New Computer

How many times have you guys changed up your computers? If you haven't done it in awhile then maybe you don't remember just how much time it takes to transfer all your files and get familiar with the new computer. There are so many things that just felt so personalized about my old laptop - the placement of certain buttons, how to make it hibernate, my bookmarks, not to mention all of the files. Last time I put them on the same network and it took me forever how to figure out how to get all files over, but now that I'm stealing internet from network Sam, I don't really have that luxury. I did get a transfer cable, but then I never did quite figure out how to work that, so this time around I ended up just getting an external hard drive and although it was more pricey, it was so much easier.

I can't believe how much I paid for my previous laptop and how much cheaper this one is while also being about twice the computer that I had before. Want some good sites to go to for coupons and bargains? Fatwallet is one, and Techbargains is another. You can find some great buys on either of those websites. I ended up going with the Lenovo brand of lappy top at the suggestion of a couple of people who know more about this stuff than I do. So far it's been awesome. I wonder, however, if I probably would have been just as satisfied with anything that wasn't my old computer that would decide to shutdown on its own without first consulting me. Maybe...

I don't know what it is, but I feel like I'm not interested in anything these days. I haven't been following politics as much, and my attention span for watching sports is at an all-time low as well. This won't make any sense to most of you, but I didn't even really care about watching much of the NFL draft last weekend. I feel like that might have had more to do with the fact that my Raiders didn't have very many picks in the first 3 rounds though. In any case, I'm just feeling funny in general. This blog is coming up on its year anniversary and I actually have already surpassed 365 posts a few days ago, but I'm not even that excited about the blog anymore either. I feel like I'm in a weird funk and I just can't figure it out. So anyway, the blog might undergo some new formatting and the Editor in Chief might go on leave of absence for a month or so. I dunno...sigh...whatever...We'll see.

Young@Heart

I saw this movie last night. This film really has to be one of the cutest, most touching movies I've ever seen. You can visit their website here and learn a little bit more about the story of the chorus. In brief, the chorus started out in 1982 and this movie was produced by a filmmaker who had seen the show only recently about a year or two ago. He pitched the idea of putting together a documentary that would cover the chorus preparing for a show that they would be performing in seven weeks. My favorite part of the movie was seeing them go perform at a local prison and seeing the reaction of the prisoners and just how much they loved it. I wish I could come up with more stuff than just saying that everyone in the film is just so sweet and cute, but that's really all I can think of right now. Throughout the movie the director interjects these music videos and several of them are actually posted on YouTube. The clip I posted above is not one that's included in the movie. It's really worth experiencing it all in the theater.

I just love the independent movie feel. It really does seem like these kinds of projects are driven by a compelling story and not so much dollars and cents. The resulting movie comes across as so much more authentic without the distractions of typical big budget films. I sound so stuck up right now, but it's the truth. I really like that idea of finding the right angle to telling a story and consuming entirely the audience's interest. I've even thought it would be neat to do interviews with just my friends and practicing piecing together a well-crafted story. Any volunteers? The point is that there is always a story there, you've just got to find the right way to tell it. I think this film really does that so well.

Long Time No Post

I'm not really sure why it is. I think it's in part due to the fact that my old laptop was starting to crap out on me, and I think I have been pressed a little bit for time these days. Well, truthfully, I haven't been making time to post like I normally would. It seems that my uniform on days off tends to be boardshorts and a white t-shirt, which I love, but then it turns into a lot of time without wearing the normal endowed members' underoos. It makes me feel weird, and then I secretly love it at the same time.

Don't worry though...I'll be back to regular posts, and I also got my new laptop yesterday so I've just got to get all setup on there and I that should help with the unplanned shutdowns in the middle of my time on the internets.

