end of the day. I don't know why it surprises me that it keeps on working out that way, but I guess maybe I'm just still reluctant to adopt that morning run routine even though it seems to help me to get through my days with more energy.

Last night I finally made my way over to A Snail's Pace and got some new running shoes. I really lucked out because the guy who was helping me figure out which shoe to get had actually run the Chicago Marathon a couple of times already. He had tons of great tips about running a first marathon, and then race specific instructions. He watched me run and noted that I'm a little duck-footed, which I guess is normal, but the more important thing is that my ankles don't roll inward at all. My treadwear was pretty even on my old shoes, so I lucked into getting just the right shoes last time around. More than anything, talking with that guy got me really excited about the race. He reminded me of this, but sometimes I kind of lose sight of the fact that I'm going to be hating life for a bit following the marathon. He also mentioned that there will come a point about a week or a month later when I will start thinking about what things I could improve on and start getting the urge to do another. I asked him what his favorite marathon was and he quickly responded that the Chicago was his. I'm excited to be going through downtown, and there definitely will be the rush of not only running with so many people, but also having people along the way urging the runners along.

I saw this on another blog, but it looks pretty cool considering...

Reading Rainbow

Do you ever get so consumed by a book that anything else that doesn't involve reading that book seems like a burden to you? Or, have you ever been so entrenched in a book that its story and characters feel like they define particular periods of your life? Not necessarily that what you're actually going through has any real association with what's actually occurring (although that does sometimes help to cement its tie to you), but that its story is so compelling to you that it feels like your own for that period of time. I guess the best way I can relate it is how sometimes there is a particular song or album that you listen to for a certain period of time, and for the rest of your life, whenever you hear that music it will forever be associated with that period when you were a freshman in college, serving a mission, or whatever memory you have that is tied to that music. Do you ever feel that way about books? For me, The Firm will always be about 7th grade and doing a book report on it for Mrs. Frakes' class that we had in the portable and the love of my life, Jennifer Meyerson, was in my class.

I feel like I've been lucky to have a lot of those kinds of tight relationships with most of the books that I've read in the past year. I was just thinking about it because yesterday as I finished The Godfather. Yes, the same one as the movie, and I freakin' loved it. In the past year I've read:

• Progress Paradox
• Ultramarathon Man
• Twilight
• All seven Harry Potter books
• On The Road
• Something Wicked This Way Comes (now every time I hear that phrase, I only hear it in the voice of the lead singer from As Fast As)
• Count of Monte Cristo
• and Treason

I guess that's a lot of reading. I feel like I still manage to do a lot of other crap besides reading, but I've felt so completely engrossed in just about every one of those books. Honestly, getting me a good book is the easiest present for me and I will almost always be 100% satisfied with it, but don't get offended if I don't read the book right away. I'll get to it, but I have to be in the mood to read that particular book. In fact, with the Godfather, my brother had given it to me twice (unintentionally) and I started it a couple of times and forgot both times that I stopped at one part that has a very graphic sex scene. This time I finally skipped it, but he first gave me that book probably about 3 years ago.

I was making good progress on a memoir about Ronald Reagan until Dave's dad took it from me. I'm working on trying to read more nonfiction. Until I get that book back, I'm going to be chipping away on Crime and Punishment. I tried reading it once, but couldn't get passed how dark it was. However, several people whose opinions I really respect say it's easily one of the best books that they've ever read so I'm giving it another chance.

Anyway, I'd like for this post to turn into something where you make comments about what your favorite books are because I'd like to know, and I'd like to add those to my list as well. Today in my branch we had a little group get together and shared thoughts about what what impressed each of us as we read 1 Nephi and I had forgotten how much I appreciate talking about the stuff I read. The single greatest learning experience I had in high school involved working on an essay with Dave and Grant Bechtoldt and talking about Heart of Darkness until three in the morning on a school night. Easily my best learning experience in high school.

That practice of sharing and actually communicating those thoughts really is cathartic for me and helps crystallize my thoughts more than anything else, with the exception of writing. I just love it. I think it's so much fun to get excited about books with other people. That's so nerdy, but I just love talking about that stuff. I guess it's the same way when you get excited about new music or a new movie. So yeah, I'd like it if this could turn into a forum and it probably won't, but would be so great if one of you did bother to share. Anyway, you should read The Godfather. It's bad ass (and you know that I only swore to emphasize just how awesome it is, it's that good).

One Year Later

So if you'll remember with me a little more than a year ago, my family situation was in the thick of a terrible predicament. The night before I got the news on a Saturday afternoon, I had gone to a baseball game with several friends, watched the fireworks show, and then stayed up late with Dave playing a soccer video game. The thought actually entered in my mind at that time that I couldn't be more content with how things were progressing at that point. Dave and I stayed up until about 3am, and then I woke up at 11 the next morning wondering what it was that I was going to do with my Saturday. I had nothing on my plate that day; quite literally, I hadn't a care in the world. And then right at about noon, I got a call from a police officer that would start a series of conversations that alerted me to what I initially thought to be one of the most desperate situations of which I had ever been a part.

What was kind of crazy was that about a year to the day later last weekend, I went to another baseball game with a different friend, watched another fireworks show, and woke up the next Saturday with my only concerns being, a) when was I going to get my run in, and b) how much was I going to love The Dark Knight. I guess what felt crazy was that I had similar thoughts of contentment that I had previously, but the sky didn't fall, and never did fall since that time.

If you would have asked me a year ago if I would have ever imagined that my own personal life would have remained largely unchanged from that point to this one now, I would have never believed you. My mom somehow still has her store; we haven't had to sell the house; and I think for the most part we're doing okay. I know that it's still an awful burden that she's carrying, but through it all, I think things are going to be alright. I don't think her situation will resolve itself for another few years, but I just can't believe how some things turn out sometimes. We've had some scares, really serious ones since then, but somehow we're all still here.

And it's not to say that there haven't been a lot of sleepless nights since then, bigger phone bills, extra days taken off, or just hundreds of hours thinking about how to take care of her situation, but through it all it just makes me so grateful for a Father in heaven that watches over my family. I think the weight of the situation hit me the hardest the morning after when talking to Dave's dad, and when he first saw me he walked up and embraced me and I just lost it. At that point I really thought that my mom had lost everything and that she had to go back to Brazil and that I would never be able to see her again unless I traveled down there to see her. That was really the only solution I could see working at the time.

I don't really know why I'm sharing this. I don't have a clearly defined lesson that I've learned, and I can't really say that any of us are any better off in any way because of what happened over a three month period about one year ago. I guess more than anything I'm just amazed at how things can turn out, that when things seem so completely bleak, with sustained faith and trust in God, I can still manage to endure, and I think do pretty well considering. It's cliche, but the night is always the darkest just before the dawn. Sunday does come. I don't know that it's necessarily here, but I've learned since then that that is a real statement.

I'm Not Liking Where Things Are Going

Some of the recent polling about the state constitutional amendment in California promoting traditional marriage show support lagging, with a majority leaning against the amendment. Barack is also up on the GOP nominee, and Democrats also figure to be gaining more seats in Congress in the November elections.

All of these prospects had me somewhat concerned, but my worst fears were realized last night: Will was eliminated from So You Think You Can Dance.

