One Wild Birthday

This Year Takes the Cake!

Well, I'm 19 now.

Sunday, February 26th was my birthday. I've never treated birthdays like a huge deal, except for when I tease my family that it's "all about me" on my birthday, much to my father's chagrin. Either way, when people ask what I want I usually have no idea. They then proceed to tell me they're getting me a present, to which I inform them that no, no they will not be getting me a present for I do not need one. And usually they don't, and I am content. But this year, Mackenzie decided to do the wildest birthday surprise I've ever seen...

Phase 1:

Friday night I got home from work and there was a letter sitting on the table for me. I looked at who it was from and to my surprise, it was from Mackenzie! She does not write letters. Ever. When I asked if she would write me while I'm on my mission, she didn't even sugarcoat it. "Nope, I don't write letters." And that's the end of that. So seeing a letter from her was shocking, it didn't even really hit me for a while either! But the letter said to meet at her dorm at 11 am where the adventures would begin. And boy did they...

Phase 2:

I got to her dorm around 11:15 (she was very upset at me) and I payed the price for it. There was a letter in a bag with her digital camera. The letter said:

To start the day off you are going on a photo scavenger hunt. You should find my camera with this piece of paper so grab that and get ready!Your instructions are as follows: You are to take this camera, do not break it darling, and get a picture of yourself with all of the following objects or places. Later you will find out the significance of each location and/or object. If a photo cannot be taken then you will have to call and beg for forgiveness, counting on my mercy to save you. Once all eighteen of the photos are taken you are to call and receive further instruction.A photo of you–1. In front of Stover Hall2. With Jenny, Alli, or any of your FHE sisters (in the event that none are available, any member of your old ward will do)3. Standing on the stairs by May hall (yes, those stairs) in a crouching cat pose4. On the Bell Tower, looking dramatically out across the landscape5. Sitting on the bench at the bottom of the Bell Tower stairs with a cheesy grin on your face6. Hugging a lamp post of your choice7. At a table in the food court of the Wilk, preferably against a wall8. Leaning seductively over a pool table in the Wilk9. Glaring at the camera in the bowling alley, just look pissed.10. By the Jamba Juice in the Wilk11. On the steps of the ESC12. The stairs by Rape Hill13. The duck pond at the bottom of Rape Hill14. With Jimmer. Whether this be a poster, picture, or the actual being15. In Legends Grill, staring at the logos16. Either at the entrance to the Smith Fieldhouse gym or just outside the Smith Fieldhouse17. Sitting in a seat in the large auditorium of the JSB, or, if occupied, any classroom of any building.18. In a car, preferably your own or one that you did not break into
This photo scavenger hunt must be completed by noon in order to receive further instruction via phone call.[Helpful Hints] You might want to attack people milling about the photo site and ask them to take the picture for you. Also, if you notice, they are mostly grouped into similar areas. There should not be much driving involved if you look closely at the list and strategize which areas you can park and tackle and then re-locate to tackle the next set.

So since I only had 45 minutes due to my tardiness, off I ran to the different areas to begin my challenge.

Stover Hall:

With Krista (who was in my ward since none of my FHE sisters or Alli OR Jenny were home):

On the stairs by May Hall attempting to crouch like a cat?...I don't know:

Looking Dramatically over campus from the Bell Tower:

The Stairs by the Bell Tower making my cheesy grin:

Hugging a Lamp Post:

In the Wilk:

On a Pool Table:

Angry in the Bowling Alley:

At Jamba Juice:

The Steps of the Science Center:

The Stairs by Rape Hill:

With Jimmer!

The Smith Fieldhouse:

Legends Grill looking at Logos:

And in the JSB Auditorium:

Each place had special significance because we had little moments and memories at each one. I know, presh. Took me about an hour to finish but once I did I got a message to go to the library, second floor, room 2725. By then I was exhausted from running to all corners of campus, but I ran to the library and in the room was Phase 3.

Phase 3:

Phase 3 consisted of a note explaining each place for the pictures even though I already knew (I have my smart moments) and another note telling me I had a half an hour to finish the puzzle sitting on the end of the chair. The puzzle was huge! Hand made from 9 pieces of paper cut into 56 shapes. It took me about a half an hour to finish and in walked Mackenzie. I gave her a big hug and told her thank you, no one had ever done anything like that for me and it really meant a lot that she would go through all that trouble for me! She then took me to Los Hermanos for lunch, I absolutely love that place!!

