As of Late

I need to write a post. I just do.
Not that anything incredible has happened in my life, but some fun things, definitely.
And there are bits and pieces of things that I have up there in my head just itching at me, begging for me to release them on the page. So here we go:

Remember when I posted on July 5th about my Fall semester plans?
http://several-secrets-of-steven.blogspot.com/2010/07/i-think-i-may.html

Well, it was fun to review that. I am rooming with my friend Tyler. That's been fun.

I didn't switch complexes, since my contract here at Somerset had one semester to go still.

I'm not managing a talent event, since the one I wanted to manage was canceled.

I am going to audition for "Ma A'Capella" on Tuesday! Can I tell you how thrilled I am? I love singing fun stuff like this, and now's my chance.

It's funny how we can plan things out all we want, and then reality steps in and adjusts our plans for us. That's part of the thrill of life.

Now for something serendipitous. I hesitate to tell it, and I'll tell you why after I tell you. I won an iPod Touch. I won it in a drawing at the plasma center. Anyone who donated 8 times in September was entered into a drawing, and I won.
How sweet is that? Well, it's very sweet ...for me. I soon realized that only my closest friends wanted to hear the good news. Everyone else seemed irked that I was bragging to them that I had won something cool and reminding them that they never win things.

I normally don't. Nobody normally does. But I like to think that donating plasma ups my chances. This month the promotion is a 32" flat-screen TV. I'll donate 8 times. I'll be entered to win. I won't win. I just won't, you watch. But I'll be very happy for the person who does! Is that only because I know what it's like to win? I don't think so.

Switching gears. I don't know exactly what I want to be this Halloween. I hate the fact that I have to define what I am. I would like to just dress up as something scary without putting a name to it.

But I understand why we have to do that. People want to organize their perceptions into categories. If you have some label like "zombie" or "witch" or "mummy", people know what to do with it. They can go to the file directory in their brain under the "costumes" label and look it up, and find it there and they know all about that thing, and they add you to their little file and feel all happy and comfortable and then they smile about their mental organizational skills. HOWEVER, if you don't fit their perceptual schema, if they don't have a label to put to your costume, or if it's too vague or unfamiliar, like "ghoul" or "spook", they aren't comfortable because they've got some file dangling without a place to put it. They can't wrap their mind around the idea without a category and so they have a hard time perceiving what they think you are. Maybe I should just dress scary and call my costume "something scary". Surely they've got a file for that.

I have a fear that this next segment will be taken the wrong way. So, I have a request: PLEASE don't take this the wrong way. Just listen.

I am not really a phone person. I HATE trying to converse with people on the phone. I really, really, really do hate it. It's not that I hate keeping in touch, or chatting, or all the great things that can be done in a phone conversation. I love those things. I'm not some miser, some old hermit that shuns human interaction and tries to shut out the outside world. I just don't care much for that medium of communication.

Now, don't take it the wrong way. I don't want anybody to think, "Oh, I shouldn't call him because he hates that." Please, still call, and call often. I love hearing from you. But here's the thing: don't expect me to lead the conversation. If I've got things to say, I'll say them. If I don't, I won't. Don't take that to mean that I'm in a bad mood, or don't want to talk. It means that I hear your voice in a little machine and it's not really you in person and I don't carry on a conversation well with a little machine that is saying your words. Some people have a real art of phone-chat and I just don't.

I've found that I tend to be more business-like on the phone. Let's say whatever it is we need to say so that we can get this over with and get back to the real life that's in front of our eyes.

Also, I think I feel more comfortable expressing myself in person or on the page. That's probably the main reason why I don't prefer the phone. So now you know how I feel about that.

Switching gears again: Know what I did the other night? I was really feeling the fall mood, so I stayed up late reading scary stories online with a mulled-cider scented candle burning next to me on my desk. Then I watched some of the Disney version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow on YouTube. And then I found a version of the same story made for TV in the 80s starring Jeff Goldblum as Icabod Crane. Genius casting for that role, not-so-genius on any other aspect of the production. But it was worth a look, just to see Jeff Goldblum in that role. Then I looked up the actual story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow on the Online Literature Network (which I have an admitted-addiction to) and read until I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer.

That's all. That's all, until I think of something better to write. And I will. I promise.

It's HERE!!!

The Mulled Cider candle is burning, filling the room with the scent of apple harvest.

The afternoon breeze tickles the tree branches and they drop their little pieces of gold into the street to be trodden on and swept by the rush of cars. Cars on the way to pick pumpkins, to shop for costumes, heading to a haunted house, a straw maze, or hay ride.

It's the perfect time of year for scary movies and ghost stories.

It's Fall. It's October. I'm already scheming what I'm going to create with my pumpkin this year.

A Great Quote

I read this the other day and loved it.

A sculptor does not use a manicure set to reduce the rude, unshapely marble to a thing of beauty. The saw, the hammer and the chisel are cruel tools, but without them the rough stone must remain forever formless and unbeautiful.
To do His supreme work of grace within you I will take from your heart everything you love most. Everything you trust in will go from you. Piles of ashes will lie where your most precious treasures used to be.

-A.W. Tozer

I don't know who A.W. Tozer is. I think he was a pastor of a church somewhere but I really liked this quote and thought I'd share it.

