AVOID U-TURNS AT ALL COSTS!

I have recently felt that I would need to change my driving habits. I ignored that feeling and told myself that I was paying plenty of attention to drivers around me. But looking back I have been driving quite recklessly. So on Monday, I was driving to Provo to help a friend. I had reached their apartment but couldn’t find a place to park so I had circled the block a few times, done a couple U-turns and just couldn’t find a place to park. So I finally just decided I would park in front of her apartment and unload my stuff then find somewhere to park. So I pulled off to the right side of the road and went to turn when I looked out my window just in time to see the car screech and hit me.

There is a lot of confusion on how I was hit, so here’s a picture of what happened.

(I’m in the blue car and the other guy is in the silver car)

Nobody was hurt in the accident. I think he was going about 25 or 30 when he hit me. I pulled my car off to the side of the road and we called the police and waited for them to come. I was very shaken up and really sad that I destroyed my car. I’m pretty sure my car is totaled. Being unemployed makes it hard for me to afford another car, so I’m driving my grandma’s car until I can get a job. And that’s my adventure for this week.

My Musical Weekend

I have some serous sensory overload right now so I’m going to take a moment out and put some thoughts down. I have always had a dream of going to New York and spending a week there seeing every show that would possibly let me in. I LOVE watching musicals. And I have been made fun of by some people saying that I’m not a real man because I like musicals, but I watch them for the outstanding musical abilities, the lights, sound, and incredible sets. I typically spend half my time identifying where the microphones were taped to an actor’s face and how the sets are designed to move in and out.
On Thursday, I had a friend that invited me to go see Children of Eden at BYU. My senior year I was able to be in this show, so it takes a special place in my heart. This was while I was spending time helping out with security at my high school. The production was amazing, the actors were very good and every harmony was hit right on. The sound was great, but I didn’t need it because I sat on the front row. There was even one point when an anteater (that was bigger than I am) came up to me and whacked me in the face. It was intense! It brought back a lot of memories and reminded me of the good times I had in high school with all my friends.
Friday, I was lucky enough to take a back seat role in Security for the show at the high school, so I spent a lot of time talking to the stage manager in-between cues, watching the show, and at one point even made a cameo on stage, though nobody but the actors saw me. The show is awesome. There are many great dancers and singers this year at the school that they were able to put on a very nice show.

Then Saturday started… I went to Provo to help a friend film a tap routine for an audition. From there, I went to the show Little Shop of Horrors. (SPOILER ALERT: if you don’t know the show, just skip the rest of this paragraph) The show itself is quite gruesome and shows the hostile takeover of the planet by a plant. I was happy with the arrangement. I hadn’t ever seen a show at the Hale Center Theater in Orem and had wanted to for a long time and figured that this show would be a good reason to go see it. The acting was wonderful. The Shoo Bop girls were beyond amazing. They brought the story alive and their singing was captivating. Seymour’s voice was a little worn out and I could tell that he was ready to be done with his role, but still did a great job at entertaining the audience with his acting and singing. I was extremely disappointed with the technical aspect of the show. There were terrible squelching noises, speakers which kept failing, as well as light cues that were not in place. I spoke with the tech guy after the show and he didn’t seem like he had any interest in fixing the problem which bothered me because he seemed to have no regard for his audience, even though we ultimately pay his paycheck.

THEN, if that wasn’t enough, I decided to go to ANOTHER show that night. I went to see Aida at Timpanogos High School in Orem. I was excited. I have been listening to Aida for a long time after having watched the show at Woods Cross High School in Bountiful. When I saw it there, it was overwhelming how good they were. The set was extremely simplistic but the singing was beyond anything I’ve heard on a high school level before in my life. I had watched it another time at a school I attended for a year in Wyoming. I wasn’t impressed at all and was sad that I had driven all the way there. Back to Timp’s production: I could tell that they had reserved this show for now. They had a beautiful black girl that played Aida (you can read the story if you want to know what it’s about, just look it up on Google). The show started and the Amneris sang. She was great and hit every note solid and deliberate. She was one of the most solid stakes in the show. I was impressed with her precision while singing but was sad she didn’t sing out more. I could tell that inside her was a HUGE voice just wishing to get out, but she held back. The men in the show were weak and showed very little commitment to their character. Now, I’m not saying I’m an actor at all and probably couldn’t do any better than they do, but I can say that I KNOW when someone is acting and someone is reacting. Actors learn how to react instead of act… That is to say, instead of following a script they’ve been given, they live the story on stage and when something happens, they see if for the first time and react to it, instead of reacting because page 174 says that they are to react at that point. The men lacked in this department! As for Aida, she blew me away! I was convinced the whole time that she was a princess taken captive and forced to be a slave. Her singing was great and she put her heart and soul into the show. I’m glad I was able to go just to see her talent and ability. I hope she is able to go on and be very successful wherever she goes.

