Too many late nights

I've been staying up too late this week, but it's been fun. Wednesday or Thursday I went to my first Christmas party. I have a friend named Jen who's going to work for a cruise ship for six months and wanted to have a Christmas party before she left. I didn't get home until after midnight. Then Friday night I went to a friend's birthday party and we hung out until about 1AM, before going to another friends, where I stayed until about 3:30. I slept in Saturday, so I got most of that sleep back, but still, I was tired. Then Saturday night we went to go see the new James Bond movie (good flick, but I'd have to watch it a couple of more times to get it all), went to IHOP afterwards, and then to a friend's house after that. Left at 1AM. Then had Ward Council at 9 AM the next day.

So I didn't quite catch up on my sleep like I like to do on the weekends. But I'm not too exhausted now.

The Rainy Magic at Magic Mountain

I went to visit my family last weekend and we went to Six Flags Magic Mountain to celebrate both my niece's 18th birthday and my brother's 28th (he can't be 28 already, can he?). Even though the forecast said it would clear up early morning, it ended up raining off and on throughout the day. That normally would have scared off a lot of people from attending, but evidently there were a number of school groups there, and because of the weather, each big ride only had one train going, so it was a little slow. We only got to go on three rides the whole day.

But we had a lot of fun, and it was so good to be together with the whole family (well, many of my family - my sister and her husband, as well as her oldest son, weren't there and neither were my brother and sister-in-law in Utah). I always enjoy hanging out with my niece and nephews!

Imagine this scenario

The year is 2016. The Church has requested our assistance yet again in defending traditional marriage, making it the fifth time since 2000 that we've been asked to do so. After successfully passing Prop 8 in 2008, we have had to endure two other propositions on the ballot trying to reverse it. There is an increased scrutiny on the Church, people who in the past have given a lot of money are complaining that they keep being asked to help out, and some have fallen away from the Church, including some prominent Mormons. Would that shake your faith?

In reading some online responses from KSL about a certain prominent Mormon that may or may not have followed the counsel of the Prophet, somebody mentioned again that in the final days, we will go through a refiner's fire and there may be many that will fall away from the Church. I remember hearing that a lot growing up, and I could never understand how that could happen. What could make so many people be upset with the Church. What could make so many once faithful members fall away?

Then this Proposition 8 thing happened. Now, everyone of course is free to vote how they choose, and the Church has come out saying 'Voting choices by Latter-day Saints, like all other people, are influenced by their own unique experiences and circumstances. As we move forward from the election, Church members need to be understanding and accepting of each other and work together for a better society.' So I don't want this to sound like I'm bagging on everyone who disagrees with the Church. However, some of the arguments I saw Church members make that support gay marriage got pretty close to being outright defiance, and some comments had me worried if that person, if pushed enough, might fall away completely from the Church. I worry about some of them if we encounter further measures like Prop 8. I also worry about those that might get worn down over continued fighting for traditional marriage and other moral issues, who might start complaining that they've given enough and might turn angry towards the Prophet and Church leaders for asking more from them.

As we are faced with continued moral challenges that we are asked to support (and they will continue to come), I hope that I will not be put off, but will listen to the will of the Lord in all he does. I pray for the understanding that comes from the Lord.

I don't know whether this might be the issue that causes many to break away from the Church. I hope it isn't. I hope that it never comes true. I love my Church family, both in my ward now and those that have ever been in a ward with me, in my Stake, or attended BYU with me. I'd hate to think of any of them leaving. I hope and pray that we can all follow the Prophet and pray about every important decision that we face in life.

From the archives: George Strait Troubadour review

OK, with this weed remembering the deaths of Diego and Paul, I need something a little more upbeat. So here's a review I made of George Strait's latest CD - Troubadour. George Strait is my favorite singer, by the way.



Thursday, April 03, 2008
Review of George Strait’s Troubadour Current mood: excited Category: Music
Well, I bought George Strait’s new CD, Troubadour, on Tuesday. I would have to give the CD an A. I had heard from the George Strait Fan Club that it was a really great CD, and I think that caused my expectations to be too high at first, but after listening to the CD a second time, I love it! It’s hard to top his last stuido CD, It Just Comes Natural, and I’m not sure yet if this will, but it’s very good. It’s a very diverse CD, with songs reminiscient of songs throughout George’s career. The title track, which I first heard at King George’s concert last Friday, is very good.

My favorites are the Western Swing songs ’Make Her Fall in Love With Me Song’ and the duet with Dean Dillon ’West Texas Town’. They’re both a lot of fun. I’m not always the biggest fan of George’s duets - even though I love Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney - they just aren’t usually my favorite songs. But West Texas Town is, and I think it’ll be a hit if he releases it. It’s only about a minute, forty-five seconds, so it’s kind of short.

