31 December 2011

Of Mice and Nate...

WARNING: Some images in this post may be considered graphic, offensive, or simply make you say, "gross."

Back in October, Vicki and I were forced to move for the second time in less than a year. We loved our little home in Millville, Utah, but the owners had decided to sell the house and the new owners opted to live upstairs, where we were, rather than downstairs where they originally told us they planned to.

Vicki and I were skeptical that they really would prefer to live downstairs so as soon as we knew they were interested in buying we started the search for a place to relocate. Over the last five years, we have developed a pretty efficient and accurate system for finding places to rent, but we had only two weeks or so to find a place that met our standards. On top of that Vicki was seven months pregnant and our housing needs were increasing by one.

After lots of searching, we settled (notice the emphasis) for a three-bedroom two-bath house in Hyrum. It was the only one of the options we both thought met our needs, even though it was well above what we felt we should pay for rent (we have never paid more than $600/month in rent and utilities 'til now).

We had a lot of help from friends and family (thanks) and moved in on October 15th. Two weeks later we realized we weren't alone.

I had left an unfinished cup of 7up or Sprite— don't remember exactly which one of the clear lemon-lime libations it was— out on the counter next to the fridge after a night of gaming (PS3). It was the next day that Vicki, whilst reaching for something in the cabinets above bumped the cup with her baby bump and knocked it over, spilling its contents to the floor and under the fridge.

It was one of those moments where a pregnant woman realizes just how pregnant they are and that their fifth appendage can be dangerous if not controlled. It also revealed how dirty and unkempt our new home was.

I moved the fridge to clean up the spill before it got sticky, but I remembered too late that you never move a major appliance unless you plan on spending the next 24+ hours cleaning your entire house. Upon moving the fridge, I instantly recognized the tiny brown pellets that should make any home owner/renter feel angry, scared, violated, and intruded upon.

We had mice.

It wasn't clear initially if the rodent roommates were still around or had merely once occupied a home that renters before us failed to be as concerned with cleanliness as much as Vicki and I.

I had my wife and our yet-to-be-born child leave the room, put on my mask and started cleaning. As I cleaned, I began to believe more and more that the nest behind the fridge had been vacated long before we had moved in. I thought my speculations were confirmed when I removed the back covering of the fridge and was instantly cast in an episode of CSI: Muridae.

Evidence that our rodent friend had quite literally moved on was comforting to Vicki and myself. From what I could tell, cause of death was hyperthermia due to the mouse getting a bit to close to the motor of the refrigerator.

Time of death was unknown and was difficult to determine due to the amount of dust and lint collected around the motor fan making it appear like years had passed.

As I used a close hangar to peel the coagulated corpse from the frame of the fridge to dispose of it, I remembered what I thought was a vision I had the night before the spill.

While playing Playstation 3 the night before the said beverage spill, I had thought I saw the shadow of a mouse run underneath the fridge.

04 December 2011

A great week that included Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and probably is my favorite just above Independence Day, so it is no surprise that this past week that happened to include the fourth Thursday of November was one of the best weeks I have experienced in a while.

The span of seven days was a memorable one that started on Monday Nov. 21 and culminated in a great Sabbath day on the 27th. The week included me crossing an item off of my 30 by 30 list, reconnecting with my childhood, experiencing my first and likely last Black Friday moment, and a spiritual moment that reminded me how influential and special the women in our lives can be.

Here is how it all went down:

Monday November 21st, 2011

After a day of work, Vicki and I spent the waning hours of the day relaxing. She sat on the couch rooting me on while I spent some time with the Sony Playstation 3 (PS3).

It has been less than a year that I finally came out of the gaming closet and purchased the gaming system that "only does everything." After years spent watching my friend Dave Brown play his gaming systems in the basement of his parent's house—always enthralled with the storyline of the games and only occasionally picking up a Sixaxis Wireless Controller—I finally, with his encouragement pulled the trigger and purchased my own system March 2011.

One of the first games I purchased was a used version of EA Sports' NCAA Football 2011 off of eBay. The Sony Playstation network, like most gaming systems, has a built-in trophy system that awards and keeps track of users achievements to give you the false sense of accomplishment for the hours of time you could have been doing something much more productive.

Dave has an impressive amount of Playstation trophies he has accumulated over the years including an admirable 12 platinum trophies--the highest level of award indicating all achievements in a game have been acquired. Dave explained to me that he hasn't been much of a sports game player in recent years but that they tend to be difficult games to earn a prestigious "plati" on.