Overall, my musical weekend (while still not over) was wonderful. I was able to see, feel, and even participate in some incredible experiences with friends and family. I will forever enjoy the talents others choose to share, and probably always be critical of what they do, but still will appreciate that they’ve done it and were willing to share what they had.

Summer, 2009

This year, I had probably the most interesting and adventurous summer of my life. I’ve had my eyes opened in a way that I hadn’t before and since, have seen things that I didn’t ever think I would see. When I first moved in with Thayn (my current landlord/roommate/cousin) Dan moved in as well. For that first year, Dan didn’t have a job and I was jealous of all the things he could do while not working. Now I find myself in the same position. But to explain how that all works, I have to go back before the summer.

In April, working for Teleperformance, I had been moved to a supervisor position and it was a huge stretch for me. Learning to file reports, coach people on their work, and trying to be a good leader while being able to create good relationships with those I was put in charge of. I learned quickly that I wasn’t good at it and around the middle of the month, I removed as a supervisor. I spent a few weeks as a data analysis agent when I found out that my job was being outsourced and I would most likely not have a job by June first. Well, May rolled around and I was let go.
This wasn’t a big deal because I had been asked to be a chaperone for a summer camp and the money I earned would be enough to carry me over the summer. Being unemployed, I decided to go on a cruise with a big group of people off the coast of California. You can read all about it in my previous post.

I had also started dating a girl from my ward. It was fun and we really liked each other. We spent a lot of time together and by the time that the chaperoning started, we had talked and decided we wanted to get married, so I asked her to marry me. I then spent a lot of time working with the summer camp, but also with my fiancé. With that going on, I was also asked to coordinate the lights, sound, and video/audio recording of the final concert of the summer camp. Needless to say, I kept busy working 16+ hours a day. When that finished, I spend a few weeks living down in Provo (I had moved into an apartment with the students of the program so I could be the chaperone). While living in Provo and after a discussion where I regret my actions and some of the things I said, I had a discussion with my then fiancé deciding that things weren’t right and we called everything off. It was rough but I think things turned out best for both of us.

I had made a couple trips to Washington and met some wonderful people and visited my brother and his wife and had a blast.

So fitting in 2 trips to Washington, a cruise, an engagement/unengagement, and an extremely busy and stressful chaperoning experience, it turned out to be quite the adventure.

Cruisin' the Pacific!

I figured that most of the reason that I have published my life online is to show off the things that I’m doing. So it’s only appropriate that I insert a little summary of my recient cruise.
The cruise started 4 days ealier for me. I had to pack with luggage for not only the cruise, but also for camping where we went to pink coral sand dunes state park in southern Utah. There was some hiking and climbing and other exciting things. We rolled down a huge mountain of sand where I ended up with sand everywhere imaginable. The sand there seemed to stick to every inch of my skin which was quite amazing.


The first night we stayed off the beaten path where we found a level piece of ground to park a tent. The next night though, we realized we could use a nice shower as well as a real bathroom and running water, so the second night, we stayed at a camp ground.

We then drove through to St. George for church, Vegas to stop and say hi to friends, and then it was on to LA. We stayed with the parents of some friends and by noon the next day we were playing on the beach and dipping our feet in the ocean as well as a little sand volleyball.

We boarded the boat around 2:30 pm. Everything seemed to go smoothly. Dan hadn’t been feeling well so they had him go to a back where they checked his temperature. But we successfully boarded the ship. I went and found my room to drop off my luggage and then went almost immediately to the Lido Deck dining room where the food buffet was located. This was the place that I could go to get food anytime I wanted, and I really mean anytime! It was a beautiful thing. From there, most of that night was spent wandering. I didn’t sleep well the night before so I was tired and decided to take a nap around 8. Dan said he would come by and wake me up for an evening of fun. Well, I ended up sleeping through the night. I found out the next day that I had missed out on a night of dancing and partying. Most of the adventure was having the swing dancers in our group (which our group consisted of 18 people, 4 were guys, the rest girls, and just over half of the group were swing dancers) went and danced late. I really do wish I had been there. I woke up the next day and went to breakfast again in the dining room (which was the same routine for each morning).

Each day was unique, but did have similar things that happened. The main one being dinner. The first night (Monday), we asked them to seat 11 of us. We waited a few minutes, and while waiting, listened to a guy sing some Bob Marley.

