Mission Papers Update

My mission papers are ALMOST in!!!

I started them back on the 19th of July and finished most of the paperwork that evening. The dental stuff was taken care of that week and the physical was completed the following week! I just had my missionary worthiness/Melchizedek priesthood interview with my bishop tonight and I should be getting a call from the Stake President for an interview with him within this week. After that interview, my papers will be turned in! :)

I should get my call within two weeks from that interview. I'm so excited! ("And I just can't hide it")

So, yep. That's my current status with my mission papers.

I can't wait!



Catching Up.

When I first started this blog, I promised myself I would be fairly regular in updating it. My plan was to update it every few days. As you can see, that hasn't happened. And there are plenty of things I could have blogged about, you know? There was my brother's wedding, the weekend in Provo with my Grandma who only has a few weeks left, mission papers, the flaming bag adventure, family members joining the Army, my new-found vending machine powers and so on. I plan to blog about these events, but then the time just slips away and I forget about them until a few weeks later. Then I can't remember most of what happened anyway so I just forget about it. But I should try to be more regular in updating.

Here's what I'll do. I'll try to make a new post about past events every few days, that way I don't have one or two really long blogs, but several short-medium length blogs (Of course, most of my blogs turn out to be extra long).


Scott's Wedding!

Yes, Scott (my oldest brother) is now married! I won't bore you with long descriptions of the day, but I'll just say that it was a wonderful ceremony and reception. Scott and Karli were so nervous (of course), but they were both excited and happy for the wedding. I'm so proud of Scott for marrying as great a girl as Karli. She has made him so happy! I wish them a long and happy marriage!


They were married on July 11th, hence the Slurpees in the picture.



Yup. That's my brother. :)



Tower of Groomsmen

I Believe In A Thing Called Love...

I'm in love...

Let's just say that going to Thursday night Institute has a lot more meaning now. :)

And I'll just leave you with that.

Oh Institute... How I love thee.

Institute is really, really great! I seriously love every minute of the classes I am taking. I learn so much and it feels so good when I'm there.

But funny things do happen on occasion there.

This just happened in my class tonight and it just made me chuckle a little bit to myself.

(When looking at an elevation map of Upper Galilee)
Teacher: The Sea of Galilee is 690 feet below sea level.
Student: (raises hand) You know, that's almost 700 feet below sea level!!
Teacher: ... ... Uh, yes. Yes it is. Uhm. Good insight!

Apparently, 700 feet is much more significant than 690 feet!

Only in Institute... :)

Following myself?

I just realized something...

Somehow I am following my own blog. I think I did it on accident, but now I don't know how to 'un-follow' a blog... Because it's entirely redundant to follow your own blog. You know?

Kiddie dance and Pageants...

Kiddie dance and Pageants...

What a way to spend two weeks.
The first week was Clytie Adams kiddie dance and it was actually pretty easy. A lot of long boring hours, but it had some redeeming moments... (I ain't saying shes a gold digga -- you positively can't go wrong with a-WHITE GIRL!) Gotta be one the best cuts of dance music ever.

One of the other redeeming moments was at the expense of myself.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
WHAT DID THE CABBAGE SAY?!? -- Oh wait...

For those of you who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, here is the back story. During dinner break one night, we (the crew) were sitting around a table eating Pitas (mine had lettuce... leafy Romaine lettuce...) when we got to talking about lettuce. I was reminded of a HILARIOUS joke that goes as follows:
Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Lettuce.
Lettuce who?
"Lettuce" in, it's cold outside!

hahaha, hilarious right? (It's quite possibly one of the lamest jokes ever.) So, there I was trying to share this HILARIOUS joke with the crew, when I messed it up. Don't ask me how this happened but instead of saying lettuce the first time, I messed it up and yelled, "WHAT DID THE CABBAGE SAY?!?"

Ah, good times at the VBC... (I'm told often that the only reason they keep me hired on is for entertainment value. Like the moments above. You know, I like to think I'm a useful member of the crew, but then I get to thinking about it and I just get depressed...)

On to pageants!

This week, I've been working up at Weber High school for the Little Miss Cherry Days Pageant and the Miss North Ogden Pageant. It's always interesting going back to work on theatre tech stuff back at the high school after working in college theatre for the past year. You feel so restricted with certain elements such as lighting and sound, yet you feel free-er (is that a word? Probably not) with other aspects. For instance, at the VBC I'm still considered to be one of the newer guys. I've been there almost a year, but I'm still the youngest (90's child) and I don't have much seniority over anyone. So, I feel obligated to do some of the 'lesser jobs' (dock, sweeping, mopping) as the occasion requires before someone else, who has been there longer, has to do it. In all actuality, I don't mind doing these jobs because someone has to do it anyway so it might as well be me, you know?

At Weber High however, I am the most senior crew member there. So, while I am not above mopping or vacuuming, there seems to always be some younger crew member, eager to please, who will happily volunteer before I even accept. That leaves me some more time to tweak with the light cues and help advance the show technically. (It's heartbreaking how little high schools have in the way of tech equipment... :( So few lights for such a big stage. That's just the way it is though.) I feel much more useful though because of the knowledge I've picked up from working at the Browning Center and in classes through the department. It seems like I've made some good changes at the high school that will help out with future shows and help keep things safer.

