The Asylum

07-31-11 Life continues

2011-07-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

Not quite sure where to begin, so I'll start with the most recent news. Yesterday, I went to see HP7.2 (Man, movies are getting more and more complex with their names, aren't they?). I thought they did a good job. Snape's scenes were amazing, but I also liked the part with the statues. I always thought they were cool.

But that wasn't the best part about yesterday; yesterday I got to see my niece get Baptized! It always surprises you to see how quickly they grow up until you realize just how much time has really gone by. People don't lie when they say time goes faster as you get older. I always thought as a kid that it was a myth. It was awesome to see though, and you could tell she was more than ready for it.

Going back a bit further, we have a new YM president, so that'll be pretty exciting, although I've been spending more and more time with the eleven-year-old scouts, so I'm not sure how much I'll get to see in person. Speaking of the scouts though, I've got to be the luckiest guy on the planet. What are the odds that I'd have a group of guys as interested in pioneering as I am? We've even started working on the merit badge in between rank advancement work. That reminds me, I've got to work on organizing that. We're hoping to have a few older scouts join us when we start our pioneering projects. I think the guys would get a kick out of that.

Anyway, I've got to finish getting ready for church. Outside of what I've already mentioned, mostly I'm working on the job search and seeing what else needs to be done before school starts in the fall. Fun stuff, right?

Oh, and I found out that you can download the hymns on the church website– with or without the words! Very nice. There are a few that have some copyright restrictions, so they couldn't be recorded, but most of them are still there. I've been trying to become more acquainted with the slightly less known ones. Good pick-me-up on the rough days, you know?

Anyway, I've got to run. Have a good one!

06-27.3-11 Yosemite (part3)

2011-06-27T09:25:00.001-07:00

Okay, so once we all met up at Yosemite Falls, we hiked to the base of it and took some pictures, then looked at some nice viewing areas of it and headed back to the start of the trail. As we waiting for everyone to come back, though, we saw a visitor. There was a deer, literally feet away from us, just eating some grass by the fence. Awesome. Naturally, we took tons of pictures, and it was pretty cool. That guy totally knew he was a celebrity.

Once we were done there, we all headed up to Glacier point, which was one of my favorites. Massive panorama of the entire valley. Cool. On the way there, we also saw a place called Washburn Point, which had the best view of the trail to Half Dome that I've ever seen. I took a lot of pictures there. Once we were to the top of Glacier Point, we took the opportunity to take some group shots. Very fun. And the best part: Glacier Point had snow. Juggling snowballs is fun, by the way. You should try it. It also had an amphitheater (I've got a soft spot for them now) that was built on the side of the hill so it had a really nice view of the valley behind it. Location, location, location.

Friday was our last day in the park. We started by going to Mirror Lake, which was pretty fun. Any time you're hiking next to a river it's fun. The lake itself was cool, but it was kind of hard to get pictures of the reflection and Half Dome at the same time. Oddly enough, my favorite part was the rock garden next to it. Apparently, people left a bunch of these piles of rocks stacked on top of each other in this one area, and it's only grown since. Naturally, we made some of our own, which was awesome.

After we were done with that, we went to Vernal Falls and the nature center next to it. As you may know, Vernal Falls is the first step on the trail to Half Dome, so it was nice to go back after seeing it last year. We hiked to the bridge, then a part of us kept going to the falls. Apparently there was a little miscommunication there. Sorry about that... Anyway, we hiked to the top, took some pictures, and headed back. Before we left, we took the shuttle to the Ahwahnee Hotel (I think), which was interesting. A bit fancy for my taste, but pretty impressive. They've got a dress code for the dining area.

That just about sums it up. Saturday was spent packing up and heading home.

Now, for the checklist. I've been able to visit Yosemite twice now, so I've got my review to do.
Places to visit:

Mariposa Grove ***
This one was cool, and pretty quick too. A couple easy hikes. A good way to start the trip, especially if you're interested in seeing the trees in Yosemite.

Tunnel View *****
Must see. It's quick, it's got some cool things to see, and it has an awesome view.

Glacier Point / Washburn Point *****
Also awesome. If you want to see the valley in all its glory, this is the spot to do it. Washburn Point would also be a good place to visit before hiking Half Dome so you could see the trail from a bird's eye view.

Yosemite Falls (Base) ****
Easy walk, awesome sight. Plenty of cool rocks next to the path.

Yosemite Falls (Upper) *****
Takes a couple hours to hike to the top and back, leaving time for swimming at the top. The pools are really cool, there are rocks to jump off of, and on the way up, you have some awesome views of Half Dome.

Bridal Veil Falls ****
Extremely quick and easy. Good rocks to climb. You will get wet. And it's AWESOME.

Mirror Lake / Rock Garden ***
The lake itself didn't grab me quite as much as the rock garden next to it, which is definitely worth seeing. The hike is pretty tame, and it has some great photo ops either by the river or down by the lake.

Merced River ***
Floating down the river was great. Relaxing, great scenery, and a great way to cool off after a service project.

Half Dome / Vernal & Nevada Falls *****
You've got to do this, even if only once. It's awesome. The Mist Trail gives you some awesome views of the falls, and Little Yosemite Valley gives you an excellent chance to rest after the climb. Once that's out of the way, it's only a couple more miles to Half Dome. As you get to the base, you'll come to the stairs, and that's where you'll wish you'd never been born. No cables, straight up the mountain. Well, switchbacks, but that's almost worse. Get to the top of that, and the cables are a breeze. If nothing else, you're just glad to let your arms do some of the work after all that hiking. But trust me, the view is worth every drop of sweat and every blister (I didn't actually get any of those. xP). It's like being in an airplane, that's how high it feels. I don't even think it's possible to take too many pictures there. Breathtaking.

Visitor's Center / Shops / Shuttles ****
They're all good. I'd recommend doing them after a long hike, just to give yourself a break. You can relax, look around, and take a moment to learn about all the cool stuff you're seeing.

The Valley / Meadows ****
You've got to stop and look around at least once. There are some neat paths through the meadows with amazing views of Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, El Capitan, and pretty much everything else. Excellent way to throw everything into perspective.

Service Projects *****
When else can you cut down trees in national parks or dig holes with post hole diggers and put signs in campgrounds? Enough said.

Pretty sure that's everything. If I missed anything, I'll probably go back and add it later. Anyway, that was our trip. Awesome place.

06-27.2-11 Yosemite (part 2)

2011-06-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

Still no pictures. Oh well.

Tuesday, we finally got into the park. It was about an hour's drive, right? Feels about right. The first place we visited was Mariposa Grove, where we went on a hike passed a fallen sequoia, a giant, and a bachelor. We stopped at a walk-through tree and took some pictures, then headed back to the car. It was fun though, the trail was a little some parts, so I got to carry the stroller with Naomi. She seemed to think I was a little weird. Probably right. Ooh, and Miriam and I made a snow man! Almost forgot that one.

After Mariposa Grove, we headed for the valley, stopping at tunnel view and taking loads of pictures. Afterwards, we headed down to Bridal Veil falls, which was AWESOME. It was like it was raining! Very cool. You get out your camera, take one shot, then take cover, wipe it off, and repeat. Got some decent pictures though, we still need to exchange all of those. I almost forgot about that.

Another cool thing about Bridal Veil Falls is that it has some really awesome rocks to climb by the parking lot. There was one that would have been Epic, but there was a lot of moss on the part that was easiest to climb, and it had just rained recently, so it wasn't the safest time for it... Bummer.

After that, we explored the visitor's center and took a shuttle around the park, checking out all the places we'll be visiting later. I think after that we headed back to the resort.

Wednesday we got up early so we could run to the park in time for our service project. Ruth had arranged for us to help out with clearing some conifers that were invading Cook's Meadow. The rangers were awesome. They showed us what to do, got out tarps, gloves, vests, and loppers, and led us into the meadow. Yep, that's right. We cut down baby trees in a protected national park in plain sight of a ranger and got away with it. I love service.

We had a blast, and we cleared out a pretty good sized area. We didn't quite make it to the road though. We were close. After that, we had lunch and checked out the shops. While working though, my flashlight slipped out of my water pack, allowing me to learn the parable of the flashlight and the grove, which I'll get to in a minute.

Thursday, we all decided to go to the park separately, using the morning to do whatever we wanted before meeting up at Yosemite falls. For Bjab, that meant going for a bike ride. For me, that meant heading back to the meadow to make a quick search for my flashlight. I went out there and looked for a few minutes, probably between fifteen minutes and half an hour. Then I finally had the idea to pray about it. I made it a quick one, just a 'if it's not too much trouble' kind of things. Eventually, I got an answer, but it wasn't the one I was expecting. I simply got the impression to get on my knees and ask again. I went ahead with it, and only then did I realize what a difference that really makes.

I didn't just ask about the flashlight. That was only ever a trivial thing. I talked about things that were important to me, things I had been concerned about. I learned that praying on your knees really helps you focus on the things that matter rather than just saying the same things over and over. I wasn't really worried about a flashlight. Granted, I'd had it for a while and liked it, but it was replaceable. The things I was really concerned about were the things I ended up praying about, not the flashlight (although I did mention it). And when I was finished, I got another prompting. And this one was different from the other one. I got this one pretty much as soon as I stood up.

I decided to look by the area where we were working last, and when I did, I found something, but not what I was looking for. Apparently, one of the loppers had been left out there, so I went ahead and grabbed it. I looked in that same area some more, but eventually gave up. I then got a prompting to check the path we had followed to when dumping the trees. Nothing. Just as I was about to go back and grab the loppers, something suddenly told me to look down. Just inches from my foot, partly hidden by some grass, was my flashlight.

There's a lot in there for being such an unimportant thing. I learned that sometimes we need to rethink about what trials in life are really worrying us the most. I also learned that when you are really trying to make your personal prayers meaningful, the best way is to do it on your knees, something I hadn't really considered that much. Finally, we may get promptings that don't make sense, but that's only because he has other plans. The bigger picture and all that. If I had been led to the flashlight first, I never would have found the loppers. No big deal, really, but if I was there anyway, why not have me grab them? No reason to let them go to waste.

Anyway, I'm often surprised by how often the Lord seems to use these simple things to teach me. I've never had a vision. No angels or anything like that. Just these little things, but for me, they're enough. The ALEKS experience back in '09 was probably my most treasured one, if only for the pure relief and joy I felt afterward. And the simpleness of it all. A single prayer, a single prompting. Just that brief moment was enough to fix something that I had been struggling with for over a month.

So yeah, kind of having trouble shifting back to Yosemite after that. I think I'll stop here and start a separate post. Why would that make a difference? Who knows, but it sounds good to me.

06-27-11 Intermission

2011-06-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

Alright, taking a short break from Yosemite, let's go over some current events. I'm pretty sure my body isn't thrilled with me right now. First off, I almost died like seven times in one day. Yeah. Crazy.

Anyway, Wednesday started off with going swimming with the eleven-year-old scouts so we could go over the swimming / water rescue requirements. And being the young, disposable assistant scoutmaster I am, I got to be the practice victim. Really makes you question my intelligence, doesn't it? I just got rescued and brought to shore, and immediately afterward I swim out to the exact same spot and start drowning again. Smart, Ben. Smart.

Luckily, there just so happens there were three exceptionally able life savers ready to assist me. Kind of nice really. You can do all the stupid stuff you want, and you've got your own personal safety crew. I'll have to remember this.

Anyway, that accounts for the first six near-death experiences. The last one was when I almost bled to death on the bike trail, but I'll get to that in a minute. The YM went on their regular bike trip to In n Out, and as always, we ran into a couple mishaps. Before that happened, though, we had a pretty nice ride there. (Should have known something was going to happen... Well, actually I did, but again, I'll get to that later.) A few highlights: E Man, the ever awesome ninja, learned how to ride without using his hands, which I took a couple pictures of. (Missionary training: Learning to do everything I can while riding a bike. Seriously, being able to eat on the go is handy. And if they aren't supposed to take pictures while proselyting, doing it while in transit seems like a decent alternative. Just saying...) Also, I got to practice juggling while riding, which went surprisingly well. I got to a point where I could keep it up for about ten seconds, but beyond that I have trouble keeping a good idea of where the road is. (I usually stopped after five to make sure I was still good.) Yep, bike ninjas for the win.

One last highlight: We saw a guy on an Ellipti-Go, this really cool, almost scooter like thing. Someone basically hooked up an Elliptical to a chain and wheels, making it one of the coolest things ever. And when it comes to hills, that thing is a speed demon. We first saw it while stopped on the side of the trail, waiting for some others from our group. After waiting a few seconds, it occurred to me that I should take a picture of it, so I spent the next five minutes or so chasing him down. Seriously, you cannot catch that thing uphill. The guy was awesome though. We talked for a bit, and he even let me take a few pictures. Apparently those things can cruise pretty easily at about 14 MPH, but beyond that it doesn't go much faster. It's real advantage is on hills though, I'm telling you. They hardly seem to slow it down...

Anyway, at In n Out, we had a good time, made the mistake of looking at the nutritional facts, then spent the next ten minutes trying to be friends with our stomachs again. It took a bit, but they came around eventually. Shortly after starting the ride home, things got interesting.

So, there were these speed bumps on the road to the park where we connected up with the bike trail, right? And being the young men we were, we all decided to race over them. Great, right? You can see where this is going. Simultaneously, E Man had his chain come off and I went off of one of the bumps. I had been going at a decent rate by then, so I was apart from the ground for a second there– Apparently it didn't like seeing me again. I landed on my back tire, and everything looked fine. That is, until you took into consideration that my bike has rear suspension. The back end came back up momentarily, and when it did so, my bike tilted to the side slightly, so when my front tire landed, it was angled wrong. Long story short, I messed up my arm a little, and my front tire is pretty warped now, but other than that I'm fine.

(This is the seventh one, by the way.) Luckily, E Man happened to be there, prepared and ready with a first-aid kit. We limped over to the bathroom and started cleaning up while Bishop and Ethan saw what they could do with the rim. A quick bandage and an awesome pink bandanna later, I was as good as new. Thanks, E Man! Now, the rim. At first, it was almost warped out about four inches maybe? It couldn't even go through the frame, let alone the brakes. Ethan and I were able to snap it back a little, and by the time Bishop was done with it, it was done to about an inch or so, which would be enough to ride. The good news, a few of the warps came out while we were riding, so things were looking okay there. The bad news, E Man's chain on his bike was still acting up, and from what we could tell, getting worse. We tried to make some repairs, but they only lasted for a few dozen feet at best.

In the end, we rode up to the nearest road access and called for a ride. Yep, the young men have great luck with bike rides, don't we? I still don't think we've had an uneventful one yet.

Let me just say, though, that I thought this would happen. I love my bike. It's sturdy, it's dependable. It's never given me trouble before. But, just to be safe, and since I thought Mom would want me to, I brought a spare tube and some bike tools, just in case. It's cursed, I'm telling you. I've never had a problem before. Then, the first time I brought them with me, my bike starts rebelling and tries to kill me. Lesson learned though. My bike and I have made up, and I agreed not to carry tubes anymore. I trust it. And if something happens, heaven forbid, I'll walk it home and take care of it there.

Update: I spent a good bit of Thursday trying to fix the rim, but it wasn't until Friday that I came up with the obvious answer. A quick prayer later, I kept working, then got the impression to go outside and look at some of the old bikes we've been meaning to take care of. I stop, go out and check, and sure enough, one of them has a tire that matches my bike. The rim is a little wider than my old one, but it seems fine. I cleaned it up, checked everything, and just now put it on my bike. Lesson learned #2: Pray first. It saves time.

As far as I can tell, it's working great. I'll have to take it for a test ride later today. I need to check something out at the library and see if I can fix my account. It isn't letting me request books online at the moment. (And no, I'm pretty sure I don't have any overdue books. That's the first thing I checked.)

Going back to the recap, Friday Tom came over and helped us install some ceiling fans in the family room and office! Fun stuff! While we were working, we also talked a little about Team, something he's been pretty excited about. I wouldn't exactly same I'm excited, but it seems interesting enough. I don't think it's for me though. I've got my mission coming up, and I've still got my own questions about it before deciding if it's something I might consider once I get back. But really, it seems most suited for the ambitious entrepreneur or salesman, and I don't really fall under those categories. I'm fine working a regular job, and most things offered by Team are also offered through the church, with a more direct source– one that I already have a firm testimony of. As for Team, I haven't gotten any answer one way or the other, but I know that it's not something I should be worrying about at the moment.

Back to the fans. We took out the old lights, mounted some ceiling fan boxes, put up some drywall to cover the space where the lights used to be, and put in the ceiling fans. Pretty awesome. And the family room still has light in it at night now! How cool is that? During the day, the sky tunnel still gives plenty of light, but having the new lights up to use at night is great. Thanks, Tom!

Saturday. It started with setting up chairs for Stake Conference– Always a good workout– followed by helping Debi with her yard. Mom and Andrew helped her dump the old wood from her deck while I stayed behind and worked on digging up watering hose. Once they were done, they started working on that too, which turned out to be a little more interesting than any of us were expecting. The people who put the stuff in... made some weird choices. Anyway, it took a while to figure out, but things went pretty well over all. It was almost scary how excited we were to see pvc pipes.

Anyway, that was good. I got to add a couple blisters to my hand, which mostly either healed up or got popped the next day while taking down chairs after Conference. More awesome workout-ness.

And that just about covers it. Stake Conference was amazing, though. Saturday evening we learned a lot about joy and enduring trials without being weighed down by them. We also learned about labels and Alaskan zip lines, and swimming races, and the capabilities of the iPod Touch, and a whole bunch of other things. Then on Sunday, we had some more good quotes, like "One of my goals is to keep the commandments until I am safely dead." They were all good though. The Stake President talked about the twelve hundred sleeping bags story, and how he wanted us to use that same energy to become better about emergency preparedness and missionary work.

After the meeting, I even got to see an– not old friend, quite young actually. I got in trouble for that one... Let's just say a friend I haven't seen for a while. We got to visit, catch up. It was fun.

But that brings us up to speed. After Conference we had BYC, always an entertaining experience, and in the evening we played Loot and watched Gunther and the Paper Brigade, which apparently can be extremely distracting.

Now that that's done, I think I can go back to the Yosemite posts and finally talk about the actual park. See you in a bit!

06-08-11 We'll start without them...

2011-06-08T11:13:00.001-07:00

So, still no pictures. And come to think of it, I'll probably just put them on facebook anyway, so you won't see them here. That said, I might as well start the recap. After I'm done with that, I'll probably start on my Yosemite site reviews and checklist.

So, starting Saturday, we drove down to Bass Lake, where we were staying during our trip. A bit of a drive, but General Conference CD's are a great way to pass the time. Anyway, once we got there we were in for a bit of a surprise. The place we were staying was AMAZING. It's a kind of time share thing that Tom's parents have, only it has several locations and you use points to make reservations.

There were three units, so the Hinds, Rosers, and Robarts each had their own space, with the Aunts each staying with one of the families. The units themselves though? Crazy. They were two bedrooms, two and a half baths, completely with laundry machines and a fully functioning kitchen. There were two twin sized beds, and king or queen (whatever it was in the master bedroom), as well as a murphy bed in front room. Very cool.

We did a little shuffling once we got there, moving a lot of stuff from the other units into the Hinds', where we would be doing most of our gathering. The rest of the day was spent hanging out and playing games, just enjoying a little time to get settled in.

Sunday, we got up and went to church. And let me just say, any ward close to somewhere like Yosemite must be impossible to plan for. I mean, just look at the number of people who are there each week just visiting. How do you guess how many will be there? Anyway, I liked how they did it. They had a fairly small chapel with an overflow in the cultural hall, complete with a projector so the speaker could be seen more clearly.

The people were nice too; you could definitely tell they were used to spending a good portion of time recognizing visitors during lessons. So, that was good. The lessons were about the same as you would find anywhere. The Bishop had just had a training meeting with a couple General Authorities though, so he shared some of that with us. (I even got to get a copy of the notes he took. ^^)

After that, it was more games, more hanging out. While that was happening, though, we did get to have a pretty fun game of hide and seek. Now, the resort where we were staying had pretty efficiently stuffed everything into those units. Not a whole lot of empty space like you might want for hide and seek, but we had a blast with it. We had people in closets, stuffed with the murphy bed, hiding behind furniture, and even a few people in the kitchen cabinets. But the best hiding spot by far was Tom's.

He lifted up the couch cushion and hid under it, with Ruth sitting casually on top. The funny part: It took the kids nearly ten minutes to find him, even though he was right there in plain sight. Hilarious. There should be a video of it somewhere. Maybe even more than one. It was good.

Memorial day was pretty nice too. We would usually have spent it at Mount Vernon, but that's a bit of a drive from where we were staying, so we had to improvise. Tom found this great video online that talked about the story behind the national anthem, and since we couldn't find a service nearby, it made a really nice substitution. Well... Until we got to the end and learned that someone was using it for a political campaign. It was still nice though. After that, we went down to the lake, then changed our minds (which had really been made up even before we got there) and went swimming at the pool. That was nice. I still don't know why I'm so bad with chlorine. I open my eyes too much.