Hang On!

I snapped this photo on the way home from class on Friday. I had to. The sun was setting and the flowers were catching the light just perfectly and I know that it won't be long before there are no more flowers or green grass.

So I'm hanging on. Not that I oppose the change.
I had a teacher ask what my favorite season was. I had to say, "The current one". I've always gotten a thrill from enjoying the change in seasons. Right now, I'm really enjoying every good thing summer has to offer, but when fall hits, I know I'll be equally as excited.

I'm getting that fall-ish feeling. I like the crisp night air. It's not cold enough yet to make the tip of your nose uncomfortable, but just cold enough that the night breeze blowing through your window makes you pull your blankets tight around you. I love that.

It makes me think of apples and cider and the rustle of leaves flying in the wind. It reminds me that Halloween is coming with Haunted houses, pumpkins, and scary stories. So I'll keep this picture of summer's blooms close by for now. And when Fall is here, I know I'll be ready.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I got a text from my Bishop this morning. I love that he texts. 15 minutes later, I was in his office talking about a new calling. I'm the new Ward Mission Leader.

I'm not stressed by this call. I was just released as the Ward Mission Leader in my last ward, and I had a great experience with it. It's an exciting calling.

The most FAQ (frequently asked question) I get when I mention my calling is this:
"What does the ward mission leader do in Rexburg?"

We have precisely three non-LDS students among the thousands that attend our school. So in this setting, the ward mission leader's job is a little different.

My first priority is to help our future missionaries to prepare to serve missions. There are a lot of future missionaries in the wards here, so that means having an awesome mission prep class during the Sunday School block of choych (my roommate started pronouncing "church" that way, and it's kind of stuck). We also try to get the future missionaries out teaching. They prepare a lesson to teach, make an appointment with some ward members, and then go teach.

The other major part of the calling is seeking referrals. People can still give referrals of people they know even if they don't live in Rexburg. So it's my job to handle any referrals and send them to choych headquarters to be directed to their appropriate missions.

So that's that. I love being involved in the mission prep because it gets me thinking back to my mission and I get to relive some of those memories.

Now, I want to tell you about the coolest free apps I just got for my iPod touch.
The LDS scriptures. The Gospel Principles Manual. The LDS Hymns. The Primary Children's songbook. And I'm going to look for the Preach My Gospel manual app, given my new calling.

I also got a free app called Planets that shows a 3-D view of constellations and planets in the sky at your current location. It is AWESOME.

While I'm mentioning apps, I also got a movie Trivia one that keeps me entertained. I know that's not a Sunday themed app, (even the Planets app has to do with God's creations) but I could use it in an activity at FHE. So, there ya go.

This is really shaping up to be an awesome semester.

I'm using my new iPod touch to compose this blog post.
I bought it used from my roommate. I've never had anything more
than an iPod Shuffle so this upgrade is nice.

I'll have to post pictures from my computer, only because I haven't loaded
any photos to my iPod yet.

Typing this on a touch-screen is a lot more tedious
than just using my computer, but the fact that I'm able to
do it this way is a novelty. I have come to the conclusion
that I have some fat thumbs.

I have something to report. It's somewhat sad. I sold both
my keyboard and my ukulele. I really just need to down-size
all my portable property. It's really a life-long cycle, getting rid of junk.
I guess that's the whole reason for yard sales.

My iPod is so much easier to transport than my musical instruments.
I think it was a good exchange.

I don't think I told you about the bear wallpaper.
Did I? I don't think so. Whether I did or not, this will
give me a chance to share the pictures.
There was this atrocious wallpaper trim on my kitchen wall when I moved in here. Thanks to the skills I learned working for my Grandma, I knew how to remove it. So I did. White bare walls look so much better than ghetto bear walls.
Behind the larger bear trim was a smaller trim. With bears. (remember how I hate bears?)

Renewal

I like to start afresh. I love feeling motivated. That's how I've felt lately, and I'm so glad.

I feel the urge to do better and be better. I want to set some personal goals and stick with them throughout the semester.

I absolutely love the Fall season and I know I'll love it even more if I'm focused on self-improvement and really becoming more like the person I want to be.

I want to be more dedicated to my personal scripture study. I always feel that desire, but hardly ever make any step towards improvement. This time, I just have to. It's been eating away at me, and I have just got to do it.

I want to really be consistent with my workout schedule. I've seen and felt the benefits of doing it, and I really need that right now. I might just start doing a good walk at an insanely early hour of the morning, following the example of my lovely aunts. A college schedule will make that early morning start seem tough, but I have just got to do it.

I want to be more optimistic about dating. Lately, I've had the worst case of not caring and I'd tell anyone who asked. I still don't feel any sense of urgency about the matter -no need to rush it. But I do realize the need to care. And I have just got to do it.

So now you know what I'm focused on. Hang the good grades and other academic ventures. School is always here. I'll do my best, learn all I can, but I'm not going to let the system rule my personal life. I am in command, and I like that.

In closing, I'd like to admit something. I have a new weekly watched movie. It used to be Nacho Libre, and I still could watch that every week, but I've now turned to Sherlock Holmes. I love that movie. Well, obviously. I watch it every week.