Land of Enchantment

A Day of Mourning

2008-10-17T18:11:00.006-06:00

This was one of the saddest games of my life. It looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue. It looked to me like BYU thought that TCU was going to be handed to them like most of the other teams. What many may have forgotten (coaches included) is that THE RESOUNDING difference in TCU's football team is their SPEED! They are faster than almost any team I've ever seen. That is perhaps the ONE thing that I've ALWAYS wanted to see BYU do better at. It threw us off our timing. Our receivers were one step behind and the ball was often thrown a few steps behind. I think they missed some interceptions because they were TOO fast and overshot the ball. I know that there's a slight elevation difference, but that's not enough of an excuse.
We also looked like we were afraid. When we saw their tenacity, we didn't try to match it, but instead looked like we needed to play it a little more "safely". I hope Utah beats them and gets a surprise upset from someone else so when we beat Utah, we still win the Championship outright. THERE GOES THE NATION'S LONGEST WINNING STREAK!!! *sound of Charles crying*
The thing that is going to upset me the most is that USC lost and fell from like 3rd or 4th place to about 11th place. I don't remember for certain, but I think it was 10 spots or less and they lost to a freaking unranked team!!!!!!! You just watch, Sunday the polls will come out, and BYU, who lost to a ranked team, will fall MORE than 10 spots. I'd bet my soul on it. And to boot, BYU is in a conference (Mountain West Conference) that has dominated USC's conference (PAC-10) this year 6 out of 7 games!!!!! So who's in a harder conference? What should our loss mean? Not as much. We should be ranked about 11th after that loss, but I bet we'll be ranked in the low teens or 20's.
This makes me extra grateful for a Judgment Day when we will all be judged by a perfect Heavenly Father. Can you imagine being judged by a panel of referees or BCS pollsters? I think I'd give up trying to live a righteous life altogether.

A Decent Game

2008-10-17T17:59:00.005-06:00

This game was also closer than I would have liked it to be, but I recognized that they were simply a better team than we had played yet. We just didn't play like I thought we would. But, in the end, we chalked it up to a bad day. We still only let them get 3 points. But you could just feel like we should have done better. This made us nervous about one of our biggest games of the year...TCU at TCU.

Blue&White Mormons vs. Blue&White Mormons

2008-10-07T12:54:00.006-06:00

I haven't missed a game yet. I must admit that going to Logan isn't quite as exciting as going to Seattle. We didn't play super well, but I chalked it up to such a beating in the first quarter that we just got sloppy in attempt to not humiliate them like UCLA. We got some great pizza on the way up and we bought indian drinks for the way back. Very memorable game--probably the worst officiated game I've witnessed in my life.

Bludgeoning #2

2008-10-07T12:47:00.005-06:00

Don't ask me what happened to this team. They didn't show up either. It makes me wonder if BYU is pumping some sort of funky mist into the opponent's locker room before each game so they can't even put one lowsy point on the board. Wyoming isn't traditionally terrible, but wow. They didn't show. They did end up with the closest person this year to rush over 100 yards on our defense. I think he got something like 97. This game wasn't as fun as the last game. 44-0 is great, but it got a little boring because Wyoming just isn't a team I have much of a grudge against right now. Honestly, as I was trying to remember to blog about each game, I almost forgot this one altogether. It could have also been because I didn't sit next to a cute girl, but rather with my dad. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE to do anything with my dad, but I think he'd be OK with taking a back seat to a cute girl. He's understanding like that.

UCLA Bludgeoning

2008-10-07T12:37:00.005-06:00

So, this game was interesting. I'm usually not terribly interested in utter beatdowns, but when it's a team like UCLA, I love every single stinking second of it. I think the thing that fascinated me the most was that the guy that gave the prayer asked that both teams would play to their level of preparation. I'm sure he meant it, too. So, why did we beat them 59-0? I don't know. The prayer would suggest that UCLA has never actually held a practice this season. And since I'm pretty sure that's not the case, it could also mean that BYU was just THAT much more prepared than UCLA. Was that the case? Well, perhaps it meant that this man's prayer was simply not answered the way he wanted it to be for any number of reasons. Whatever the reason, it was glorious. I also got to take a friend, Julie O'Neal, who is a new girl in the ward and she seems like quite a quality person. It was a good opportunity to get to know her better and I hope that she didn't think I was a complete freak by the end of the game. I tried hard to help her understand everything that was going on so she wouldn't be bored to tears. I think we figured out that the ROTC did around 307 pushups or something like that. And another highlight was finding a water spout by one of the vendors hanging from the ceiling so I didn't have to stand in those insufferably long lines at the drinking fountains.

2008-10-06T20:26:00.005-06:00

VS.

It's about time I blogged again about BYU Football. This game was a joke in a way. We beat them severely in so many aspects of the game--in every way except the score. And how were we rewarded? We dropped in the poles. Oh well. It was FUN! Definitely a game worth driving all the way to Seattle for. It reminded me of the good ol' days going to Seattle with Doug Call to watch European exhibition soccer games. We had a fun group of people in two cars. We stayed with relatives of Trent Boulter. We ate good food, saw cool things, we were sworn at quite a bit and BYU brought one ROCKIN' band to the stadium for our tailgate party. I couldn't believe it. Washington had quite a tailgating crowd, bigger than BYU's home tailgating crowd, but BYU's AWAY tailgaiting crowd rocked my world. I wish we had gotten there earlier for food and what not. There were a few cool things in the stadium.