After that we went to her dorm for about an hour then met up with her friend for a "double exposure couples project ghost cemetery photo shoot". Mackenzie thought I was going to absolutely hate it but I ended up having more fun than she did! Although by the end I was ready to be done with it and she was completely checked out and annoyed. 

After that we went and did baptisms at the temple! I had never baptized anyone so I was pretty nervous about that. There are different types of ways to baptize someone such as the dunker or the drowner. A dunker plunges them in with a big splash and makes a wet mess, whereas a drowner gently dips them in and pulls them up slowly, not caring for the fact that they might not be getting enough air. So I was a little nervous about doing that, but after I did it once, I felt fine. I was overcome by the spirit while I was there and it got me even more excited to go on my mission. Hopefully I'll be spending a lot of time in those baptism waters!

We then went back to her dorm for a delicious fried chicken dinner! Her roomate Kila and her boyfriend Erik were over for a while and we talked to them. Then we just spent the evening together talking to each other and having a good time. All in all, it was the best birthday present I've ever received. So this is to you Mackenzie! Thanks for the wildest and most fun birthday!!

AMS

Holiness to the Lord

This post is a little too spiritual for Calvin and Hobbes

That was something I'll never forget.

As previously mentioned, I had the chance to go through the temple last Saturday and receive my endowment. That was such a sacred experience and it's hard not to talk about everything. If anything, I learned that the reason we don't talk about what we learn in the temple outside the temple is not because it's secret, but rather because it's sacred. We of course invite all to come to the temple, but what we learn there isn't something that should be casually brought up in conversation. All in all, it was well worth the wait.

I almost went 2 weeks ago, but decided to wait a couple of weeks instead. I'm now very glad I made that choice because it made a huge difference. I don't think I would have appreciated the significance of the blessings of the temple had I just rushed to get there like I was planning. Once I was able to slow down and have some time to prepare myself for the temple, I realized its significance to a much greater degree. If I could go into more detail, believe me I would. But trust me when I say that the Church is so true. Never doubt, never waver.

In other news, I've spent the last couple of days being the head custodian at the elementary school. I'm really glad I got that chance because had I not, I'd be very short on money. I'm not exactly sure why I was there, however, because the head custodian was there almost the whole time! He was supposed to take both Tuesday and Wednesday off, yet he didn't. Oh well, it's money in my bank account which is what I need; no complaints!

I was reading just this morning about Chris Paul. I used to despise him because he was Deron William's main rival and I was a huge Deron Williams fan. Then Williams started being a jerk to the Jazz organization and pretty much gave up on his coaches and the team. So now he's in NJ and no one cares about him. Then I go read up on Chris Paul. Surprisingly humble guy from a humble background. Has a wife and a little boy who he makes plenty of time for, especially considering his busy schedule. No tattoos, no earrings. Why? Because his mom told him not to. He handled his trade to LA with class, thanking his previous team for everything they did for him and thanking LA for the opportunity to play. He didn't lash out at the NBA (I know most of this doesn't make sense, bear with me) when his first trade fell through, he just stayed pretty quiet and let everything play out. I'm just really impressed with the way he handles himself in the spotlight. Seems like a pretty good guy to me, I think I may have a new favorite NBA player.

Well, that's all for now. Life's going great, and I'm a happy man!

AMS

A Quick, Unconventional Post

Tomorrow's the Big Day.

Freedom

I'm Free

I decided to wait until I was free from the bonds of the warehouse before I blogged again due to the fact that each post would look like this:

Today I got up at 4, went to work until 3, worked at the school until 5, laid down for a few hours, and went to bed at 9.

The End.

Actually, there were a few fun things that happened during my tenure at the warehouse, but mostly a lot of work work work. In the end I have to admit I am grateful for the opportunity to work there. I made a lot of money to go towards my mission in a short amount of time, and I'm glad I got to do that. But my time there is over, I will not be going back there again.

...I'm free.

