Sometimes Patience Pays Off

There are somethings that I have wanted for a long time, and for one reason or another I have been unable to get. So for like the last 10 months I've been working on one in particular. And just last Monday I got it!

It's one of those things that makes me just super duper happy. I don't know what to say, I worked so long and hard to achieve it, and now I'm there. My only hope is to keep it the way it is. You probably already know what I'm talking about...

The Glass House Shatters in the Storm

Our minds are beautiful, wonderful, amazing tools. But sometimes they can fool us into believing something that logically doesn't make sense. You get it into your head to build a glass house. A good solid foundation. Design it with the proper architecture, and engineering in mind. Place every nook and cranny in exactly the spot that you want it in. It's perfect in every way, shape, and form. You are ecstatic with it, you never want to leave, you wish you could be in there for ever, in absolute bliss. On the horizon you see a storm brewing. You think no big deal, I'll be safe in my house, what could possibly go wrong. Let the storm come, You fear it not. You've got the best foundation, and the perfect architecture. Let the storm come.

Oh how the storm does come. As if the very fury of the heavens is descending upon you, and your glass house. You sit and watch, helpless to do anything about it. The one thought crosses your mind, I'm sitting in a glass house. The storm strikes, with all it's might. Lightning, rain, wind all the power that it has crashes into your glass house. The glass house shatters in the storm. It falls down around your head, and as the storm blows itself out, you sit amidst the rubble, distraught that your perfect house is nothing more then broken glass. What could you have done? You made your house out of glass.

Life gives us hard lessons. Sometimes we need to find better judgment, and not listen to our own insane babbling. It's hard to pick ourselves up and get going again, but somehow, some way we must.

What would be the coolest continent to visit?

The world is a fantastic place, and I would like to see all of it before I die. That probably won't happen of course. It seems that people can't agree which place they want to see more. It's a tie between Europe and Australia!
Total votes : 9 - North America 0(0%), South America 0(0%), Europe 3(33%), Africa 1(11%), Asia 1(11%), Australia 3(33%), Antarctica 1(11%).

I voted for Europe. I think that Europe just has everything I want to see in it, in general terms that is. There is just so much art, culture, world history, ancient history, and natural beauty in that area that you could spend a life time looking and never see everything.


I will have to admit Australia would be my second choice. I'm not sure why but it just seems like Australia has this primal pull on me, just to go and see it. Maybe it's like the last tamed land on Earth or something that draws me in. Or maybe it's still got that old fashioned cowboy feel to it that calls to my masculinity. Either way Australia would be way fun to go check out.

And I don't know who voted for Antarctica, but the only thing I would want to see there is the Penguins, and you can find them in other places that aren't so barren and cold.

The NFL Queen Has Been Dethroned

So Alex and I kind of have this on going rivalry. We play a game called Madden NFL 2008, and for I think like the first 6 games we played she stomped me into the ground. However in the last week or so I've finally gotten my act together and given her a run for her money.

I've beaten her several games now, and I think she's getting a little annoyed. She knows how I felt. She claims I have an unfair advantage being able to play it all the time. I don't care, I'm gonna take what I can get. It's not like I haven't given her the option of comeing over and practicing.

All I really wanted to say is that she can no longer lord over me the fact that I hadn't beaten her in the game. I have and will continue to do so. (Hopefully) HA!!!

My First PD Testing

This past Monday I was invited to test with the Cedar City Police Department. The testing started at 6:30am, that kind of sucked. But I got my arse out of bed at 2am and drove down there. I passed all the physical stuff. Then we had to do a report on a video of a DUI arrest that we watched. I think I did pretty good on that one, I did write a 3 page report. Right after that we had an 80 question test to take. The test was kind of retarded. It was more of a what would you do test, then anything that really had to do with the law. I think I did fine on that. Around 2pm is when I had my oral interview. That I know I did freaking awesome at. It was a way relaxed interview. I was telling jokes and some funny stories, while at the same time answering all of their questions. They were at least laughing with me, it felt more like a bunch of friends talking around the table instead of an actual interview.