Then we were taken in and sat at a table right at the front of the dining room. This ended up being the table and waiter that served us dinner every night. We really liked all the servers and appreciated their enthusiasm and sharp wit they shared with us.

The second day, we were anchored off the coast of Catalina Island. After breakfast, we took a small boat to the island. The weather was cool and beautiful. The sun was out just enough that it wasn’t too hot and not too cool. We wandered around the city for a while looking at many of the little shops and bought different little touristy things. I also bought some Dramamine because of the constant rocking. We played a lot on the beach with the volleyball and frisbee.

I took a lot of pictures trying to get good pictures of everyone involved at least once, then I realized that, wearing normal clothes wasn’t smart to do, so I rolled up my sleeves to see if I can make the farmers tan into more of a farmers transition. We played and soaked up the sun and it was amazing.

We went back to the ship and ate dinner and the evening wasn’t too eventful. I chatted with a couple of the girls a little that night and was in bed by midnight.

On the third day (Wednesday) I went out and spent some time in the hot tub while some of the girls sat out in the sun getting a little more tan. I ate probably 4 more times randomly throughout the day. I spent probably 2 hours at the pool. It wasn’t really warm out by the pool, but being in the hot water it was nice. I went to shower and the others in the party were dancing with the jazz band again. I missed their first set because I was showering, but when I came back, I was fresh and extremely ready to dance. So I took the opportunity to dance my heart out and it got extremely hot and I was quite sweaty but the dancing was amazing. The band kept playing very fast songs so it made it hard to keep up, but we had planned to have lessons so as people began to gather around to watch, we would invite them into our reserved room to teach them how to dance.

The lessons were fun to watch (and to teach for those who taught) and other passengers would often stop us and tell us that they had been practicing in their rooms or other places. It was great. Dan even admitted to being a star on the ship being stopped by many different people who instantly recognized him as the dancer from the first day of the cruise. That evening was dinner as usual and a few other activities and then I went to bed. I was tired after getting sun burned. Next time I sit in the sun like that, I’m thinking I will want to wear sun screen.
Day four consisted of more hot tub soaking where I met people who had been on many many cruises before and taught me how to find cheap cruises. There was more dancing, and some teaching (that I wasn’t there for) and I ended up taking a nap for a little bit as well.

Many of my evenings were spent walking around the ship looking over the water behind the ship and feeling the wind blowing up over the front of the ship. I took a few pictures of the night sky that captured the feeling of what it was really like to look out over the ocean and see no land at all but to soak up the pure serenity.

Overall, I had a phenomenal experience on this Carnival Cruise. From the meals to the showers, everything was wonderful. Every staff member that I came across seemed more than happy to help and fully willing to get me what I needed. I came to my room every night to a towell animal on my bed.

If I had my choice, I would take a cruise every summer. It was an experience that I will never forget. In the end, the thing that made it most amazing was the incredible group of friends that went. I hope they all know how much I love and appreciate all of them.

The Big Apple

My most recent trip to NY proved to be an amazing experiment and experience. There were amazing and fantastic, as well as unbelievable moments. I had rough experiences as well as self awakening moments. Overall I found that I can do anything I put my mind to. I had wanted to go to New York for a LONG time, but hadn't ever had the guts or the money to do it. Well, this Christmas was a good one with work and I had an amazing friend to go with. I was there only 3 days. It felt like months. I was able to visit all the sights I wanted to and do all the things I said I would.

I skated in Central Park:

I went to the top of the empire state building:

I rode the ferry to Long Island so I could see the Statue of Liberty. I was beyond blessed to have everything taken care of while I was there. We had a place to stay, parties ready for us to go to, and plenty of sights to see. My reality was suspended for those few days. I lived the surreal life that exists in New York. I stayed up until 4 am dancing 2 of the 3 nights there. I visited with people from all over the world and experienced thing I had never done before. It was remarkable. I saw Phantom of the Opera. What a production. The Phantom was genuine with his role and took the audience into his personal lair where we were hypnotized by his voice and sincerity. I went to a swing dance where I spent that night drawing on the love of others as they danced with me. I don't see myself as a great dancer by any means and let those I danced with know that, but enjoyed it no less. Our host, Joy, was amazing. She took us in, showed us around, helped us, and even cooked us dinner on New Years Eve.

She had beds ready for us when we came home and just took us under her wing. I will never forget her hospitality. New Years was cold in NY. The forecast was said that the temperature at Time Square would be (with wind chill) -1 degree. I die when it's below 40 degrees. So gratefully, Joy found us a party to go to. We sat next to swing dance legend, (at least for those of us in Utah) Dawn Hampton.