Brothers of the Highway and River of Love are also a lot of fun and a little different from most Strait songs. This CD definitely displays all the different styles of Strait songs. House of Cash is one of those duets I talked about before. I love Patty Loveless, but I’m not the biggest fan of this song. It’s just not my favorite, but it is a good song and George sings it well.
I’ve heard a national reviewer say that such formulaic songs as ’I Saw God Today’ are beneath George. Maybe it is a bit formulaic, but it’s such a great song with a great message, and George sings it so well that who cares.

The other songs on the album are good too, but I imagine the releases from the album will be among those I’ve written about. It’s a great album and it’s amazing that George Strait continues to put out such quality during his third decade as a singer. Simply amazing!

3:02 PM

From the archives: I hate cancer

It's been one year since my cousin's husband, Paul, died of cancer at the age only 28. In two weeks will be the anniversary of when my friend Shara left us. I hope that we may someday find a cure for this thing. We miss you, Paul!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007
I hate cancer! Current mood: frustrated Category: Life
I *^%$ HATE CANCER!!!! My cousin's husband, Paul Hutton, died a little over an hour ago from testicular cancer. Last Veteran's Day my friend and coworker Shara Franyovich died from cervical cancer. I hate this disease. I wish I had the ability to stop it to find a cure. Paul was only in his late 20's, with a wife and two children, one just a few months old. Shara was 41 and had a husband and a little girl. They were both such inspirations to me. Not that I want anyone to suffer from AIDS, but at least there are pretty good ways of ensuring that you won't get that disease. There are ways to help prevent getting certain forms of cancer, but basically anyone can get it. And it can be so painful to have treated. I am glad that Paul no longer has to suffer, but I look forward to the day when nobody has to suffer for this horrible disease.
7:40 AM

It's been three years.....

....but I still miss you, Diego. Thank you for being such a good dog. I look forward to the day when I get to hug you again in the next life. Rest in peace, my dear companion.

To All The Cars I've Loved Before.....

(To those who don't know, the title of this post is a spoof off of Julio Iglesias' To All the Girls I've Loved Before)

I just got my 2006 Honda Civic back after it being gone for a week in the shop. I had an odor coming out of my car and knew it was probably a coolant leak. It turned out to be a coolant leak from the engine and they had to replace the whole engine block. Ouch! Luckily, it was covered under warranty! But in the meantime, I had a rental car. It was a cute little Nissan Versa, and other than the fact it was the base model and therefore didn't have the fun features on my car, it was nice. But I REALLY missed my car. And it got me thinking about the four cars I have owned. So, here's a tribute to my 1980 Honda Accord, 1988 Nissan 300ZX, 2003 Nissan Altima, and 2006 Honda Civic.

Unfortunately, I don't believe I own a picture of my first car, a 1980 Honda Civic. This picture I found on the Internet. It looks just like my first car. I remember fondly coming home from BYU after my freshman year. The Reynolds dropped me off at about 1 in the morning, and I remember seeing this strange car on the street. My mom then told me that it was my car. I loved that little car, even though I had fuel pump problems, head gasket problems, and master cylinder problems with it. In fact, it was broken down more than it was running. Still, it was my first car, and it was fun to drive (my first time driving a stick shift). The master cylinder went out while driving down 2230 North, which is right downhill. That's also when I learned that master cylinders control the breaks. Yeah, that was a scary time, and luckily the light turned red before I got down the hill, because it forced me to quickly turn right onto a desereted street rather than go down and smash into some other cars. After the second head gasket blew, I had to leave the car where I used to live. A friend was supposed to go over and pick it up later and fix it, but it didn't quite work out that way, and it was eventually towed away and is probably now in some junk yard with people robbing it for parts (at least, I hope that's its fate, and not that it's a little cube of steel. But here's a picture of what he looked like. I called him Kermit and I had a license plate frame that read 'If you can read this, I'm still in first gear.

My next car was a 1988 Nissan 300ZX. I got it my senior year of college. It was so much fun, but ended up having so many problems that I sold it for only a few hundred dollars. If I had a house, I would have kept it and perhaps have fixed it up. When we bought it, it was salvaged. The driver's side door never closed correctly, which meant I had a lot of fun whenever I went through a car wash. But it was such a fun car. It was powerful too, having no trouble going up Lombard Street. And up a dirt hill at Saltair in Salt Lake City. Eventually the passenger window wouldn't roll down, there was no air conditioning (causing many a humerous trip home to my parents in the middle of summer), a failed attempt to steal the car caused the door handle to work correctly, but I still loved that car. It was fun to drive.

