A Conglomeration of Anecdotes

I took a much-needed and long-overdue trip home to Joseph City this weekend. Nothing really fabulous was going on, but just being there with family is fabulous. I got to visit with my Mom, something I love doing. She's so good at listening. And when we start talking, all her latest interesting and fun stories come out and we both get a chance to get caught up.

I was able to see and play with all of my nieces. I never imagined that being an uncle would be so amazing. No, I don't have children of my own, but it's just crazy to interact with the children of my siblings! It's just so neat.

I was telling my Mom about a movie that my former Literature teacher recommended. It's an Italian-made film called Life is Beautiful. Mom got so excited because they had just borrowed the movie from Aunt Lil and had watched it and loved it and were excited to share it with me. That was neat -staying up with Mom and Jim to watch a movie until midnight on a Saturday night. We never did that when I was living at home, but here I was watching a movie, late at night with my 12-year-old brother and my Mom. Isn't that what college kids do? Apparently cool Moms do it, and allow their 12-year-old to do it too. She's not like other Moms; she's a cool Mom! (Alicia, you know what I'm talking about. Oops! I did it again! I poked my cyber-finger at her! She told me not to! It's rude to point, I know. Sorry.)

I can totally recommend this movie. It's a film about the Holocaust of WWII, so don't expect it to be completely happy or pleasant, but it is worth seeing. Heck, it's worth buying. I know I'm looking for it now. I can say that it's the most cheerful of all Holocaust films I've seen. I'm looking forward to a second viewing of it so I can glean more of the detail out.

I also had the chance to go put the calves into the corral down on the farm. That's right. I had no change of clothes. Wearing my Italian made Bruno Falconi shoes, I went out chasing cattle on foot through the dust, cowpies, and gravel. When you pay six dollars at Savers for such a pair of shoes, they somehow become more wearable, even in the messiest of situations.

Friday night, ---well, heck. I guess I should apologize. I'm telling stuff all sort of jumbled and out of order and, umm, conglomerated. I hope this proves more fascinating than irritating for my readers.
Friday night, my Literature instructor from EAC was in Flagstaff, and her daughter sent me a text saying, "My Mom wants to swing by and say hi. Cool?"
So how great does an instructor have to be to want to swing by a former student's bachelor pad and sit down for a visit? I love it. And since I'm a nut for literature and movies, we always have so much to talk about. This was seriously one of those moments in life where I felt like, "Okay, there are some great people in this world full of bean-heads. Mrs. David is awesome."

And upon leaving, she said, "If you're ever down in Safford, drop by and see us."
I guess English and Literature lovers who are also somewhat normal people have to cling to quality comradery when we find it. Otherwise we'd live very secluded lives, a bore to our friends and acquaintences, our enthusiasm confined to blog pages. I'm lucky to have a sister who relates to me in this aspect.

For not having anything fabulous to write about, I've sure exhausted the keyboard. So I'll leave you with this, in hopes that the editors don't shred it before it is published.

An Afternoon's Hike

The picture says it better than I can.

Just another post

Blog lingo can lead to some interesting thoughts. I was noticing how a blog page consists of post after post. How like a fence it is. Why not name your blog after a fence -something like "white picket" or "barbed-wire"? Maybe, just maybe.
Where do I come up with things like this?

A couple of college girls came through my line today buying a couple cases of alcohol. I love how old people will call it "booze" or "beer" but the younger crowd proudly displays their coolness by referring to each case by its brand name. It's liquor and they know what it's called now.
"Just a case of Tecate today. That's all a guy needs, right?" says idiot #47. I find it sad that a vast amount of college students define their life and good times with what liquid they are obsessed with guzzling, and subsequently vomitting -paying out cash to do it all.
Back to the 2 girls. The fact that they were buying cases of alcohol didn't have anything to to with my story. In the middle of the transaction, one of the girls busted out singing Enrique Iglesias's "Do you know what it feels like?!" And dancing in place. I live for moments like this! I don't know how I managed to keep from laughing out loud.

