2012 Update

Wow, you know your blog is on the downward trend when you had 23 posts in 2010 (in the months of October-December), then only 8 in 2011.  Funny thing is, it's not like I ran out of things to say!  I just have been busy, which is the one-size-fits-all excuse these days.  But seriously, I was.  It was a brutal semester for me and this semester has turned out to be as unmerciful as the last.  Nevertheless, I feel like writing on this should be a good break.  So here is a super brief recap of some things that have happened in my life lately.  I'll keep every category brief:

Christmas

This Christmas, I had the opportunity to stay in Provo with my wonderful friends Mike and Karianna.  I had to work, which is why I stayed in Provo, but Mike and Karianna adopted me!  We had a great time spending the week together and it was a lot of fun.  I also got to spend time with my friend Luciana and her family, who took me in on Christmas Eve and invited me over for dinner!  It was a lot of fun.  Throw in a BYU bowl game for a 10 win season, and I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas.

New Year's

For New Year's, I actually got to go home.  But instead of going back by myself, I was accompanied by Kevin and Meridith.  We had a blast!  Mom was on her A game when it came to cooking, and we overall just had a fun time being in Boise with my family.  I worked Kevin in the football game we played (which incapacitated my dad for 3 days.)  Kevin and I had a professionally choreographed dance we performed on New Year's Eve that would win awards.  We watched Micah have a seizure on the dance floor.  I got beat by two old women in Pinochle.  And I found out that I have a superhuman talent of correctly naming a song after it has played for no more than 2/10's of a second.  Overall it was a super fun trip, and I hope it won't be the last time I see Kevin and Mer in Boise!

Kevin and I, before I beat him

Delicious breakfast made by my mother

Racquetball

I didn't return home from Boise empty handed.  I came home with a Wilson Racquetball Racquet.  Top of the line.  I decided that the manner in which I will get my physical exercise every week is via racquetball.  So far I have played 5 people: Bryan Wright, Spencer Urban, Kevin Baugh, Ryan Spille, and Haley Bennett.  I have thus far won one game, against Haley (although it should be noted she beat me 3/4 times.)  Bottom line, I'm not that good.  Yet.  But with practice, new Nike shoes, and a Rafael Nadal t-shirt, I'm bound to get better.  Right?

Buffalo Wild Wings

Among the more crazy and stupid things I have decided to do this semester (and my life) was wait in line for 3 days to get free Buffalo Wild Wings for a year.  I was with Bryan and Moe (who got engaged, congrats!) and Mike and Karianna.  This may sound like an economical investment at first, but consider the facts:

-Only the first 100 customers received the free wings

-We waited in line for 42 hours

-In that time, we all probably slept for around 5-6 hours.  At most.

-When we finally got the wings, we discovered they were distributed in a coupon book.  Each coupon was worth 6 free wings, and you can only use one coupon per week, and the coupon is only valid during one designated week.  After that, they expire.  And you can't use them early either.

-6 wings are about $5.  Thus, we got about $260 of free food

-$260/42 hours = $6.19 an hour.

Yeah definitely not worth it.  However, we will never forget memories of literally freezing to death during the night, being sleep deprived, not showering, and cramming 5 (unbathed) people into a tent.  I'm not yet emotionally healed from the experience, but I'm sure that one day I'll look back and laugh.

BYU Sports

I know some people probably will skip over this part, but who cares, I love BYU sports!  And sometimes, I HAVE NO IDEA WHY!!!  First, Jake Heaps transfers, essentially because he is a baby girl.  That's the only way I know how to put it.  I don't think Riley Nelson will do much with the team next year, but we will see.

And now, BYU basketball is letting me down.  We have lost to every ranked opponent this year.  Then, we go get a great road ACC win, which compelled me to wait for 5 hours to get into the St. Mary's game which, of course, we lost!  Pretty brutal.  A Jimmer-less BYU team is definitely struggling, especially from beyond the arch.  We will see how this season shapes up, but I will be happy if we even get to the NCAA tournament.

Mitt

Maybe this should be a separate post.  In fact, it will be.  Suffice it to say that I am all for Mitt.  I think he is everything that America needs right now.  I just wish people could see it a little better.  I'm going to go ahead and rain check this portion of my post, because I am realizing more and more that it needs some special attention.  For a good start, check out this article.

Well, that's all I have for now.  I once again pledge to post more often, although I realize all credibility is gone in that area.  Adios!

Sing-Off Conspiracy Theories

It has been a while since I wrote on here, and the story is the same.  This is the hardest semester I've ever taken here at BYU.  Add in 25 hours of work a week and I'm pretty much slammed every day.  Sometimes it gets hard to find the energy (or motivation) to do it all every day, but I'm getting by.

