He says, She says!

Social Media Social Schmedia

2012-02-02T12:48:00.004-07:00

Are social media sites making us less social? Think about it. There is not room for small talk in a 140 character message. We all skip the pleasantries, and get down to business. Just 10 years ago we were required to strike up conversations, learn pleasantries, and ask meaningless questions to act like we cared. Despite this previous post, I have rejoined the facebook/twiiter world, but wonder again if it is more damaging than good.

In some regards, this is a benefit. I was never good at small talk, because I typically just did not care. Sure, its polite to ask how the family is doing, and if there is anything new at the office, but in all honesty, do we really care? Furthermore, do we even understand? Further-furthermore, are we even honest in our answers? Imagine this conversation:

Me to casual friend #1: “ Hey, how you been? It’s been a while eh?”

Casual Friend: “Yeah, it sure has. What’s new?”

Me: “Same old, same old I guess.”

Casual Friend: “I hear ya man. How’s the family?”

Me: “Well, my oldest daughter is really concerned about one of her friends at school always teasing her. She comes home each day talking about how she really wants to be friends with this girl, but that she is mean at recess. She has also been doing so well with her assignments that her friends accuse of her being the teachers pet. My boy loves to come home and watch old episodes of Tom and Jerry, and has recently been playing in a basketball recreation league. He's also obsessed with Star Wars, just like I was and and still am. My youngest sucks her thumb and can’t wait until the next Mickey Mouse clubhouse episode comes on. She also spends all day making messes of the house for her older brother and sister to clean up when they get home from school.”

Or suppose he/she asked me, “how’s work?” Does the casual friend really want honesty? “Well, we responded on a young adult that got so mad at her boyfriend that she overdosed on some medication, ending her life. Her parents found her dead in her apartment when they decided to stop by for a surprise visit. Then later that day, a new driver wrecked the family car while driving home from the drivers license division. Right after that we got called to a care facility for a woman that couldn’t stop throwing up. We were also called by the police office to do a welfare check on a man who lives alone with 96 cats and doesn’t bother cleaning up after them as they crap all over the house. A young family has to replace their entire basement carpet after a sewage system backed up, flooding the place. Then we had to go enforce the new EPA regulations and tell a family to put out the fire they were using in the backyard because another anonymous neighbor down the road was annoyed with the smoke. And to cap it all off, a young kid was left unattended and played with matches, burning down the families dream home.”

At what point does the casual friend zone out? At what point did you zone out just reading about it?

So yeah, social media may be helping our lives? My thoughts though, are that it makes us dumber. When we are with good friends or family, our conversation pieces are lacking, and I bet at any given family party, the majority of attendees are doing something on their smart phones, and hardly interacting at all.

What are the long term consequences of this? Perhaps the Mayans stopped the calendar at Dec 21st because they knew we would all have phones that announce the date to us each morning when we awake? Our social skills are going to deteriorate to the point that it will become a module in history classes in high school before too long.

Perhaps this is the extreme outlook, but think about it next time you are at a social gathering. Pay attention to your next conversation with an acquaintance. Think about if you really care about the answers you are asking for, or if you are doing it because you just want to end the conversation as quick as possible so you can get back to updating your facebook status!

Gender Roles

2011-09-25T18:09:00.008-06:00

Maybe by the time this post is finished, it will contain enough to elicit a response from Rebecca, since this is a "He Says She Says" blog after all. When was your last post Rebecca? 1994?

I absolutely hate ironing. H. A. T. E. it. With this hatred comes bad feelings, cursing, evil speaking, bad thoughts and on and on. That said, I have had to iron a shirt about 20 times in the last month. It all started with some online shopping from Kohls. I needed a new white shirt, and Kohls was having an online special for a wrinkle free white shirt. Perfect right? I was hooked, lined, and sinkered right away (that's a fishing reference). I couldn't wait for my new shirt to arrive. My previous wrinkle free white shirt had served me well. Faithfully keeping the wrinkles off and being wearable right out of the dryer week after week. At about age 10, it gave up the ghost. The other white shirt in the closet was not wrinkle free. It was more like the birthplace of all wrinkles. A wrinkle extravaganza. It required the services of a seldom used item in our house...the hot iron. After just one episode of the hot iron, I started shopping. That's where Kohls comes in. So the day arrives that the Kohl's shipment also arrives. I think I was excited for this as I was for the release of Achtung Baby. I tore open the package like a 6 year old at Christmas. I took it right to the washer and washed it. Then I put it in the dryer. When the dryer buzzed I was there to take it out. Imagine my dismay to see a horribly wrinkled shirt. How could this be? I was mortified. I read the label. No mention of wrinkle free anywhere. As the anger in me began to rise, I once again fetched the iron and ironed out the wrinkles. I did that for the next 5 weeks, including today.

Here is where I interject this thought: Shouldn't my wife do the ironing?

Life Without Facebook

2011-07-06T21:14:00.003-06:00

It was harder than I thought it would be, but I am finally Facebook Free. Since deleting my account I feel so liberated. I don’t miss it one bit. I realize this is bucking the system slightly, especially in a world where everything is turning to social media, but it just had to be done.

I have so much more time each day to be productive without Facebook. Yes, I was getting that bad, checking status updates, browsing friends profiles, browsing fan pages at all hours of the day. It seemed if I didn’t have something specific to do at any given moment, that I would open the computer, or get on my smart phone and pull up Facebook. I was starting to update the world through my status updates. I was starting to wonder if Facebook was made by Skynet and Cyberdine, then I remembered that is actually Google.

My Facebook departure has really got me thinking about the days before we were so “connected.” Remember when we had to carry dimes (and later quarters) just to be able to use a telephone. Do pay phones still exist? Are we “too” connected?

So I have cut the puppet strings. Feels good, like when you are sitting on a beach and the sun is warming your naked body. Don’t deny it, you know what that feels like.

No Facebook, no twitter. Only blogs. I love the blog world, except it seems like many bloggers are easing up on their posts lately, including me. I liked when it was such a trend and almost everyone was blogging. I have always been a “keep in touch” kind of person. Except not the Facebook kind of keep in touch, the meaningful kind of keeping in touch, with substance. Blogging fills that void much better than Facebook.

I remember when I first joined Facebook. Paul Newman, yep, Paul Newman told me about it. He thought it would be a good way for us to keep in touch. It was so cool at first, reconnecting with old friends. “Liking” random things. Playing all those games. Then it sucked me in like the Mega Maid on Spaceballs. So much time spent doing nothing. Tagging the elementary school photos is only entertaining for a few weeks.

Now its all done. My Mafia is underground, my bejewels are losing their luster, and my large bankroll in poker is just burning a hole in the cyber-casino. “In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” Franklin D Roosevelt said that. “Once free from the vice of Facebook, life gets better.” I said that.

Like I said, I don’t miss it. I enjoy that I have reconnected with old friends, and though Facebook provided that reconnection, it has served its purpose, and ran its course. And I am done.

The United States Equivalent to that Space Between Your Toes...

2011-05-26T12:05:00.006-06:00

Oakland. Enough said? Probably, but I will say a little more.

As many of you know, I am "questing" to see a professional baseball game in every major league stadium. Then I want to write a book about it. This quest sometimes takes me to places I would never consider visiting otherwise. Occasionally, this is a pleasant surprise. Sometimes, though, it is worse than anticipated. I have tried to group my trips to get as many games per trip as possible, which can be logistically challenging, but also fun. Hence it was with Oakland.

My intent was to go see a San Francisco Giants game. I was once a huge Giants fan. Will Clark is still my all time favorite ball player. I lost my Giants flavor a little through the cheating Barry Bonds years, but now kind of peek in their direction, like when you play hide and seek with the kids, and don't quite close your eyes fully...

Anyway, since San Fran and Oakland are just a bridge away from each other, I had to get both stadiums done on one trip. As I got to planning, I quickly learned that everything in San Fran is more expensive. Flights, Hotels, Food. All of it. So we looked at Oakland: the space between the toes of the United States. Seriously, to call Oakland the armpit would be a promotion.

My plan all along was to land in Oakland, go to the game at the Coliseum, and get back on the BART as soon as possible to get to San Fran. We took AirBART from Oakland airport to the Coliseum, which is very convenient, fast and easy. (I guess convenient means fast and easy, so forgive the double superlatives.) Once at the Coliseum, which could also be called Industrial Park Stadium, or even "The Stadium near the Junkyard", we wandered around to see the sights. The sights consisted of the Coliseum, and the Arena where the Golden State Warriors play basketball. They were about 50 feet apart from each other. I didn't mind being inside the Coliseum, it was actually better than I had expected after talking to others. Cool, old fashioned baseball diamond and field. And that is all there is to see in Oakland. Honestly. I hurried to San Fran as soon as the game got out.

If this post were about San Fran, I would write a bunch more, but this post is about worst places to visit. I submit Oakland. I challenge you three readers to post (in the comments) about the worst place you have visited and challenge the title I am currently giving to Oakland. Read on.

At the end of trip, we had to go back to Oakland to fly home. Getting there: Easy. Cheap. Once there: Run for your life. Yeah, we got swindled at the BART station. We needed a ticket for AirBART to get us from the Oakland BART stop to the airport. While buying tickets we had unsolicited help pushing the buttons on the automated ticket dispenser. This local thought we would not be able to figure it out all by ourselves, so he helped. The catch was: He was not just a good samaritan helping some tourists get home. Nope. Apparently his services cost money, being the valuable commodity they were. So after helping us he told us we had to pay him. I gave him my BART ticket that still had $2.40 of unused fare. A travel buddy, Sean, "gave" him three bucks. Small change sure, but a priceless cap to the Oakland experience. Glad its done. Eight of us went on this trip, and none of us could think of a reason to ever go back to Oakland. Perhaps I should call the Raiders and see what convinced them?

Over Under

2011-02-13T15:54:00.003-07:00

Maybe I have been listening to too many podcasts about sports that all eventually talk about gambling, but last week in church I could not help but let my mind wander to other things. So I came up with a betting table for sacrament meeting. For example: I could be the bookie arranging bets on Fast Sunday. You could bet against the odds on whether someone was going to be the one to bear or not. I would arrange an over under for the ending time. Which reminds me, Eli asked me about Fast Sunday, and at the end of my best five-year-old explanation, he asked which one was ‘slow’ Sunday? I told him the third Sunday, High Council Week.

Our house really likes The Office. When the opening jingle plays, the kids stop what they are doing, run to the sound, and watch intently until it is over. An episode around Halloween really disappointed me though. In the episode, Michael goes to a website called monsters.com. The website has all kinds of roars, screams, and other monster sounds that he plays around with. Well, I went to monsters.com and it is nothing like it was portrayed on the show. I was so sad. I really wanted to get some monster sounds. This is one of my disappointments in life: Not enough websites with monster sounds.

Update wise: all is status quo. I am really eager to get out of winter this year. Rebecca is every year. The kids don’t care either way. I feel like I write this exact thing every February. One of you ambitious readers can go back and look at past posts and let me know. Once Groundhog Day passes, it drags until baseball gets going full speed at the end of March. March 21 cannot come quickly enough.

Tax Time

2011-01-31T12:15:00.003-07:00

I was driving home from the gym today (do you like how I added my location to slyly imply that I am a health conscious person?) and saw the Liberty Tax Mascot. The lady was jumping around and acting like a maniac, all the while sporting the Official wardrobe of the Statue of Liberty. At this particular moment, I was the only car for quite a few blocks, and I could not look away. The lady was yelling and waving, but I could not hear her since my talk radio station was too loud, and I did not wave back, because I did not want to her to think I supported the Liberty Tax Company. This brief encounter, however, got me thinking: “What is the etiquette for these types of situations?”

I know politicians often do the “honk and waves” as election time nears. This is surely to get their name out there and fresh in the minds of drivers heading to the polls. I have also seen the 13 year olds advertising the Little Ceasers pizza that is “Hot N Ready for 5 bucks.” This must work as advertising because many companies have resorted to these tactics. I cannot honestly say that it has ever swayed my decisions when searching for fast food.

Back to the Liberty Tax Lady. Part of me feels bad that she is outside all day waving and trying to draw attention to herself with little to no reward. Should I have just honked and waved and then went on my way, even though I will never go to that business? Or did I do the right thing, to not give her any false hope of someone that supports that business? Aside from requiring their “street workers” to act ridiculous...I do not have anything against Liberty Tax, except that they have outrageous prices and I really like my tax guy. (He’s in South Jordan if anyone is looking for a good one. If one of you six readers goes to him, we both get a discount on our tax preparation fees.)

I have thought about this way too much, but I am still curious to know what the right decision is? I turn it over to you: the readers. Let me know. I think Mascots belong in stadiums, arenas, or other sports venues, not on the road to add yet another distraction to drivers.

Disclaimer: All photos were plucked off the internet and the author does not support, condone, or agree with any of them. Except I do like hotdogs and pizza.

Not A Resolution, but...

2011-01-09T19:21:00.005-07:00

I am not one for resolutions. I typically subscribe to the fact that if you are going to make changes in your life, why do you need to wait for a new year to get it started? What makes it easier to change that bad habit on January 1st, versus September 23rd, or April 4th? I am pretty sure I have said it before, and I will say it again, in the immortal words of Bono: "Nothing changes on New Years Day."

So that being said, on January 1st, 2011, Rebecca and I started a quasi-cleansing diet/eat better initiative. I have never dieted in my entire life, unless you count the "see food" diet I have subscribed to since about age 12. ( See food? Eat it.) I didn't think it would be as hard as it is. I am having such weird cravings that I peed on a stick the other day just to make sure everything was okay. (Yes, this is Chad writing.)

I have approached this diet with the worst attitude ever. Kicking and screaming and complaining and wanting to quit everyday. Rebecca's usurpations and demands (read: encouragement) have been the only things that have kept me in the game. I like my sugar. My chocolate chip cookies. My flavored drinks. A day old donut is better than no donut at all. Water is so good, but I like a little Root-beer in my water too.

I wish I could say that the diet is a sham, that it doesn't work, and be a huge naysayer...but I can't. This simple diet has sucked almost 10 pounds (7) off of my fat. It has reduced my BMI as well. If I am ever in charge of worlds, however, I am going to make healthy food taste good. The foods get so bland. I can only handle so much of the leafy greens without dressing. I like my white bread. I could go on forever.

We are celebrating our success as dieters by going to Leatherby's. I plan to eat an equal amount of ice cream, in pounds, as I have lost in weight. Don't worry though, our "resolution" is that we are going to eat healthier over all. No more crazy diets, just healthier habits. Wish us luck. Well, wish me luck at least, Rebecca isn't struggling like I am.

Inspirational Times

2010-12-07T20:02:00.006-07:00

A few years ago today, Pearl Harbor got rocked. Lest ye be confused, not the good kind of “rocked” that Def Leppard penned lyrics to. The “meet me after school at the church” rocked. In the days that followed the Pearl Harbor disaster, America stepped up to the plate and smacked in RBI after RBI. I have mentioned it lightly before, but that generation is so inspiring to me. Citizen and celebrity alike stood in line to join our armed forces. Those who could not qualify for military service obtained medical training, or worked in factories to build war machines, or did something. They did not lead protests against our nation, or give interviews calling our leaders cowards and murderers. A truly inspiring generation. I love their stories, I love the books about those days, and I am mesmerized when I happen to meet those who remain.

So this is my thank you to them, and to former and current soldiers of all time. Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, Nam, etc etc etc. Thank you thank you thank you.

No Tonto in Thanksgiving

2010-11-18T00:12:00.006-07:00

I feel so bad for Thanksgiving. Why do we neglect such an important holiday? Doesn’t anyone remember the huge significance for the pilgrims at Plymouth, struggling to survive that first winter of 1620? Remember that they had such a hard time getting crops to grow in their new land? Remember how the friendly tribe of Indians, the Wampanoag tribe, helped them in their troubles? What a feast that must have been! Imagine sitting at the tables carved from large trees, chomping rows of Maize? Our culture is too quick to forget, to quick to move forward to Christmas.

Thanksgiving was previously celebrated on the last Thursday of the month, as decreed by Abraham Lincoln when he declared it a National holiday. However, in 1939, President Roosevelt changed it to be observed on the fourth Thursday, because it was to overshadowed by Christmas. See, even then the importance of Thanksgiving was realized, and the overshadowing of Christmas was addressed. Would Chief Massasoit still allow his loyal tribe members to offer assistance if he could look into our day and see that we now trample it down? Would Mayor William Bradford be proud of his heritage if he knew our actions?

And what of Thanksgiving itself? It must have some feelings, right? So trampled, so insignificant. We just speed past Thanksgiving to get to the shopping deals of the next morning. We play Christmas music as soon as our bellies are stuffed with Halloween Candy. Well, not me. I for one look forward to the smashed potatoes. And Christmas carols, though I love them, stay silent until December 1.

Thanksgiving is such a great day to stick it to PETA also. Homer and Bart said it best when they sang, “You Don’t Win Friends With Salad.” With so much to be Thankful for, I am abhorred that we treat Thanksgiving like the last kid picked at recess.

There is so much good about Thanksgiving. Turkey. Growing Pains reruns. Smashed Potatoes. Football games. Messing up someone else's house. Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving special. Time with family. Stuffing yourself so full that you can do no more than lay on the couch. Pumpkin Pie. Homemade rolls. Leftovers. 16 extra pounds to insulate ourselves for winter. I love Thanksgiving. No animals were hurt during this post. (But they are gonna be.)

"Luke. I am your Father."

2010-11-12T22:32:00.004-07:00

I was criticized the other day for discussing a movie with a co-worker. It turns out that not all of those sitting around the water-cooler had seen the movie, and after our detailed discussion, these individuals felt like we had ruined the movie. Sure, we talked openly about the ending. We dissected plots and plot errors like it was an earthworm in 8th grade science class. We talked about better scenes and created our own sub plots just like we would if we were Trekies. (We aren’t, thanks for asking.) We did all of this without even warning the other individuals that were within ear shot. When it was all said and done, it was pointed out how wrong it was of us to do such a thing. Normally, I would agree with that assessment...however, we were talking about The Dark Knight, released in 2008.

So my question to you is this: What is the statute of limitations on spoiler alerts? How many people out there would get mad at me for now mentioning that Luke Skywalker is the son of Darth Vader? Do I need to preface any future Groundhog Day references with a spoiler alert tag?

At first, I thought these guys were joking. They were absolutely irritated that we had not warned them about our discussion. One-hundred percent, honestly offended. I was speechless. I didn’t even know how to respond in my defense. It was as if Mr Belding had walked into the room while Zack and the gang were devising how to sluff class next. Complete silence.

A podcast I listen to gives spoiler alerts. They sometimes discuss Mad Men and Survivor, as well as the various MTV Real World shows. They give a warning when they are about to talk about something that happened at the end of one of these shows, but these usually played within the past week at the time of the podcast.

