Where did February go?

Unbelievable that the month has already gone by, and I wasn't even going to post today but once in a while a rare gem comes by that just makes me literally laugh out loud. Today it was a wonderful video for everyone that is a fan of or has watched The Office. I give to you The Office: Musical......

We've Lost the Way

Apparently showing the political side of me sent me off to the dark side and scared me away from coming back. This is a travesty since it has been months packed with many activities, trips, holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, and so forth. Ever since the New Year I have meant to get on here and catch up, write about the real exciting things and the not so off the wall sort of things. Now it is February and I'm deciding to hit what I hit and miss what I miss. Tonight I'll post some of the cool things that Becky and I have done since November and we'll see how it rolls from there. Things I've neglected to share: Thankgiving, Being delayed due to a snow storm in Las Vegas of all places, Vacation to Florida, Five-year Anniversary, woo-hoo, Cruise to Grand Cayman and Mexico, Siteseeing in Tampa Bay, Falling in love with OSI, seeing our first NFL football game live and in person, coincidentally in Tampa Bay, my favorite team, New year's, Cheering on the Utes, Watching the Aggies and Rebels, but realizing I'm an Aggie through and through, The Office Partay, Racing Go Karts, Quick trip with the neighbors to Salt Lake to see the Jazz play the Cavs, surprising the Faddis' with a quick stop when they didn't know we were even up there, priceless, Becky's 25th Birthday, Golfing in shorts and a T-shirt with no wind and hitting the flag stick not once but twice, winning the office playoff pool and my first and probably last casino bet of the Superbowl, beginner's luck is bad sometimes. Wow that is one long list I'll be back shortly to see what I get out.

Election Thoughts

So I have kept relatively quiet about the historic election we had, mainly because I have found that I don't like having an uneducated conversation about politics, usually I am the one lacking education. This year was different for me, I listened to all sides of the arguments, and in the end found both candidates for President unfavorable in many ways, but appealing in quite a few. I can't help but wonder why more emphasis isn't put on the primary elections as the thought I had was, How can these two be the most qualified people willing to run for President of the United States of America? I ended up casting a vote for McCain/Palin mainly on the hope that Palin could bring a voice to Washington DC, the "average" voice. I am glad with the results, I hope that Obama figures a way to let the country turn around, I say let because I believe that the economy needs to cycle and this just happens to be a lower dip than the last couple, perhaps more greed was garnered this upswing. I also hope that nothing happens to him, as much as I like Palin, I dislike Biden. Here's to the Democratic government following through and putting a ton of money into infrastructure, the engineering world could use a boost from the bottom.

One more thought that I have is how one person can make a difference, many times I have heard "I'm not voting, my vote doesn't really count" This election I learned that one vote may not mean much in the 128 million votes cast but one voter can influence many. I went from an uneducated, can't stand anything the Democratic candidates are promising, to almost giving my vote to Obama, this is mainly thanks to some great posts by my cousin Brian and a couple friends at work. One other example is the huge battle in California over the Proposition 8. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I am glad that it was passed, watching the rallies being held the last couple of days saddens me especially when I saw this picture today:

I know several people that either battle with homosexuality or live the homosexual lifestyle, they are aware of how I treat them and hopefully appreciate that I try and treat them as equal. I am amazed at how the gays and lesbians are turning this into a war against a religion. I do not feel that this was bought by anyone, amazingly the opposition raised over $37 million versus $35 million for it. I think that amount of money to be raised is amazing, I thought we were in economic trials? I feel close to this though because I was surprised when the church was going to ask for help in making phone calls to support the proposition, many people I know were willing to sacrifice time to do so, but plans were scrapped because Californians stepped up and made calls themselves. Many of my gay friends pride themselves on being different, my novel idea is why don't they set up something and then try and tell us "married" people how much better their lives are. I hope that something gets peacefully resolved and sooner the better.

What have you done lately?