Last Saturn's day Dave celebrated his 28th birthday. I'm trying to think of some funny story about Dave, and I know there are tons of them, but for some reason I'm just drawing a blank. I'll just say one of my favorite things about Dave is that a lot of times people who are funny do it for the sake of getting laughs from other people, but what I love about Dave is that at least half of the time he's doing or saying the stuff that he does purely for his own enjoyment. For some reason I feel like that quality makes his already witty jokes and repartees that much funnier because he's doing it for purely for the appreciation of humor, and to make himself laugh maybe even more than to make those around him laugh. The other night we went and saw a movie and I forgot something in his car. I asked for his key and as he handed me the key he yelled out to me as I was walking away to "make sure you leave the car open. In fact, leave the door open with the key in the ignition and the car running." I just loved knowing that he threw that comment out that because he was going to just remind me to lock it, but realized that it would be really obvious to say that so he went in the complete opposite direction. And this was while we were walking in opposite directions in a parking lot, so it was more than likely that I wasn't going to hear what it was that he was saying. That kind of stuff happens all the time with Dave. I could say so many things about him, but I'll just leave off by saying that he's my best friend and there is no one I appreciate more. Seriously, watching Turk and JD on Scrubs is like seeing Dave and I on screen.

This is one of my favorite scenes ever with Turk and JD:

Better

92 words

Speedtest

Better than the 2 that I did on the other one. No joke.

I Am THIS Many Years Old!

I am an idiot

Take the speed typing test here

Now maybe you all can appreciate how much time it takes me to put together my posts. Try it.

Happy Earth Day!

Jesse: I want to stay in school tomorrow. I want to guarantee the survival of the earth’s environment.

A.C. Slater: Can’t that wait until Monday?

Jesse: No, there’s a plastic foam protest tomorrow, and I intend to be part of it.

A.C. Slater: Oh well, have fun. I’ll be at the beach with my plastic foam boogey board.

Jesse: How can you be so irresponsible?

A.C. Slater: You know everything about the environment except how to enjoy it.

There you have it. On one side is someone so busy making plastic foam her enemy that she fails to consider how it could be made an eco-friend (boogey board). On the other side is a non-environmentalist who finds an alternative use. He finds a solution by ignoring the problem.

Yes, the above exchange actually is from Saved by the Bell. This is the full article from NRO about Styrophobia. This post is from the editors at NRO, and here is an excerpt:

Thirty-five years ago, political scientist Anthony Downs discerned what he called the “issue-attention cycle,” a five-stage process during which the public and the media grow alarmed over an issue, agitate for action, generate reams of scary headlines, and then begin to draw back as they gradually recognize that the problem has been exaggerated and they get a good look at the price tag for sweeping action.

While Downs thought that the issue-attention cycle for the environment would last longer than for most issues, global warming is starting to follow the same familiar pattern as the “population bomb” and the “we’re-running-out-of-everything” scares of the 1970s. The planet’s coldest winter in 30 years has cooled the fever of climate panic. And while one cool year does not a trend make, a few more cool years and there will be a crisis in climate alarmism.

I think this article is really interesting about the unintended, and often deadly, consequences of environmental activism. Here are a couple of paragraphs:

Millions of acres of rainforest are fast disappearing as farmers in South America, Asia and elsewhere rush to clear land for cultivation. Among the culprits is government subsidization of corn-based ethanol — a supposed antidote to climate change. U.S. subsidies are expected to top $5 billion this year, which is prompting American farmers to devote more land to corn in place of soybeans. Consequently, their counterparts around the globe are clearing acreage to capitalize on higher prices for the displaced crops.

Every 30 seconds, a child somewhere in the world dies of malaria, according to the World Health Organization. The disease claims more than one million lives each year, although it is both preventable and treatable. The principle means of prevention is control of malaria-bearing mosquitoes. Of the 12 pesticides currently recommended, DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) is widely recognized as the most effective. But the erroneous claims about the toxicity of DDT in Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1972 to ban the pesticide, precipitating the suspension of spraying in dozens of countries — and the deaths of tens of millions of people.

And how about nuclear power? Here is an article that talks a little bit about how France has been using nuclear power to gain some energy independence. This is a very dated article, but illustrates major points that are still relevant today about why nuclear power is clearly one of our best options. An excerpt about France's success with nuclear power:

One answer is in front of their eyes, courtesy of the French: nuclear energy. In the 1970s, France decided to lessen its dependence on oil and gas imports by embracing nuclear power. It worked. In three decades, the country’s total energy consumption derived from oil fell from 71 percent to 39 percent.

Meanwhile, the country generates nearly 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power, and even exports significant amounts to its neighbors.