One of the ways I have been escaping all the work is watching NBC's The Sing-Off which features the best A Cappella groups in the nation all competing for $200,000 and a Sony Music recording contract.  It is judged by Boys II Men's Shawn Stockman, and singer-song writers Sara Bareilles and Ben Folds.  This year the show started with 16 groups, including BYU's Vocal Point (who I have been a huge fan of for years.)  Every week, the judges decide who leaves and who stays.

The show was judged pretty fairly for most of the show, until things started getting weird that past 3 episodes.  There were groups that were clearly not performing well that were moving on.  In fact, it seemed like the judges (or NBC?) already had in the back of their minds who they wanted to bring to the final four, when the audience would start voting.

One of the most blatant and obvious examples of this was eliminating Vocal Point last week.  Vocal Point had two performances for R&B week, Every Little Step and Ain't Too Proud to Beg.  Every Little Step was maybe the best performance by any group during the entire season.  The judges were laughing it was so good, and Shawn gave it a standing ovation.  Their second performance wasn't their best, although there wasn't anything wrong with it.  The judges immediately gave a harsher-than-usual critique of the performance saying things like the lead singer's voice was "too sweet."  It seemed after that performance that no matter what other groups had done, Vocal Point's fate was decided.

Vocal Point was subsequently voted off, having never been in the bottom two before (every other contestant had been in the bottom two at least twice, except for Dartmouth Aires.)  Contestants on the show even seemed shocked, as some literally had their jaws drop.  Vocal Point to that point had been the most solid, consistent, and was constantly voted fan favorite on the Sing Off website.

There was immediate backlash.  Click here to watch the video and read comments of viewers (the comments on the videos posted above are good too.)  Countless more comments were made on Youtube and Facebook expressing disgust with the obvious rigging of the show.  But why would NBC do this?  I have three theories:

1. Favoritism Theory:  The episode featured the top 5 groups.  This was the last episode that the judges would have a say in who stays and who goes, because the audience gets to decide from here on out.  Did the judges have personal favorites that they wanted to move on?  Were they turned off by feel-good college groups?  Was there simply a distaste to the style and type of music Vocal Point liked to do?  Or was Sony looking to make more money by having an a cappella group with more modern tastes move on, like Urban Method or Pentatonix?  Those are all questions worth asking.

2. FLIGHT$ Theory:  Another rumor I heard was that NBC was paying for Vocal Point to travel back and forth between BYU and LA so that Vocal Point members could do the show and attend school.  They did that for two episodes, which is 18 round trip tickets.  That can get expensive.  Was NBC trying to save a couple bucks by kicking them off early?  Vocal point would likely have survived 2-3 more episodes, which is 18-27 more airline tickets.  Assuming they made it to the top 2, that would be 45 tickets. 45 tickets @ $400 each = $18,000.  This is another theory which might have some merit.

3. Mormon Theory:  This theory might be the most controversial, but one that many are leaning towards.  At the end of the day, all the judges, media members, and everyone else in show business are liberal.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints helped front a massive campaign in California in favor of Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to define marriage between a man and a woman, thus barring gay marriage.  Was NBC worried about the large Mormon audience watching the show voting for Vocal Point and having them win?  That would be directly funding a Mormon university, with Mormon students, and giving Vocal Point a record that would more than likely contain some religious songs.  Vocal Point was basically neck and neck with another group, Pentatonix.  Regardless of who has more talent, the audience was going to decide the winner.  Was NBC trying to ensure that Vocal Point couldn't get a shot so they wouldn't be affiliated with the Mormon singers?  This theory would also align with why the judges voted off another group with Mormons, Delilah, when there were other groups that were clearly not as good.  Another thought, did Sunday performance have something to do with it?  Here is one comment made on the NBC website: "It's definitely rigged. I was told by a relative of a member of the group the real reasons they were eliminated. The producers said they would get an "unfair" amount of votes because their religion and school would all vote for them."  Interesting.

When it comes down to it, the outcome can't be changed.  However, it is infuriating when you play better, have more talent, and put up more points than another team but still walk away with a loss.  I hope NBC gets even more backlash from this and learns to play fair in the future.

I'm going to a Vocal Point concert this Saturday.  If I get any more inside information, I'll be sure to update the post.

Minnesota Trip

This summer, I went on an RV excursion from Boise, ID to Minneapolis, MN and back.  We stopped in Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, and Jackson Hole.  I made a trailer to the full-length movie I made documenting our trip.  Unfortunately, the video is too big to post to YouTube!  Watch the trailer, and if you like what you see, ask me to see the video.

