Winners: The 2009 Rand-O-Mania Music Awards!

Ok, it's the end of a decade as well as the end of a year.  I can't help but make music lists.  I'm in a crazy list-making mood lately.  (Honestly, who makes a list of the top 100 U2 songs?!)  Anyway, to get this out of my system, I'm going to announce the 2009 Rand-O-Mania Music Awards!  (Also called R-O-MMAs.)  This will include awards for the decade as well as this past year.  I'm also going to give my top 100 songs for the Zeros decade.  So this is a big deal.  Winners of the ROMMA awards will also receive* a copy of this beautiful painting that I've recently acquired of two personified terriers:
(I got it at my family Christmas party as a white elephant.  Pretty sweet!  You can't really see it, but they have human bodies.)

 2009 Awards:

•   Most Incredible Songs Packed Onto One Album:  Sea Wolf's "White Water, White Bloom"
•     Best Entire Album To Listen Straight Through: The Decemberists' "The Hazards of Love"
•     Song of the Year:  "Curse" by Imagine Dragons
•     Best New Band of the Year (New to me, in other words):  Phoenix
•     Biggest Disappointment of the Year:  U2's "No Line on the Horizon"  (For an album I Pre-Order I expect more than one decent song.  ("Magnificent"))
•     Best Local Band of the Year: Imagine Dragons
•     Song that Will Stick With Me The Longest:  "Dew In the Grass" by Sea Wolf
•     Most Morbid Song:  "The Rake's Song" by The Decemberists
•     Catchiest Song:  "Dimmer" by Bishop Allen

2000-2009 Awards:

• Best Album of the Decade:  Guster's "Keep It Together."  I narrowed the list down, and ultimately I couldn't make any of the others better in my mind than this one.  It exemplifies much of what I love about the music that I love.  It's got a good variety of songs, and I can't not like them.
  
• Honorable Mentions for Album of the Decade: "The Boy With No Name" by Travis, "X & Y" by Coldplay, and "Plans" by Death Cab For Cutie
  
• Most Incredible Songs Packed Onto One Album: "Reconstruction Site" by The Weakerthans
  
• Honorable Mention Most Incredible Songs On One Album: Ben Kweller's "Ben Kweller"
  
• Song of the Decade:  "War Was In Color" by Carbon Leaf
  
• Honorable Mention Song of the Decade: "Hang On" by Guster
  
• Best Band of the Decade:  Coldplay.  As much as I would love to put an indie band in this spot... Coldplay freakin' earned it.  They really do get better with every album and have an incredible appeal.  I also feel like when I think of this decade, this band will exemplify its music the most to me.
  
• Honorable Mention Band of the Decade:  Death Cab For Cutie.  I have nothing bad to say about this band.
  
• Individual Singer/Songwriter of the Decade:  Ben Kweller  (Anyone that can go from sweet rock songs to making a country album that I'd consider buying has to be something special.)
  
• Honorable Mention Singer/Songwriter of the Decade: Pete Yorn
  
• Biggest Disappointment Album of the Decade:  "Ode to J. Smith" by Travis.  I had really high hopes for this album due to the incredible album that preceded it, but it did not come through at all.  Very disappointing.  I think they made it WAY too quickly.
  
• Best Local Band of the Decade:  Imagine Dragons  (Local to Las Vegas)
• Honorable Mention for Local Level Band of the Decade:  Halfpenny Marvel   (Local to Chicago)
  
• Most Consistent Great Band of the Decade:  Matt Pond PA 
• Best Band to Come and Go:  Ambulance LTD  (They came out with an EP and a kick-trash album and just faded into black.  They had more potential than a LOT of bands, and I wish they'd made it.)
• Honorable Mention for Best Band to Come and Go:  Grandaddy.  Nerd rock at its finest.
  
• Most Surprising Band that Got Me To Be A Fan:  Ratatat 
• Best Album From an Old Favorite Band:  "All That You Can't Leave Behind" by U2
• Best Movie Soundtrack:  "Stranger Than Fiction"
• Honorable Mention for Soundtrack: "About A Boy" (by Badly Drawn Boy)
• Best Live Act:  Tally Hall
  

TOP 100 SONGS OF THE DECADE:
1. War Was In Color    Carbon Leaf
2. Hang On    Guster
3. In Other Words    Ben Kweller
4. Square One    Coldplay
5. Falling    Ben Kweller
6. The Space Between    Dave Matthews Band
7. Anecdote    Ambulance LTD
8. Come Downstairs and Say Hello    Guster
9. Viva La Vida    Coldplay
10. Beautiful Day    U2
11. Dew In the Grass    Sea Wolf
12. The Crane Wife 1 & 2    The Decemberists
13. I Will Follow You Into The Dark    Death Cab For Cutie
14. Left & Leaving    The Weakerthans
15. Diane    Guster
16. Butterflies & Hurricanes    Muse
17. Where Are You Going    Dave Matthews Band
18. Plea From A Cat Named Virtute    The Weakerthans
19. You're a Wolf    Sea Wolf
20. Title And Registration    Death Cab For Cutie
21. Curse    Imagine Dragons
22. Run    Snow Patrol
23. My Eyes    Travis
24. Rome    Phoenix
25. Sun in an Empty Room    The Weakerthans
26. The Distance    Cake
27. Strange Condition    Pete Yorn
28. We Both Go Down Together    The Decemberists
29. Silent Sigh    Badly Drawn Boy
30. Hummingbird    Wilco
31. Telling Lies    Great Northern
32. Walk On    U2
33. Tournament of Hearts    The Weakerthans
34. Ugly Love    Eels
35. Amsterdam    Guster
36. The Cold Side Of The Pillow    Halfpenny Marvel
37. Inaudible Melodies    Jack Johnson
38. Halloween    Matt Pond PA
39. Such Great Heights    The Postal Service
40. Buildings & Mountains    The Republic Tigers
41. Personal    Stars
42. Fruit Fly    Nada Surf
43. The Group Who Couldn't Say    Grandaddy
44. Sundress    Ben Kweller
45. The Crane Wife 3    The Decemberists
46. See These Bones    Nada Surf
47. Lost!    Coldplay
48. Theologians    Wilco
49. 1901    Phoenix
50. Extreme Ways    Moby
51. Paper Bag    Dear & The Headlights
52. What About Everything?    Carbon Leaf
53. How It Should Be (sha sha)    Ben Kweller
54. Dime    Cake
55. Closer    Travis
56. Somebody More Like You    Nickel Creek
57. Just Another    Pete Yorn
58. Somewhere Only We Know    Keane
59. Now It's On    Grandaddy
60. Side    Travis
61. Don't Wake Me Up    The Hush Sound
62. Trouble With Dreams    Eels
63. Don't Panic    Coldplay
64. The Sound Of Settling    Death Cab For Cutie
65. O Valencia!    The Decemberists
66. Concrete Bed    Nada Surf
67. How We Operate    Gomez
68. The Cold, the Dark & the Silence    Sea Wolf
69. Stupid    Sarah McLachlan
70. Hitchhiker    Teitur
71. I Don't Know Why    Ben Kweller
72. Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake    Grandaddy
73. Life Is Wonderful    Jason Mraz
74. Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of    U2
75. 24    Jem
76. Quicksand    Travis
77. Promise the Bite    Matt Pond PA
78. The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)    The Decemberists
79. Dream Catch Me    Newton Faulkner
80. Stanislaus    Sea Wolf
81. Starlight    Muse
82. Burrito    Pete Yorn
83. Brothers On A Hotel Bed    Death Cab For Cutie
84. Good To Sea    Pinback
85. Gravedigger    Dave Matthews
86. Don't Cry Out    Shiny Toy Guns
87. Human    The Killers
88. Your Legs Grow    Nada Surf
89. Semi Automatic    The Boxer Rebellion
90. Shempi    Ratatat
91. The Comeback    Shout Out Louds
92. O Maria!    Sea Wolf
93. Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure    The Weakerthans
94. Nice Guy    Starflyer 59
95. In My Place    Coldplay
96. Little Pieces    Gomez
97. This Is How You Spell "HAHAHA, We Destroyed the Hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics"    Los Campesinos!
98. Lex    Ratatat
99. One Great City!    The Weakerthans
100. Accidental Deth    Rilo Kiley