First, one of their players got knocked out cold and they brought the ambulance on to the field. The cool part there of course was that he wasn't paralyzed, but at one point we heard the crowd booing and we noticed on the other side of the stadium that a woman was being held back by security. We thought it was some freak trying to steal the show and then realized the crowd was booing because it was his mother who wanted to see him. We joined in the booing and then all cheered when they decided to let her go. It was tender. I cried. Most did, I think, or at least had GREAT respect for the graveness of the circumstance. The second coolest thing was that at half time the Washington band played the Cougar Fight Song! We went nuts! I thought that was great sportsmanship and heard that they've been trying to get the BYU band to do that at our home games for the other schools and they won't. Jerks. The third cool thing was at the beginning. We thought we were sitting in the BYU section because we were surrounded by what looked to be a couple thousand cougar fans and we were proud of the support around us and all down the sidelines as far as the eyes could see there were cougar fans. Then, when the team came out, the entire other endzone (a full sized endzone compared with our endzone which was just temporary bleachers) rose and cheered. We couldn't believe it. It was like a home game practically as far as our loudness went. I estimated over ten thousand BYU fans and later heard on the news that it was just past 11,000. Wow! The End since I'm tired of typing.

BYU vs. UNI

2008-09-01T18:26:00.004-06:00

This game was nuts. It started out like the blowout we all anticipated and then during the third quarter I think we started playing like the game was over and the Panthers started playing like they were going to upset us. And while I was never really worried about winning, I was VERY worried about looking bad and not getting the kind of quality practice that I thought we ought to be getting to prepare us for other teams. I'M GOING TO WASHINGTON, BABY!! We'd better win because I get motion sickness and that's a TON of driving to do in three days and the only way I'll make it through is if we win. Go COUGS!!

Klune Industries, Inc

2008-08-18T14:23:00.003-06:00

I got a job!!! And that's a picture they have on their website.

It was a really tough choice whether to work for Klune or for O.C. Tanner. Both had high points and low points, but in the end, I felt like Klune just seemed like the better pick.

I'll actually be working for...

Klune Precision Casting produces completely machined and finished ferrous and non-ferrous castings with certification approval by major aerospace and defense prime contractors.

I would try and put that in my own words, but for now I'll just put what the website has because I haven't actually been to work yet so I can't describe it that well. I'll no doubt be talking much more about this later!!

New Clergymen

2008-08-17T08:22:00.003-06:00

Well, when you google Glen Mella, you get a picture like this of our new bishop. The changing of the guards is usually a bittersweet experience. If it's not, something is seriously wrong.

Just a day or two past his calling as our new High Councilman, I realized that this man was going to be our next bishop. I teased him about it the next Sunday and the poor guy had to play stupid for a really long time.

A tribute to our last bishopric: I've never had a better bishopric than Bishop Hunsaker, Brother Miner, and Brother Bowman. I learned a LOT during their reign. I used to think it would be hard to be a bishop, and as I thought that, I thought it would be hard in a very negative way. Granted, it is hard, but it was easy to see how these men had the types of attitudes and other godly attributes that would make it a fun hard, an exciting hard, a playful hard, and those types of hard made up for the downright ugly spiritually hard times. I love those three men and hope to keep in touch with them my whole life.

Now, armed with counselors Clark Warnick and Brad Adamson, Bishop Mella will lead the 6th Ward on to new and more exciting heights than ever before!! Whheeeeeeeeee!

Snake River Update!!!!

2008-08-13T11:21:00.004-06:00

This will probably turn out too long and boring to read, so give up now.

President Stratton of my stake presidency knew something bad was going to happen and had an uneasy feeling about our trip. He prayed about it and ended up with an assurance that nothing permanently bad would happen and that the Lord teaching his flock a lesson. He didn't tell us that until afterwards.

21,000 cfs (cubic feet per second) was the highest in 9 years. The trip wasn't too terribly scary for the first large portion of it. The worst rapids weren't until Lunch Counter. Lunch Counter doesn't sound like a very scary name until you've almost lost your life in it. After almost losing your life in it, you start to think of yourself as the lunch at Lunch Counter for the vultures after death.

There's no going around Lunch Counter. Either side of the river has swirling pools of water ready to suck you in and flip you. The only really option is to go straight up the middle which is where four consecutive large walls of water running parallel to the bank of the river are ready to flip you into either of the two swirling vortexes. None of the pictures taken really portray the horror. I'm the bottom-most person in the picture except for our river guide in case you can't tell.

We went up the middle and got through the first three large walls with much grief, but the last was just too much. It was simply bigger and faster and more furious than our raft (which is quite large and fast itself). We flipped sort of diagonally backwards and people were mostly thrown out of the raft before the raft was even halfway tipped.