Not since Chris Daughtry was eliminated in American Idol has there been such a big upset in reality television, but it happened last night. And it broke my heart. I shouldn't be nearly as affected as I am by this turn of events, but it goes to show you how poor the judgment can be of the voting public.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly why democracy is doomed to fail. We can't handle the responsibility that is incumbent upon us. He was easily the most technically proficient of all the dancers, but unlike Danny from last year, the guy wasn't a total a-hole. Even following the news last night, Will was completely gracious and encouraging to other dancers. Here's a video tribute to Will.

And yes, I realize how gay it is that all my posts this week revolve around this show, and that I'm so put out by Will's elimination, but that's what keeps you coming back.

I would pay money to see just him perform. He's great.

SYTYCD Week 6 (I Think)

It's week six, right? Upon further review, Will and Courtney's hip hop was my favorite of the night. It would seem that Dave, Caitlin, and Greg had more camera visible spots than I did, although my shoes were heavily featured throughout the evening. Again, I thought they were all good, and I still loved Will's solo probably more than anything else, but it was entirely too short. However, his hip hop with Courtney really seemed like a great marriage between song, theme, and performance. It was top notch all around. The Mia Michael's routine with Twitch and Katee was also stellar, and I guess the club he mentions in the show is right over here in the University Marketplace. Kinda crazy. I don't have much more to say about the show, so here you!

So You Think You Can Dance Taping

Yup. We finally got in. I don't even remember why we couldn't make it out last summer...oh wait...I do. Nevermind.

Well, I know why it didn't work out the last time we tried. The most recent experience had us ready for this go around. I didn't mention it so as to not jinx it, but I think it worked out perfectly.

Dave got the tickets for the Wednesday night performance that was taped yesterday. Dave, Caitlin, Greg and me all took the day off to head up to LA for the taping and arrived sometime around 130 to wait in line. I don't know how it works with the big groups, but they kind of get let in first. I don't know how that's arranged because when you select tickets online, you can only select four. It must be something done directly with the studio or something. We waited in line until about 4pm, and then waited right outside of the studio until about 5pm.

They don't allow for any kind of electronic devices, but Dave insisted on bringing in his cell phone and hid it in the crotch pocket. Yup, that one. What we didn't expect was having to go through metal detectors. I'm not sure why we didn't anticipate that, but I was right in front of Dave in the line, but I wanted so badly for him to get caught with the phone, and for the people with the wands to be waving the thing over his weiner and have the thing ring when it passed over his crotch. I wanted so badly for him to have to reach in his pants to pull out the phone, but it didn't work out that way. I stupidly forgot that I had my belt on and never took that out, and we were holding up the line so they ended up just passing us through without much of a look over.

After that, because our group was mostly guys, they wanted us in a more visible area because the audience is mostly 15 year old girls. So that meant that we were directed to head up to the catwalk. Woo! The down part here was waiting in the sun with no shade for another hour. Lucky for me, I brought my latest book (The Godfather) so I didn't really have any problem waiting in line during the day. Plus, Dave overheard one of the kids that was going up on the catwalk also get excited because he was going to get to "look down at their boobies." No joke.

We finally got inside and it was nice and cool. They had the audience applaud prior to even taping the show. When they pan the people sitting down waving the signs for the dancers, I guess they do that even before the show starts. Kinda weird.

The actual taping moved pretty quickly despite it being a two-hour show. Cat never messed any of her lines up at all, and let me tell you...she is stunning. Seriously, so beautiful. And sweet. She was talking with the girls on the side, and volunteered a lot of information about herself, and laughing a lot. She's just a really sweet, beautiful person. She's only 5'9" too. The heels make her look a lot taller. She said she got the shoes in London, and was feeling really uncomfortable in them, and the dress she bought in a vintage store for $20. So in love with her though. So hot. Like so hot. I can't emphasize that enough.

Maybe I'm only saying this because we were actually there live, but it felt like none of the performances missed at all. They were all really good. The dancers get paired up with new partners again. I think my favorite was Mark and Comfort's hip hop routine. I loved Will's solo. I really wished that they would have let Will go longer with that one, because it's really creative. He kept doing the James Brown little shuffle step when the song ended, and Cat was totally surprised by his creativity with the piece. Mia Michael's had a really cool routine for Twitch and Katee. Both of Tabitha and Napoleon's pieces were really good. And all of the dancers seem just like really nice kids. And they are all just as pretty/muscular in real life as they are on TV.

What was really cool was that being on the catwalk on the side we were on also happened to be the same side where the dancers go up to smile for the cameras before they do their solos. So we got to high-five every single one of them. I said I love you to Courtney and she returned it to me, even turning to look at me. Of course, it melted my heart. I'm also completely ridiculous, like a 12 year old boy. Greg got the best high five response from Twitch. He also got an awkward high five from Nigel following the show.

For as many hours as it took of standing (probably about 7 hours total), I really didn't care. Dave made the comment when we were walking to the car about how silly it is that we can take a whole day off to come and watch a taping of a show, but I really loved just having the experience. And yes, it is so absurd that a 28 year old male would call in sick to go see a show like this, but it was so worth it. I would have gotten some pre- and post-show pics, but my camera was low on batteries. I feel like this recap is totally boring, but I wanted to get it out there so that you guys can watch tomorrow night and look for us. And that's a true artist's rendering of the stage to give you an idea of where we were on the catwalk last night.


So it was awesome. We basically had front row tickets to a show, and were up close and personal with the dancers. All for free. It felt much more personal, I'm sure, than what it will be like going to see them on tour. Plus Cat is so hot.

***UPDATE*** I noticed a lot of people coming over from Television Without Pity. I would have replied on that thread, but I didn't feel like registering. The pairings and dances listed on that site are correct. The only dance the judges didn't seem to like was the Fox Trot by Mark and Comfort. Personally, I thought the judges were all on board with Mark and Comfort's hip hop routine. I thought they offered nothing but praise for it.

The samba by Will and Courtney was great. The judges had nothing but praise for it. Again, the only dance of the night that the judges didn't seem to like was the Fox Trot. Everything else got high praises. And Toni couldn't seem to limit herself to anything less than 20 minutes. So long-winded. Hip hop was more typical of Napoleon and Tabitha's style, which I'm a fan of, so I thought it was great. Judges loved it, and they seem to be a big fan of Courtney. Haven't noticed that as much as I did at that taping.

The comtemporary piece by Twitch and Katee was awesome. Judges loved it. They also nailed their broadway piece.

Joshua and Chelsie brought it with both of their pieces. Judges loved their tango and they both looked really strong. They did compare it to Chelsie's previous tango and liked this one much more. The disco was also really great and had some incredible lifts.

Judges didn't like Comfort's solo, and I didn't like Mark's solo either. And I'm a Mark fan. Will's solo was by far my favorite because it got a ton of personality in there. And there you go.

***One last update***We're the striped shirt brigade - I have a green striped shirt, Dave red & grey, and Greg black & grey. Caitlin is in a nice green top that I would expect to see only in a club. Wink!

And solos are not being judged. It just happened that the judges made a couple of comments about them, that's all.

Week 6 - It's A Marathon, Not A Sprint, Right?

This week was a "down" week. I told several people that and then told them about how many miles, and they all had similar reactions: "That's a down week?" The mid-week runs were 3-5-3, and the long run on Saturday was 7 miles. None of it was any problem, and none of it took longer than an hour.

