Don't Look at Me Like That!

First off, thanks for birthday wishes and such... yes it's been that long since I've put anything in here. My goodness things have been crazy.

For starters, I'm going to mention my B-day. Em surprised me with a camping trip. It was wonderful. Tinfoil dinners, and orange cupcakes (made in an orange in tinfoil.) Campfires, tents and walks with flashlights. Noah's sharp eye for the moon. Perfect, just perfect. And I wasn't planning on doing anything for my 30th.

Big thanks to all those in SoCal who helped us in one way or another on our trip out there. Thanks for not taking our kidneys.

Speaking of, Disneyland was great, even without going on any of the blue ticket rides. Noah's shear delight thoughout It's a Small World and the Dumbo ride, paid for the tickets. Despite a broken toe, it was amazing. Also, Double Double Animal-style with a straberry shake. /drool

School is busy, and I'm enjoying it. I think one of my research reports is going to revolve around Albert Camus (nope, not an existentialist.) The other, I'm not sure yet. I'm heading up to UW-Madison next Monday, let's hope I don't make a total fool of myself.

Lastly, I must say I'm a rather lucky guy. I've got a great wife and son, wonderful family, great in-laws, and fantastic friends. Let's see how long it takes to write another one of these...

Assessment

Well, I missed August.

I'm in the midst of 4 straight days at work, which might not sound like much, but I've been knee deep in poo for these first few days. Not a fan of poo.

I turn 30 on Wednesday, what an oddly appropriate day to turn 30. I feel a bit like I'm reaching what looks like a plateau, only to be faced with more climbing. I can't say I'm where I want to be. But that's not saying much seeing how I've spent a good portion of my life in a sort of limbo as to the direction of my life. In so many ways, being laid-back is good, but I seem to lack that needed self-kick-in-the-pants that more "successful" people have.

Treading water in the middle of a calm lake is the image that just came to my head. I've been staying afloat just fine, but I need to get to shore soon because I'm tired and it looks like clouds are forming.

I suppose this isn't the normal stuff I would share here, despite being serious from time to time. It is, after all 330 in the morning, and I'm tired. There's a clarity that comes from being tired I think.

Thanks for not taking my kidneys...

An optional title for this post could also be... "Mother Nature: Sex Maniac."

Well, it had to happen eventually, I'm back at work and it's 2:30 in the morning (as opposed to 1 but really, who's keeping track.) The trip was fantastic, despite minor hiccups here and there. As it always seems to be the case, there just wasn't enough time to see everyone as much as we wanted, ultimately short changing people that I would've liked to have chilled with much longer.
I could linger on that, but there's always next year, when we'll probably be out there again, or you could come visit us, which I won't blame you to much if that doesn't happen.

But I digress a bit (digress from what, you may be thinking.) The title actually has a purpose. You see, along with the visit to Max and Stephanie a couple months back, we stayed with Ben and Melanie in Springville during the second leg of our trip. Why would they try and steal my kidneys, you ask? Because Emily met Steph and Mel or the internet, and people you meet there usually end up on the news, like Nancy Grace (who, oddly enough, looks like Eddie Izzard.) (I'm sure using lots of parentheses in this post.)

However, I have survived these experiences with kidneys and life intact. Soon comes the real test when they come out here at the end of the month. It's just common curtesy not to take people's kidneys while you're a guest in their home, and I might as well return the favor by not taking theirs.

Also, (and this is not an after thought) here's a quick shout to Erin, a.k.a. SixShotSally who did Em's nails while we were out there. Not only does she and her husband pew pew with me in WoW, they rock IRL too. If you're near Provo, and need a good nails person, I'd send you her way.

Well, that's it for now. Except for this link.

A quick GRE question...

For those who have taken it, if I started studying this month, would 3 months be enough time to take the GRE at the end of August? Also, can you recommend a good test prep book?

Some much needed nonsense

I took Noah to the zoo today between sleeping and going to work, and for the most part it was rather routine: Noah doing fine in the stroller, Noah wanting out of the stroller, Noah eating snacks in the stroller, Noah screaming with delight on the train... you know, the usual. However, while leaving they had a band playing in front of the cafeteria, which, in itself, is not bizzare... but the drunk girl dancing on the stage was.

It got me to wondering whether she was a part of the band, a la Mighty Mighty Bosstones' weird dancing guy, or if she was in fact just some random girl, drunk on stage... at a zoo. At 5 in the evening. Now, don't get me wrong, the zoo is awesome. It's a good size, has lots of animals, lots of shade and most importantly (and surprisingly, too) free. But, I'm not entirely sure why someone would chose to go get drunk there.