Click here to see the trailer

BYU Starts and Texas Trip

As BYU Football starts to a 1-1 start, I feel like I may have a stroke any second due to the incredible amount of stuff going on.  This fall is my first full semester back at BYU (I went to Spring and Summer too, but let's face it, those don't count) and I am busier than I've ever been.

Just so everyone has an idea of how my week goes, here is my weekday schedule:

Mon, Wed, Fri: 

10am- Help with debate at the high school

12:30-9:30pm- Work

Tues, Thurs:

8am-6pm Class

On Thursdays I have a meeting at 9pm.

So yeah, I don't have too much time to breathe, but I'm keeping up so far.

BYU Football

I'm not really in the mood to write about BYU football after the loss, but let's just say that traces of Robert Anae and his conservative approach was really hurting us against Ole Miss and Texas.  Nobody seems to stop us but ourselves.  Our offensive line is huge yet we can't run, we have a pretty good QB yet we only throw underneath.  We need to see some serious improvements this week to beat the Utes.

I am pleased with the defense although I would love to see us blitz about 5x more than we are.

Texas

This week I got to go to Texas and see Brett and Leah!  It was so much fun.  I flew out of Provo Municipal Airport and got to Fort Worth early Friday afternoon.  I had my first Whataburger experience (which featured an excessive amount of ketchup at Leah's end of the table) and then re-injured my leg while walking to go play frisbee.  After playing some intense frisbee (we had a record of I think 24 consecutive passes without a drop), I came home and had some crisp, cool, refreshing water from the tap.  Ok actually it was lukewarm and tasted like it came from the lake.  Brett and Leah are going to get a filter pitcher soon.  Later that night, we went to a delicious Mexican place with only two menu options: enchiladas and fajitas.  Of course I chose fajitas.  They were really good.

The next day we drove out to Austin.  The fans were actually really nice and didn't say anything to us.  There was a really good number of BYU fans, I was surprised.  The stadium was enormous and we were pretty high up, but I still thought our seats were good.  The game was fun even though we lost and hopefully we can pick it up for the rest of the season.

On Sunday we just watched some NFL until I had to fly home!  It was a great trip, especially seeing an expecting Leah.  They are both really excited to have their baby, who is due in February.  I am also excited since it feels like I'm going to be an uncle!  I think Brett pretty much confirmed that if it's a boy, they will name him Paul and if it's a girl they will name her Paula or Paulina or Paulerette or Paulita or Pollyanna.  We will see.

Happy birthday to Brett and Leah!

Below are some pics from the trip.  Enjoy!

Champions of the World

After years of attempts, trying to beef up rosters, and increasing our fan base, we finally won the BYU Intramural Championship of the World.

It wasn't an easy path, but between everyone putting forth amazing efforts, heroes were born and the most coveted T-shirts on campus now belong to a fine group deserving nothing less.

Here are some pictures from the season along with a tribute video made by Haley Bennett:

Here is the video.  Props to Haley for doing this!

Volvo

"Don't cry because it's over.  Smile because it happened." -Dr. Seuss

There comes a time in every man's life where he has to let go.  Shaniqua and I had been through many moments together.  Whether it was getting flat tires together, driving everywhere in Provo (since Kevin "doesn't get good gas mileage"), driving across the nation, or breaking my transmission and locking up my e-brake on Y mountain, it seems Shaniqua and I were always having new adventures.

But Shaniqua and I always knew that it was just a temporary thing.  After all, Andrew had her first.  He took care of her.... sort of.... ok not at all... (but you know how sometimes girls stay with their really abusive boyfriends anyways?  It's kinda like that.)  Andrew gave her a new stereo and after that, Shaniqua promised that she should wait for Andrew.  

Then she found me.  We had 2 beautiful years together.  But after a while, I realized that she was just too high maintenance.  Andrew was coming home soon too, which strained the relationship.  One day, Shaniqua just snapped and her transmission went bad.  I had to make a decision: fix her, or pass her on to her true (albeit abusive) love.  The inevitable happened and I gave her up.

It was a weird thing being single again.  I hadn't been single since before my mission.  I started looking frantically.  I was new to the online world of seeking love, but it wasn't long before destiny sounded its trump and I found her: Sylvia.  Her name sounded Mexican, but when I saw her profile, it said she came from Sweden.  I had never been with a European before... I had always gone with someone Asian, but I was willing to give it a try.