All in all, I felt like the day went pretty good. There were 30 other people that showed up for the job, but I gave it my best, and that's all that I could ask for. And even if they don't offer me the job, the day wasn't a waste. I learned a lot about what to expect from future interviews.

Chocolate It Is

You know I can't really blame people for voting for chocolate. I mean its chocolate!
Total votes 6. Chocolate - 3(50%), Vanilla - 1(16%), Neapolitan - 2(33%)

I however like a little variety. Chocolate is fantastic, but even that can get old for me. I like to go for the Neapolitan because every bite doesn't have to be the same flavor. The way to get around that with chocolate is to get the kind that's got lots of stuff in it. MMM good!!!

Stars

What is it about the stars in the night sky? It's like one of the most amazing natural wonders. I can stare up at the night sky for hours at a time, every single night. I never get tired of it. I work down in the middle of no where, and it's pitch black out many nights affording fantastic views of the night sky. I can't get enough of it.

Does looking up at the sky invoke a deep sense that there is so much more out there? That there is a greater power in the universe? That I am but a spec compared to the infinite dimensions of the cosmos? It could be all these things. Maybe everyone feels a little bit different, but I believe everyone feels something when they look up at night. The power of creation is there to behold at just a glance towards the heavens. Yet sadly many don't get to see the beauty of it. Light pollution has caused a diminishing of our ability to see the sky. Nothing we can really do about it. But the next time you get a chance, when you are out away from civilization take a minute to look up. How do you feel when you look at the stars, what do you think about?

I Lost A Bit More Weight

I don't know what it is about my body, but it seems that if I don't keep up on the whole trying to put on weight, it all goes bye-bye.

I'm back down to about 150lbs. That annoys me. I spent all that time and all that work putting that weight on and in just a couple of months its gone. ARRR!!!!

On the plus side, I'm at quite a bit more toned then I was before. So I guess all that work wasn't a complete waste.

I Got A New Plant...By Hitting It

I was coming back from church on Sunday with my friend John. I turned behind this truck that had a uhaul trailer. The dude apparently didn't care about the cargo because the trailer was open and full of plants. He went around the corner at a pretty good speed and a bunch of these plants fell out. I was pretty pissed because I didn't have time to swerve and ploughed right over a couple. Luckily I didn't see any damage to my car when I stopped. I was gonna go chase the truck down and get his plates to turn him in, when John turned to me and said "Hey, you want a free plant?"

At first I thought no, that's stupid I want to get this guy. But instead of spending my Sunday getting involved in this and waisting my time, I figured a free plant was ample payment for having it hit my car. So I got a new plant, all it took was hitting it with my car. I don't however know what to do with it, cause it is like 7 or 8 feet tall.

It Feels Good

A lot of the time I feel like a complete idiot when it comes to girls. Like I don't know what to do or what I'm doing is the "right" thing. Girls just confuse me. I was having a conversation with Alex, you know just talking, saying what was on my mind. (Sometimes that gets me into big trouble) But then she gave me one of the funniest and greatest compliments I think I've ever gotten.





"Its guys like you that make most guys look like pigs."





You know I might not be the best or do everything right, but when I hear something like this it just makes me feel good. I figure hey, I must be doing something right.

Something to Think About

Lately I've had quite a few things on my mind. Problems that I've had that it seemed no matter what I did, I couldn't solve them. Many times have I heard that you should read the scriptures to find answers to your problems. I didn't believe it, how could the scriptures really truly have specific answers for me? This evening however I was reading in my scriptures, and one particular verse stuck out to me 2 Nephi 1:20 - "And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence."

I haven't been doing real well in the area of doing what I'm supposed to. I read this and it was kind of like a light went off in my head. Hey! Maybe you should be striving more to do what you're supposed to. Now I won't begin to think that all my problems will just vanish if I get my act together, but maybe it will be a little easier to deal with. I don't know, I should be doing it no matter what the case may be.