And here's a friendly environmental message...there is some language, or maybe a lot:

Michael Yon, War Stuff, and the Pope

Have you guys had a chance to check out any of the Michael Yon stuff that I've posted? It's easy reading and I promise that it really is very interesting. He recently came out with a book about the situation in Iraq, Moment of Truth In Iraq. This here is a recent interview with him over at NRO. It seems long, but again, it's really interesting. He's very plain and really when you read his stuff, you get the sense that he really is just reporting and not interested so much in all the political jockeying that goes on. This is his online magazine, and I will be linking it for future reference on the left with the other political links. His works survives mainly through reader contributions so if there is any money you can donate, please do.

And lastly...have you guys heard anything about the Pope's recent trip through the US? I've heard a couple of things here and there, but it really does seem like Pope Benedict is a very solid leader for the Catholic Church. Mostly I gather this from the way he has been approaching the stains caused by all of the sex scandals that seemed to have been getting overlooked by the upper levels of leadership within the church. And I got this from Hugh Hewitt's blog post about the Pope's visit, but this is worth noting:

Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility. Americans know this from experience -- almost every town in this country has its monuments honoring those who sacrificed their lives in defense of freedom, both at home and abroad. The preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good and a sense of responsibility towards the less fortunate. It also demands the courage to engage in civic life and to bring one's deepest beliefs and values to reasoned public debate. In a word, freedom is ever new. It is a challenge held out to each generation, and it must constantly be won over for the cause of good. Few have understood this as clearly as the late Pope John Paul II. In reflecting on the spiritual victory of freedom over totalitarianism in his native Poland and in eastern Europe, he reminded us that history shows, time and again, that "in a world without truth, freedom loses its foundation," and a democracy without values can lose its very soul. Those prophetic words in some sense echo the conviction of President Washington, expressed in his Farewell Address, that religion and morality represent "indispensable supports" of political
prosperity.

The emphasis is my own. I guess I can't help myself when it comes to the political stuff. There are some really important things going on, and I really feel like this quote from Pope Benedict really captures some of why it's important to be in the know.

Birthday Beach Bash Battle Royale

I'm not one to really need, or even want, a lot of attention, so when people make a big deal about celebrating their own birthday-weeks or -months I always just found that kind of strange. This week was my first encounter with that length of attention on my birthday, being that I got taken out to eat the on day of twice, had some sweet seats at the Angels game on Thursday on my man-date with Dave, had dinner with my dad Friday, this barbeque yesterday, and actually another one today with my mom and brother.

I was surprised about the locale of the days events, but pleasantly so. There is probably no one who gets as excited as I do about having a barbeque at the beach and playing whiffleball than me, except for Dave. So it worked out pretty well that we both happen to love the planned events, our birthdays are less than two weeks apart, and we're best friends. How long have you guys been planning this anyway? It seems like this is about 15 years in the making just to put together a combined birthday party. Given all of that, maybe I should have been expecting more...Very elaborate guys, bravo. Anyway, over here in Irvine it was looking like a bad day for the beach with cooler temperatures and cloudy skies. Fortunately, when we actually arrived it was much nicer actually on the beach than it was more inland. So we ended up having a Beach Battle Royale for both mine and Dave's birthday (which is actually coming up next week on the 26th). It was a semi-surprise for me, but more of a surprise for him that this was also to celebrate his birthday. For whatever reason we had a faux competition between the both of us to determine the best...well I really have no idea. As everyone expected, I bested him in the four part gauntlet of challenges. It involved an intense game of whiffleball, arm wrestling, watermelon eating, and a battle of wits, a la Cash Cab, which before yesterday I had never even heard of.

I really can't say enough about how much I appreciate everything that you all did to remember me, from the big to the small. Of course I love those people more who put more effort into celebrating ME, but that you even remembered is really sweet. Kidding. Honestly, it was enough that you guys even remembered at all, and I can't tell you enough how much I appreciated all that you did. Thanks for just being a part of it.

Catch of the Day and Other Stuff

I heard this song the other night on my way to dinner and I was like, can you say "HIT"? But later that night I couldn't remember anything from the song so that I could look it up...enter the Angel's game last night and bless you Torii Hunter for your at-bat stroll to the plate music because now I'm able to bring this magic to all of us. Sometimes hip hop and I are really friendly:



And I just love The Onion. This video is just so dumb, but I love it:


Wildly Popular 'Iron Man' Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film

And I thought this article about beach safety was kind of dumb at first, but I think it redeemed itself towards the end.