I ran a trail in Peter's Canyon on Tuesday morning with a friend and that was the 5 miler. Didn't have any trouble with that one, even with it starting at 6am. I think I've mentioned it before, but whenever I can manage to get myself up for those runs and do them before work, it really does make a big difference in how much energy I have by the end of the day, i.e. I actually feel more awake at the end of the day exercising in the morning than when I don't. I never thought that would be the case for me.

I wasn't able to do the last of the short runs until Friday, and the long was on Saturday, as always. This week I actually felt more creaky than any other. My biomechanics didn't feel quite aligned right. I had rolled my ankle in soccer Wednesday of last week, and that's always a concern for me (ankles). It wasn't anything bad, but only in the last day or two have I woken up without it feeling sore the whole day. And my right knee still feels tender. Even with all of that, I had a good pace on Saturday. I ran the same 7 mile route that I ran in the second week of training which was basically a big box in Irvine, although I was feeling good enough toward the end of it that I ended up taking a little bit longer route that put on another half mile.

The route went from being 7.2 miles to 7.7, and I ran it in 59 minutes. That was encouraging because of any of my runs so far, I feel like that one was where I was feeling the most wear and tear. For me, the problem hasn't been the running itself, but playing soccer is starting to have more of an effect on how good/bad I'm feeling during these normal runs. With the increased mileage, I feel like there is more recovery that is needed, and soccer might be a little too high intensity to keep pursuing. Although I feel like the last couple of weeks I've just run into some bad luck as far as how these slight injuries have occurred - I stepped on someone's foot this last week and the previous week I met someone with the ball using my in-step so it was a bad angle for my knee.

In any case, my pacing feels good and I don't feel like I'm lacking at all for endurance. Shins, back, hips, and every other joint feels fine. I don't feel like I'm straining for oxygen at all during my runs, and I don't feel like I'm having any trouble finishing the runs off. Without really any conscious effort, I think I've been able to have a steady pace during the course of all my runs. I think if I actually were going for an actual time and had any ideas about mile markers or that sort of thing, I think I could push the pace even more. In fact, I don't even check my time during my runs until the very end because I don't want that to take too much of my focus.

I need to not get too ambitious though. I think the important thing with this first marathon is really just enjoying the experience of it and not worrying so much about how quickly I can get it over with. The point should be to savor the challenge, and plus, I don't want to have any reason for not being satisfied with the outcome. I guess what I really mean is that I shouldn't be upset if I finish in 4.5 hours when deep down I was hoping for 3.5 hours. Just running the dang thing is a feat in itself and I don't want to diminish that by any means.

I did actually drop several pounds in the last couple of weeks. I dipped below 170 lbs for the first time probably since high school, which is kind of amazing to me. But then hot pot on Saturday and string beef tacos on Sunday brought it all back. I think by the actual race I'll probably be down in weight to high 160s.

This week is back up again, with the mid-range run going up another mile, so 3-6-3, with a 12 miler on Saturday. I'm thinking that maybe I'll increase the dosage on the long runs a mile or two the rest of the way. I did that with the 10-mile run in Week 5 and I felt fine afterward. The key will be not overdoing it and allowing myself to recover between the runs. Increasing protein intake has done wonders for helping me to avoid any feelings of soreness, especially following the long runs. That shouldn't be a surprise, but then when you actually do it, it kind of is. I have a testimony of it...Anyway, so we'll see how it all goes.

The Todd

I saw some quit smoking ad on espn and I can't find the actual commercial, but it got me checking on youtube for high five videos. And that's when I came across this one with the Todd. Love it!

I'm Tired

Stayed up pretty late last night. I wanted so bad to call in sick today, but I think I'm going to be not feeling so well next week as it is...Wink!

Nope, I haven't seen anything from SYTYCD this week, so don't say nothin'.

Is anybody as pumped for The Dark Knight as I am? The answer is a resounding "no". The reviews are great, not like I would care anyway because I'm a sucker for these movies, but this one is going to be so awesome. I loved Iron Man, but I feel like that one was blown out of proportion by a lot of people. It was good, but I wasn't more impacted when I first saw that one than I was when I saw the first Spiderman, or the last Batman installment. It was good, but not smashing. Sadly, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see this one. I think this is one that I'll definitely see several times in the theaters. Hopefully I don't ramp up my expectations so high that I get disappointed.

I found this website, Virtual Stock Exchange, after reading the comments in one of the finance blogs I follow (when I first posted I used the word "peruse" in place of follow, and I just remembered earlier this week reading a blog post about 9 words that people misuse all the time and peruse is one of them. I was using it meaning to say something that I casually read, but look up the definition). It's a free service, or game, that allows you to trade stocks, create portofolios and just basically get a feel for the market. It seems really cool and I think will be an interesting, and if nothing else, fun way to get my feet a little wet with investing. If any of you are interested, we can actually create a game together where we can compete against each other and see who has the best gains. I think I might even start asking some of you to join in with me. It's pretty easy so far.

I was reading this story this morning on ESPN.com, and I realized that the video of his story came out before I started this blog so I'm going to include it here. It will make you cry it's so cool. Seriously. You're a bad person if you don't. I just got chills just thinking about it.

Pirate Movies

No, I don't mean actual pirate movies. Just talking about R-rated ones. Growing up, my parents exhibited the same kind of control that most latin parents do over there children when it comes to questionable content - no control. Whatever I ingested through different media sources was fine. There wasn't a lot of parenting that went on in that respect. It wasn't until I started hanging out with member friends that I started to get more of a bearing about the kinds of things that I would watch.

Then while at BYU I suddenly met a host of people who had never seen an R-rated movie. Rather than take it as an affront, or assume that they were just sheltered, I thought it was actually pretty admirable. From that point up until the mission, I didn't watch any R-rated movies. It was actually pretty nice. Since I've been home from the mission, I've mostly been pretty good about not seeing them, and I've relaxed or tightened those standards at various points. The last half year or so, I've been a little more relaxed. I still try and avoid stuff with too much violence, and at least nothing that is lewd or obscene. Part of my problem is that I actually think that some swear words can be used in really funny ways, so movies with a lot of language and not much else don't really bother me.

Anyway, I only bring it up because I came across an article by my favorite author, Orson Scott Card, where he brings up the subject of R-rated movies. Here is an excerpt of the article:

Yet there are always Latter-day Saints who want to live in a pharisaical church.

The Pharisees had a pious goal: Because they wanted to avoid disobeying the law even by accident, they decided to "build a fence around the law," surrounding the deep principles of Torah with a lot of small, specific regulations, so that by obeying those little rules, the Lord's people could be sure they wouldn't accidentally stray from the great law.

The problem is that such a "fence around the law" can give us a false sense of safety. It's so easy to obey such laws and yet join the category of "fools" and "hypocrites" that Jesus repeatedly rebuked. You condemn your brother for the mote in his eye, Jesus said, but don't see the beam in your own. The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.

Paul called them whited sepulchers, those hyper-obedient souls who went to extraordinary lengths to defend the law -- and broke it repeatedly with their pride and their persecution of others.

Surely we can recognize that Jesus was not being lax or careless with the law when he resisted the Pharisees.