There wasn't really an exact science to this, but they're pretty close to being in order.  As I've looked over this blog post, I realize that I REALLY like the music I've found throughout this decade.  Hope you find stuff you like from this blog post.  Well, I think I'm done with music lists for at least a couple months!
*No one will receive copies of said painting.  It's all in jest.

Top 100 U2 Songs

Sometimes when I'm bored I like to look at what search keywords people enter into Google to bring them to my blog.  Sometimes they're hilarious, and sometimes I just can't figure out why Google sent them my way.  I have a lot of lists of songs, but one list that I certainly haven't had is the top 100 U2 songs.  I saw that someone searched for that and somehow arrived at my blog... well, random person, I'm going to oblige you.  Here is my version of the Top 100 U2 Songs of all time.  Now, I would say that various versions of some of their songs are better than some of the crappy songs at the very bottom of the list, but for simplicity I've eliminated all duplicates of the same song, and kept my favorite version of the song.  (For instance, I like the "new" version of the song "Gone" better than the original.)  I'm not putting quotes around the song names, and the only thing listed with them is what album the version of the song is from.  (I should note that I do not own Boy, apparently.  I thought I did.)  Anyway, here's the list:

1.  One    Achtung Baby
2.  Running To Stand Still    The Joshua Tree
3.  Pride    The Unforgetable Fire
4.  Sunday Bloody Sunday    War
5.  With Or Without You    The Joshua Tree
6.  Bad    The Unforgetable Fire
7.  Where The Streets Have No Name    The Joshua Tree
8.  Gone (New mix)    Best of 1990-2000
9.  Beautiful Day    All That You Can't Leave Behind
10.  I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For    The Joshua Tree
11.  The Fly    Achtung Baby
12.  Walk On    All That You Can't Leave Behind
13.  All I Want Is You    Rattle And Hum
14.  Staring At the Sun    Pop
15.  Electrical Storm - New Song    The B Sides (1990-2000)
16.  Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of    All That You Can't Leave Behind
17.  The Hands That Built America    Best of 1990-2000
18.  City Of Blinding Lights    How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
19.  Discotheque    Pop
20.  Do You Feel Loved    Pop
21.  Desire    Rattle And Hum
22.  Zoo Station    Achtung Baby
23.  Until the End of the World    Achtung Baby
24.  Elevation    All That You Can't Leave Behind
25.  Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses    Achtung Baby
26.  Magnificent    No Line On The Horizon
27.  New Year's Day    War
28.  Bullet The Blue Sky    The Joshua Tree
29.  Even Better Than the Real Thing    Achtung Baby
30.  Mysterious Ways    Achtung Baby
31.  Kite    All That You Can't Leave Behind
32.  Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around The World    Achtung Baby
33.  Numb (New mix)    Best of 1990-2000
34.  In a Little While    All That You Can't Leave Behind
35.  Miracle Drug    How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
36.  Seconds    War
37.  Red Hill Mining Town    The Joshua Tree
38.  Ultra Violet    Achtung Baby
39.  Silver And Gold    Rattle And Hum
40.  One Tree Hill    The Joshua Tree
41.  The Unforgetable Fire    The Unforgetable Fire
42.  Two Hearts Beat As One    War
43.  Angel Of Harlem    Rattle And Hum
44.  So Cruel    Achtung Baby
45.  Grace    All That You Can't Leave Behind
46.  Acrobat    Achtung Baby
47.  When I Look At The World    All That You Can't Leave Behind
48.  I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight    No Line On The Horizon
49.  Miss Sarajevo    Best of 1990-2000
50.  If God Will Send His Angels    Pop
51.  New York    All That You Can't Leave Behind
52.  Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me    Best of 1990-2000
53.  Vertigo    How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
54.  Please    Pop
55.  Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own    How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
56.  "40"    War
57.  Last Night On Earth    Pop
58.  Peace On Earth    All That You Can't Leave Behind
59.  In God's Country    The Joshua Tree
60.  The First Time    Best of 1990-2000
61.  Crumbs From Your Table    How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
62.  Trip Through Your Wires    The Joshua Tree
63.  Van Diemen's Land    Rattle And Hum
64.  Get On Your Boots    No Line On The Horizon
65.  Summer Rain    The B Sides (1990-2000)
66.  A Sort Of Homecoming    The Unforgetable Fire
67.  Moment Of Surrender    No Line On The Horizon
68.  A Man And A Woman    How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
69.  Wire    The Unforgetable Fire
70.  Cedars Of Lebanon    No Line On The Horizon
71.  Love Is Blindness    Achtung Baby
72.  The Refugee    War
73.  If You Wear That Velvet Dress    Pop
74.  Stand Up Comedy    No Line On The Horizon
75.  All Because Of You    How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
76.  No Line On The Horizon    No Line On The Horizon
77.  All Along The Watchtower    Rattle And Hum
78.  Like A Song...    War
79.  Helter Skelter    Rattle And Hum
80.  When Love Comes To Town    Rattle And Hum
81.  MLK    The Unforgetable Fire
82.  Promenade    The Unforgetable Fire
83.  Lady With The Spinning Head (Dance Mix)    The B Sides (1990-2000)
84.  Hawkmoon 269    Rattle And Hum
85.  North And South Of The River    The B Sides (1990-2000)
86.  One Step Closer    How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
87.  Mothers Of The Disappeared    The Joshua Tree
88. Wild Honey    All That You Can't Leave Behind
89.  Your Blue Room    The B Sides (1990-2000)
90.  Salome (Zooromancer Remix)    The B Sides (1990-2000)
91.  White As Snow    No Line On The Horizon
92.  Exit    The Joshua Tree
93.  Original Of The Species    How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
94.  Dirty Day (Junk Day Mix)    The B Sides (1990-2000)
95.  Unknown Caller    No Line On The Horizon
96.  Breathe    No Line On The Horizon
97.  Love And Peace Or Else    How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
98.  Elvis Presley and America    The Unforgetable Fire
99.  Fez - Being Born    No Line On The Horizon
100.  4th of July    The Unforgetable Fire






I'm sure that if you note how many of the songs from "No Line On The Horizon" are toward the bottom of the list, it will come as no surprise that it's my least favorite album U2 has ever made.  On the other end, I love The Joshua Tree of course, but I'm also a big fan of Achtung Baby.  And yes, "One" remains my favorite song.  I wasn't super meticulous about this list.  I just tried to rank them by how likely I am to listen to them comparatively.
Anyway, my break is going great and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.  It's surprising me how busy I've been able to stay.  That's nice.  Anyway, see ya.