After that, we went geocaching, which oddly enough led us to a cemetery. Well... Next to a cemetery. But we ended up walking through it anyway. It was nice to stop and think about Memorial day is all about.

Then we were off again. We found one across from a Starbucks, although the log was missing from the cache when we got there. After that we found one that was hidden quite cleverly in a bridge near a store called the Purple Cow. Yeah, it's like it was made for our family. The store owner was really helpful too. He gave us clues and talked a bit. While we were there we got to see them making those cool hand carved wooden bears. Really cool.

With those wonderful adventures over, and with Memorial weekend coming to a close, we headed back to the resort to get ready for the real highlight. Yosemite. But that recap will wait until later. Once we got back, Ryan, Rori, Andrew on a hike up a mountain next to the lake before dinner. It was about half way to the trailhead when we realized the hike might be a little longer than we had once thought. So, we set a turnaround time and plunged into the trees. It was still a nice hike. We eventually got a pretty good view of the lake, even if it was infested with mosquitoes. Good times. Good times...

That just about sums it up. Next I'll be talking about Yosemite, so it should be pretty good. Until then, the job hunt continues! See ya.

06-06-11 Still no recap, but this should keep you happy...

2011-06-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

For a little while at least. Just until I can get a hold of the pictures everyone else took. There were a lot of them... With this one though, I'm pretty sure it works best if you click the link and get the larger version.

Let me just say, though, there wasn't any panorama mode around to help me out with this one. This was rough guessing and photoshop all the way. So yeah... Standing up for the little guys. They can take pictures just as well as those fancy ones. It just... takes longer. Yeah...

...Anyway, Yosemite is amazing. I took this while standing in a really cool meadow that had some nice views of both Yosemite Falls and Half Dome. And since they're both pretty well known, I thought it'd be cool to get them both in the same shot. Not always easy. I'm pretty sure Ruth has these pictures, but I had to wait until I got home to put them all together, so I thought I'd post the completed shot just in case anyone wanted to see it.

That's it for me, I think I'll see if I can write something interesting later. See ya.

06-04-11 Yosemite

2011-06-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

So, I may wait on the play by play until I get a chance to go through all of the pictures and see if there are any I could use. For now though, let's just say that Yosemite is awesome. I've been there a few times now, and every time you can't help but be blown away. I got to see some different places this time though. Last time I went, we mostly went on the more known hikes. Half Dome, Yosemite Falls. We also got to go rafting down the Merced River and do a couple service projects. This time though, we got to see a lot more of the smaller, less exaggerated ones. One of my favorites was Bridalveil Falls. Lot's of mist, but really fun. (A couple decent climbing rocks too.) We also got the distinction of being able to say that we chopped down trees in a protected National Park in plain sight of a ranger and got away with it. Takes stealth. Anyway, some other highlights. Tunnel View and Glacier Point were both awesome, as were Yosemite and Vernal Falls. All in all, it was a pretty cool trip. And one of the nice things, we got to stay at a place not too far from the entrance of the park, thanks to Tom's parents letting us use their World Mark reservations. That made our stay /very/ comfortable. Anyway, I'll have more on this later, but for now I should get to bed.

05-23-11 Of doves and scripture stories

2011-05-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

So, this post will be a bit random, but I've got a few things I need to write down. First off, Sacrament Meeting was pretty nice this week. We had a youth speaker talk about the first article of faith, followed by a soon-to-be missionary and a recently returned missionary. All were pretty good, but there's one thing about the first talk that's been bouncing around in my head lately. This goes back a week or two when the Priest Quorum was learning about the Holy Ghost. Now, it's a subject that's fairly well known, but we got to go look at it from different angles. What is the Holy Ghost? We read a couple scriptures about times He's made an appearance, and a few of them mentioned Him descending in the form of a dove. Now, since we know he doesn't have a body of flesh and blood, (not to mention the fact that He's not a dove, he's a person) I've always thought that it was just talking figuratively. Still, a few of the scriptures seemed pretty clear about there being a dove. This is where Bro. McCord gave us an interesting idea to think about. I highly doubt that the dove was Him personally, but it could have been that the dove was sent as a sign, a sort of physical confirmation that He was there. I don't know, it's one of those things I know hardly anything about, so I'm just waiting to get to the other side and have it rolled out for me. Kind of like the whole Lamanite skin curse thing. It doesn't really matter to my personal salvation, and I'll get the answer eventually. I the meantime, though, I just figure if I don't go around shooting doves for no reason I should be alright.

The conversation did answer an interesting question though. It turns out that when people go around saying holy -insert inappropriate term relating to biological waste-, they're just talking about dove droppings. It all makes sense now.

Now, I'm not really one for the inappropriate humor, but if there are funny things you can find in the scriptures, I'm all there. (Makes you want to study more and see if you can find them. xD) There's this one story that Bro. Swenson told us about in seminary about his mission. In Taiwan, it can take a while to get used to the language, and some numbers especially sounded similar. So they were teaching this one investigator that was having a hard time accepting the commandments, thinking it was a lot to ask for right away. So, the missionaries recommended that they read 1 Nephi 3:7, which talks about the Lord providing a way to fufill His commandments. Or, that's what they thought they said. In reality, they accidentally said third, instead of first, making it 3 Nephi 3:7, and I'll let you figure it out on your own. Unfortunately, they uh... didn't hear back from that investigator again. Yeah... Hopefully that will be cleared up on the other side.

So uh... I'm relying heavily on dodo birds here. I figure if Heavenly Father made something like them, He must have a sense of humor. A course, they went extinct, so maybe He's changed His mind about some things... I'm gonna burn. It's a real shame too, I've always liked cold weather better.

Anyway, I should go. Hedge, could you wrap things up here?

#o -breaks fortune cookie-

"Never travel by plane over the Pacific." -flips it over- "4 8 15 16 23 42"

-squeak- -gets out keyboard- º'ºº''º'''ºº'–º'' -translation- Only turbulence chewing, cellphone safe– Snail!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . #o . . . . . . . __o"

05-20-11 Let's see if this works

2011-05-20T09:29:00.001-07:00

Hmm, it's been a while since I've posted a sketch on here– been a while since I've done anything on here really. Anyway, here are some more recent ones. I've been leaning more towards reference sketching lately than I have in the past, trying a little more life-like style. Don't get me wrong. I still like the manga style, and a lot of it still shows, but I'm trying to get a little more detail into them now. Both of these ones had a couple mistakes in them, but I did what I could in photoshop to clean them up a little. Anyway, enjoy.

Yep. That's it. Still no masterpieces, but it's all a matter of progression, right?

Anyway, I've got some good news. I finally finished backing up my old blog posts. Yay! Not sure that it matters much, but it's always nice to have a copy in case something crazy happens.

On another note, if you ever start drowning, just make sure you're doing it around our 11-year-old scouts. We went over swimming safety and rescues this Wednesday, and I've got to say, I thought they did very well with throwing the line. By the end of it, all of them were able to throw out their line without it getting tangled at all. Those guys are awesome.

Well, that's pretty much it. I'll probably post again some time later, but I think this is good enough for now. Have a great one.

05-19-11 Updates

2011-05-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

So, since you already have a detailed and complete account of what life's been up to for the past year or so, I've decided to talk a little more about things that you're probably more interested in anyway.

First off, the staff.
Hubert has taken up a position in one of our outposts in Alaska. He said that it was primarily because the Monkeys were becoming too big of a hassle, but I hear the work load is a lot lighter with this new position. Anyway, he'll be connecting through Skype on occasion, but knowing him, it probably won't be very often. And of course, his fish went with him. Not sure how he'll do with the weather up there, but I heard something about a thermos, so he should be alright.

On the bright side, Hedgy is still here. After months of tracking, he finally managed to bring back the monkeys. A few of them had to be put in isolation to keep them from starting another uprising, but once we found out that the word 'banana' had the same pronunciation as an insult in another language, we were able to calm them down. After that we started working on the translators again. Aside from a few glitches now and then, they seem to work fine.

So, that's everyone. Right now we're mostly–

#o -squeak-

Eh? Oh, sure, put him on.
____
| .O/ .|
| /|__|

Hubert: Hey.

Muncher: You know, we were in the middle of a post here.

Hubert: -shrugs- So?

Muncher: Whatever. So is the fish okay? I wasn't really sure if that thermos idea was going to work.

Hubert: Yeah, he's fine. The thermos thing only worked for a couple of hours. Luckily though, they've got these cool aquarium climate controllers here. He's got a volcano in his fish tank now. It even has a night light.

Muncher: Happy to hear that. Anyway, I've got a post to get–

Hubert: So, did those gremlins break anything yet?

Muncher: You mean the monkeys? No, they're fine. It took a while to get them settled down, but the new translator seems to be helping. Just don't say banana. They still get a little riled up by that. But anyway, I've really got to get back to the blog post. People are staring.

Hubert: Kay. I'll send you a snowball later.
Hubert is offline.

So yeah... Where were we? It doesn't really matter; you guys get the idea. Hedge has been helping a lot in getting things back in order, but I think he's feeling a little overworked. Do you think I should get another hand to help out evenings and weekends? I'll talk to him about it later. For now, though, I've gotta run. See ya.

05-17-11 The REAL year in sixty seconds

2011-05-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Not really sixty seconds; I can't type that fast, but we'll see how fast this can go– okay start!

In 2010, I got to go running through the wilderness with a handcart and the most incredible adopted family I could ask for, fall in love with a hat, climb to the top of half dome and explore the wonders of Yosemite, race to finish planning my Eagle Project while simultaneously participating in our kitchen remodel, organize a group of over thirty people in constructing a deck, removing a concrete fire pit (not in that order), and otherwise remodeling an amphitheater at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center, one of the most awesome places on Earth, and tons of other stuff I couldn't even begin to mention.

Okay, now that you're caught up, I'm late in making breakfast.

In case you're wondering, the real running time was three minutes and forty-two seconds.

PS: And how could I forget? I also received the greatest calling I've ever had, where I get to help teach the eleven-year-old scouts of our troop. Don't forget that one.

05-17-11 Year recap in sixty seconds

2011-05-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

So, as seems so common now, I've let a little time go by in between posts. Shame that. But anyway, things are a little behind now, and I'm not really the most energetic about trying to get caught up. This morning though, I was trying to sort through some old emails, and I ran into some old blog posts. You know, the really old ones. The ranting and raving ones. I think I still have some of those. But anyway, after the fifth or six one, I figured it'd probably be a good idea to through in some half-decent posts to try and balance things out.

Before I get to that though, I just want to say: Yes, Mom, you were right. My brief time as SPL was a fairly stressful time for a young scout, a time which inspired a tirade of rants for which the only pride that can be derived is that there weren't many typos. That being said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I haven't gotten to the point in the old blog posts where things started turning around for me, but just in case I failed to mention it, (not unlikely) I figured now would be a good time to do so. (Or do it again if I already talked about it.)

Coming up with something to do each week for scouts was tough sometimes. I'd look for ideas online, look through requirements for practically anything that we could go over, and I let things get more stressful than they needed to be. Now, in hindsight, it probably would have been a good idea to have one of those meetings be a planning meeting, to go over activities for the next one or two months. And even more importantly, delegation. It's a scary word, but it's powerful.

There was one thing that somehow managed to get into my thick head though. Leadership isn't one-sided. In order to be a true leader, you have to be able to see a group of boys as individuals, and relate to them in such a way that you can know what they need from you. It seems like just when I was beginning to learn that, the ward switch happened and I got released. Even if nothing else was gained from that whole experience though, that one concept was worth all of the worry. Now, whether it was worth having to read through all the rants and complaints that you guys had to go through, that's another story, but in my selfish and self-centered way, I'm glad I got to experience it.

What's more, it didn't end there. In the new Perkins Ward, I would eventually become the President of the Teacher's Quorum. It was a much slower pace than before, but I still had things to learn. A lot of that I got to learn from Bro. Foell. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Seminary was where I finally learned to feel comfortable speaking in front of a group, but it was Bro. Foell who helped me feel comfortable speaking face to face. I learned a great deal about self confidence from him. I learned how to look people in the eye from him. But one thing I'll never forget was the way he taught me leadership doesn't end in the meetings. I'm not just responsible for who shows up. I can still remember going on a couple visits to a less active member after BYC, talking with their family and learning their interests. It's true that we weren't really able to get them to come very regularly, but once again in my selfish way, I got learn about reaching out. It doesn't have to be big. It just has to BE. So thanks, Brother Foell. It meant a lot to me. (Thanks to everyone else too, he was just someone I've been thinking about quite a bit over the past few weeks.)

Hmm... This post isn't exactly what I had in mind when I started. Should I follow through with it and work on a different one for the recap? Sure, why not.

I thought I had leadership all figured out. And in some ways, I did. I definitely figured out what I felt were the most important, but there was something missing. Application. Up to that point, the stuff I learned were pretty personal, more for myself than those I held responsibility for. But more recently, that started to change. It started mostly, or most dramatically, with my Eagle Project.

Just figuring out what I wanted to do was difficult, something that Bro. McCord really helped me with. I'd say he picked up right where Bro. Foell left off in my education on leadership. To be a leader, you have to have a plan, know the steps to take, and choose the best course in following those steps. I still remember talking with him about project ideas and having him give me some ideas of who to talk to, then challenging me to contact each of them and get back to him with what I found.

Up to that point, I had followed a few leads and contacted a few organizations, but nothing had really worked. Partly I was just looking in the wrong places. Bro. McCord recommended several organizations to contact, one of which was the Effie Yeaw Nature Center, and we all know (or soon will know) where that went. I also learned about delegation from Bro. McCord. Let's face it, you can't do everything yourself and you won't really be a good leader if you try. That's something I had trouble with. Trust issues... Not really, but I like control. Adding delegation throws in a variable into the equation, and I much rather deal with constants. Starting to go off topic.

Anyway, I won't go into a whole lot of detail of the project. Let's just say that a lot of it was calling people, leaving messages, working around paperwork, visiting different organizations, and completely revising my plans to work around a new complication. And that was before I had to organize the actual work for the project. Was it fun? At the time, I might have eaten you for the question. In hindsight, it was awesome. I especially liked working on the project itself. It was like the final exam of everything I had worked for. Sure it had a few rough points, but just seeing everything slowly come together was incredible. Yeah, that whole delegation thing can really come in handy. I still like to be on the receiving end, rather than have to worry if it'll get done or not, but I won't deny it has its uses.

To conclude this slightly more positive rant, may I just say that Scouting and the Young Men's program are inspired things. It's impossible to look back and say it didn't mean anything. Not if you were paying any amount of attention to what was happening. I just hope that when I'm older, I can be the kind of leaders that I had. Plus Mom! Don't forget Mom! She get's most of these sappy posts though, and even in this one she's implied. I mean, how is anyone to manage anything without an awesome mom?

But the real point is... That's scouting for you. And just in case you've seen some of my earlier posts, let this one set the record straight. Scouting is incredible. It may be tough on occasion, but it's incredible.

-Cue the credits-

08/30/10 Things change

2010-08-30T17:34:00.000-07:00

On one point, however, you need not fear. The chances of me blogging again on a regular basis are slim and fleeting. So for the many among us who fear change, feel free to rest easy in the protected harbor of my own laziness.

Unfortunately, it would seem that we're a tad outnumbered at the moment, so give me a little while to address some of the changes that have been happening around here lately. Forgive me, I would prefer the silence just as much as you would, were it not for the small, reoccurring thought that so frequently enters my mind. Not everyone fears change– And they would be a little upset if I failed to even acknowledge some of the events of late.

To put it simply... I don't want to die. So here goes.

If you are even reading this, you are probably already familiar with this blog, and likely as not, you're a relative. That being said, you already know the rules. If you expect this to make any sense whatsoever, don't blame me if you find yourself dismally disappointed. It's your own fault for reading it.

Since I've let this go for so long, it is practically impossible for me to even consider fitting all that has happened into a single post. So... I won't. I might make more posts later, but to be fair to my fellow change-fearing readers, I commit to nothing. For now, though, I'll hit the big topic around here: Our kitchen no longer exists.

A little back story for this. Our house is not exactly what one would call well kept. It's been in desperate straits for decades, and it has only been in the recent years that it has made any progress at all. There are, however, still many things needing to be fixed. The terror of all terrors was, of course, the kitchen. Mom was often fond of saying that "If any man in a uniform ever saw our kitchen, it would be condemned." Not too far off the mark, really.

Well, some weeks back, a member of the Bishopric told her that the Bishop had offered to help fix it up. Needless to say, this took a little while to sink in, but when it did, the gratitude we all felt was incredible. It's not often you expect to be the recipient of service, especially of something this large. There are blessings to living in the Gospel that I don't think I fully understand. Seeing how willing people are to help really expresses to me how close a ward family can be. I mean, I've always enjoyed giving service, but being on the other end and seeing the selflessness of the people serving really helps me understand better what the love of Christ really is. In a way, I almost appreciate this new understanding as much or more than the service itself. Don't get me wrong, the idea of a kitchen without a floor that's falling apart is amazing, but that's only temporal. If I'm not stupid and forget, I can keep this new found feeling forever.

It's awesome, I'll just say that.

But this isn't really what people wanted to know. Or at least, not what the people swarming facebook wanted to know. So, here's the update.

Demo started Thursday. Bro. Brown, Bro. De la Cruz, and Bishop came over and with a little help from David and I, they pretty much ripped the kitchen to shreds– and it was AWESOME. The counters were gone, a section of the wall was removed, and the floor was pulled up down to the sub-floor. Along the way, we met a few surprises. Some good, some bad. The good news was that the floor itself was actually pretty good, minus the gaping hole in it. It's actually fairly sturdy. It was just the top part that was going bad. And even the hole would be fairly easy to fix. On the flip side, removing the section of the wall between the dining room and the kitchen would be a little harder than we thought. You see, it had wires in it, and the people who put them there didn't seem to know what they were doing. From what we can tell, they ripped out part of the wall, but didn't properly handle the wiring that was already in it, so that would mean a little extra work. But again, luckily the floor was good, meaning that we wouldn't need to do nearly as many repairs as we thought, so it kind of evens out. So anyway, that pretty much concludes that day. All that happened after that was clean up, although Bro. Altop did come by in the evening and replaced some of the plumbing to the sink. That was fun to see.

On Friday, most of the big repairs were made. The frame surrounding the hole was improved, making the wood that rested on top of it much less... interesting. In addition, the wires in the walls were moved around, and Bishop did an awesome job of figuring out how they all got connected and where they went. Plus, with the wall gone, some of the framing around the doorway changed, so they put in some new supports to make it less likely to collapse. Now granted, it probably wouldn't have collapsed the way it used to be, but this is much better. Also, since we were going ahead of schedule, Mom and Bro. De la Cruz were also able to go out and get the materials we would be needing to put together the kitchen.

On Saturday, we got to spend the day scrubbing and sanding cabinets, cleaning up debris, and doing a little cleaning on the ceiling and stove cover. It was nice to see the improvements, but it kind of took a little while. And needless to say, we were very happy to be finished for the day.

Today, the kitchen really started coming together. We put down Hardie Board (Or whatever you call it), finished up most of the electrical, and put in some of the dry wall. But the day isn't over yet, so I've got to go. I'll add some more updates and probably put up some pictures later. But for now, I'll leave you to wonder why you ever missed reading this in the first place.

See ya!

02-13-10 Branch by branch

2010-02-13T14:08:00.000-08:00

So, it's a slow progress, but I'm working on getting the trees ready to fall, mainly by ridding them of their precious limbs. The one we took down today was a little tricky, since it was grown tangled into the branches of the baby tree, a tree we kind of wanted to keep alive... Anyway, Joe helped out with the guide ropes, and eventually we got the thing on the ground. Now mom wants it cut up. Might put that off a little... Anyway, things went well, and I learned again the values of the taut-line and bowline. Oddly enough, we rigged up a perfect pulley system by accident. Now I just have to remember how we did it so I can use it again.

I haven't posted in a while, but I don't think I can promise that that will change. I'll work on it, but it's not likely. Still, life is good, and I'll post again... sometime. See ya.

11/09.2/09 Photobucket. Bleh.

2009-11-09T11:06:00.000-08:00

I dunno, photobucket hasn't been liking some pictures I've been trying to upload, and I noticed you can just upload to blogger, so I thought I'd check that out. I mean, I can't even remember the last time I posted pictures here. Seems kind of boring, you know?
Anyway, this is a sketch I drew... Thursday? I dunno. It's not the best, but lately I've been having trouble focusing right, so I'm more or less happy with it.

11/09/09 First Blooms

2009-11-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

The first blooms are coming out of those... whatever they are in the garden! Ever since I went berserker mode on the front yard, I didn't expect anything to survive. Oddly enough, though, the bulbs that we planted a few years ago have been fairing even better than the weeds. And at first I didn't discriminate between friend or foe either. Tough little flowers. And I think there are more of them than we planted, which I suppose makes sense. Anyway, I saw this year's first bloom today. ^^As you can see, there are quite a few of the little guys...