Now Here's Some Fluff

Want a jump rope update? I knew you did. I almost got the double swing down. I don't mean like I can do it continuously over and over, but that I can get it a couple of times amidst regular jumps. I also have figured out switching from one foot to the other, touching heel with the off-foot, and running in place. I also kind of have some funny looking moves where I can do a mini-version of alternating between both feet but keeping one foot forward always, and I can do it with either foot. And then also I can do jump rope swinging my arms around in full swings with the rope. I'm sure it looks idiotic, but I freakin' love it. And my stamina is increasing and I don't even get sore with it anymore. I shouldn't love it so much, but I totally do. It feels like a game to me now, and I actually feel a void that I didn't get to it today.

And yes, that picture is my normal jump rope outfit. So naturally I look good doing it.

A War We Can Win

Yup, it's time for some war stuff. I feel like the blog has been mostly fluff for awhile so here is a little bit of current events. This link here is an article by a guy that I've posted previously on my blog, Michael Yon. He is an embedded journalist in Iraq who gives us the clearest picture to what's actually occurring on the ground level in the war. Here is an excerpt from the article:

I may well have spent more time embedded with combat units in Iraq than any other journalist alive. I have seen this war – and our part in it – at its brutal worst. And I say the transformation over the last 14 months is little short of miraculous.

The change goes far beyond the statistical decline in casualties or incidents of violence. A young Iraqi translator, wounded in battle and fearing death, asked an American commander to bury his heart in America. Iraqi special forces units took to the streets to track down terrorists who killed American soldiers. The U.S. military is the most respected institution in Iraq, and many Iraqi boys dream of becoming American soldiers. Yes, young Iraqi boys know about "GoArmy.com."

As the outrages of Abu Ghraib faded in memory – and paled in comparison to al Qaeda's brutalities – and our soldiers under the Petraeus strategy got off their big bases and out of their tanks and deeper into the neighborhoods, American values began to win the war.

Iraqis came to respect American soldiers as warriors who would protect them from terror gangs. But Iraqis also discovered that these great warriors are even happier helping rebuild a clinic, school or a neighborhood. They learned that the American soldier is not only the most dangerous enemy in the world, but one of the best friends a neighborhood can have.

It's a brief article, so please read it. We are at a perilous point in the war and this should greatly affect who you end up voting for in November. We have two positions that are in direct opposition to one another, with a representative from each political party that will either take us into defeat, or carry us into victory. This is another blog post for another day, but it's important to care about this stuff because while it may not feel like it affects you or myself at a personal level, it soon will if we don't take the right steps. Please don't plead apathy or indifference. That is such a poor excuse - I would that thou wert cold or hot.

Want to know of something simple that you can do to help the cause? Visit this online store. Currently there is a push to get packages out to the troops that carry some basic food items for the blistering summer that is fast approaching, just things like gatorade, beef jerky, coffee and cookies. You just pay through the online store and it can be as little as a $14 contribution. This website here gives updates on support for the war here in the states. Please put your dollars toward a worthy cause and help mobilize the efforts to support our troops.

This Day In History

• Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut and broke the color barrier in professional sports
• The unsinkable Titanic hit an iceberg and was capsized
• President Lincoln died
• And yours truly was born.

I'm not one to really like all the attention, but I do appreciate people remembering...so thanks for the birthday phone call to kick things off at midnight, Karen. You were also the earliest rememberer by far with the package prepped and sent more than a week ago. Thanks, Doug, for the text at 3:30 am, and various emails, texts, and happy smurfday well wishers. I do appreciate it. Some of my favorite birthday memories:

• Birthday in a box freshman year at BYU - I totally forgot about this one until I started thinking of this post. This was back when Dave's mom was more nice/less crazy and she sent a package of dumb games that for a lot of people would have been lame, but with our friends ended up being really fun and we played them all down in the cafeteria area by DT. I remember that one actually being really fun and if you guys (Dave, Laura, Brenna) remember, the pictures of that night with all of us have the girls with squirt guns and Dave and I have wet crotches. We weren't too old for that joke then, and somehow I think the same would be true today.
• First post-mission birthday. At BYU my birthday always comes at a crappy time - the last day of classes or the beginning of finals so for like three years in a row I had papers due the day of my birthday. Of course me being an idiot, I always stayed up all night the day of my birthday. My girlfriend had come into town and I was duped into thinking that we were going to Joe's Crab Shack to meet up with her boring family, but instead it ended up being all of my friends. That one surprised me...
• The next year I was dating Becca, and she and Dave "surprised" me by taking me to Chuck E. Cheese's. Sidenote - my first birthday was actually at Chuck E.'s. It wasn't much of a surprise because I knew that Doug and surprised Kristin with it recently, and I had a surprise the previous year so I did appreciate it, but I wasn't caught off guard. And then when we came back to our apartment I opened up the door to find all of our friends in the living room. That one really got me. It was pretty awesome.
• And I think one of the best presents I ever got was when Dave got me a plane ticket home to catch a day game with him at Angel Stadium. First off, that was pretty expensive, but he knows how much I love those day games and I was going back only for a few days because I was attending spring term, so my time was limited and it's always so much better to fly home than lose a whole day driving. One of my favorite things about that one was that he always made Becca jealous because his presents were always better than hers. What can I say? He's one of the best gift givers I know, plus he knows me better than anyone. It's to be expected, right?

I think those are pretty easily my favorite birthdays, but I think I'm pretty easy to please now. Thanks so much to everyone who has remembered already, and it's only 9:00 am. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate it and how much I love you all. Thanks.

Best Friends

And why does he hang out with those retarted gorillas, as you called them, because any one of them, if he asked them to, would take a f***ing bat to your head, okay? It's called loyalty.

I love that description of Will's friends from Good Will Hunting. I think it crudely, but adeptly, describes the kind of devotion that best friends have to one another. A few months ago I heard about a girl living up in Idaho who in about two weeks time met, went out with a couple of times, and then got engaged to a guy up there. From first meeting to eventual marriage I think there was about a 3 month window. Without really going into her blog and her semi-crazy (to me at least) musings, she talked about how he was her best friend after only 10 days of knowing each other. I just couldn't believe how some people can fall into those kinds of marriages (and I don't mean in a good way), but my first thought was really just about how she probably has never really had a best friend, because if she really did, then there is no way that she would ever make that leap in assuming that some guy that she had only just met could somehow fill a role that really takes years to grow into.

If you have the means, I highly highly recommend getting one, they are so choice.

I've been really lucky because I think ever since I can remember, I have always had a go to friend at every point in my life. I still remember the first time Justin's mom came over to my house in kindergarden and asked if her son could play with me. That one felt like an arranged marriage/friendship and we eventually grew apart, but for about 6-7 years, we were inseperable. Then I had Ryan. And then came along Dave and he's been there pretty much ever since. It really is great when your friends aren't restricted by just proximity, but they are based on the commonalities that you share, as well as your experiences with one another. And I've been really lucky since then because I feel like I have a few people that I would easily call my best friends.

The last girl I dated really had a great appreciation for best friends. We had some conversations about it here and there, but we mostly concluded that it's not something you can really understand unless you have that kind of relationship yourself. She particularly loved on-screen portrayals of best friends because there are some things that can only be communicated by someone who has that kind of familiarity in his/her own life. One that she usually referenced was from the TV show Psych, which I've never seen, but George and Brad on Ocean's 11 is a perfect example, think of the scene where George is having the "conversation" with Brad but really he's the only one saying anything.

I think my favorite, though, is Turk and JD from Scrubs. I think there are about 1,000 different things I can point to that make me love Turk and JD, but I think my favorite part is that I feel like I've made the same jokes so many times with Dave and Greg. And the stupid crap that they pull on each other or on the interns just has such a Doug Reid kind of feel to it. It feels like home to me when I watch those two.

I guess started thinking about this more when I ran into an old friend the other night at an institute activity. We hardly talk anymore, this was the first time in a couple of months, but we instantly picked up where we last left off and I just knew exactly where I stood with her. I know what things she laughs at, what things she thinks are strange, what she cares about, I just know every nook and cranny of her person. Even just through certain looks I knew exactly what she was thinking, and I just missed her presence so much because there is nothing like just knowing a person's heart inside and out, and knowing that the person really would take a bullet for you given that opportunity. There is something just so wonderfully comforting and gratifying to know that in your times of greatest need, there is someone there who would do anything for you to get through that moment. I think what really adds so much depth to these friendships is experiencing hardship with one another, extending and receiving forgiveness, and knowing that there is nothing there but a true sense of concern for the other person. It's nice to know that sometimes they can call you to the carpet when you're wrong, and you can listen because you know where they're coming from. And I love thinking that no matter how much time passes, or how infrequently you might see one another, you just know that the connection will always be there. I didn't mean for this to turn so soft and corny, but I was just thinking about it the last several days.