Funny things happen regularly when your employment deals with the general masses of the public. An old lady in the line next to mine was trying to get her husband's attention. Instead of using the usual loud name shout, she had a bit of fun with it. She put her hand up to her mouth and leaned forward and in a low and loud manly sort of tone she hollered, "WHOA, Walter!"
She repeated it over and over, pausing to chuckle between shouts, and each shout growing louder, the name being stretched out longer, until her embarrassed and irritated spouse found his way to her side. Thank you ma'am, whoever you are! You just improved my day by about 85 percent.

I've found out that I can strike up conversation with almost any woman. All I have to do is hold up a food item they're buying and ask, "Are these good?" The rest of the check-out process flies by as I'm swept off into a miniature consumer review type info-mercial brought to life. Not only do I get all the product review I want and more, but where else to buy it and for what price.

Some people are insanely fastidious about grocery placement. I am amused by the fact that people agonize over the plight of their loaves of bread. "Oh! Would you wait and put that on top of everything else? I just don't want it to get crushed!"
Oh, dear! I had no idea we were dealing with such a precious item! Poor bread! Would you like to cradle it in your arms for a moment to calm it down before nestling it softly in the safe upper-rack of the cart where your child would normally sit? I would've put it there myself before I sensed the look of horror on your face. There, there. Shush. It's ok.
And some who shop as couples will have one person acting as handler of funds (usually the wife), and the other as cart Nazi. They take a firm step between you and the cart -and no item shall be placed into the cart except by the hand appointed by the Fuhrer. Sometimes, I imagine myself sneaking around the outer perimeter of his work-zone and placing an item or two into the cart just to see the reaction-but that's just the mischief in me.
And item placement seems so important to some people, and yet the trip to be made out to the car will be over in 3 minutes or less, under 50 yards, and all the items will then be removed from the cart and put into the car. It doesn't make a lot of sense. But I suppose item placement into the rectangular area of the basket is a bit like a game of Tetris for some people -a game of Tetris that you do not want to interrupt. Because you know how disappointing it is when all the blocks stack up and clog the top of the screen and you don't pass the level.

I noticed something today. An older man was making a purchase and his cell-phone rang. Noticing that it was his wife calling, he answered the phone lovingly, "Yes, my dear?"
Where has tenderness and sincere goodness like this gone?

It's an old fence -cedar posts braving the scour of years, outlasting the men who planted them, in slow decay, until the fence is only evident in vague intervals.

A Bit About Dating (again)

This is all just how I see it. I don't expect everyone to agree, but they should!

A bit of advice for guys or girls:
You have to know yourself before you can share yourself with anyone. I think some people get so concerned with finding a match, (and rightly so, when dating, pairing off, and marriage are empahasized so much) that they lose a sense of self.

Would it be fair to say that almost all personal drama young adults encounter stems from disappoinments in dating? If your dating life is your only life, when it ends, it hurts. But who can you blame? Create for yourself a life full and rich in many areas.
Then when dating goes bad, that's only a part of you that's taking it for the team.
("Just a flesh-wound").

College life should be a time to explore and experience, given the independence and freedom we have. It's an opportunity for personal development, growth, learning, and a lot of amazing times with fun people! You are going to miss out on a lot if all you care about doing is cuddling on a sofa with a person who's going to marry somebody else.

Don't go on a search for love. Embark on the journey of life. That is where you'll find someone. You'll find yourself. And possibly someone who's perfect for sharing yourself with. No, I'm not married -but am I concerned? Nope. Life is awesome! Marriage will come when it is meant to.

Decisions

Sometimes I sit down with an itch to write something, but when I go to compose whatever it is, I draw a blank. Don't you just hate that? My blog posts would be a whole lot more interesting if I was able to capture some of the things going through my head before I fall asleep. I always keep a pencil and note cards by my bed, and I'll occasionally jot down notes of ideas or things I am thinking of. Nothing of any consequence, just bits of thoughts.

I am at the point of decision in my life. Nothing too major, but still. I have to decide what I want to do for the summer. Do I stay here in Flagstaff and work, work, work, and sometimes play -or do I move to Joseph City to be with my family before I move to Idaho? I could go to Hawaii, or move to Mexico to improve my Spanish by immersion, or even head to the east coast to sell pest control or security systems, or something like that.