It was likely on this basis that Dave—always considered my gaming mentor—wagered $1 million if I were to obtain a platinum trophy on NCAA Football 2011. Naturally the instinctive yearning for the student to beat his sensei kicked in; challenge accepted.



As motivation, I added the NCAA 11 platinum trophy award to my list of things I wanted to accomplish by the time I turned 30 years old. It also just helped me fill in an empty slot on the list.

My first NCAA 11 trophy was earned at 1:55 p.m. on March 22, 2011 and the final trophy was earned Nov. 21, 2011 at 9:27 p.m. which resulted in my first platinum trophy and another item being crossed off my 30 by 30 list.

There is something special about hearing that little chime indicating a trophy has been earned. In fact Vicki has become accustomed to giving an "Alright! Trophy" cheer from down the hall when she hears it. She has actually become quite the trophy hunter herself in the games she plays (Yep. You heard me right, she plays. My wife is awesome).

I gave a Facebook shout-out to Dave for helping me with the accomplishment as well as my other friends Mike and Tim who participated in an online dynasty with me in the game.

Monday night ended with my favorite NHL player, Sidney Crosbie, returning to the ice for my favorite NHL team, the Pittsburgh Penguins (yes, I occasionally watch hockey and no I have no Canadian roots). Sid the Kid had a great game after a 10-month hiatus from a concussion scoring two goals and assisting on two others.

Really the only down side to Monday Nov. 21 was the fact that the Miami Hurricanes football team had it's 149-game streak of a former player scoring a touchdown in a NFL game end.

Tuesday November 22nd, 2011

The excitement continued on Tuesday when the UPS man knocked on my door (always a good thing). I opened the door to find that all too familiar Amazon cardboard box smiling up at me.

The box contained a novel I had purchased exactly five months earlier. The novel was Micro, the latest, and likely the last, novel penned by my favorite writer Michael Crichton. Though Crichton passed away more than three years ago after a private battle with cancer, he continues to challenge our preconceived notions of the world around us in a an entertaining and dramatic way that I have enjoyed since I first picked up his novels as a sixth grader.


Micro is the second book released since Crichton's death in 2008, and was worked on while he was going through cancer treatments. Never finished, author Richard Preston was selected by Crichton's agent to complete the book. The book is dedicated simply to "Jr." the son Crichton's wife was pregnant with at the time of his passing who born four months after his death.

I have been collecting the first-print hardback versions of Crichton's books ever since I had enough money to buy books. The first one I purchased at time of release was Timeline in 1999. I own most of his novels and have some of his non-fiction books in my cross-hairs.

In fact, while writing this, I have decided to add completing the collection of his books to my 30 by 30 list as well.

Wednesday November 23rd, 2011 

The day before Thanksgiving was a trip to see the heroes of my childhood that have been entertaining me throughout the years.


Vicki and I went to see The Muppets on opening day.

I don't remember which movie it was that I first saw the trailer that portrayed two of my current favorite Hollywood stars, Jason Segel (How I met Your Mother) and Amy Adams (Enchanted) in what appears to be a romantic comedy, but I nearly stood up and cheered when it was revealed that Jim Henson's Muppets would be on the big screen again.


As a life-long fan of Jim Henson's imagination and creativity, I have always loved the Muppets, the Fraggles, and even own the dual pack VHS cassettes of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth (still covered in shrink wrap to preserve), but I have never had the chance to see Kermit, Gonzo, Miss Piggy and the gang in a theater atmosphere.

I was anxious all day in anticipation of going to see the movie, but at the same time a little nervous that I might walk away disappointed that the group of loveable puppets I have been in love with for so long might have their image and brand tarnished.

I was far, far, far from disappointed.

Segel and the group of writers, directors and producers that made the film did a wonderful job. I was laughing, crying, reminiscing, and falling in love with the Muppets even more from the second I looked into those familiar ping-pong ball eyeballs.

Overwhelmed with nostalgia and wearing my Electric Mayhem t-shirt, I found myself welling up with emotion frequently throughout the movie. I even caught Vicki tearing up a few times.