Song of the Day

White people love Mos Def. Want a stupid funny website? Here. I like the first one better. It's a little more sophisticated. I just have a thing for this song right now. Sorry there's not actual video though.

Stupid Stuff We Do

This post is mostly inspired by the receptionist here at work this morning, who will remain nameless (although it's not too hard to figure out who she is). Anyway, there are a couple of things that I had in mind that I myself had done or thought this week, and we have a guest contribution as well from Greg, thanks buddy. Mostly what I had in mind for this were those head-scratching moments when you tilt your head and think to yourself, "now why in the world did I/he/she/they/we think/do that?" When I started thinking of stuff to include in here, I realized that there are about a 1000 things that I could include, but I think those should get their own post. Here are a few things that occurred recently:

• I was picking up a few things at Target the other day and I will usually do a lap around the music & movies section, just in case there was something out there that I really needed that I had possibly forgotten about (although if there was something that I really needed, you would think that it would be easy to recall, right?). This time around though on my way to get some other items I passed the toy section. Feeling pretty aimless, I wandered through looking at the toys thinking about which ones I might have wanted when I saw them - G.I. Joes.
  
  I don't think any of you realize the obsession I had with these action figures (not dolls!) growing up. I had my own little army of about 50 or so. My best friend in grade school had all the vehicles. Needless to say our battles were epic. So I see them and realize that they're the 25th anniversary edition of the old action figures that I actually had as a child, meaning the same characters in the same packaging. About $20 later I have several, including Cobra Commander, Storm Shadow, and Snake Eyes. What is a 27 year old guy going to do with a bunch of action figures you ask? I have no idea, but I know that if I saw more of them I would buy up whatever ones are out there. By the way, if you guys see Duke or Destro, I must have them.
  
  While I was still attending BYU, one of my girlfriends found out about my love affair with G.I. Joes and she ended up buying several new ones for me and I loved her for it. I took them out and put them in battle poses around my room, and she asked me if I played with them and was disappointed when I laughed and told her no. But if I'm too old to play with them, shouldn't I be too old to even want to have them in the first place? Apparently not. Go Joe!
  
  


• Girl came in yesterday to work to drop off some items, and given how things played out I could have been pretty easily annoyed with having to deal with her. Or if not that, then at the very least too prideful to even take a second look at her, but when I saw her my heart just softened completely and I just wanted to embrace her, and sit down and talk about anything or nothing at all. It's just funny to me what a soft spot I can have for certain members of the opposite sex. I had never seen her in just casual clothes and she just looked so good. I guess if I have a type, there's something about dark features that just really does it for me, and as far as personal qualities go, just someone that laughs a lot and is easy to talk to.
  
  When I was in kindergarden, I had a crush on a girl and the only reason was because she was the only girl with glasses. Ever since Jenny, I just really dig on seeing girls wearing those dark-rimmed spectacles. Anyway, the girl I saw yesterday probably could have kicked me in the junk, stolen my car, and insulted my mother last week, and when I saw her yesterday I still would have just melted. Weird. I think I'm pretty much like a little puppy when it comes to people - you can yell at me, neglect me, or kick me, but if you give me a treat or scratch my belly I'll forget everything else that happened. I seem to have a pretty short memory span when it comes to a lot of that stuff. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
  


• My coworker is quite the endurance athlete. She is a cyclist and rides 100, even 200 mile races. This weekend she has a 112 mile race, but she hasn't been able to train for a little while now. Further compounding the difficulty, she's been sick the last week or two and has recently started focusing on short distance races so her training regimen is totally different now. Earlier this week she got talked out of going on a training ride for this upcoming event because she was still getting over her cold, and needed the rest for the weekend. That was two days ago. So what does she do last night instead? Does a lot of dancing and doing late night stuff, and not getting in until after 5 am the morning before the weekend of her big race. I love her.
  