Just a thought.

Also, this joke has been stuck in my head:

A guy came home from choir practice one day with a black eye. Surprised, his wife asked him what happened.
"Well," he responded, "I was sitting there minding my own business when one of the soloist's got up to do her part, and she had a huge wedgie. Not wanting her to be embarrassed, I pulled it out for her. So she punched me."
The wife told him that it wasn't a smart thing to do and he promised not to do it again. The next day though, he came home again with yet another black eye. His wife rolled his eyes and asked what happened.
"Well, the same soloist got up to do her part," he replied, "but when she stood up, she straightened her dress and popped her wedgie out. So, knowing that she didn't like that, I stuck it back in!"

This joke was hilarious in 6th grade, and also right now in my head.

Stop!!

I've been thinking of the bungy tower back in Vegas recently (btw, yes I know the rest of the world spells it bungEE but as AJ would say, that's the ugly way to spell it, and if Mr. Bungy spells it with a "Y" then, dang it, burn the dictionary!) Mainly, I've been feeling like I've been standing on the edge recently. I can still vividly imagine Las Vegas from the edge. "Keep you eyes forward, look at the mountains and when I say "one," jump." Jumping is a deeply personal thing which is why we never pushed. No matter how many times I did it, I still got a knot in my stomach. When I'd get to the point of no return, the world would stop turning, everything would get quiet, and I'd stop breathing. I miss it.

I can hear the jump master in my ear again, telling me to keep my eyes forward.

I can sense that my toes are ever so slightly over the edge already, anticipating the wild ride that is mere centimeters away.

All I need now is my countdown and to lean forward.

This is a rather big summer for me, as most of you are aware. My last final was last Wednesday and my finals grades were an A and a B. The B disappoints me, but at the same time, it gives me the drive to never get one again. Like I said in my last post, I no longer have that feeling of being okay with mediocrity.

Saturday will be my last "day-off" before I start getting serious about contacting schools. For the moment the list is (eventhough they don't know it yet): WashU, Purdue, Illinois, Mizzou, Wisconsin and Utah. I'm hoping to visit them all this summer, and with any luck one of them will be a good fit for both of us.

As of the last post, I felt like I was at the bottom of the cliffs of insanity looking up, but recently I've realized that I'm at the top of the tower looking down. No less of an achievement, but one that I can relate to a seize upon.

I'm looking forward to crossing that point of no return and contacting those schools, because for a brief moment my world will once again stop.

Aiming High

A couple posts back (or heck maybe even the last one, I didn't check), I talked about being average. That's been bothering me a bit, because I've come to realize that it's important not to be average. Sure, we can't become super heros and what not, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't aim high. I've been thinking about this lately because I've been looking around at grad schools.

Now, I can rather safely say that my life has been spent aiming for the middle. In high school, I was happy with my 2.7ish GPA because, well, I was just going to go to UNLV. And I think that that has been my mind set for the better part of my life, probably because I've never really known what I wanted to do. Nursing seemed like a good idea because it has "job security" and "room for growth." Sure, the pay is OK especially if continue your eduaction, but having worked in a hospital for the last few years, it helps to enjoy the job. And I don't. I don't like what I see when I see the nurses around me and see myself in their place. I don't want this to be seen as a knock on nursing, because it isn't. It takes a selfless person to be a good nurse, and the more I'm in the hospital, the more I see that isn't me, or at least to the degree that it should be.

So, what was I talking about before I ranted about nursing? Oh yeah, aiming for the middle. The problem with doing that up until now is that I now know what I want and I'm standing at the base of the cliffs of insanity.

Aiming high is something new to me, and it's requiring that I change my whole attitude towards things. So yeah, that's what's on my mind.

Here's a few more random things:

Big thanks the Max and Stefanie for letting us crash at their place up in Milwaukee. I was good fun hanging with them and Ben and Melanie. "It's pronounced "mill-e-wah-que" which is Algonquin for "the good land." "

Looking forward to going to the Tetons and Salt Lake next month.

Everytime the Cubs lose an angel gets their wings.

Needles dipped in poo, lit on fire and stabbed in your nose. How's THAT for a title!

Once again, I take a moment from work to spout off nonsense.

To begin, I've gotten back in touch with Joelle, the lady that I helped teach and who got baptised. I must say that it feels incredibly good.

The semester is winding to a close and it's time to start thinking about fall semester. In a word it will be busy. Two 300 classes and two 400 classes. I also need to write an essay for the foreign language scholarship, and I'm not quite sure what approach to take... serious or a little on the humorous side. It's going to be decided by the foreign language teachers who usually seem like a quirky bunch, at least to me, so I'm kinda debating where to go. Also, do you think I should bring in baked goods... like a Gateau Basque? It's worth $700 which is about the cost of a class.