People like me who can't swim, thought we were going to die. Some girls who could swim just fine thought they were also going to die because two things made it harder. First, we were covered by a huge raft and had to get out from under it. Second, if you were lucky enough to do so, you probably also had someone land on top of you and as they were struggling themselves, they were inadvertently holding you under water. Then, as you came up out of the water and started choking and swallowing and spitting and gasping, you only had one second to do so before another rapid covered you and the process started all over again.

After clearing all of the rapids, we hit a point where now we could constantly keep our heads above water. Thinking straight was still a challenge. I tuned out everyone around me. Kali Browne tried saving my life and I kept saying, "No, no, no, no, no, no." But what I meant was, "No, thank you Kali. I'd rather have just me die then both of us." Most swam to other rafts that made it through. Luckily, they did make it. I can only imagine if more than one had flipped. A raft was screaming to me to swim to them but I was ignoring them. I wanted to make it to shore. I didn't realize that it was probably a bigger chore to make it to shore than to swim to the raft.

Some well-meaning individuals threw ropes out for us to grab. This was a huge morale booster until after grabbing it and it becoming taut, we went under water and started drowning again. I let go and thought, "That was a stupid idea!" Every time I would get close to the shore, the water currents would pull me away from it and boy are they powerful. Eventually, I swam with all my might towards a tree that was overhanging the shore and I grabbed it and it flung me to shore. That was painful.

I sat there amazed about what had just happened, but then my thoughts turned to everyone else out there. I started praying my guts out. My eyes popped open for a second and I could see my garments. I followed them up my leg and realized that I didn't have any pants on. At some point, probably during the rope incident, they came off. My keys were in there so that was an unpleasant thought. One other girl got to shore at some point and she hiked to the road and walked back to the buses. The river guide also got to shore and the two of us weren't at an area where that was an option so we hiked to a raft up the river that stopped to get us. Boy did I not want to get back in--especially in garments. But I had my life, and who hasn't seen their dad walking around in garments? They were cotton so not see-through like mesh, thank heavens. Once in, Sister Miner had an extra pair of capris that I put on for modesty's sake. Ashlee South put her arm around me to keep me from shivering so badly.

We got our raft flipped back over and got back in. We missed as many rapids as possible the rest of the trip. You could tell our river guide was humbled. What I heard was that he hadn't flipped a raft in ten years and he's done some of the ugliest rivers in Zimbabwe. When we were back at the buses, we exchanged hugs, made sure we were all accounted for, and I changed the capris for some more unisex shorts that Meridith had.

No doubt there's much more to the story that's not included. I won't go into the ugly details about having to leave my car in Jackson over the weekend with all of our valuables in it and having to get a key in Pleasant Grove and then drive back later the next week costing around $450.

I think the most overwhelming part of this has just been the idea of death. Coming that close to death makes you think of the Plan of Salvation so much more deeply. I, as well as about five others, were rather traumatized by the experience and have all no doubt grown closer to the Lord because of it. But it's not just the experience itself that has helped us grow closer to the Lord. It's the fact that we're all trying to be more Christ-like as a result of the experience. That's what brings you closer to Christ. We're speaking kinder words, we're serving more often, we're taking advantage of life's blessings more generously (e.g., not wasting so much time). We grew much closer as a ward (as if we weren't already the closest ward in the world), and now we can take these experiences and carry them to others and help them to see things the way we do.

THE END (but not really because didn't die)

Job Hunt

2008-05-24T08:30:00.003-06:00

In order to bore you all to death, here's a quick look at the companies I've applied to. Companies with an asterisk are companies with whom I've interviewed. Maybe ya'll can help me with other ideas...

1. The Wencor Group
2. Nuskin
3. Power Innovations International*
4. A nameless medical manufacturer (it wouldn't give me their name on the website)
5. A world specialist manufacturer in Baltimore area (same scenario)
6. Parker Hannifin*
7. Rinchem Co.*
8. Weir Minerals Rubber Engineering*
9. Schreiber Foods
10. Austin Allen Co.
11. MRINetwork
12. Select Comfort
13. L3 Communications*
14. Compeq Manufacturing Co, Ltd.
15. Klune Industries, Inc.
16. Arlington Scientific

So, have I really applied to that many places. Perhaps not. Of those five companies who have interviewed me, only two have turned me down. I think I'm most interested in L3 Communications which will get back to me in about two weeks.

I really should work on more applications, BUT it takes more time than you might think. To make sure that you're applying for a job that you are actually truly capable of and that you are interested in them, takes some time.

It's also interesting how many people actually get back with you. This is very reminiscent of finding an internship. You can just expect that only a fourth (if you're dang luck) of the people you try to contact will contact you back. And of those, you're probably equally lucky to get a fourth of those to respond in the affirmative and not turn you down.

Search for Car/Wife/Job

2008-05-05T09:12:00.002-06:00

As many of you know, I got a Bimmer. It's fun BUT it's already broken!! I'm finding out what the damage is today. So, the car issue is still an issue.