I have seen the return of a lot of my favorite childhood characters and I must admit that this one was one of the best for me. Those that know me well know that I don't go to movies at the theater very often unless I expect it will be worth it. When I went to see Transformers in theaters nearly four years ago I found myself crying every time Optimus Prime and his crew members made an entrance. It continues to happen in the subsequent movies of the trilogy as well. The Muppets was a similar yet different feeling that felt closer to my heart.

Unlike the Transformers, the Muppets never really left us for a long period of time. They have lingered and continued to show up on board games, holiday specials, and have been apart of an occasional movie every few years.

Their 2005, television film The Muppets' Wizard of Oz came out while I was still on my mission and unfortunately was somewhat tarnished by forced celebrity cameos that interrupt what would have been an otherwise charming and clever movie.

The Muppets of 2011, return Kermit and the gang back towards the characters Henson first introduced us to and in fact felt like the moving paid long-overdue homage to the puppets that make us believe in imagination and the human spirit.

If you haven't seen it yet, or weren't planning on it, I suggest you do, especially if you are already a long-time lover of the Muppets.

Thursday November 24th, 2011- Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was good. After watching the first football game at our house, Vicki and I made the exhaustive 11 minute six mile trip trip to my parents house. We had a good meal and enjoyed each others company.

Some of us played some games together, but the atmosphere was different than years past. I am not sure if it is because we are getting older or what.

My younger brother Trevor and his new wife Kristen weren't able to attend so that may have been some of it. I think I just really miss having the whole family together. Thanksgiving use to be represented by the usual signs of a delicious meal, football games, and time with family, but the thing that has recently gone missing from Thanksgiving is Star Wars.

When me, my two brothers, and our cousin counterparts were younger and didn't have our own families Thanksgiving use to mean watching the original Star Wars trilogy after the meal. As my mom's and aunt's families have blossomed exponentially I have noticed that family traditions have begun to vanish with each addition to the family.

This entropy of family traditions is understandable to some degree, but I miss having traditions like that. I look forward to developing those traditions with Vicki and our kids. We have already started with some simple ones like buying a single new ornament for the tree each year that represents the year. Maybe the Indiana Jones movies will have to be brought off the shelf every fourth Thursday in November.

One of the new traditions Vicki and I tried this year was Thanksgiving night/Black Friday shopping, and I'm not sure that one will be adopted anytime soon.

We decided to give it a shot when we went to Walmart at around 9:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. We didn't really have a plan of what to get we mostly just wanted to experience it for the first time. The most interesting part of it was that Vicki and I don't like being surrounded by tons of people in those types of situations, hence my hatred of seeing movies in the theater, especially on opening days.

We actually enjoyed the experience a little bit. We came away with a new office chair for myself for under $40 and one other gift item for some friends of ours who will be getting married in December. We failed to buy any Christmas presents though.

We came home just before midnight after watching the ridiculous chaos, and I actually found many of the same deals people were disgracing themselves and the human race by fighting each other for online. I bought myself a few video games and accessories on good deals I couldn't pass up, but again failed to find anything for anyone else despite quite a bit of effort. I just kept stumbling onto things I knew Vicki or I would like.

Friday November 25th, 2011

I had done a little bit of research while we sat around after our big meal Thursday, and Vicki and I decided that we would drive to Walmart again at 8 a.m. on Black Friday to try and get a set of tires that was on sale for $79 a tire. Our car needed all four tires replaced so we figured we would give it a shot.

Surprisingly, there was a bit of a line at the tire counter when we arrived around 7:30 a.m. for the tires to be sold at 8 a.m. We didn't expect a whole lot of demand for tires that late on Black Friday. After waiting about an hour, we made it nearly to the front of the line just in time to hear them tell us that they only had two tires left of the size we needed for our 2008 Hyundai Elantra.

We ended up consciously taking the bait and switch and ordered four of their "rollback priced" tires that actually had a warranty compared to the discounted ones we intended to get. While they put the tires on we ran some errands by walking to some close stores. I got a haircut, but again we failed to find anything worthy of a gift for someone else.

Needless to say, Black Friday wasn't very productive, but was fun to take part in for the first time.
 
Saturday November 26th, 2011

Saturday involved some sleeping in to recover from the failed shopping excursions just to replenish before we went back at it again. Vicki wanted to head further south out of the confines of Cache Valley to the much more booming metropolis of Ogden and Target.

The most unexpected event of the week occurred while Vicki and I were in the Carter's baby retail store in Ogden. While we were looking around, a familiar face from my past walked in.