So, I probably wouldn't ever describe myself as a green thumb, but I might pass off as a brown thumb (if such a thing existed). After all, have you ever met a boy who hasn't enjoyed playing with dirt every now and then?

11/02/09 Mission Prep.

2009-11-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

Since I've long abandoned attempting to reconstruct all of my recent activities, partly due to the fact that mom's probably already done it, I think I'll spend more time focusing on things that have been of special interest to me. One of these at the moment is missionary preparation class. I decided to go to it partly because I thought it'd be cool, and partly because leaders thought it'd be a good idea– not that I don't too or anything. I just wasn't sure if I would be taking it right now. There is a bit of time before I'm old enough to serve a mission, but I guess there's no harm in getting a nice early start.

Speaking of the class itself, though, it wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it might have some practicing time, but mostly I expected to be taught /what/ we would be teaching investigators. But that's not really the point of mission prep. class. I mean, we should already know and have a testimony of that.

What we learn in mission prep. has more to do with /how/ to teach– and that's something I've really taken an interest in. There are a whole lot more effective ways of teaching than merely reading a lesson. The key is really in applying lessons to investigators. You do that by first learning about the person being taught. You get a feel for their life, ask questions, and listen to the spirit. It's only after that that you really know what will mean the most to them. We've learned how being excited ourselves helps them to feel that what we're saying has meaning, how to use companionship study to prepare to teach on a more personal level, how to make commitments with investigators and follow up to see how they've done, and how to recognize and resolve concerns they may have.

It's the kind of information you can really apply to life, even outside of missionary work. It's also allowed me to see some of my own faults. I am a talker. I don't really initiate conversations with others all that much, but when I speak, I use a lot of words to express my meaning. It always makes me feel like it flows easier that way, yet I learned in mission prep. that that isn't always the best way to teach someone. People can get lost in too many words. Often, it's the short, powerful statements that really drive home what we mean. Now, is this something I plan on doing on a daily basis? Probably not. I mean, it's not my nature, but until I can learn to cut my thoughts into these compact statements, I may have to try it once in a while. And it is a useful tool to have. It allows you to listen more. And if there's anything that makes someone skilled at small talk or anything related to it, it's being able to understand the person you're talking with– knowing what questions will provoke the biggest response. Not exactly my strong suit, but it's a work in progress. Currently, I'm limited to reading people. The problem with that, though, is that you can never truly be sure if what you think you're seeing is right.

All in all, I'd say that I'm extremely glad I decided to go. And while I'm still working on some things, I've really taken a lot out of it.

One thing that I've been noticing, though, is that my life has had a fairly simply pattern. When I was younger, I learned a lot about how to be taught well. I learned how to get the most out of lessons and how to look past the minor problems that come up. That doesn't really seem to common trait. Most people I've noticed are quick to get irritated with teachers, and aren't all that excited about what they're learning.

On the flip side of that, though, I'm only just now learning how to teach– how to get my point across more clearly. Before, I was terrible at talking to people, let alone teaching them. I remember being terrified to give talks in church, yet no matter how lame a teacher was, I always remembered getting /something/ out of the lesson, even if it meant studying on my own. I've been a little out of balance, now that I look back, but I oddly don't think I'd have it any other way. It's through listening and learning that I've learned about myself. I have a greater understanding of who I am, and that makes it much easier to express my thoughts.

Am I a contradiction? I don't speak much, but when I do, I almost speak too much, and I like listening rather than talking, yet I'm terrible at asking the right questions. I know why I want to be a psychologist, but could this just be another small reason that added to it? It's a skill that I've always thought about, and that I've truly wanted to possess. Maybe it's just another thing about psychology that I hope to learn.

-meaningful pause-

Hmm... it always amazes me how things progress. I began this post talking about missionary preparation class, and it becomes this rant about just how strange I've become compared to others I know. But really, is strange a bad thing? I dunno. I figure the more I think about that, the more I'll question my choice to pick a different path, not that it was really ever much of a choice. These things seem to just happen. I imagine all we can do is make the best of it.

10/20/09 Music!

2009-10-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy. Yesterday, I finished rating all the songs in my iTunes library. The ones I listen to, at least. Yay! And I really like some of the widgets I've been using to help out with that. I've almost always used iTunes controller, but this display is very useful. Unlike some other displays, it actually shows what point of the song is playing. Nice for when you're doing something else and you want to know where one song ends and another begins. That way, you can accurately rate the song you're listening to, instead of mistaking it with another one that was just playing. -nods- But yeah, now I know which songs to skip.

Hmm... I haven't posted in a while. Suppose it'd be a good idea to review what has been going on... Not sure I will though. Instead, I think I'll talk about seminary. In general, seminary is awesome. Not much can take away from that. But the younger class is /hilarious/. We were combined today, since our teacher was sick, and I gotta say, their class is lively. You've got loads of people who like to talk, and one or two people who like to scold said talkers. But one of them is kind of funny. She's there, smiling, then all of a sudden she'll whip her head around, give a glare that could stop a mountain lion, occasionally say something like 'shut up', then turn back around and smile as if nothing happened. Scary? So yeah... we learned about Jacob and his credentials. You know, righteous, cares about the people, is called of God... All of that stuff that we can have too– and should have so we can better spread the Gospel.

It still cracks me up that people get cold so easily. It's got to be no lower than 50, and they're
acting like it's freezing... Understandable, I guess. Mom and I like cold weather. We're the odd ones. But really... I dunno.

Myst is crazy. Joe and I just finished the fourth one this Saturday, and it was insane. Sad ending. Very sad. Avoidable? Possibly, but we haven't figured it out yet. I mean... really. The only half decent character dies. Sure, it's noble, but the whole family is messed up. Meh... Maybe Yeesha will turn out okay. At least she probably won't be as stupid as Cathrine. I tell you, that lady doesn't think. And she writes dreadful ages. I mean, Serenia is basically a cult of druggies. Seriously, they use this 'incense' and stare at a mask with crazy eyes to travel to some freaky spirit world. Crazy people. Still, Serenia beats Spire. Anyone would go crazy if they were stuck there for twenty years. And the fact that it's got crazy explosives doesn't help.

Anyway, moving on. Life is good. Towels are good too...

So, I'm running out of topics that I want to talk about. I've got to figure out what I want to be for Halloween. I feel like I should do something with caution tape. I've still got a lot of it. I might try to be a mistborn next year, but it's a little work. The cape will be the hardest. I also have to find some vials and a bag of coins. Maybe Yen. I like the holes in them. This year, though, I might be lazy. I dunno, we'll see what happens.

I think I'm going to wrap this up. I've got plenty of things to do today. So yeah, Halloween... Never quite saw the point, but it should be fun. Anyway, see ya!

09/16/09 Could be better, could be worse

2009-09-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a while. Not too happy about that, but we'll see what we can do.

As for all the stuff I haven't posted about:
-The Elders (and some family) came for dinner a few weeks back. On Stake Conference, I believe.
-A few days later, David and Teresa came to visit, and we had lots of fun family get togethers.
-Mom, Miriam and I went camping at Mackerricher state park for Mom's Birthday.
-I finished off all but one of my merit badges. All that's left now is making an appointment with the counselor for communications and work on the project. Life is pretty hectic right now, though, so I may continue to put that off. I just get really tired of the stress after a while, don't you?
- And now I'm struggling with some stupid school stuff. ALEKS is being its traditional retarded self, but it won't listen to my regiment of remedies I've picked up since I've started working with it. Big pain. And my online computer class isn't working at all. Which would make me lean towards getting a book for it, but Travis doesn't have any that are better than "Push the power button to turn on the computer." He thinks the online class is pretty good, but I'm not possitive I'll be able to get it to work. Kind of annoying. Plus, because of all of these stupid problems, I haven't written to Andrew in ages. Haven't blogged, haven't worked on the house, and I've barely been able to maintain the stuff I've already done. In short, I'm having a lame week.

I might talk about what happened in this past month sometime, but right now I'm just not in the mood.

On the somewhat bright side, I got some sketching pencils on Monday. I'd been thinking about it without much vigor for a while, but then I saw some at Office Depot while I was looking for organization stuff, and I decided to check them out. Anyway, they're very good! Awesome for shading and what not. You can make it more even, and with the different pencils, you have a lot of control of how light or dark you want it. So, I suppose life isn't so bad. I still have a lot of stuff to do, so I haven't been able to do as much with them as I had hoped, but they're something to look forward to when this is finally cleared up.

Really, though, I think I've been needing this stress. I've been having too many fun things. Family visits, camping... I think this wave of sudden things I need to do will get me back into my everyday rhythm. I'm hoping so, at least, because if not, I may have some problems in the future. But enough about future. Before Thursday night, I need to do this week's Japanese and Psychology, look into my computer class, maybe go back to the battlefield of ALEKS, and if I can manage all of that, work on all of the things I've been putting off. Andrew's letter, organizing the house and computer, scoutwork, and who knows what all.

I work best with a deadline, though, so we'll see how we do.
Bye. It's been fun, but I can't really think about blogging at the moment.

08/19/09 Haywire...

2009-08-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

So, I would've posted yesterday, but the computer went crazy on me and I couldn't log into my google account. Anyway, the whole password manager thing can make things difficult sometimes, especially when you made a grammatical error with the password itself. You see, using a blend of English and Japanese jibberish, you can make a pretty tough password that you can still remember, but when you use the wrong Japanese translation, it can take a while to figure out. As you can see though, it worked eventually. I'll have to change that password now. If nothing else, that word'll kill me if I forget about it again.

Anyway, that's not what I was going to talk about. There's a lot to go through before I leave. Starting with Sunday: The lesson went just about as well as I could expect it to. Sister Shrimp's class is always talkative, but when you throw in two visitors and the younger class, it's uh... interesting. Not sure what I would've done without Riley there. He's good and getting people to quiet down. -nods- Anyway, so yeah, the lesson itself was okay. I didn't do all I was planning, but I got the basic idea down. Plus, I got some feedback from the Temple President story. I like it when people remember the story you're telling, so they already know a little about where you're hoping to go with it. It was a good story, too. So, we were doing Baptisms for the Dead a few weeks ago, and the Temple President told us something really interesting. With missionary work, you see a lot of cases where a family will be taught, but only one person will join the church. The Temple President explained that in the spirit world, entire families are praying constantly, hoping that just /one/ person will be converted, so their genealogy could be done and their ordinances performed. Pretty powerful stuff. So anyway, I used that to set home the importance of eagerly pursuing the work of by-proxy ordinances for those that have passed on, which was the topic of the lesson.

Yay!

SO.. Monday... School started, I mowed the lawn, cut back a tree, prepared a super amazing Family Home Evening lesson- complete with roadmap, and was excited about grilling pizzas!

The plan was simple. We'd make little pizzas, personalize them, and stick them on the grill plain and simple. Well, there's a lot to account for. Messiness of the toppings, sheer size of the pizza itself, and how lucky you feel while performing the operation. Over all, Anna's pizza turned out the best. You see, I told Joe to hold a rolled-out pizza, and he did, but then he said that he hadn't washed his hands since doing something with a dumpster. Anyway, I wasn't all that put off by it, so it got selected as Anna's pizza. I'd share, of course. -nods-

We learned though. Small, thin pizzas with not much on them. That's what works. I think. Maybe we should talk to Ruth and Tom. They actually know how to do it...

Anyway, good stuff.

On Tuesday, I went berserk on our front yard. I got rid of all the weeds that have grown back since I got sick, and attacked the trees again, sawing through a couple branches with a hacksaw (slow process). Then, after Mom and Joe got home, I pulled up two of the trees that were trying to grow next to the house, as well as a stump that once belonged to a holly bush. It was just in the way...

But anyway, that was awesome! I was going to blog about it, but that's when the computer made my life miserable. After a wonderful night's rest, though, the problem was a little easier to fix. Good stuff. So now I get to attack trees again. Or do schoolwork... Or write a letter to Andrew... Or do scoutwork. I should kind of do all of them...

Oi... I gotta go. Bye!

08/15/09 Over the mountains and through the woods...

2009-08-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

More like hills. Lots of hills. Not many trees either, come to think of it...

Anyway, there's much to talk about. This week and last were meant to be busy. Very busy. And you know what, they still kind of were. Odd little thing, that.

Anyway, as you know (I think), last weekend we went camping down in San Luise Obispo (I hope that's spelled right...) to visit David and Teresa. The trip was awesome, the car ride long, the memories... -dramatic- /unforgettable/... Okay, anyway...

So we got up there and met David and Teresa at the camp, at which point most of us were thinking that it wasn't much of a campsite. I say most only because- the scout that I am- I had seen plenty worse. And in all fairness, it was a pretty good campsite. Water and bathrooms nearby, dry kindling to help light a fire, and a good bit of shade. The only real downside was that it was a little cramped. People next door, small-ish campsite, you get the picture. Of course, you all know what I believe real camping is, but that's not important.

So, we set up camp, start up a lovely fire, and visit. After we had some coals, we threw in the foil dinners and roasted hotdogs. The hotdogs were mostly just because they were there and we felt like snacking. Uh huh. You didn't think hot dogs were appetizers, did you? Well, they're very good ones. (especially when made into pigs in a blanket, but that's another story...) The foil dinners were delicious, as expected, and we didn't have any burnt, thanks to the /real camping/ foil dinner cooking secret. You see, the second time I made foil dinners (ah, the memories...), I had read on a website to try wrapping a slightly damp paper towel around the foil dinner, then add another layer of foil. Ever since that fateful day, I've never had a burnt foil dinner. -nods- That's real camping. Foil dinners, hamburgers, and hot dogs. For dinner, at least. And whatever you do, no tri-tip. That's not camping! How could you do such a thing??? I'm telling you... I'll never forget that one. It's just not natural...

Anyway, that was amazing. After dinner, we had smores and wuffums (D&T, how do you spell that?). -happy dance- Also real camping.

Let's see, after that, we read scriptures, had family prayer, played some Killer-Uno, and went to sleep. Good stuff.

The next morning, we boiled water the old fashioned way and had oatmeal and hot chocolate. There's something about fire-boiled water... It's cool. Anyway, oatmeal and fire water? Real camping. I was really happy with the arrangement. I mean, we were near people, and we were within walking distance of the nearest bathroom, so I can't call it real real camping, but it was close, and very fun.

After we ate, we lounged for a bit and decided to tour campgrounds. Both the one we were staying in and one that David and Teresa liked. The latter of which, I must add, was indeed very nice. Very nice playground. Thought of Andrew. Took pictures.

We had lunch there, lazed around a bit, then went to David and Teresa's. Another dog was visiting, and there was a small matter of getting the two used to each other, but other than that, we really didn't do much but visit until dinner. D&T made some wonderful hamburgers! And a vegetarian alternative. And corn on the cob. And watermelon. Lot's of food...

After dinner, we decided we didn't want to sleep on rocks again (-sighs-), so the guys went to break camp. -hits fast forward button-

Okay, not much happened. We went back, visited some more, went to sleep, got up, got ready for church, went to church, got spiritually enlightened, went back to get everything packed, and hit the road!

Just some last comments before I move on to the next topic:
The impromptu choir performance was awesome. Lot's of people got up to sing, too. I was a little surprised. -nods-
Also, I really liked the priesthood lesson. I'm thinking I might use some of it for my Sunday School lesson.

Next day...

Monday was interesting. I mostly did paperwork for scouts, finishing of Cit. in the World, so I'm pretty much set. By the end of it, though, I was beginning to get a little bit of a headache. I wemt to bed...

... and then it all went down hill... At 1 AM, I got out of bed and promptly ran to the bathroom to throw up.

This, unfortunately, was not in my plans. My plans were to do yardwork. Both here and for the Penas. That... uh... didn't happen. To make a long and annoying story short, I was feeling horrible with a crazy migraine for several days. I couldn't keep food or pill down, light was a nightmare, and I kept getting dehydrated. Wednesday and Thursday, Mom stayed home and helped, but I was still mostly out of it. By Thursday, though, things were looking up. And by Friday, I was back to my regular- if not mentally sound- self. I kept track though. I threw up seventeen times. Fourteen of which took place within twenty-four hours. Ouch.

But, I'm better now, and it's Saturday, so something more must have happened. On Friday, Joe filed some stuff in his room, and Mom and I ran some errands. We got some wood mulch, got a schoolbook for a college class, and did some business with our fall classes. I have a card now. XD I can go cruising on lightrail.

That's pretty much it. Today was more interesting. Today, we rented a truck, went over to Debi's and picked up a couch. A really big couch. With recliners. It was in a room that was too small for it, so she gave it to us to put in the family room. Things are still in motion, but the dust should settle soon enough. In any case, it gives me a project to work on. ^^ After we did all that, we went to the Squeeze Inn. Fun stuff! Good workout, too. -nods-

Well, I'm afraid that's about it. I've been busy, eh. Kind of feel bad for Andrew though. I need to send him pictures. And I'm a couple days late with the letter now. He'll forgive me though.

Oh yes! While I was sick, I was able to watch a movie that David and Teresa loaned to us when we left. Stardust! Not exactly what I was expecting, but pretty funny. Different though. Definitely different. Awesome action music. After a little searching, I found one of the better tracks, and it is good...

Anyway, I've got to go work on the Sunday School lesson I'm giving tomorrow. See ya!

... Di-na-mi-tey! XD

08/05/09 Fish

2009-08-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

So, it's late, but I want to post this so I can use it in a letter to Andrew. Mainly, though, I need to get that letter sent by tomorrow, or it might not get sent. Or Friday... But we're leaving then, so I'm not sure about that.

Anyway, today was pretty neat. It started out with early morning weeding, followed by going with Debi and the Hinds to see The Tale of Despereaux. Miriam was going to come with us, but there were some slight complications. Ruth gets a call before the movie and leaves. I'm not sure what all details we had, but after the movie (I might talk about it later), we went to Ruth and Tom's. Apparently, Miriam's finger got caught in the door of her car. Pretty bad, too. Cuts and bruising on both sides. Some swelling... The people at 24 hour fitness were nice though. Ruth took her to the hospital later and things seemed a little better. While that was happening, Tom and I helped Debi install some ceiling fans. Simple, right? But when they're on slanted ceilings and one of the rooms is two stories, it gets complicated. Still, it all worked out, and they look /amazing/. Anyway, after that was finished, it was time for mutual. They brought me home, I ate some leftovers, and mom dropped me off for a fishing merit badge lesson night. Pretty cool, actually. I learned some knots, found out more about fishing, and got that much closer to getting everything settled. -nods- Good stuff.

So, I'm back home now. It's night. Night is good. I'll probably hit the sack soon, so I'll just leave a few quick comments. First, the Tale of Despereaux was not what I expected. I expected some simple, but entertaining kid movie, but it turned out to have a much more elaborate plot. Or, at least, it's characters were. Pretty nice story. Not sure why they chose soup though... I imagine it has to do with Ratatouille. They were both made around the same time, I think. And things like to copy each other. -shrugs- Anyhow, it was an interesting movie.

Fishing line= good for fishing, bad for knot tying. Luckily, I'm okay with knots, so it wasn't anything too difficult.

Oh, yeah, Debi let me drive to Ruth and Tom's. That was cool. Her car has good brakes. -Not needed though. I knew you were thinking that. They just respond well.

Yep. I'm starting to lose it. Sleep is calling, and I've got the mind to follow it. Tomorrow will be crazy. Camping prep., scouts, cooking, housework, and at the end of it all, Esther and Debi's B-day dinner.

Yay! Now... I'm going to sleep. I keep hitting , instead of m. That's one of my signs that I'm drifting. See ya tomorrow. Maybe. I might not post... Still, bye...

08/04/09 My big mouth.

2009-08-04T18:12:00.000-07:00

I just had to go and say it. "Calm after the storm," I said. "Things are quieting down," I said. Why'd I do that? Well... It isn't calm anymore. Today was supposed to be devoted to scouts. Hammer out Cit. in the Nation and get ready for World. But instead I spent part of the day juggling schedules, /while/ trying to do scoutwork. As it turns out, I do more than I thought. Monday was the reseting period so I could leap right back into action. Today was scouts, tomorrow will helping Debi with some ceiling fans and seeing a movie with the Hinds, Miriam, and Debi. This morning I thought it would be getting ready for going camping and visiting David and Teresa, then Sister Pena called and asked if I wanted to help do some yard work, then I found out that Debi emailed me yesterday about the ceiling fans. So, I rescheduled the yard work for next Tuesday, leaving Wednesday open again. After that, on Thursday, I've got to cook a Hawaiian pizza for the Fancy Nancy birthday party for Esther and Debi, as well as get some waffles and foil dinners ready for the camping trip. (The waffles are just because I like waffles...) Then on Friday, we head out for David and Teresa's. Oi... Busy week. Oh yeah, and Sister Shrimp is coming sometime to give me lesson materials so I can give a lesson in sunday school in two weeks. Oh, and I'm meeting with Brother McCord next Wednesday about scouts, so I want to get the Cits and Camping all set before then... Phew...