On the girl issue, I gave a talk in church and managed not to mention dating EVEN ONCE, which no doubt shocked most of my ward. I decided that I haven't been twitterpated in a long long time and it's not because there aren't girls worthy of being twitterpated over...it's probably got more to do with me being overly analytical. And in my effort to be a more frequent covenant-making person (which is something that Brigham Young and others were adamant about), I think I've found a way to overcome this conundrum. I guess we'll see relatively soon!

And now I have a job issue. I'm glad that I'm finally getting calls and interviews. That's reassuring. Now I need to make it a matter of prayer as my patriarchal blessing encourages. Wish me luck. I need to pay for that BMW!

Search for Car/Wife

2008-03-10T11:34:00.002-06:00

So, today I decided that my search for a car parallels my search for a wife in many ways. If you're single, see if this describes well your personal search for a spouse.

First, we all want a car that looks good to us. Lucky for us, society has a collectively wide variety of what appeals to them visually (there's no accounting for taste) and surely there's a car that looks good for everyone. Unfortunately, individually, we're all sort of picky--some more than others. And the longer we're without a car (single), the more we wonder if we're too picky. Do I want a car that's big, small, nice paint job or little paint, lots of custom work or all natural?

Second, the picky thing goes for not only what a car looks like but the inner workings of the car. Does the car have too little power (energy) or too much, or does the car handle the corners of life well or will it roll easily when things aren't perfectly straight?

Third, accessories. How tricked out is the car? Most of us long for a James Bond style car. Does the car have many bells and whistles (perhaps talents)?

Fourth, how much does the car cost? This isn't just a monetary cost although that's definitely an issue. Some cars do cost a TON of money. But what about the cost in time, in worry (emotional investment), etc? Are we going to put a lot into it only to realize that your bid on eBay was just not enough. After all that work and sweat, you put in $15,000 and still didn't make the reserve price and were rejected.

I could keep going, but I've probably wasted enough time as it is. In the end, as always, the Spirit will help us. But I'm a firm believer that most of the time you have to do A LOT of good hard work and thinking before you're ready for the inspiration that you're looking for. So, onward and upward.

My Last Real Semester

2007-12-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

This is it. This is my last real semester. This is the last of my grueling manufacturing classes. I now have my Green Belt, which is a really nerdy way of saying I can apply some statistics to manufacturing. I have a job making really cool clothes that are insulated with argon. But yet, I have one more semester. One more chance before I graduate to take classes like Advanced Tennis, Ice Hockey, Intermediate Volleyball, Floral Design, Marriage Prep, and much much more. Also, I have one more shot at trying to decide where I want to go in my career. Any suggestions?

Stupidity at Sliding Rock

2007-08-11T20:00:00.001-06:00

There's a place in Alpine, UT called Sliding Rock. It's a series of gigantic rocks that are rather smooth and a large stream (small river?) runs over it (I'd guess 3 or 4 cfs). When you watch someone start at the top and start sliding down it like a waterslide, it looks violent and painful (Especially for those wearing skimpy bikinis). But I decided to try it and it wasn't painful at all. It was amazing. I would never have believed that there could be a natural rock waterslide as long as this (25 feet to 30 feet). (Maybe I'll just put this whole blog in parentheses--just remind me to close with a parenthesis. We then hiked up the stream. It was GORGEOUS, green, and heavenly. I brought a friend from Michigan who's here on an internship. She was probably weirded out by all of us mormons, but she was polite and had a good time I think. It was fun to have her, but the end of our trip was plagued by my own stupidity. On our way back down the stream hike, we got to the Sliding Rock again which was the bottom of our trip. We decided to slide down one last time and I handed her my car/house/church/anotherhouse/churchcloset/oil vial/leatherman/lock keys and told her to throw them to me once I reached the bottom. I should have just held on to them; a little water never hurt anything. I got to the pool at the bottom which was about waist high and she threw them. It wasn't a far enough throw and they slid down into the pool. They ended up right where the water plunges violently into the pool so the water was all frothy and freezing cold. You didn't want to stay in there forever. So, we took shifts trying to find the keys. It was my ONLY key and I could go on and on and on about why that would have been SO bad had we not found them but suffice it to say that by the time we reached our cars at the trailhead, somebody came running down the trail saying they found my keys. We didn't just have my group searching for them but every tattooed, smoking, bikini wearing yahoo in the territory. Someone in my group ended up finding them, but I was SO grateful to everyone who spent much time in those frigid waters risking life and limb (a slight exaggeration but a definite sacrifice) for me. I lost my other key at the bottom of the Green River two 6th Ward superactivities ago. This is already too long.)

I Hate Swimming

2007-08-04T10:48:00.000-06:00

But one thing I would LOVE to try is SCUBA diving. I mean, who wouldn't want to be greeted in the morning by the likes of this guy.

When I roomed with Doug and BJ, I was frequently greeted in such manner, except the eel has a little more color in his face. Now that I've insulted half of my readership, I think I'll end by extending the offer. If anyone want to go scuba diving (is feeling rich), let me know. I have a friend who can certify me, and we'll go shark hunting. Isn't the underwater world fascinating? It's so unknown. To me, the whole oceanic life scene is just another witness to my testimony of the gospel. The End.