The Best of 2009: Photos of Me

Yeah... it's been a good year.  I have some sweet (and by that, I mean mediocre to satisfactory) photos all chronologically arranged.  Check out 2009 for Jeff...

Happy 23rd B-day Jeff!

Who gets that excited about a dart board?  Jeff does.

I'm a big fat fan of Aggie Basketball.  They were so good last school year!

My friend Taren and I at the awesome Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork!

Jules is chucking some colored powder into the air!

Birthday shindig for a friend in the canyon.

School ended, but Spencer, Bryce and I posed one last time in our Aggie shirts.

My pal Anthony got hitched!  I was one of his groomsmen.  Sweet brown tuxes!  (I'm the bald one!)

Fishing trip with my bro and dad and bro's step-sons.  I miss fishing...

Top of a hill, and me.

Fishing trip with Spencer up Logan Canyon.  I don't think shades are a good look for me.

Nicole and I found FACE-sized leaves!

Super awkward game at the Beach House.  Love them girls!

I watched the Utah State football team look half-decent for a quarter and a half against Boise State.  Again, I'm the bald one!

A Thanksgiving-style feast at the Beach House.  I'm actually eating my veggies!

My character Will Lie wasn't the murderer at the sweet murder mystery party I went to, but I did figure out that Marsha Mellow was to blame!  (I may look inebriated, but I assure you that I am not!)

Spencer and I survived a car wreck and made it to Salt Lake to hang out with some beautiful ladies!

Well, there ya have it.  I enjoyed, survived, and had whole lots of fun throughout 2009.  I made some great friends, watched some good and bad sports, and enjoyed many fun festivities.  I hope 2010 is as enjoyable. 

See ya on the flip side!  K, bye.

Christmas with Half-Centenarians, Things I Shouldn't Announce, and Other Assorted Christmas Thoughts

Hi! Hmm... I guess I should actually start with, MERRY CHRISTMAS!  I've had a great Christmas break so far.  I was able to finish all my law school applications, I've been able to hang out with most of my friends and siblings, and today and yesterday were enjoyable.  Christmas is kind of funny these days though.  It's funny how I remember a year when my Mom's side of the family (all her siblings and their kids) all had our Christmas party here at my parent's house.  We were VERY crowded in, but we did it.  Then we got so we basically HAD to have the party in church buildings or it could never happen.  Now when just my immediate family (my siblings and their kids and spouses, and my parents) get together for a party here, we feel really cramped in at times.  I wonder how much longer it will be before we feel like we need to do our own family party in a church building.  I really still enjoy the extended family party.  It's fun having traditions that last.  After our big shindig last night I played games with my mom all night.  I've decided that I really like hanging out with her despite her Half-Centenarian status.  :)  (Yeah, I just wanted to use that hyphenated word.  I think it sounds cool.)  In sum, I believe we played 5 different games, and we played each multiple times.  We even taught ourselves a new game --Briscola. 
We played Canasta as well, which reminds me of a conversation I had the other day.  I was hanging out with Jules and we were playing cards when I blurted out, "Guess what?!  I beat my mom at Canasta last night!"  She laughed at me and pointed out that that's not something most people would ever bring up to others, and it didn't help that I usually lose and so actually winning was therefore a rarity.  I was genuinely excited about beating her.  To make things worse I made another such announcement the other day when Spencer and I went to Salt Lake to meet up with a bunch of friends.  We were out to eat and upon returning from the Applebee's bathroom I proclaimed proudly, "I just did the moonwalk in the bathroom!"  They all laughed at me, and they also pointed out the infrequency of such admissions among normals.  I'm clearly not a normal.
Anyway, it's enjoyable hanging out with my Half-Centenarian parents most of the time.  It was pretty funny this morning.  Christmas morning used to be THE big event, but now it's like, "Ok, let's all open these presents and get this day moving."  That's how it gets when it's just Mom, Dad, and the son that isn't married yet.  I think my mom misses having younglings around.  She's always so concerned that each Christmas contains "surprises" for me.  She always gets me WAY more than I deserve.  I enjoy it, but I think I'm pretty spoiled.  I was very happy with what I got this year, and was really happy that she got me the only thing that I REALLY wanted: an iTunes gift card.  I get so freakin' excited about having money to spend on music that I think the phrase "like a kid in a candy store" should be permanently replaced by "like Jeff with a gift card for the iTunes Store" for when someone is excited about something.  Now I just need to decide what I want to buy.  I love new music!  Any great suggestions?
So, anyway, I love my folks and I'm glad I get to hang out with them.  I should probably not announce the things I'm proud of without running them through some normalcy filters first.  I've had a great Christmas, and hope the same for you! 
K, see ya!

My first big car accident...

Let's start with the moral of the story: If the road is icy and slippery, drive slow.

Last night, my cousin Spencer and I were headed to Salt Lake and, as I'm sure you guessed from the moral, the freeway was icy and slick. We were cruising along when we saw a car in the middle lane spinning. Spencer fortunately saw him and started slowing down. That car spun into our lane and Spencer was smart and slowed to a stop but didn't brake too quickly. We stopped just short of hitting the car. Then there was a truck that passed us on the inside in the emergency lane. (We were in the carpool lane.) Right after that guy went past us we got hit hard. Fortunately Spencer still had his foot on the brake so we didn't run into the car that we'd just stopped behind. So both of us started calling people, and the guys in the car behind us that had hit us jumped out and were in the emergency lane. Finally a couple witnesses showed up; a super nice lady that drove a Wal-Mart semi, and a cop that was apparently right alongside us when it happened. The cop came and told me that when the car behind us hit us, our truck flew in the air pretty high. Spencer and I hadn't noticed! The poor guys that hit us had actually hit the truck that passed us on the inside, and then spun to the side and hit our truck sideways. Their car was accordioned sideways. One of them had blood in his mouth, but overall, they were both fine. They were VERY lucky. They were in a tiny car, and hit Spencer's dad's HUGE truck sideways. And the truck didn't move. Anyway, they ended up getting the blame for hitting both of us because they were clearly driving too fast. About the time Spencer and I figured out what actually caused the accident we both realized that our necks that felt fine at first were kinda sore. My soreness went away fairly quickly though. Anyway, that was my first big accident. I've only been in minor fender-benders before that. I was just really glad that everyone was alright.
K, see ya.

"Hot Blue Kitties!" --My friend Ty on the Avatar Characters.