I wish I could go back to that "spoiler"moment at the fire station, because now I am full of comebacks. I would have told them that the Goonies find a Pirate Ship and save their houses. I would have told them that Apollo dies in Rocky 2. I also would have told them that Sleeping Beauty wakes up at the end and runs off with Prince Phillip. Also, since we were at the fire station, I should have told them that Bull dies at the end of Backdraft.

What are your thoughts?

Eff Ewe Murphy

2010-10-31T22:32:00.006-06:00

I've been good. Tried to be responsible. Held out for so many years on getting a nice TV...even after watching so many friends, family members, and complete strangers all upgrade to such nice equipment. I saved (somewhat). Worked extra hours. Worked a second part time job. Been trying hard to not get consumer debt. Finally, the time came that I felt like we could upgrade. So I did. Brand new 1080 P (whatever that means) LCD big screen, flat screen TV. Love it.

Two days later: Washer dies. (true, this should have happened years ago. I have had it for almost 10 years. I bought it for 25 bucks. It is a 1959 (I think) Maytag, so it should have been somewhat suspected, but this week? After getting the TV?)

Four days later: Disposal goes out.

Four days and one hour later: forget debt free. Its time to live it up.

Costume Ball

2010-10-27T22:14:00.005-06:00

As promised, I am responding to Rebecca's post down yonder.

The red and white polka dot shirt did not fit. I tried dressing as a fat middle aged man, but couldn't find the right costume. So, we decided to go to Mickey's Halloween Party in Disneyland instead. I dressed as a Ghostbuster, and Rebecca dressed as Hermoine from Harry Potter. Or something like that. Oh yeah, we left the kids home, which is my new favorite way to do Disneyland.

I love Halloween, but I have a weird approach to the holiday. I have this need to have a cool costume. If we are going to dress up, we need to go all out right? Okay, maybe not "all out," but its fun to get into the spirit.

The Halloween Party at DL is a must do for any Disneyland fan. They close the park off early, and you have to buy a special ticket to stay inside and go trick or treating. All the candy you can carry if you really go after it. There are characters all around, photo ops not available during normal park hours, etc.

So yeah, we get into Halloween here. I usually have to work on Hallow's Eve, and this year is no different. So on the actual date I guess I will dress up like a Fireman. It's a popular costume, but I make it look good. (Yes, Angie, that really is me.)

Expose?

2010-10-19T00:19:00.008-06:00

I have been meaning to respond to the Halloween post from Rebecca below, but I am going to wait and do it after Halloween, In the meantime, I had some other thoughts...

While watching Rock of Love Girls: Where are They Now? on VH1, my mind wandered off and began thinking about a make-believe special called: Cyprus High Friends: Where are They Now? I began thinking about how good we all have it. I compared my friends to arbitrary situations I come across on a daily basis and came out feeling very good at what our lives have amounted to. Seriously, have you ever stopped to think along these lines? Granted, to my knowledge, none of us are ridiculously rich; but also to my knowledge all are living comfortably. It’s fun to think about what we have become. Here is what I have come up with that, collectively, we have done: built buildings, own a business, practice law, own our homes (or at least paying the bank for them), started families, happily married, program computers, raise children, practice law, fight fires (I had to throw me in here), manage a restaurant, professionally photograph, and the list goes on and on.

We really have a lot to be happy about in life. None of us has major health issues (to my knowledge), we have stayed active to our core religious beliefs, and most of us have created successful blogs.

Seriously though, if you go back to high school days and remember how we were and what we did, and fast forward to where we are now, would you have ever imagined these circumstances for each of us? It’s kind of fun. Sitting in the Commons area begging you all for a nickel so I could get 45 cents for a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup seems like so long ago, and surely my mind was never turned to what I would be when I grew up. I think when asked in classes I always said I wanted to be a Forest Ranger. It also makes me wonder what my kids will become? Right now, Tierra wants to be a Cheetah (Thundercats always comes to mind when she says this), Eli signs his name at school “Eli Fireman,” but always says he wants to be a builder, (in fact, he wants to build Disneyland in our backyard so we don't have to drive so far) and Haylee always dresses herself up in our toy firefighter gear.

Anyway, hopefully this spawns some fun comments about all of us, since those of you that read and comment on the blog are mostly from the Home of Scholars and Champions. Let’s hear it. Who surprises you the most? Least? Not at all? What did you think I would be when I grew up?

Okay, Chad, you win.

2010-10-05T21:36:00.006-06:00

Let's talk about Halloween. Costumes to be more specific. I've been digging through our costume box trying to come up with something for all the many, hip Halloween parties we will most certainly be invited too (You know, like the kid's school parties and the ward trunk or treat). There's slim pickin's in that box but I think I might be able to put together something. I'm thinking I could pull of a good Hermione Granger from Harry Potter (I do love my teen fiction). The frizzy hair look should be easy since that's what my hair always seems to do without any coercion. All I would need is a magic wand so I could work on my Patronus charm to keep away Dementors. Or I could just go without it.

I also found a fun pink, striped 50's style skirt and shirt that I could probably do something with. I'm thinking either Sandra Dee from Grease or Barbie. But I don't have the legs to pull of Barbie so I'd probably go with Sandy.

The best thing in the box was something that looked like this little beauty (minus the sickle).

I guess you could call it the Grim Reaper look. The whole faceless thing is pretty creepy. I chased my kids around the house in it for a few minutes (minus the sickle). It was great fun! I think this will be my choice to wear while handing out candy on Halloween night.

For the parties, I'll probably just go with the easy choice: a pirate. It's a popular choice in our household. Simple to throw together, comfortable, and you can wear an eyepatch: what's not to love?

So, do you dress up for Halloween? If so, what are you planning to wear? And if not, is it because you're too busy waiting for The Great Pumpkin? Because he's not coming.

Oh, and Chad, I found a red and white polka-dot shirt with your name on it. I'm thinking Minnie Mouse. I'm sure Tierra would let you borrow her ears.

Open Letter To Rebecca

2010-10-05T20:53:00.002-06:00

Remember when this blog got started and it was called “He Said, She Said”? Remember when it was designed to be a friendly spar of sorts between the sexes? Remember when you, the readers, liked it best when Rebecca posted things? We have all been forsaken here. You have been forced to read my endless ramblings about nonsensical gibberish. It’s not my fault, however.

Me too, barely.

Dear Rebecca:

Please come back. You are so full of ideas and opinions that you should share on here. Why have you abandoned us? Is it because you don’t have time to write down the opinions you share orally? Are you too busy reading teen fiction? Did the keys on your keyboard secretly change around on you so that when you type it comes out all dyslexic and unintelligible?

I think your fears and concerns are unfounded. You have valuable words to share with the entire cyberspace universe. Won’t you come back? Pretend it is a book that others are reading and dying to know what happens next! Suppose there are readers hanging on your every word. If nothing else, humor me.

Isn’t the point of marriage and family to do things together? This idea was hatched by both of us, after a conversation with your mom. Your side of the family. I agreed, thinking it would be a joint operation.

The point is, it just looks flat out ridiculous to call something He Says She Says, when it is only “He” saying it.

Signed,

Everyone.

Vegas Baby! Yeah!

2010-09-28T22:20:00.009-06:00

Maybe you know this already, but the “sweet hotel deals” in Vegas that are advertised for Sundays through Thursdays, are the biggest scam ever. Like a legal Ponzi Scam.

Last weekend, I took a road trip to Phoenix to catch a baseball game. Fun trip. So-so drive. Fun game. Another stadium checked off my list. I went down with Jason, my partner in “baseball stadium crime.” We were joined this trip by his dad and brother. We left Friday and drove down through Page, Arizona. We went past Powell...my first trip to Powell ever-though I won’t count it since it was just a drive by. If you have never made the Salt Lake to Phoenix drive, take my word for it: it’s long. Not one of my favorite routes. A step above I-80 across Wyoming though. And definitely a step above taking a wrong turn coming home from Colorado and not realizing you missed the I-80 exit until you are 10 miles from Casper, Wyoming which is three hours north of I-80 on I-25.

Once in Phoenix, all was well. We ate good food. We cruised around the city. We saw a game. Chase Stadium, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, was actually pretty sweet. It was mostly indoor, with a retractable roof. My big concern going down there was that the forecasted high for the day was 108 freaking degrees. (Yes, the weather man said, “108 freaking degrees.") I was certain we would roast faster then the Stay-Puft marshmallow man after getting lit up by the four Ghost Buster Proton packs complete with the particle accelerators. We had a pleasant surprise on our arrival to find the indoor field was air-conditioned to a near-perfect 74 degrees. Once the sun went down, they opened up the roof and we enjoyed the rest of the game under the night sky. Fun game. Jason’s dad fought for and got a ball that was hit into the stands during batting practice.

We hung around Phoenix Sunday and watched football at a sports bar. (Jason’s dad and brother went to the Arizona Cardinals game.) After the game we debated and nixed the idea to go eat at a restaurant featured on the Food Network called Alice Cooperstown. Adam Richman recommended eating a hot dog called “The Big Unit.” My homophobic tendencies won out and we ate somewhere else. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. No way.

Then we drove to Vegas. I called ahead to some hotels to get one of those sweet Sunday night deals that all the billboards from Boise to Mesquite rave about. (Tangent: I hate the Little America billboards that you have to deal with every two miles all across Wyoming. I will never stay there just because they annoy me so bad.) The phone call was sweet. $27.99 for the night. Two rooms split between four people makes that even sweeter. So I say, “We’ll take it.” Then comes the fine print. The tricky “Hotel Amenity Fee:” $16.99. The phone reservation fee: $3.99. The 18 percent Vegas hotel tax: 6 bucks. Sales tax: 3 bucks. Pillows on the beds and fluffed: 5 bucks. Okay, I made the pillow fee up, but suddenly our room is 50 bucks a night. I ask about the hotel amenity fee. They tell me that they are allowed to charge us for providing stuff in the room. Had I been more on the ball I should have just asked for whatever the $27.99 covers. Probably would have gotten an empty hotel room freshly gutted from the Meth lab discovered there by the maid. Who knows? So now I know...the Vegas hotel deals are essentially the same as airlines that charge you to take your bags with you. I have been racking my brain this whole post to figure out a way to charge you all a “blog-reading fee.”

Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's Off To Work I Go!

2010-09-12T15:15:00.007-06:00

The following is a spin off from a magazine article I wrote that is a local publication for Salt Lake area fire departments:

I love my job. Most of my coworkers also love their jobs. It is almost a necessity. For as much time as I am required to be there (56 hour weeks, 48 hour shifts)-and as much time as I have to spend with the same small group of people in the small confines of the fire stations-to not like the job would make for a miserable life. Forty-eight-hour shifts would get very long, and most of us would surely become serial killers.

The fire station is literally my second home. One-third of my life is spent there. The guys that work out of the same station as me have become my second family. We see each other at our worst, and at our best. We see the general public on their worst day and have to help each other through the situation, as well as those to whom we respond. We are often required to perform difficult tasks in the worst of circumstances. As a coworker, I have often doubled as impromptu marriage counselor, voice of reason, listening post, sound-board, etc., (but not so much a shoulder to cry on-we are all tough as nails). It seems no conversation is off limits. I know things about people I never cared to know. I have shared things I never thought I would share. The water-cooler conversations and unsolicited free advice on virtually every topic imaginable are easily accessible-whether you are looking or not. Through these conversations and experiences, we become like family. We share a bond unparalleled in other professions.

Since I live at the fire station one-third of the time, I have chores, just like I do at home. All of us have them. We live there, remember? We do dishes, clean the bathrooms, take out the garbage, cook dinner, make our beds, and so on. A friend of mine recently did a “ride-along” with us and was amused that a group of men were doing household chores. She pondered out-loud that our spouses must be lucky women.

There are some differences living at the fire station versus living at home, however. Here a few examples (for your entertainment, of course):

At the fire station, my clothing is arranged in such a way (at all times) to allow me get dressed as-fast-as-possible. When an emergency occurs, we are literally “on the clock.” We are expected to be fast, and the faster we can get there, the person or place having the emergency has the best chance of survival if less time passes. Every second literally counts. So at night, rather than just tossing my clothes wherever I take them off, I carefully arrange them so that I can get dressed quickly, in the dark, half asleep, and without putting my pants or shirt on backwards or inside out. I have a 98 percent success rate here because lets face it, after the fifth call at night, my coordination and level of awareness drop off drastically. Hopefully an inside-out shirt is not considered out-of-uniform after hours! Ask me sometime about my zipper-in-the-upright-position percentage.

A shower at the station is rarely enjoyable. There is only one thing more annoying than getting the emergency call right as you reach full lather. (That one thing will not be discussed here, since this is a family article) It is so hard to be all sudsy and have to do a quick rinse, a quick dry, and run down the hall trying to get dressed while jumping into the fire engine and trying to hear the details from dispatch. I have shown up to multiple emergency scenes with a hair full of conditioner and soap in my cracks, crevices and armpits.

It is true that firefighters are awesome chefs. It is also true that I have eaten more cold-gourmet meals than I care to discuss. It is almost a given that we could sit around the station all day without an emergency call until we sit down for that hot meal that someone has been working on for hours, and then as we sit to eat, the alarm goes off for someone experiencing an emergency, whatever it may be. A particular paramedic, now retired, was infamous around our department for losing his temper if an emergency call came in at dinner time when it was his cook shift. The crew that worked around him had fun with this, sometimes calling in test pages just to get him worked up.

With that said, I do have the best job in the world. On some small scale, I get to show up at someone’s worst possible moment and do everything within my training to make it better. Its hard to beat the feeling when you are able to pull the family picture album unscathed out of the apartment that just burnt up, or when we get to tell “Little Johnny” that Grandma is going to be just fine after a few days in the hospital. Crawling through twisted metal and broken glass to get to the injured motorist just to tell them to hang in there a bit longer while we cut the car away from them is up there too. I get paid to break stuff (from time to time). My universal house key is an axe. I open car doors by way of hydraulic shears. I get to drive fast in the opposite lane of traffic. I run in, while you’re running out. I have the best job in the world.

So you can keep your 9 to 5 gig. I will be just fine working my job, even with the reduced hours of sleep at night, the incomplete showers, and the cold meal that has been reheated 4 times. Its all worth it when I get to drive down the road in the opposite lane of traffic, honking the air horn, blaring the siren, and cursing the drivers that don’t understand simple traffic laws. Its worth it when we have to throw out the prime rib that was cooked at 5 p.m. for the Mac and Cheese at midnight.

One Fantasy Short of a Great Summer

2010-08-08T16:17:00.003-06:00

Its mid-August. Our always short summer was super short this year because it rained all of June. Baseball season is already approaching the playoff race, the Jazz have done their annual bonehead signings, and football is starting its preseason. What does this mean you ask? It means I should be researching my fantasy team...but I am not. I was challenged by Rebecca to skip fantasy sports for one year. I have made it so far, but I have to admit it is extremely hard to skip fantasy football. Something is definitely missing from my summer, not just laying on the beach that Utah doesn’t have, something more.

Normally, by now, I would have done a couple of mock drafts, read up on the progress of some players over the offseason, and watched a million fantasy break down videos on Yahoo. It is a definite obsession. Yet, I gave it all up because someone said I couldn’t. So far so good, I hope I am right.

I am hoping my fantasy sabbatical will help me get back to true fan-man-ship again. The downside to fantasy sports is that it makes me cheer for players versus teams. I have cheered against “my teams” in the past just because I wanted a fantasy teammate to do well when playing them. Purely selfish reasons, but winning the fantasy game became more important than “my team” making the playoffs. I am hoping this year allows me to just watch a game and appreciate the event.

I wrote about being a fan a few months ago. Asking the hard questions like “how does someone choose a team?” My goal in this no-fantasy football season is to put those questions to the test. Ask me when all is said and done if I still cheer for the New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers. Or better yet, ask me first if I really made it without covertly managing a fantasy league unbeknownst to my fellow fantasy-ers.

Karate Kid 1984 Versus Karate Kid 2010

2010-07-09T21:25:00.006-06:00

I saw Karate Kid 2010 (from now on referred to as KK10) today. Warning, moderate spoiler potential throughout (though not much more than if you have seen the original!). I am liking the list format, so what follows is a list of reasons KK10 will never be the classic the first one was. I was hesitant to even see this movie, but I broke down and did it.

#1- No Elisabeth Shue. No elaboration needed on this one. She had to be the main crush of every boy in the 80’s. She is the only reason I watched Adventures in Babysitting 86 times. She was even hotter than Kelly Kapowski. Top 5 crushes for me in those days (in no specific order): Elisabeth Shue (Karate Kid, et al), Tiffany-Amber Theissan (Saved By The Bell), Maureen Flannigan (Out Of This World), Nicole Eggert (Charles in Charge), and Markie Post (Night Court). This may negate the argument to number 5 below, but this list is from the 80's in whole, so I was almost 15 as the 80's closed out. Which one of these surprised you the most?

#2- I like Jackie Chan, and appreciate him as an actor, but he is not Pat Morita. I understand and realize that they did not intend him to be, but you can’t help but make the comparison. Since Mr. Chan is named Mr. Han, there is no more Miagi-Go Karate either, which I considered a classic line from the first one. Jackie Chan also speaks English too well. One of the better parts of the original was that Mr. Miagi spoke fragmented English and reminded all of us of Yoda in both wisdom and sentence structure.

#3- I was really hoping for at least a Ralph Macchio cameo. Most remade movies give some type of cameo to the original actors. What were they thinking? They could have easily sneaked him in. I would have wagered a large amount of money that he was going to show up as one of the match referees. Are they called referee’s in Kung-Fu?

#4- The KK10 kid is named Dre Parker. Mr. Han calls him Shao Dre. Shao apparently means “little” in Chinese. That doesn’t even hold a candle to Daniel Laruso, Daniel-San. Shao-Dre? There is no ring to it. It was too forced, like the Friends episode when Ross tries to be like Joey.

#5- The main characters in KK10 were 12 years old. I have several problems with this... first the romance side of the story. 12-year-old boys and girls are not that into each other, at least in my world. (If they are, heaven help me! I know I didn’t care much about girls that young.) Also, they don’t fight to that extent. It worked so much better when they were high school age. Plus, they weren’t even fighting over the girl in this one. There was just a side love-story. I can’t even remember what they fought over.

#6- After watching the original, I felt like I had actually learned some Karate. I could easily mimic “wax-on wax-off,” “sand de deck”, and “paint de fence.” I practiced for months after seeing the show. I blocked many slaps from girls on dates using the very “wax-on wax-off” technique taught so many years earlier. KK10 used no such techniques. The method used to teach Shao-Dre is confusing and not easily learned by the movie-goer. “Jacket-on jacket-off?” WTF?

#7- Seriously, Elisabeth Shue was nowhere to be found. Nothing against the new girl, except that she is not Elisabeth Shue.