Also, I've been watching Flight of the Conchords on dvd that Beckie loaned us while Carpetbagging in Iraq. Watch. This. Show. You can get it on Netflix. If you don't have Netflix, I pity you. Seriously, get Netflix. And speaking of, Em and I just finished watching Season 4 of BSG (which we got on Netflix,) the series just ended, and I got through the whole thing with only learning one spoiler (albeit a big one) and so I anxiously await it's arrival on, you guessed it, Netflix. (Note: Netflix how about giving me some love, I said you name 5 times, 6 if you include this sentence. Netflix. (7))

So, moving along... Some people think Obama is a great speaker. Honestly, I don't get it. He;s really boring to listen to. And who cares that Michelle Obama hugged the Queen? We kicked them out of our country over 200 years ago, I'll hug the Queen if I darn well please! However, Canadia still must bow to her, the loyal subjects that they are.

Lastly, I'm finally going to say it. I am on Facebook and Twitter. As you can probably guess, I neglect these more than I do my blogging. I haven't tweeted in forever and Facebook is there just in case I need to get a hold of someone, really. Also, I'll be sending out my new email in a bit. It's time to retire the old hotmail account, or at least, use it for signing up on things. The other, I'm going to try and keep for personal stuff only.

The hardest part of a post...

is the title. Usually, at least, for me.

Also, sometimes all you need is to puke and have a good poop, and everything feels better.

So, my mind has been all over the place this week. Mainly it's been in a snot covered haze, due to being a little under the weather, but at 1 am, I just have a cough that's clinging on to life.

I'll admit, I may be an overly proud dad, especially at work. The good thing is that there's a couple other people with kids/grandkids in the same range, so it doesn't come off as overly weird. And it's nice to have Em's great pictures to share.

I've been feeling the urge to delve more deeply into scriptures lately. Actually change that to say merely "delve into scriptures." I'm not a great scripture reader, I'll be honest, I have a hard time staying awake. I've been feeling the urge to find the old addresses of people in France. I've never been a good letter writter, and keeping in touch is not exaclty my forte, but the need to read has been tied to the need to re-discover the people I met while on my mission.

Do you ever wonder if there are any superheros helping cops fight crime? I was thinking about this the other night, and my mind wandered over to thinking about there being no actual superheros. No one has super powers. Face it. Just like there are no wizards or vampires. Pirates and gypses for the most part were/are terrible people. Are we superheros for being normal? Maintaining mediocrity, or at least, leading a socially acceptible life requires quite a bit of self restraint, honor and a strong morality. Also, there are very few people in important/ popular postions that are actually good models for what we should be, that living a decent life, in my odd mind, is something that should be celebrated.

Anyways, there's a little rant for you.

In a Haze

I'm not sure where I'm going to go with this... be warned.

Here are a few things on my mind:

I hate working Sunday nights. I feel like there's a haze in the corners of my eyes.

The guy next to be is breathing like an asthmatic horse. Honestly, what is it called when you snore when you're awake?

Things in my life that keep me grounded are Em, Noah, my french lit class and World of Warcraft Tuesdays. Without them, my sanity would be hanging by a thin rope.

Some guy got hurt bung"ee" jumping the other week. What an idiot. People who jump illegally deserve to be hurt, it's a terrible thing to say, but drunk drivers deserve to die too. I'm tired and my brain filter is slipping away into the nether, sue me.

Soccer is better than your sport. World Baseball Classic? What a huge joke. Do you honestly believe anyone outside the North Western Quarter-sphere and East Asia care about a "Classic" that the players hardly care about? Not to mention baseball players are sissies. And steroids? Rio Ferdinand of ManU was LATE for a drug screen and he got suspended from all competitions for almost a season. He did not test positive... he was LATE. Baseball should hang their collective over grown steroid heads in shame, Bud Selig should have be thrown out of baseball in disgrace and all records from the past 15 years given an asterix. If they didn't know about the drug use, it wasn't because of ignorance it was because they cast a blind eye on something that gave baseball meaning again. Hey baseball this is what happens when you sell your soul to Satan. (I watched ESPN during lunch). Also Arsenal's fiscal responsibility will start paying dividends in about 3-4 on the pitch, just wait.

I'm done typing.

55 Reasons I'm Better Than You

So, I was watching Season 1 of Scrubs the other night and J.D. had one of his fanatsies with Jimmy Walker (the comedian, not the drink), and it got me thinking about old Las Vegas commercials. So here's a few for you to complete (the answers will be at the end of the post).