Avatar movie image (4)
Originally uploaded by tamilbluefilm2009

Based on Ty's very positive review of this movie, and another friend that said I should see it, tonight I decided to get out of my house and went with some friends to see Avatar. Even though I had only heard really good things, I was still a little skeptical if I would actually enjoy it. I'm not usually into weird sci-fi movies.

My overall opinion of the film: I enjoyed it! It was pretty good. It was noticeably long, but I didn't think it went too long. I think it's definitely worth a watch, even if you're not usually into, as my sister put it, movies that "seem like only gamers would like." It's definitely weird at times, but I did enjoy it as a whole.

The cons:
-At times it was a bit too cheesy. My friend Griff summed it up as "the adult version of Fern Gully."
-The alien "natives" actually had some things about their culture that were comparable to human cultures, and that kinda bugged. I wish they were more their own culture ENTIRELY. (Dreadlocks, wearing loin cloths and their accents for example.) It seemed like they were way too comparable to stereotypical African tribes. Perhaps this was purposeful, but it made it harder to believe them as an alien race.
-One thing that REALLY bugged me, and I know this is me being very picky, but did the main girl HAVE to have a freaking gauge in her ear? Really? She's an alien, but she's into modern fashion trends? I HATE gauges.

Pros:
-I don't remember being bothered by the acting, with the exception of the main two villains, they kinda bugged a little, but the rest of the acting was pretty good.
-This movie was beautiful. They were really creative with all the plant life and stuff, and I had fun watching it. I enjoyed the cool scenery and the special effects.
-I was very entertained by a weird movie. I was just really glad that it didn't weird me out too much.

Anyway, that's my review of sorts. If you're on the fence about it, I'd give it a shot. It was pretty good.

So I'm done with 6 applications for law school, and I'm mostly done with my BYU application. Just need signatures and the ecclesiastical endorsement. So tonight I'm going to try and finish the last three applications I have left. Since I've been sick I haven't been able to sleep at night. It's buggin' me. But I think I'm starting to get over the cold. Anyway, that's all really. K, see ya.

"Freaky Dream"

giant red spider!!
Originally uploaded by squashbottomcat

I like when I have dreams. But I don't have ones that I remember very often. So after I just woke up from a nap and still kinda remembered my dream I've decided to hurry and write it down.
There were two parts:
GIANT EGG PART:
So I was in a small room in some strange house that was kind of bare and seemed old. It had green walls, weird that I remember that. Anyway, it was just me sitting on a chair, a big wooden table that barely fit in the room and on the table was a newspaper which I was looking down at and reading. But then my reading was obstructed by a GIANT chicken egg that was a little bit brown. (I just realized that this comes from seeing an article in the newspaper about the egg industry not doing well or something about 10 minutes before I started my nap.) Anyway, I tried to move the egg to see the next part of the article I was reading but part of it broke. (This egg is like 2 feet tall and about a foot and a half wide.) It started leaking a bit, but then I decided to just read whatever was at the bottom of the page, but I touched that end of the egg and it broke, too. I freaked out and grabbed the whole egg and egg-juice was leaking all over me. It was disgusting. I carried what was left of it to the house's kitchen, washed my hands and then...
PART TWO: GIANT SPIDER-THINGY
I was suddenly in my room. (Here, where I currently am, not some strange house.) I was talking to my friend Julianna when I saw a GIANT red spider crawling in the curtains above my bed. Then it made a weird noise and flew over Jules's head and hit the wall opposite me. I couldn't really see what it was, but now it wasn't really a spider it was more like a flying scorpion. It then crawled back to a section of ceiling between me and Jules and dropped to the floor. (This is reminiscent of the small normal house spider that did just that in my room the other day.) Anyway, I kept saying to Jules, "Where is it? Where is it?" But she wouldn't really answer, and wasn't quite as freaked out about it as I was. This bug was like 4 inches tall and 2 inches wide. Then Jules told me she saw it. I threw some sort of lego toy contraption at it, and it looked like it was partially crushed. But then the bug picked up the big toy that was like 50 times its size and flew around the room with it. Then Jules and I freaked out. My room kind of became not my room and there was a short hallway in it. I threw open a closet door in the hallway and the bug was trapped behind it and it dropped the Lego toy thingy. Jules said, "Finally! Somewhere it can't get out of!" Just then it found a hole in the door which now had curtains and the bug all the while was making a freaky buzzing noise and it flew through the curtains. It then said, "Finally, I made it through!" Yes, the bug spoke. Then I woke up from my freaky dream to find that my mom had her mixer going up in the kitchen, and that was the noise the freaky giant bug had been making.

There ya go. Also... check out Bret's freaky dream... (Which will show you how I've been pronouncing "freaky dream" every time I've said it in this post):

There are two types of personal statements for applying to law school.

"Yheyarkle Smarfgh!"  This is exactly how writing my third personal statement is making me feel. 

So, when I decided to go to law school once and for all more than a year ago, I felt like I was never going to be able to articulate WHY I wanted to go to law school without explaining that I prayed and felt like it was the right thing to do.  That was originally my ONLY strong reason.  However, when I finally reached this point where I'm applying to law schools and writing my personal statements it felt very different.  So the different applications ask for subtly different things with the personal statement, and some of them have different length requirements.  There are two main types of personal statements that I've been asked to write.  One is the kind that answers the question: "Why do you want to go to law school?"  I sat down to write that one the other night, and amazingly... it flowed from my fingers as easily as this blog-post is right now.  I also wrote a more brief version of that one for various length requirements.  So those two were surprisingly easy.
The other type of personal statement answers the question: "Why should we pick you for our law school?"  I've stared at a blank Word document for over an hour total now, and I still just can't figure out how to write that one!  I DESPISE bragging about myself in a professional setting.  When I did my Sterling Scholar portfolio in high school I really really hated it.  It's all about taking mediocre things you've done and trying to spin them to sound spectacular.  It essentially turns me into a politician.  I hate it.  Perhaps this means that law schools really just shouldn't pick me, but I find it odd that I can't write it.  It's funny that someone who can have such a self-serving blog as this can't figure out how to draw more attention to themselves.  Blogging is all about ME ME ME!
Anyway, wish me luck.  I'll get it written eventually, but I'm afraid that I'm no good at spinning things mediocre into spectacular.  We'll see.
Side note: I decided that applying to Quinnipiac was totally a stupid idea because I know I'd never go there.  So I swapped it out for St. Louis University.  We'll see how that goes.  (I'd pretty much only go there if they gave me a full-ride scholarship.)

Top 20 Indie Songs of 2009!

I forgot that I had assembled this list the other day on my iTunes.  I just keep listening to it.  These are some excellent tunes.  Check 'em out!  (I should point out that these are just the best of the music that I own.  There are many albums that came out this year that I still wish to own.)