I guess my natural inclination is to be with my family, but logic tells me to stay with my job. Regardless of what I choose, I plan on spending at least a month with my family before I move to Idaho in the fall. I really want my nieces to remember who "Uncle Steven" is before I leave for two years.

I know I'll miss my friends here in Flagstaff when I leave, but I guess my psyche has surrendered to the notion that people I meet in college aren't going to be in my life for very long -with the rare exception of course.

I have another decision. Do I pursue a BS in Geology or a BS in Earth Science Education? With a BS in Geology, my employment would almost always demand a location in proximity to a large city, whereas a BS in Earth Science Education would allow me great flexibility in work options. People probably think I'm crazy to even think about teaching High School, and science at that ---but it's not their life. I get to be the arbiter here.

Another thing I have to decide on is a minor. I'm thinking English, naturally. But is that the best choice? Is it that important what my minor is?

Well, as it turns out, I found something to write about -decisions. I guess I'll go change the title of this post from "What to Post . . ." to "Decisions". And now I've decided to end this post.

A Weekend Not to Be Forgotten

I am back, in one piece, from one of the neatest trips I've ever taken. Sadly, I am exhausted. And so the telling of tale of my travels shall have wait for another day. Until then, I leave you to reflect on this solitary picture.

Alright, I'm back to continue:

I am tired of trying to relate my road-trip experiences in a suitable format! There is way too much detail packed into it, and tons of amazing things to tell. I give up! I'm just going to free-write it and leave it!

9 companions -it was like the Fellowship of the Ring. Filling every seatbelt in the suburban, we headed up to Utah on Thursday afternoon. We stopped at Kilie's Uncle's place in Kanab for dinner and then drove the rest of the way. Kelsey's uncle let us camp out in their basement/guest suite in Sandy. Friday morning, we took the TRAX to Temple Square and went through the 11am session at the temple. I knew 4 other people in that session! The church sure makes the world small!

The girls in our group joined us at 2pm for baptisms. We went home and changed, then it was off to Provo for dinner at the Cafe Rio. There I met Kristopher Orr -one of "the Orr's" -the folks I grew to know so well in Fort Macleod, my first area in my mission. Cafe Rio is amazing. I would recommend it to anyone -even if they're vegan. This wouldn't stop me. It's THAT good.

After dinner, we went up to the mouth of Provo Canyon and had a bonfire and smores.

Then I got to go see Chalet Clonts in the Wyview Apartments and her brother Tyler for a while. That was awesome.

Then it was Conference. I took in Saturday morning's session in the Tabernacle, Saturday afternoon's session from about 12 rows away from the pulpit in the Conference Center, and Priesthood from the Terrace section (lower balcony) of the Conference Center.

It's hard to describe these amazing events and what I felt. It is a spiritual feast that brings satisfaction to my spirit.

I was in the theater in the visitor's center for Sunday morning, and on the road for the Sunday afternoon session. By 10:30, I was back home from my adventure and very satisfied. I can't wait for the talks to be available on the church website so I can start going over them again.

Preston Tenney, Ryan Salinas, me, and Bryant Boyer w/ Ryan Lee on top.

Shelly McCoy, Heather Rogers, Bryant Boyer, me, and Rhonda Gross.

'Til we meet again...

A Morning's Hike

Saturday morning is most always void of productivity. I'll wake up a few hours before I'm due in at work, have something for breakfast, play around on my X-Box for an hour or so until I've squandered so much time that I have to rush to get a shower in before I head out.

But not this Saturday. Me and my roommate Kent, along with our friends Becky, Stormy, and Jeanette, went out for a hike up the side of Mt. Eldon. We started out at 6:30am.

The path is well-maintained, so the real challenge lay in how steep the incline was. We were winded after getting about a third of the way up.

Near the top, we needed to start back down because of time restraints. This was an awesome way to start a day. And in all the time I've lived here, I've never done anything like it.