#8- The whole sequence of the Sensai telling the quarter-final opponent to take out the leg, disqualifying himself and putting the Karate Kid out of the contest(referring to both movies here). In KK10 all suspense is lost because it is in Chinese with subtitles. This also ruins the command to “Sweep the leg” when The Karate Kid returns to fight the final match. In the original this is such a huge moment in the contest, and so far-reaching that it really should have been done better in the newbie. Also the KK10 Sensai is not anywhere near as evil looking/acting/glaring/smelling? as John Kreese was in the original. The whole sequence lost all of its luster for me, almost like finding out that Luke and Leia were brother and sister after they nearly made out.

#9- Some of the classic lines that fed the drama and the plot were completely left out. One of my all time favorites: “You’re going out in a body bag!” yelled from the sidelines by a fellow Cobra Kai fighter. Another one spoken by Mr. Miagi when Daniel-san is training in a boat while Miagi is fishing. Daniel-san is working on balance and form standing on the edges of a row boat when he asks Mr. Miagi when he is going to learn to punch. Miagi has already told him to have patience and learn other things first, but Daniel-san persists. Finally, in this scene Miagi says, “Learn how punch when learn how stay dry!” as he rocks the boat throwing Daniel-san into the water. He then has a classic Miagi laugh and says, “you all wet Daniel-san!” Classic.

#10- That reminds me, the Cobra-Kai equivalents are called the Dragon-Slayers. Lame, nay, double lame.

#11- Did I mention no Elisabeth Shue? It hurts to think about it now.

#12- The Crane Kick. The hallmark move of the first movie takes a backseat to some Cobra-tamer thing. The drama, once again, is lost. No building excitement like with the original. I remember as the feeble, broken Daniel-san set up for the Crane-kick at the end of the first one, you hoped he could pull it off. After all, Mr Miagi said it was “indefensible” if done correctly. Then wham! He kicks Johnny Lawrence right in the temple for the third point and the win. The newbie does this weird Cobra stare down that they barely address earlier in the movie, and for it to become a finishing move was more anti-climatic than the closing scene of Beaches. (No I never watched Beaches to the end, but I can imagine after seeing the first 15 minutes.)

Overall, I think the movie was good, but they should have called it Karate Kid: The Next Generation.

Mix Tapes

2010-06-22T20:17:00.003-06:00

Itunes (and similar programs) are the coolest. I love that I can just get online and pay 99 cents when a song gets stuck in my head. I love that my "eye" pod can hold 42.6 million songs. I love that I can add songs to playlists at the click of a button. I was making a playlist the other day and my mind was taken back to junior high days. Back when I made mix tapes out of my favorite one hit wonders and favorites because I was too poor to buy the whole album. Remember the days of sitting in front of the boombox ( I innocently called mine a ghetto-blaster) for hours waiting to hear the song you were dying to have a copy of? Hoping you pushed record fast enough when it did come on and then hoping the DJ would not talk over the end of it? Remember also making a voodoo doll of the DJ when he did talk over the song? It was so nice to finally get the ghetto blaster with two tape decks so I could record from one cassette to the blank without having to sit by the radio all day saturday.

I remember making the fisrt mix tape for a girl I liked too. I think she appreciated it more because she knew I had to sit by the radio for hours finding just the right songs. I also remember a hate tape. Me and an unnamed friend made a hate tape for an unnamed girl that liked someone else instead of me. We had CD"s by then and spent hours finding just the right mix of songs to insult this girl. The girl's brother was an office aide and got a hold of the tape. He was so mad at me that he shredded the tape, put it into a brown lunch bag and had it delivered to my classroom as if I had forgotten my lunch. I feel so bad thinking back to this day because it was such an awful thing to do, plus I really had forgotten my lunch so the temporary excitement of thinking my mom had saved the day by bringing my lunch was shattered when I learned it was just the cassette tape. Good thing I peeked before lunch, I would have really been hungry.

Yep, the kids of today have it easy. I remember the first cassette I purchased. I still have it. Endless Summer by the Beach Boys. (I could not find a picture of the cassette cover, so the CD has to do) I also remember buying INXS kick and Poison by Bell Biv Devoe. Anyway, I digress.

My mind then fast forwarded to prom. I spent hours before prom making a U2 compilation from all my CD's so we could all listen to it. It was such a good mix of U2 and in such a perfect order that I was quite pleased with myself. I remember the limo driver was quite pleased with the tape also because at the end of the night he bought the mix tape off of me for 15 bucks. Of course, he got the upper hand because he charged us a grundle for the limo ride.

So even though I love the Itunes world and the new way we find music, I think it should be a right of passage. We should graduate into music technology. I think the jr high kids should have to earn their right to use ITunes by spending hours waiting for their song to come across the radio and hope the DJ doesn't talk over it. They should have to spend hours searching through CD's to find the right mix and order of songs to put on a mix tape for that high school crush.

Soda Flop

2010-06-02T12:53:00.004-06:00

Many of you have written about your soda pop addictions. Endless stories about your daily need for a Diet Coke, Dr Pepper, or Tab. Soda pop has also been a previous topic for me, written about at least as a couple paragraphs about how I successfully quit drinking all things carbonated and caffeinated.

Well, throw that right out the window. I blame the flavor. Or perhaps my overwhelming need for flavored drinks? Whatever the excuse, I am back on the wagon, or is it off the wagon? (Seinfeld?) I was doing so good for over 2 years. Not a drop of a caffeinated or carbonated beverage. Then a rootbeer float slipped in. I made excuses that it was okay because, c’mon! Rootbeer Float! So one rootbeer float progressed to several rootbeer floats a month. That progressed to 2 or 3 in one sitting. Later came an upset stomach-which I haven’t had for years by the way. Everyone knows the best treatment for a bad belly is Sprite or 7Up. So I caved in a had a Sprite. And then more rootbeer floats. Now its pretty much game on. I lost the battle. I drink Sprite, Rootbeer, or Canada Dry whenever I feel the need. I can blame others to some extent, every hospital has a refreshment fridge for us when we bring patients in by ambulance. There is always a Sprite or a Rootbeer staring me in the face. Its hard to say no to free stuff.

So soda days are back on. I am still doing good on caffeinated drinks, still haven’t had one for nearly 3 years now. But, oh how I crave me a Cherry Pepsi. Maybe addictions never go away?

Sluff With Me?

2010-04-28T00:52:00.003-06:00

It is late, once again, and due to the Hurricane force winds blowing right outside the fire station window, I am unable to sleep. If I can't sleep, why not blog right?

Well, hop into your Delorians and come back in time with me. Back to my first ever sluffing experience in Junior High School. So there we are, hanging out at Brockbank Junior High School. Home of the Braves. I was such a good student. Tried real hard to get good grades, and got them. Also tried hard to not be the awkward nerd of the class. Yeah. Well, one day I decided it was time to see what this sluffing stuff was all about. It took me three weeks to build up the courage to go through with it. My only experience missing school when I was suppose to be in class, up to this point of my life, was for ski club (not counting illnesses and other things that keep you at home.) Alas, the day came for me to play hookie. I am sure I was scared to death. Knowing me, I probably ran through every "what-if" scenario there ever was. Somehow I still convinced myself that it was a good idea. I also talked a few friends into joining me. (This began a motto that I only recently realized I have followed much of my life: " Don't be famous alone." In other words, if you are going to get in trouble, make sure you get in trouble as a group!)

Our group of newly made sluffers hightail it away from Brockbank up to 3100 South to catch the good old UTA number 37. I, or we, had decided to go see a movie. The 37 bus went to Valley Fair Mall and then 1 simple transfer to another bus stopped at the movie theater by the Arbys on 5400 South. I am not positive, but I think it was called Mann Movies 6. (Not sure what it's called now, but it is still there.) There was a new movie about surfing that we all wanted to see. Safely on the bus, riding to the upper east side of Taylorsville was such a rush. Sluffing was so easy. We didn't even get chased and the bus driver let us on for our 35 cents in change (scrounged earlier that day by begging everyone for their nickels at the vending machine.) If the bus driver didn't say anything, surely we were 'scott-free.' I don't remember much about the bus ride. I am sure I was nervous about making the right transfer. I am sure we all had stories about how cool it was gonna be and how cool and grown up and brave we were for pulling this off. The movie was surely going to be a good one as well. Movies were probably way better when watched during school hours.

So we make our transfer and get to the movie place. Jazey Drecksel and I saw Terminator 2 opening day at that movie house. We thought we were cool on that day also because Jazey's older sister gave us a ride and bought us the tickets because it was rated 'R'. We were only 15 and she was 18.

Back to sluffing...once at the movie house we went up to the ticket window after searching over the movies and proudly bought our tickets for.......BEACHES. We knew there was a new surfing movie playing, so a movie named Beaches had to be the one, right? Once inside, we loaded up with huge popcorn buckets, drinks and candy and carefully chose our seats. You remember how you were in Jr High, thinking you knew the exact best seat to choose at the movies. Well, that's how we were.

My memory after that is even more shady than it has been to this point. I remember lasting about 10-15 minutes through the first part of Beaches (which seemed much longer than waiting for U2 to release something after Joshua Tree) and then getting out of there faster than we had ran from Brockbank. Surely we were cursed. Suddenly sluffing was not that cool. Our future manhood not only challenged but quite possibly irreparably scarred. I am positive it temporarily stunted our growth. We thought for sure we were being punished for skipping school. I really don't remember going home, or back to school-the rest of the day is forever purged from memory. I do remember not sluffing for quite a while after that. I still have not seen past the first 15 minutes of Beaches either.

Randomness of Spring

2010-03-21T17:51:00.006-06:00

I figure I can't be a huge fan of Groundhog Day and not post on the official first day of Spring. One of my favorite lines from Groundhog Day is when the guy stops Phil Connors in the hall of the bed and breakfast on the first morning and asks him, "You think it will be an early Spring?"

Phil replies, "I am betting March 21st."

The guy then says, "You know, I think that actually is the first day of Spring." Classic. My other favorite line (out of so many to choose from) "Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today!"

Groundhog Day. Best movie ever.

So it is the first day of Spring today, despite the fact that I think it snows more in the Spring than it does in the Winter anymore. I don't remember ever craving the warmth of Spring and Summer before like I do this year. I really badly want to be sitting on a beach and swimming in the Ocean.

Can anyone tell me the point of twitter? I signed up out of curiosity. I sent emails to a few celebrities inviting them to follow me, but they aren't. I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

Back to Spring. I am not sure what happens in people's heads when the weather turns warmer. Speaking from a work perspective, they get stupid (er). Don't get me wrong, for the most part stupidity keeps us in business, so it's not all bad, but it is comical. Many people, by my guess, would say that Winter and snowy roads is responsible for an increase in car accidents. I have learned that is wrong. Seriously. Its true there are wrecks when the snow covers the roads, but for the most part they are minor slide offs and such. When the weather warms up, drivers are anxious to get out on drives and see the country. They put the top down and "cruise." Well, they also crash. It happens every year. The first couple weeks of warmer weather we always respond on an increase of car accidents. Bad ones too. People are more confident on the dry roads. The drive faster. They drive more carelessly.

A few years ago, on a nice spring day at work, we were in Spring fever mode as well. So much so that we had a huge water fight using the fire hoses on the fire truck...one of the perks of our job. It started with one of the guys splashing a cup of water at someone who was sleeping. That led to a filled up bucket, which led to a bucket of water being thrown on one of the guys that was studying from the books, and before we knew it it was a full fledged everyone-versus-everyone water fight. Like I said, fire trucks and hoses were used. This went on for about 30 minutes. We were all soaked to the bone as they say. I would have been more dry if I were wading in a shoulder deep swimming pool. The only reason it ended was because we got a medical call. So we respond to a house for a call to a choking child. We didn't have time to dry off. We just hopped in our trucks and went. When we arrived, dripping wet, the caller met us at the front door and said that the kid was okay, he had choked the hot dog out a few seconds before we got there. I asked the mother to bring the kid out to us so we could avoid soaking her home with our dripping wet clothes. The looks we got when we arrived were priceless. We could tell the family wanted to hear a story, but we kept it mysterious. I should go start a water fight right now.

Groundhog Day

2010-02-12T01:32:00.003-07:00

I absolutely love Groundhog Day. My deep infatuation stems from the movie for sure. Loved that movie. Still love that movie. It ranks on my all time top 5 with Gross Point Blank, Karate Kid, Ghostbusters, and Encino Man. I have made every analyzation possible of each of the above movies, but more so with Groundhog Day.

There are so many creative moments of genius shown in this movie, yet so many things they could have also done. I have always hoped for a sequel or a full length deleted scenes release.

Have you ever thought about the things you would do, if you had your own personal Groundhog Day? Well, I have. Quick synopsis for those that have been deprived of seeing this film: A weatherman wakes up each morning and it is groundhog day, again and again and again, for years presumably. Only he doesn’t start over, he remembers each day, knows that he is stuck on the same day. So what would you do with your own Groundhog Day? Number 1 Groundhog Day activity for me? Dominoes. As in long trains of dominoes that you knock down and they make cool pictures and so on. Not the pizza. Yep, I would spend day after day learning how to make really long trains of dominoes to knock down. I guess it wouldn’t be day after day because its my Groundhog Day right? I would also learn the piano, the yukalaylee, and the guitar.
If only Groundhog Day were during baseball season. I could get half the stadiums done in one day! Did I mention that is the major item on my bucket list? To see a baseball game in every major league stadium. Bill Murray (the star of Groundhog Day) used to own the Salt Lake Trappers. Funny how so many things revolve around baseball.

Did you hear about how PETA wants to sue the Punxatawny Phil
caretakers for poor living arrangements? Seriously? He probably has it better than most of Kearns. (Trust me on this one, I have been in a lot of the houses there.) Seriously, that’s ridiculous.

Another Boring Work Story

2010-02-08T14:45:00.002-07:00

As part of our training for paramedic school we are required to spend 16 hours in the Labor and Delivery unit at a couple different hospitals. Depending on the day, you could literally see nearly 50 deliveries. The staff runs you from room to room to observe and assist with as many as they can “squeeze” you into. This was my experience. Two separate 8 hour days rushing room to room after room, watching baby after baby after baby “pop” out. It really is the best description because I was rarely in the room for all of the pre-delivery stuff. I would get to the room as the baby was on the move and would get in there just in time for it to “pop” out. Once it was out, I would do a quick assessment with the nurse and then they would rush me to the next one. Towards the end of the day, some of the Doctors let you be the one to actually deliver the baby. We receive this extensive training because it is rare that we are called to an emergency scene to deliver a child, but it does happen once in a while. I have had two “emergency” deliveries in ten years. Both of them have been “textbook” deliveries with no complications other than the child showed up a lot faster than the mothers were planning on. My first was on the freeway on Christmas Day 7 or 8 years ago-which is probably a story all by itself, but it’s the second one I want to tell you about. This goes down as one of the top five memories from this past decade of work.

So I am working at a station with a good friend. The two of us got hired together, went to paramedic school together, and became good friends and hang out often on days off. When we actually worked together on the Rescue–it was rare–we had great times.

So we are working together, at a pretty busy station. We had already been on 3 or 4 calls when another call came in for an “immanent delivery.” We responded to a home to find a woman, 39 weeks pregnant, lying on her floor. Her husband was near her, placing cold rags on her forehead. As soon as we walk through the door she tells us the baby was coming (When a mother says this, its usually true.) We went into delivery mode right away, creating a sterile environment, preparing to do all the things you have to do to deliver a child. We find out that this will be their 6th child, and that they did not learn the sex during the ultrasound. They were wanting to be surprised. The delivery goes smooth as can be. No complications. Textbook. As the baby is delivered my partner tells them congratulations, it is a baby boy. My job at this point is to document everything and make a call to the hospital to inform them that we will be bringing a mother and newborn to their facility. The father starts making phone calls to friends and family, and mini celebrations are going on all around us about the birth of the new baby boy.

At this point, I glance down towards the baby to do a quick second assessment that we do on newborns. A score is assessed based on several things: breathing, appearance, muscle tone, etc. As I do my quick check, I noticed that a very important “boy part” is missing. I do the obligatory “eh-hum” to notify my partner that the baby is actually female. This is the point that, had we been a cartoon, the automatic sound bite of screeching brakes would automatically cue. My partner gets the family’s attention and solemnly tells them the update. As you can probably imagine, this causes sheer confusion. Almost a little panic. The father rushes over in disbelief, like it was a poorly timed April Fools joke, to see for himself as my partner tries his best to restore the initial excitement. “Its a baby girl, hooray?” It took a few minutes, but everything cleared up and turned out to be okay, except for the career long razzing that continues to be dished out in true firefighter fashion.

A Decade of Firefighting (sort of)

2010-01-21T01:00:00.007-07:00

As promised, I am taking a look back over the past 10 years of work. Bringing back the crazy stories. If not crazy, then memorable. If not memorable, then at least made up just to entertain.

So what are the top 5 moments of the past decade from my sole perspective of working as a firefighter? I will write them one post at a time, in no specific order, starting with this one:

2004: We get paged out to a person complaining of a headache. This is a common call for us, and headaches can be serious. (signs of stroke, concussion, meningitis, etc). As we arrive, we see a 25 year old man with both hand on his head, holding it. As we approach him he tells us “my head is going to explode!” So picture a man who thinks his head is about to explode, who is holding his head to prevent that.... that is what we have so far. So my partner and I ask him to calm down and put his hands down so we can get him checked out. He adamantly refuses to remove his hands telling us he doesn’t want his brains to splatter all over us when his head explodes. Nice of him, right? So we ask,”Why do you think your head is going to explode?”

“Because there is an android in there.”

“An Android?”

“Yes,” he says, accompanied with a look that says, “DUH!” Like we are the dumb ones.

“How did the android get in your head?”

Again, a glare that makes us feel like we just asked the dumbest question in the world, but this time accompanied with a sigh, like he realizes we are absolute idiots when it comes to androids and heads. “The Mexican Mafia put it in there.”

So now, imagine this guy, 25 years old, who appears to one-hundred-percent believe what he is telling us. Also imagine us, having a sense of duty, and trying our absolute hardest not to laugh out loud (LOL) at this. Even though we have to remain professional, I still had to ask, and I know you would have asked too, “Why did the Mexican Mafia put an android in your head?”

“To stop me from doing my job!” Remember, the looks of impatience from our new troubled friend continue–and worsen–with each answer.

Still we press on, “What job is it that the Mexican Mafia wants to prevent you from doing?”

Sigh, “Filtering spirits.”

“Filtering spirits?” We exchange glances, because we thought we were confused when he mentioned the android, now this.

“Yes.” At this point we see the build up in his eyes, as if he just realized that he needs to tell us the whole story without our asking. During his long version, we manage a few questions of clarification, but keep it to a minimum. So he recaps–briefly–the above, and says, “My job is to filter spirits because I am the son of god. Not the actual son of god, but one of them, and I help him out by filtering the good spirits from the bad that he sends me. That way his job easier. But the Mexican Mafia got word of my job, and want it to stop. That’s why they put the android in my head. The android stops me from doing my job, but the spirits keep coming. There are almost too many of them. My head is going to explode any minute and I am going to cover you guys with lots of brains and blood.”