1.  "Curse"    Imagine Dragons
2. "Rome"    Phoenix
3. "The Orchard"    Sea Wolf
4. "1901"    Phoenix
5. "Semi Automatic"    The Boxer Rebellion
6. "I Need A Minute"    Imagine Dragons
7. "O Maria!"    Sea Wolf
8. "Little Pieces"    Gomez
9. "The Rake's Song"    The Decemberists
10. "Stanislaus"    Sea Wolf
11. "Lisztomania"    Phoenix
12. "The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)"    The Decemberists
13. "Girlfriend"    Phoenix
14. "Story"    Great Northern
15. "Turn the Dirt Over"    Sea Wolf
16. "Cruise Night"     John K. Samson
17. "Thinking of You"    Pete Yorn
18. "Airstream Driver"    Gomez
19. "Dimmer"    Bishop Allen
20. "Letters from the Sky"    Civil Twilight
Honorable mention:
"Annan Water"    The Decemberists
"Don't Wanna Cry"    Pete Yorn
"Win Park Slope"    Gomez

Snowin' buckets...

Two deer in a snow storm
Originally uploaded by socks57

It's dumping snow on us like crazy. This means that even though I had planned to return home today originally, I wouldn't have been able to do it. I decided on Thursday though that I would stay the whole weekend, and then the snow solidified that choice. (Look! Deer!) Anyway, yesterday was really fun. Our murder mystery dinner was a blast. It turns out that Marsha Mallow from Vale Pharmaceuticals was to blame! It was funny hanging out with everyone today because everyone was SO TIRED. I blame it on the weather, but everyone else said it was just the party last night.
Anyway, yesterday I decided that since I have an entire month off of school, I will work out again. I decided that I'd do the workout routine that I was doing at the end of the summer... yeah... the one I haven't done in the last 4 months. This was not a great idea. Today my butt has been SO SORE! I can hardly walk. Putting my pj's on just now was way more painful than it should ever be. It's too bad I didn't get this sore until today, because I was playing an old man at our party last night. The soreness would have suited the character a lot better than it's suiting me right now!

Oh well. That's working out for ya. Well, have a great night! K, bye.

Will Lie, and a sweet surprise...

You can't see it very well, but I'm fat, and my hair is slicked back! I'm also wearing a gross old man sweater.  I'm doing a murder mystery party tonight, and I'm the character Will Lie.  (A partner in the law firm Lie, Cheat, and Steal.)  I'm excited.  We'll see how it goes.  Hopefully I'll get better pictures.

Also, I just got GREAT news.  Not only did I survive my GIS class, but I got an A!  Even sweeter, I got an A in both of my history classes!  A- in Spanish, but I'm still VERY VERY happy with my grades, especially considering that my GIS teacher offered me an "Incomplete" a couple times, and told me the other day that I was sitting at a C-.  This turned out to be a GREAT semester!  Whoohoo!  Take that, Swine Flu!

K, see ya later.  Off to my party.

Invisible Man Paintings... Liu Bolin

I'm a big fan.
I think this is such a great idea.  I don't know why, but I really like street installation art.  (I've had a link to some of it on this blog for a long time... check out my trash on the left side.)  Some of his aren't great, but I think a lot of them look really good.  I stole these from http://v1kram.posterous.com/liu-bolinthe-invisible-man
Check out the rest, the tractor is by FAR the best one to me.

The last one gets me every time!  He's from Shandong, China.  I think he's the bomb.

All done.

All done with everything for this semester.  Now I just wait and see what the damage is.  I know I have an A in Mexican American History, and I'm pretty sure I've got an A- in Spanish, we'll see about Black American History.  I stayed up all night writing my research paper.  It wasn't pretty.  GIS... I finally turned in the last of my labs that I missed when I had Swine Flu. 

Wish me luck.

In the meantime, SWEET!  I'm done!

Goodbye Yasuko...

Today was a great day... with the exception of one sad moment.  This morning I was supposed to have an interview with my Spanish teacher for my final.  It didn't happen because she had her baby a couple days ago.  So that class was done with.  I also had a final in my Mexican American History class that didn't happen because he gave us the option.  I already have an A, so I didn't take it of course.  I also was able to finish my GIS project around 7 am this morning, it felt more like yesterday as I hadn't gone to sleep until after that project was done.  I'm glad that's all done with.  So today was fairly nice.  After I got done with my Mexican American History class, I went to The Hub (food court) to get a slice of pizza.  I remembered that this week is Yasuko's last week selling pizza there.  She is this awesome lady that sells pizza like crazy because she just brings a smile to everyone's face.  She stands in the "Pasta La Bella" all day and shouts, "Hi!  How are you today?  You want some pizza?  So good, yummy!"  Over and over again in her awesome Japanese accent.  She sells WAY more food than the other little stores in The Hub do.  So today I bought one last slice of Hawaiian from her.  She told me that she was not going to be selling any more pizza, and handed me her signature!  Awesome!  "Pizza Lady."  I will sure miss her.  The Hub just won't be the same without her.  I honestly will probably never go there again!  I would literally only go there sometimes just because I wanted to buy pizza from her. 

Farewell, Yasuko!

File-Diving Adventure: "Beau"

Howdy y'all.  I'm having a pretty good weekend actually.  It seems like things are falling into place for me to be able to finish everything I need to.  We'll see how my last two big projects actually turn out.  They might not be great... but oh well.

I was just looking through my files and discovered a really random story that I wrote for KAVE TV... in other words it was going to be made into a goofy high school film productions class movie, but it never was.  Despite how badly I wanted to edit it and make it a bit better, I'll show it to you exactly as it was:

 Beau
And His Wacky Love Mishaps

    Beau sat alone.  He couldn’t get his mind off his impending bout with insanity.  Work wore him down, it had been raining for almost a straight month it seemed, and the rent was long overdue.  The restaurant seemed to be a place of escape for him.  It wasn’t the most successful of restaurants, which meant it was quiet.  Beau liked quiet. 
    For years Beau had lived alone.  He lacked the courting abilities of many of his friends, and he knew that he was the worst looking man on his block.  Beau’s quiet little restaurant escape offered little contact with women as they very seldom passed through its doors.  Today, Beau couldn’t get his mind off of his search for a mate that seemed so distant from an end that he’d even considered moving to live with his polygamist brother.
    Then as though a radiant light burst through the doors, a very attractive woman strolled in.  Beau got a better look at her, and realized she wasn’t all that attractive.  The sight   of a female was shock enough for him to stare.  She was a sort of round and plain looking woman.  Beau felt as though he was living the one last chance he had at meeting a woman. 
    Beau prepared his nerves and walked briskly to her table.
    “Nice weather we’re having, right?” Beau said.  He realized that probably wasn’t the greatest opener.
    Then the woman replied in a sort of gruff voice, “Go away, you’ll ruin everything!”  Then as though someone unpleasant had looked her way, the woman quickly averted her eyes to the table in front of her.  Beau wasn’t completely out of the game yet, and decided to ask her name.
    “Chi....Chippette,” came the hesitant reply.  “Now go away!”
    Beau wandered back to his table and sat back down.  There was something that Beau didn’t see about this woman.  She was in actuality, a he.  His name was Chip.  He’s an undercover agent on an extremely risky mission to watch the Canadian Mafia of northern Idaho.  Chip made his way out of the restaurant fearing that his cover had been blown. 
    Beau wasn’t going to let this chance at love slip away.  He followed who he thought was Chippette out the door.  Chip walked quickly toward his hotel, and Beau followed close on his heels.  Chip’s gun suddenly slipped loose and fell to the sidewalk below.  Beau quickly picked it up attempting to be a gentleman.  (He didn’t realize how strange it was that a woman of her age was carrying around a loaded pistol.)
    “Oh, let me help you out with that,” Beau said.  On the way up to her face, Beau noticed she had extremely hairy legs in the hot pink skirt she wore.  “Date her first then try to fix her,” he thought to himself.
    Chip was about to let Beau know that he was a man and was freaking out due to this unwelcome attention, but the leader of the Potato Gang of north eastern Idaho came out of the bar they were in front of.  Chip quickly stuffed his gun in his skirt and giggled at Beau.  The Potato gangster knew Chip well from his many visits to Chip’s station. 
    Beau was a little confused, but encouraged by the laughter.  He finally asked Chippette if she would go to a movie with him.  Suddenly the bar that the Potato gangster had just left blew up!  The blow blew Chip and Beau across the street and conveniently into the pillow factory’s garbage bin.
    Beau leaned over toward Chippette, and in his confusion was still expecting an answer from the woman.  He looked over and saw two oranges that had been jogged loose from Chip's bra.  He finally realized the horrible truth!  He had been hitting on a man!  In   embarrassment he started to run away, but was stopped by the excited yell of Chip. 
    “Thanks to you the Canadian Mafia of northern Idaho was just blown up, and I wasn’t in their restaurant anymore!  You saved me, and the mafia’s potato dealin’ and stealin’ days are over!”  Chip was so excited he then yelled, “I’ll do anything to show you my gratitude!”
    Beau stopped and thought for a second, and then asked, “Could you help me get a date?”
    Chip later introduced Beau to his half-sister Wendy.  Beau and Wendy got married in Las Vegas four days after their first date, and it finally stopped raining in Beau’s hometown!


Well, there you have it.  I'm an AMAZING writer, right?  If I could have edited it I wouldn't have informed the reader so early that Chippette was a man or a spy.  Oh well.  Cest la vie!  Well, I'm off to enjoy what relaxation time I have left on this fine Sunday afternoon.  Adios!

Whatever... Malk.

Ok, yes... I'm writing on here when I have TONS of stuff to get done before tomorrow, but I'm stuck at work until 1 a.m. tonight and I just kinda had a stress meltdown.  My professor just posted a bunch of our scores and ... well... I'm panicking about getting everything in as well as finishing my stuff for my other classes.  Basically I don't think I get to sleep tonight... ugh.  I'll figure things out.  It just stinks because I finally got my graduation packet completed and turned in, but now I'm worried that I won't get the grade I need for my GIS class. 

Destresser:


Well, I hope all is well with everyone else.  Smiling and/or laughing never hurts.  K, see ya.

Double duty, crying, heartburn, blue l.e.d.s and a lack of bloggage...

double-duty:  So today and last night were a bit stressful.  I'll start with yesterday morning.  I got a call from Brother Rickson in my bishopric and was surprised to hear him ask me to give a talk in sacrament meeting.  I said yes and then told him that I was also teaching Gospel Doctrine... perhaps in hopes that he would retract his invite, but he didn't mention it and just carried on with the conversation!  Subtle-attempt-at-getting-out-of-speaking FAIL!  So last night I had to plan both my talk and my lesson.  I feel like neither was great because I didn't give either enough time to develop.  Oh well... the important thing is that I'm done with double-duty, and I didn't get booed out of my lesson or off the stand.
crying:  As I was leaving home yesterday I mentioned to my mom that the week ahead of me was going to be very tough.  "If ever there was going to be a week where I called home from school crying... this would be it."  I'm frankly very scared.  I don't know if I'm going to be able to get through all of it with the grades I want.  My GIS class as I mentioned a couple posts ago is NOT treating me well.  I'll live, but hopefully I'll be happy with the outcome.
heartburn:  I don't think I've ever experienced heartburn until the past few weeks.  It's not great.  I don't like it.  And I wish to voice my opinion that it should be stopped.  That is all.
blue l.e.d. christmas lights:  I know some of you have heard me rant about them before, but I really don't like the new l.e.d. Christmas lights that are blue.  People think I'm crazy when I say this, but they hurt my eyes.  Yesterday, as I helped my mom put up her new l.e.d. Christmas lights, I finally figured out why.  I like the colors of her lights, but the blue ones are different.  She and I went out to her sidewalk to look at the lights when they came on in the evening.  I noticed that when I looked directly at the bulbs of the blue ones (my mom has the large-style lights) they're all fuzzy and my eyes won't focus on them!  The other colors... my eyes can focus on them just fine.  (I like the green.)  But when I stared directly at the blue ones, they look all blurry!  So they've been messing with my eyes from a distance all this time that I've been complaining about them.  So there!  I'm NOT crazy!  (Provided ranting about Christmas lights doesn't qualify me for crazy.)
a lack of bloggage:  As mentioned before... this next week is going to be tough.  And unless I'm going to be shirking on my school-work, you should probably not see me on here for a while.  The semester ends next week.  Wish me luck!

k, see ya.

I'm thankful for squirrels. (My thanks in videos)

I'm thankful for squirrels.

I'm thankful for turkeys.


I'm thankful for people who keep the news interesting.


I'm thankful for muffins... funny funny muffins.


I'm even thankful for Christopher Walken.


I'm thankful for hilarious dogs.


Most of all, I'm thankful for Jesus Christ.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Whirling Disease in Utah

• Did you know that whirling disease is caused by a microscopic parasite called Myxobolus cerebralis?  
• Now you do.  
• Did you know that just because spores of this parasite are present in a stream, it does not mean that whirling disease will be manifest in that stream's fish?
• Now you do.
• Did you know that whirling disease can cause various conspicuous types of mutation and the darkened tails exhibited by the trout in the photo to the right?
• Now you do.
• Did you know that I have a freakin' huge project due not too long from now that is causing me much stress and makes me want to whirl... hurl?
• Now you do.

 I just can't seem to catch up in my GIS class.  It's causing me a LOT of stress.  I might get an ulcer if I don't chill out.

I really want to go fishing.

Mostly I just want to be done with law school apps, graduation, and this semester. 

I'll get there.... whirl.
K, see ya.

Best Places to Eat in Cache Valley, Utah

SE Nedhams Jewlers Logan, UT
Originally uploaded by slzgg

I'm in a list-making mood. Since here in Logan there's nothing to do but eat... I'm going to make some sweet lists of the best eateries in the Logan area. Spencer is helping me out with this one.