7 New Wonders of the World

2007-07-23T21:33:00.000-06:00

I've always wondered exactly what my opinion on traveling is as a hobby. Would I like traveling? I would probably like the destinations quite a bit, but I probably wouldn't care much for the actual transport. Would I feel like it was justifiable? It's an expensive hobby and how many people could I be feeding for all that money? But I could ask myself that question every time I do just about ANYTHING in this society and spending money does stimulate the economy. Luckily, I've never had to worry about that sort of thing because I'm not wealthy enough for it to be an option. But what about when I'm a decamillionaire? So, while I ponder these imponderables, you just enjoy the 7 new wonders of the world. If I did decide in favor of an occasional trip, these destinations would probably rank highly.

Ancient Colosseum in Rome Italy

The Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janiero Brazil

Great Wall of China near western most point at Jiayuguan in China's northwest Gansu province

The Khazneh or treasury in Petra Jordan

The Mayan Ruins of Chichen Itza in southern Mexico

The ruins of Peru's famed Machu Picchu

The Taj Mahal in Agra India

Vote for Mitt '08!!!

2007-07-07T19:43:00.000-06:00

Question #1

So, am I a Mitt fan? Well, yes. Am I also a Rudy Giuliani fan? Well, yes. I've been to one of his speeches in person and really like the guy. Always have. My biggest question (and I would like some input here from all you patriotic people out there) is how educated should one make themselves in order to make a good judgment call. I suppose the extremes for this are complete ignorance (just thinking that Mitt's a Mormon so he'll do the best job), and complete immersion of one's self (becoming best buds with each and every candidate to know their innermost beliefs and intents). Neither one is good. I have a few other things in life I should pay attention to right now like school, work, family, church.... But at the same time I want to not only say I like Mitt, but be able to give good solid reasons that he's the Man for the Job and Hilary needs to make a good contribution to society and be a stay-at-home mother for Chelsea. Part of it, no doubt, is already being familiar with the issues which I mostly am.

Question #2

Once I've finally decided that Brother Romney (or whoever) is the right man for the job, what is the most effective way (or ways) of helping that candidate run? Sure, I just ordered my Mitt Romney bumper sticker online yesterday and gave him $25 for his campaign, but what else can I do? I could send spam or call random people. That might be as counterproductive as anything. And what do you do in a state that is already quite Republican? Should I vacation up to Oregon and preach there until the fiery brimstones start breaking through my umbrella?

Cogent Comments

2007-06-23T20:13:00.001-06:00

Here's my life's update:
1. My grandmother is making me read a book about Dealing with Differences in Marriage by Brent Barlow. Why? Because I'm having marital distress. Ha! No, rather, she just wants all of her grandchildren, married or unmarried, to know that differences in marriage are inevitable and even desireable to some degree if managed and understood properly. I'll be a marriage genius/counselor before I'm married myself.

2. I'm done with my capstone project at Pac States! As neat as that is, I now must do an internship. The capstone project was fascinating and I hope the internship is half as cool. Nothing like developing equations for determining molten iron temperature.

3. I'm studying for the GRE. I haven't taken a practice test, but some of the sample questions they give are EASY. I hope the test is like the sample questions. Why am I studying for the GRE. Reason 1: I'm a MAD masochist. Reason 2: I'm considering grad school at the Y. Yes, a masters in manufacturing technology and an MBA is a dynamite combo. I'll be the most marketable thing since canned ham.

and lastly...

4. I don't understand why Doug Call isn't a bishop yet. I thought they typically struggled for young, energetic, spiritual giants outside of the Happy Valley Bubble.

Phun with Phlebotomy

2007-06-17T21:21:00.000-06:00

I gave blood for the first time this week. It was a blast, or should a say, a squirt. I saw about 5 others from the 6th ward while I was there and a couple others were firsttimers as well. It took me 8:11. I think they all beat me. I was the one that wanted the race and everyone killed me. I told my phlebotomist about the race afterwards and she said she used a smaller vein at a funny angle on purpose. I yelled at her and told her next time we engage in venepuncture, I wanted her to stab right into the inferior vena cava. If I'm going to be egging people on, I need to give them a competition.

Bitter Defeat

2007-06-10T07:32:00.001-06:00

Well, tennis didn't go as planned. Heather and I didn't play too poorly, but I really don't think either of us played up to our potential. My serves looked like they did back in the 7th grade and I allowed myself to be intimidated on occasion. The best part was that we made visible progress. We lost our first game 3-8. We won the second game (I don't remember the score; probably 8-5) on Friday night which meant we would come back and finish the tournament on Saturday. Saturday morning we won 8-5 and then, in what I believe was the semi-finals, we lost 8-8. The tie breaker went 5-4 in their favor. The worst part was it was the same team that spanked us 8-3 the first time. I know we could have beaten them. I had so many mind-bogglingly terrible shots. But! At least we could see that we were improving as a team. Maybe if I do it again in the Fall (do they do it in the Fall?) I'll be that much more prepared. I added this particular picture, because that is exactly where I felt I was making contact with the ball. Not in the sweet spot, but rather at the tip of my racquet. I must say, I don't mean to do nothing but complain. I had a great time and really enjoyed getting to know Heather better. That's the most important aspect of any tennis match for me. It's probably also great to be humbled!