Sarah Montes was the last person I taught and baptized while serving as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the California Anaheim Mission. I met Sarah in the extended weeks of my mission and participated in her baptism just three days before I returned home.

Sarah has since married Ben Reinhart and had a beautiful baby boy, Lucas. It was Ben who I first recognized when they walked in, but I walked up to Sarah and gave her a hug before she could even recognize who I was.

It was a great experience to see them and helped me remember those wonderful experiences I had in California.

While we were down in Ogden not finding anything for anyone other than our soon-to-be-born new addition, the Utah State University football team was pulling off yet another thrilling game to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1997.

We returned home in time to watch the USU men's basketball team play at Idaho State University and get a much-needed impressive victory. I wrote a recap for the game and then began working to finish my talk that I was scheduled to give in church the next day.

Sunday November 26th, 2011

Vicki and I were asked to speak in church for Nov. 27th's Sacrament meeting and were encouraged to base our 10-minute speeches on one of our favorite addresses given in the latest General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

I selected the message given by Elder M. Russell Ballard on the importance of a name.


Vicki appropriately spoke on the message given by Elder Neil L. Andersen about children.



I was really impressed with my wife's talk. I was filled with emotion and love for her as she stood nearly nine months pregnant and spoke of parenthood. I know she doesn't enjoy public speaking at all, especially on spiritual things to a group of people she only has recently met less than a handful of, but her words and testimony were powerful.

Before Vicki and I spoke, two youth speakers gave short talks. It was the first time the young woman who spoke before us had ever spoke in church and naturally some nervousness and fear crept in as she sat on the stand waiting for her turn.

I hadn't notice that the young woman had become overwhelmed prior to her going up to speak, until her loving mother in the congregation stood up and made her way to sit next to her daughter to provide comfort.

My heart swelled at the loving display of affection and support this mother gave to her daughter. The presence of her mother gave courage to the young woman who stood and delivered a powerful and moving message. She spoke of her experiences in seminary and the other youth programs available to the youth of the church, and was a strong witness of the divine nature and potential each of us have.

I was witness to three wonderful acts of womanhood in their different stages and was grateful for it. I was reminded of the power and influence that the woman in our lives have and was grateful for those women in my life.

It was a great capstone to a memorable week.

I guess the coolest thing about it all was the prophetic status update I for some reason felt necessary to post to my Facebook wall at 12:28 a.m. the day it all began.

 
Social media and similar technologies sure do get a bad wrap sometimes for the negative things they are doing to the "Z generation," but the benefits of these technologies definitely make it easier to create a digital journal that you don't have to worry about the type of paper or ink you use to  record them as they ensure the memories make it through the epochs of time.

19 July 2011

Temples in Utah


(Brigham City Utah Temple)

Ogden Utah Temple

Bountiful Utah Temple








Salt Lake City Utah Temple



Jordan River Temple
Draper Utah Temple 


Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple

Provo Utah Temple
(Payson Utah Temple)

Vernal Utah Temple

Manti Utah Temple







St. George Utah Temple



28 June 2011

On Top of the Valley...Beginning the Climb

One down, 29 more to go.


Last Saturday (June 25th) just before noon, my buddy Tom Atwood gave me a phone call and asked, "Do you want to knock off an item on your list today?"

To which I obviously responded, "Heck yes. Let's do it."

About two hours later Tom, his girlfriend Nicole, and myself were beginning our ascent up the Deep Canyon trailhead of the Wellsville Mountain Wilderness area near Mendon, Utah.

It was a beautiful day for a hike, and I was thrilled to get out of the house and take a break from technology (Playstation 3, NCAA 11, cell phone, and a computer screen).  My short pockets were filled with ziplock baggies of sunflower seeds and baby carrots, and hanging from my belt was the water bottle carrier I sewed in Boy Scouts keeping my bottle of Gatorade cool and close by. Nicole couldn't find the My Little Pony backpack that belonged to her sister so they filled her "normal" hiking backpack with sunscreen, Nature Valley granola bars, and water. The backpack was about the only serious looking hiker that was in our little trio.



The hike began surrounded by some farmer fields, but quickly disappeared into a grove of maple trees. The trail was slender and surrounded by vegetation, and was a constant incline the whole way. The Wellsville Mountains are said to be the steepest mountains in the United States and North America. The base of the range averages only about 5 miles wide and the highest points are well over 9,000 feet.