I just realized that my story about the pageants was actually pretty boring and really didn't have a point. I'm so sorry for that.


Here's what I've learned from this week of pageantry:

1. I'm going to release an album featuring me singing different pageant theme songs from these last few years. "When you find out who you are, you can find your star." "Glamorous. Glamorous, Glamorous. Glamorous." "Hot, Hot, Hot!" "How lovely to be a woman. The wait was well worthwhile. How lovely to wear mascara..." And so on and so on. I think it will be a big hit.

2. I have a natural ability for walking a graceful, runway walk. Somehow I have the posture down pat and I even know which foot to lead off with when changing directions. The pageant director had me lay spike marks for where the contestants need to walk, stop and pose and she had me walk out the path. She said she was impressed with my 'poise' and gracefulness.

3.Yes, it can take an hour and a half to teach 11 women in bathing suits and heels to walk a figure-8 pattern across the stage. Even though I'm pretty sure most of them already understand how in the first ten minutes...

3a. The more modest swimwear and evening wear dresses seem to me to be the most beautiful and have the most class. Just sayin...

4. Some people need to realize that they don't know anything about sound and let us do our job.

4a. Some people (certain contestants' parents) need to realize how not important they really are. Settle down.

5. Pageants are much more fun when you don't have one or more of the 'pageant ladies' on headset with the crew... I'm sure you can imagine why.

6. Taffy and Wheat Thins don't go very well together...

7. Great friends can be hard to come by. I'm just so that glad I have them. :)


So, there it is. Pageants and kiddie dance. Two more days and then I'm done. Woohoo!

(If you have ever been in a pageant, please don't take offense to anything I have said. I have had many close friends be involved with pageants and I have worked enough of them to know that it takes a lot of guts to get up there and share your talents with everyone. I know how much love you put into them and the friendships that are made. It is a lot of hard work and it can be very stressful, and I respect and love you all for that. :) )

That is all. Good night everyone!

---------------------------------------------
Random question,

Does a conceited person consider themselves to be conceited? Do they know?

Ponder that.

New Beginnings

Yep. I am joining Young Womens.... buh bum tsh. You know... New Beginnings - Young Womens... New Be---

Okay, that was a lame joke. Seriously though. New beginnings.

Some of this may sound personal, but I needed to write down my goals in a place where I can remember them and keep focused. And hopefully some of you will help me keep these goals.

I have made the decision to turn my life around. As I am preparing to start my papers and serve a mission, I am trying to be more physically, spiritually, and emotionally fit so that I can be better prepared out in the field. I've shown a great deal of neglect towards my own body and my spirit these past few months and it has shown. I haven't been nearly as happy as I could be if I were to pay more attention and work on these things. I couldn't really shake a small sense of depression that seemed to always hang over me. I would try to be happy and energetic, but it wouldn't work because the way I was living wasn't letting it work... I wasn't doing anything inherently wrong or evil or anything, but I certainly wasn't trying that hard to do the correct things either. I was mostly just sitting back and letting life take it's course wherever it wanted me to go. I wasn't actively pursuing good righteous things that would help me immensely.

This has all changed for me now. I have made the decision to change and I will. I decided I needed to set some firm goals and schedules and I have. I signed up for 6 institute classes this summer which will help me on my mission. Classes like Missionary Prep, Doctrines of the Gospel, Scripture Study Fundamentals, New Testament, and Teachings of the Living Prophets. I am also going to be eating more regularly and healthier.
This is what a typical day will look like for me this summer and up until I leave on my mission.


6:30 - wake up, pray and stretch.
6:45 - ride my bike up to the gym at Weber State
7:00 - do 30 or so minutes of aerobic exercise and at least 30 minutes of strength training
8:15 - arrive home, shower, eat breakfast and study The Book Of Mormon
9:15 - ride my bike up to the Institute for 1 or two morning classes
12:00 - arrive home and get ready for work or study the scriptures until work.
6-9 PM - bike up to evening institute classes
10 - get ready for bed
10:30- Study Preach My Gospel, pray, and sleep.

So, there it is. This will vary day by day depending on my class/work schedule and other circumstances, but for the most part this is how I want to spend my day. The exercise regimen I know will change when I discover my limits and what works for me. The evening classes are Tuesday-Thursday, so I still have some nights open.
I believe that this rough schedule will help me to be fitter and will help me keep the Spirit more prominently in my life. My focus has now shifted to prepping for the mission. So, let's give this a go and see how it works out. To all 5 of you who read this, feel free to pray for me - I'll need all the strength I can get.

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In other news, last Saturday I fed a baby raccoon! Yep. A pet baby raccoon. He was very cute and cuddly, but raccoons get meaner as they grow up so I think I'll just cherish this memory of raccoons instead of thinking about how mean they get later. :) That's all.

Oh, and I'm 19 this Saturday! It feels weird. THAT is all.

 

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