As for today though...

Today was actually pretty nice. It's sad to say, but I actually enjoy stress. It... motivates me? fascinates me? I dunno. Still, I got everything planned, weeded in the garden, mowed the lawn, picked some camping stuff out of the big camping boxes, filled out almost all of the Cit. in the Nation worksheet, got the requirements done for Cit. in the World done that I couldn't do on the way camping (Six hour car rides are working for me. XD), and even got in another experimental game of risk. Close quarters? I'll just say that the players will be smart enough not to go and attack each other right off the bat.

Oh, and I took my book back to the library. (Note: THE LIBRARY HAS SELF-CHECKOUT!!! IT'S SO AMAZING I FORGOT TO TE- -ahem- Enough with the caps... Anyway, I forgot to tell you. Repeatedly. Sorry 'bout that. It's cool though.)

Games By Email? Sounds neat! I'll have to look into that. ... Sometime? I suppose I could make room... But not yet. I need to wrap up Nation. And I think Mom and Joe want to get tacos or something for dinner... Plus, I need to write to Andrew- And I /really/ need to get those pictures...

Man, I'm pumped. I really shouldn't be, but this'll be pretty crazy. Crazy, stressful, testing of all mental fortitude I've got. (well... maybe not, but still.) This'll be fun... -grins-

So, yeah, I'm happy. Didn't get to work on the dining room project, but that was optional. I think I'll be able to get the essentials done, which is all that really matters.

Oh yeah, I gave the lesson in Family Home Evening last night. We're trying to get beyond just reading the Ensign and talking, so we're seeing how that goes. Ask Mom or Joe if you want to know how it went. All things I do seem like both triumphs and failures to me. At the same time, too. Funny how that works, but it keeps my spirits up.

I believe I'll have to leave it at this. My battlefield awaits! (By the way, I am not referring to Risk, although I would very much like to...) Ja mata!

07/03/09 RISK

2009-08-04T06:41:00.001-07:00

So, ever since the game table in the family room was cleared off, I've been thinking about how it's a pretty good place for playing RISK. It's out of the way, we wouldn't need to use it regularly, so the game can be left out even when it's not being played, and the game fits fairly well on it. RISK is good. Takes forever though, which is why I'm thinking this area could come in handy.

I was excited about it, so yesterday, or today if you count this as the day I started writing this, I worked on an experiment to make set up time shorter. Basically, you draw a random territory, put a leader there with ten battalions, and do the same with all the other players, making sure that none of them are adjacent to each other. With the other 60 territories (for lord of the rings risk, that is), you put two neutral battalions that just defend. The test went fairly well, although the players started off pretty far apart from each other. I need to try a game where they're closer together, to get an idea if it would still work. Also, I found some nice places to put battalions. (The plastic bags are getting old, and I really don't like the idea of having all of the different pieces in the same pile.) A little set of drawers that go to a... tool thing? I don't know, I've been using it for ages, but never to hold tools or things like that. Anyway, the drawers are divided into three parts, which is just perfect for separating each teams' battalions. Much more convenient than the plastic bags.

Anyway, though. That's a work in progress.

I need to go to the library today, or tomorrow counting from when I started writing this. Maybe I should talk about that. Well, I was going to post yesterday, but while I was writing, mom came home from work. I said hi, she said that there was a letter from Andrew in the mail, so I spent a little while looking at that. Anyway, she needed to use the computer, and after that I was mostly working on dinner, so I didn't get back on the computer until now. That being said...

I'm running low on things to say. I've been working a lot in the garden. Yay! The weeds are still coming up, but the roots are easier to pull out now, so we might see some improvement later. And I really like our soil. It's starting to look nice. I should mow the lawn today, too.

Other that that, I really don't know if there's much else to say. Life is good. Andrew sent pictures, which we have to figure out how to put up with this crazy computer. They're really cool though. He took a couple pictures of the racetrack, and there's a picture from Kevin's baptism, and a bunch of other stuff. -nods-

I have to get around to writing. To Andrew, for scouts, all that rot. We'll see about that today, but it might be a little disappointing.

Well, I'm off. I might post later today, but there are things to do first. Without further adieu, I'll be on my way.

07/31/09 The calm after the storm...

2009-07-31T10:36:00.000-07:00

So, since Monday and Tuesday, life's slowed down a bit. On Wednesday, I didn't do much. Read a book, did a /little/ scout work. Went to young mens, which was helping the Parkers move. It turns out that we weren't much needed then. So, we're going back tonight. Anyway, Thursday was so-so. I went out to attack some weeds which were trying to grow back, played a demo version of computer Risk and beat it within the ten round limit. That was fun. I started around Asia. XD Tuffy went home Thursday evening. All being said, the past few days have inched by with little to mention.

Today, though, I'm starting filling out the worksheets for the two cits. Some studying, some planning. Basic awesome stuff. I also mean to work on the computer corner project, mow the lawn, and kill some more weeds. Probably some household cleaning and dish washing. too. We'll see how all that goes. I was meaning to get pictures and sketches up sometime, but photobucket doesn't seem to want to cooperate and the pictures are still on the camera.

After all the excitement, I feel sort of let down. Today might be cool though. Maybe the lull was just because I was reading a book and I had sunburns... Could be. But anyway, I've got work to do, so I'll best be off. See ya!

07/28/09 Our dining room is cool...

2009-07-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

So, today was devoted mostly to cleaning house. That being said, I found a most enlightening discovery. In a prior post, I had mentioned moving– say... what are those things? Not dressers... Not really cabinets, either... Anyway, I moved them into the dining room. Little did I know that there was a space between them that fit the table /perfectly/. So, when we want more space, we can move the table back to the wall, or even fold it up, depending on what we want. A very happy discovery. -nods- I took pictures. Mostly for Andrew, but they might make their way here, too. Now I just need to get them on the computer. (That's a tricky thing now-days.) So, today was nice. I'm not really sure how ready the house is for company, but it's much nicer than it's been in years, so I do believe I'll enjoy a moment of contentedness.

As for yesterday's post, I've decided that it's probably what a typical blog post from me looks like, anyway, so I'm afraid you'll have to decipher it yourself. It's truer this way, yes? I'd like to think of it that way.

Anyhow, I'm very happy to say that I've finally gotten around to organizing my sketches on the computer. More or less. Really, most of them needed some looking after. Fixing old sketches is a bit annoying, but the payout is nice. Now I don't feel as strongly about getting rid of them. Still, a lot of them are beyond help. The best I can do is say they were from my incompetent years. Still in those years, probably, but we're getting there.
And drawing is more for relaxation than for talent, I think. Somehow, drawing sketches takes my mind off things. It's like writing, only the details are more blended together, less reliant on external thought. I still worry about errors, but I can see the whole picture clearer than I can in writing, so I can still feel a measure of pride in it, despite imperfections. The plot is physical thing, rather than in writing, where it is expressed through a compilation of effort. With writing, you're more focussed on the moment, something I feel a great joy in. It let's you explore the deeper portions of a concept, without completely forsaking the big picture.

I suppose they each have their own qualities. And while I know now that I've been rambling, I can't help but feel like they compliment each other. An illustration captures a broad idea well, while a caption can be used to pinpoint certain aspects that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. I know I like reading better. It engulfs me. And yet, between writing and art, I'm not sure which one I prefer for myself. I am in no wise highly skilled in either one, but I still find a simple joy there. The thought of a clever phrase, or a well crafted stroke. Even if, in fact, the outcome leaves the audience in want of something better, the author still has that moment of happiness to look back on.

But anyway... Life is good. The house is improving. I suppose I better go get ready. Not sure what to expect from a visit with the Bishop and Stake President... Yep. So, I'll see you later!

07/27/09 Why are there so many marbles???

2009-07-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

So, I sit before you now in my sunburned state, to tell you the tale of the day's activities. I am slightly drowsy, so this may take a while, but in essence, I spent the day ripping out all of the front garden, fighting hoards of weeds, and finally pouring several bags of wood mulch over the barren battlefield. Sunscreen? Used it. Sweat didn't take to it. Still, it was good. Mom doesn't know yet. After I took a very cool shower, I headed for the library and turned in The Goose Girl for Enna Burning. I might write what I thought about it, but that'll be later. I'm tired. Actually, not really tired. More like... bored? That can't be right. Not that there's nothing to do. Just that I don't /want/ to do anything. Lazy? ... Yeah, that's right. I'm lazy. ... That's nice.

I need to take pictures, write to Andrew, and clean the house. Not sure if I'm gonna make it... Very sleepy... I took a picture of my foot before I took a shower. Kinda weird. You can see where my sock was. REALLY clearly. It's like a line... Yeah...
I want to play Risk. Not now, maybe. But sometime. Risk is good.

I wonder if I'll read this later and think it sounds funny. I feel funny... Maybe it's more like stupid. Stupid...

Stupid sun, maybe... I don't like the sun. Not unless it is masked by the great obscuring cloak of overcast. Clouds are so nice. So free... Sometimes I think about being a cloud... Then a breeze came and blew me up. Didn't want to be a cloud after that...

I think I should sleep. But that's a bad idea. I need to do stuff. Maybe I should eat. I haven't eaten since I went out to work on the yard. What'd I eat today? Eggs? Sounds right. Eggs are good. Waffles are good, too. I like waffles. I found out the proportions for just making two waffles. I've had waffles a lot since I found that out.

Tuffy isn't lazy...

I don't think I'm making any sense. That means I'll have to post again. You know, when I'm awake? Not looking forward to that. Well, I'm not dreading it either. What's that mean? I wonder if this is what being drunk is like... Why'd you want this? It feels funny, but you can hear the laughter in your head. You can already tell that people are reading this and thinking it sounds stupid.

Oh yeah, the Bishop and Stake President are coming tomorrow. What'd we do? Should I run now? I don't think I be able to run very well like this... Maybe they just want to visit... That'd be weird. Anyway, I gotta clean. Glad I've been working on the house, though. That makes it easier.

Is this enough? I feel like this is enough. But I'm drunk, so how do I know? Whatever... It's enough. Goodbye, peoples... I'll try to remember to come back when I know what I'm saying...

Wait! The topic... I found a bunch of marbles in the garden. Why? o_O? I don't understand, either...

07/26/09 Too many princess stories...

2009-07-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well, to start off, I've gotta say that Ruth has got to have the best party-planning instincts I've ever seen. Alice in Wonderland theme, with /lot's/ of work. And you could see it, too. The cake alone was awesome! Definitely the perfect centerpiece for the Mad Hatter tea party. -nods- But yeah, she read the story (Some people aren't familiar with it, so that was really cool. I mean, it's not like the Lion King or Toy Story.), then everyone moved outside to the tea party, played a couple games, and painted the roses red, which, by the way, looked amazing. I mean, it looked just like it did in the movie. Anyway, it was about that time that the cake announced it was time to cut it. Ninety+ heat= Lethal. Even to awesome cakes. After the cake, Esther opened presents, and after that, there was some croquet. Then, the grown-ups played. Competitive, although there seemed to be some confusion which wickets the ball was supposed to go through in what order. Figure eight? I think that's what it ended up being. So, that's about when the party ended. Pretty fun! I may have disarranged some things, though. There was a lot going on.

So, after the party, family sat around and talked. I read a little and played with the kids. And somewhere in the mix, one of them, a relative of Tom's, started chasing me around calling me lovely guy. Or lovely boy, or something like that. That was kind of weird. To make a long story short, I spent a good portion of the evening hiding, part of which time in the closet, where I learned something. Never hide in the closet. For one thing, it had to be a hundred degrees in there, plus, other kids keep giving away your presence by opening the door, and thirdly, when the kid finally catches on, there aren't many exit options. Eventually, I went outside and laid down on the play set. That was good for a while. Then the kids came outside to play. Still, it wasn't as bad, then. I mostly kept my distance and juggled. Fun thing, juggling. Croquet balls are good for it. -nods- Hedgehog plush balls... Not so much, but doable. So, after a while, we had dinner, and Mom, Joe and I took our leave to care for the beasts. -looks at the tennis ball Tuffy has left on my lap- That dog never gets tired... Anyway, in general, it was a fairly interesting day. I guess I've got some stuff to write to Andrew about now.

But for now, it's getting to be time for church, so I shall leave my record here. In conclusion, I've decided that I probably won't read my daughters a great condensation of princess stories. We'll stick with The Wizard of Oz, Hansel and Gretel, and all those other classic fairytales. Maybe one or two princess stories so they don't get obsessed as soon as they see one, but mostly The Wizard of Oz. These princess stories are too dangerous. I bid thee all farewell.

07/25/09 Belated...

2009-07-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

So, I couldn't get on the computer yesterday, but it was a very successful day, so I don't mind.
Yesterday, Mom and I went to go pick up Tuffy (we're dog sitting this week). After that, I spent most of the day on a three pronged attack on the house. I had cleaned an area in the garage for storage, but I didn't even need to use it. So, after the garage was clear, I would have been able to clean out the closet in the office, with which space I planned to store some memorabilia stuff. So, the pictures and scrapbooks and what all was there was moved out of the family room, leaving a space I would utilize by moving the sewing machine. After cleaning out the area by the sewing machine, I hoped to move the dresser-things (also in the family room) into the dining room. That was the plan, and it worked perfectly. XD To make a long story short, I have all but completely annihilated the mountain that once inhabited the family room. Yay! So, the boxes of pictures and things are gone, the dresser-things have a home, and the sewing machine has been moved to a more beneficial place. The best part is that we now have TONS of open space, both in the dining room and in the family room. I'm very happy. Plus, there's some room in the garage that I didn't get to using. Some future project just got that much easier? ^^ I wonder when I'll get started on that...

But for now, I've just got to hone out some spots in the family room and start in the office.

But that's only part of it!

After cleaning house, I read a bit, then got ready for the Youth Temple Trip.
Doing baptisms for the dead is always a meaningful experience, but really I just love the time you have to reflect. On what you're doing for those on the other side, and on just life in general. I liked it.
On the way home, I was in a car with Brother McCord, Brother Kenealey, Brock, and Anthony. Brock and Anthony are from Brighton Ward. Anyway, for some reason, Brother Kenealey was holding a rubber band out the window on the freeway. Maybe he was going to shoot it? Anyway, it made a funny noise, so he decided to try holding his harmonica out the window. (How cool is that? He had a harmonica. XD) Then, he started playing it by covering part of it with his fingers. Not the most clear, perhaps, but it was pretty cool. XD Good times...

So, all in all, a pretty cool day.

As for today, we'll be going to Esther's Alice in Wonderland Birthday Party (Happy Birthday!), then we might be going to a ward party. Not sure. Anyway, should be very fun. Maybe I'll read, work on scouts, or clean house. They seem to be my top three activities these last few days. Or wasting time on the computer. That happens, too.

So, without further adieu, I'll get right to that. See ya!

07/23/09 It's Thursday?

2009-07-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

The familiar call of "It's Thursday!" is no more. As of today, the garbage and recycling pickup changes to Thursday. I'm not sure if "It's Wednesday!" will catch on, though.
Anyway, I forgot to mention something nice that happened yesterday. So, somehow or another, Mom's saddlebag came off her bike while she was riding home from work. Once she got home and found out about it, she and I went out looking for it before mutual. We drove to her work and back, but he didn't see it, and it kind of wasn't looking great. So, she dropped me off at the church, and went out again with Joe. While they were looking, a lady came by who had found our address on a note to our neighbor, which was in the saddlebag. Anyway, she came by and we weren't here, but then she came by again after Mom and Joe got back. Mom was very happy. So, things worked out well and Mom got to make a new friend. Yay.

Anyway, today went fairly well. I worked a little with scouts, read a book I got from the library yesterday. It's one that Miriam had read, called "The Goose Girl". Odd name, but it's pretty well written, and I really like it's original magic system. When the world was created, everything spoke with each other. Over time, though, some of those languages were lost. However, there are still some who can speak them. Some people can talk to other people, easily capturing the attention of others and making them more inclined to see their point of view. Then there are those that can talk with animals, although different animals may not speak the same and it may take time to determine the various ways in which they communicate. And lastly, there are those who can talk to nature. And it talks back, sometimes. They can't control it, exactly, it's more like suggesting that it do something, which it usually does. Anyway, I thought it sounded cool.

So, I'll have something to read now. That's nice. I like the name of the next book, though. Enna Burning. Fire manipulation? Sounds fun... XD

-sighs- I can't really think of anything else. I pulled some weeds today. That was fun. There was this weird plant with these little ball things where the flowers should be. And they each had a spike in the middle. Kind of hard to explain, but they didn't look like buds. I don't know. I was a little wary of touching it at first. I'll probably die now. At least then I won't have to worry about what to write.

I guess I'll leave it at this. Maybe I'll read some more. Reading is good. And I gotta say. Rationing the last book was a horrible idea, even if it /did/ prolong the reading material a couple more days. Yeah. So, I gotta go.

07/23/09 The game losing catch. XD

2009-07-23T11:44:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, when you can't make the game-winning hit, it's good consolation to be able to make the game losing catch. It's called a fumble. And when they need one more run and they've got a runner on third. Two outs. Dropping the ball isn't an option. Or, at least, if you want to win. For a wiffleball game, though, last night's activity was pretty intense. First, neither teams are scoring much, then the other team gets a ten or fifteen run lead; then we catch up in a single inning, pass them, only to lose because the ball slipped through my hands. -sighs- All my dreams are gone. XD After that, we had soft pretzels. They were good, but I wasn't sure if I was going to eat one. Luckily, they were small, and didn't have the salt on them, so I decided I'd risk having one. It was good, and mom didn't seem to notice, so until she reads this, I think I'm safe.

Anyway, the reason I'm writing this is because I've been writing to Andrew and he keeps requesting blog posts. At first, I thought he just wanted /something/ from me, but I've been sending multiple page letters every week since then, so maybe he's after the witty and spiritually uplifting words which sprout with such irregularity here at the Asylum. I dunno. It may be that my letters are too dull. Should the monkeys move to Canada? Needless to say, no letter could henceforth be considered dull after such an event. Still, translators are such a hassle these days. It never makes sense when you switch the selection back to english...

So, here I am, on an epic quest, to come up with something to write about. Quite frankly, though, I'm not sure what the difference is. Coping something over to a letter, when said copied things would probably have been covered beforehand... Not to mention my blog posts don't make nearly as much sense... I'm so confused sometimes. May be I should write a bunch of fiction about myself, like saying I'm thinking about joining the swim team, or that I had a dream I was a rabid humming bird, determined to conquer the world.
I could write book reviews, but that's so much work, you know? And then I'd actually have to find books regularly, instead of following my slow, but relaxing search for enjoyable literature. Goodness, there seems to be no end to the dilemma. Unless, of course, I write to Andrew, and keep a blog, and then simply send both to both– with minor editing, of course. But you get what I mean. That would accomplish the same amount of work for only twice the effort! Wait...

So... What do I write, who do I send it to, and when do I write it? These questions make little sense to me. Then again, I'm mostly stalling right now and not really thinking about what I'm saying, so what surprise is that?

Alas, I fear I have but one thing to say... I'm going to be a monk, now. With a trenchcoat. That's important. No more of this confusion. Nephi never had this problem. He had his two plates, but they were for two different things. If letters, journals, and blogs, all have the same thing to say, you're repeating yourself over and over again... At least the scripture notes are simple. Outline and insight– That's it!

Listing the week's events and you're responses and opinions to them, keeping in mind the audience to whom you are addressing– it's simply too much. You write about the same thing, but you have to rephrase it each time. You may as well start fresh...

So... uh. Not sure how this'll work out... but I also realized that snail-mail is too slow. I gotta send e-mails or something, but they're too long to read at a computer screen. A brief summary? Now you're writing it four times... Writing what you did in a given day, knowing that you're going to be writing it four times, four different ways, is a little daunting. This being said... I think I'm going to go... uh... write a letter?

PS: Just out of curiosity, what am I writing this for? If the blog is for everybody else, letters are just blogs with personal notes thrown in, and journals are for your personal insights, feelings, and what not, would it not make sense to start with the blog, hack it to pieces, and distribute it to all the other factions? At which point, the scripture study would pick up the randomly felt stuff during the day, which doesn't relate much to any given event.

So, if I understand what I just came up with...
Blogs: Raw data. What you did, what you thought, maybe a fancy story at the end.
Letters: Raw data + personal notes.
Journals: Your reaction to raw data.
Scripture study/ Testimony journal: Thoughts, feelings, promptings, and all that good stuff.

So, the last one has nothing to do with the other stuff, although you might have an experience which can be written in it which will also be in the others.
But the blog goes first, and promptly explodes. Right? That makes sense? I dunno, but I'll figure that out later. I have to study Mount Rushmore. Or some other monument, given I find something else I like better. Later today, I might post again, bearing in mind what I just rambled about. I also decided I'm not going to post in the morning-midday. If this system is going to work, my best bet'll be around five. Most of the day will be gone, so I'll know whether or not I have something to write about or not, and I might have an idea of what's happening later in the evening. I'll probably try to add reviews the next day about what /actually/ happened.