When I met Sylvia, it was love at first sight.  I saw some other girls and never had that "love at first sight" feeling that I got with her.  Things moved quickly.  Within the day, I had already asked for her to be mine.  I proposed to her and she accepted my hand.  I went home that weekend to talk to my parents about her and obtain the necessary resources I would need to be with her.  After I got it all figured out, I came back to her, signed some papers, and she became mine.  All mine.

Ever since then, we have been a truly happy couple.  I take her everywhere.  My sister even makes fun of me for how protective I am of her... but what can I say?  She's beautiful and I don't want that to change.  We are truly a match made in Heaven.  Assuming things go as well as they're going right now, we should be together for many more years to come.

I love you Sylvia!!!

As a side note, Andrew and Shaniqua continue the abusive relationship.  When he got home, things looked like they were going well, but within 2 days Andrews old habits came back and he backed up into a ditch, tearing half a hubcap off.  I've warned Andrew that if the abuse continues I will report the domestic violence.

Sylvia:

Andrew, and his inexplicable hair, driving Shaniqua:

Summa Time

Probably the most common line you will read in any given blog or journal usually goes like this: "Wow, I haven't written in forever!"  I refuse to write that.  But seriously....  Look at when my last post was.  As such, this could be a pretty long post.  Buckle up!

Here are some of my most recent happenings and thoughts:

Weddings and Engagements:  The perpetual cycle of all my best friends getting married and engaged continues.  I could write an entire post on each one of the weddings and all the special things that happened in them.  But I'll keep it short.

Justin and Brittany: Married at the end of April.  Married in the Bountiful Temple.  Was a really special wedding for me since Justin and I were not only roommates, but grew to be really close friends and remain so.  Brittany and I are also really close.  These two care about me so much and I was really lucky to be a part of this wedding.  Justin and Brittany both have an amazing talent of being able to relate to people and be there friend.  Whenever you're with Justin or Brittany, you feel like they are your best friends.  Brittany looked beautiful as per usual and Justin looked handsome and skinny.  Pics on my facebook!

Kevin and Meridith:  Soon after, I found myself on a plane to San Jose where I was picked up by the Baugh Brothers: Kevin and Brian.  I had a great time staying at Kevin's house and enjoying the hospitality and food provided by Melinda (who also gave me the greatest gift of all the gifts that mankind can offer: Chipotle giftcards.)  I was able to sleep in Kevin's room with him the night before, drive with him to the temple, and go to the reception.  I can't say enough about Kevin and Meridith and how much they mean to me.  Meridith especially makes a noticeable effort to always ask me how I'm doing which does not go unappreciated.  As I drove with Kevin to the temple I will never forget the overwhelming feeling that I had: that this was all happening because Kevin worked his butt off on a hard mission.  That's why he got to deserve a girl like Meridith.  I'm so proud of Kevin and Meridith.

Mike and Karianna:  How could watching one of my oldest friends get married not be a super emotional experience?  Mike knew shortly after he met Karianna that he was going to marry her and he just went for it.  Karianna quickly realized how awesome Mike was and fell in love.  Watching Mike come out of the temple with Karianna was really special for me to see.  Mike has always been a great friend to literally everyone and especially to me.  He would do anything for me if I asked him.  He also sets an amazing example to me.  He's lucky to be with a girl like Karianna, as she is always super sweet and caring to everyone.

Brandon and Devynne (engaged):  Well, what can I even say about this?  Brandon and I used to give Mike SO MUCH CRAP for how fast he got engaged to Karianna!  And now Brandon got engaged in half the time that it took Mike- 2 months!  Brandon is awesome and the one time I have met Devynne, she was super sweet.  They plan to get married in October.  More on them once they tie the knot!

Brett and Leah Move to Texas:  If it wasn't bad enough that all my friends got married, the one couple whose house I literally lived at for most of the time left and moved to Texas.  Brett had job offers from all over the United States in places like.... Boise.... Boise... and Idaho.  So who can blame them when they decided instead to try their luck in the Lonestar state?  It wasn't long at all before Brett got a job out there and he has been working there ever since doing recruiting.  Leah works for her dad part-time.  Needless to say, I miss them like crazy.  Assuming that everything goes according to plans (which it will), I will see them when BYU plays Texas in September.

BYU:  This spring I officially made my long awaited return to the greatest university on the earth: BYU!  I started taking classes in April, but it was soon apparent to me that the English major was not for me.  I saw an advisor and decided to change my major to Latin American Studies.  There are a couple benefits for doing this:

-I will enjoy it.  A lot of the major is learning and refining Spanish.  The rest of it is learning about the politics and geography of Latin America.  I can really get into that stuff, so it's a good major for me.

-Law schools don't care what your major is.  They just want a good GPA.  Before my mission, my GPA was terrible.  Post mission, I'm sporting a 3.7.  We'll see if I can keep that up.