Defeat vs Failure

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.
George Edward Woodberry

I'm not sure if I could have said it better. I don't mind losing, I can handle that and get over it without to much difficulty. The things that I really regret, the things that I dwell on, and think about over and over again, are the times that I haven't even tried. I think it's the fact that I don't know if there could have been a different outcome. When I try and fail, at least I know where my limits are and that I had the gumption to try. When I don't, there is always that nagging doubt of if it would have made things different. And on a lot of things once that time to try is gone, no matter what I do, I can't go back. It makes me sad. (Some of you know what I'm talking about.)

The Title of Liberty and Police Work

Title of Liberty; In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children. Captain Moroni is by far my favorite hero from the scriptures. He was everything a leader of men should be. I would follow him into the very gates of hell, if that's what was needed.

I don't exactly remember how we got to this in class today, but our instructor made a comment about how Police are Knights of the modern day. We serve and protect the innocent. Police have a shield that symbolizes the shields used by Knights of old to protect them.
Captain Moroni raised the title of Liberty to show what they were fighting for. Police (and hopefully me soon) are fighting for that same purpose. For the freedoms we have, for our families, for the innocent that can't protect themselves. The Powers of Good and Evil are at war. Both spiritually and physically. We must follow Captain Moroni's example, remember who we are and what we stand for. We must do all that we can to fight evil in all it's forms. Police are doing the work of God, let us take up that calling and be worthy to do the work.

Why?

I don't think there is a picture out there of Chris and I where we are both making "normal" faces. I guess that's just how we roll.

I Pledge Allegiance

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

When you look at the flag and recite the pledge, what do you feel? I feel pride, honor, duty, respect, and thankfulness. This flag is the symbol of our country, everything that we as people are, and want to be should be felt when we see this flag, and recite this pledge. Yet it seems to me that every year it's becoming less important, and isn't honored as it should be.

The Pledge of Allegiance is a spoken oath of loyalty to our country. We are saying we will do all we can to help improve and maintain this great land. It should mean something when we say it. It's an oath. You are giving your word to help protect and uphold the principles of this land. If you can't trust a man's word, what does he have left? This isn't an oath to the President, it's not an oath to Congress, it's not an oath to any single party. It's an oath to our country, to all the liberties, and freedoms that we have. Why are people trying to destroy this? We should be upholding the principles that our founding fathers set down. We should be teaching our children what it means to Pledge Allegiance, not just to recite some words at the beginning of the day. We should be proud to have it in our schools, and in our daily lives.

This is one nation under god. We don't have to agree on every little thing. But we should agree on doing everything that we must for the good of all. In accordance with that we, and especially public officials, should be doing our duties as if God really were standing over us, watching what we're doing. It's sad to see public officials in the news for committing horrid crimes, or some kind of scandal. It's just not right. They were put in office to help their fellow man, and they just aren't doing that. If they were acting as if God were watching over them, they would be busting their buts to do everything they can as best as they possibly can. Why wouldn't we want God watching over us? If he isn't who would? Man? Man is fallible, God is not. I would much rather have a perfect being watching over me correcting me, then some imperfect man.

Liberty and Justice for All. We should be fair and just in our dealings with everyone. We shouldn't infringe on the rights of others, that don't infringe on the rights of us. I believe this also means that we must protect the safety and life of those around us. We aren't taking someones liberty away by putting them in jail. They chose to give up their liberty by committing a crime. They did it to themselves, it's a consequence of their actions, we have an obligation to protect the liberties of those innocent people that were wronged. We need to have a fair and unbiased system to implement those consequences, but once it's decided upon, that should be the end of that. If they didn't want to be locked away they shouldn't have infringed on the rights of the innocent.

I for one am proud to be an American. I don't agree with everything that goes on, but that doesn't mean that this country is crap. It means that I, and my fellow Americans need to uphold that oath of loyalty that we swore, and constantly strive to make this country a better place for all.