Complicated... Too complicated... -thud-

07/01/09 JULY??? Say not so!

2009-07-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

Too hot. Too soon until Christmas. Too many things to keep track of. On the bright side, though, I might actually get around to working on my writing projects. Not the ones I blog, but still... Anyway, I'm happy. I finally organized my literature junk. Apparently, I once wrote out a plotline for a roleplay-starter kit, complete with storyline and a couple pre-made characters. And oddly enough, it had absolutely /nothing/ to do with any of my other plots. I think I designed it to be reused. Most of them weren't. Kinda felt like there shouldn't be backtracking in roleplaying. Which reminds me, I have another project I forgot about. I have to archive the graveyard of all my dead characters so I don't forget about them. That'd be sad.

But that's not the point! The point is... What is the point? Why am I here? I cleaned out my stuff. I'm almost done with the individual folders. Pretty soon I'll know about everything on my account... But, the computer is still full because I'm not the only one that needs to do spring cleaning- Ooh! Clorox music! Good commercials, eh.

Today, the Young Men will have a planning meeting. We're supposed to have ideas. Great... Building a monkey bridge between the basketball hoops in the gym? We could have the walk of faith! And first aid training...

Right, I'll work on that. But first, I need to take a shower!

06/30/09 Wow... That's kind of wierd...

2009-06-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

So, this is painfully overdue, but I'm not quite sure I'll do a huge recap. A little at a time, perhaps? Anyway, I was working on archiving my old blog posts, and I noticed a couple things. First, I could easily have been described as annoying on several occasions, second, I had a knack for forecasting the future, and thirdly, Andrew went into the MTC on the anniversary of my first post on blogger. (By the way, the title of said post was 'The beginning of the end'. Are we worried? Nah, of course not...)

So yeah, I seem to have a phobia that everything I know is going to be destroyed. When I do something on the computer, I almost always want to have half a dozen backups. When I do anything on paper, I almost always want to put a copy on the computer. You know, it's a good thing I'm good at getting rid of junk, because otherwise, this habit of mine could be dangerous.

Anyway, today's fear is that my blog will die and that I need to preserve a record somewhere so I can count it as an informal journal like I have been for the last few years. Archives... Yay!

... I just noticed something else. Remember that time when I kept watching Chronicles of Narnia everyschoolday for an entire year? I think I posted more on my blog back then... Strange.

I've got plenty to talk about, and yet I don't really feel like spending time doing it. That must be irritating. This whole using a blog for a journal thing is kind of falling short of Church standards. Luckily, I have a personal journal that I neglect, too. Plus, letters that I've written to Andrew. Between the three of them, I might just have something. Sorry, unborn generations, you'll get no information from me. I lived, I died. Nothing ever happened.

I dunno. What /do/ I want to do? Sleep? No. Read? Alright, yes- but what? I should really do something productive, or at least write something... This whole /lazy/ thing just can't last. Ooh! Mom bought strawberries! So, I'll just have some strawberries and do something amazing! I'll be back, guys! It's strawberry time!

05/07/09 Our computer needeth cleaning. It lacketh in speed...

2009-05-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

So, anti-climatic as it is, it would seem like ALEKS is acting up again. But, this time it's not its fault. The computer has too much stuff on it, making it slow, making ALEKS unhappy. Not to mention it's starting to get on the old side. But anyway, things are going okay. Not the best, but manageable. Plus, I've very close to finishing the next few generations in a card game I'm working on. And that is good, because it's driving me insane.

I need to get information. A lot of it, actually. I have to look up some stuff for scouts, I have to gather info for another psychology essay, and I have to see if there's any hope of my curse being lifted. Although, by this time, I'm really not excited about the MTC night activity anymore. Now it's just this pressing thing in the back of my head of something that I /might/ have to worry about later. I like Pippin's (no idea if I spelled that right) quote: I don't want to be in a battle, but waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is even worse.

You'd think I'd be used to it... I have to think about stuff. '09 is going by too fast. Almost half over and most of my big plans haven't moved yet. I guess I should go work on that... See ya.

05/01/09 Well, isn't this interesting?

2009-05-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

'The Lord works in mysterious ways' is right. I just spent the last month getting more and more frustrated over this computer's bad habit of crashing while I worked on ALEKS, especially since it's been taking a turn for the worse. As you could imagine, frustration easily turns to anger, which is a bit of a pain. But now, after spending some time wiping the emotional slate of stress and anger, I find myself a little amused. I struggled, fought, and got angry about the problem for a month. And yet, today, not five minutes after I decided not to be angry, I felt the simple prompting to try running the online course on a different browser. And, of course, it turned out to be the one thing that fixed it. Now really, could the prompting have come a little sooner? Sure, probably. But it wouldn't have meant as much. It came only after I decided not to let emotions get in the way of the big picture. One of those patience things, you know?

So, the problem now is that for a month, I was unable to do the work I needed to. Twenty days of ALEKS, now that I only have a couple days left to work on them... It's still a pretty heavy chance that I'll pull it off, and yet, I feel pretty good about it. If nothing else, I'll have plenty of time to work on it next month, seeing as I have no more schoolwork to work on except ALEKS. I just hope things keep looking up.

Well, if nothing else, the fact that I posted twice in one day shows that I'm pretty happy about things. I think I'll take a break from ALEKS for a bit. For some reason, I have a great desire to work in the family room... See ya!

05/01/09 It's not supposed to be May yet...

2009-05-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

Life is going by too quickly. I should shoot it.

I've got stuff to do, the stuff I do get around to is either taken for granted or disregarded altogether, and I feel like sticking my fist through a wall. I won't, because that would be bad. But I want to. I need to meditate. I haven't done it in weeks. And yet, the little voice in the back of my head keeps telling me that the world doesn't deserve to see me happy. It should know that I don't like it. And then, right on cue, there's that happy, little, still-small voice that pops up and reminds me that I should always be happy and that all this is beneficial in the long run. Yeah, it's meaningless to have the ability to reign in your emotions if you don't choose to, but I've almost been enjoying being mad at life. There /are/ a couple valid reasons for me feeling a little irritated. Oh well, fine. I'll meditate, I'll probably even light the strawberry candle. I'll be... -disgusted tone- happy. But this had better mean something!

-comes back ten minutes later-

Dang, I've been putting that off too long. So yeah, things could be better, but I'll be fine. And hey, I'm done with all of my classes except for two, but one of them is having technical difficulties and the other is PE which is the easiest thing ever and you have to do everyday, anyway.

Man, I love strawberries. Well, I'd best get on. Maybe I'll write another letter to Andrew today. Oh yeah... Some things that are hecka old news but I may haven't mentioned. Like, at all. Um, I don't think I talked about getting a learner's permit. (It was all the way back in December, but I really do forget about these things.) I'm fairly certain I talked about Andrew entering the MTC. I should have, at least. The house has been so quiet, how could I forget?

Yeah, generic life changes. Ruth and Tom are moving. It's really sad, but their new house is really cool. (although I did mention that it might be a good thing that Andrew isn't here, because there are /many/ places that he would have liked to climb onto that might not be meant for climbing.)

Yep. Cheerio and all that. I'll go fry my brain with frustration at the computer's crashing tendency, probably have to meditate a couple more times, but for the moment, I feel an odd form of happiness, so we'll try to keep that around. ^^ See ya!

04/23/09 Ten days later...

2009-04-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, since my last post, family got together for Andrew's farewell, Andrew and Mom took a road trip to the MTC, a bird died, and I've learned that boredom likes solitude. Oi.

So yeah, I need to check out another book, because this rationing thing really isn't going to last much longer.

Surprisingly, I don't have much to say. Andrew left Monday morning and entered the MTC on Tuesday. This weekend, family came down for his farewell. It's kind of sad, but we had a good time. We even got to clean some cabinets. ^^ Ah, the smell of cleaner fumes.

I'm tired. This really does happen a lot, so you'd think I'd be used to it, but I'm not. -shrugs-

I think I might be really annoying and leave here... Yeah, I'll do that. Farewell, friends, I depart to the land of logarithms and nonsense. -beats head into wall- Bye.

04/13/09 Happy Birthday, Joe!

2009-04-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

So, we were supposed to have his birthday dinner today, but as of yet, all that has come out of his mouth in the ways of what he wants to eat: strawberries. Doesn't he know? That's my bit. -shakes head- Oh well, it's his birthday, I suppose I /could/ let it slide. Still, I'm not positive it's possible to make it happen by tonight. -shrugs- I dunno.

So, I guess I should talk about Easter. It was good. We didn't really do much. Had family dinner, executed a flawless secret project. Complete with steak-outs, drive-bys, and night-shrouded activities. -nods- Very sneaky.

Good times. Spiritual, too. The choir sang. And it was awesome. Now, I've been hearing morbid talk about the youth in the choir (there are only four of us) doing something special around Christmas. Heart attack much? -nods head forcefully-

Anywho, everyone seems to be changing. People are moving, Andrew's disappearing for two years, Bishop has been released as seminary teacher. The whole world is falling apart. Oi...

I got a book, though. Adept, by Robert Finn. It's been okay so far. Mystery stuff. Some insurance worker who likes investigating things. It works.

-yawns- I gotta go. By some strand of luck, I might get something productive done today. Here's hoping...

See ya!

04/09/09 Facebook

2009-04-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

So, it would certainly seem like it's taking over the world. And you know what I say about that. If something is taking over the world, there's rarely a middle ground. -nods- So, I guess I'll look into that, today. I doubt I'll do much, though, especially with the patches.

Anyway, since it's spring brake, there wasn't any YM activity, although we did get to go to choir practice. (Since we're singing this week and this past week was Conference, we really wanted to get some practicing in.) So, that was fun. I still haven't the faintest idea what I'm doing, but it's gotten better.

La la la... I've got no life. And it's been raining, so I haven't felt like going to the library. Oh well, at least I have my super-duper-awesome card game. And schoolwork. But schoolwork isn't as fun. I'm really starting to like the card game, though. I developed it mostly after Magic the Gathering, although mine is much less complicated. (And you don't have to worry about those crazy powerful cards you didn't know the other guy had.) I've got the first edition one already finished, but I'm working on alternative cards that you can swap out. (Only five more and I'll be able to run a practical test. ^^)

Anywho, I've got nothing else to say. I've got psychology to work on. Then maybe Japanese, although there's a chance I'll be looking at Facebook while I'm doing that, so we'll see how much actually gets done. Yep, should be interesting. Without further adieu, I shall depart.

04/07/09 Life: the most confusing game ever devised

2009-04-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

Well, that went fast. You'd think ten hours of spiritual goodness would seem a bit longer... I dunno, I guess the saying about flying time and fun was accurate after all. -shrugs- They were good. I especially liked Elder Holland's talk on Christ. Very moving. -nods- I don't think we often consider what he went through. And alone, as was mentioned in the talk. To think that anyone could do that... Thought-provoking stuff.

I have a cat on my lap. Some of you may know that I hold no certain love of cats. They always seem to be less open than dogs. And they hold grudges. Dogs don't hold grudges. Cats are /okay/, though. When they're not scratching, fighting, or meowing unceasingly in the middle of the night, that is.

Can't you read, cat? I said when they're /not/ scratching. If you want to be petted, how about you keep your claws to yourself.

So... It's spring break. If I was anyone special I'd probably be doing something, but I'm not. I should find a book to read. My life needs structure again. Maybe I'll go today. It's raining. That's a good time to go, right? The only day that it rains for weeks? I've got bad timing. (Again, I need structure. Maybe if I'd got that book earlier, I would have thought to go to the library sooner...)

Not much to say, today. Conference was good. The food was good. Company's so-so (just kidding).

I'm beginning to learn a little about myself, though. In games like monopoly, I can almost always make something happen, yet I never end up benefiting from it. Whether it's some psycho trade or changing the color to the one I want in Uno, it never seems to do me any good. Maybe I just have bad luck. That'd be a good excuse, right? I mean, I'm decent at chess. There's no luck there. Maybe I've got a jinx or something. The activities I plan always seem to fall through before I get to actually do them. There's probably a spiritual lesson I could learn from this. I'm not getting it. -sighs- I /need/ a book. Or I could write one... But that takes forever. I'm going to go fry my brain. Maybe some Japanese will make this english stuff make more sense.

04/03/09 General Conference!

2009-04-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

We got a different sheet than usual. You see, Bishop hands out outlines for note-taking before each General Conference, with spaces for speakers and such, but this time it seems a little more personal- Here, I'll go get it.

We're supposed to watch out for scripture mastery references, occurrences where the apostles bare their special witness; then we're looking to pick our favorite talk, parts of conference that we liked, and what we gained most from it. Very fancy.

It's windy today...

-drums fingers- I don't have much to say. We had combined class in seminary today. That was good. We had a testimony meeting-ish thing. -nods- Very spiritual.

I need to go to the library. I procrastinate things without my books to keep my life clock on track. You know, I don't even really care what I read. As long as it's good, I'll take it. Maybe I'll check that out Monday. I would today, but we're getting ready for Conference today and I'm not sure if I'd have time. Maybe I'll write something. Not here, though. Probably something that doesn't make sense without the rest of the story.

Yep... I'm leaving now. Hedge, hit the lights.

04/01/09 Postponed... Again?

2009-04-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Yep, the curse continues. This Sunday, I found out that the fireside I was in charge of planning was going to be postponed again. It's strange. You know, it's almost like something is intentionally trying to stop me from planning a good activity. Every time I get excited about something, it's either canceled or postponed so much it loses it's charm. I dunno. I cope.

Luckily it's only pushed back, though. I might be able to stay excited about it. :/

Anyway, Travis came yesterday. It went okay; he didn't go all crazy angry or anything, so I'll call it good. We also did some gardening and cleaning yesterday (apparently it was a hoilday). Yeah, that was fun. Oh, and we went to get a suit hemmed (we went to the DI suit sale). That wasn't /as/ fun. I don't really like suits. Luckily, though, this one is more open in the waist-ish area. A little more comfortable, although I suppose it doesn't look as nice (I can't tell the difference). -shrugs- It's good.

Yep. Life. It's lively. Not really, but I thought it sounded funny. Alright, I think I'll call it quits for now.

3/27/09 The end of the search

2009-03-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I'm happy. ...Why, I don't know, but I'm not one to argue. I'm really getting used to my symbol now. (oh yeah, I've got a symbol) I'm still not sure what it's for or what it means, but it seems to fit me fairly well. -nods-

What to talk about... Bishop dressed up like a coach again. And this time, it seemed like it went pretty well. Now, really, how does one motivate a group of half-asleep, unenthusiastic teenagers?

I dunno. Maybe we should... compete? I got nothing, but it really is annoying. Maybe bringing in the 'Object of the Day' would work. I suppose it's worth a shot. I'll have to talk to him about it.

Well, we've got some good news about the monkeys. After a month and a half troop surge (the accuse for my absence), we have located them and are currently bringing them back to the base of operations. Oh yeah, Hedge is back, too.

#o -squeak-

As for Hubert and the fish, I'm not sure when they'll decide to come back from 'vacation'. Then again, Hubert's never been one to help out much, so we don't miss him that much. Hedge is a relief to get back, though. Technical support has been lacking without him around. -nods-

So, now you know. Apparently, the monkeys were trying to gather numbers. (You probably heard about the monkeys escaping their exhibit by swimming out across the water off in florida) Anyway, we've found the original monkeys and are still working on wiping the memories of some of their recruits. It'll take a while, but things seem to be under control.

Anyway, I'd best be off, now. Ja mata!

03/26/09 Bowling isn't my thing...

2009-03-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

It would appear so. I got the hang of it after a few frames, but it definitely isn't something I'm highly skilled in. Not surprisingly, though, Bro. Born was amazing. Seriously, Whether it's sports or what have you, you can't keep up with that guy. And yet, he's not prideful about it. (You can tell I hold him in high respect.) Anyway, yeah. The leaders wiped us out. They're getting well past a hundred, and we're lucky to get to ninety (I don't think any of us got that high). More experience. That's my excuse. -nods-

Just a side note, here...: In case you haven't guessed, the teachers and priests went bowling last night. Fun stuff.

Not much on the home front to talk about, I watched last night's LOST episode. Spoiler notice...
It'll be the same color as the background, so you shouldn't notice it if you don't want to.

So, I'd say Sayid killing Ben was the highlight of the psychoticness. I mean, seriously, that's gotta be the craziest thing they've done so far to mess with time travel. I don't think the present Ben will disappear, though. I mean, that'd change the course of the entire series up till now... Ugh, my head hurts. Still, next week's episode will be awesome. XD

Okay, that's over. I guess that's everything. -shrugs- Well, either way, I'm going to get back to my schoolwork. -sighs- See ya.

03/25/09 The ink blots will kill us all

2009-03-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

So, in psychology, I was learning about Rorschach Inkblots, and they showed a picture of one that I could have sworn was an angry pig. And I mean /angry/. It even had red eyes. -nods- We're all doomed now.

-sighs- I'm getting the feeling that not everybody takes seminary seriously... Bishop has been acting more quiet, too. Still, I'm not sure what could be done. I mean, he's brought it up quite a few times and that hasn't done much. Hmm, what could make the scriptures more interesting? (by the way, don't ask a teenager this) I dunno, I got nothing.

I should call one of the young men's leaders and see what we're doing tonight. It wasn't very clear when they brought it up Sunday. I should write up MTC emails, too. Ugh. Why do I keep doing this to myself? I have stuff to do. And Andrew is leaving in less than a month. That just seems weird, somehow.

Yep... I gotta go. Not that I'll accomplish anything. I'll just pretend I will.

03/24/09 Okay, I'm not letting it get longer than two months...

2009-03-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

I'd love to say I was busy, but that'll get shot down as soon as I run out of things to talk about, which should happen any minute. I hate being lazy. It's so annoying sometimes. And yet... So relaxing.

So anyway, I doubt I'll bother with the recap. Seeing as Mom always has it up and it's probably weeks old anyway. We went on a camp out this past weekend. That was fun. Know what's not so fun? There were only two priests and a teacher. EVERYONE else was a deacon. Which is fine. Just loud, hazardous, and annoying when not separated. The hike was good. I took some pictures. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who knows if those will ever be uploaded. Again, it's rather nice to be lazy. Annoying to no end, but nice.

Bleh... I need to drink something. I've been having this stupid headache, lately.

Hmm, a little better. -shrugs- Not important. So... Andrew got his mission call. Everyone knows that. Debi moved. ...I've got stupid things I have to take care of. Speaking of which, I should really start on that essay. It's due next week. Oi. I've gotta break this annoying habit of putting things off.

At least the mini MTC night is going well. We've got the instructors informed. I just have to come up with a completely amazing idea for the nametags. It'll be a good activity, I think. We'll get to learn our testimonies in foreign languages, learn about missionary work, all sorts of good stuff. That is, if it goes well...-We won't worry about that.

-slams head into computer- I hate mondays. -looks at the calendar- And tuesdays.
I might be tired. It's kind of hard to tell. Home teacher's coming tonight. And Andrew is getting his patriarchal blessing. I think that's spelled right.

Maybe a short story about a nail...

-crazy flashback/dream effect-

The hand at first seemed so warm– so alive. After the weeks spent collecting dust, alone in the cold, with only lifeless shells of metal for company, anything, I suppose, would have seemed so. And yet, the relief was short-lived. The touch of the hand changed, a sensation of something below. Wood? Curious, what could the hand be doi- The hit fell hard- and sharp. And yet... As soon as it had begun, it was over. The hand was gone. The steel of the hammer's head, too. Only darkness remained. And oddly enough, a strange feeling of comfort. Was this death? Then came the sound of birds. A strange sound, but one that was not of death. It seemed happy.

As the small birdhouse shifted slightly in the breeze, the nail came to a sudden decision. This was not death. This was life.

-looks up- What on earth is that??? -shrugs- Oh well, it fills space, so I'll call it worth it. See ya!

01/29/09 The art of selfexamination

2009-01-29T13:38:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered what you're supposed to feel like in a given situation? I'm beginning to feel like I've spent to much time learning how to manipulate emotions and not enough in learning what emotions I want to feel. For some reason, the regular idea of happiness doesn't really fit me well. I'm more of the... calm type. I'm fine with being happy and all that, but the giddy, ecstasy thing really doesn't appeal. For other people, fine, but it's too hard to concentrate like that. -shrugs-

Anyway, I got nothing to talk about. Perhaps you've noticed. I'm working on making more maps of Palanor. I have a feeling the the topographical one is going to take some time. Still, it should be extremely useful later on. Anyway, that's not interesting enough. -sighs- This is what I get for living a quiet life.

So, Ryan likes psychology? I think I can picture that. -nods- It's a pretty interesting subject, especially when you think about how different people theorize about it.