I saw this on my cousin's blog and since I wanted to kill fifteen minutes I stole it and used it too.

List of 99 things - Have you done . . . ?

1. Started your own blog (several times, thanks for reading)
2. Slept under the stars (hardly a better place to sleep)
3. Played in a band (does Rockband count?)
4. Visited Hawaii (can I buy a ticket now)
5. Watched a meteor shower (seen a couple without even planning on it)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (time for a road trip)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped (I jumped out of a boat once and my swimsuit got caught until it ripped does that count?)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning (good times, good times)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (we got two tomatoes off the plant on our condo balcony this summer)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (about time to do it again)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (of course, almost got caught a couple times too)

27. Run a Marathon (I’ve walked a 5K though)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (both in the same night, several times)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (One of the best ways to vacation, can’t wait until December)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (Thanks Dad)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Unfortunately couldn’t list who)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Did I really teach myself Russian?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (If I can pay for lunch I’m happy)

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (why does that sound dirty?)
41. Sung karaoke (Becky want to play singstar?
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (I think it is the coolest thing to do, and just as cool to have it done for you)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (This should have been yes if my parents weren’t such speedy drivers)

47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain (but who am I to tell?)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia (for two whole years)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (I’m counting bribing my wife to do a couple chores for a couple cookies as this one)
62. Gone whale watching (I know that there aren’t whales in Lake Mead, but I kept an eye out for them)
63. Got flowers for no reason (I just love my wife sometimes)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I just donated blood yesterday, aren’t I special, and twice a week for most of college I “sold” my plasma for a little extra gas money, plus the girls were cute too.)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (Still not certain it was a concentration camp but from what I saw in Kaliningrad and the members we asked it was)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (anyone surprised that they are tractors?)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (in seventh grade I got to see the north side with my mom and then the south side with my dad a week later, two separate trips)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (I buy used but they are always brand new to me, even the 1980 Ford I first bought when I was 16)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (most notably riding my bike through flood waters as a kid)
85. Read the entire Bible (okay I skipped a few of the “so and so begat so and so”
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (floated)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Copy this list and bold the things YOU have done. Then post it on your blog!

What do you call it?

I found this cool survey that was done throughout America, and what the "locals" called Soda Pop. I notice that I tend to gravitate to calling it soda more often than anything else.

A trip to the mountains

Over the weekend I took Max up to try out a four wheel drive trail, it still amazes me that within 45 minutes from the dry heat of the valley you can find a cool mountain with a little “creek” and trees changing colors. I had been wanting to check this trail out for some time now and a coworker that lives at the other end was doing it the same day, we had planned to meet at the top, however due to a timing issue I didn’t get to the top and he was postponed for a couple hours, just leaves more to check out. On the way back as Max was searching for rocks in the water, I talked to a couple Jeepers that were coming in from a different trail, they gave me a few different ways to get around up there and told me about some other awesome trails to take. Here are some pictures to enjoy:

September 11, 2008

I can't believe it has been seven years since I woke up to go to class and found out the world had changed. As the years go by the memories of that time still seem fresh in my mind, that month following the attacks was amazing to me, people actually seemed like they cared about the greater good. We all had that common link and we were all put on alert, I like to sometimes remind myself that is who I want to be all the time, whether or not it is recieved well. Take some time to remember where you were when the world stopped spinning. I would like to thank the thousands of troops that have gone, are fighting, or preparing for the fight and send them my full American Support.

God Bless America!!

Something to Enjoy

A while back a friend sent me a link to a website, lately it has become an enjoyable sunday night guilty pleasure for me to check out, as it is updated weekly on Sundays. The website is the PostSecret blog, for those of you that want to check it out, there are always ones that make me laugh, or think "do I know them", or realize just how happy I am with where I am. It is an interesting concept and makes me think sometimes if I were to do one what would it be? But then I am such an Honest Abe that I can't think of one. For more on the PostSecret community check out here and here.