Tennis Intramurals

2007-06-05T19:01:00.000-06:00

So, it's time to dust off the ol' tennis racquet and whoop some trash. It's mixed doubles and my partner is supposedly amazing tennis player. I've never seen her play, but she can't be bad since she just won the 1st place in the women's singles Division 1 intramurals. She's a girl in my ward who I just went on a date with this weekend to the Utah Symphony. We went to Benihanas for dinner which is pretty amazing. It was a FABULOUS concert. I can't believe that there were actually a few empty seats in the crowd. You dont' get to hear Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D very often and they played Mendelssohn's Fifth which is one of my favorites (especially mvnts 1 & 4) . Definitely a magical evening. And actually the thing I liked the most was that this girl (Heather is her name), likes to think and express herself. Her conversation was full of ambition, goals, values, and she wasn't afraid to talk about the gospel as though it was a part of her everyday life. Holy Cow. I'm trying really hard not to get too twitterpated in case her fun personality and gorgeous smile was denoting nothing more than that she wasn't miserable. Hopefully I'll post again once we're tennis intramural champions together. Pray for me.

It's Electrifying!

2007-05-26T16:27:00.000-06:00

I can't wait for the Jazz game. We have to win both of these home games and at least the next one needs to be a blowout so that we stand a chance going back to San Antonio. And now that I'm posting about the Jazz, just watch them crumble tonight.

On a happier note, I finished a book. This is quite an accomplishment. Why? Because it was leisure reading. I don't think I've read anything for fun since the Boxcar Children series. The book was called "The Millionaire Mind". Basically it confirmed to me that I have a millionaire mindset. It doesn't guarantee that I'll be one, but it mean I've got a good shot at it. So, that's how I'm formulating my future. What book should I read next?

I Got an Internship!!!!!!

2007-05-20T16:31:00.000-06:00

This post goes out to Sister Taylor who is by far one of the coolest people in the world. She asked about my internship and I GOT ONE! In fact, I got two offers. And I had a really hard time turning one down since they didn't ask for an intern. I simply sent an email to Traco Packaging in Orem asking them for a position if they had one. They created one just for me after interviewing me and they never had an intern before. Unfortunately, I had already accepted one with Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe Company with whom I'm already doing my capstone project. I'll be working at PSCIPCO all summer. So I sent Traco an email asking if I could do one with them as well, but wait until the Fall Semester. We'll see what they have to say. I figure that will boost my resume even a little more if I have two internships. So I'll let you know how that goes once I get a response. I hope they don't respond saying, "We hate you and have sent hitmen out to teach you a lesson you'll never forget."

Also, Sister Taylor asked how my love life is doing. This is something I should post occasionally. I went on a blind date yesterday. I took her to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens since I'd never been and wanted to go. They are quite amazing. I'm sure they're even more amazing at other times of the year. Right now they are between blooms, but it was still GORGEOUS. I'd like to rent Segways the next time. They look like fun. The memorable part was at the end when my date broke a tester bottle of perfume. Holy Cow. The sound was loud enough to wake the dead and it's now the best smelling gift shop in the world. I guess you could say my dating life is picking up. I had been in a drought for a couple of months, but now I'm back to quite a list of girls I'm working on dating. I even got asked out by a girl in the ward. We're seeing Pirates Saturday morning. I hope it's better than the second one.

The Jazz lost today. I don't watch basketball on Sundays and when they lose I'm especially grateful I don't watch. I might not even cry myself to sleep tonight over it.

Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe Company

2007-05-12T12:55:00.000-06:00

My fellow 10 BYU capstoners and I are not professional pipe makers--in fact, we have never made a pipe in our lives--but we plan on working with PSCIPCO who has been making for over 40 years, to teach them how they can make pipe better. A daunting task? Oh my yes. On the first day we went on a plant tour and I came away laughing at they idea that we could help them at all. But after two more days of observation, I'm beginning to believe I can. The more I just sit and stare, the more I realize that...well, maybe I can't say what I want to because it could be proprietary in nature. Oh well, just rest assured that I believe we can reach our goal of saving them $500,000 in the next two months, and perhaps $2 million every year from here on out. How would THAT look on my resumé?

I wish I could take you all on a tour of the plant. It's a magical land--a land of enchantment if you will. It reminds me of the scenes where the Orks(sp?) in Lord of the Rings are down there in deep dark crevices of the earth making who knows what. There are lights in the plant, but really the only noticeable light is the orange glow of the molten iron, a few light rays penetrating the roof, and super bright flashes of blinding white light coming from when they add magnesium to the molten iron. All of the workers (myself included) look as scary as Orks and probably
smell worse when we come out of there. If any of you have questions on how to cast YOUR pipes better, give me a call. I'm cheap. I work for pizza.