On the contrary. Jesus was teaching us that you can't build a fence around the law, and then feel safe. Instead you have to take the law into your heart and embrace it so that you understand and obey its purpose.

I think he's on the right path. The last few R-rated movies that I have seen have not been uplifting movies. I liked different things about them, sure, but am I better off for having seen them? Probably not. I could have done without them. There are certain lines of thought and themes that are just worth avoiding. One of my biggest problems is avoiding those R-rated movies that I've already seen in the past.

Luckily, I still feel like I'm pretty sensitive when it comes to violence and sexual content in movies. I find myself averting my eyes a lot in those films. I could be better, I know. I guess I bring it up because I think it's an interesting subject in the LDS community. Here is a really good article on how it's not just violence.

Impromptus

What I like best about Jay Nordlinger's Impromptus column is that he just seems like such a genuine person. And it feels like a personal letter comprised of various thoughts that he's scribbled down for the public to look over. I don't really have anything more to say about them; I guess I just really like his writing. He's always got great insight, and I think I feel that way because he's similar to the kind of person that I would like to be myself. Some of my own impromptus:

• I picked up my OC public library card and sure enough, I can already start to get stuff online. So what did I do right after dropping by the library? I went to Barnes and Noble and bought a couple of books. Stupid, right? But I really like owning the actual books, and I only really got the card so that I can get audiobooks. It made me laugh that I would bother to get the card and then not actually want to use the library to check out books. Silly.
• I've been cooking more lately. I forgot that it's actually kind of nice. There was one semester at BYU where I was especially motivated and cooked every Wednesday, and I think I did it for the entire semester. That always ended up being for Becca and the whole apartment. Dave would usually help out if he was around. I'm sure that will be something I indulge in regularly while up at school now that I eat out much more infrequently (does that phrasing work?).
• Josh Hamilton put on a show the other night at the Home Run Derby. The guy ripped off 28 home runs in one round - the most ever in one round. He ended up losing the contest, probably due to the fact that he freakin' unloaded that first round. It was an amazing display. The amazing part wasn't the number of home runs, but from start to finish the guy was destroying the ball, whereas some guys were averaging probably a little less than 400 ft. for their HRs, his distance had to be around 450 ft. They weren't just barely getting over the wall in right; they would be in the upper deck, or deep center field. It was incredible. He spoke briefly following the round and he thanked God for his second chance and said it was a blessing just to be there. I loved his openness with his faith. To be honest, this was probably his 10th chance, but he finally figured it out. That seems to be the case a lot when we've lost our way. Not just one or two shots at getting it right, but many. Anyway, I thought he was worth mentioning again.
• Couple of more items about the Obama op-ed from yesterday. He mentions that Iraq is not meeting the goals we've set, but they're reached 15/18 benchmarks set that were intended to measure their progress. And I'm not sure what the goal was, but it was well below that number. Also, he mentions our presence being a recruiting tool for future terrorists, but the number of fighters and attacks is well below what they were prior to the surge. And he attempts to mislead his audience by bringing up the point that Iraqi politicians themselves are seeking for a withdrawal timetable. It's nothing even resembling the complete absence of US forces that he's suggesting. From National Review:
  

  Indeed, no responsible actor in the Iraq government believes Obama’s 16-month timeline is at all realistic, which is why Iraqi officials are desperately rooting for McCain to win in November. In a statement more in accord with reality, Maliki’s defense minister has said Iraqis will be ready to handle internal security on their own in 2012 and external security by 2020.

  That is much different from what he's proposing, but you would never know that unless you've been following closely what's been really going on.
• And finally...I love this song. I always had an affinity for it, but I heard it while waiting for Strung Out to take the stage, at a show I went to by myself. I can't believe I couldn't convince any of you knuckleheads to come with me. It was one of my favorite songs from the night, and I'm not really sure why that was the case, but it prompted me to buy a best of The Clash cd. Enyoi!

Obama's Plan For Iraq

This is his op-ed piece that ran today in the New York Times. I really don't care for this guy. The article isn't very long, but it's deceiving. Couple of quick things I don't like about it:

• This plan that he's conjured has come without visiting Iraq in quite some time, and without consulting with any of the resident experts on the subject, namely, General Petraeus.
• This is only second-hand as I heard it on the radio, but it seems that anybody on the ground refutes Obama's assertion that we can withdraw all of our forces within that 16-month timeframe that he keeps mentioning.
• He also says in the article:
  

  Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and it never has been.

  That obviously does not seem to be what Osama or Al-Zawahiri thought. I think even just casual observers of the war can pick out how woefully mistaken that is. And what's more, how is Afghanistan more of a central front on the war on terror than Iraq? Looking strictly in terms of oil and location, i.e. proximity to other terrorist-sponsoring nations, how can it be more valuable than Iraq? It just seems so obvious.

What I seem to dislike the most about Obama is that he has no allegiances to anything. His only guiding compass seems to be whatever is most profitable to his political career. I guess people can make the same kind of accusations about McCain or any other politician, but an example that always seem to come to my mind is President Bush. While you may heartily disagree with his ideas, it's clear where that guy stands with respect to his various policies and ideology. I just feel like there is no foundation for Obama, and he makes me extremely uncomfortable. He is a master of sophistry, and his lack of experience alone should disqualify him automatically, but people just seem to be really enamored with him.

Week 5 - Killin' It

I need to get into a better habit of dividing the weeks once they start. I've already done two of the four runs for this week. I'm feeling especially inspired today, not just with running, but in general. It's nice to feel that way. I'll have a post on that later (hopefully).

I ran the last short run last week in the morning prior to work on Friday morning. It was actually really nice. I never work-out/run before work, early in the morning. I've done it a couple of times, but I just have a hard time getting energized enough to do it. However, I'm quite resolute when it comes to the running these days. I haven't missed one yet. That's 22 runs and counting since I officially started.

Anyway, I felt like I took a long time to get warmed up, but my 5k time was about average for me, somewhere around 25 minutes. I was supposed to run 10 miles on Saturday, but I didn't plan ahead well enough and have a course mapped out prior to the day of the run. That left me fumbling a little trying to pick out a route to run that fit neatly into a 10 mile box around my house. It ended up being 11 miles that I ran, and even though I had been in the sun all day long, I was just feeling pretty confident.

What's been kind of weird is that all my "long" runs have finished right on a ten-minute mark: 6 miles in 50 minutes, 7 miles in 60 minutes, 9 miles in 1:20, and then 11 miles in 1:30. I have to admit, I was pretty pumped with that pace, and I didn't even feel like I was killing myself to finish strong. The only thing that was unusual was that when I finished my run, my legs were tingling. I never really had that sensation before. I don't know if I should be alarmed by that, and it wasn't something that lasted very long either.

I'm finding that my eating requirements have not really changed since I was in high school - I can't really eat anything prior to rigorous exercise. I had my normal bowl of oatmeal in the morning, some watermelon, and a smoothie before the run and that was it. Following the run, however, I loaded up on protein and I think that really helped me with my recovery over the next few days. You know what's weird? Eating only egg whites. I had that the next morning for breakfast. They're just white. It looks weird. And tastes like nothing...mmmmmmm!