Yes, I Got Plants

I don't know why I had this thought, but the other day I got it into my head that I should get some plants. So I did. I got five of them, and a little growing light. I have them in my room, and since I sleep during the day I keep the room as dark as possible. So I needed the growing light for when I'm away, usually at night, so the plants wouldn't die off.

Goldfish Plant

Fern

Licorice Plant

Fishnet Stockings Plant

Velvet Lime Plant

They're fairly cool looking, especially the goldfish plant. It's got little orange flowers on it that resemble goldfish. They also add a little something to my room, not to mention it gives me a little hobbie to do in my downtime (the little that I have). Hopefully I don't kill them.

Opperation Find Me a Girl

I'm a bum, and I can't seem to find and hold onto a girl. It just seems that lately I either can't find a date or the gals that I'm really interested in, aren't interested in me. It's starting to get to me. So I'm looking for a girlfriend and I'm asking for help. I will go on a date with anyone. I will give anyone a chance. Anyone that you know that is single, I will go on a date with. You never know who I might start dating, so I'm going to try not to judge as harshly as I have in the past. I am going to try to be an open and out going person. Not the stubborn headed mule that I've been.

If you know somebody that's available, lets set up a date!

A Pagent and A Blasphemous Movie

Aubrey's roommate Katie was in a pageant at the conference center on Saturday. It was a pageant for descendants of pilgrims to utah in 1847 or something like that. Anyway it wasn't half bad. Having never been to one I guess I really wouldn't know, but I wasn't completely bored. Aubs made a friend while we were there. Some little old lady sat down next to us and was just chatting up a storm with Aubs. It was pretty funny.

Katie didn't make it to the top ten, so Aubs and I booked it out of there. We were planning on going to the Cheese Cake Factory, but seeing as how neither of us knew how to get there we got lost and then just decided to head back to Provo. It wasn't real late so we met up with some friends and went and saw the movie Knowing. It was actually a pretty good movie up until the end. The ending ruined it for me. Basically the ending to me said that God and angels are aliens. It really pissed me off. They took an interesting spin on the bible but one that I just can't agree with. Oh well, it wasn't a total loss.

What Kind of Person Are You?

Animals I think are great to have around. They really liven things up sometimes. But not everyone is into having the same animal.

Poll Results: Total Votes 8; Dog - 5(62%), Cat - 0, Fish - 1(12%), I Hate Animals - 2(25%).

I'm a dog person. I just love dogs. They're cool, and they have plenty of uses. Not to mention that when I was younger we had the best dog ever. Max. That was an awesome dog, I don't know if I'll ever find one like him. Cats I could do without. I don't know why, I'm just not very fond of them. Fish are cool sometimes to, but they get boring after awhile cause there isn't to much you can do with them.

Then there are those people that just don't like animals. I don't understand this. Animals are great to have around. Why wouldn't you like them? Unless of course you just hate everything.

Snow and Moving Apartments Just Doesn't Mix

I have to move out of my apartment because they're changing it to married housing, and apparently single people aren't allowed to rent married apartments...

Anyway it's ok I guess because I was able to rent a room in the duplex that Chris is living in. Hooray! Unfortunately today was the only day I had off from school and work. Can you guess what happened? It snowed. And not just a light dusting, we got a pretty good amount for it being the middle of April. I really didn't want to try and move a bunch of large heavy furniture in the snow, so I didn't. I'm hoping that the weather will be nice on Saturday so that I can get the big stuff moved.

It's not like the whole day was a total waste. There was a couple of hours where the snow let off, and I was able to get a good amount of my stuff moved. Just not the heavy stuff. And since I didn't have any real responsibilities today I went to the gym with Alex, twice! I know you're not supposed to go twice in one day, but I've been kinda slacking. Who cares, I probably won't go tomorrow anyway. On a side note, what with all the physical training in the academy and going to the gym most nights, I've lost like 8 pounds. I'm back down to about 153, sad day.