Liar Liar Pants On Fire

2007-05-10T17:42:00.000-06:00

What is a lie? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a lie as "an untrue statement made with the intent to decieve." So, Rocky Anderson keeps saying that Bush has lied to the American people. If he did, then so did a lot of other politicians at the time, and they should all be impeached (or perhaps just drug out into the street and shot). But we can't prove Bush's intent. How do you do that?!?! You would have to assume that if "X" number of people advised him about a certain action, and he went against that advice, that he was lying. And that's a huge assumption.

Rocky Anderson (I shudder every time I use those words) also keeps saying that Bush misrepresented the American people. Now, that's fine. There is a BIG different between misrepresenting the American people and lying even though he seems to use them synonymously. But is misrepresenting the American people even a bad thing? It certainly isn't impeachable. A quick parable.

I look at it this way. A democratic family takes a safari. The kids want to go roll around in the mud with the crocodiles. The parents say "No." The kids get mad and yell at them for misrepresenting them. The parents don't give in. Is this a good thing?

Bush has more access to more information than any of us could dream of, and more than that, certainly to his dismay much of it contradicts itself. The sources of information have biases of their own. His is a job for which I have respect. Sometimes I think the American people are, in general, a bunch of whiny, cowardly, and uninformed bawl-babies. So, do I really care if Bush misrepresents the majority of the American people? Certainly not if it's truly what he thinks is right and he seems to be a good person. If we could prove that he was far from the Spirit through sexual immorality or other acts, then I would say perhaps misrepresention is questionable.

Internships & Marriage

2007-04-08T09:04:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to work the system. That is, if I can sign up and pay for my internship during Spring semester when I'm already taking a class I can save $374. Why because that's how much I save by not signing up for both a parttime Spring and fulltime Summer semester. So, I don't know when the deadline is for Spring registration, but I'm feeling the pressure. I suppose that getting an internship is like getting married. If you don't ask, you won't get a "yes" or a "no". And it very well may take a whole lot of "no's" before you get a "yes", so you'd better start asking like CRAZY!!!

This One Goes Out to All You Ladies Out There

2007-03-31T20:44:00.000-06:00

For all you lovely ladies who didn't go to the Priesthood Session of General Conference, to you I say, "You missed out!" Sure, you'll be able to read all the talks when they come out. And at least three of them were repeats of past talks. But the part you'll perhaps never witness was the closing number by the BYU choir. I can literally say I've never heard a more beautiful song in my life. I've heard a few that were perhaps as beautiful, but that was shear exhileration. It was Sibelius' tune Be Still My Soul. A few times they all hit the same note so well that it sounded like one singer. It was a capella. I was blown away. You could tell that everyone who stuck around for the closing hymn (a lot of doughheads leave after President Hinckley closes) was so amazed that you could hear a pin drop on the carpet. I pray they'll do that number again before I die. Maybe at my funeral.

Other news. I might be done with school in December. Yea. Now I can be a miserable contributing member of society. I make an end of mine epistle.

Student Advisory Committee

2007-03-24T19:20:00.000-06:00

The SAC (just like the BYUSA:)) has lots of great ideas to help transform BYU into a more friendly and accomodating university. And many of them are very feasible: ideas such as building a force field around campus to protect us from the elements, and installing automatic door openers on every door on campus. I have a suggestion to go along with theirs.

I've wanted a climbing wall installed. And to go along with that idea, why not just put those fake stones all up the corners of the Kimball Tower? The corners of the SWKT are indented which means you could have eight walls in all and all you would have to do is add those stones for some easy routes, and add a few slabs of plywood for a more advanced climb. It would take some time to climb around 15 stories (or however tall that building is), which means the lines might be akin to those at Disneyland (I hate that place (or at least I say I do--it's not that bad)). So to lessen the lines, you could do what Lagoon does and charge a fee to wait in line and then another fee to climb a particular wall. That way, the wall will pay for itself and more. What's best is the fact that you have billions of burgeoning nurses in that building just waiting to pick up your pieces and glue them back together. What do you say? Is that SAC material or what?

Frustration

2007-03-18T19:49:00.000-06:00

I'm feeling frustrated. There's too much to do in life and half of it is WASTE!!!!

The Spawn of Allison

2007-03-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

That's right! Allison and Chris have just announced the future conception of Whirlwind number 3. I don't believe it has a name yet because they don't know the gender, but no doubt it will be a great name like Shear-Jashub or Maher-shalah-hash-baz. Didn't Isaiah have good taste in names?

Speaking of biblical (or bookofmormonical things), I learned new stuff from reading Jacob 5 again. I'd highly recommend it. It's amazing. It's the shortest 77 verses of your life.

My internship woes are weighing more and more heavily on me as time goes on. The thing that almost makes it worse than dating is that there's an actual deadline. Although, on the plus side, once I get one, I'll understand what I'm supposed to do. Hmmmm....

I'm going to go watch the U.S. Amateur Dancesport Championships now while you all won't. But maybe you'll all get to see the championship BYU basketball game tonight. They'll both be good. IT'LL BE MARCH MADNESS SOON! WHOOOPEEEEEE!