Top 10 Local Fast Food Joints:
1. Logan Burger and Sandwiches (Main Street)
2. La Tormenta (North Logan, Strip mall by Wal-mart)
3. Logan's Heroes (Main)
4. Center Street Grill (Center and Main)
5. Old Grist Mill (Bakery that makes a great sandwich)(Providence and one on 400 North)
6. Andy's (North Logan, Main)(Great new place.)
7. Pounders (Main) (By Spencer's recommendation)
8. La Beau's (North Logan, 1400 N.)(It would be higher if it wasn't so darn expensive and slow)
9. Yah Poh! (North Logan by Best Buy) (Way good Chilean food that takes FOREVER, call ahead.)
10. Pasta LaBella (In The Hub food court in the Taggart Student Center on USU campus) (The pizza's pretty good, but I mostly love it for the awesome Japanese lady that sells the pizza. It will brighten your day to see her. GUARANTEED!)

Top 5 Local Full-service Restaurants:
1. The Beehive Grill (New place on Main)
2. Iron Gate Grill (Providence)
3. Hamilton's (North Logan, Main)
4. Firehouse Pizza (Providence and Smithfield) (Darn good food, and try a FH'zookie.)
5. Cafe Sabor (West side of Logan... don't know the street. It's an old train station.)(Good Mexican food.)

Top 5 Ice Cream:
1. Casper's (Providence)
2. Cold Stone (North Logan, 1400 N.)(Yeah, it's a chain, but it's darn good ice cream)
3. Charlie's (Main)(Just don't go inside, I hate the smell of the place. Drive through's great though.)
4. Aggie Ice Cream (On USU campus, 1000 East)
5. Angie's Restaurant (It's a full-service restaurant, but you'll see bumper stickers around town that say "I cleaned the sink at Angie's!" You get a literal small sink full of ice cream and you get the bumper sticker if you can finish the whole thing off. Usually done with a big group of people. Kinda fun.)


Like I said... there's not much else to do here but eat. Enjoy!

I have NO idea where in the country I will be next year...

University of Illinois Union
Originally uploaded by VSmithUK

Applying for law school is kind of weirding me out. I haven't the slightest clue where I'm going to be a year from now. I think this is the first time since waiting for my mission call that I've felt like this. (Holy crap, it's been 5 years since I got my mission call... that's nuts.) On Thursdays I work two shifts. (What's wrong with me that I'm on my computer between these shifts!? You'd think I'd have had enough computer time.) I spent the whole of my first shift compiling my "short list" of schools that I'm going to apply to. I've been working on figuring out where I was going to apply for a long time, but today I finally just decided on 10, yes, TEN schools that I'm going to apply to. I'm applying to a wide enough range of schools that I don't know if I'll end up in LA or Connecticut. It's a lot crazy.

Here's my long "short list" (I remember when McCain and Obama were picking their VP, the media kept talking about their short lists of candidates, and I want my own short list) of schools:

• Arizona State University:  It's not a bad school it seems.  It's a VERY hot school, but I think I'd rather be super hot at the beginning and end of the school year than frozen like I frequently am throughout the school year in this frosty Frigidaire of a city I live in now. 
• Brigham Young University:  Ok... this one's a no-brainer.  It's the least expensive top 50 law school.  It's 15 minutes from home.  I can find me a Mormon wife.  
• University of Cincinnati:  This is a nearly top 50 school that is actually a safety school for me.  They didn't make me pay the application fee, so why not, right?  I actually started my application to them because they were the first to offer me a fee waiver, but then a BUNCH more schools offered them to me.  (In fact, aside from BYU and ASU, all of these schools offered application fee waivers.)
• University of Connecticut:  I'm not really sure why this one is happening.  Pretty much the same reasons as Cincy.
• George Mason University:  This is a school that I'm really interested in.  It's a top 50 school, it is right by D.C., and it's a conservative school (which is only appealing because I won't feel quite as weird being a Mormon in a conservative atmosphere.)  Being right by D.C., this is probably the best dating atmosphere for me aside from the two schools in Utah.
• University of Illinois:  This is a great school that's ranked really well.  I don't know if Chicago is where I'd want to end up, but it would be cool to get accepted there anyway.  This school is the one that I think is most likely to reject me.
• Loyola Law School (L.A., CA):  There are like three Loyolas, so it's necessary to say that this is the one in Los Angeles.  I think it would be fun to go into entertainment law.  The only way I'll end up at Loyola is if that's what I know I want to do.  (This is also pretty much a safety school.)
• Quinnipiac University:  This is a SUPER-safety school.  I'm just entertaining this idea because I wonder if I could get a full-ride scholarship there... probably not, but I want to find out.  (This is definitely my least likely destination.)  (Can you believe I'm applying to two schools in Connecticut?)
  
• University of Utah:  This may be the most-likely destination.  It's also a top 50 school that is very cheap, but not quite as cheap as BYU.  Like BYU they have a great employment placement rate.  It's close to home, etc. 
  
• William and Mary:  This is the second oldest university in the country.  Cool, eh?  Yeah, this is a fairly prestigious school in Virginia, but I'm kind of only applying because they made it free.  It's cool that it's in Williamsburg though.  There's tons of history there.

There ya go.  My "short" list that actually felt super long.  Where do you see me?  Provo?  Salt Lake? Arlington?  L.A.? Champaign? Tempe? Hamden? Hartford? Williamsburg? Cincinnati?

HEARTY LAUGHTER!

HAHAHAHA, oh man, Check out the CREEPY ad that just made me bellow a rather loud laugh.  Wow, that's amazing.  The Goths have their own creepy-emo Match.com.  I'm curious to see what would replace the goofy things they have on dating sites like the "Poke them" or "Flirt with them" buttons.  This site probably says: "Glare at them" or "Lob a serpent in their direction."  OK, that's all for now.

Curses...

The title of this post is both my topic, and the name of a VERY fun game that I played this last weekend with some friends. 

First:  TODAY
Today was a decent day.  I didn't get some things done that I was supposed to because I couldn't get work off.  That was just a little frustrating.  Then I did get off of work a little early thanks to a very kind co-worker.  I quickly grabbed dinner and then went to the Quinney Library Computer Lab on campus.  I only had a couple hours to get some work done on my GIS (Geographic information systems a.k.a map-making) projects that I'm INSANELY behind on from having the swiggity flizzle.  I was trying to get as much done as possible before the lab closed.  I planned to be there from 5-7.  Then after about an hour people all left the lab.  Then the lights went out.  I was alone in there working by the light of the solo light that stays lit.  Finally a girl that works for the library came and said, "You know we're closing right?"  I looked at the clock and it was only 6:15.  "You don't close at 7:00?"  Apparently the library changed their hours in the last week.  After she was done giving me the bad news, I may or may not... mostly may... have cursed.  It was the first time I've heard myself swear in over a year as far as I can remember.  (The last time I foolishly pulled out in front of someone in my car.)