The trail rose out of the maples and aspens and ran parallel to the empty river bed that the melting snow and rain use each year to stream down to the valley. My calves and lungs were burning, my heart was pounding, but the beautiful surroundings lessened the pain.

Eventually the narrow dirt path that sliced through the vegetation disappeared amongst the sagebrush and lingering sheets of snow. So we just made our way left towards the closest high peak we could see. We trudged our way through the thorns and bushes like a bull in a china shop. Seeking aid from the cutting branches we decided to hike up the hillside of snow. Nicole and I slipped and crawled our way up the stairs created by Tom's footsteps, taking a break every so often to relieve the burning in our legs and burning in our fingers and hands from he cold snow.

It wasn't long before we realized we obviously were no longer following the trail and had become trailblazers. We pushed through, Tom still leading the way as we literally crawled our way up the ramp of snow.

After hours or walking, climbing, slipping, crawling, slipping, and crawling again, we made it to the top. It was worth it.

At the Top with Tom. Cache Valley in the background.
The peak we hiked to was still covered with snow, but we took some time to take some pictures and have some granola bars, carrots, and water. Then we realized we had to get back down, and we all agreed the way we came up was not an option.

We began to plan our descent. From the top of the peak we could see the Cache Valley to the East and the canyon we had climbed up. To the West we could see some more peaks a little lower than us and a glimpse of the cities, interstates and Willard Bay of the Great Salt Lake. Down below us we could now see a V-shaped rock where the actual trail as suppose to take us. We climbed across the peak and did some surfing down the snow covered face. Surfing down the snow buried all the memories of the tough climb up.


Nicole preferred the butt-surf technique while Tom and I tried to stay up on our feet. After the surf, we made our way down to the V-shaped rock took in the great views looking over the Eastern side of the mountains. We took a few more photos and then surfed our way down the actual trail hidden under the snow. When the snow ran out we made our way back down the trail.

After the drive home and some showers we (Tom, Nicole, Vicki, and myself) headed to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate with a lime rickey and prime rib.

It was so rewarding to cross the first item off my 30 by 30 list and to do it with a best friend and hero of mine. Growing up in the shadows of the Wellsville Mountain range in Cache Valley it has always been a goal of mine to ascend above the shadow to the peak. I look forward someday to do the entire hike which starts at the Deep Canyon trailhead in Mendon and goes across the ridge line and eventually ends down at the southern Rattlesnake Trailhead in Sardine Canyon just past Sherwood Hills Resort. The Wellsville Mountain Wilderness area I think contains over 14 miles worth of trails and is said to be a great area for viewing hawks and other wildlife. We started in the late afternoon so obviously only had time to hike the first part, but I plan to visit the rest of the wilderness area and other trails.

I think it was very fitting that this was the first item I crossed off my 30 by 30 list; the first step in an enjoyable, yet challenging climb.

24 June 2011

States I have visited

One of the items on my 30 by 30 list is to experience all 50 states. "Experience" being defined as my feet touch the ground and I see some kind of unique attraction. So once again, thanks to the help of a quick search on the internet I found an interactive map that reflects where I have been (orange) and where I still need to go (grey).


This map made me realize how tough this item is going to be to accomplish in less than three years time, especially while trying to knock off the other 29 items on the list. It has been 27 1/2 years and I haven't even reached the half way point!

Despite my childhood of vagabondage due to a mother and an aunt who loved planning family trips, I still have a long way to go and not a lot of time (or money) to get there.

In 1996, to celebrate Utah's Centennial, my family and cousins traveled through every county in the state and visited at least one historical site, state park, or national monument of some kind to get our "Utah Passports" stamped. It is one of the greatest memories and accomplishments from my childhood and I have the video cassette, stamped passport, funny stories and reward blanket to prove it.

I would like to do something similar with the states, but it is going to require me to hit more than half of them within just a few years. I have always loved traveling, and try to do it as much as I can afford. I even travel for work quite frequently. Unfortunately, however I think I have failed to follow the suggestions of Mr. Robert Frost and have revisited to many areas instead of focusing on "the road(s) less traveled by."

The good ol days!
Don't get me wrong, I cherished the annual trips to float the Snake River and visit Yellowstone National Park.