-a few minutes later- I really can't think of anything...

It occurs to me that I should think these things through more before I post. You know, like maybe having something to talk about? Oh well, I'm going to do some psychology. -waves-

01/23/09 Psychologists and scribes

2009-01-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

Hmm, I suppose to start off, I could talk about the reforming scout troop, which, under the care of Tom and Bro. Edwards, is becoming much more scout-like. Not sure how things'll turn out, but I'll enjoy seeing an actual troop again. -nods- So anyway, this Wednesday we had the initiation meeting. Progress report, election of new leaders, the whole nine yards. Plus a couple of the committee heads were there to talk a bit. So yeah, should be good. The Deacon's quorum president is still the SPL, despite how I may feel about it. Hopefully, they'll grow into it, but in general, I don't see how the youngest batch is going to be able to take charge. Luckily, we broke one tradition. Riley is ASPL, rather than the Deacon's quorum first councilor, so he should be able to help out in that regards. I'm actually seeing how this might be a good set up. Young person learns how to lead, older scout helps out. It has some merit.

I guess I'm not surprised that I ended up being the Scribe. My first position, and probably my favorite. SPL was nice, but it had a heck of a work load. Now I can sit back, resume my note-taking craze, and report back every now and then, otherwise content to let them run things. Or... sit back, work on personal advancement, and then let them run things. Something like that.

Secondly, this semester I start Psychology, the long awaited and much anticipated subject. ^^
So far, I /really/ like it. Good book structure, good material, and a topic which I find extremely fascinating. I'm happy. Whether or not this becomes a possible career path, I think I'll like this subject. Who knows, I might like it even more than literature. XD

Dang, talking about myself gets boring... -glances at title- Plus, I'm out of material.

I suppose I should do some schoolwork. It's kind of getting late. -shrugs- Oh well, I'll see you guys later.

01/20/09 Warmest cold thing...

2009-01-20T12:58:00.000-08:00

Well, the snow activity was amazing! Extremely warm, though. I never wore all my snow gear, and by the end of the sledding/snowball fight on Saturday, Riley's attire of shorts and a t-shirt didn't even seem abnormal.

We had a great time, though. Good food, good snow-fun-ness, and most importantly, good no-sunburn-even-though-the-sun-was-psychotically-bright-ness. By the way, have any of you heard of the Hinckley Masonry? There was a little memorial-thing there. Wondering if there's a connection.

Anywho, I like snow. It's good. Besides that, though, there really isn't a great deal to talk about. Watch out for the killer birds? Yeah...

Dewa mata kono tsugi = See you later.

01/15/09 Hmm, pictures?

2009-01-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

I suppose I should work on that. I've got to get the Christmas ones up. And it'd be cool to get the National Bridges pictures up, too. Maybe after schoolwork... -looks down at literature book- Odd story, but it has a fairly decent ending. The guy doesn't get the girl, the girl and her fiance go broke, and yet everybody's happy. The guy finally let's go, and the other two are happy enough not to worry about it much. -shrugs- I guess this one is exempt from the 'highschool sadist' label.

Anywho, the snow trip is tomorrow. Sounds fun. I still have some thing I need to do, but that shouldn't take long. Food, partly, but I think I need to reorganize my pack. It's kind of messy at the moment. And there is no worse time to be going through a messy pack than when you're tired and cold. Not that I'm usually those things, but it's good to be prepared. -nods-

Should I ramble? Aside from rambling, I'm really not sure what I should talk about. I accidentally hacked off some of the skin on my thumb. Kind of lame, really. When you get some skin cut loose, but it's still partially connected. It never heals as fast if you don't cut the rest off, but it's really annoying to have the wound open completely. -glances at it- Still, I should get a decent scar, though. Not big, but it has a nice shape to it.

-twiddles thumbs-

Yep, I'm almost out of ideas. And the ones I have will take too long if they're to be of /any/ decency. -sighs- I suppose I shall have to leave for now. There's only so much gibberish people will read before it becomes a chore. Dewa mata kono tsugi.

01/12/09 You know, maybe I should get a rhythm back, 'cause this isn't gonna work...

2008-12-17T12:29:00.000-08:00

So... Christmas came and went, New Years came and went, school's back, and I haven't said anything about it...

Christmas was nice. The exchange seemed like it had a good response. Sorry it took so long to post the pictures. (I'm still working on getting the family gathering pictures on photobucket.) Anyway, for the exchange, I drew Sariah as a store-bought, so I got her a snowman nativity that we found while visiting Applehill, and for a homemade gift, I made some jarred cookie mixes for Teresa. Now you know. (Sorry, I didn't take pictures of those.)

As for what I received, Ruth made me a decorated clipboard with tons of places for writing implements and such. Very awesome! And I just love the coloring of it. Very... Artsy? Is that a word? -shrugs- Is now. Now I just have to get over the fear of messing it up so I can actually use it. XD Anyway, here's a picture!

Now, I'm fairly certain this is from David, but it had both David's and Teresa's names on the package, so I could be wrong. So, for the store-bought exchange, I got a very awesome camping pack, which I can't wait to used on our next campout! First off, it's really light compared with the external frame pack I used to use, which is very good. Also, it has a place for a camel pack, detachable waistpack, rain cover, and lots of places to tie on gear.

Speaking of which, I should probably start packing for the overnighter this weekend. We're going on a snow trip!!! I loves ze snow! -nods vigorously-

But, before I do that, here's another picture:

Oh yes, I almost forgot. Mom and the boys all got Digital Cameras! Hence the pictures. Very awesome.

Hmm, that'll have to do for Christmas coverage, for now, at least. New years was alright. I think we played Monopoly.

Ooh! And Last Saturday Mom, Andrew, and I went to Natural Bridges state park! (again, I'm still working on the pictures thing...) Apparently, the monarch butterflies are around this time of year, so we got to see them. Then, we checked out the beach and explored a bit. Over all, it was a pretty nice adventure. We even got lost after being shanghaied into Sanfrancisco. Not for very long, though.

Other than that, I think we're pretty much caught up!

12/14/08 Ah, the merry times.

2008-12-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

I really should be more worried about this stuff. I need to find stuff for in home family, but I really don't feel tense about it. (not a good sign)

Anywho, I should be having an interview with the Bishop today. And then, I should be ordained to the office of Priest and this whole life thing will get that much faster. Fun stuff.

Um, in this brief time before church, it occurs to me that life is going rather well. Busy, I suppose, but not overbearing. I have to go soon, but I thought I'd try to clear up some of the back order of news.

Thanksgiving?
It was very lovely, indeed. We got to visit with family, we played on Debi's Wii (by the way, Boom Blox is awesome), and we had lots 'o food. And it was tasty...
The exchange seemed to be taking effect, too. Packages appearing randomly every now and then, it was pretty interesting. I think I've guessed who a few people have, but there'll still be plenty of surprises.

Oi, I gotta run. -nods- See ya after church! (maybe)

12/12/08 Hmm... Put this off for a while...

2008-11-18T13:12:00.000-08:00

Wow. Life pileups are hard to sort through...

Okay, in the last month since I posted, we've gone on a campout, visited with D&T and the Rosers, had Thanksgiving, spend more time with the Rosers up in Washington, saw the festival of nativities, got some Christmas stress dealt with (poorly), and turned -not-so-sweet sixteen!

And this, my friends, is why blog posts are a daily requirement. If you put it off for just a month, there's not telling how much you'll miss. Of course, daily blogs often have wide stretches of dull-your-brain-with-a-rock rants and babblings, but as far as personal history goes, I'd think this was the lesser of two crimes. Lost information is a good deal more saddening than information infused with useless comments. Or at least, for the writer. XD

So... Where to begin... Um... I'm older. Fixing to drive any day, now... Might be able to look at scoutwork even. -nods- Life is, as a general observation, good. The holidays are looking much less intimidating, although I still want to find gifts for Mom and the guys. I need something computer-ish for Joe, something odd and mission-friendly for Andrew, and something deep and heart-felt for Mom. You see my problem?

As always, I'm running late, so I'll have to leave a 'to be continued' sign in ominous letters when I go. And, seeing as I've been holding off for over a month now, I may yet withdraw my hitherto followed tradition not to post over the weekend.

To Be Continued...
Muhahahaha!!!!

11/10/08 Well, don't I feel smug?

2008-11-10T14:14:00.000-08:00

So I was checking my inbox, and I see a notification that someone had posted a comment on a /really/ old post. Naturally, I run to reexamine this post, and lo and behold, I realized I have the ability to see the future! I know you're jealous. It was in may, last year. In the post, I talked about our ward finally having enough young men to administer the sacrament without volunteers. In that post, I mentioned that this could only mean on thing: Ward division. Sure and truly, not a year goes by before our stake is totally reformed. Coincidence, spiritual intuitiveness, or supernatural powers? I wonder this. XD

So, anyway, today was parent's day in seminary. Hooray, hooray. And I got to walk the dog! It was good.

I made some more salad dressing– Dang, salad is good...
Anyway, yeah, that made my day bigtime. Not to mention I took a few good whiffs of strawberry scented candle. Heaven....

I'm happy. Can you tell? -sighs- Good stuff. Yep, not even the fact that life is going at breakneck speed towards Christmas is dampening my mood. Hopefully I'll get something done, then. -nods- I think I'll go, now. -grins and runs off-

11/06/08 Hmm, leadership is an odd thing.

2008-11-06T10:46:00.000-08:00

I mean, it's good that it's rewarding in other ways, because there's not much that leaders can really do other than lead. They can even mess around. As soon as they do, everyone else either gets upset or thinks it's okay. Still, at least you get the satisfaction of a job well done. Every leadership responsibility, no matter how small, when accomplished brings a certain sense of fulfillment. I like it. Yeah, Bishop had to leave seminary early today. So, the presidency was in charge. Kind of messed it up. You see, a few people start messing around, and soon you have all out anarchy. -nods- Not pleasant.

In other news, the election is over with and boy am I happy those commercials are over. I might post my essay on here, but it'll be a while, I'm afraid. I've got other things that need doing and I haven't quite found the time to copy it onto the computer.

Christmas is too close, and I don't like that. I seriously need to get this work done, but other things keep popping up. -grumbles- So yeah, I gotta go.

11/03/08 Hmm, elections

2008-11-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow will be a changing day in U.S. History. Or not. Either way, it takes care of this week's YM activity. We're working the election! Fun. Stay up late, weight lift, and act serious. Goody. Mom says I should go to be on time tonight. I guess it makes sense.

Anyway, I've got a surprising lack of topic. It's dead. This being the case, I might skip out on you. I know, I do it a lot, but what do you expect from a teenager who forsook social involvement for leadership and personal development? Speaking of which, though, I learned that reading the Book of Mormon and actually taking notes is very time consuming. One of those thinking things.

Other than that, I got nothing. Bye people. I have to go think about Prop 8 and write out a decent essay.

10/31/08 Halloween

2008-10-31T09:23:00.000-07:00

Odd holiday, but kind of fun. I'm still wondering what I should be...

Did you know that while there is a horizontal skeletal structure around your shoulders, muscle and skin make it curve slightly into the neck? It's been bugging me for the longest time, and yet I just found out about it now. Yeah, drawing sketches is complicated. I really like the collar bone though. Adds a nice touch.

Hmm, not much to say... I've got a secret person I'm supposed to help fellowship. Two actually. One of them is inactive. That's in seminary. In teachers quorum I've got a whole group of people to worry about.

...I'm kind of at a loss. I did some work in the bedroom today. That was fun. Sanded down the door so that it wouldn't stick, did a little touch up painting. It was nice. Other than that, there's not much to say. I think I'm a fire elemental who has forced himself to become earth... Completely random, but it should match the rest of this nonsense.

-sighs- I think I'll call it quits before I make a fool of myself. See ya.

10/28/08 I gotta write more...

2008-10-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hmm... that could've gone better.

It turns out that I'm not meant for prolonged speech. A couple minutes, maybe, but after ten minutes or so I lose it. Lessons? Not my cup of tea. I think I'll stick to writing. Good, honest calligraphy. Speaking of which, I really need to take up writing again. I mean, things are busy and all, but I'm beginning to forget things. -shrugs-

So... Not much to say at the moment. Seminary is changing a bit. We're in groups, now. All in all, I sort of like it, although it'll take some getting used to. Sure take a lot more notes this way...

Coming up empty again... Um... The weather is... good. Halloween is coming, too. And I learned that capes made out of caution tape are a bad idea. Makes your neck all itchy and sweaty. Not pleasant. So... yeah. Maybe I'll stick with normal fabric where capes are concerned...

I think that's all. I really don't know. I'm not really excited about talking anymore though, so
I think I'll be off.

10/24/08 Why does time never wait?

2008-10-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

Life is beginning to curve back into it's semi-normal rhythm, and yet I've still got the lesson to work on. It's mostly finished, but I've just now realized that time is slowly running out. I've got some work to do before Thanksgiving, let me tell you. Of course, that's mostly my fault, so what can I say?

Life's been interesting. The wednesday night activity went well. Rather well, actually. The foreseen doom of a demolished room and chaos was not to be. A little crazy for a while maybe, but always in control. Even the getting to know you part seemed okay with everyone. We got some pretty awesome stories, although most of those were from the leaders. I think the stick-pull tied it off well. Some active game to make people happy. After all, sitting in a chair for an hour, however funny or entertaining the activity may be, can leave a poor mark.

I'm tired. Now that I'm not running on adrenaline, it occurs to me that I haven't been sleeping much. Mostly I just think. I really should stop doing that.

Still, at least life is in order. A little. I'm going to see if I can finish up today's work quickly so I can get my thinking done before bed. For one thing, I'm having the most bizarre dreams. Like this one I had the night before the stake mutual: First off, I'm late (a frequent occurrence in my dreams), then I forgot my papers and such, and then after a good deal of random nonsense, we start playing duck, duck, goose...

That's a good identifier for lack of sleep. Bizarre dreams. -nods-

So... I'm going to go, now...

10/21/08 Pressure gauge

2008-10-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

Recording angels, eh? I like... I wonder if they keep track of the times I talk back to the spirit when things are crazy... That wouldn't be great. Well, I predicted it, but it wasn't as bad as I had feared. Last Sunday I looked at the schedules and said I was going to snap. I did. Kinda funny, really. I get through most of my stress, give the awe-inspiring talk, and then explode when my lesson gets postponed... In hindsight, I don't see how any of it could go better. The talk was a success, I have more time to work out my lesson, this week's activity is mostly planned, and November's calendar was completely full. No need for activity ideas... Of course, it may have something to do with the continuous prayer throughout the week and the spiritual experiences during the campout. The Lord is good at this stuff, you know?

Christmas'll still be a pain, though. I'm running out of time. And while I know a little about what I'm doing, there's still plenty to think about.

I've put off listening to the Bourne Identity soundtracks too long. They help me think clearly. Now... what all needs to be done before I faint...

Dinner. Yes, I must go back to dinner... Oyasumi nasai.

10/16/08 Stretched resources

2008-10-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

Trying to be a difficult teenager? Perhaps. I've seen what happens when you're TOO responsible. You get heart attacks. No thank you. I'd much rather keep to my falsified aggression.

... It's been a while... Then again, I've been busy. This week...

I've got to:
Prepare a sacrament meeting talk
Prepare the priesthood lesson
Have November's calender ready for BYC
Plan the stake mutual activity
Get packed for an overnighter
Help clean the church
Get ready for the ES (done)
Get over the annoyance that whenever I plan an activity and have it somewhat detailed, it gets rejected the Sunday before hand... (done)

Chores, Schoolwork, Eternal progression, not to mention all of my bigger projects... Life stinks. Like old Marshmallows. At first they seem nice, but then you realize they're only good for firestarter. -_-

This being the irksome and stressful case, I'm going to go now.

PS: List above being a prime example of why I might not wish to be seen as overly responsible.

10/09/08 Lame virtues...

2008-10-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

I'd much rather be doing something than being 'patient'. -shakes head- Oh well. Anywho. I'm not as tired as I was yesterday, but I really need to get to work... -nods- I've got too much to worry about to think about patience... It's great and all, but it's a little annoying.

So... I feel like talking about eggshells. Now, I hear raw eggs really aren't as bad if you wash them first. Something about the shell... I dunno. I like to crack them, though. Very interesting. Plus, unknown to them, they have become a clearly distinctive color. -nods- A good color, too. Bright.

Check that, maybe I am tired. I've got to work on my christmas gifts, too. I don't think they'll be very good... I need better hobbies. The only thing I could think of for a while was writing, but that's clearly not going to happen. I have a few ideas and a theme for one of them. The other I'll have to look around for. (At least that one is the bought gift.) Maybe a good book... Or a couple books... They'd have to be related somehow... -shrugs- I'll work on that later...

In the meantime, I have to go study Japanese. Bye.

10/08/08 Assistant Chalkboard Manager

2008-10-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

-shrugs- It seems like that's what I am. -shrugs- Academic Vice doesn't seem to do much. Yet.
At least I got to play with the chalkboard today, though. Scorekeeper for tick-tac-know. Took me a while to figure out that it wasn't no. It was know. That makes all the difference.

Anywho, I'm not questioning the whole devoted to the gospel thing, I just want to find a way to make it subconscious. You know, like how you burst out laughing when you hear something funny. ...Bad example. I understand it isn't supposed to be easy, but there are some habits you can form by repeated action. Why not something like this? I know, I know. Just keeping doing it and it will. Maybe, but it seems like an awfully long process. I wanna find the switch in my head that works with stuff like that. There are triggers for thought and emotion. Why not habit?

-yawns- Mr. Stull. (Even that sounds weird....) Is coming next Tuesday. I've got to... Um. Plan for that. I also really need to check out the corn maze and the stake mutual. And get a three month calendar back... And think about Christmas and half a dozen other odd things. -pounds head into wall- I'll be thankful when I join Priests Quorum... I might not have a position of responsibility, then... Then I'll just have everything else in life... Goody. I have to make phone calls about YM/YW tonight. I think it's canceled. My quorum should probably get a memo about that... So they don't... um... show up.

Yeah... I don't feel happy. I mean, I feel a little happy, but I've got some work to do...

10/06/08 A brief moment

2008-10-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

It's becoming known to me that the Lord often works in short spaces of time. Even Conference, which took up an entire weekend, seems somewhat dwarfed now. Perhaps it is merely that it seems short, compared with the vast messages presented, but in daily life, as well. He's always in the little things. The faint, unnoticed sounds of the morning. The subtle touch of the spirit in the midst of a humble testimony. They're so brief, and their touch so light, yet it lasts longer than any other emotion.

What kind of feeling is this, that you can barely notice it's strength, despite the fact that you can often easily find its source, along with the vast impacts? I wish I could feel it more. I wish that I could make it flare constantly. I mean, I've always felt the spirit, yielding in only some occasions which I do not gladly recall, but there's something special about these times. More than the quiet knowledge. More than the need and want for righteousness. A throbbing, immense joy which cannot be denied.

Looking back, I've always wanted it, but still I can only feel it with great devotion and diligence. How can I make this feeling natural, as I know it must be with those greater than me? I want to feel more than the quiet knowledge, as I have before. I feel that knowledge daily, without much present thought. It is burned into my mind. I want to feel the joy, the eagerness for service, the seeking of truth and peace. While the knowledge of truth is natural to me, I want the actions of truth to be even more so.

For years, I've grown in practicing the mastery of emotion, and some even of thought, yet I can only sometimes feel the sweet, undeniable sense of control I feel when I understand and master desires. I felt it in conference. I feel it sometimes in seminary. I feel it in church. I want to be complete in this. I want it to be a natural thing. I want to be able to choose without restraint the things which I desire. Not only emotion or outward opinion. I understand them. I want to control my inward desires. This love of conflict. This desire to outmatch. I want to beat them. I want to know and have control over the very fibers of my being. Learning to control one's body is one thing. Learning to control one's emotions is another. What I want is to learn how to control one's wants. Not to rise above them or act separately from them, but to /change/ them. To feel only what I want to feel and to seek only what I want to seek, to become a better follower of Christ. I fear that this will be one goal that I may never reach quickly.

Aside from this, life is quiet. Not that there aren't many things I am sadly avoiding which I shouldn't. There are things which must be doing and I will eventually have to do them. However, there is little happening which warrants much mention. I am pursuing (pursuing being a very affective term) an education, and I am attempting to do the things which I must while also setting time aside for the things I wish to do, as well. I feel stretched, something which one of the general authorities talked about during Conference. He mentioned prayer and seeking the Lord's help, but I cannot help but feel like He is already helping. It seems somewhat ungrateful to ask for more, when there are many others who need Him more. I suppose I don't understand Him well enough. In any case, I should go. Perhaps I will ask.

Sayonara.

10/02/08 Oompa Loompa: The Sport of Kings

2008-10-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

It... was... Awesome.

Seriously good exercise, though. We were SWEATY. And yet, it wasn't all that tiring. I mean, it burns after a while, but there's no fatigue. Hecka fun.