• My best friend's dad feels it's necessary to exterminate a black widow infestation at his new house by using a blow torch. He even sent picture of him doing it. Awesome.
  


• From Greg: I am currently taking post-bacc classes at CSUF to show that in spite of my shameful under-grad GPA I actually am smart and can get good grades. As I was anticipating the freedom of my first ever quasi-collegiate spring break (as my alma-mater the Y doesn't have one) I considered my options to relax and/or party my tush off. My first and most preferred option was to fly home to the Mile-high City and go skiing with my father; because other than the flight my trip would end up being free.
  
  I called up and talked scheduling with him, and he pointed out that "Unfortunately, [my younger brother's] high school spring break is the week prior".
  
  "Okay", I prodded, "but what about the following week? Any chance you could go up for just one weekday and maybe Saturday too?"
  
  "Hmmm, looking, looking, nope. No I'm sorry son, I don't have any days off that week. Maybe another time."
  
  I hung up just defeated. Another time? I'm married and live in CA and plan to go to dental school soon - what other time? My dad is a skiing nut and a doctor so he has the money and time to ski his brains out and I couldn't believe that there was no way he could take some time to ski with his favorite and most talented son (wink). So the next day I called my mom and asked her to check out dad's calendar and would you believe it? He had Friday off and nothing planned on Saturday!!!! WTF!?! Turns out I have slipped in the rankings of favored son. My dad didn't want to go skiing with me! Talk about a total ball-busting, heart-crushing, spank to the face...
  
  P.S. He went this week (week after my break) and called to tell me that he had a 10 inch powder day - thanks for rubbing it in dad.

Those are just a few. I just love those things that make you pause and think, "what was that all about?" Even if they're small, I feel like there are a hundred different things that happen like that each week that just make me laugh at myself, or you.

Story Time from Afghanistan

Jared forwarded these links to me and it's a really gripping story about a medic working over in Afghanistan. He was off-duty when he got a guy banging on his door with a little (Afghanistinanni) goatherder who had a goat step on a 20 year old landmine. This is his firsthand account. This is a follow up news article. It'll take a minute to read the first hand, but it's worth your time.

White People Love Free Healthcare

I was reorganizing my links this morning...the funny part is that I was telling myself that I needed to be more focused while at work today and so I get productivity for me means tinkering with my blog...Anyway, I popped over to the Stuff White People Like link on the left, and I loved this entry on Free Healthcare. Here are a couple of excerpts, just in case you don't check it out (this is almost the full article...just go to the link you dirtbags):

In spite of having access to the best health insurance and fanciest hospitals, white people are passionate about the idea of socialized medicine. So much so that they have memorized statistics and examples of how for-profit medicine has destroyed the United States.

But the secret reason why all white people love socialized medicine is that they all love the idea of receiving health care without having a full-time job. This would allow them to work as a freelance designer/consultant/copywriter/photographer/blogger, open their own bookstore, stay at home with their kids, or be a part of an Internet start-up without having to worry about a benefits package. Though many of them would never follow this path, they appreciate having the option.

If you need to impress a white person, merely mention how you got hurt on a recent trip Canada/England/Sweden and though you were a foreigner you received excellent and free health care. They will be very impressed and likely tell you about how powerful drug and health care lobbies are destroying everything.

Though their passion for national health care runs deep, it is important to remember that white people are most in favor of it when they are healthy. They love the idea of everyone have equal access to the resources that will keep them alive, that is until they have to wait in line for an MRI.

This is very similar to the way that white people express their support for public schools when they don’t have children.

Feedback

Hey Dave, Caitlin, Karen, Greg, sometimes Laura...other people...what are your favorite posts on here? I'm doing a favorites label. I can only think of two that I like enough to label favorites, and if that's it, then so be it. Just wondering. Comment away!

Content with the Things Allotted Unto Me

I've been thinking about that phrase a lot lately. Time and age is an interesting variable when it comes to that thought because so much of our discontent revolves around not having things pan out when we want them to, whether it is not being married when you had expected to be, having to wait to start having children, wanting to be able to move into the next phase for a career, or a number of different things. I was thinking about this yesterday because yesterday was my boss's 39th birthday.