We watched a wonderful swing dance show and listened to a remarkable live band. I was a little under dressed in my white shirt and tie that I had brought along with me for church the Sunday I spent in Arizona. Everyone else there was either in a nice suit, or a tuxedo. I was very under dressed. By the end of the evening though, I fit right in. After their little show, the band played, the characters sang songs and entertained, and we danced. I was able to dance with a few people I knew, some I had only met that night, and some I will never see again. One, a woman from California, was a remarkable dancer. I had been scared to ask anyone to dance, and she noticed me and invited me to dance with her. It was amazing. After, we went to a house party where there was more dancing. I was taught a little of blues dancing. I spend plenty of money on souvenirs. We spent some time in the shops and Dayla bartered for a nice camera and got a nice discount.
As I said earlier, my New York experience suspended reality. I left and didn't think about home or work, or anything here in Utah. I was completely submersed in the city. I am now home again. I have to go back to work. I have to go back to living day to day. I have to deal with family problems, work problems, friend problems, and everything else. I'm okay with that. I received a vacation from it all, it was suspended for those 3 days I was gone. This is something that will be with me forever and I am eternally indebted to Heavenly Father for providing me with this opportunity and blessing.

My most recient school experience

This blog was created to show my little frustration about school. I have to say that I still don't like school. It's actually becoming one of the most painful experiences in my life to date. I knew that I wouldn't like school from the beginning. Anything that pins me down isn't my favorite but I seem to put up with it for one reason or another. For example, work, because I like to have money. School is so someday I can have the money to provide for more than just the small toys that I like to have (like the computer that I bought today). Basically family. So I go to school to jump through the hoops. I enter every semester beyond excited for what is to come and ready to do what it takes to succeed, reading the chapters every day, singing the praises of awesome teachers, and staying on top of all the things that have to be done to succeed. But inevitably, every time, I fail. Not only do I fail, I FAIL. I've realized that part of the problem is the way that I take in information. I look around me and see people avidly writing information in their book, taking that information in as quickly as they can. Others talk a lot to try to absorb all the information they can. Some even write every word that the teacher says and are able to take the information, study it for hours and perfectly answer every question in each question. So what I my purpose in all of this...? I honestly don't know. I've tried writing in the book and don't ever look back. I've written down notes on what the teacher says, and then I lose what I'm supposed to be writing because I'm writing information for the last thing they said. I've tried so many other things. I've pretty much given up on trying. I usually just go on with life hoping that coping will get me the C that I want. I'm realizing that everything that I’ve done gets me nowhere. So really this whole school thing has gone from frustration to anger to acceptance to depression. I don't know what's next, but that's where I am now. Plus, work is very stressful. I am now being expected to take a Sunday shift which I promised myself that I wouldn't ever do. Is it worth the experience? I'm not so sure it is.

Mixing it all up

Well, I'm a night person. I go to bed at night thinking that I won't wake up the next morning... Usually I think that I will wake up after noon. And so I don't usually go to bed every night until 3, 4, or sometimes (probably too many times) 5 am. I also require 8 hours of sleep. When I don't get it, I'm a pretty grumpy and a not-nice person.
So I returned home from Ohio 2 years ago. I came home and promptly got a job working a swing shift (3 to 10pm) working for American Express taking applications over the phone. Then I started working for Dell. They needed night guys and their training was Monday-Friday from 3 to 11pm, so I stopped socializing with people during the week. Then I changed my schedule when I started actually doing the job to some more convenient hours. Had Friday nights off and stuff. Well, lately, I have felt like I have been a little unsocial with people that aren't at work. I guess the best way to say it is that my only social time I got was work and church on Sunday. So I was feeling quite dry. I couldn't go out on dates because I can't figure out how to ask a girl on a lunch date (and I'm usually sleeping) and who is going to take a girl on a date at 4am? So I went to my boss and told him that I wanted to work a morning schedule... I haven't worked a morning schedule since... I just realized I've never worked a job that was in the morning. Now, I do say the morning. I mean to say that it's from 10am to 6 pm. But HEY, I get off at 6 every night. So I promptly dropped all my classes and picked up 2 classes (the last 2 before I have an associates). So now I have a MW evening class from 6 to 7:15, and another class on Saturday morning from 8 to 10. I don't know how I feel about a Saturday morning class, but I'm sure I can pull it off (hopefully).
So for the first time, really, ever, I'm taking a job where I won't work at night. I start Monday and I'm pretty happy about it.