1) I'm Jimmy Walker, the talker, and when I'm in Las Vegas I go to ______________.
2) What can compare to ______________?
3) Who loves you, baby? ________________, that's who!
4) I'm Happy Harry! And this is _______________!
5) In Henderson. _______________!

There's also some fantastic ones here in St. Louis, but we'll save those for another post.

So Stacie won the contest, and I'm giving the runner-up to Nicole for admitting she wasn't funny.
Stacie gets to pick between $10 to Amazon or iTunes (or some other music site) and Nicole gets the one she doesn't pick.

Also, I un-highlighted the things I haven't done in my previous post.

Well, I got to get back to work, so here are the answers:
1) Steiner's Cleaners
2) Maryland Square
3) The Furniture Store
4) Quality Liquidators
5) Of Course!

100 Reasons I'm Better Than You

So Steven, Tamara and Sarah did this, and after looking at the list, I laughed at them and filled it out myself. Obviously, all I had to do was put everything in bold and add snarky comments. As a bonus, and to make you read the whole thing, there is a contest at the end of this post.

1. Started your own blog (Someone was DESPERATE to highlight something)
2. Slept under the stars (We were very poor growing up)
3. Played in a band (does marching band count?) (No it doesn't)
4. Visited Hawaii (I heard it sucks and the people are jerks)
5. Watched a meteor shower (It hurt)
6. Bathed in a river (Chilly... then warm for a second... then chilly again)
7. Been to the Taj Mahal (I'm guessing you're talking about the great restaurant in Vegas.)
8. Walked on a glacier in Alaska (Better do it soon... global warming and all)
9. Caught and held a snake (take your mind out of the gutter)
10. Spoke in front of a big crowd (More like stuttering)
11. Bungee jumped ("We spell it B-U-N-G-Y... Why? Because it's fun!" AJ Hackett)
12. Had a whirlwind love affair that broke your heart (I hate you)
13. Found an arrowhead or fossil (Valley of Fire ftw)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (I suppose this doesn't mean cutting snowflakes)
15. Rescued an animal (It doesn't count if it died...)
16. Ate sweet breads, glands or tripe (Veal brain is a gland)
17. Seen Mount Rushmore in person (Watching National Treasure 2 or NxNW doesn't count)
18. Grown your own vegetables (Super hot peppers on my mission)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (She's smiling cause she farted)
20. Slept on an overnight train (not as fun as it sounds)
21. Had a pillow fight (bring it)
22. Hiked to base camp on Mt. Everest (then I climbed Mt. Charleston)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (if this isn't highlighted, you're a liar)
24. Built a snow fort (Inspired by Calvin)
25. Watched an animal being born (at the Las Vegas "Zoo")
26. Gone skinny dipping 0 ;-)
27. Learned a foreign language (ig-pay atin-lay itches-bay)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (it's like $20 bucks, but you have to pay extra for them to sing) 29. Seen a total eclipse (that's why I have to wear glasses)
30. Stayed up for more than 24 hours (child's play)
31. Trained a dog to do cool tricks (if cool means, "they don't do what I say")
32. Been on a cruise (got pushed over and then swam to shore)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (in a barrel)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Salt Lake count?)
35. Seen an Amish community (veterinarian = mechanic)
36. Can drive a stick shift car (eat your heart out NASCAR)
37. Won over $1000 in a raffle or lottery (spent it all on candy)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person (then that jerk Superman fixed it)
39. Gone rock climbing (Condo S-5 anyone?)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (Impressive...Most impressive)
41. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (needs a new name... something more catchy)
42. Been serenaded (Feels like home to me too)
43. Visited Africa (With my old band mates from Toto and our opener Enya)
44. Walked on a beach by moonlight (Crying and by myself, I brought the romantic factor down about 5 points)
45. Broken a bone (middle of soccer season playing capture the flag at Lake Mead)
46. Started your own business (then sold it for some magic beans)
47. Quit a job because you were totally unhappy (then turned state's evidence)
48. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (I could do that)
49. Been to the Eiffel Tower (Making up for something, are we France?)
50. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (In November, not the best time)
51. Kissed in the rain passionately (But she was a wet kisser)
52. Played in the mud (We lost Little Timmy though)
53. Gone to a drive-in (but didn't watch the movie?)
54. Been in a movie (hey, I could be an extra) (cop out)
55. Visited the Great Wall of China (With my Horde)
56. Joined a prayer group (didn't understand anything)
57. Taken a martial arts class (watch out, Yellow ftw)
58. Visited Russia (won the Cold War, I did)
59. Served at a soup kitchen (St. Vincents, sweaty hands)
60. Gone whale watching (with a harpoon)
61. Received flowers for no reason (Happy Valentines... too me :_( )
62. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (Didn't get as dizzy as I hoped)
63. Gone sky diving (parachute broke, landed on the run, beat up Chuck Norris)
64. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (even though it didn't happen)
65. Bounced a check (Not a very high rebound)
66. Flown in a helicopter (saved a polar bear floating on ice)
67. Saved a favorite childhood toy (mainly My Little Pony and Barbie head hand-me downs)
68. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (wearing a grey suit)
69. Eaten caviar (sweeeet baby fishes /drool)
70. Pieced a quilt (can't think of a clever comment)
71. Stood in Times Square (wearing boxers and a banjo, then beat up the Singing Cowboy)
72. Toured the Everglades (Wrestled an Alligator and then got stung by a sting ray... too soon?)
73. Been fired from a job (then pooped on my desk)
74. Seen the changing of the guards in London (threw up fish and chips on one's shoe)
75. Broken something extremely expensive (thus making it art)
76. Been on a speeding motorcycle (back in the day on the way to Sturgis)
77. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (Yawned and then went to the Tetons)
78. Published a book (Became famous, told no one)
79. Visited the Vatican (Foiled a sinister plot, some guy wrote a story about it)
80. Got a tattoo (washed it off in the morning)
81. Been to a coffee shop in Amsterdam ("Coffee" shop....right....)
82. Seen the aurora borealis in person (while clubbing a baby seal)
83. Read the entire Bible (discovered a secret code, it said, "Read the Book of Mormon too")
84. Visited the White House (was asked to put my pants back on)
85. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Pigeon isn't as good as it sounds)
86. Had chickenpox (Now I eat them for my revenge)
87. Saved someone’s life (then laughed at them)
88. Sat on a jury (Voted against everyone else)
89. Met someone famous (called them a nobody, made them cry)
90. Joined a book club (called them a bunch of dorks)
91. Lost a loved one (too soon)
92. Toured the UN (framed for murder)
93. Hiked to Machu Picchu (rode a llama)
94. Swam in the Indian Ocean (who cares?)
95. Conversed with someone when neither of you spoke each others language (Ever been to Texas?)
96. Dirty danced (Put Baby in the corner)
97. Been stung by a bee (Then killed it)
98. Acted in a play (Kissed a Kate)
99. Had more than 5 surgeries (In one sitting)
100. Threw a surprise party for someone (Happy Birthday... too me... :_( )