After his story we tell him that we need to take him to the hospital because our android-removal tool was broken earlier in the day when we removed another android, and the only working one left in the state was at the hospital. He accepts this story and happily gets transported.

Moral of the story. Don’t do drugs, especially not METH. The hospital gave us a follow up call and informed us the guy had so much meth in his system we could have scratched his arm and sniffed him to get high.

I have already written on here about a couple of others, but I link them here for easy indexing. Remember the one about almost doing CPR on the wrong lady? Thats here: http://chadsaysrebeccasays.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-title-chad-says-rebecca-listens-and.html

And finally the girlfriend passing gas at her boyfriends house: http://chadsaysrebeccasays.blogspot.com/2009/10/best-job-in-world.html

More in a few days.

Another Year in Review that is Really A Decade in Review according to me.

2010-01-11T10:12:00.006-07:00

I am jumping on the bandwagon and thinking back over the decade to rate the best and worst, as far as I remember it. I can’t believe it is already 2010. It seems like just yesterday I was digging out the bunker in the backyard and stalking up on ammunition, gasoline, and water waiting for the computers to crash. Time flies huh?

The “2k’s” were probably the years of biggest life changes for me: started a career, graduated from USU, graduated paramedic school, got married, had kids, bought a house, beat every Call of Duty so far, and made the switch from a PC user to strictly MAC. I still have the same truck though. I should have changed that too.

My favorite movie of the decade? Hard to say. My first inkling was to say Star Wars Episode 3. This was a culmination of so many ideas and ideologies. So many bad metaphors, so many good metaphors, (Yes, I have used Star Wars in many gospel lessons) and the single most anticipated movie I can recall. Many “die-hard” Star Wars nerds (also referred to as star wars virgins by Triumph the Insult Dog) were not happy with the prequels. Other than Jar-Jar Binx , the Star Wars sequels perfectly cemented the entire Star Wars movie set as one of the most defining of all time–for me. Some other movies that I can not live without from the ‘K’s’: Pirates Of the Caribbean, Remember the Titans, Band Of Brothers, Secondhand Lions, and Open Range. Okay, some of those are nowhere close to movies of the decade, but I got carried away listing the movies I like. In contrast, the worst movie of this decade, that I have seen: either Kazaam or Superbad. All I got out of this movie was that it’s title fits. The downside to working as a firefighter, downtime to watch bad movies.

My favorite album of the decade? Another hard choice. I really think my musical tastes are stuck in the 90’s and earlier. Wait, I just remembered Jack Johnson. Hands down. I listen to Jack Johnson daily. Awesome musician. Coveted life. Seriously. He drives his wife to work every day (she’s a school teacher in Hawaii), goes to the beach to surf and write songs. Goes on tour almost every summer. Least favorite musician: That kid from American Idol that sang the bang song and got a record deal out of it. Ridiculous commentary on pop culture.

Favorite popular event from this decade: Britney Spears shaving her head and me subsequently talking several co-workers down from jumping off of the church office building because of it. Seriously though, I loved this because it was the absolute most shocking event I can recall. More shocking than Nipple Gate from Super Bowl 38. More shocking than when Kevin and Winnie didn’t hook up at the end of Wonder Years. Least favorite event of this decade: Britney shaving her head and going psycho. Such a sad time for a pop star that had such potential! Yes, it fits in both categories!

Wow, this post is getting so long. Maybe I will break it up into future posts. Yeah that is what I will do. More to come in future weeks. Unless I forget or get bored of it. Next reviews: Best Sports Moment, Best TV series, best moment at work, and best internet creation.

Days Long Gone

2010-01-04T20:07:00.004-07:00

Is it possible to be nostalgic for a time I have never experienced? I have felt lately that past generations had such higher moral, ethical, and overall better standards and of life. Standards that seem more appealing. These feelings may have originated from reading books from those times. I have also watched several old movies these past couple of months. These books and movies have made me feel like I really missed out on a great life experience that could have been had by living in a different time. Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy and satisfied with what I have, what I have accomplished, my family, job, etc. I really enjoy the technological advances we enjoy in todays day and age. Still, I wish that certain things were more like they used to be. I have been reading about men from the World War 2 era, also about Lou Gehrig–from the 1930‘s–and have been digging into many historical aspects of those times. I also watched my all-time favorite movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Wow! What a show. Perhaps its my older age, and I know I am going to catch some flak for this, but I actually got a little emotional during that movie this year. No, I didn’t cry, but emotions were definitely stirred. George Bailey was such an amazing man.

I feel like the people of times past were a much more polite and respectful generation, and not in an Eddie Haskell kind of way. Granted, many of these perceptions I am craving and admiring are coming from movies, which were exaggerated and over-acted even more so than today, but they also portrayed a lifestyle common to many. I love how the men of those times dressed. I love that they knew how to dance and play musical instruments. I love how they treated people in general and especially women. The deepest respect and reverence was expected by society. Again, perhaps this was just overacting in the movies, but that’s what I am nostalgic for.

I think we are too busy in our lives today. We do not make time for friends like they appeared to do in older times. We get so caught up in ourselves and our own needs that we fail to see the needs of close friends, family, or even country. I strongly believe that if all people had the character of the men from the World War 2 generation that our Nation would be unstoppable in all aspects of life. I think we would have a more righteous society in general. The smut and filth that is so prevalent would still be locked behind doors and not flaunted. It makes me wonder what happened? I guess history has told me what happened, but it is a little perplexing to think about.

Its too bad the lifestyle from the early part of the 1900’s could not exist with all of today’s technological advances. My dad used to joke with me that I was born in the wrong era. I never knew fully what that meant. I think he meant it as some gentle ribbing, but maybe there is some truth to it?

My heroes are the men and women from World War 2. Especially the members of the 101st airborne, Easy Company. Such an amazing story that has been highlighted by a dozen books, a couple of movies, and an HBO mini-series that is one of the best mini-series ever. There is so much to learn from these men. Examples of sacrifice, selflessness, leadership. I feel like I have learned so much from these men I have never even met.

So, yes, I am nostalgic for earlier eras. Perhaps a simpler time. A time when character stood for so much more. A time when men dressed sharp in public. A time when everyone knew and understood the value of hard work, which in turn made everyone enjoy and appreciate the “down” time that much more. The weekend was the time for the family. A baseball game on a Saturday afternoon was a luxury evening out. A time when George Bailey was the richest man in Bedford Falls.

Are Christmas Cards Obsolete?

2009-12-26T13:02:00.003-07:00

As I peeled the Christmas cards from our fridge and placed them one by one in the garbage can, it occurred to me: Are Christmas cards out-dated? This is bound to offend someone, but I am sticking with it for a minute.

The first Christmas card was sent in the 1840’s in England. They were used to promote propaganda from the Royal Family. Businesses caught on years later and began sending cards to their customers to try to retain a contact. In the War Years, cards were used to promote patriotic feelings among those at home. Dwight D Eisenhower sent the first Christmas cards from the White House, 2000 of them. In 2005, this escalated to 1.4 million. Well, I’ve never received a card from the White House.... Anyway. This brief history was found on multiple websites.

My question for today: what's the point? With the internet and communication abilities now available, a Christmas Card seems a pointless waste of money to me, like buying a pack of baseball cards for the gum? No one does that anymore. (The gum tastes gross and stale anyway.) Christmas cards are not huge expenditures each year, but hanging them on the fridge or door for a few weeks before trashing them seems like an insult to those that spent so much time making them, addressing them, and sending them to everyone on the list. Then when you receive that card from a family or person that you forgot to include, and you hurry and send another card out and hope it gets there before Christmas so you look thoughtful. All this for what? Granted its nice to get a card from a long lost friend, or that person that for whatever reason your communication has decreased to a yearly Christmas card only. This still begs the question, “Why?” Does it ever really reconnect us to each other?

Am I alone in this? I also wonder, do people really care if they don’t get a Christmas card from a particular person? Do you feel slighted? Do you have a checklist of people that you must receive one from? I really want to know if I am alone in these thoughts. Don’t hate me and scratch me off your christmas card list or anything. I’m just saying.

Does anyone actually save these Christmas cards? I admit I have trimmed the family pictures off of a few over the years. Are there actual feelings of guilt when you consider throwing these in the trash? And how long does a christmas card need to be saved? Is there a guideline?

I don’t want to be all negative, I do enjoy the collage created by the mass of cards as we find spots for them on the fridge. It adds to the feelings and thoughts of the season. And perhaps that is the point after all?

I realize this makes me sound like the reincarnated Scrooge. I am not trying to be a bah humbug here by any means. Like I said, I’m just sayin’. Perhaps we send these seasons greeting because it represents tradition. A sense of Christmas duty. A chance for us to show off our good looking kids with a picture. Our Christmas cards the past two years have promoted Disneyland. We should be shareholders.

So are Christmas Cards out-dated? I submit to you, readers, they are.

A Post Without a Theme

2009-12-18T15:09:00.011-07:00

Seriously, this post is going to be all over the place. Each paragraph could be a whole new topic. By the time you are finished you will have spun around twice, slipped like a grandma using a walker on an ice rink once, and probably felt somewhat nauseated (more than normal while reading my posts.) And if you think I go off on tangents on my other posts, then just brace yourselves, I feel this is the post of tangent posts. I have had some ideas stewing in my mind for a while now, and none of them have blossomed into their own post, so here we go.

First, an open letter to the texting generation:

I get the whole texting thing. I am a texter. I like it because it completely negates the need of the awkward phone call amongst men for a quick message. See, men differ from women in phone etiquette. Prior to texting, if I needed to make a quick call to find out if someone was showing up to the ball game or not, it would take a few minutes due to the obligatory small talk. You know, the how are you? What's up? And the person on the other end being required to ask the same thing... and on and on. Now a quick text handles that. I love it. Women have the ability to turn a quick call into 45 minutes, no matter why they call. Men lack that ability and that desire. If Darwin was right, we will start seeing female children born with phones on their ears. Was the bluetooth phone thing invented by a woman?

I am also okay with some of the shortened phrases. Yep, I'm talking the LOL, LMAO, WTF, BRB, ROFL, ROFLMAO, DYSTH (thanks Angie), ASL?, MMA, BTW, RUOK, RUFTT, BFF, BFFL, KMB (KMA), TTYL, and on and on. My personal favorite is WTF! It's like missionaries always saying "fetching" and feeling like it was okay. I think "fetching" is used more by 19-28 year old LDS men than anyone else on Earth. Even more than dog trainers. (All of this is based on factual information by the way, or BTW.) I understand that typing out many of these is long, and everybody that texts knows these or learns them fast. (If you need any acronym decoded, there are many websites devoted to this.) I implore all texters, however, to strike these immediately from your vocal language. Actually saying "L.O.L." while talking to someone face to face is the most ridiculous thing ever. And it annoys the crap out of me. This is a growing trend amongst the young, olympians of text. It has to stop. Don't make me start a coalition.

Second: An Open Letter about all Celebrities but mostly Tiger Woods:

I tried to avoid this topic, since it is probably the topic of every water cooler conversation worldwide. My only thoughts on this is that it seems no one could surprise me now. I do feel that celebrities do not have a right to privacy however. Let me explain: Celebrities want us to follow them when its the positive stuff. They put themselves in the limelight whether by starring in a movie, owning the PGA for years, whatever, and they want to be top of the charts at those times, asking us into their lives, and then expect privacy on matters like these? No way. Not gonna happen. When we follow you through the good, it translates into big money for you. When things go bad, you better be willing to stay at the plate. Thats all I have to say. That and they just don't make them like Jimmy Stewart anymore. I really hope Jeter's name is not one of the 30 or so remaining on the "yet to be announced steroid list" for MLB. That would be a bigger blow to the sports world than when Tyson bit Holyfield's ear off.

(Side Note: these situations always make the best chain emails. I got one the other day of the "Woods' Christmas Card" showing a beaten up and bruised Tiger and his wife–(x-wife?)–holding a 6-Iron. It made me LOL. It reminded me of a guy that sits near us at Utah Football games that we have for years called the "retarded Tiger Woods." Gotta love Photoshop, Tiger looks like the latest Garbage Pail Kid.)

Is it wrong of me to have been trying to come up with enough information to claim an affair with Tiger too? I could say I was at Augusta in 2004 and met up with Tiger at a sleazy hotel. I am considering this for the financial payoff to keep quiet only. I would never want it to go public. I could settle for 5 million.

Conclusion

I had more to say, more randomness, but this went longer than I thought it would, so I am leaving it there for now. I guess you only spun around once, maybe just stumbled in your walker rather than full on slipping, and didn't quite reach the vomiting Nirvana you were hoping for. TTYL.

Bucket List

2009-12-06T17:11:00.008-07:00

Perhaps I feel motivated to open up a little, or perhaps I am curious if any of you do the same thing...regardless, I want to write about my bucket list.

Years before there was ever a “Bucket List” movie, I was sitting in my Adult Roles class, (10th grade I think) making my own “List of 100 Things I Want to Do Before I Die.” This was an assignment. (Other notable assignments that semester:

design an automobile and give it features based on our personality. I chose a four wheel drive, convertible pick up-my imagination knew no bounds
carry around a pound of flour or sugar and pretend it was a child we had to take care of for the week–we also had the option of an actual doll, but I opted for the decorated bag of flour over the cabbage patch kid
ask the hottest girl in school out on a date- I made that up but sure wish it would have been an assignment.)

I was recently reminded of these lists while going through some boxes of junk. I found some of my old lists. It was quite entertaining to read through them again. I loved making these lists. (I am a list maker, remember?) So much that I continued making them throughout my years of college. Constantly updating and changing things as my interests changed.

One thing that kept showing up on these lists was that I wanted to meet the Princess from “The Neverending Story.” I had to google that to try to trigger some memory. Good call on my part, she was and is a hottie.

Another item I had on multiple lists was to go to all 50 states. I have done well at this. I have made it to 38 of them so far. If I stretch my rules (to count a state on my list, it typically had to be more than an airport layover, or a quick drive through the corner- i.e.- driving through the corner of Arizona on I-15 would not allow me to check-off Arizona) I can say 43. I have an eternal grudge against Dave Rock for this. We had gone to the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. We were only a few miles from North Dakota and I suggested we go to a campsite in North Dakota for the night, so I could scratch it off my list. Dave was driving and protested. We never went. (My grudge goes even further because he was in such a hurry to get home that he would not stop for me to take a pee break. If it would have been his car I would have peed on the floor–one of these days Dave, one of these days!) Can anyone give me a reason to ever go to North Dakota? Perfect opportunity blown. All I can hope for is economic collapse and for North and South Dakota to merge as one state, then that area gets grandfathered in for my list. (We were able to get a “Nature Shot” with the black hills in the background-if you don’t know what a nature shot is, you probably do not want to ask.) The picture is from a town we went through on the way. Population 3? Seriously?

I have not made an actual written list for years, but I realize I still have one, mentally. I want to go to every major league baseball stadium. I have 7 out of 30 done. I get a “double whammy” this April when I have plans to go to Opening Day baseball in Boston. The Red Sox play the Yankees in Boston. Fenway Park (aka Green Monster)- Check. Massachusetts- Check.

Other notable items from my lists of the pasts (ie- I actually wrote these things on my lists at one point or another):

Compete in an air guitar competition–still out there, though I feel like I invented this skill.
Throw out a first pitch in a MLB game–lists don’t have to be dream free!
Make out with the entire cheerleading squad of any NFL team–I feel this is possible, but will take some convincing of Rebecca to let her know they mean nothing to me, its just a list thing.
Come across a traffic accident involving one of those semi trucks that carry cars, preferably one carrying luxury sports cars–I think the carnage and mayhem would be awesome, and there would be little or no human injuries.
Go to Everest base camp- I just think it would be cool.
Stop using parenthesis like crazy–yeah, it’s a weakness.
Write something that people actually enjoy reading–I am trying, I promise.

These lists were contagious. I have talked many friends into making these lists. Seriously, think about it... what would you put on your list? Start with a list of 50. Realistic, or fantasy, it doesn’t matter. My lists usually have a combination of both, because after all, it takes a lot to fill up a list of 50 or 100 items.

So, do you have such lists? If not, what would you put on one if given the assignment? Let’s hear them! Pssst, if you haven’t already, read the next post too...I have done a couple this week! Hooray!

Nothing Changes On New Years Day

2009-12-04T14:07:00.003-07:00

We are approaching a new year. This is a time that has always represented starting over. Doing better. Making a huge change. A clean slate. I always wondered "how did this come to be?" Where is it written that making life changes needs to correspond with years end? I tend to have the more pessimistic approach. As Bono put it, “Nothing Changes On New Years Day.”

Why do we wait until the calendar changes to make changes in our own lives? I was under this mind set in the past. Always setting deadlines and “this is thelast day I will do this or that.” Thinking that somehow there will be a newfound power by coordinating my goals and desired changes with the change of a year, the coming of a new tide, a full moon, no moon, a blue moon(of course the really big changes are saved for the blue moons, since they are so rare), extended sunspots, or sometimes if my horoscope lined up right. More times than not, these magical time periods really didn’t help me, and I found myself pushing deadlines back to correspond with the next phase of whatever looked like it would be beneficial to me. Basically, creative procrastination.

Then I realized that these galactic events and calendars didn’t mean squat. They were about as effective as Daniel Laruso using the Crane Kick against Chozen, the local chinese karate guy that wants to fight to the death. If you have forgotten, the Crane Kick was a staple move in Okinawa, and Chozen easily blocked it. Lucky for Daniel-san this was a sequel, and Mr Miagi had taught him a whole new finishing move based on a baby rattle that everyone not only owned, but happened to have with them when this movie ending fight ensued. Damn, I either need a rattle or my own personal Mr Miagi. (Just for the record, I am absolutely against Will Smith remaking the Karate Kid with his son as Daniel Laruso. This is a travesty that may get its own blog post.)

Many people make resolutions to go the gym, to eat healthier, to wake up earlier, to go to bed earlier, to be a better person, to go to more MLB games, to stop spending money on Pez Dispensors, or whatever. ( I am excluding all references to religious related changes. We all have our own personal Mr Miagi’s in that regard.)

One of my favorite Simpsons episodes is the Treehouse of Horror IV (Halloween special) in which Lisa and Bart stumble across a hangout for vampires. Both are absolutely scared to death of these vampires. During the chase scene, Bart is running up a long spiral stair case. Lisa is in front of him. Bart comes across a switch in the stairwell that says “Super Happy Fun Slide.” Bart stops and looks at the handle. Nothing is said, but you can see the inner struggle in his mind as he contemplates his decision...If he pulls the switch, the vampire will surely catch him, if he keeps running, he may escape. Well, Bart shrugs his shoulders and pulls the switch, changing the staircase into a super happy fun slide. Bart loves sliding down it, until sliding right into the vampire who proceeds to do vampire stuff to Bart, makes Bart a vampire, and then the two of them chase after Lisa.