I love her. She's a very smart, very capable woman and probably one of the most understanding people I've ever been able to work for. And I've worked with some pretty great people. She is the HR Director for a good size company, about 500 employees, with millions and millions of dollars in assets. Yesterday, however, she was feeling a little let down with how timing has worked out in her life. She's still single, never been married, and doesn't have any children. This past weekend she went to two baby showers and I think with the 40th birthday being the next one coming, she was just feeling her age and a little bit saddened by the fact that she hasn't been able to have her own family yet. At the end of the day yesterday I dropped by her office to ask her how she was feeling because I kind of had an idea that she wasn't all that excited about it being her birthday. I then started to relate with her about feeling some of that pressure as well.

I think everyone is entitled to feel that anxiety, if only occassionally, about not having what it is that he or she is longing for inside. The other day I was fasting and part of what I was fasting for was to express gratitude for all of the things that was going on at that point; part of what I was feeling so grateful about when I started that fast was for meeting someone who I thought was worth getting to know, and I was excited to see what was going to happen with her. That was at the outset of the fast. That night is when I had the conversation with her, and that evening and the next day I returned to my prayers not feeling the same vigor I had started my fast with when I thought things were going well with the girl. And then I started to realize that while I was excited about that prospect, my overall sense of gratitude and appreciation wasn't contingent on my dating status. It really disgusted me to think that for a moment, I had been feeling exactly that. I don't think I've ever been a person that has derived any of my feelings of self-worth based on whether or not I was dating someone. I had to recommit that this time would be no different. Sometimes it takes some time to get yourself settled and really, truly feeling content with the things allotted unto you.

It's hard to feel that all the time. One time when I was at my peak anxiety about marriage, or lack thereof, was about a year and a half ago after going to an institute activity. I went to the building and it was some kind of movie night. With the room darkened, I couldn't really identify the people that had attended that evening. When the lights came on, however, I looked around and I was really fixated on the age of the girls there, and several of the guys who came too - the girls were averaging about 19-20, the guys older, with several being up into their 30s. I remember just feeling filled with anxiety, thinking about how there was not one girl there who I felt interested in, and then looking at the older guys and wondering if that was what the future had in store for me. It felt almost like I had my ghost of Christmas Present and Future standing right there with me helping me realize the despair of my situation.

To be honest, I really don't know exactly how I got over those feelings of panic. It has definitely been a process, but I really do have a lot to look forward to and I can say with full sincerity that I'm glad things have gone the way they have. I have an opportunity to redo graduate school, I've made lots of great friends, and had good opportunities to serve in ways that might not have been possible if things had worked out previously. I do realize that many of these benefits could probably have been available to me in addition to being married, but I think that's the key right there - I am really content with the things allotted unto me and wouldn't have them any other way.

I wanted to include this talk from General Conference in April 2000 by Elder Maxwell, with the same title, Content with the Things Allotted Unto Us. As always with Elder Maxwell, there are a million gems embedded within the entire talk, but I'll include just these...I'm realizing that I want to just cut and paste the whole talk, but these are some of my favorite excerpts:

Being content means acceptance without self-pity. Meekly borne, however, deprivations such as these can end up being like excavations that make room for greatly enlarged souls...

Incremental improvement is, therefore, the order of the day, and it clearly requires the accompaniment of the Lord's long-suffering as we struggle to learn the necessary lessons...

Life's necessary defining moments come within our allotments, and we make "on the record" choices within these allotments. Our responses are what matters. Sufficient unto each life are the tests thereof! (see Matt. 6:34)...

Hence, we can and "ought to be content with the things allotted to us," being circumstantially content but without being self-satisfied and behaviorally content with ourselves (see 3 Ne. 12:48; 27:27; Matt. 5:48).

Such contentment is more than shoulder-shrugging passivity. It reflects our participative assent rather than uncaring resignation.

Go and read the whole thing. Anyway...just some of the things I've been thinking about that you all are so privileged/burdened with taking part in.

Apache!

I know that I've gone video crazy this week on the blog, but this one was too good to pass up. I'm realizing that my blog is the equivalent of my forwards, which makes me pretty awesome I think, because you know I won't fill up your mailbox with stupid crap. Anyway...I challenge you to watch this and not giggle several hundred times. Around the three minute mark it gets really awesome with a dance sequence and some scant singing.

And now...ladies and gentlemen, for your listening and viewing pleasure, I present Tommy Seebach playing Apache!