2011 A.D.

It's a new year, and with that comes the optimism of a fresh start.  I can't be sure, but I have a feeling that this year is going to be a good one for me.  I'm looking forward to continuing with my education, enjoying the college life, and improving myself little by little.


So we all know about the big scam that happens in January that is the New Year's Resolution: "Recent research shows that while 52% of participants in a resolution study were confident of success with their goals, only 12% actually achieved their goals. A separate study in 2007 by Richard Wisemen from the University of Bristol showed that 78% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, and those who succeed have 5 traits in common. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set; such as, a pound a week, instead of saying 'lose weight'), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends."


That being said, here are some things I want to focus on/accomplish this new year:


-Start working out again
-Get straight A's my last semester at UVU, then get B's or better at BYU (BYU is hard)
-Keep my commitments, no matter what
-Read scriptures and pray every day
-Be honest about my mistakes
-Go to Minnesota
-Do my best in all that I do
-Go to at least 2 BYU away games (maybe a bowl game?)
-Drink more water
-Be a better friend
-Talk less, listen more
-Bring my friends to my house in Boise
-Give more than I take
-Save my money better
-Eat out less
-Win an intramural championship
-Continue to blog
-Watch BYU go to the Sweet 16 in Basketball and the BCS in football
-Witness Kevin purchase a Mac


If I could do those things, life would be awesome.


Here are some other tidbits about what's been going on with me:


-Russell and Claire got married!  The wedding was awesome, and the setup was stressful!  It was still a lot of fun to see Russell's family and meet Claire's family.  There was a Thai ceremony that was also interesting....  I got to bless Claire and Russell during the ceremony with some water in a shell.  When I got up there I didn't know what to say, so I just told Claire "Be patient" and then told Russell "Te amo."  Nice.  I also caught the garter, played the piano as Claire walked in the room with her dad, and got to help DJ the reception.  My plane got delayed 3 hours on the way home however and I got stuck in Seattle.  Overall a great trip, and I'm so happy for Russell and Claire!


-Trent and Star got married!  I wasn't able to go to this one since Russell's was on the same day... but congrats to them!  I saw them yesterday and I know they are enjoying the married life.


-Christmas break was awesome, but short.  I went home on Christmas Eve and then had to leave only 3 days later!  Luckily, I still got to see all my family, including Uncle Mark who I haven't seen in 3-5 years.  Mark and I were partners in a Pinochle challenge against a family in the ward.  We walked away with a victory in our first game, then played Grandpa and Sara.  We clobbered them, only needing 10 more points to secure the win.  Grandpa then miraculously shot the moon, ending our campaign for the championship. I continued my Wii dominance against Josh, played dodgeball with my brothers, and got to eat some good food.  I flew home and worked the rest of the week.  Gift highlights were a printer and laundry services for the whole semester!


-I purchased myself a Gamecube.  Current games that I own are Super Smash Bros, Super Mario Strikers, and Mario Party 4.  Needless to say, I will waste many hours playing with friends, but well worth it.


-Kevin and I invented a new game.  While we were sitting in the hot tub one cold night, I decided to run around the pool in only my swimsuit in the snow.  Kevin made a game out of it by one-upping me.  He not only ran around the pool twice, but also did penguin-like belly slides on the snow.  After running in the snow for a while, your feet feel like they been smashed with a sledge-hammer.  But that didn't stop us.  I one-upped Kevin by doing summersaults and belly dives AND running around the entire apartment building.  After that, however, I got outdone by Kevin who did summersaults, belly dives, and ran up and down three flights of stairs.  I tried to match him, but failed.


-Brittany and Justin got engaged!  It happened New Year's day at midnight.  I put on a brief pyrotechnic display shortly after in celebration.  I am now a felon.


-I won Presidents Club (employee of the year) again at Simply Mac.  I am a Mac Daddy. And still a felon.


-School starts tomorrow.  Right now I'm taking 15 credits and working 18 hours a week.  Should be busy, but good.  Classes I'm taking are:
-World History 1-1500 AD
-Word History 1500-present
-Business Spanish
-Personal Finance
-Technical Writing


-Work schedule is as follows:
Mon: 6-8pm
Tues: Off
Wed: 6-8pm
Thurs: 10-2pm
Fri: 3-5pm
Sat: 10-6pm
Less hours means harder to reach my sales goal, but I should hopefully still be ok.


-There is a car outside with an alarm that is going off every hour all night long!  It will go off for about 5 minutes every hour or so, then turn off.  I have literally lost hours of sleep because of this thing!  Worst part is that it's parked right outside my window.  I will have to take drastic measures if it doesn't end soon...


-New music on the blog!  There are a couple more songs I'm working on uploading as well...


-My bowl predictions have all been correct with the exception of Washington vs Nebraska. I should have known that the former BYU quarterback would coach the Huskies to a victory.  My bad.  Also, Alabama vs MSU turned out to be a joke of a game.  I also predicted the Arkansas game wrong.  I now owe Brett $3.


-Brandon Doman gets the hire as offensive coordinator for BYU.  Here's a great article on the story: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=498&sid=13884259  Meanwhile, Robert Anae got hired at Arizona.  Good luck and good riddance.  Now what can be done about JJ DiLuigi....


Well, that's pretty much it for now.  I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy new year!  As always, keep checking back for more posts.