In between FHE last night and dropping by a friend's house, I pumped out my 3 miles. I felt like I sprinted and I practically did - 3.2 miles in 23 minutes. My pace was too fast at the beginning though, as I slowed a good amount toward the end of the run. That could also be due to the fact that I didn't really have anything following lunch at about 12 in the afternoon until I ran at 9 in the evening. Still felt good though. Those 3 mile runs feel like nothing now. Nothing.

All day yesterday I was kind of hoping to run this morning, but I ended up getting too bed late. Then a friend asked if I was up for getting up at 6am to run 5 miles with her. And of course I couldn't say no, even if I couldn't get to sleep until about 2am. Ouch. Again, felt like I started off slow, but I still felt strong despite how little recovery time there was from last night to this morning. The pace was a little slower, but we ran a trail with hills, and we weren't going on my pace exactly anyway.

The most encouraging part about yesterday's and today's runs were that I felt none of the same kinds of pains that I felt last week in the first short run. My shins felt fine, although my legs were kind of weary, I had a good pace for both of the runs and didn't feel so uncomfortable as I did last week. Although there was some tenderness in my right knee on the inner part, I guess that's the MCL, right Dave? Like you've read all of this...

Really, I was stoked after finishing the 11 mile on Saturday. That's a 7.33 mph pace, running 1 mile about every 8:11. Again, I felt like I could have gone a couple of more if I had to. I think following this marathon I'd like to do a half and shoot for a 1:30 time. Maybe I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself, but I felt like I could have kept up that pace for another couple of miles and that already puts me at about 1:46, AND I hadn't even run that far in my entire life before, AND I wasn't even shooting for a time, so I feel like there is a lot of room for improvement. Or maybe not. I really have no idea how much time I can shave off, given that I don't really know where to place myself among runners (novice, intermediate, etc.). It's easier to cut time if you're going from novice to intermediate than from intermediate to expert, know what I mean? Maybe I should just shoot for a 5k of like 18 minutes and work my way up from there, who knows...

One last thing, I haven't really had any weight loss. I think I was already at a pretty low weight to begin with, for me at least. I've been hovering around 173 lbs for a couple of months now. Part of that could be due to the fact that any would be weight loss from the increased exercise has been offset from watching my eating less more recently, but I wonder if my body composition has been changing. I think for the most part that I have been getting leaner. I don't think I really have a body that gets really skinny unless I'm really strict with my diet, but I think I just like eating cookies and brownies too much on the weekends to ever really give that up. Just thinking aloud.

And for anyone who has made it this far, the best part about this whole thing is just how empowering it all feels. This might seem kind of silly, but I really feel like there is an increased sense of dominance of my spirit over my body. Physically at least, I feel like I can kind of do anything, and that sense of increased capacity is really exciting.

Right after my last long run, the thought actually crossed my mind that the Lord understands exactly the physical toll of that 11 mile run. He knows the spots where I had my peaks, and where I was in my valleys. And while I felt in one sense comforted to know He endured even those kinds of afflictions for me, I also kind of appreciated the fact I think maybe He also got to experience some of those highs as well - those times when we do actually overcome and don't require Him to suffer so much because we did actually kind of figure it out. I guess I just never really thought about the Atonement working out that way. This thought is based on nothing and is kind of corny and probably off-base, but if He experienced the lows as well as the highs while carrying out the Atonement, maybe personally witnessing those times when we do succeed is part of what got Him through some of the most trying spots. Again, that is the kind of flowery line of thinking that I normally loathe, but maybe it has some element of truth to it.

Anyway, running is cool.

Feeling It

Hopefully my treatment of this subject is appropriate for the world wide interwebs. My apologies for any light treatment of any of this. I'm hoping to just convey some of what I felt at a meeting last night.

The gift of the Holy Spirit adapts itself to all these organs or attributes. It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections; and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, developes, cultivates and matures all the fine toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness and charity. It developes beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigour, animation and social feeling. It developes and invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens, invigorates, and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being.

-Parley P. Pratt

Last night I went to a fireside, and it just about killed me to have to turn down dinner from the Reid's because I don't think there is anything (other than church, I guess) that I enjoy more on Sundays that hanging out with those people. I love you guys more than I can express. I didn't really mean to get into that. Anyway...

This fireside last night was put on by the stake to inform the Irvine YSAs about the upcoming battle to protect traditional marriage. The church is most concerned about the youth because we seem to be the most "tolerant" of those alternative lifestyles, so that was the reason they had a fireside just for the branch. Beverly Rice, who currently serves as the chapter president for United Families International in California, spoke at the meeting. I'll go into the content of the meeting in another post, but what I really wanted to talk about is the feeling of the spirit, hence, the quote leading off the post.

Earlier in the day our sacrament talks were centered on the Proclamation on the Family, and also the debate about marriage that's currently going on in the state. The fireside further highlighted the issue, and also included some more reasons as to why it's important we make our stand on this issue here and now.

Admittedly, I got little out of the sacrament talks. I think it was partly due to the fact that I was feeling a little tired, and I just was having a hard time focusing on the talks. Part of me felt like it was one of those things where I'm already on the right side of the issue, and I'm pretty well-informed with the politics surrounding it, so how much more was I really going to get out of it? At the fireside, however, I thought to myself that if nothing else, I'd like to get a spiritual confirmation of the importance of the message. It came toward the end of the meeting.

Sister Rice retold the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, emphasizing their prominence amongst the people of Babylon, and how obvious it would be when they would not bow down and worship the idol. And then she said something to the effect of that there will come a time that we will be sanctified by the choices that we make. That's when I felt it.

The sensation of the spirit is such a singular experience. I feel like that quote from Parley perfectly describes those feelings better than anything else that I've ever heard. The physical part of it was as obvious to me as if a bucket of water had been dumped on my head. It felt like a chorus of synapses in every cell in my body had been set off to alert me to the enormity of the message. Her message really hit home, and I felt its confirmation through the spirit that I had felt. We will ultimately be sanctified or condemned by the choices that we make. The opportunity is ours to find ourselves on the right side of the issue and although many would have you believe otherwise, there is a right and wrong, no matter how obscured it may be. And it's a more welcome feeling than anything I could ever describe - it really does invigorate and enliven my spirit, more than any concert, sporting event, or workout could ever do. It sounds so trite to even compare those things, but outside of church those are some of the things that get me the most excited, but the feelings associated with those other temporal things cannot even approach the confirmation of the spirit.

Mormons Exposed

Not sure if I ever posted this site before - Mormons Exposed. I saw the site probably about a year ago. Some of the stuff is kind of funny, but mostly it's just really lame. One of my church leaders actually brought it up the other day and was laughing at it more than feeling embarrassed by it. His reaction kind of made me laugh. Church HQ didn't seem to think it was as funny though, as the creator of the calendar was excommunicated over the weekend.

What's more telling about this story is that the guy hasn't been active since 2002, and in some of the other comments made by the leaders holding the disciplinary council it seems more involved than just the calendar. In one article he mentions feeling like his free speech rights are being violated. Hey idiot...nobody said you couldn't say or do what you wanted to do, but that doesn't mean it won't be followed by any consequences. Just thought the story was kind of interesting. I wonder what else has been going on behind the scenes.