I often feel this way, making great progress on things I have wanted to change, but along comes the Super Happy Fun Slide and I pull that lever. This nearly happened the other day at Thanksgiving dinner. I was so close to having a Cherry Pepsi that I was ready to throw away my 2 years and 5 months of success to hop back on the soda pop wagon. (Or is it off the wagon? Seinfeld?) I have said before and will probably say again, this was one of the hardest things I have ever done-giving up soda. I am not looking for praise here. I'm just sayin'.

Thanksgiving's near miss made me wonder..Will this ever be easy for me? Or is that what's its all about? A never-ending battle like the one between the Utah Jazz and a championship ring? I hope not, I can't go that long.

Anyhow, I will not be making any New Years Resolutions. If I come up with something that would qualify as a New Years Resolution, why not just start it on December 9th? Or right now? Or tomorrow? I want to hear from someone who disagrees with me. Someone who sets New Years Resolutions and has a success story from doing so? Is there anybody out there?

Was It Worth It?

2009-11-20T11:13:00.004-07:00

Yes folks, I am talking In N Out. We waited, as you may know, for about one hour and 45 minutes to eat at In N Out in Draper yesterday, the locations opening day. We are considering camping out over night for the opening of the West Jordan location, just to say we did. So my question is was it worth it? We think so.

We love In N Out burger. It is a regular part of our trips to Disneyland. We almost always stop in either St George or Vegas. It stands alone in quality, taste, and every other burger category. We are not afraid to spend some of out time getting something we like.

Yes, we know we could have waited a week and decreased our wait time, but we view that as having to wait an extra week. Nearly 2 hours is much less time than 1 week.

Critics have accused that we like it so much because it previously was not as accessible to us? Time will tell, but I don't think this is true. Another restaurant we absolutely love is The Waffle House. Unrivaled in waffle making, the closest Waffle House is in Denver. About 4 years ago, Rebecca and I decided to drive to Denver to eat at Waffle House. Denver is an 8 hour drive each way. Luckily, we had friends in Denver to visit as well, so we threw that in there as another reason, but ultimately all we wanted was a waffle and plate of hash browns, diced, covered, and smothered from Waffle House.

Are we the only crazy ones here? I know you all have something equivalent in your lives...and we want to hear them. What would you drive hours for, wait hours for, or do "anything" for? Leave us a comment and tell us what it is you would do and what you would do it for. What would it take? Don't be shy.

Collectibles

2009-11-09T14:51:00.010-07:00

The other day I was sitting in my man-cave(formerly known as "my den", but I was informed that calling it a den went extinct with the final episode of Growing Pains) looking at my baseball cards, and it got me thinking about the act of collecting. What makes us want to collect things? (note: this is not a sports post)

I know for me its a natural inability to throw things away, but I also seek out certain things. I have talked a little bit on various occasions of my baseball card collection. I started collecting cards in Junior high because it seemed like the thing to do. Many of my friends were card collectors, and after a few trips to the "card shop", my interest peaked and I started collecting my own. It was cool to have cards of the players that you saw on TV. As I started collecting it became apparent that there was some serious potential for money making. Or so I thought.

If I owned this card, I could sell it for its book price of 2.35 million dollars. Problem is there are only 40 of them known to be left in existence. It is a 1909 Honus Wagner.

My first love as a young kid was money. I used to sell my unwanted toys in the neighborhood. I would put them in a red wagon, pull them around to friend's houses and sell them off. (Come to find out, if I had just kept some of those original GI Joe and Star Wars figures, I could make a killing off them now!) My Dad used to compare me to Alex Keaton. I tried hard to master the ability of knowing which coins were dropped just by the sound they made. (See Family Ties Season 2 episode 8- I think). So I started the whole baseball card collecting experience with the idea that I would save them nice and neat in boxes for 25 years and then sell them for huge profits. And here they sit, in my man cave, and other places. I have probably close to 250,000 cards. I have no idea how much money I have spent on them, but their combined value is probably around 10 grand. Yet I continue to collect them. I missed the boat when Mark McGwire broke the home run record a few years ago. His card value skyrocketed. I have about 20 of his rookie cards that I never paid more than a couple of dollars for. I held out, thinking they would go up and up like a Michael Jordan rookie, then the steroid news broke. His cards plummeted faster than my brothers and me when we tried to jump off our roof using home made parachutes made of bed sheets and blankets.

My favorite player of all time is Will Clark. I used to do whatever I had to do to get every card ever made of him. He was my childhood athlete hero. A tenacious player. Plus he always put the cool black paint under his eyes. I have hundreds of his cards now. My cousin even got me his autograph on a baseball this past year.

So I ask myself, "Why?" Even though I can not think of great reasons to continue collecting, I continue to do so. I am also collecting mini baseball bats from each stadium I visit for a game. This collection has more of a purpose and meaning to me, so I get it. My daughter Tierra collects the papers that I crumple up and put in the garbage. I only found out about this recently. I am a huge "list maker" person. I make "to-do" lists, "to-buy" lists, "quotes to remember" lists, and on and on. I am frequently updating these lists and rewriting them, or even making new ones. As I do, I throw out the old. Tierra has been secretly keeping these crumpled up lists of mine. This cracked me up. I actually have to be sneaky to throw papers away at my house. I collected my belly button lint while I was a missionary. Had a ziplock bag full after my 24 months. When packing to go home I wondered why I had collected it and threw it in the trash. I kind of wish I had that still.

So my question is, what do you friends and readers and family members collect and why? There has got to be some cool collections out there. My brother Danny collects memories of his stupid 10 dollar purchases. (See a previous post about my New York trip last year.) Another friend collects Pez dispensers. My mom collects Mickey and Minnie mouse plush dolls. My grandma collects mini spoons.

While thinking about this collection topic at work the other day it occurred to me that I think some people collect "911 calls." Or they try to set the record for how many times they can call 911. A lady the other day had called us 3 times in 48 hours, and she didn't even have any emergency needs. The 3rd time she called was only 40 minutes after the 2nd time. When we walked in her house she says to me, "You look familiar, do I know you from somewhere?" I said, "Yes, I was here 45 minutes ago." She acted surprised. Nice try lady, I know I am just part of your collection now.

NBA Opening Day

2009-10-28T15:08:00.007-06:00

Sorry to revert back to a sports related post, but the greatest month for sports fans is coming to a close, and the NBA is about to get going, so it is more than appropriate. (October is the greatest month in sports because it is the month that leads up to the fall classic-the World Series in baseball, football is in full swing and on television all day Saturday and Sunday, basketball gets going, and even Hockey gets underway. All sports fans have something to look forward to in October. Every sports columnist has made this comment at one point or another in their career.)

So on to basketball. NBA basketball specifically. When Rebecca and I met, we were huge basketball fans. We both loved the Jazz. (The Jazz were an easy team to be fans of, since we both grew up in Utah, and the Jazz represent Utah's only true professional team.) We went to a couple of games a year, and we even dressed up in jazz paraphernalia and made a Jazz themed jell-o trying to win some season ticket contest. So yeah, basketball was in our blood.

I have always enjoyed playing basketball as well. I have never been very good. This always perplexed me because of all the sports, it is probably the sport I have played the most. Practice makes perfect right? Well, as my brother pointed out, Perfect practice makes perfect. All these years I was just practicing being horrible at basketball, says he. Point taken. I would rather ski anyway.

I have great basketball memories, like when my college roommates and I drove down from Logan-after the Jazz beat the Rockets to go the 1997 finals-just to meet the Jazz team at the airport. We were all watching the game as Stockton hit the shot at the buzzer to win the game. Then the announcers mentioned they were flying home tonight and if fans wanted to greet them to "come on down to such and such gate at this address." I'm not even sure we turned our TV off, we all knew we had to go. Minutes later we were driving, never mind our morning classes or whatever we had going. They landed at around 2 in the morning. Our friend BJ played the accordion and paraded around the area creating an impromptu parade and getting live on 1320 KFAN (albeit at 2 in the morning) with his crazy antics. We were loving it. Besides the fact that the Jazz were going to the NBA finals, we spontaneously drove 2 hours just to get a glimpse of them getting off an airplane and driving past thousands of fans in their cars. That and the impromptu parade led by my friend playing the accordion.

I lost interest in basketball in 2004 when a huge fight happened between players and fans. The NBA suspended a couple of players, but not civil charges were pursued. It made me sick. Never had I personally witnessed a free pass being given to professional athletes. I am not naive enough to pretend it doesn't happen in all sports, but this was too much for me.

I am slowly coming back as a basketball fan. I have an idea that would make me like basketball more though. It drives me absolutely nuts when a professional basketball player misses free throws. There should be no excuse. These cagers (why do they call them cagers?) have played hoops since they were 2 years old in most cases, and free throws are part of the game at every level. To shoot less than 95 percent should be unconscionable. I see two options here. First: If a player drops below 75 percent, they should be suspended from games and not allowed to enter until they can certify to league officials that they have brought their average up. This could be achieved by having the player shoot 100 free throws in practice until the average is reached. My second idea would be to pay the player the percentage of his salary that corresponds with his free throw percentage. So if someone like Shaq is signed for 100 million dollars this year, with his free throw percentage of 61, he only gets 61 million dollars. Just a thought. If any of you have connections with the league, send them my way.

All this said, the Jazz open their season tonight. Has the NBA instituted the blackout rule like college sports and NFL have done? I haven't heard, but I will be watching game 1 of the World Series anyway.

They're playing "our" show

2009-10-22T11:54:00.010-06:00

For the sake of accuracy in blogging, I need to clear up a few things:

1. We have all the fixings for rootbeer floats in our kitchen. Chad, did you look in the freezer? That's where we usually keep the ice cream.

2. Chad only watched a Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) results show

with me so it doesn't really count. He has to watch the entire performance show to get the full, glitter-ball impact.

3. I find it amazing that Chad knows so much about a show he so rarely watches. It seems he's well acquainted with Bruno and his "excited" voice. And, no, he didn't google it for the purpose of his blog post because he made the same comment to me as we were watching the show.

Hmmm...Curious.

All that being said, there is no need to worry that we will adopt DWTS as "our" show. I prefer to keep that, along with all other reality dancing shows, as my own personal guilty pleasure. I'm lobbying for Trauma to become our new show. Chad's pushing for Friday Night Lights. I think either would be a good choice.

So do you have a show (or shows) that you watch together as a couple? Or as a family? Aside from sports, Chad and I almost never watch TV together. The kids love to watch the dancing shows with me. I'm on my own with Lost, although sometimes Tierra will join me. I kind of prefer watching Lost by myself. What about you? Do you prefer to watch your favorite TV show(s) alone or with company? And who has a hankering for a rootbeer float right now? I know I do!

If Only...

2009-10-22T00:36:00.009-06:00

250 years ago (give or take), Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." I can't but help but think how much different my life would be if he had said, "A root beer float a day, keeps the doctor away."? Ben Franklin was an amazing man, and I do not want to lessen any of his huge contributions to our Country by throwing root beer floats out there, but you gotta wonder don't you?
I don't know if it is true or not, but in looking at stuff about Ben Franklin recently, I found a website that did credit him with saying, "Root beer is proof that God loves us." Despite Mr. Franklin's great advice, I don't eat an apple a day either. I actually like every other form of apple. Apple sauce, apple pie, apple juice, dunking for apples, Apple Jacks, etc. I do not like a plain old apple. I think it may be due to the apple skin getting between my teeth, and as a kid I was so scared that if I swallowed a seed one of two bad things would happen: 1- a tree would grow out of my body, or 2: I would have a life long duty to be the new Johnny Appleseed. These things terrified me. This post is not about apples though, or good health. This post is not about root beer floats. It really isn't about anything. I just wanted to write. You have to wonder though, if vegetables were really the name for candy, would kids still have to be forced to eat them?

As a reader you do not realize the time span between paragraphs, but I just spent the last 10-15 minutes first looking through my cupboards to see if I could whip up a root beer float, and then another 10 to 15 minutes talking myself out of going to the store to buy the stuff to have one. If I hadn't been too lazy to find a shirt and my shoes, I may have been typing this while enjoying one. Other than a root beer float or 10 here and there, I gave up soda pop 2 years ago. Actually, it has been 2 years and 4 months. This was very difficult for me. I loved my Cherry Pepsi breakfasts. I gave up all caffeinated and carbonated drinks. My Lent, I suppose-though I am making it last longer than 6 weeks. I still drink the lemonades and fruit punches that are probably just as bad for you, but that is next on my list. I could not believe how hard it was to give these up! Seriously difficult. I am 12 percent suspicious of the fact that cocaine may still be in colas. I have loved my freedom from soda pop. I break my rule for root beer floats though. Is this wrong of me? Funny as this may sound, due to my cessation of all things soda, I feel empowered to the extent that I can accomplish anything in life that I set my mind too. (Totally stole that from Dr Emmett Brown.) It is this same strength that I am calling upon to give up my fantasy sports addiction that Rebecca and Heidi challenged me to do. (I am not segwaying this into a sports post) Right now is sign up time for fantasy NBA, and it is killing me. I am going to stay strong though. Side note and off topic somewhat: I still haven't been able to regularly attend Sunday School either.

My free time that would be occupied by fantasy sports research has led me to watching more TV. I am now on the verge of having a few TV shows that I follow. (They just don't make them like Night Court anymore.) I watched an entire episode of dancing with the stars last night with Rebecca. I do admit that I was also playing around on the computer, but the show was on, I was listening, I watched a few of the dances of the girls I thought were hot. ( I have a crush on Samantha Harris.) Then it hit me, "I just quadrupled my lifetime exposure to this show in one sitting."

Rebecca and I used to have "our show." For some reason we got into a show called Third Watch. We both liked the first several seasons. We even named our dog after one of the cops on the show that Rebecca thought was cute. It was a fictional show based on firefighters, police, and doctors in New York City. Rebecca wants us to have a new show. I will admit that it was fun to have a show together. However, I struggle now because of a couple things: DVR and TV on DVD. I like watching an entire season in three or four sittings rather than waiting week to week to see what happens. So this is what has ruined my TV watching. I love DVR though. I just wish they still did reruns of night court. Back to Dancing with the Stars...(did I really just say that?) I think it would be a much more entertaining show if Bruno, in his excited voice would just yell, "Your Out!" to the couples that get voted off. All this suspense and drama by Tom Bergeron is lame. Bruno doesn't necessarily have to use the Major League Baseball catch phrase, but something equivalent.

So to go full circle, leave us a comment, or bring me a root beer float.

Best Job In The World

2009-10-10T18:23:00.010-06:00

Rebecca and I have decided to lay off the sports talk for a while, though I do have a great idea for a post revolving around basketball for a few weeks from now. So during the sports break, lets start a new topic... Work.

I always tell people that I have the best job in the whole world, and I honestly believe that I do. The ironic part of this though, is that my good day at work means that someone else has to have their worst day. Sometimes "worst" can mean bad luck, sometimes tragedy, and often both. Take these next two pictures for example. The driver of this car was not also the owner of this car. Nope. The owner was his girlfriend's mother, who didn't know the boyfriend was going to "borrow" the car for the afternoon. So he takes the car for a little joy ride, probably just to run to the Quik-E Mart, or perhaps to the video store to rent a copy of Ghostbusters 2 for the night. Too bad he didn't make it and the car burst into flames!

But his misfortune became a great time for me. Car fires are so fun to fight. Especially when there is a little bit of a crowd and the tires explode loudly and everyone runs away faster than an audience running from a Tom Cruise missionary moment. My favorite burning car is a any Volkswagen built before 1980. They made their engines out of Magnesium. Burning magnesium, when it comes into contact with water, creates quite a neat light display. Not quite comparable to the Bellagio Fountain show, but maybe like a 4th of July in Moroni, Utah. Magnesium, and other metal fires, can not be extinguished very easily with just water. This is especially fun when you are with a brand new firefighter, that hasn't learned that about burning metals. So, fun day for me. Bad day for boyfriend. I have often wondered if the relationship lasted. Probably not after coming home with a charred car and a copy of Ghostbusters 2.

Then this sad story. The owner of this house was working in his garage, making his own home made fishing flies for the family vacation that was coming within a few days. Something distracted him, and he left the welder he was using to near something that was too flammable. Before he realized it, the fire was raging. A lesson here for readers, fire doubles in size every minute. So call 911 first, grab the hose, or extinguisher second. Not saying this guy made any of those mistakes, but the huge fire became a bad day for him, fun times for me.

This often makes me sound terrible. I do not wish these tragedies or moments of bad luck on anyone. Our standard mantra among firefighters is that though we do not wish this on anyone, we like to be there when it happens. My job is to show up on people's worst moment, and do whatever can be done to lessen that, or make it better.

It is also comical when we get called to the most ridiculous of emergencies. What some people deem as their "worst day", is really a comedy show for us...after the fact of course. One particular call that made me laugh all the way to the next emergency was a guy that called us over to his apartment for a strange smell. At the apartment was a college age couple trying to sit down and watch a romantic movie. (It may have been Ghostbusters 2, but I cannot confirm!) The guy thinks there is something wrong with his furnace, because every so often he keeps getting a whiff of a strange smell. We investigated everything we knew how to do, but could not find anything wrong. This poor kid was so concerned, that we really tried hard to think of everything. Well, when one of our crew members was in a back room alone with his date, the girl admitted to having "gas" and trying to blame it on the furnace. I can't believe she let this kid get freaked out enough to call the fire department before fessing up! We kept her secret safe from her date.

I have thought about other jobs that would probably be wonderful jobs too. The first one that came to mind was the job of protesting. Have you seen those people that hang up the "Shame On" signs?

I am sure they are being paid to sit out there by the signs with their shade tents, water coolers, and endless snacks. This seems hard to beat to me. How does one get such a job? And who chooses who to call down the shame upon? Maybe that would be the better job, finding companies and businesses to "shame!" Does it have to stop with businesses? Could I make a "Shame on my neighbor's dog for pooping on my lawn" sign? This next one is a cause I can get behind, no matter the reason.

I have also thought about a job that isn't a job, but if it were would be fun. I would love to work for the "False Advertising Department" of a company. Seriously, if it were legal, moral, and all other applicable standards that this idea violates, sign me up. The possibilities are more numerous than the times Dwight Schrute has been passed up for promotion.

Seriously though, if there was not a requirement to have truth in advertising, think of the fun possibilities. I have some ideas that I will post in the comments section, but I want to hear some from you guys for about a week first.

Monday Morning Quarterback

2009-10-06T09:53:00.011-06:00

I'm going to be "monday-morning-quarterback" to Chad's decision to proclaim himself a Jets and Packers fan.

My observations and thoughts, in no particular order:

• The Jets and Packers both had losing weeks that exposed their weaknesses. This is the test of a true fan. Will you stick with them through thick and thin? Through the good and the bad? Through wins AND losses? Will you Chad?

• We watched the Packers lose to the Vikings last night, and while I can say that Chad was none too happy (especially with Rodgers and his penchant for holding the ball too long), I didn't sense the frustration and emotion that comes from a true fan.