Pinky & the Brain

2007-03-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

I have to start this blog with the best news of perhaps my life. I was given Volume 1 for Valentines Day. It's hard to believe that I haven't watched all 4 DVD's yet, but I've almost seen 3 of them and I'm loving every minute of it. I often wonder why I love it so much. Probably because they (Pinky and the Brain) represent opposite ends of spectra of which I'll never be a part. I've always held a staunch philosophy that most of the time (certainly not all of the time) there is a perfect middle-o'-the-road way of going about things. But it doesn't mean I don't enjoy the antics of Pinky and the megalomaniacal endeavors of the Brain.
So, what's new in the life of CTMJ? Well, in school I'm building things. Yes, I'm practicing how to become an actual contributing member of society. My dad wants a trellis for his garden to make it that much more beautifuller, so I'm going to create the nicest trellis this world has ever seen as I have mastered the fine art of Tungsten Gas Arc Welding (or TIG). I bought $40 worth of steel that is now rusting outside of the Crabtree building. I'll laugh if no one steals it.

I also have to do a Plastics project so I thought I'd make myself a couple pair of snowshoes. Unfortunately, the aluminum alloy I want to make them with will cost about $100. Is it worth it? Am I really going to find time go snowshoeing? Am I really going to find that special someone who cares about me enough to traverse a trecherous mountainside and then turn their bodies into a projectile on the way back down?

I need an internship. Anybody got one for me? I have got mad skillz; for instance, yesterday I cleaned my bedroom without incident. I'd like to see YOU clean my bedroom with or without incident.

The last crazy thing I'm attempting to tackle is to play Flight of the Bumblebee on my viola. I looked for a copy at the MAD Library so I could listen to it before I played it and we didn't have it. But what we did have, and I should have guessed, was a rendition by the tuba. I don't know much about playing the tuba except that you probably need substantial lung capacity as well as lips with wickedly well-oiled hinges. Maybe I should switch instruments. My lips need to be doing something if they aren't kissing girls.

When I started this post I thought I had some cool things to say. Now I know I was wrong. Wait! Yes! I went to my friend Lexi's wedding reception. Never in my wildest dreams did I think wedding reception could be so amazing. It was the first time in my life using valet parking. The country club was gorgeous and my favorite part--THERE WAS NO LINE! I hate lines. People were just mixing, mingling, and enjoying whatever with whomever. Brilliant. It was also great to see the whole Maxwell family. Most of the time I see bits and pieces of the family. Lexi looked absolutely gorgeous of course. And their whole family looked happy unlike so many other weddings I've been to where the look on their faces say "Am I at a funeral or a wedding?" My only complaint was that I was too stupid for words and took my date out to eat before the wedding so I couldn't eat any of the food they had. It looked better than most 5 star restaurants. I'll be kicking myself forever.

My sister Ashley is next. I begged and pleaded that she use them as an example of how to do a good wedding, but my mom insists on having a line (of which I refuse to be part) and Ashley said she would rather start her marriage out with a decent couch and living room chairs rather than feed people something other than what elephants get at the circus. Oh the tradeoffs. I offered to do the food so it might be better than that, but I can only do so much for 350 people and a budget of $12. Bah humbug.

It's Flu Season!

2007-01-10T16:41:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to wash your hands!

Childhood Memories

2007-01-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

You probably woke up this morning and said to yourself, "I wonder what's new with Charles lately. I wish he had a blog I could go read." Trouble yourselves no more as I will now answer all of your life's questions.

Life got interesting when I was selling one of my textbooks to a fellow BYU student. His name conjured up intrigue. I asked him if he was from Orem and perhaps attended Geneva Elementary as a young lad. Sure enough, Jared Bristow used to play soccer and chase girls on the same playground where I used to play soccer and get in fights with people whom I offended by calling them off-color names like "bub". I can already tell I'm forgetting a lot in life because there aren't too many things I remember vividly about my Geneva Elementary days. I hope that the roughly 85% of my brain that scientists claim I'm not using is storing all of those memories in high definition.

The only other thing this week that has been on my mind has been whether or not to live at home. BJ thinks I need an exit strategy. Apparently some girls are so misguided as to think that if someone is 26 and living at home, that MUST mean that he has no ambition, lacks the ability to take care of himself, and sends polonium-laced letters to retirees. So far my exit strategy is to stay the course stay the course stay the course. And like the Iraqi situation, my exit will no doubt include nuclear warheads. I welcome any and all comments about nice, cheap, close-to-BYU housing where I might also have clean roommates who don't think that a good time consists of playing Playstation XVIICIM for 9 hours every day and don't date.

Testing, testing, 1,2,3

2006-12-31T22:40:00.000-07:00

This is just to see if I'm competent to run one of these. Whether or not I will in the future is completely unforeseeable as I hate feeling like I'm wasting time. But I suppose future masses will demand that genius like my own be indelibly etched into the hard drives of today for the inspiration of tomorrow. A word about the title--I noticed that Doug Call named his blog Land of Wind and Ghosts. This imitation was not intended; rather, I felt as though it needed a name that conjured up childhood notions of perfection, joy, and excitement. And what better substance with which to fill Land of Enchantment than talk of BYU Football. This blog could have monumental success as long as I feel it continues to be worth my time (which has MASSIVE opportunity cost). I bid thee adieu.