Upon The Burning Of Our House

Yesterday I was listening to Hugh Hewitt and he has one guest who comes on and talks literature. I love Hugh's show because he touches a little bit on everything. I forget what this guy's name is, but he's in the military and teaches the military personnel about Shakespeare and poetry. I love him. On the show, he read one of Anne Bradstreet's poems that was actually written on July 10, 1666. The guest lamented that no one is familiar with the works of Anne Bradstreet, to which I replied in my car to myself, "I know her!" That's right. I took an American Lit class. I'm sophisticated fun, I eat filet mignon, and I'm nice and fun, best believe I'm number one...

Anyway, I thought the poem they read on air was touching especially considering the circumstances with the wildfires that are in California. I'm not sure where all of them are, but I heard that the city of Paradise was evacuated, and surprisingly enough, I actually know someone whose family is up there. Well, here's the poem:

In silent night when rest I took,
For sorrow neer I did not look,
I waken'd was with thundring nois
And Piteous shreiks of dreadfull voice.
That fearfull sound of fire and fire,
Let no man know is my Desire.
I, starting up, the light did spye,
And to my God my heart did cry
To strengthen me in my
Distresse And not to leave me succourlesse.
Then coming out beheld a space,
The flame consume my dwelling place.

And, when I could no longer look,
I blest his Name that gave and took,
That layd my goods now in the dust:
Yea so it was, and so 'twas just.
It was his own: it was not mine;
Far be it that I should repine.

He might of All justly bereft,
But yet sufficient for us left.
When by the Ruines oft I past,
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast,
And here and there the places spye
Where oft I sate, and long did lye.

Here stood that Trunk, and there that chest;
There lay that store I counted best:
My pleasant things in ashes lye,
And them behold no more shall I.
Under thy roof no guest shall sitt,
Nor at thy Table eat a bitt.

No pleasant tale shall 'ere be told,
Nor things recounted done of old.
No Candle 'ere shall shine in Thee,
Nor bridegroom's voice ere heard shall bee.
In silence ever shalt thou lye;
Adieu, Adeiu; All's vanity.

Then streight I gin my heart to chide,
And didst thy wealth on earth abide?
Didst fix thy hope on mouldring dust,
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Raise up thy thoughts above the skye
That dunghill mists away may flie.

Thou hast an house on high erect
Fram'd by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished,
Stands permanent tho' this bee fled.
It's purchased, and paid for too
By him who hath enough to doe.

A Prise so vast as is unknown,
Yet, by his Gift, is made thine own.
Ther's wealth enough, I need no more;
Farewell my Pelf, farewell my Store.
The world no longer let me Love,
My hope and Treasure lyes Above.

The resignation and the meekness is amazing, isn't it? I think the poem is relevant because it isn't full of anguish and cursing God, which is a very easy and natural reaction. It's full of acceptance and seeks understanding of His will, and it makes me wish for more of that. Along those lines, I read something this morning that is somewhat related:

There is locked in all of us, as there was in Enos - and I read Enos to say that he was surprised to find it there (see Enos 7:8) - more faith than we presently know. He was heard, and we are heard. But it may not be the response of God here and now we wish. Yet have you not not lived long enough to say to the Lord, "Disregard previous memo;" to thank him that he answered no, and to ask that he erase some of the petitions that you now realize were foolish or hasty or even perverse?

I liked how he, Truman Madsen, put that.

I've been on a little bit of a poetry kick lately. I just happened to pick up a book of poetry that I had purchased some time ago and was remembering why I bought it in the first place. Poetry and music amaze me in the way that each can stir really deep emotions with just a few words, notes, and stanzas. Reading good literature inspires me more than anything to want to be more artistic, or at least allow that expression to surface more. Well...I should be getting back to work.

It's A Walk-Off

I was going to title this post "More Josh Hamilton" but apparently I've already used that one. I'm kinda crappy with these titles. Anyway, I was watching this game last night and was catching the last half of the ninth hoping to see Frankie tie up the loose end on what would have been the most saves prior to the All-Star break in MLB history, and then this guy with a 3-1 count and 2 outs in the ninth does this:

He's also one of the starting outfielders in the upcoming All-Star game. You can't hate on that story...

Week 4 (and some of 5)

I don't really remember the mid-week runs from last week. I ran the first one with Kira, which was nice because I never run/work-out with anyone. I'm kind of weird when it comes to running and exercising. I don't really care if I don't have any music or anything to watch. I don't care about the run being scenic or anything other than just ordinary streets. And I don't (for the most part) care about making the work-out a social thing, or need someone to motivate me to go out and exercise. Not to say that I'm opposed to doing those things altogether, it's just that I kind of like the exercise part itself, I don't really need to be distracted from the fact that I'm running, lifting heavy objects, or from the fact that my body is just plain old tired.

Quick note - Oh! This is something that's pretty cool. So...as far as listening to stuff while on the runs. I already knew that it was possible to download church talks from the internet, and then you can just import that file into ITunes and put it on your IPod. I was really interested, however, in getting audiobooks. I've been wanting to do that for the longest time, but audiobooks are really expensive. I was thinking that maybe I could just check them out from the public library and download them to my computer, and listen to them that way on my runs, but you can actually just download straight from the library's website! I was so excited about that. I would think that any big metropolitan area would provide a similar kind of service. So, competely free of charge, I can get a number of different audiobooks from the public library without even having to leave the comfort of home. How cool is that? The selection isn't huge, but there is a ton of classic literature that I know I'd never get to if I actually had to read them, but listening to them will be so easy. You should check out your own public library and see if that's possible.

Now I'm starting to remember the other runs...I didn't do the second 3 mile run because of the triathlon, and the 4 mile was no big deal. The long run for week 4 was a 9-mile run.

I'm finding that the further along I get in the training regimen, the more excited I'm feeling about the marathon in general. I feel more confident and I'm less and less intimidated by the prospect of 26.2. That alone is a huge relief. So with the long run this week, I wasn't at all dreading it like I was expecting. I think that is attributable to the fact that these runs are just things that I have to do. It feels like it's not even an option to miss the long runs, and even the short ones (unless I'm participating in a triathlon).

I wasn't able to get out in the morning, and frankly, I don't think I'm ever going to be able to do it unless the run is the marathon itself. It just gets to hot now to do them in the afternoon, and I can't get myself up early enough to get some food in me, have time to digest, and then get started before it gets too late in the day. So I started this run at six in the evening.

The temperature was perfect. I had eaten at 2pm, so I had a good amount of time to digest my food. Although I am finding now that I really don't do very well if I have food in my stomach. It has to be barely above nothing for it to feel okay. I was the same way in high school when we had soccer games. The only thing I'd have the day of a game would be cereal in the morning, and then a banana and a quart of orange juice, even when the games were at 7pm.

This time I was accompanied by my shuffle and that was awesome. I carried a bottle of gatorade on the run to stay hydrated, and then I had another one sitting at home for when I was done. 9 miles is easily the farthest that I have ever run, but I was really pleased that by the time I was done, I wasn't completely dead. I felt like I had enough energy to go a couple more, if I had to. I took a short walking break about halfway through, and it wasn't nearly as annoying carrying the bottle as I thought it was going to be. I do want to try out one of those belts that holds the liquids for you. I ran the 9.3 miles in 1:20. I feel like everytime I'm checking my finish time on these long runs, I'm going faster than I expect to be. Keeping up that pace will put me finishing the marathon probably right around 4 hours, factoring in the fact that I will be slowing as the run goes on. That feels pretty respectable.