• I did sense a tiny bit of uncertainty. It might have something to do with the whole confusion of rooting FOR the Packers but AGAINST Brett Favre. (Seriously, how can you not like the guy?) But maybe it was a glimmer of doubt and regret for picking the Packers as his team. I'm not sure I see the conviction in Chad's fanmanship.

I think Heidi makes a valid point when she says if you really want to be a fan of a specific team you have to give up fantasy football. So Chad, would you be willing to give up fantasy football for your team(s)?

As a final note, I'd just like to extend a welcome to all the BYU fans who became Colts fans this week thanks to Austin Collie's breakout performance. Your stay with the Colts may be short, but it will be enjoyable. It's good to be a Colts fan!

Why I Can't Be an Arizona Cardinals Fan (For Heidi)

2009-10-03T19:37:00.005-06:00

A friend of mine suggested I become a fan of the Arizona Cardinals. Sorry Heidi, I just can’t do it. More than just saying “no” though, I want to annotate my “No!”

Number 1: No disrespect, but they drafted a guy with the first name of Beanie as their first pick for the 2009 draft. How can a star running back ever be taken serious with a name like Beanie? Coach should go ahead and just paint a bulls-eye on the front of his jersey. “Nice run Beanie?” Can’t do it.

Number 2: Both of their star receivers take more pride in their hair extensions than in their work ethic. Which reminds me of the time my Brother Danny was going to get cornrows in New York last summer. Click here for that pure entertainment! (You have to either read the whole thing, or scroll down a little to see his top ten list) He actually did get 3 cornrows done before he realized they were 3 bucks a row. I am tired of seeing more hair hanging from Professional Football Players’ helmets. If I were a defender I would yank the hair of the guy I was guarding, penalty or not.

Number 3: I am so over Kurt Warner. I hated him when he played for the Rams and seemed to always rack up points against my fantasy teams, causing me to lose in the playoffs several years in a row. That makes me hate him more than if someone made me watch 24 hours of Teletubbies without a bathroom break. Fantasy sports is serious business. I also think Warner is hanging on to his career way too long. Time to hang it up, Mr Warner. So many bad decisions in so little a time. Go grab Brett Favre and spend time in the motivational speaker circuit before becoming an ESPN analyst!

On the same note, and in the same spirit. I have decided I am a New York Jets fan, and a Green Bay Packers fan, and let me tell you why.

New York Jets:

Number 1: For whatever reason, I started liking the Jets from a young age when my parents bought me a Green Jets Jersey for Christmas. It was number 99 Mark Gastineau. Gastineau was a solid member of the defensive line. I know I have mentioned this before.

Number 2: The Jets are off to a hot start this year, and the one game I did watch was very entertaining. It is easier to get behind a team that wins, at least to start.

Number 3: I have always liked Green as a color.

Number 4: I think the main draw is that I have always said I was a Jets fan, again, stemming from my gift when I was but a boy. My family knows me as a Jets fan, so if the shoe fits, wear it...perhaps?

Packers:

Number 1: For whatever reason, I drafted a couple of Packers players a few years ago for a fantasy league, and they were awesome. Greg Jennings was one of them. This led me to draft him again. He is a solid wide out with speed and can rack up the fantasy points. Same with Donald Driver. Solid. Great fantasy team additions.

Number 2: Since I drafted some fantasy players, I decided to watch the Packers games when they came on TV. They are a fun team to watch. Their running back, Ryan Grant reminds me of Barry Sanders, who is probably one of my favorite RB’s of all time. Favre was an amazing QB. The comeback king.

Number 3: This should probably be reason number 1 if we are going by level of importance, which I am not, so its number 3... The Strong Safety, Bybee, put such a hit on Randy “the Mouth” Moss a season or two ago that I bet still hurts. I can’t stand Moss, so that made my day. I am sort of partial to defensive plays too. I still recall vividly the hit Steve Atwater (a small free safety for the Broncos) delivered to Christian Okoya ( a large running back for the chiefs). You heard the crack through the TV screen. Such a small guy completely laying a big guy out. Awesome.

Number 4: Aaron Rodgers. I don’t want to like this guy. But, he keeps playing so solid that I am drawn to him. I can’t help but compare him to Steve Young. (Young sat behind Montana as back up for several years before having his breakout performance and subsequently earn the starting spot.) Young was an awesome QB. ( why do I keep mentioning the same guys?) Favre was (is?) an awesome QB. You can not deny that, even if he has trumped even Michael Jordan on the retirement/return fiasco. They have almost reached the level of bad 90210 reruns. How many times can (should) these shows be reran? Let it go. I still can’t get over seeing Favre in purple. If I were a betting man I would place 50/50 odds on a Green Bay fan putting a hit on him before the Vikings go into Lambeau for their game in November. Like a mafia hit. Does Green Bay have a mafia?

So, in summary, these are the teams I am going to cheer for. I am going to buy me a New York Jets pennant. Perhaps a Green Bay Jersey. Label me a fan all over again.

I had to do another sports post. It was requested. Stay tuned for many non sports posts coming down the pipe soon.

Photos of Strangers

2009-09-28T23:42:00.008-06:00

We just got back from a week in Southern California. San Diego, Sea World, Beaches, Disneyland. The next update on the family blog will be all about that. For this blog, I was thinking about photos, as in photographs. As in the people inside those photographs.

As we walked around Sea World, and Disneyland, we took tons of pictures, just like everyone else,(except maybe the Asian visitors because lets face it, they take a lot of pictures.) So as we were doing so, I noticed that it was impossible to eliminate total strangers from some of the pictures. Well, that in turn got me thinking about how many photo's I am in and have no idea? I figure this trip alone at least 50 people took a picture of me, some of them had no choice, I was standing too close to whatever object they were photographing. Some, like most of the Disney Princesses, just wanted a photo of me.

I started looking through the photos of ours that have strangers in them. Poor folks have no idea they are being scrutinized right now. It is quite entertaining to look at the people that are in your photos.

What is the lady in the black shirt thinking? It appears she is not very happy at the happiest place on earth.

I hope that the afterlife includes a huge photo album of all the photos that were ever taken of me. I wonder how many of them caught me picking my nose? I wonder how many are just my butt. I remember once at an air show in Vegas I took a discreet picture of some guy's feet. He had napkins tapered and cut to guard his toes from the sun. I had the friends I was with pose just right so I could secretly get a photo of him. He had no idea. His next life photo album will include a picture of his feet and his home made sun shield. Maybe he will congratulate himself for protecting himself from sun cancer? Perhaps he forgot that moment of ingenuity and I am doing him a favor, capturing a memory.

I remember also in my younger years, aka college, trying to get into strangers photos. There are many photos of me out there ruining someone else's background. This was funny to me at the time. Maybe when I see that photo album in the next life I will have some regrets and think I was a jerk. JP Mataalii ruined our shot at getting in our High School Class photo twice. We were perfectly positioned to do the run to the other side thing, and he chickened out because Mr Marine (Vice Principal) was looking at us. Turns out Mr Marine wanted us to do it and was watching thinking we would.

Here's another one photo.

The kid in the back row has no idea I have a picture of him closing his eyes on Space Mountain. Was he scared? Was he sneezing? Poor guy will forever be in my mind as a sneezing rider of Space Mountain, or Ghost Galaxy, as it is called for Halloween Time. (Side note: Very awesome ride. Side note number 2: A lady that was near by when this picture came up on the screen felt bad for me because she thought I was about to cry. Side note 3: The kids loved this ride, despite what it looks like from the photo.)

So these are the thoughts that run through my mind while enjoying everything there is at Disneyland.

So basically I just want to see the photo album that has every picture of me ever taken. Or maybe I don't.

Its Underway

2009-09-14T23:02:00.004-06:00

Well, the NFL season is officially underway, and I love it. I love football season. I love football starting for so many reasons. It means we are closer to winter, and hence the ski season. I love skiing.

I am still looking for an acceptable answer as to how someone picks a sports team. As I have given it more thought, I have come up with a few reasons of my own. I think if you are ok with how the uniform looks, like watching what a few of the players can do, and enjoy the time watching them, then its a good start. I think that a big help though, is repetition. What I mean is this: If you watch the same team again and again, they will obviously grow on you. I have two very strong examples in my own life of this. When I was little, I liked BYU. (Yes you read that right, I can admit it.) In my defense, my parents had season tickets and took me to all the home games. It was so fun to be at the games. I still remember many of the games. I saw BYU beat Miami in Provo in 1990. Huge game. Fun game. I remember making a paper airplane out of one of the pages of the program that made it all the way to the field. I was stoked. I was a BYU fan all the way through, and I even memorized the fight song and used to wait around on the field after the game to get player autographs. Freddie Whittingham signed my BYU shirt, I got a wristband from Sean Covey, and a chinstrap from Mark Bellini. I even had the Mormon rap and the Ty Detmer rap on cassette and played them both at high volumes on my radio. It was awesome. Sometime in those formative years, my Grandpa Simons started taking me to the Utah games. A game here and there became every home game. While it was fun to go to games with Grandpa, I knew nothing about the U. Grandpa would tell me things here and there, and a second or third cousin played for them here and there, so I soon became converted to the truth, and am now a Utah Fan. I am not a BYU hater, don't tell anyone but I actually like to see them do well. I just want Utah to win the rivalry game each year. My second example is my being an Angels fan. As mentioned in a previous post, I use to be a Mets fan. After going to so many Bees games though, I slowly converted to an Angels fan because it was names I knew from watching the games in Salt Lake. So exposure has a big deal to do with being a fan. I still am having a hard time choosing an NFL team to get behind, but I watched the New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers the first week of the season and had a great time watching both teams. I am starting to accept Aaron Rodgers as a QB for the Packers. Anyway, I am still looking for explanations from you guys about this topic.

Another thing I have realized is that it is so fun is going to the stadiums. My quest to see a baseball game in every stadium is underway. I have always hated the Yankees. HATED THEM. I am not sure why, but I honestly feel this extreme hatred for everything Yankees. Or at least used to. Last summer I went to Yankee Stadium. I have a hard time hating those Yankees now. I feel like I am peeking through the blinds at them, just to keep up secretly with what is going on with them. I am excited for this coming week, we have Angels-Yankees tickets in Anaheim!

So the first week of football, as mentioned is underway. I think football games is what makes fall speed by. Waiting each week for the games makes time cruise and before you know it its Thanksgiving. So with the first week of Football comes the first week of Fantasy Football as well. I went a little overboard and have a total of four teams. Its too many. My first week is looking bad, especially in the league I am matched up against Rebecca. Her team is crushing my team. Its bad. Real bad. I have not had my masculinity challenged to this extent since Laurie Anderson beat me and 4 other guys in a game of Risk in college.

Yeah, that was a bad day too. It almost makes me return to the fetal position sucking my thumb. All I can do is look forward to week 2 and make some early adjustments.

Tune in again soon, I have a few more posts coming soon... non sports posts I may add. One more thing about sports though, did anyone else see Shaquille O'Neals quote that he thinks that Ben Rothlesberger is the third best QB in the NFL? He went on to say that if that is true, then he (Shaq) should play football because he is better than Ben. I laughed hard for two reasons: 1- Rothlesburger is no where near the third best QB in the league, and 2- are you kidding me Shaq? Go back to the movies.

My Grandpa passed away last summer before the Utah Utes season began. I really miss him. He was my goto Sports Almanac. Anytime I had a question about a rule, a call, or when I wanted to just analyze a game, he was the guy I talked to. He had a anecdote to life that always related to sports. He took me to so many sporting events, and supported us faithfully in any sports we participated in. I remember him always being at the little league games. I have really thought a lot about Grandpa lately, I bet he would have an answer on how to pick a team.

My fantasy world

2009-09-08T13:16:00.009-06:00

Last night Chad and I spent well over an hour participating in a live on-line draft for a fantasy football league we play in. Last week we drafted for another fantasy football league that Chad commissions. Today I've been trying to decide who I should start and who I should bench in both leagues (Rivers or Manning? ). In case you didn't know, I love fantasy football!

I've been playing since 1999, before I met Chad. I was a huge NBA fan at the time but wasn't too interested in football. A friend of mine convinced me to play so I thought I'd give it a shot. I've been playing every season since and I LOVE football. Over the years I have taken 1st place once and 2nd place 3 times. I've managed 11 teams and been commissioner twice. I also played fantasy basketball for a few years (I was commissioner twice and placed 1st and 3rd) but have since given it up. I even played fantasy hockey for a couple of years (I know nothing about hockey, but it was fun and I took 1st place!). If you didn't think I was a geek before, you do now!

So what makes Fantasy sports so fun and addicting? For me it is the competition. Sadly, I am very UN-athletic so growing up I never really participated in any sports. My competitive drive is resigned to manifest itself over board games (Scrabble anyone???). Over the years I've become a big fan of sports. Since I lack the ability to play, I have discovered the joy of being an observer. Fantasy sports gives me the chance to be more of a "participant" than I ever was before. It's the perfect medium for us athletically challenged sports-lovers.

I've got some great players on my teams this year. I managed to snag Peyton Manning last night. As Chad said, he is my favorite player. But Chad's wrong when he says I only like him because he's cute. I like him because he's got amazing accuracy, great leadership, a strong presence in the pocket and a very fine backside. AND he's cute! My Colts are the best, but I also like the Giants (I just love the Manning bros!) and the Packers. I want to like the Cowboys because I really like a lot of their players, but I'm just not sure I can bring myself to say I'm a Cowboys fan. I've always loved T.O. so I might have to cheer for the Bills this year. We'll see...

I'm excited to have another female playing in our friends and family league this year (yay McKayla!). So how many other Fantasy Football playing women are out there? I know I'm not the only one. How about football fans? Who's your favorite team and player(s)? And most importantly, are you ready for some football?!??!??

Fantasy Sports

2009-08-19T13:11:00.005-06:00

You women readers may want to get the men involved in this one. The end of Summer always marks one huge landmark event for me: Drafting my Fantasy Football Team. I admit, I am addicted, hooked, lined and sinkered. I started playing fantasy football in 1997, out of curiosity to see what it was all about. I had no clue. All I knew is that when I was watching football games, they had a little ticker at half time about the fantasy impact. This was enough to get me to start to dabble. Sheer curiosity. So I did a team. Then I did it again, now I can not wait for it. It doesn't stop at football either. I do fantasy basketball. I have a fantasy baseball team. I even have a football survival team, football pick 'em bracket, and salary cap fantasy football. Shamefully, the same curiosity got me into a fantasy NASCAR bracket, fantasy Wimbledon Bracket (I have a crush on most of the female tennis players from Europe), and fantasy golf. Thankfully the last three didn't stick.

A quick synopsis of fantasy sports. You get into a league against friends (or strangers) who all draft a mock team. Any current active player is free game. You can draft the quarterback from the Dolphons to throw to the receiver from the 49ers. So you get your team together and place them in their spots and whatever stats they earn in the real game, gets transferred over to your team stats. So the trick is getting the lineup each week of the guys that are going to have the good stats. Then your fantasy stats are matched up against another's fantasy stats and the team with the best stats wins the game that week. This may be confusing to the non-fantasy player, but it doesn't matter.

My point in all of this is really not to give a sales pitch for fantasy sports. If you have not ventured into that world, and are a sports fan, you are definitely missing out. Think of it as Dungeons and Dragons for former athletes-or the "wish-they-were-athletes for that matter. The games come with all sorts of unspoken rituals and bragging rights. A "my dad can beat up your dad" sort of game.

In recent years I have realized something about playing fantasy sports though. It has ruined my fanmanship. (Did I just make up a word?) This has become more and more apparent due to the constant cajoling and mocking from my family. Yes, I will elaborate. ( Yes, I know I am pretending someone is asking me questions as I write.)

My family is a sports family. Sports fans all around. Football fanatics. (It was very important for me to use the entire root word for fan there when mentioning football. It really brings out the true definition.) My Grandpa played every sport and coached every sport. He was so actively involved in the sports program at East High, right up to his death last summer, that I am sure a field, arena, or weight room in the future will have his name on it. His sons, my uncles, all played every sport as well, some as far as college. My immediate family, IE- dad and brothers, all played. As far as football goes, they are all avid Chicago Bears fans. My sister-in-law, amazingly (or maybe not coincidentally), is a Bears fan as well. (That makes it easier on game days I would imagine.) I have 4 brothers. 2 of them, plus my dad, cheer the bears rain or shine, even the Kyle Orton years. They know exactly where they stand. The other likes the Giants, and one likes the 49ers. (Get to the point you say, and stop with the parenthesis?) Had you asked me years ago, I would have said I was a New York Jets fan-and I may still be. I am not sure what ever happened to make me a New York Jets fan, except I recall getting a replica Mark Gastineau jersey, number 99, for Christmas when I was not more than 8 years old. So I started watching the Jets. Thankfully I avoided watching the Broncos and the Chargers even though they were on TV the most.

Back to fantasy sports. Fantasy sports have destroyed my ability to choose and cheer for a favorite team. Living in Utah makes it hard to side with any football team. I know the Mormon world likes to side with the 49ers because Steve Young played there and that somehow makes them an honorary LDS team, but not me. So my brothers have given me a lot of lip the last few years and have tried to force my hand. I have been called a fair weather fan. A bandwagoner. Truth is, I am not sure what to do about it. I cheer for the players that end up on my fantasy team. To be honest, I do not like this situation. I need to pick a team. I thought for a while I would become a Packers fan, because I loved watching Favre, and I had a couple of the Green Bay receivers on my teams, but I just can't bring myself to get behind Rodgers. He looks too awkward. And I could never cheer for Minnesota. Favre should be ashamed of himself!

I want a team I can get behind. How does someone choose a favorite team anyway? Its almost obvious that if you live in Dallas, you like the Cowboys. Again, though, Utah does not have that hometown tie. With basketball we have it. With baseball we sort of have it (the Salt Lake Bees are the farm team for the Angels.) So I pose this question...what do you sports fans look for in choosing a favorite team? How do you readers choose your team? I know which teams I hate, but can't settle on one team to cheer on. I want one to hang pennants in my den and by replica jerseys again. Rebecca likes the Colts, but it started because she thinks Peyton Manning is cute. She use to like the Patriots for the same reason, as in Tom Brady. Obviously, I don't have that same draw. Over the last 10 years I have transitioned in baseball from a Mets fan to an Angels fan because of watching so many Salt Lake games and getting to know the players. (I was a Mets fan because that was my little league team mascot.) Not getting to know the players personally, but watching them in Salt Lake and then seeing them play in "the bigs." Baseball is easy. I am a huge baseball fan, almost to the point that I do not need a team because I just like watching the game. But...

I want to pick a side.

I want to be a fanatic.

Fantasy sports is making that difficult.

Cell Phone

2009-08-09T23:51:00.004-06:00

This was inspired by reading Angie's post. I have a semi-funny story. This happened a couple years ago, but is still plain as day in my mind.

So I go into a cell phone store to upgrade my Nokia model 100 cell phone.

The store was located in the now destroyed Cottonwood Mall...Just to help you visualize.