Mountain biking in Moab and rocking back and forth while lying on the bed of a truck camper and staring out the slit window to keep from getting car sick has made me the man I am today.

Now it is time to focus on the eastern half of the continent, but can it be done in two years time?

I guess we will see, or I might have to switch the goal to be a little more specific. I can do that, right? It is my list.

Making the map was fun to get a visual of where I have been and where I need to go. I encourage you to try it. It is like the digital version of those awesome sticker maps people slap on their RVs.




Just curious if you have been to any of the unvisited states on my map if you have suggestions on good trips and things to see. If so comment below.

06 June 2011

Filling the bucket: My 30 by 30 List

December 5th, 2010 was a memorable day for me. It was a day that, although I don't remember the events completely, I remember the affect they had on me. It was a day that ended with me staring at the ceiling, pondering some of life's proverbial questions: What have I accomplished so far? What does my future look like? Am I making the most of my talents and potential?

On December 5th, 2010 my older brother turned 30 years old, and on that day I realized I was only three years behind him.

Doing a quick online search will begin to reveal the culturally invented importance we sometimes place on the third decade mark. So as I stare down the farewell to my 20's I feel the need to adhere to the ritualistic ceremony of creating a 30 by 30 or a 30-year-old bucket list.

Since that December night, the idea of creating and accomplishing the list has been trapped in my mind and failed to coalesce into a tangible inventory until my flight home from a work trip a few weeks ago. I had just spent a week in San Diego at a conference, and was headed home on Saturday May 14th. I boarded Frontier flight F9 575 out of Denver International Airport, and sat between what I supposed were to college students similar to my own age. One was a girl named Shannon from Vernal, Utah and the other was a physics student originally from Utah but studying now in Boston. We became acquainted with each other through some chitchat about where we live, what we do, and why we were headed to Salt Lake City, and discovered that we were all connected to Logan, Utah.

Shannon had spent a year in Logan going to school, and the physics student (didn't catch his name or don't remember it now) had lived in Logan and graduated from Logan high school just a few years ago. He spent most of the flight catching up on sleep from a full day of travel or studying a text book. Shannon and I had a good conversation throughout most of the flight, that revealed that she was a quite an interesting person. She spends her summers fighting fires in the Vernal area, and amongst other things had recently participated in the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay Race with the fellow employees at the accounting office she worked at.

After the complimentary drinks and the delicious warm cookie Frontier offers on their flights (awesome) our conversation turned to my turning 30 years old and my desire to create and accomplish a "30 by 30." Shannon decided to help me. She pulled out the really nice journal that was a gift from her boyfriend who had just graduated from office training in the Army (her reason for being on the flight, she was returning from his graduation). She tore out a piece of paper and we began listing the 29 things I would like to accomplish in the next three years (decided to just do 29 because that is how many lines her paper had and it was one short of 30). The 30th item being to "Finish this List."

Here it is in no particular order:
  1. Fly in a hot air balloon.
  2. Hold an idea.
  3. Start a business.
  4. Learn to play the Cello.
  5. Finish a 5K.
  6. Experience all 50 states (feet must touch the ground and see a unique attraction).
  7. Learn a foreign language.
  8. Take a cruise through the Mediterranean.
  9. Take a cross country train ride.
  10. Keep a journal.
  11. Start to write a book/screenplay.
  12. Get into graduate/professional school.
  13. Become a father.
  14. Buy a piano.
  15. Start and finish P90X program.
  16. Go on a backpacking expedition.
  17. Volunteer in a local non-profit organization.
  18. Become a coach.
  19. Shoot below 95 for a round of golf.
  20. Reconnect with old friends.
  21. Find a deceased individual ancestor and perform the vicarious ordinances of salvation in the temple.
  22.  Watch an NFL game in an NFL stadium.
  23.  Hike the Wellsville Mountains.
  24.  Get a Platinum trophy on NCAA 11.
  25.  Finish a food challenge at a restaurant.
  26. Visit and photograph all the LDS Temples in Utah.
  27. Watch all of ESPN Film's 30 for 30.
  28. Graduate from LDS Institute of Religion.
  29. Own first edition hardcover versions of all of Michael Crichton's books.
     I am eight four three two items short and have a few more ideas, but would love your feedback on the list so far as well as any things to fill in the blanks. Please share in the comments or suggest some privately.

    If you think lists like this are silly please make your case against it. Especially if you have had your own personal experience with such lists.