When I finished, and the day following, I felt really encouraged by the whole experience. I felt really strong throughout the run, and my body wasn't completely worn out. That story changed, however, when I ran just 3 miles on Monday. I felt it the most in my shins. They were just completely fatigued, not like a shin splint kind of pain where it's right on the bone, but in the front part that kind of faces outward. I felt like I had to confine my strides, and keep them really short and choppy. It felt that way throughout the run, but felt more manageable toward the end. My overall pace was about the same as it always is, but it felt very uncomfortable for the duration of the run.

I felt like the pain I experienced in that short run was mostly due to the fact that I didn't have enough recovery time, and I think that was confirmed by my run last night. I did 5 miles, but didn't feel any of the pain that I experienced on Monday. I was feeling a little bit fatigued, especially toward the beginning of the run, but I kept up a torrid pace, for me at least. I finished the 5.4 miles in 41:37. I felt really good about that, keeping up an almost 8 mph pace. I ran that one better than I run most of the 3 mile runs. What was kind of weird about it was that I wasn't really trying to outrun my previous bests, but I just felt really strong especially from the middle to the end of the run.

I think one of the things that I've been doing really well, without really trying, is keeping up a good consistent pace. I don't start out flying, and then feel completely drained by the end of the run. If anything, I run the last 1/3-1/4 of the run faster than I run any other part of the...run. I need to find another word for that. That may mean that I don't start out strong enough if I have so much energy in reserve, but at the same time I don't feel like I'm ever short-changed with any of these runs. It kind of takes me a long time to warm-up, but once I get passed that point, then I can go strong. I think it takes me about 10-15 minutes to really get in my groove.

This week is a 3-5-3 with a long run of 10 miles. I'm still feeling good. This is a pretty boring running post, but I feel like I'm learning a lot about myself as a runner. The weird part? I'm really enjoying the runs. More than I thought I would. The three mile runs feel so short now, and actually kind of boring. I feel like at 5 miles or more is when I really appreciate the feel of the whole sport.

SYTYCD Recap Week 4

Last week got kind of busy toward the end so I didn't get a chance to post anything from last week's episodes. I don't think I loved anything from last week like I did the week before. There were some pretty good routines though:

I kind of love Mark and Chelsea. I think that might be my favorite pairing. I don't see either of them winning the competition because they just don't seem to be getting the same kind of outlandish praise that some of the other contestants are getting. They don't seem like they're the best dancers, or exceptionally hot, but they're both super solid. Too much analysis already, so I'll just leave by saying that I dig on just about everything they do. They don't ever seem to miss.

I thought this routine was pretty hot. The use of the shirt was awesome, and mostly...maybe I just love this song. I'm realizing more and more that I kind of love Mandy Moore's choreography. She happened to do both of these dances that I posted, and the one that sticks out to me from last year that she did was the one with Pasha and Sarah to the Queen song, and they had the aerobics outfits on.

Unfortunately, there are no decent embeddable videos available to post here, but you can watch my favorite dance last week featuring popper Robert Murraine by going to this link here. That link is by the best so go and check it out.

YSA Conference

Do you ever find that when you want to go to meetings the least, but you end up going anyway, that those are often the times when you seem to benefit the most from whatever it is that's being shared? (Do I start every post with a question like that? I think the answer is yes...)

Last weekend we had a Young Single Adult conference for Orange County. I think they were hoping for a bigger turnout than what we actually got, even though it was still several hundred people. This probably won't be of much interest to most people reading this, but I'm mostly going to jot down some of the notes that I took from the conference to jog my memory a little bit about what transpired.

In the morning all of the people congregated to listen to Peter Vidmar speak. Following that, a couple of break-out sessions with some institute teachers teaching classes on various topics, lunch, then an address by President Rasmussen, some more break-out sessions, and then a final talk by Elder Reynolds, and Area authority for the church.

I think this will be easiest if I just bullet point some of the things that stuck out to me:

• President (Bishop?) Vidmar read the scripture from Luke 2:52 and asked us to consider the ways that we are growing, if it is also in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God as Christ grew. My favorite part about this point was when he started telling the story of an Olympic swimmer.
  
  Before reaching the Olympics, this swimmer had noticed that the world record times for his stroke increased a certain amount every year, and so he anticipated that by the time he would be able to qualify for the Olympics, in order to win the gold he was going to have to beat the his personal best by 4 seconds, which would also become the new world record. I think the time he was trying to reach was something like 55.50. He broke that down into years, months, weeks, and days, to the point where approximately every 10 days he was going to have to improve by .12 seconds, or something like that. Well he qualified for the Olympics, reached the final, and when he emerged from the water and looked up at his time, the clock flashed OR (Olympic Record), WR (World Record) and the time was 55.49, thus, securing him the gold medal.
  
  This is something that I've been noticing recently as I've gone about my marathon training. Before I even started doing all of the training and actually running the 26.2 miles seemed impossible. However, the further I get into the training the more confidence I start to feel about not only finishing the marathon, but performing well in it. I'm only four weeks into it, but breaking down the training into months, weeks, and days has helped me immensely in not feeling overwhelmed at how daunting the end goal seems to be. And I can't even tell you how discouraged I felt that first Saturday morning running just the six miles for my long run. It sounds so stupid to me now, but that's how I really felt.
  
  I know the same applies to eternal progression and repentance. Sometimes those addictions, negative attitudes, or just annoying habits might not ever feel like things that we can remove from ourselves, but days, weeks, months, and years of prayer, fasting, scripture study, and constant adjustment helps us to reach that end goal of perfection.
  
  The main point is goal setting and applying it to not only temporal areas, but spiritual ones as well.
  
• Brother Holbrook spoke about grace. I've heard him reference this scripture (Alma 33:16) a few times in institute:
  
  

  For behold, he said: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son.

  Then he went on to speak about the miracles that the Lord performed during his ministry, noting specifically turning the water into wine and the feeding of the 5,000. Then he asked if it was within Christ's capacity to bless them with exactly the amount that they needed. And of course, He is fully capable of doing that, and after turning our attention to D&C 104:15-17, Brother Holbrook made the point that God will always bless us with enough, and to spare.
  
  The main thrust of his discussion was in applying the Atonement in our lives. If we are waiting to apply the Atonement only for those times when we explicitly commit sin, then we are not fully realizing the breadth of coverage that the Atonement provides. It is enough (for sin), and to spare (as noted in Alma 7:11-12). That would include the pains, afflictions, temptations, and infirmities that we have to suffer. He took those things upon Himself so that He would know how to succor us.
  
  He then asked us if Christ knows what it's like to give birth to a child? or to suffer with cancer, or have a loved one suffer through severe infirmities. And again, of course He does. And this is ultimately what pains our Heavenly Father the most - that we will not understand the mercies bestowed unto us through His Son.
  
• Brother Greiner spoke about Repentance. He started off mentioning 2 Corinthians 3:3:
  
  

  Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

  The idea is to get the gospel from our minds and into our hearts. I think this is a really great point that I think we all understand well, but don't appreciate often enough. There are so many things that we easily accept - it's smart to exercise and eat healthy, don't spend more than you earn, live the gospel, etc. - but in practice, there is so often a disconnect. We know the things that we should be doing, but it's always so hard for us to do it. This is not really a profound point, but one that deserves mentioning, I think.
  