-I can graduate early.  Since many of my Spanish classes got waived off, I'm able to graduate this April if I stay on track!

So basically, this was a good change for me.  I'm taking 7 credits right now in the summer: Spanish Literature, Living Prophets, and Doctrine and Covenants.  I love being back on campus.  Oh, I also took my first midterm today and got a 92%.  What's up?

Adversity:  Many of you know me well enough to know that the last couple of weeks/months I made some important decisions about relationships and other things.  Throughout all of this, the words from the hymn kept coming to mind: "Do what is right, let the consequence follow."  So I've been doing that.  Sometimes I've had to make decisions where I didn't really know what was going to happen.  But luckily, it has all worked out... or I have been given the comfort to know that things will work out in the future.

Everyone goes through hard times and has to make important decisions.  We can do things in this life in 2 ways: God's way, or some other way.  I've tried both, and I can stand as a witness that the only way to really be happy is by doing it God's way.  Think about: the most powerful, all knowing being the universe loves us.  He has the big picture.  He has out best interest in mind, every time.  Why wouldn't we listen to Him?

Well, although that might sound like a rhetorical question, I have an answer:  Because we're morons.  And because we are all morons, we tend to start doing well and get complacent with where we're at.  That's a hard lesson that I got to learn/ am still learning.

I heard an example at church once about this.  The speaker said: "Life is like a river.  To get to our destination, we have to get on a canoe and go against the current.  If we don't keep paddling forward, we will inevitably be moved backward by the current."  That's a hard thing.  We have to be constantly diligent in moving forward and making progress.  If we do stop paddling or turn our canoe the other way, it's ok, but let's get back going in the right direction as fast as we can so we don't lose any more ground.

In my living prophets class, my teacher told an interesting story.  Elder Eyring was to go on an assignment by himself, without the companionship of his wife.  Elder Ballard, his senior apostle at the time, called him and said "Elder Eyring, you are traveling without your wife and Satan is constantly trying to tempt all of God's servants.  Be careful."  It's so interesting to me that even apostles have to avoid complacency and be constantly watchful and diligent.

So basically, choose to do things God's way and don't get complacent.  That's the only way to be happy.  And because I have been doing that recently, I have been so happy and confident.  It feels good to know that you're doing the right thing.

New Friends:  I have to give a shout out to some of new really good friends, namely Alisa, Jalynn, and Davi.  I met them this summer in my apartment complex and we have had so much fun together.  I don't know how I get so lucky with the friends I'm able to find, but all three of them have really been a blessing in my life.  Most recent example:  My work screwed up my check and didn't pay me half of what I supposed to receive.  Since I follow a tight budget, I didn't have anything to eat.  But before I knew it, I heard a knock on the door and to my surprise there was Alisa and Davi with cinnamon toast and Jell-o pudding and fruit snacks!  Oh, and don't think Jalynn (or J-Bones as I sometimes call her) hasn't been nice to me either.  She gave me a bean burrito the other night and even microwaved it for me!  I'm so lucky to have them.

Catch:  I have decided that one pastime I will never get sick of is playing catch.  I seriously could throw a football or baseball or frisbee all day long and never get sick of it.  I also have a bad habit of dropping whatever I'm doing to go play catch.  I just love it ok?

The Fever:  Probably to the surprise of many, this summer I have caught the fever.  Bieber fever.  After my friend Brandon forced me to watch Never Say Never, I was hooked.  The kid has amazing talent, unlike some of his colleagues who basically came through the Nickelodeon or Disney machine.   He did it on his own through pure, straight talent.  Don't believe me?  Just watch this and you'll be convinced:  http://www.youtube.com/user/kidrauhl?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/57/gSA1Gytz-Os  

Or this: http://www.youtube.com/user/kidrauhl?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/48/eQOFRZ1wNLw

Yeah, he's amazing.

Softball:  I know you were waiting for this....Softball update!  We are in coed softball season and we are looking really good.  The regular season ended tonight and playoffs start next week.  I'm excited to see how we do- I'm pretty sure we have a championship team this year.  Last year we got to the championship, but lost.  Hopefully we can take it all the way this year.

Minnesota:  I am making my return to Minnesota next month!  The trip will include activities like visiting Grandma Dorothy, seeing old high school friends, and going to a Twins-Yankees game.  I'm pumped to say the least.  I just love Minnesota!  See my old post as to why Minnesota is the greatest place on earth.  

Well I'm sure this all you can handle reading right now so I'll leave it at that.  I'm going to try to write in here more often!  With such a huge following how couldn't I?  Peace out! (for now)