College Kid Worker at the Counter: "Can I help you?"

Me: "I need to buy a new phone."

Worker: "What do you want your phone to do?"

Me: After a short pause and most likely a really confused, dumb look on my face: "Call people."

Worker: "Oh! All of our phones do that, but we also have phones that are MP3 players, have internet, cameras, GPS devices..."

Me: I interupt him, "I don't do any of that. I just want a phone that makes phone calls. I do not want to buy any of the extra things because I have a camera and an IPOD."

Worker: "I don't think we have phones that only make calls. Let me check." So he goes into the back room for about 15 minutes. It seemed a lot longer. Finally he comes out with a single phone box in his hand, and he is beaming. "This phone doesn't do anything but make calls!"

Me: "Let me have a look." So I take the phone out of the box an look at it. I pretend to know all about certain things that you need to look for when buying a phone. "How much?"

Worker: "Um, you can probably just have it."

Me: "Are you sure?"

Worker: " Let me call my supervisor." He gets on the store phone and calls someone. I only hear his side of the conversation, but he explains to his supervisor that I only want a phone that calls people and he found an old but brand new phone in a back corner of the storage, that the phone is no longer listed in the books, and asks if he can give it away. He hangs up and says, "yeah, its all yours. And my supervisor says thanks for taking it off our hands."

No contract. No money. Perfect phone shopping experience. Since then however, my work has almost forced me to be more reliant on the phone. I text. I actually like texting only because I don't like talking on the phone a lot. With a text I can get to the point and all of the small talk is not required. Just a simple sentence or two and you are done. While I worked my office position for the Fire Department I was forced to have email attached to my phone, my Outlook calendar attached to my phone, and on and on. Though it was beneficial for my position, I never want that again. I have avoided getting an Iphone, or any other of the new hot devices. Call me old fashioned. I really wish I could phase having a cell phone out of my life, and go back to the days of carrying a dime in my shoe in case I needed the pay phone.

Pay phones probably cost a dollar-fifty now.

New Title: Chad Says, Rebecca Listens and Does!

2009-07-28T17:06:00.009-06:00

I had higher hopes for this blog. I can't let it die. If it is going to be just about me, then so be it. There are a lot of examples of solo artists being more successful than the group right? Paul Simon dumped Art Garfunkel, and though I disagree, critics think he was better solo. Bobby Brown broke up New Edition. David Lee Roth and Van Halen, Neil Young dumped Crosby Stills and Nash, Beyonce-never mind, George Michael put an end to Wham, which was most definitely a good thing, the only problem being that there was still a George Michael. So, Rebecca, get the hint... this blog needs your participation.

Until she decides to join back up, I will continue to ramble. First up... have you all heard about Shaq's (as in Shaquille O'Neal/as in basketball/ as in big middle man) latest venture. I am not talking about his trade to the Cav's. I am talking about his upcoming talk show. This should give everyone in the world hope and confidence that truly anything can be accomplished. Seriously, have you guys heard him talk? He makes Sly Stallone sound like a profound orator, maybe even a philosopher. If you need proof go back and watch Kazaam. (Kazaam- a low budget film starring Shaq as a genie- not that I ever watched it.)

Okay, I watched it. I have no excuse. I guess I don't really know the budget either, maybe they intended this to be a blockbuster. If given the choice between Kazaam and Beaches, I would choose Beaches again. Please don't ever put me into that situation. I think I may watch this new Talk Show just as a comedy sketch. I wonder what they will call it? I wonder what network will air it? I guess the rich and famous can get away with anything. Plus, Shaq is entering the world of Pro Wrestling. I think it is called WWE now. Not positive. Wrestling has changed its name more than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Didn't Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman already prove that basketball pros do not put on an entertaining enough show as wrestlers? OK, I did watch that match too. Even ordered it on Pay Per View. Karl Malone and Hulk Hogan took on Rodman and Rick Flair. I can't remember who won. The wrestling match continued into the 1998 finals however, and Malone flopped several times in those games. (Cheap shot from a bitter former fan?)

I remembered another story from work that may be entertaining for you all. So here it goes. This happened a few years ago, so I can safely tell it without violating any HIPPA laws, I think. Anyway, so we get paged out to a full arrest. (Full Arrest means that some one's heart has stopped beating, and they are not breathing. Not a good thing for those wishing to live, but, sadly it happens all the time.) The place we get called to is a group home of sorts, where many old people live together and take care of each other. We get to the house and pound on the door yelling, "Fire Department!" Yelling "Fire Department" somehow gives us the right to use whatever means necessary to enter the home. So we knock hard on the door, and this older white guy answers. A quick look at this guy tells me two things instantly. Number 1- We would probably be seeing him very soon, speaking from a firefighter/paramedic standpoint. IE- he looked sick and nearing his own major cardiac event. So much that we asked one of our EMT's to check his vitals when we left the place. The second thing that I learned, the Mr T starter kit should not be ordered or worn by white people. If there was a picture book definition to "bling," this guy's portrait would be exclusively it. So the White Mr T-minus the Mohawk-points us to a room towards the back of this 5 room apartment.

Quick necessary side track: when an individual is in full arrest, and paramedics are there, 3 or 4 quick things have to happen. We have to get the person to an area where we can do work, all around the body. We also have to move them to a firm surface. We also have to remove their upper clothing. So people that collapse in bathrooms, or in their beds, or where ever, are often drug to areas of the home that allow us more room to give the person every fighting chance. Back to the story, so we are heading to the room that White Mr T told us to go to. As we walk into the room, sure enough, a lady appeared to be unconscious and not breathing in her bed. (Now the sidetrack info becomes relevant, right?) So my paramedic partner and I exchange quick glances of understanding and without saying a word fling the bedspread off the lady, grab her legs, and pull her to the floor of her room. As soon as she hit the floor at the foot of her bed she started screaming. However, this was not my Baywatch moment. (Baywatch moment- person in cardiac arrest from drowning, lifeguard-paramedics pull victim from water, give a mouth to mouth breath or two, give a compression or two and the person coughs a couple of times, water comes out of the mouth, and the person invites the whole crew over for a beach blanket barbecue later that night for saving her life.)

Nope, this lady screamed out of sheer fear from the two strangers that just interrupted her full-arrest looking slumber. At about the same moment, White Mr T comes to the door and with every last breath he could muster out of his 65 years of smoke filled lungs says, "next room down, next room down!" You'll have to insert you own raspy sounding old guy voice, because I just do not know how to type that in effectively. So, without helping the lady back into her bed, we moved down to the next room. See, we should have helped her back into bed, but time is of the essence in these medical situations. And since I know you will ask, no, the real patient did not make it.

This brings up another point. Yes, I can laugh about this story now. Hopefully you see the humor in it too. Firefighters and Paramedics may come off a little "cold." In reality, its how we deal with the many terrible things we see and are forced to deal with. It is sad to see so many people deal with lost loved ones, but we can not get too emotional about it or we would crack. Cracked firefighters and paramedics are not effective ones. I did however cry when the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man was destroyed. He had such a short life. So many things left unaccomplished.

Don't Pee On The Electric Fence

2009-07-08T10:53:00.010-06:00

A fitting title for my long awaited and much anticipated post about work. I hope this isn't like one of the movies that everyone tells you is "Sooo Goooood!, " then when you finally get around to renting it you think it stinks.

For those that don't know, I work for the local fire department as a firefighter-paramedic. My responsibility's are to put out fires and help sick people. Many people do not realize that 80 percent of our 22,000 annual emergencies are medical in nature. Car accidents,

heart attacks, strokes, diabetic emergencies, broken bones, drug overdoses, etc etc. However, that leaves 20 percent for fires of all kinds. You may not realize how many fires there actually are in this valley. The news only covers the big ones. Anyway, that is my op-ed piece-slash-plug for my job!

I love my job. It is the best job in the world. I love being able to help people. I always say that I do not wish for anyone to have a fire in their house,

or car, or wherever, but since they happen, I like it to be when I am working because I want to try to help out. Fighting a fire is so intense. Nothing compares to it. ( Did anyone have Sinead O'Connor pop in their head briefly?) As much as I love my job, I fear I would not have a job if not for people's stupidity. I don't mean that in a demeaning or rude way, serious. I guess it is no where near a majority, but stupid people keep me in business. My "stupid" definition includes drunk drivers,

those who OD on pretty much anything that comes in a tablet, residents that leave candles burning unattended in homes, and on and on. I am not calling those with health problems stupid, or the accidental electrical problems that start fires, or things like that. Does that make me less terrible? Maybe my title makes more sense now? I don't know.

My employment provides some pretty amazing opportunity's as well. A few weeks back we did some swift water training. It was awesome. My station is one of several specialized crews that respond to swift water rescue situations. I have not responded to an actual emergency yet, but the training was a blast. These pictures are of that training. One is an exercise that trains us to avoid snags in the river. This photo shows me getting my butt kicked by the "strainer."

The next photo is one of me pulling the "victim" out of the water.

This next bit may be repeated on the family blog, but I love the 4th of July. Not so much due to work, I have always loved the 4th. I love the Simpsons episode when Homer Simpson teaches Bart what the 4th means and why we celebrate it. In his immortal words, "We celebrate our Country's Independence by blowing up a small part of it!" Classic. This 4th of July went by way to fast and I did not get to do much celebrating. I missed the Magna Parade, missed the family barbecue, and missed, sort of, the firework shows. I had worked the day before and we had one of the rare all-nighters, so I went home and slept through the festivities. Then I had to work at night doing extra staffing for fireworks, so I missed all the night shows. However, I got to be very close to where they launch the fireworks, and that was amazing! Very different, very cool. Hope the picture does at least a little justice( it's a shot of the grand finale in Holladay being launched!).

I love parades. I love marching bands. I love fireworks. Disneyland has one of the best firework shows I have ever seen. Coupled with Tinkerbell flying around the sky, how can you beat it? The absolute best fireworks show I have ever seen was at Jackson Hole. 1997 or 98 for the 4th of July. Amazing. I am comparing this against the "Capitol 4th" at Washington DC which I have also seen. So there you go. That's all. That's my job.

1980's

2009-06-26T00:33:00.010-06:00

I guess my post about nostalgia is continuing because I have more on my mind and want to discuss it here. The 80's have been on my mind for many reasons. Hopefully I get them all in here...

First off, the whole Michael Jackson thing. Never mind the Michael Jackson of the late 90's and early 2000's. I am talking pre-Neverland Ranch slumber party Michael Jackson. The true King of Pop and the era that earned him that title. His death today took me back to the day when I use to stay up late watching MTV hoping to see his Thriller video

but always seeing Take On Me by Aha instead. MTV was such a cool channel when it played music and the VJ's were cool. Remember downtown Julie Brown, and Dr Dre (not to be confused with the Dr Dre from NWA!) and Ed Lover were the hosts of MTV Raps? Pauly Shore was a favorite, and I had a crush on Martha Quinn. I still laugh when I think about John Norris with MTV News! He looked like such a dork! But, mmmm, Martha Quinn!

I was also reading a post by Bill Simmons on ESPN.com. (you can click that to be taken there) His article is about why 1984 was the greatest year ever. Regardless if you agree with him or not, he has some good points, and it was fun to read his article. (I disagree with him though about Night Court and some of the influential people he mentions.) Reading his article reminded me of a few other things that he didn't mention, mostly because he has no idea these things occurred, but also because he is a little ignorant! It wasn't 1984, but it was the 80's nonetheless. Rewind back to junior high and collecting sports cards. Have I mentioned this before? Anyway, my buddy Jazey advises me to buy every Michael Jordan rookie card

I can get my hands on. At that time they were going for about 10 bucks. 10 bucks was a lot of money to me then, and Jordan played basketball, a sport I didn't collect. So I laughed in his face and said no way. Instead I spent the money on Mark McGwire rookie cards, which were about 5 bucks. This was a great investment to me. McGwire broke the home record for a single season and his cards skyrocketed....until the steroid news broke.

Now they are worth about 3 bucks, and I still have a pile of them in a box. Don't even ask me what the Jordan's are worth.

He mentions Night Court and Hot Rod Rowdy Roddy Piper, but left out the Ultimate Warrior

and the Junkyard Dog. Two classic wrestling phenoms!

I loved George Orwell's 1984, but I loved Van Halen's 1984 better.

It seems like I woke up to "Jump" every morning on the radio. (What is the deal with the cover to that album though? A tot smoking a pack of Camels?) When I read 1984 in Jr High, I didn't realize it would be prophetic to today. Back to Night Court, I think Mr Simmons mentions he hated it, but I will overlook that typo because I usually enjoy his writing. Who could ever hate Night Court? I own seasons 1 and 2 on DVD and can't wait for them to release the remaining 4 seasons.

I didn't intend this to be a book report on that article, but he brings up so many things. His linked article about the Karate Kid is so entertaining. It also stole an idea I had for a future post here... but go read it.

Moving on...

So that's my Nostalgia continued. I was hoping my last article here about sports and book club would elicit more responses from my male friends and readers, to help with the argument. I know this is suppose to be a sound off between the wife and I, but it is becoming a place for me to post whatever I want because she never writes here. Sorry about that. I honestly thought my cliff notes research of Twilight would shock her into writing. I keep promising a post about my job, and I promise it is coming... but it requires the right approach and the right timing.

Lessons on Sports For You Female Readers

2009-06-19T23:23:00.004-06:00

Don't let the title fool ya, this will be informative to all you stay at home soccer mom's that I have come to realize are the main, probably only, readers of these posts.

So I was thinking about this the other day. So many women hate it when the men of the house watch sports. I have often wondered what the big deal is?

Is it because there are so many sports on TV? I battle this argument with the fact that a straight comparison between televised sports and all the shows you women watch: Bachelor, American Idol, Lost, Found, Survivor, any one of the 10 dancing shows, America and Talent, Bachelorette, etc etc.... would reveal that you have many more shows to keep up on than we have sports to watch. So that's not valid, to me.

I have heard other arguments that so much time is wasted in front of the television. That may be the case in some homes, but I am approaching this from the standpoint that husband x works at least a 40 hour week, takes care of the yard whether it be mowing the lawn or shoveling the snow, and does his fair share of other duties around the house. Yells at the kids when they act up once in a while, takes out the garbage when it is too stinky for wife x to do so, etc. So we are throwing that out as well.

Actually, I am throwing out all arguments and offering my explanation without responding to a specific antithesis.

Guys get together and watch sports to bond. Yes, it is that simple. Here's where I relate to my feminine side... Think of it as book club. I know if this were a cartoon, a light bulb would be hovering over half of the heads right now!

So its not a light bulb, but every Simpson's fan knows that if Homer is thinking of a doughnut, it represents a good idea!

Again, I digress. So yeah, book club. You women think that you have us fooled. That you really get together on a monthly basis to talk about the book you have all passed around the neighborhood. Yeah Right! We know better, and we are okay with the fact that you really want to meet up to catch up on all the latest gossip. Perhaps you discuss the book for 10 of the 90 minutes or longer. We understand that you need that time. That's what sports watching is for us. A book Club of sorts for the men. Even though very little conversation is necessary at our meetings. A simple high five, or shared excitement over a great play can transfer more information than the hours of gossip you divulge.

So just as you live vicariously through the damsel in distress that is saved by a vampire, we too cheer on our teams or favorite players because in some small way we escape to that stadium as well. You have book clubs centered around Harry Potter stories, we have the Los Angeles Angels. You have Edward Cullen and Bella Swan against the Vulturi and Demetri, we have the rivalries like Yankees versus Redsox, Giants and A's, Packers and Vikings, and on and on and on. It really comes down to the same thing. So go to those book clubs and discuss the affairs of the neighborhood and so and so's sex life, but leave us to our sports.

Go Angels.

Commentary

2009-05-16T05:32:00.004-06:00

Again, I am bored and feel I have something to say. In all honesty, I just like to write and hope that at least 2 people are entertained by it. Plus, we just got back from a 911 call at work, and I don't like going back to bed when we have to be up in less than an hour anyway. Are those enough reasons for you? Just read on.

The other day I had a dentist appointment. I have a couple theories I want to share with you. First, what is about dentists that make them feel they have to talk to you? I was laying there on the table, the dentist has a tool in each hand and both of them are in my mouth that is stretched as far open as I could possibly stretch, the dental assistant is also close by, with a high pressure squirt tube and a suction thing, both of which are also about to go in my mouth, and the dentist says, "So what are your plans for the summer, Chad?" Is this guy serious? Don't get me wrong, I love my dentist. I continue to drive all the way out to Magna for this dentist, because he is good. (Side note: in all the cliche's of the world, of course a dentist in Magna will be good right...he has lots of business!) Anyway, I tried to answer the guy's question, to not be rude, but I have yet to master the technique of talking when there are two hands, 10 fingers, a scraper, a drill, a high pressure water hose, and a suction device in my mouth.

My other theory on dental hygiene. First some background. My parents always took me to regular dental check-ups every six months my whole life. I also was a very good teeth-brusher. ( I have always wondered why it is called a toothbrush when we use it on multiple teeth) At least morning and night. So consequently, I never had a cavity. Then came time for me to go on a mission. In the mission field, you do not have regular six month dental visits. Due to this, I decided to be even better and start flossing regularly. So for two years on my mission I brushed multiple times a day, and flossed at least 4-5 times a week. Then I come home from my mission and start the regular check ups again. First check-up says I have 15 cavities. Holy crap right?!?! I never expected to have worse teeth than Flavor Flav. So I get the cavities done and decide to stop flossing. I floss twice a year when the dental assistants do it for me. They always lecture me about flossing and that I need to do it or I will get cavities. I have not flossed more than a handful of times since I came home from the mission (Aug 96), other than the times when the dental assistants do it as part of my check up. I also have not had a cavity since coming home either. So all that background info gets me to the point: Flossing is a tool of dentists to keep them in business. It cleans your teeth to the point that it keeps new, fresh bacteria constantly invading the space between teeth. I am convinced on this. Nothing you say will convince me otherwise.

I had another story to write about from work, but now it is wake up time and I have daily chores and equipment checks to get done, so I must leave you in suspense.

Enough Already.

2009-05-05T23:28:00.003-06:00

I am so tired of the lies from Washington. I am so sick and tired of the President that is trying to win the Homecoming King popularity vote more than he is trying to lead the Country. I think the problem is that he does not know how to lead. He knows how to "dupe." His teleprompter knows how to lead him through articulate speeches and how to wow the people with his fancy rhetoric. After a blubbering Bush, he sounds like a Saint right? We are in serious trouble. It is time more of us realize this. I do not want to wake up one morning and wonder what happened to our Country. This slowly whittling away at our way of life is so scary.

I am also extremely confused by Hussein Obama's latest pledge to go after corporations and investors that have foreign accounts. He says that the United States will not stand for people who hide their income in off shore savings to avoid taxes. Excuse me, but didn't half of his cabinet proposals have tax evasion issues that he was willing to overlook? And now he wants to go after the little people?

WOW!