So I bought my first car, an Altima, in 2003. I never liked sedans, and before this had thought about getting an SUV. But then I saw the restyled Altima and fell in love. I just love those rear taillights. I didn't like the color of blue they had, but at the dealership I liked this color, and I liked the leather seats, LOVED the Bose speakers, and liked the sunroof and heated seats. So I bought it. It was my 'luxury' car - it had all the cool things I wanted in a car. It had a ton of room and Allison and everyone loved to hear that stereo. I would still have that car if the engine didn't go. I was driving from temple pageant and it started making sounds. It ended up that the catalytic converter somehow messed up and went into the engine and messed it up. The local Nissan dealership told me that it would be $4000 to fix it. I looked at how to get a new car, and only later did the dealership tell me that it was covered under the emissions warranty. By that time, I was already in the process of getting a new car, but my brother decided to buy the car off of me, so at least it's still in the family.

Here are my Altima and Civic together.

So I bought my 2006 Civic. It's a fun, sporty car. It has the audio controls on the steering wheel and the sunroof, but no leather, and the stereo isn't nearly as cool. But it's a lot of fun. I love the smaller steering wheel and the digital spedometer that makes it look like a cockpit. And I really missed it the past week I wasn't able to drive it. Thank goodness I have it back.

Yep, I loved each car I've had. Two Hondas, two Nissans. They've been good and fun cars. Hopefully I'll get to keep this Civic for awhile so I can buy the next one in cash.

Travellin' Through the Corn Maze

This last Saturday Amy and I joined other 'midsingles' in going to the Dixon corn maze, http://www.coolpatchpumpkins.com/ First we went to Mary's Pizza Shack, but we were both too chicken to introduce ourselves to the group, so we ate on our own. We then met everyone at the maze and followed some people around. It was fun, and we got to know people enough to join them at Dennys afterwards. It was a lot of fun getting to know a bunch of new people. I really like true midsingles activities, because it gives me hope that there are some normal guys my age out there. Singles dances instead either have a lot of weird guys or much older guys.

The maze was a lot of fun. Evidently, it's the largest in the world. Amy and I got lost from the group once at the beginning of the maze and thought we might have to traverse the maze on our own, kind of defeating the purpose of going with the group, but luckily we met them again at the first station, Ducati station. I know I felt relieved, as I didn't bring a flashlight. Amy had one, but it ended up dying, even with new batteries. So we might have got stuck in there for awhile. And it's always more fun to be with a group of people.

I'm very glad we got to go on this little trip and meet midsingles at an event other than a dance. It was a lot of fun and I hope we get to hang out with them again soon.

A different world

Every once in awhile you hear a song you've heard a million times before but for some reason, those lyrics get to you that one time you hear it. Yesterday that was true with Bucky Covington's 'A Different World.' Sometimes I think of just how screwed up our society's become just since I was a kid. The part that got to me was
'Not every kid made the team when they tried
We got disappointed and that was all right, we turned out all right'

I think as a country we've become so weak. We try to appease everybody, and worry too much about people who complain. Case in point is a parade in New York that will no longer be the 'Christmas' parade because one or two people complained about discrimination. Most likely, those people who complained are atheists. We've just become such a nation of veal calves, as my favorite talking head likes to say. Oh, and I got daddy's belt many, many times.

A Different World
Bucky Covington

We were born to mothers who smoked and drank
Our cribs were covered in lead based paint
No child proof lids no seat belts in cars
Rode bikes with no helmets and still here we are, still here we are
We got daddy’s belt when we misbehaved
Had three TV channels you got up to change
No video games and no satellite
All we had were friends and they were outside, playin’ outside

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

School always started the same every day
The pledge of allegiance then someone would pray
Not every kid made the team when they tried
We got disappointed and that was all right, we turned out all right

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

No bottled water, we drank from a garden hose
And every Sunday, all the stores were closed

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

It was a different world

Flu shots suck

At work we are able to get free flu shots. I have never gotten a flu shot before and have never got sick with the flu (at least not longer than a day or two). So I didn't plan on getting one this year, but yesterday I felt like I should. I can't say I prayed about it because I didn't really have time, but I really felt like I should get it. So I did. And I got sick.

Last night taking kids home from Mutual, I started coughing and being a little short of breath. I finally got home, called home to say hi to the parentals and then took some Nyquil and went to bed about 10 PM (that's REALLY early for me). When I woke up at 6 this morning, I was still dragging, but took my shower and started getting ready. But soon after I just felt exhausted, and decided I had better call into work. So I called my actual IT boss and my RM boss and told them I'd probably be in later. I went back to bed and slept until about 10:30, then slowly got ready. I thought about not going into work at all, but it was 1 and I knew I wouldn't get anything done at work, and it was getting warmer, so I wasn't feeling that great, so figured I might as well go to work. So now I have three hours of sick time to use sometime else.

I really hope I was inspired to take the flu shot and this will help me not get the flu later this year, or else this was a big waste of a sick day.