I would be lying if I didn't say I was pumped to be free from the wicked chains of the warehouse. That place is very hard to work at. Yes, the work itself is pretty easy, but you literally have to sculpt your life around it. Now, that's good and fine if you are a middle aged adult with nothing else going on in your life, but I have a mission to prepare for, I have a family and friends that I don't have a lot more time to spend with, and I don't want to just be a workaholic. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

So now I just have my little job at the Elementary School. It's not much, but it will keep money coming over the next month and a half until I leave. Now that I actually have time to recap, I'll highlight a couple of things that have happened the last couple of weeks.

Mission shopping is nearly complete. I have most of my clothes and they all look and feel great! I can't wait to be wearing them as a missionary! I'm finally actually going through the temple on Saturday!! This is something I've waited my whole life for. I wanted to go earlier this month but when the time came to actually go, I just didn't feel ready to take that responsibility on me yet. So, I delayed it a couple of weeks and now I feel much more spiritually prepared for the blessings and covenants of the holy temple. So mission preparation is going along quite nicely and I get more and more excited as the days go by! I'm sort of split into two halves; one part of me wants time to go faster so I can just leave already! The other half of me wants time to go slow as possible so I don't have to leave my friends and family yet. Oh well, when it happens, it happens.

I went on a date with Mackenzie last Friday. Thing is, I didn't really know it was supposed to be a date until I showed up. It was supposed to be a shooting trip with the boys that I was just bringing Mackenzie with me. But when I showed up and all the guys had dates, I quickly realized the error of my ways. At least I already had a date right? So we went shooting for a while, wandered the clothing racks at DI, ate dinner at Tucano's (big mistake), and played some silly pointless games at my house. All in all, a very fun night!

Valentine's Day came. I honestly hate it when people call it Singles Awareness Day. If you do that, stop it. Valentine's Day is not just about a significant other, it's about spending time and expressing gratitude for all the people you love. That could be family, friends, a neighbor, a pet, anyone you want! If you love them, Valentine's is a great opportunity to show that. No one's forever alone when they have friends. And if worse comes to worse, there's always the Lord who will always be our best friend. 

I look to my friends as a perfect example of how to do Valentine's Day the right way. They dressed in their morphsuits and went to their female friends' houses to give them all roses. Do they have crushes on them? No. Are any of them lonely and crying? No. But they're friends, so the guys showed their appreciation for them and made sure they knew that yes, they are loved. Good work, gentlemen.

I would have joined them, but I had some plans of my own:

Well, that's really all that's happened other than work the last couple of weeks. Hopefully now that my schedule's a little more clear, I'll have more to talk about and I'll be able to post a little more frequently!

AMS

Sick Day

Yep, I'm sick.

I hate being sick.

Since I'm here though, I figure I might as well post in the blog. I'll give a recap of yesterday. First thing I did was go shopping for mission clothes. That's one of those things that makes me realize that yeah, this is really happening. Mom and I went to Mr. Mac to get my suit, but ended up buying most of my clothes there. They had this big mission sale that I was able to get almost all of my clothes for only 1100 bucks. Now I know that sounds outrageous but when you really think about it, it's a pretty good deal. Suits, good shoes, ties, and coats are not cheap so finding a deal like that is a steal! I even got a free tie for checking into Mr. Mac on Facebook so I'm pretty much all set to go. Well...at least I'll be dressed nice.

After that, we met up with Whitney at Costco for some shopping. Costco usually has really good samples, especially on weekends. So you'd think that the day before the Super Bowl would be packed full of delicious party food samples. It wasn't, thus leaving me hungry and disappointed. That's about where my problems began yesterday...

Since we were not filled to our satisfaction at Costco, we decided to go eat lunch at Iggy's Sports Grill. I love this place. It has really good food and huge TVs for watching sports, a real man cave. I ordered the All American Burger with chili and boy was it tasty. Only problem was afterwards, I felt awful. I felt sick to my stomach with nausea and a very achy body. We got home and I tried to solve my stomach problems, but nothing would do the trick. I finally just went and laid down, but I still had to go to work. I waited for Micah to get home from his track meet (which he broke a school record in the 4x800 relay) and we went down to work together. I did a horrible job at work because I was having a really hard time standing up. I was vacuuming a room when my legs finally gave out from under me and I had to sit against a wall and admit defeat. I was really sick and I needed to rest. 