Anyway, today is Thursday. In seminary we learned about Parables, but also about the latter day (that's us) gathering of the ten tribes. Yup. Tomorrow there'll be a mention about General Conference. Woot! It'll be fun. Also, I'm pretty sure we'll be hometeaching after the Sunday afternoon session. I can only fathom what awe-inspiring message we will be able to relay from these precious words... We'll sound wise.

I gotta make a cloak. The thing is. I don't know how. And frankly, I don't have time for it anyway. -sighs- I'll just read my books and continue on with life.

I've got the Hiragana symbols down now. I just need to finish the Katakana and my new Japanese book will actually make sense. ^^ I'm gunna be bilingual. Hopefully.

To be brief, I shall not go into depth concerning the battle that took place a short while ago. I shall merely be content to say that the shards of glass fell slowly in that time, and the world itself seemed to move with a lethargic rate. I'll never forget that noise. Shattering, cracking, and a pealing shriek of protest as the crippling blow found its mark. It was terrifying. ...And yet, I've never felt so alive... XD

-restful sigh- That shall be all for today. I must tend to my studies.

10/01/08 Happy New Month!

2008-10-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

I dunno. Just felt like mentioning it. In reply to the comments, however, I can only say that sarcasm's delightful affects seem somewhat diminished over hundreds of miles of webspace. Text, as it were, may not be the best outlet for making jokes.

Mom hasn't been all that bad, considering the blatant reasons she might have for being worried. Exaggeration is a wonderful thing, no? Anyway, I do find it someone interesting how she mentioned we're bad on gas millage... Seeing as I've never driven her car before, there's no telling what I might do to it. Who knows, I could be one of those crazy smooth drivers. Probably not, but is there no chance?

Oi... I'm never getting into politics. People taking what you say seriously stinks. I mean, at some -rather obvious- points, I would understand their thinking, but in most everyday things, I, and many other people, can be taken with reasonable disregard for the accuracy of our statements.

This isn't seeming to get the point across very well... Okay, I'll admit, I'm generally accepted as a serious person in some fields, but when it has to do with crazy people not being allowed to drive, odds are you can sort of cast aside the neighboring rantings.

There... Now you know. And I'm gunna leave before anyone has a chance to yell at m-

-goes poof-

09/30/08 I'm tired...

2008-09-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

-Sighs- Wednesday is coming up... I need to get everything ready... General Conference is coming up too... And I've got a Priesthood lesson on the twelfth. Stake mutual is coming... And Christmas... I used to complain that things always seemed to come in spurts... Now it's just constant psychoticness. I never thought I'd miss the spurts so much...

I'll probably start driving soon. I finally got into the Driver's ed course. Fun stuff. At least then I'll be able to get the car open. Mom has been anxious about letting me have keys. Apparently, I'm unfit to go near a car because I'm mentally disturbed. First they cut off the blind people, now the lunatics? I guess the gas prices won't be such a big deal anymore. Who'll still be allowed to drive?

I just read about the American colonists going all crazy rebel child on Britain. Actually, they've been at it for a while, but now they're being the physical resolving fist-swingers. Nathan Hale was pretty awesome, though. Definitely had some good last words. "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country," or something like that. Very stirring.

I gotta make bookmarks... My grim reaper collection seems to be depleting, although I'll probably have to draw someone else after a while. The bleach one was good, but now they're seeming to get old.

Books... Oh how terribly doth thou tempt me. -shakes fist- Soon... Very soon.

I gotta do some jumping jacks, change my alphabet, and learn about stupid variables. Then, I shall read... -sighs-

I have to stay awake. Life never sleeps... I hate that. At least it's fun every now and then, though. Just long. So long... Heh... That's funny. Well, I guess this'll have to do. See ya.

09/25/08 Strange blessings.

2008-09-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

It's strange... When the wards split and got reorganized, it struck me that I somewhat missed the feeling of having to look out for old troop 40. There was a whole troop of boys I had responsibility for and, even though it was burdening at the time, I enjoyed it. Of course, now it's only one quorum, but it also seems more individual now. Before, I watched over a group. Now, I find myself watching over individuals, seeing resources coming into play right when they're needed. I'm seeing the dire needs of action, and it almost feels natural to take that action. I've never really felt that before. Plus, as my focus is centering, I'm catching sight of my own weaknesses, learning the things I have to do to help myself, and later, those around me. It's more than the feeling of progression, or even service... I don't know how to describe it.

Last night was the stake activity. ^^ For the teachers, we had an ever-exciting game of Basketball (Malan style. XD). After that, we had our little service project lunch-making thing. Two minutes under the last go. -nods-

It's an odd feeling, trying to understand and help a rebellious teenager. It makes me a little uneasy about parenthood, although I imagine I'll be a good deal more prepared when I finally get to that point, seeing as I currently am such a teenager myself. I guess I'll leave it to mom to decide how rebellious I am, but I'm definitely a teenager. Anyway, teenagers, unfortunately, seem to have this way of brushing things off, so I have to make sure my first blow is well-placed. I just hate thinking that by waiting too long, their resentful feelings towards all that is good in the world will have time to grow. It'll definitely be tricky. -grumble grumble-

In brighter news! Fall is here (officially), and I have a book at the library! -resists urge to bolt- I must go soon. Rather soon. Like, way...

Great to see all of you again... I uh... gotta go. -runs off-

09/24/08 Why does this keep happening?

2008-09-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Um... let's see, I went on a campout, jumped off cliffs, learned that I'm surprisingly useful in getting other people through a tricky obstacle, and I have a terrible distaste towards falling. Not heights, just weightlessness.

So, how are you guys?

Um... I'm still working on Hiragana and Katakana... I did some laundry... Ooh, and I learned that the chocolate mug recipe is very good when you add a tablespoon of peanut butter. But that's old news...

-sighs- I'm not very interesting. I gotta go, it would seem that a very uneventful life could still keep one busy.

09/17/08 Rhythm is good.

2008-09-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

I might be close to getting a good rhythm now. On a daily perspective, of course. Good thing, too, seeing as I've got a good number of things I could and probably should be doing. I've just got to do some cleaning around the house and work on the last few subjects of the day and I'll be set. ^^

As for the cooking aspect of yesterday's post, The only changes I've tried with the mug cake were with the recipe itself. A little less flour, a little more milk, nothing drastic. I've yet to take up the courage of trying a new variety altogether, although I suppose it's not entirely out of the question.

Um, I think the first thing we tried was a sort of pizza thing, which tasted fine, the only real problem being that there was too much for the thing. Some parts less cooked because of too thick biscuit dough, oozing tomato sauce and cheese... The others went a lot better. Mom made some cheese biscuits, then the next day I tried a quesadilla-type thing. Those were good. I dunno, I'm thinking about trying something else for lunch, but I can't decide on what...

-yawns- I must be off. Lots to do before I can get to my book... ( I went to the library today. )

09/16/08 First Check

2008-09-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Travis came today. Maybe I shouldn't call him that. You know, 'cause he's the education specialist. Using a first name isn't very formal. Then again, it's not really meant to be formal... I dunno.

So, it went okay. Didn't murder myself with the Japanese quiz. Yay!

Not much to say about it.

I learned that you should never sketch leaning back. Makes it lopsided. I tried out a funny little cooking thing that mom got. It's used to make little pocket things. It's good. Needs a little getting used to, but very fun.

Mug cakes are great! You see, there's this recipe where you cook it in the microwave... Tasted pretty good, for ten minutes of prep time that is. XD

Um, I think that's it. Bye? -shrugs- I should get a schedule. -leaves-

09/15/08 Uh... sorry 'bout that.

2008-09-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

Odd. You're gone for a week or two and suddenly there are things to talk about. Um, mutual has come and much more slowly gone, seminary has maintained its upbeat energy packed aura, and I've felt the spirit and its promptings quite clearly. Over all, I'd say that life is going fairly well. Now, I realize that some such promptings were calls for action where I am already losing track of a small number of things. Christmas... Oi. Still, I should be able to manage. Enough about the future, though. Let's wallow in the past!

Mutual. Probably a good place to start, seeing as I've been complaining about it for so long. And, I don't know why, it doesn't seem as bad. It might just be remnants of seminary's spiritual high. As you (might) know, we were going to play BoM Whose Line. Worked okay. Not everything was according to plan, but people seemed to like it. By the way, buzzers are dangerous things.

Next! That same night- -switches to ominous tone- That same night... In the dark of the church, I watched as my brother was swept away. Voices. Voices behind the door... It was unnerving. It was only upon his unexpected return that the duration of his absence was explained... They were preparing him. Preparing him for an awful torture. One that could claim the sanity of any man, let alone one as close to the edge as my brother... The next morn, he vanished again, returning only when the sun had reached the sky. He had not talked under the onslaught, yet it cost him dearly. He was confused. He was numb with pain. In the end, they did the only thing left for them. They removed his teeth!

(For those who may not have guessed the subtle hints, subtle being used lightly, Andrew got his wisdom teeth pulled.)

I must go now. Not only is there much schoolwork to be prepared, but I also must prepare for a battle of souls. Oh yeah, I could so be an over-dramatized spiritual writer. Ja mata, minasan!

09/04/08 Thursday?

2008-09-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

Already???

Wow... This week has been fast. I need to work on the mutual activity... -groans- Who had the bright idea that youth should learn to be leaders and productive... things? -smacks head into wall-

I don't want to write at the moment. I don't want to do anything. I think I'll sit. Sit and wait until I'm... I dunno. Dead. That'll work. Not.

-sighs- Oh well, at least I've got Anna. Bit of a coward, but she's loyal enough. We're probably going to be working on the floor tonight... Not looking forward to it.

I don't want time to move quickly. I want it to drag on forever. I can cope with boredom. Fast pace? NO.

Am I ranting? I feel to tired to be ranting. Check that. Not tired. Stressed. Small difference. I have a snowball... Now I just need to come up with something spiritual to put under it. I need to pack. I need to learn Japanese... I need to meditate.

-a few minutes later-

Much better.
Anyway, I need to go take charge of my life. See ya.

09/03/08 Meandering sweetly through the grass like a tornado...

2008-09-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

This is an example of a very bad analogy. So, uh. It looks like the boys may be migrating soon. -scratches head- I need to work on that. -scratches head again- Why am I so itchy? -whacks leg- I'll probably have to take a shower soon, this is getting annoying.

So... Christmas, Eagle, DTG, Stake activity, mutual, Mormon Ad, packing, phone calls, school work, and everyday chores... I have to go.

09/02/08 And so it begins...

2008-09-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

Seminary is back! I'm beginning to see the differences between teachers. Bro. Malan's class felt a good bit like a normal classroom, yet somewhat more personal while Bishop Farrimond's seems almost like a scripture studies group. I dunno. It seems like there's less of a lesson involved and more discussion and such. Not the best description, perhaps, but interesting.

Anyway, back on the topic which I haven't decided yet. Life is good. Libraries are good too. I just remembered that I wanted to go there. Not to mention the Mormon Ad I need to make for seminary. I wonder, where might I find a picture of Christ walking with some kid... I had an idea about Eternal Progression being a team sport, but I'm not sure where to start my search for the picture... Oh well, I'll figure it out.

-shrugs- I've got a quiet life, I'm telling you. Not much happens, but not much needs to happen. I'm going to start Driver's Ed this semester, though. -grins- I'm going to enjoy this.

I suppose, for lack of a better topic, I shall leave you with this foreboding idea, always causing you to look twice before getting into your car. XD

08/29/08 No more...

2008-08-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

No clue what I'm going to talk about today. I finished the last book of the series I was reading, and, unlike some of the other books, it seemed a little less implying that there would be another one. I think there might be, but I'm not sure. ...I gotta get a hobby. I've been thinking about writing a couple random reports, though on what I'm not sure. I'll at least want to work on some short stories. Improv, of course. -shrugs- I miss Seminary. It's coming back in around a week probably, but I still miss it.

-yawns- I like Anna. She just lays there while I'm doing some schoolwork. Very lovely dog.

Okay... Getting tired of this. Maybe I should just get on with ALEKS and be done with it. Sorry, everybody. I've taken on a certain lull that can only be described as boredom in the fullest. Even a fate of radicals and polynomials and all kinds of other horrors that are much harder to spell is starting to seem interesting... Bye everyone, we shall meet again.

08/28/08 You know what I'm going to say

2008-08-28T15:20:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm sweaty, I need a shower, there's a book and Algebra waiting for me and I've just regained some control over things around here. I don't have much time.

So, without much in depth recollection, I shall see if I can piece together a few things I missed. During this week, I helped a bunny in need, got a guy in a straitjacket onto a unicycle, was recognized in said event, watched with faked enthusiasm a man talking about airplanes, read more of a charming series, and moreover attacked the vast array of junk that has sneaked back into this house. Other than that, I am a young man. You now know all that I'll probably ever tell you here.

-stretches- Well, that was fun. Now that this merry little post is on its way, I shall be, as well. -poof-

08/27/08 -yawns- Only one left?

2008-08-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

I just finished the third book of the Ranger's Apprentice... I'm beginning to think I should be reading less. For one thing, I'm running out of book. -shrugs- I'll find another series.

Anywho, We (Andrew and I) went to the fair with dad on Monday. Surprisingly, it was pretty fun. I mean, around the middle it got a little boring when we ran out of things we wanted to see and we kept missing shows, but after a while we got into the rhythm of them and we got to see some pretty cool stuff. Sea lions, jugglers, and towards the end we got to watch some acrobats. XD The hypnotist, to my standards, wasn't the most enjoyable, but it had its moments.

Hmm, so... What else? School's nice. I gotta get back to it soon, but it's nice. -sighs- Oh, if only I was an interesting person! Yeah... not gunna happen.

So this is the conclusion to our monotony. Farewell, lively folks.

08/26/08 YES!

2008-08-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

Um... This is going to be another short post... I've got three books at the library for me and two to return. Must. Do. Homework... Ugh! So yes, life is good. My history work is all finished, so now I just have to do ALEKS and Japanese. I'll do PE on the way to the library. ^^

Uh... That's all. Sorry guys... If you're looking for something purely awesome to read, you could try the Ranger's Apprentice. That's what I'm doing and I haven't been disappointed. I've finally found a book that's not drowned in romance or pathetic characters. They're mortal! And the heroic scenes are realistic enough to the point where a teenager could beat one of the toughest guys ever and it still makes sense. -nods- Very happy. So uh... -runs off to get the hour of brain melting over with-

08/22/08 Good book

2008-08-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

Hi, peoples. Time to actually post...

So, I suppose I should start with the Encampment– Wow, that was a long time ago...

It was good. The Teachers and Deacons went up a day later than the Priests, so that was interesting. -nods- Really fun, though. Lots of stuff to do. Plus, I got to collect the sixteen trading cards of the modern day prophets. XD Good stuff. Although I have to say: the people who started with Joseph Fielding Smith mostly turned out as a bunch of crooks. -shakes head- Selling a prophet, piece of paper or otherwise. Not good. Still, other than that, I was pleased with how the people there were. There were just thousands of them. (No exaggeration)

Next off... Fort Bragg trip? Not much happened over the weekend. We got to visit with D & T, so that was pretty awesome, but as far as going out and doing something, I can't recall anything. Mostly just talking and playing Crack the Case. So, the trip. It was pretty amazing. I'd just like to say right off the bat, though, that just because it was a sibling trip, it's not meaning that we actively wanted for mom to be left out. It was just that through everything that's been going on, with the divorce and all the other odd happenings that have come up, this was a time where we could get together and sort of renew the knowledge that no matter what happens with the divorce, we'll still be siblings and that will never change. Something like this will probably not happen again for years. I mean, we might still get together for a night during a visit, but over all, the majority will be spent together with everyone. It's not that we didn't want parents, there. It's just that that isn't our only relationship. We're a family, with relatives who care about us, but we're also brothers and sisters. And even though we have our own opinions about mom and dad, we wanted to have a chance to look at our relationship without worrying about how the divorce changes things and know that it won't change us. So, I'm sorry that it was hard for mom, but I want her to know why it happened like this, or as far as I can tell through my opinion.

Now that that's... settled? I suppose I should talk about how things went. It was pretty cool, both the experience and Fort Bragg itself. We got to check out the town, and some of Mendocino, too. But of course, who goes camping for window shopping? (Please don't answer that. I seriously do not understand it...) We got to go to several of the beaches, check out the tide pools, and there were loads of good climbing trees. Now, what we did was very fun, but I'm not sure if I've been on many campouts were we ate as good as we did there. Good stuff all around. And yes, Sariah, I gained back seven of the ten pounds I lost while I was sick, five of which I'm sure were from the campout... (But we all know it's mostly muscle. -nods-)

I don't know how to condense it. The stuff we did and the food we ate were great and all, but it just felt really nice to have everyone there so we could talk openly about anything we felt like. Whether it was the divorce or odd things like the Mole. It didn't matter. So yeah, this might happen again in the future, but as far as I can guess, next up will be everybody. (Well, except maybe Andrew, but he'll be doing more important things.)

That basically catches things up. Sorry if this a a little... short? I dunno, I figure there's not much chance in capturing the whole thing in detail, so this is as good as I'm going. It occurs to me, though, that I completely forgot to mention the speakers at the Encampment and that I got to say hi to John Bytheway while he was arriving at the ranch. (How could I miss that? :/) So, now you know, it was nice. The speakers were nice... Hurrah for Israel! Yeah... that was fun...

Tada! Le end, good luck with... Life. Bye!

08/21/08 Cut short

2008-08-21T16:24:00.000-07:00

Heh heh...

I'm not starting reviews today... I have a book... and it's wonderful... and I must start reading it... The end.

Um... yeah. Bye!

08/20/08 Landing on one's feet

2008-08-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

I've always admired those who go through a break in routine and yet still manage to function well on reunification. With the close of Summer and the return from several camping trips, I'm relearning the struggles that come from lost time. Two weeks gone from most announcements and right off the bat I head into a meeting to talk about the next month of activities. Does it end there? Not really. The next day is back to school, with all the uncertainties of the first day. What I'm doing, what needs doing before I take a certain class, the basics. Perhaps not so troublesome, but it always seems more annoying at the moment. Hindsight... Wonderful thing.

In other news, the Mole season finale came out last week. Pretty good, I suppose, although I say the mole was the wrong person. It was Craig, and yes, he was good, but it should've been Mark. Craig was too obvious. There are the obvious moles and the completely impossible moles. He was the latter. He's so clearly not the mole that you know he's faking something. Not to mention the tiny detail that Mark kept out more twice as much money out of the pot as Craig, as far as I can tell. Mark was the perfect mole. He sabotaged in the dark, making others perform poorly while performing amazingly himself. He was the die hard kind of guy who worked hard at everything. Yet even with this, he still did massive damage himself. I mean, seriously, Craig hardly did anything to mess with other people. His sabotages were small and personal, keeping a finite amount of money from the pot while Mark was doing his job for him. -shakes head- Disappointing.

So, anyway, life is mostly good. I've got a service project coming up that sounds pretty... unpleasant. 'Course, everyone knows those get you the most points with the awesome-est guy ever. -nods- Silver lining. It's there. -twiddles thumbs- Kay... Now I'm out. I could talk about the hitherto mentioned campouts, but something tells me I'll wait until later. To much to do before six. -nods-

This being said, I shall leave you all in a state of suspense, waiting on the edges of your seats to see what the reviews will be. To add to the suspense... A dramatic exit! -bursts into flame and jumps out a window-

08/06/08 Encampment

2008-08-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

I'm going to jump off into the woods again. No clue how, or even where, really, but Imma do it. Twice.

-stares at bulging backpack- Maybe I'm bringing too much... -packs in a measuring tape, yawns-

In answer to a comment on the last post, Hubert still hasn't come back from his 'two week' vacation. Fish is with him. The monkeys are somewhere on the east coast of North America. Hedge has been called back to take a rest for a few days before returning to the search. That's all I know, okay? Apparently not everyone is so fond of living in an asylum.

I don't want to do things. I don't want to eat, either, but I really should. I've been losing /way/ too much weight in this short of a time. Ten pounds in less than a week? A little much.

Well, that's my story. I'm tired. And I have to pack. Toodles.

08/04/08 Amazing...

2008-08-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

-stares in awe at Hopelessness- It's so... cool. You can't see it... but at the same time, you can... Weird...

'Brighten' your day??? I make a humongous fuss about not really wanting to do it, and this makes you feel /good/? -lightbulb- I have... and idea. IF she was glad because she knew that much more how much I sacrificed to please her, maybe I can relate this to daily life... Teenagers aren't annoying... They're making their parents happy... That is, when they do what they're supposed to. Most just sit around and complain about stuff online. (XD) We don't know any of those people.
So if there was a bigger fuss before hand, even the smaller things will mean something... Thanks mom! I know just what to do now!