  Brother Greiner is a convert to the church and one time while watching President Lee speak in the Tabernacle, he approached President Lee (the prophet at that time), and asked him to tell him specifically how he came to know the Savior, and he was able to rise to the calling of a prophet. President Lee then said:


1. Always attend your meetings
2. Magnify your calling
3. Tithe and make generous offerings
4. Search the scriptures-->become a gospel scholar
5. Pray mightily, like Enos
6. Read D&C 93:1, and live it


• Brother Rozelle (sp?) spoke about aligning our will with God's. I just have a couple of unconnected points that I thought were good from his talk, although I may have enjoyed the most on the day.
  
  He spoke about the experience of Peter and walking on the water when he saw Christ out walking during the storm. Making note of Peter's background and experience on the sea of Galilee, he noted that Peter's response wasn't to complain or question why the Lord would send them out in a storm, or to ask why He didn't arrive to help them sooner. His response, rather, was full of faith, even if he couldn't sustain walking on the water. My favorite part about Brother Rozelle recounting this story was when he said, "if we'll just get out of the boat, we'll be amazed at the kind of miracles that can happen."
  
  The important thing to remember when we're going through different kinds of trials is that it really doesn't do any good to question why me? or what did I do to cause this trial? The most important thing we can do is to direct our questions and actions toward those things that will help to reshape our future and help us to cope, and eventually thrive.
  
  I forget why he even mentioned this part, but he referred us to the scripture in John 10 where Christ talks about how He is the good shepherd and His sheep know his voice. He made a point to point out specifically that it's important that it says "voice" and not something like "word" because sometimes the words will change, but the voice is the same. Sometimes the word says to kill Laban and to follow your unique path, it is crucial to know that the voice you're listening to is the Lord's. I guess that's relevant to the topic because it helps you to interpret God's will as it relates specifically to your unique situation. For example, for some mom's it could be that it's important for you to work, and others not as much. Or maybe that you need to take a certain job, or go back to school at a later age. It can be any number of things. Or it could be even something as extreme as to go against what is normally your sound judgment (killing Laban), but the point is that you're seeking to align yourself to the Lord's will, and not waiting for Him to come around to you.

So that's about all that I got. At least those were the big things. I think there are a lot of interesting talking points in there, so maybe some of you would like to bring that up. Or maybe nobody bothered to read this far. In any case, hopefully there is something here that will be useful to someone. Night everyone.

Upcoming Concerts

Does anyone want to go see some shows? Here are the ones I'm interested in that will be coming up pretty soon:

• Flobots - Friday, July 11th at the Anaheim House of Blues
• Who's Bad, Michael Jackson Tribute Band - Friday, July 25th at the Anaheim HOB
• Journey, Heart, Cheap Trick - Wednesday, July 16th at the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine
• Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies - Thursday, August 7th at the Glass House in Pomona
• Tom Jones and Sheila E. will be at the Pacific Amphitheater at the OC Fair
• Coldplay is coming up at the Forum, tickets still available. That's mostly for Caitlin, but I think they only have expensive tickets left.
• Some crappy band called Rooney is coming into town later this month, but who would want to go see that, am I right?
• And other tribute bands...U2, Bon Jovi, and others

With the exceptions of the bigger shows (Journey, Tom Jones, Coldplay) all of those are under $15.

Speaking of the OC Fair, it's coming up this Friday. They're going to have Lucha Libre next week!!! And they have several of their own tribute bands, Van Halen, Eagles, Jimmy Buffet and The Boss. There is some fun stuff right around the corner kiddies. I'm also guessing that they're going to have the demolition derby to kick things off this weekend too, although I'm not sure when exactly that will be.

Who's with me?

Dia de Indepedencia

In Chile what that means is eating a million empanadas, dance the queca, and then setting the city on fire. Fireworks too, but actually setting the city on fire is a pretty big part of it. Up here what that means is that we go to the beach all day long, barbeque, and play whiffleball.

For a couple of us, this year's 4th of July also featured a triathlon that was put on by the Irvine Stake. Greg was the only one in attendance for the rest of the day's festivities to complete the whole thing by his lonesome, but Aaron and I did form a relay team to also compete in the event. The triathlon consisted of a 400m swim, 10 mile bike ride, and 3 mile run. I'm a little upset that I didn't get any pictures of that, but I'm happy to note that our relay team posted the best time of any of the relay teams. It was a lot of fun and next year I'll probably get competitive and not only do it on my own, but try and win the whole thing. I'm kind of dumb like that. Not even sure that I'm really capable of that. Anyway, that just meant that our day started at about 6 am. As for the rest of the day...

This year didn't feature any drunk guy takedowns, and not even any reenactments. I'm a little bit surprised and disappointed by that actually, but it was still pretty awesome, nonetheless. Our crowd for the 4th didn't feature as many of the regulars. We didn't have any kiddies, which in one sense is nice since Ryan wasn't around to take my camera and throw it in the ocean (it was in its case when that happened last year, luckily), but is a big bummer because they can just be so fun to have around. I did miss Doug and Kristen, and Mike and Suzie a lot. I hope that for future reference we can all come to an understanding that the 4th has pretty much become Christmas in July. Which actually works out quite well since it is almost exactly a half year later.

Anybody else for creating a new tradition of gift exchanging for the newly minted summertime Christmas? It should be like a bathing suit exchange, or a t-shirt exchange, just something simple. I think that would actually be kind of fun. Like we could do that on July 1st...just throwing that out there.

Seriously though, it could involve a dinner maybe the Sunday before the holiday, exchange names. It wouldn't ever have to cost more than $20. Think about it...This year we adopted some new games including bocce ball and ladder ball (aka ladder golf, blongo ball, Polish horseshoes, or whatever other name is out there for it), as well as some old favorites, namely, smashball and whiffleball. I didn't get to play any catch, and I didn't jump in on the game of scum, but I do kind of like that scum has been featured two years in a row. Yes, Karen, we play cards on the beach. I think you made that same comment last year, but I've seen you fools at the beach and I don't think you guys pack in a whole week as much as we do in one day. How about them apples? We will outfun you chumps any day of the week.

We didn't watch the fireworks from the beach since that part of Newport doesn't have a view of any shows nearby. I wouldn't mind going to a different beach next year that is a little bit more family oriented, that would also feature the fireworks. It does seem like we are getting a little bit more savvy as to how to manuever all of the food, drop off cars, and make the situation pretty manageable overall.

I think more than anything this year I just felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the associations that I have with these people. There were a lot of people who went to great lengths to prepare food items, bring stuff down, and just make sure that everyone who was with us could have a good time. I really loved that we had a bunch of people show up unexpectedly and that not only were we able to accomodate them dropping by, but that nobody seemed put out by the fact that these people showed up out of nowhere and didn't have anything of their own to contribute. For those who poppped in, I kind of felt like our group served as an oasis for some of them, even if it was only to steal some of the shade that our canopy and umbrellas provided. They seemed to love Caitlin's corn and bean salsa recipe. I don't know what it was, but I just felt so grateful to be with people who go out of their way to make sure others feel welcome. I'm lucky to know you, and I love you all. A big thank you to everyone who came out, and even bigger thank you to everyone who helped out with all the food and game preparations.