I cancelled all of my evening plans and just stayed home. We watched Real Steel as a family and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was! Not only was it a really good story, but the special effects were pretty mind blowing. Those robots looked really real! Only problem with the movie was it was basically "Rocky" with robots. We started predicting what would happen next because the plot was so similar to Rocky.

So here I am now. Laying in bed, hoping that I get better quick. I can't go to work feeling like this. Temp jobs are pretty unforgiving and they have every right to be. It's basically, come to work and do your job the whole time or you're fired. How can they get away with this? If they let you go, they just take the next guy in line waiting. And there's always another guy waiting. So, I've got to get feeling better before I go tomorrow. Here's hoping.

AMS

Fear and Courage

I'm Scared

We've all been here before.

The world is huge. I mean, 7 billion people can't cover all the planet huge. I'm just one single person, and the world is no respecter of persons.

And I'm scared.

Life has a tendency to throw curve balls when we least expect it; usually when life is going best is when we're dealt the worst. Things have been going very well for me lately. I mean, I've been happy, I've been excited for my mission, I've been having fun, things have generally been nice! But yesterday, I was pounded with every fear that could come to my head, and I began to panic. I didn't really tell anyone because I don't want to look like a wimp that can't handle life's afflictions. I was just at work doing my things when it hit me. I'm scared that I can't handle the next 3 months. I'm scared that I'm wasting my life away. I'm scared that I can't handle a mission, that I'm not fit for the calling. Sadly I know the source of my fears and I know that he doesn't really care how it affects me, he just wants to see me fail.

Well I'm not a quitter.

This is one of those moments where I have to decide if I'm going to shrink in the face of adversity, or if I'm going to stand my ground and fight. I choose to fight.

This is the medallion I carry with me in my back pocket. It shows the whole "Armour of God" that we should put on every day. I keep it with me to remind me that I've made a promise to myself and to my Heavenly Father that I will fight on his side and I won't turn my back on Him. So how do we fight when we're scared out of our minds? With courage. You may say that you can't have courage if you have fear. I think Mark Twain put it best:

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."

Yeah. Life's gonna scare you sometimes. You can't hide from fear. It's always there and running is useless. So what do we do? We turn around and face it. Everyone's heard FDR's famous quote "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." I don't like the quote because of how true it is. Usually when we take a step back, we realize that what we fear is nothing we can't face. I am terrified of snakes, but once I'm up against one, I can actually stay pretty composed. I don't run away screaming, I hold my ground. That's what courage is; we don't run, we fight. Even when we face impossible odds, we have to look at the things we fear head on and hold our ground.

"When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

AMS

The Return of the Warehouse

It's Baaaaacccckkkk......

So, once upon a time I'm driving in the car. I get a phone call from Spherion Staffing (sound familiar?) asking if I'd be interested in coming back to work at the JC Penny Warehouse for an indefinite period of time. The natural man inside me doesn't want to. So what does the genius within say?...

No thanks, I'm not interested.

Moron.

The moment I hung up the phone, I'd realized how much of a mistake I had just made. I began to panic about how stupid I had just been and how painful it would be when my father skinned me alive once he found out. But by the grace of our merciful Father in Heaven, Spherion accidentally called again. I pounced on the chance to work there again (even though I really don't want to) and now I find myself back at my favorite job.

Joy.

So I've somehow found myself working at the dumb warehouse again and guess what?? It is just as boring as the last time I was there. I worked today and I'm back there in 7 short hours, which is why I must be going to bed. So I'll give you a quick recap of yesterday since today consisted of the same work you've already heard me gripe and whine about like a 3 year old.

Yesterday, me and Mackenzie made dinner for my family after I went to one of her classes. It was really nice to go to class believe it or not. I loved being back in the classroom setting, it made me feel like there really is a purpose to my life and I'm not doomed to scrape the bottom of the occupation barrel for the rest of my life. We went back to my house and made chicken cordon bleu from a recipe found online. It turned out tasting really really good! I don't mind cooking to be honest, I just don't have the patience for it. 

  

So life continues to move forward. I'm just taking things one day at a time, and constantly getting my hopes up that I'll be let go from the warehouse again. I shouldn't do that because I really do need the money....but still. Anyways, I'm going to try and stay consistent in updating this, though you may get a lot of posts about price stickers...you have been warned.

AMS