Last:  YESTERYEAR  (SIXTH GRADE) (NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED)

(This is a story I don't think my family has ever even heard.)  In sixth grade there was a point where I didn't have any good friends.  I wanted very badly to change this.  On Halloween I put a plan into motion to do just that.  I was trick or treating with my good pal Xavier.  He and I were cruising down the street and we heard an older guy across the street use a swear word.  Xavier turned to me and said, "Did you hear what he said?!"  Seizing the opportunity, I said, "Yeah, he said H***," as matter-of-factly as I could.  (Wow, I found a great source for cool-lessons in that random dude on the street.)  Xavier was CLEARLY impressed and laughed about me using the curse word.  When I saw the reaction I got, the idea was solidified.  Soon afterword I played football with Juan and Alex at recess.  I casually included some colorful language.  They thought it was so cool!  Then I started hanging out with Juan a lot.  Alex would frequently join in, too.  Our friendship was almost based entirely on the fact that we called each other profane names and swore frequently.  My word of choice started with a "b" and ended in "tard."  I was friends with them for the majority of the school year.  Then, not surprisingly for a relationship based on rebellion, things came crashing down.  I should point out that all the while my family was nonethewiser to my cursing.  All the kids at school knew, but not my fam.  Finally my family was having a party and my sister and I decided to weigh ourselves.  She went first, and then when I got on the scale it only said low battery and wouldn't work.  I went to tell her and only meant to tease her about having used the last of the battery, but I accidently let my favorite word slip... oops.  She called me out on it and I blatantly lied and said that I didn't say that word.  Soon after that I had a falling out with Juan.  Swearing to impress people had earned me a couple friends, but trust me, they weren't really winners.  One of our favorite pass-times was chasing each other and slapping each other on the back of the head.  Hard.  It hurt.  I probably lost a quarter of my brain cells.  Turns out that swearing to make friends ain't such a grand idea.  I pretty much quit after that.  I now probably let fly about .4 swear-words a year.  Not my cup of tea anymore.  Besides, I think all that head-slapping made me forget all my favorite swears.

K, see ya.

Snow...

Never drive on soft snow.
Originally uploaded by elvis_payne

Well... it's snowing again. I'm not very excited for it. Especially because I have yet to get my new tires for my car. (See old entries from last winter about getting stuck due to crappy tires.) I sure hope it doesn't get too bad. Or I might just not drive anywhere for a while.

Anyway, I'm feeling tired today, despite not having class and getting to sleep in. I don't like that.

I'm pretty awesome at fantasy basketball and football. My football team is tied for first, and 2 of my fantasy basketball teams are in first.

Stuff... so I've been hacking away at my November to-do list which was unhealthily long. Somehow though... it's STILL unhealthily long.

K, that's all. See ya.

Oops!/Woot! ... I forgot to sign it...

So, I know that in my recent post about game shows I pointed out a reason why I'm like 70 year old women.  However, in many ways I'm like a 9 year old.  (addiction to cookies and McDonalds?)  Another reason I'm rather like a 9 year old is that my signature is not great.  Ok... it's awful.  I might as well just scribble nonsense.  It would probably be better.  And even though many people's signatures are rather scribbley, at least their scribbles flow and are consistent from signature to signature.  I'm INCAPABLE of having a consistent signature. 

Yeah... so I'm not consistent... or great at it.  I just have not very consistent hand-writing period.  So anyway, I've often been mocked for my signature.  (Even by my own mother.)

Anyway, the point of bringing all of that up is that today I had to fax a cover letter and résumé to a gentleman that may or may not be having me intern at his law firm next summer.  (May not might be more likely after the event that I'm about to tell you about.)  So I carefully planned my cover letter and résumé, and tried to make them as professional as possible.  I printed them off at the computer lab and went to the copy center in the student center to fax them.  The girl there handed me a fax cover sheet to fill out, and I noticed that I hadn't signed my cover letter yet.  I thought, "Oh, I'll sign that after I fill this out."  Then my pen died.  I grabbed a new pen and carried on in filling out the cover fax sheet.  Then I handed the papers to her to fax.  Upon getting my receipt after paying with my credit card I was asked to sign it.  Suddenly I remembered... "CRAP!  I forgot to sign my letter.  It's going to look all goofy with the space for my signature.  Oh well, what's done is done." 

So... that's my story.  You've seen my signature.  Or at least my sad attempts at a signature.  Should I be glad or sad that I didn't sign my cover letter?

ALSO:  I love Institute!  I went to my Doctrines of the Gospel class with Brother Jacobs tonight and had a great time.  I love the uplift that I get from Institute.  Yesterday I was crazy stressed and worried, but tonight I feel great, even though I still have tons to get done.  I'm very relaxed and I owe all the thanks to Institute, and the Spirit's guidance for me in my life.  What a great feeling that is! 




Awesome songs that I rocked-out to while writing this blog post, and practicing my signature a million times:
"Uptight" by Imagine Dragons
"The Tain" by The Decemberists
"Crawling Towards The Sun" by The Hush Sound
"XFire" by The Bens
"Reading" by Matt Pond PA
"One" (live) by U2
"The World" by Earlimart
"In Other Words" by Ben Kweller

Monday

Today was definitely Monday.

My apartment smells like dead fish.

There was a long line at the Smith's gas station and some girl in a sporty red Honda Civic swiped my pump right before I could turn around to pull in.

I was very ornery today.

I took a stupid CIL test on document processing that is a big waste of time.

I'm really tired lately.  I think it's because my body is still killing the flu.

I only ate a couple clementines today.  (Main contributor to my orneriness.)

I can't get a hold of one of my professors, and I'm very behind in his class.

I don't feel like going to work tonight.

On the plus side:
I'm fine.

I'm not sick.

The weather was kick-trash today.

I grabbed a fee waiver at the Graduate School Fair today that will save me $60.

I finally got my new ear-buds that sound great despite being very cheap and don't suck like my old worn-out $7 champs that I bought at Ross.  (I'm using the new ones right now!)

I ate a Frosty.

I'm happy.


Sweet songs I listened to whilst compiling this list of Monday Pros and Cons:

"Life in Technicolor" by Coldplay
"Take It All Away" by Cake
"Discotheque (Hexidecimal Mix)" by U2
"A Million Middle Fingers" by Matt Pond PA

P.S.  Pardon the awful mispelling of "ornery" that made it resemble an unsavory word.

Fantasy Basketball...

My latest obsession has been Fantasy Basketball on ESPN.com.  I'm pretty addicted.  I don't know why it is, but I can go from not watching a sport with any regularity for like 5 years-- and then start a fantasy team and suddenly I'll follow the sport almost religiously.  I guess I'm crazy like that.  While I was sick last week, I started a BUNCH of different teams in different leagues.  I just thought that doing the live drafting was fun.  So I'm now the proud owner of some amazing teams like the Utah Billy Goats, the Logan French Fries, and the Utah SwineFlus.  I'm doing pretty well!

So I'm back at work again.  Today is my first shift back.  I just heard multiple examples of why I got sick in the first place bellowing across the computer lab... ("Cough!  Cough!"  "SNEEEZE!" (Yes, people just said those words loudly.  Actually, no, they didn't.  I'm a liar.) "Kehhhhwga, Kfwehaqg!")  My point, is that people come to the computer lab when they're sick.  I swipe their card and neglect to sanitize my hands every half hour... I get the Swiggity Flizzle.  Oh well, at least I'm done with it.

Things are going well with school.  My professors are all being pretty cool about me catching up.  So things are good. 

K, well, bye.