So, somethings (like #33) are obviously true, while others (like #27) are unmistakable lies. Now, the contest is to see how many are things that I've done. I'm not sure what the prize will be, but it'll probably be a book or a music download or something cheap like that. I decided it was about time to reward you all for supporting my nonsense. If there is a tie, the names go in a hat.

Also, a secondary prize will be given for the best redo to my snarky comments. The same person can't win both.

The contest will go until next Wednesday and you can only enter once for each half.

Good Luck!!!

Being Offended Redux

I read this article, and thought I should throw it up here on the blog. I'm not sure that mentioning God is telling some one that they're second class citizens. In fact, a forced exclusion on religion is the exactly what the athiests are complaing about except in reverse. It seems more like their fighting against themselves with the language used in the article. It's like me saying that I believe in "Mormonism" to some one is the same as telling them that they're idiots without coming out and saying it. If there is any implication on prejudice it's on the part of the athiests.

Once again respect and tolerance is a two way street.

(I know... two posts in one night... Don't get used to it.)

(Corny New Year's Title)

Well, expect for those of you still trailing behind time-zone-wise, it's now 2009. Happy '09. I'm at work, which isn't so bad. It would be great to be home with Em, but I imagine we have quite a few New Years ahead of us, and I get a couple extra bucks for workin' it. I hope she's partying it up with her friend Genny, who is also husband-less tonight.

I suppose I need to clear a quick thing up about my in-laws. They're fantastic, they really are.

I'm not exactly sure what else to write.

I almost got in an accident going to work today by getting t-boned by a Cadillac trying to turn into Children's Hospital. NASCAR is full of crap, I could do that with my eyes closed in reverse. Ever notice how there are no "motorsports" in the Olympics? That's because I do it everyday. All Hail the Mighty Redneck Dollar!

What does NASCAR have to do with New Years? Nothing. But that's the wonderful thing about blogs, or at least mine. They don't need to make sense. Because last I check not much did.

P.S. My in-laws, to my knowledge, do not like NASCAR.