    I would like to thank my older brother for giving me the three year warning, and apologize that his list will now have to be a 40 by 40. I would like to thank Shannon for reminding me how fun it is to meet new people and challenging me to continue to make life interesting, and I would like to preemptively thank everyone for their comments, suggestions and feedback.







    08 May 2011

    Thoughts on 181st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

    I was asked to give a talk on conference. Here are my notes of the talk given in the Millville 2nd Ward on April 17th, 2011:



    Brothers and sisters I am humbled to stand before you today and pray that the Lord will bless me with the ability to speak by the spirit and that he will bless you to hear by the spirit that we may all be edified. I hope that you will each have a prayer in your heart that some portion of what I say will be meaningful and strengthen your testimony of the Savior.

    I begin by asking you all to think back a few weeks and recall the events that took place in your life on the weekend of April 2nd and 3rd.

    Where were you? Were you able to listen to General Conference? How did you do so?

    I assume many of you basked in the joy and traditions that come every six months when the leaders of the Lord's kingdom on earth share with us what Elder Holland referred to as their “testimonies of love and warning.” Some of you may have spent the days in your pajamas in the living room watching the broadcast on television surrounded by loved ones. Some may have had the opportunity to travel to Salt Lake City and witness from the chairs of the Conference Center. Many others watched on laptops, listened from radios, or even viewed the prophets, Apostles, and General Authorities on a hand held device. Personally I had a mixture of the above methods as I spent most of that Saturday in waiting in or sprinting through airports as my flights were off schedule due to fatigue crack inspections.

    I, like Elder Holland, ask you to reflect “not only on the messages you heard but also on the unique phenomenon that general conference itself is—what we as Latter-day Saints believe such conferences to be and what we invite the world to hear and observe about them. We testify to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people that God not only lives but also that He speaks, that for our time and in our day the counsel you have heard is, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, “the will of the Lord, … the word of the Lord, … the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.”

    How blessed we are to have a Father in Heaven who loves us enough to provide us with Prophets and Apostles who speak to us on his behalf in our day. How blessed we are to KNOW he provides such direction. Perhaps more wonderful and awe inspiring however, is the blessing of how easy it is to access His words and share them with others.

    HOLD UP PHONE
    I hold here in my hand a device that has an endless supply to the Lord's words. Prophets testimonies from the beginning of time written in scripture, the glorious revelations of the Restoration, and the Hymns, testimonies, and teachings of the prophets of the latter-days all in the palm of my hand and at the touch of my fingertips.

    But the good does not come without opposition.

    In the Sunday Morning Session Elder Holland recounted to us the story of Brigham Young and the dream he had just prior to the pioneer saints' exodus from Navuoo of an angel atop a hill, now known as Ensign Peak where after the trying journey west Brother Brigham led the Brethren of the church and they unfurled a makeshift banner made from a bandanna and walking stick to symbolize the partial fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy that the Lord would “setup an Ensign to the Nations.”

    Elder Holland then went on to testify that the annual and semiannual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are a continuation of that declaration and prophecy. He spoke emotionally of the preparation process that each speaker goes through. The fasting, the prayer, the starting, stopping and starting again, and the tears and sleeplessness they likely wrestled with to be true to the individual prompting each of them had received from the Lord.

    How easily it is for us sometimes as teachers, mothers, fathers, friends, co-workers and priesthood and auxiliary leaders to relate.

    These “marvelous new methods of communication” (phones, internet facebook etc) as Elder Holland mentioned allow the Lord's voice to go out around the world to not only the members of the church but an ever growing proportion of non-members.

    It was only a few hours before in the early sunday session tha Elder Uchtdorf said,

    “With so many social media resources and a multitude of more or less useful gadgets at our disposal, sharing the good news of the gospel is easier and the effects more far-reaching than ever before. In fact, I am almost afraid that some listening have already sent text messages like “He’s been speaking for 10 minutes and still no aviation analogy!”

    Elder Uchtdorf was right. More than 52,000 tweets were posted with the hashtag reference LDSConf, (if you don't know what a hashtag or trend is ask the youth in the ward) which is double what was shared only 6 months before during October's conference. It was the first time the church streamed conference live on Facebook and even allowed people to use the embeded code to stream conference on their own websites or blogs. The LDSConf hashtag conversation ranked as high as #2 on Twitter in the US involving more than 2,000 different Twitter users. Reaching to a network of more than 1 million followers. Tweeps if you will... Many of which who were unaware of the Restoration of the Gospel or what the trend was referencing.