I hope you are all paying close attention. This whole deal with Chrysler has basically outsourced another American Company and sold out to some European company that also makes huge contributions to American campaigns for elected positions.

We can make a difference. We do have a voice. If we do not use our voices, we will wake up one morning living in the Former United States of America. I am too tired to post links to the things I have referenced above, but simple google searches will provide sources.

We are not doing much better locally. Keep a close eye on the actions of the RHINO Huntsman. (republican in name only). His Socialistic policies are taking our State right to the levels Rocky Anderson wanted SLC to go.

Sorry to go on a rant about Politics, but hopefully it gets at least one more person thinking about things. Check back later this week for another entertaining, non political, post. I have stuff to say all of the sudden!!!

Side Swiped! En Guarde!

2009-04-24T22:08:00.003-06:00

Whoa! I go to Wendover over night for a conference and come back to whipping posts and lashings? Cry-minnee! (phonetically spelled)

I expected comments aimed solely at the last paragraph of my last post, what caught me off guard were the assumptions and interjections. I will try my bestest to defend myself with what little I have left in me.

First off, mentioning the two opposites for permanent birth control options was never intended to launch a discussion of who's toughest. I know birth giving women are tough. I have heard it is painful. I understand the physiology of it all by itself makes it painful. I never once said that childbirth was not painful. All women who have given birth, are reading this, and felt any pain, stop and pat yourselves on the back right now, you deserve it. Or call your husbands in to do it for you. Seriously.

To speak more to the pain... I did not bring up the two options because I am scared of the pain. I can tolerate quite a bit of pain, in my opinion. Just last week the guys at the station made me watch the movie "Superbad." I know now how they named the movie. They were not kidding. It was painful. It was two hours of my life I can never get back. That is pain. Additionally, ever since about 4th grade, my younger brother Doug has been the bigger of the two of us. Plus we fought. We fought hard. And we used weapons. Those of you old enough to remember the old tin garbage cans that had the separate lids, with a small handle that fit perfect over a younger boys arm in the fashion of a medieval shield, will understand when I say that all three of our were seriously dented. I remember one in particular being dented with the piece of rebar that Doug was swinging at me. I also remember the pain when the rebar hit my thigh. Plus the paper swords we use to roll 2x2's into the middle of. And just in case Mom and Dad are reading, I won't go into detail about the four small holes in my back that we blamed on something other than the fork that Doug stuck in me. So yeah. I understand pain. In all (almost) seriousness though, I think I have a high pain threshold, and therefore the potential pain is not one of the reasons to get or not get the "manhood" snipped. 1 point for no snip snip me.

I come from a farming family. I didn't so much grow up on a farm, but there is deep farming stock in my family. I did have a little exposure growing up since my Dad raised a few pigs on a farm in a small sty he rented in a barn owned by another farmer. The other farmer had cows, and I remember many days helping with the cows and the pigs. He also had chickens. One day my brother Doug and I got to "slop" the pigs. For you city folk...that means feeding time. You tossed the several 5 gallon buckets of "slop" into the trough. Slop consisted of any number of thrown out foods. Pigs would eat anything, including as we came to know, live chickens. I remember that one of the chickens was in the trough when we slopped it. My thoughts were that the chicken would get out of the way when the pigs charged the trough. Not so. Perhaps Mr. Chicken didn't have a chance? The pigs charged in, gobbled the slop, chicken and all. Not so much of a feather was left. I am not sure my Dad ever knew this story. I am also not sure if Alva (the owner of the farm and the chicken) knew he was down one chicken. My point being I have some farmer in my blood. Every farmer will tell you that you never get rid of the prize bull. So, 1 more point for no snippa my manhood.

As to the Weenee song. I have no comment. Seriously, no comment. Also, I am not surprised that comment came from Angie. You know what I mean.

In all this posting and reading and point gathering, I realize that this was definitely the wrong place in the entire world to introduce a topic hoping to get some sound advice and thoughts. Perhaps if there were a sports blog with male readers? I am outnumbered here by all you soccer moms. Call your husbands in and let them sound off on this to make it fair. The estrogen filled comments were so thick and numerous, I now think estrogen has a flavor. I could taste it. It isn't good.

That came out wrong.

Anyway. I mentioned the tubal (correct Rebecca, I did not mean for you to donate your Uterus, but I couldn't think of the word ligation last time, so I went with it) versus Vasectomy just to see what people thought about the procedure, not to induce a name calling pallooza fest. Thanks though, I think, for your input?

I didn't even get a chance to go off on our elected officials.

In response to Chad's pennies

2009-04-23T13:31:00.008-06:00

I'm back! Sorry it's been a while, but I did just have a baby after all. Really, how long can I keep using that excuse? Because I'm determined to get as much mileage out of it as I can. How about the I-have-3-kids-under-the-age-of-6-including-a-2-month-old-for-crying-out-loud! excuse? (And, yes, they are all crying out loud at the moment). I know Chad is one half of our parental unit too, but who are we kidding? After five minutes of baby watching he's ready for another baseball vacation. How many trips to baseball stadiums does a guy need in one year?

Let's start by digging in to the can of worms Chad opened. I'll say it right here. I do not like Barrack Obama. I do not like his attitude. I do not like his policies. I do not like him in a boat. I do not like him on a parade float. I do not like him Sam I Am! (oops, sorry I got carried away there.) Now I understand my opinion is not a popular one, but seriously, how many times do we need to see our new celebrity-in-chief speak to the nation on live t.v.? If he preempts Lost again I might have to write to my congressman or attend a rally or something. Or maybe I'll just start my own rally. Who's with me?!? Now, I know the economy's important and all, but so are the fates of the Oceanic 6! I mean, what if Hurley's right and Jack's choice to not operate on young Ben really does change the future! So lets compare. Obama gives us promises he can't fulfill. Lost gives us Ben, the master-manipulating leader of the others. Obama gives us speeches full of smoke and mirrors. Lost gives us the mysterious smoke monster. Obama gives us foreign relations policies that are questionable, at best. Lost gives us the love quadrangle of Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Juliet. Obama gives us a federal government that oversteps. Lost gives us John Locke, dead man walking! Top that Mr. President!

Now to the easy stuff. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Chad meant tubal ligation and NOT hysterectomy. I may not want any more babies, but I'll keep my uterus, thank you! Look, I'm sure getting your manhood snipped is hard and all, but so is growing a person inside of you for 9 months til it's the size of a football and then pushing it out an opening the size of a golf ball (I'm trying to use analogies the guys can relate to here). It's only fair that Chad have his turn under the knife. Yes, all my deliveries involved a knife. Also, it just make sense to go with the least invasive procedure. I read the little hand out Chad brought home from the doctor's office about the big V. It honestly doesn't look too bad. I'll tell you what Chad, if you get the vasectomy then we'll make it even and I'll get lasik. That's fair, right? Live together, die alone.

So tell me what you think. Do you like Obama? What lies in the shadow of the statue? Is Chad a big wuss, overly protective of his man-parts, or just a typical guy? And did I use to many exclamation points in this post!!!? Seriously, I had to stop myself from typing the word "seriously" in half of my sentences. Do I use that word too much in real life? I'm gonna have to start taking notice.

More Two Cents

2009-04-19T17:55:00.002-06:00

To be honest, I was hoping Rebecca would be a more active part of this blogging thing. How can it be a "He Says She Says" column when only the "He" is posting? So I have read the comments, and I have had numerous conversations "off-blog" and am ready to offer my two cents about the whole political spectrum of things.

As disappointed as I am that the American people basically got duped into voting for a completely incompetent moron, I believe we are being counted on to just lay down, roll over and play dead for 4 years and possibly 8. I think the majority of dissatisfied America is just taking it as it comes and complaining on the side, waiting for time to fly by and hope the least amount of damage is done.

I disagree with this approach. I believe one person can make a difference. Not by themselves, but it takes one person to rally others to move into action. Letters, emails, phone calls to senators are great, but I think that often times these senators/representatives are set in their ways and stick mostly to party line beliefs. I think the better ways to make a difference are to get people involved. Rallies? Perhaps. Though not practical. We need to be watch dogs and hold those accountable to perform the way we voted them in to perform. When they don't do that, we need to let them no and stay true to our belief systems and ideas. This Republic was created by men with complete fairness and individual representation in mind, and so many checks and balances were placed into our Constitution to ensure that we keep the proper leaders in place. When things start going "South", like they have been for years now, we need a strong voice to stand up and direct people to enforce change. I am hoping those that read this will spark something within them to begin to demand change... or if you are not looking for change, then let this work within you to ensure your views, opinions, and ideas are heard...and not just one who will roll with the punches.

That said.... I am throwing this out there. It requires no explanation.... Vasectomy or Hysterectomy? Maybe this will get Rebecca to participate again. If not, then I am going to just launch a blog for me to share my opinions with any who care to read. I love to write. I love it more if people are reading it, getting entertainment from it, and encouraging thoughts and participation from readers. That's that.

Terrible Routine

2009-03-20T01:36:00.002-06:00

So I am stuck in this terrible routine of sleeping in on my off days. (I can hear my college friends now...) So when I sleep in, it makes me less tired at night and then I stay up late and the whole cycle starts again. Then I go to work, and am absolutely dead tired the first day because I have to be there by 7 am, and we really just don't get naps at work. My station is a busy one, so even if we had some extra time for naps, we would probably get called out. Anyway, so then I am tired at work, and try to catch up by going to bed early, but we get night calls frequently, and so I get home from my 48 hour shift and again take a long morning nap. I think this cycle is driving Rebecca nuts. This really wasn't the intent of my posting, I was just trying to explain why I am up so late blogging. I felt like we needed a new entry on this part of our blog, so here it goes.

I am a political nut. I am not going to have this post be about the current situation or share my opinions about specifics, but more politics in general. First, I have not always been politically involved, or interested for that matter. Now, however, I do not see how anyone can't be. If you are reading this and are not involved in politics at all, please comment and tell me about it. I am so wrapped up in politics and deeply involved in my opinions of what needs to change and so on, that I am to the point where I think it may be taking up too much of my time. I recently started a book on the founding fathers that breaks down the constitution piece by piece and has hundreds of quotes from each of those involved in framing the constitution for our Country. It is 800 pages long. I am half way. I spend a good amount of time online reading political commentaries and op-ed pieces. I get involved in local politics and have sent about 6 letters this week alone to Senators Hatch, Bennett and Representative Chaffetz. I even write letters to Matheson even though we do not live in his district. Many times I receive replies to these letters, written by aides I am sure, and they just anger me.

That's a huge lead in, and I am somewhat rambling here, but I started thinking about the whole political scene today a little deeper and I pose this question. In today's political world, can individuals truly make a difference? If so, how does one make a difference? I am talking about me, you, our neighbors as individuals. Not the huge billion dollar guy down the road that can use money as an influence. I am going to share my long thought out opinion on these questions in a future post in a few days, but I want to hear your answers first. And I want to hear Rebecca's reply as well. Here are some other thoughts: What is the point of being politically involved? To what extent should we involve ourselves? Is this boring you? Don't mean to bug ya.

Sound off okay?

Whatever

2009-02-11T21:49:00.002-07:00

I have to call BS on this last post. You hate video games. You hate that I play video games. There are 10,019 things you would rather do than play video games. At least the entertainment console kind, the war games, the sports games. For whatever reason it doesn't count if it is a word game or text twist on your computer. Anyway, I am not trying to start a fight here, I just think your post was a little bit less forgiving than I think you are with video games, that's all. (and for the official record, I let you win DR Mario just to keep you interested in playing.)

I will concur that time flies while you play video games. Just today I played a few games of Madden and before I realized it, I had played 7 weeks of the season and 4 hours went bye-bye. That's excessive, even to me, but at the same time it is nice to have days like that sometimes.

I thought the video game talk would spawn a little more conversation than it did. I have ideas for next posts, but I want to put it to a vote. I am trying to avoid getting political on here, but Rebecca and I have some different political views that it may be entertaining. I was also considering discussing some of the cliche's of Utah that bother me, mostly about certain people. Someone suggested a discussion on guns....ideas? I realize that there are only about 5 of you that read this, but let us know what would be most entertaining to you. I could also just ramble on about my extreme thoughts on about everything and let Rebecca respond as she cares to, but I want to be entertaining to you guys. My goals of this blog were to do something that would spurn fun conversations and allow me to practice my writing skills that are quickly deteriorating. I have always considered myself a good creative writer, sorry I am not proving it to you all on here. Anyway. I guess this ends the Video Game discussion. So the census is, "play on Chad."

Shmideo Games

2009-01-24T18:50:00.005-07:00

I have often complained about video games to Chad, and I do have my reasons, but I'm not completely anti-Xbox.

My biggest complaint with video games is that I suck at them. Seriously. I must have terrible hand eye coordination. (Chad can't be much better since I'm the Dr. Mario champion of the house- Ha ha!). I tend to win only at games like Tetrus. And I like to win so I don't play many other video games.

One of my lesser complaints is how much time people spend on something so brain-numbing. Gamers (and certain teenagers and husbands) will play video games for hours and hours. How can that be any more stimulating than watching TV for hours and hours? Does anyone think watching TV for hours and hours is okay? (unless, of course, there's a Lost marathon playing).

It's obvious that most kids these days don't get enough physical activity. Computers and video games are just another reason for kids to be sedentary. When I was growing up we played outside nearly every day. Whatever happened to playing pick up games of kick ball in the street? Or building "club houses" from old wood scraps?

Times have changed, and while there are things that really bother me about video games, it's not all bad. The Wii phenomenon has proven that video games CAN be more physically interactive, which is great. We don't own a Wii, but I've played at friends homes and had a blast boxing with Chad and throwing spit balls at teachers. I would love to get one someday. I've also come to realize that playing video games can be a great family bonding time, just like a good old-fashioned board game. Of course maybe I'm just old-fashioned because I still prefer board games. Now there's something I can win at. Anyone up for a game of Scrabble? Chad?...

Video Games

2009-01-23T20:40:00.003-07:00

I fear this may open up a can of worms. For those of you expecting Rebecca and I to have an online argument each time we post here, sorry, we hope to not do that. Our goal is to just offer our opinion on various topics and sound off each other. Obviously, we have different opinions, and perspectives, and somehow we try to make them mesh into a family. When the different opinions do rise, well, I usually get my way because I am the man. (jab jab)

So I wanted to start a little discussion for input from all who read about video games. I love video games and think there is nothing wrong with having them as a part of your life. I still play video games quite regularly. (I am on my fourth dynasty season with the Green Bay Packers on Madden 07, I need one more win out of the next 3 to secure my spot as a wildcard team for the playoffs). I love shoot em up games. I do not think that video games are to be blamed for kids being to violent or aggressive in real life. I blame parents for not teaching their kids a little more about reality versus fantasy and video games.

That said, I do get very annoyed with the kids that do nothing but play video games. It frustrates me to no end when my scouts stay home from an activity to play Halo with their friends. Video games are fun, great, and entertaining, but when I played video games it was because it was raining outside or my friends were grounded. It was a third or fourth choice after other options didn't pan out. It seems today's kids use it as option number one. I blame the parents for this one too. Teach the kids to be creative and active. Get outside and see what color the neighbors house is. A great opportunity to do this would be while you are toilet papering their house, unless I am your neighbor.

My whole point of this is two fold: one- to share my opinion that there is nothing wrong with a little hand eye coordination training on the Xbox, two- it is sad to me that parents leave the teaching of their kids to a computer or something other than themselves. Anyone want to play some Techmo Bowl?

One last thought on books

2008-12-05T14:28:00.006-07:00

Okay, so I have the book Endurance, that Chad referred too, and it has been sitting on my night stand for about 2-3 years now and I just cannot bring myself to read it. Chad recommended it to me and I know what it's about, and frankly it doesn't sound fun. Just so you know where I'm coming from, I'll give you a quick synopsis. It's a non-fiction story about a boatful of guys who decide to go explore the north pole (or some extremely cold place like that) and they get shipwrecked and have to live off of penguins and seals for months and months til they are rescued. It's an amazing story because they all survive (I think...correct me if I'm wrong Chad). But seriously, reading about months and months of being stranded in arctic temperatures sounds depressing. And cold.

And now a note to Chad:

You're not being ganged up on. Everyone just realizes that my opinion is the right one. Now go make the kids some lunch. I'm busy reading.

More On Books

2008-12-01T22:14:00.003-07:00

Chad Says:
Ok, well, I also read for entertainment, not sure how that was even brought up as an issue. I also think it is entertaining to read things that educate. How is that not entertainment? I didn't say I like to read things that require me to figure out long story problems or anything that requires major thinking. Though, if additional research is required, all the better. I remember reading a book called Endurance, and there was a lot of ship jargon in the book that required some additional research to learn what the terms meant. That was fine with me. Anyway, like I said, I am not asking anyone to stop reading, but in Rebecca's case, even if she cut back half of it, she would still be reading a book every 3 days.

Anyway, it appears the comments so far are for Rebecca. However, I feel a little outnumbered here because it seems the blog world is predominantly female. You stay at home mom's are ganging up on me! I like the blogging world because I feel it helps me maintain my writing skills. I have always enjoyed writing, that's why I majored in it.

To sum up my thoughts on books: I love to read. I love good books. In my opinion, good books are mostly non fiction books. Historical. Factual. I love that Rebecca enjoys reading. I am not trying to choose any books for anyone, all I want to say is when you pick up a book, its okay to set it down before you read every page!

Book Reading

2008-11-19T21:38:00.008-07:00

Chad:

I love to read books. I love the knowledge gleaned from reading. Lately, I have read a lot of non-fiction books. I feel my time is better spent reading about things that actually occurred at one point. I have not had any interest in Harry Potter, Mormon Vampire books (Twilight), or others in the same category. I am sure they are well written, but there is just something within me that keeps from opening these books. I prefer to be inspired, like when you read about the soldiers from World War I and II era. (If you want a definition of hero, read about Easy Company from the 101st Airborne from WWII.)

Anyway, my reason for bringing up this topic is to talk about reading habits. Why does reading take over all other aspects of life for some people? Rebecca included. I understand that once in a while a book is so intense that you can't put it down...but every book? Rebecca reads cover to cover with few breaks and interruptions. There is also "few" interactions with the rest of her surroundings, from starving husband and kids to phone calls. A book does not have to be consumed in a matter of days. The words are permanent, they are not going anywhere, spread it out a little. I know you are going for the 52 books in 52 weeks thing, and I think that is cool, but aren't you at 90 now?

Rebecca:

Yeah, that was a little accusatory.

But guess what? I'm actually gonna agree with you on this one. Guitly as charged! Sorry about the neglect, but when I have a choice between a hot vampire and doing the dishes...well, you know which one I'm going to choose.

As for the type of books I prefer to read, there is a reason I prefer them. I read for entertainment. If a book doesn't interest methen I have no desire to read it. I like to be enlightened, but I don't like to be depressed. I like books that make me think, but I also like books that don't make me think too much. I definitely don't want to be bored. It's pretty subjective, I know, but aren't everybody's reading preferences?