The Mole...
#o~º

Sorry, Hedge, I don't think a magnifying glass is going to help with this one. 'Still say it's Mark, though. Nicole and Craig should have the whole speed vs. detail battle. Nicole has said a couple times that she's mostly just doing it as quickly as possible. Craig, on the other hand, might go more accuracy. 'Course, I /suppose/ IF Craig was the mole... Mark would be another good choice for the speedy/accurate comparison. Everyone knows he spends enough time with his journal.

So yeah, TB and I helped the Malans move this morning. -head drops- I'll miss them. Bro. Malan was an awesome speaker, and, understandably, a great teacher. ...Big head idols. -nods- They had smiley faces, but they usually didn't last long. Apparently, big head idols were pretty common in the Old Testament. 'Kept getting smashed, though. Phonies aren't appreciated.

Delightful. So that's most of my day. For the weekend... I was sick. The lame kind where you can't get up much because your head says "no". I think I may have gotten it when I was working in the downstairs fireplace. ...Or in the sea room. -shrugs- It's gone now. And I lost five pounds! I don't weigh one fifty anymore... -sighs- Oh well, I'll have it back sooner than I'd like anyhow.

Tada! That is the end to this remarkable post of insanity. Seriously. So yeah, have fun and do /not/ jump off a cliff. Bad idea. Bye!

08/01/08 -_- Oh well.

2008-08-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

You had to tag the lazy one, didn't you? -sighs and mumbles something about chainletters-

Before I get to that truly sparkling topic, however, I would like to say a few words...

I've been looking back through old episodes and I'm almost positive it's Mark. Reason this time? Targets. After watching the eliminated players, I've noticed that the people going for Nicole and Craig were being knocked off. Craig might still be here because he's the mole, but I think it's because he's been watching Mark. Craig wanted an exemption on that episode and he explained why he sabotaged the group. Mole-ish? Perhaps, but more mole-ish is the fact that Mark lit the sparks of uncertainty when the mission began.

Now, for the 'fun'. part.

I was tagged by Mom (you probably know her...)

Finish These Five

Rules:
Each player answers the questions themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answers.

The Five-

Ten years ago… I was shorter than four feet and stank at chess.

Five things on today's "to do" list…

1) Clean downstairs fireplace. -check-

2) Clean up family room. -check-

3) Sand. -check-

4) Prepare for camp(s) -heh heh...-

5) Household chores. -mostly check-
Oh yeah, I'm good...

Five Snacks I enjoy… .

1) Uh... I don't really eat... snacks. Desserts or appetizers, perhaps. For the heck of it, though, let's say popcorn.

2) Ice cream is good.

3) Apples are good, too.

4) Running out of options...

5) Water???

Five Things I would do if I was a millionaire…

1) Further experiments regarding mental psychology

2) Turn it over to... someone who knew what they were doing. Like, maybe a legal adult???

3) Savings?

4) Seriously, I'm not this complicated. I don't need five spaces.

5) What mom said.

Five Places I have lived…

-blinks- Now, this is mean.
1) Sacramento, CA

2)...

3)...

4)...

5) I'm adventurous.

I'm tagging...

1) Towel Boy xP

2) Sharp Shutter

3) Uh... who hasn't been tagged yet?

4) Whatever, that's good enough. I'll be rebellious and say that you guys are lucky enough to get this much.

5) Why are you still asking me that??? Fine... Has Debi been tagged yet? No fancy links. Odds are you know where to go anyway. If not... Sorry for the immense disappointment you no doubt are feeling, even as I continue to crush your dreams of reading a hilarious response to this dreadful thing.

I thought that'd never be over. Next time you say five questions, how about they /stay/ five questions. Having multiple answers required never helped anyone.

07/28/08 Eesh fancy. -nods solemnly-

2008-07-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

No idea what I'm talking about. Went to the dentist today, though. That was interesting. Got a toothbrush. No cavities. -leaps for joy- Also, The Mole's coming tonight. So far, I've seen everything, and so far, I haven't changed my mind. Mark just seems like a good mole. I liked last week though. They got to see their families. (Ha! Take that reality shows! This one actually let's 'em see each other from time to time. xP)

-walks off- A package! A Japanese package! -nods- School. Horray.

So, apart from my apparent lack of any social life, I've been out of the house a lot more than I thought this summer. And guess what. I'm doing it again! Good stuff with the Encampment and sibling-thing. I will need showers. I've gotten... /civilized/. Why do I sense the dirt piling up in my hair??? I didn't always... I used to be a wild child... Dirty hair was good. Now... Not so much. Why?

I found a Panda. His name is Van. I haven't seen him in a while, but he's cool. That's just about it. Life story is over. The end. Thanks for coming.

One more thing. Rock on funny little hoping thing! Enjoy your last moments of life! Bye people!

07/25/08 Structure? -shakes head-

2008-07-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

You know, I think I'll be glad when school is back. Not necessarily the busyness, but during school, I've got a specific plan for when I blog and all those things. Now it's a little more... Random? I dunno. Maybe should start looking at next semester's books... Or scouts. Something.

TV shows? Well, the two noted before are very nice. I also like... Well, I kind of like a few of the situation comedies. Everybody loves Raymond, Reba, stuff like that. A few gameshows are interesting. There are a lot I watch, but the ones I like are the ones with actual ongoing plots. Heroes is okay. A little freaky sometimes, but interesting. Lost is very good. -nods- Other than that, It's all so-so.

The list of things I don't like is much longer. Practically every drama that has to do with social/romance things, most supernatural-like things, cartoons with poor art styles and worse writers. You get the idea.

About the mole, though... I really think it's Mark. He's one of the most productive players, and yet people around him seem a little less successful in missions. He can mess with peoples' heads. He got them angry about a stupid race, he made people all rushed during another mission, and through that, sloppy. He's got a high- tension attitude that really helps him, but ruins everyone else. He's the kind of guy who works harder than anyone, but still knows how to work against them at the same time. -shrugs-

A cat is staring at me. I don't feel like petting a cat, nor do I feel like having one on my lap or dealing with its overexcited claws. -nudges cat away-

It's back. Okay, um... I have to go...

07/18/08 I really don't like colds.

2008-07-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

I mean, the kinds where you feel fine, but nevertheless have this constant need to blow your nose. -fist shake- Annoyance. Anywho, life is good though, and I learned that there are two more shows I like. (not all TV is stupid?) Avatar and The Mole. Both very good. And while Avatar is a kid show, it is extremely well put together. Plus, there is absolutely no blood or such disgusting things, so it's actually pretty decent. Uplifting... Sorta. It's got its morals and life lessons, and it's certainly not degrading. Also, unlike almost every other show I've seen, this one has successfully pulled off team fight scenes. No limiting to one on one, we've had one group fighting another, heck, even three different people trying to pull off a free for all. Very good. I'll admit, it does have it's unrealistic side and a few cheesy moments, but it's all in good balance. And to top it all off, it's got a stellar plot and character backgrounds. -nods- The Mole, in comparison, is completely different. Reality show where everyone is trying to find out which one of them is a plant while having a bunch of odd challenges. Pretty fun. It's odd though. There are beginning to be more shows I like, but tidal waves more shows I don't like... The only explanation is that there are more shows... Even media is having inflation! What happens when people run out of ideas for all these shows? -points to saturday morning cartoons- That's right. They go to the dogs. Which is why I'm glad Avatar has a set ending in the future. (however unfortunate its absence shall be)

So yeah, other than that, life is mostly sanding... (You'd think there'd be some signs of progress after repeated hours of labor...) I've got to work on some Teacher's Quorum planning... -waves and goes poof-

07/09/08 Hibernation

2008-07-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

It's too hot... Must not go back to sleep...

Sorry for the wait, I seem to keep forgetting about this... Hedge is find, he's helping track down the monkeys, while Hubert and the gang are taking an ill-timed vacation, not that he'd be much help here. This is something Hedgy is better at. -nods-

So anyway, life goes on. Mom and the guys did some cleaning in the valley a while back. -cheers- I'm telling you, I have no idea what that stuff was... It's all good, though.

Also, I've been called as the Teachers Quorum President, and after a little more work, I think we'll have things all set. We've sort of got a three month calendar now. It's a little lacking in detail, but it's good for now.

-smacks head into wall- Hundred and six??? Who the heck wants that??? -thinks about question- Given the general belief of what heck is like, perhaps they would like it... -shrugs- I don't think so, though. It's all figurative language, unlike this sorrow kindling thermometer... Evil, I tell you. Evil!

Fan, you're my friend. And water. I should take a shower. A cold shower. No heat... Oh, what a pleasant thought.

So yeah, that's the basics of what life's going to be like for a while. On the bright side, though, I finally rearranged the magazines! (it's been bugging me)

So uh... Ja mata!

06/18/08 Monkeys (continued)

2008-06-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember the post a few weeks back, which included a certain poster.

This has been kept low for safety reasons, but I feel that it can no longer be hidden. The Monkeys, and a few other experiments, went missing a few months back. While searches were commenced, no trace of them was found. Also, genetic research and testing supplies disappeared shortly after this occurrence. We believe the monkeys are looking to expand their numbers, a theory which was confirmed a short while ago in April. Fifteen monkeys escaped from a Safari Wild Preserve in Florida. While monkeys generally have a fear of water, these were able to escape by swimming across an unfenced pond. We believe the Monkeys are in search of others to enhance in able to create a much larger force. While one monkey was found a short distance from the site, interrogations have proved useless, and the others are still at large. If you see one, you are encouraged to keep your distance, as we are still unable to know how much these creatures are capable of.

06/10/08 Carpet, condiments, and... cookies.

2008-06-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

The following is a brief and somewhat random report of the weekend.

Andrew had his birthday dinner Sunday, which was amazing because I got to make crystal light with the Hinds' cool pitcher, although there were other reasons. ^^ We also had tots, hamburgers, corn, and uh... Ooh! Pretzel Jello-ish-stuff. (I don't remember what it's called.) Don't we all love Andrew? Good choice in food...

Saturday was pretty cool, too. First, we went to the Elder's quorum lunch/hike, got lost, and climbed trees. -nods in pleasant remembrance- Then, we watched a disappointing horse race, followed by a likewise sad movie. Emma Smith really had an unsettling life. Not too fun.

The Volcano that lies on the far side of the Valley that divides the Great Cliffs... Is /lame/.

Clear floor! No more funny carpet stuff in the big bedroom! All painted, carpet removed. All we've got to do now is move a bunch of stuff out of there...

Yep, those are the basics, as of late. Progress! Good stuff, that. I also made cookie dough, only to realize with heart-stopping surprise that, to my disappointment, the chocolate chips were all gone. -sighs- Chocolateless cookies? Impossible, so it remains as dough in the freezer.

Good times, good times. Now that that's all over with, I think I'll start working on the volcano again... Oi...

06/06/08 -sobs- I made a crane.

2008-06-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

It's a little paper crane, made out of a pink post-it note. Seminary's over. My current teacher is moving to Oregon. (Rosers might see him. I think he'll be right across the river, if my geological memory serves correctly.)

Kinda sad to think about, but at least now I'll be able to tear through the house like I've always wanted to. The western volcano and its valley might be a little difficult to take down, but I'll see what I can do. - Too much computer stuff and things that belong to someone who doesn't live here... This is where we need someone like my twice elder brother. WHAT THE HECK IS THAT STUFF???

I'm not so great at cleaning when I don't know where anything is supposed to go. -sighs-

Yep, that's life. On the bright side, the big bedroom is almost ready to move. ...Oh joy and happiness... Moving the beds.... -shakes head- You know, this place might not be too bad off, after all, once everything's rearranged. I guess that's all for today. I'll see you when I see you. -waves-

06/05/08 An Ode To My Departed Seminary

2008-06-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I might not do that, but you never know...

This house is messy. Less messy than a few years ago, but it could still use some improvement. -glances at mountain- Not much more I can do on this front. I must pick a new target... I could just head west and see how it goes... On through the family room and into the dinning room... It'll be a challenge, but nothing drastic. A certain someone's storage garage might pose a problem, though. -pause- Nah, I'll just attack it too. It's not like it'll be going anywhere any time soon.

As you know, that-which-must-not-be-named is coming, which means that school is over. And so is seminary. It's sad, really. I just realized this morning that I can't keep a straight face in seminary. I've got this uncharacteristic smile that doesn't go away. It goes away once we start driving home, but up until we leave, it won't leave. There's something about seminary that's different from other classes, even Sunday classes. It might be that it's in the morning, it might be the teachers, but there's something I feel there that I /know/ is the spirit. When I look around, even thought some people are messing around, I see a world that's not so done for. People who will make the world a better place, despite the constant oppression that's bringing it down. And now that it's over, I'm going to miss it. I'm going to miss that feeling I get as soon as we say opening prayer. Tomorrow is the last day of our seminary class, but I hope seminary doesn't go away.

-looks up- Man, I am so deep. -nods-
So I'm thinking I should go. Bye, everybody!

06/04/08 Elections?

2008-06-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

First, I'd like to reply to a comment left on the last post. If everybody decided that Matthew already wrote about everything, the book would probably be a lot shorter. The real question is whether or not that was a bad thing. XD

Okay, so last night was election night. Yay! Once again, the scouts went to raise money for scout camp. I got to try a new fashion trend, though: Trenchcoat and reflector vest. Oh yeah, you know you're jealous. XD So I think it went pretty well. I mean, we had a slight problem with people messing around, but that got a little better when they got to show off their dislocating appendages. That and when there was actually work to do instead of sitting around waiting for a car to show up. It was weird, though. Someone there could completely bend back his thumb... Fifteen seconds of fame never seemed so freaky...

Other than that, life's been reasonably quiet. School's over, so I'll be doing scouts, cleaning/sorting, and stuff like that for a while. I'm really beginning to wonder why we're keeping some stuff we have. Like this funny looking thing that I think goes to some computer thing we don't have anymore. Why do we have that??? Then there's the whole sentimental thing. (I'm not one to keep things... Except the temple celebration stuff. They're in a locked briefcase... XD)

Hooray! It's June and I'm not a roasted peanut! I may actually survive thi- (Inner self:) DON'T SAY THAT! You might give you-know-what ideas! Back, Summer! Back!

That was random. Anyway, time to go. Bye!

05/29/08 Sun-Wed

2008-05-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

Okay! To continue our story, Sunday morning we woke up in the parking lot of Wal-Mart, which we had heard opens at six in the morning. It didn't, so instead, we got to stare at it for two hours and watch a bunch of people drive up, head to the door, and speed off. Kinda funny, but it got old. So we finally go in, go to the bathroom, do a few other things, and head to church. (Their program folded into thirds. @.@)

After church, we drove a bit and stopped at this little park-ish thing for lunch. It had a bridge! -ahem- So then we got back on the road to go to Yosemite. It was nice weather, for the most part, but it got worse as we got closer to the valley. To make this short. It was crowded, it was rainy, it was supposed to be the same Monday. Yeah, we went home. Yay! Happy vacation!

When we got back, we were just in time for a priesthood meeting talking about home teaching. Despite being a little tired, I thought it was pretty good. (they had ice cream at the end...)

Not much happened on Monday. We went to a memorial service at some place I can't remember how to spell, then we came home and -coughs- went to a friend's house.

Tuesday we painted! Our room looks like an ocean! Sort of. Anyway, there's just a little more touch up work and we'll finally get to start moving on with the rest of the house!

Last night was the line dancing activity, which I thought was pretty good. I can definitely see why people call it exercising... Very tiring. A few people weren't very excited about it, but they seemed to be the minority, so nobody cares about that.

Anywho, that's pretty much it. Once again, I wonder why I bother with this, seeing as mom already covers most of this on her blog, but I guess it's good for something. -shrugs- Ja mata.

05/28/08 'Weekend Adventure'

2008-05-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'd say it fits. I'm not terribly sure how much I'll have time to talk about, since YM/YW is in a little less than an hour, but I'll try.

The weekend started well. We left around... Nine-thirty-ish? We got there, it was a little crowded, we looked around, saw Yosemite Falls, then left to go to our night destination: Wal-Mart! Yep, we slept in the car, but first, we drank strait out of a milk carton in Taco Bell, had family prayer over the phone, and watched Prince Caspian at ten-o-clock at night. XD Good times.

I'm getting a little anxious about time, so I'll leave the rest for tomorrow. Needless to say, we had a pretty good time.

PS: We're teaching line dancing to the rest of the youth in the stake. -nods-

PSS: The room is blue...

05/22/08 ...Cheesepuff?

2008-05-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I can't think of anything... -sighs- Maybe if I were to do something random... -does summersault-

Uh... I still got nothing.

I finished my Japanese book today. I learned about illness. It was pretty good, although some words were hard to organize. -shrugs- Now it's just vocabulary work, so that'll be interesting. Summer... Bah. Too hot here. At least now we have some decent winds to keep us below the hundreds...

Oddly enough, I don't feel like writing, but since I just remembered something, I'll talk about that and wrap this up. Last night, as always, was YM/YW, and we learned about line dancing. (NEVER learn the 'Tush push'. It was odd...) Next week we'll be helping teach it, so I suppose I'd better practice the darn thing, but it really is weird.

That's about it. Sorry, I'm lazy. -shrugs- Bye!

5/19/08 That stank...

2008-05-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

I realized why I never play chess against computers. Apparently this one was one of those special ones that only have one setting. I beat it, though. It just took five games. It uses a combination of knights and the queen for offense, utilizing bishops and pawns for backup and using the rooks as defense. I figured out that the only way to win was to get a knight to the point where it had to sacrifice its queen to move the king out of the range of the knight. Still hard, but easier than trying to rush in and kill everything.

So anyway, I'm doing okay. We might be going on a improv roadtrip to Yosemite, so that's... nice. Right when /everyone/ is going to be there, but that's understandable. I'm just happy it's going to have a high of seventies. -relief- Triple digits should go to the /really/ hot place, be humbled, repent, and come back as pleasant forty degree weather. -nods- That would be dear and charming.

I'm going to try something new, today.

This is one of my roleplaying characters, Couramo, son of Matthias. He's erm... dead, but I figured it be nice to say hi, anyway. He /was/ a journeyman blacksmith, but then his village was attacked and he was one of the people sent to go get help. It worked, but he tried to go after a dark wizard alone and got himself killed. Then everyone got together and killed the wizard. So nobody's really happy, but it's good for the plot. Couramo had responsibility issues. He took on too much and thought that he needed to do everything. He mainly started feeling this way because he was performing an errand in another city and knew that there was an army coming, but couldn't get back in time to warn anyone. After that, he had a guilty conscience because one of his closest friends died in the raid. So, from then on, he always wanted to do things himself so other people wouldn't get hurt. Ironic, seeing as that only made things worse, but he was getting a little insane by the time he went after the evil guy.

So anyway, my roleplaying partner was a little surprised. You see, people don't usually kill off their primary character in a story, especially with such a disappointing ending. -shrugs- Even when they killed the dark wizard and ended the war, the place still had problems, but that's a bit more complicated. I suppose I should've picked a better character to talk about... Matthias was pretty good, maybe I'll talk about him next.

So, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. Sort of. Bye!

05/16/08 B+! Of course I'm disappointed!

2008-05-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

Literature is my /zone/! Well, not really. I'm more into analytical and strategy, but that's not covered in high school. I should've planned it out more. The paragraphs and such were decent, and in a sense, they flowed, but there was no /root/. -sighs- I need to find a chess board...

Not going well... -sighs-

I might be a pain and leave it at this. I /really/ want to find a chess game. I'll be right back. -switches on elevator music-

Yeah, I think I'm done. Iz short, but oh well. I must go eat something.

PS: The frog is something you don't want to know about. He's stupid.

05/15/08 Wow... that is gross...

2008-05-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

My week has been decent, yet /very/ disappointing. First off, I got sick around Monday night and went to bed at a crisp eight-thirty. The next day, I got up in the middle of the night, went to go puke, and fell asleep in the bathroom (there's a chance I passed out, but I didn't feel any bruising or stuff like that, so I'm not sure). Half an hour later, I got back in bed and didn't wake up until eight-thirty in the morning. (Interesting, no?) After that, things got better. The cold-ish-thing is going away, I was able to go to seminary, and when I got home, I had the pleasure of studying the reproductive track for three freaking hours... -bangs head against wall- Why? Why...
I never want to see an illustration of anything, EVER AGAIN.

Last night, we went to YM, and you guessed it, there was nothing. Nothing planned, no leaders. Brother H. probably didn't like it either because he spent most of the time trying to figure out where everyone scattered off to.

On the bright side, I got the Highschool Exit Exam report. Surprise, surprise. Easy. Very easy. I could've done better on the essay, though. I seem to have a problem with planning things out before I write them. (partly why none of my stories have happy endings) I mean, I start off, working on improv, then due to my obsession with plausibility, things go downhill. (One vs. One hundred= Duh! 100. The two 0s make sure of that! -_-) As it was, I ended up getting 3.5 out of a possible 4 on it. -sighs-

Hooray. Now I can... uh... I dunno. Sleep? Nah... I've got Nihongo... Oi...

Oh well... Ja mata, minasan.