    Vicki and I both personally participated in the conversation during sunday morning and I referred over 24 people who asked what LDSconf meant to a link that led them to the live broadcast.

    Uchtdorf went on...“perhaps the Lord’s encouragement to “open [your] mouths” might today include “use your hands” to blog and text message the gospel to all the world! But please remember, all at the right time and at the right place. Brothers and sisters, with the blessings of modern technology, we can express gratitude and joy about God’s great plan for His children in a way that can be heard not only around our workplace but around the world. Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion that affect someone’s life for eternity.”

    Many of us have access to an use things such as Twitter, Facebook, and blogging, but are we using it for the good that it can be?

    Sure we have the Angry Birds app on our phone but do we also have the Mormon Channel app?
    Many of us likely have setup our Facebook profiles but have we setup our own personal profile on Mormon.org yet?

    The top three profiles on twitter by number of followers belongs to Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, and Britney Spears, but are we following @LdsNewsroom, etc.

    Our Facebook friends and Likes may include local celebrities like Tai Wesley or The Utah Jazz, but what about Mormon Messages, or Church other church pages.

    I understand that there are those of you out there that are not part of twitterverse or the Social Network, some may fear for privacy or other reasons that are understandable, I only ask that if you are using the devices and technology that you use it the way to fulfill your call to Testify and warn the people.

    In D&C 88:121 the Lord warns us cease from all our light speeches and light mindedness, which regrettably is what most of these personal publishing technologies are used for, but they can be used for so much more. We don't need to laden or burden cyberspace with lengthy and prideful statements of self-righteousness, a simple declaration of gratitude or joy as Elder Uchtdorf and the other leaders of the church suggest will suffice.

    It is interesting and I think of no simple coincidence that in the revelation given to Thomas Marsh and other saints called to preach the gospel—that being us-- the lord used the word “send”. In D&C 112:1 he proclaims, “Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Thomas: I have heard thy prayers; and thine alms have come up as a memorial before me, in behalf of those, thy brethren, who were chosen to bear testimony of my name and to send it abroad among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, and ordained through the instrumentality of my servants...Let thy heart be of good cheer before my face; and thou shalt bear record of my name, not only unto the Gentiles, but also unto the Jews; and thou shalt send forth my word unto the ends of the earth. Contend thou, therefore, morning by morning; and day after day let thy warning voice go forth; and when the night cometh let not the inhabitants of the earth slumber, because of thy speech. Let thy habitation be known in Zion, and remove not thy house; for I, the Lord, have a great work for thee to do, in publishing my name among the children of men.”

    14 Now, I say unto you, and what I say unto you, I say unto all the Twelve: Arise and gird up your loins, take up your across, follow me, and bfeed my sheep. 19Wherefore, whithersoever they shall send you, go ye, and I will be with you; and in whatsoever place ye shall proclaim my name an aeffectual door shall be opened unto you, that they may receive my word.

    22Inasmuch as they shall humble themselves before me, and abide in my word, and ahearken to the voice of my Spirit.

    28But apurify your hearts before me; and then bgo ye into all the world, and preach my gospel unto every creature who has not received it;

    33Verily I say unto you, behold how great is your calling.


    Elder Uchtdorf talked about receiving the savior piece by piece like a puzzle.

    The best way to share is by what we do and who we are.

    Are to do lists should reflect what is on our to be lists.

    Just do it. Just Be it.

    I must admit that part of my standing at this pulpit today is out of selfishness as I am reminded of the promised blessings of strength, personal edification, and sanctification to those who share their testimonies. In D&C 62:3 the Lord gives the promise that our “testimonies are recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon,” and our sins can be forgiven by this simply yet sometimes terrifying act. Terrifying because unlike incorrect statements or misspellings posted on Facebook or Twitter I do not think heaven allows you to delete such recordings.

    We have the opportunity and means to do much good. Let us not be distracted. Let us not be afraid and let us not wait for the Savior to be given to us. We are children of our heavenly father with divine potential. Other stand in need of your help in realizing that they too.

    Let us wave the ensign to all the world with our fingers, our mouths, our cell phones our computers and our deeds.

    Easter is coming up.

    Testimony.