2 Years till we're whole again

My little brother Mike just left to go on a mission for the LDS church yesterday. He is going to Honduras and it seemed like he was really excited. I hope he has a great experience. My mission wasn't "the best two years." It was more like "three terrible months preceding a year and a half of complete misery." Hopefully Mike's experience is like a million times better than mine.

I'm actually heading off to bed right now. I just wanted to throw up a post before I did. You see, I have work M-F at 6:00 a.m.! Yep. I'm working again. Some of you may not have known this, but I've been on an extended vacation since the first of May when I quit my job at the blood bank. It's been fun, but it's also left me feeling a little . . . unproductive. I personally think it's quite an accomplishment for me to also live for 3 months without any income. Hopefully I'll never be in a position where I have to do that, but it's actually been a good experience.

Anyways, I'm now at Dell and just started last Monday. I'll be working as a remote technical support agent. It's actually really interesting and I'm learning a ton. Well, I should get some shut-eye as I've got another A+ certification exam tomorrow.

See Ya!

Having a good day

When I woke up this morning, I realized that today was a good day. Nothing special happened. I just felt like it was and so it was. I think I'm going to do this a lot more often. Both the blogging and the good daying. Lots o' stuff to talk about so why not? Because I'm lazy! Well, I'll be fixing that.

Things to look forward to hearing about:

My new job!
My new apartment!
My new outlook on life! (still in the developmental stage)
Success in a competitive Magic tournament -- LOL, I'm a total nerd :)
Success in a MMA tournament -- yeah that's right!
Success in the girlfriend department -- no, that didn't happen. But hey, we're still best friends!
I lost 30 pounds -- yeah, this was not intentional. I'm gonna try to get like 20 of them back.

I'm excited! Are you?

5 Years Ago

5 Years Ago (2003)

1) How old were you?
18

2) Where did you go to school?
Alta High

3) Where did you work?
Trendwest

4) Where did you live?
Mom and Dad's

5) Where did you hang out?
Laura's house and the theatre room

6) Did you wear contacts?
20/10 far and near :P

7) Who were your best friends?
The Drama Girls

8) How many tattoos did you have?
Does henna count?

9) How many piercings did you have?
None

10) Did you drive a car?
Had my white Escort

11) Had you been to a real party?
What's a "real party" . . . guess not.

12) Had you had your heart broken?
Hmmm . . . just about every day.

13) Were you Single/Taken/Married/Divorce?
Have you seen the Notebook? Yeah, Laura and I were the inspiration for that film/novel.

14) Any Kids?
Nope

***2 years ago(2006)***

1) How old were you?
21

2) Where did you go to school?
BYU

3) Where did you work?
National Guard - Combat Medic, First Med Urgent Care - MA

4) Where did you live?
Provo

5)Where did you hang out?
Christie Sue's House

6) Did you wear glasses?
Still 20/10

7) Who were your best friend(s)?
Christie Sue, Her family, Her Roomates, Jeff, and of course, The Drama Girls

8) How many tattoos did you have?
None

9) How many piercings did you have?
None

10) What car did you drive?
My Green Honda Civic EX fully loaded . . . loved that car!

11) Had your heart broken?
Nope. I was more in love with Sue than ever.

12) Were you Single/Taken/Married/Divorced?
Christie Sue's Body, Heart, Mind, and Soul

13) Any Kids?
Yeah right, nope.

***Today/2008***

1) How old are you?
23

2) Where do you work?
Mountain Star Blood Services - Phlebotomist

3) Where do you live?
Provo - The Crestwood

4) Do you wear glasses?
Still better than perfect vision, athough I am slightly colour blind

5) Who is/are your closest friend(s)?
The Kadish Family, Christie Sue, and The Drama Girls (love 'em all!)

6) Do you talk to your old friends??
Heck Yes! They're still awesome and way supportive (The Drama Girls).

7) How many piercings do you have?
None

8) How many tattoos?
Two

9) What kind of car do you have?
My ol' reliable white Mazada Protege..

10) Has your heart been broken?
Yeah, pretty badly too. I'm done with relationships for a long time. I don't think I want to fall in love again.

11) Single/taken/married/divorced?
Alone

12) Any Children?
Just Nieces and Nephews for now

(I was just kidding about the tatoos)

Friday Night

Friday night my dad almost died. He has trouble swallowing due to a recent neck surgery and when taking his medications he ended up getting several of the pills stuck in his trachea. He was only able to say a few words to my mom before he started wheezing and then stopped breathing. She called 911 and started freaking out. I had gone out with my brother to get food so I wasn't there to help. When the parmedics arrived, my dad had some weird orange froth in his mouth and was still wheezing and aspirating the froth. They took him to two different hospitals before they could find a lung specialist who could help him. My mom had called me on the way to the hospital, but it was 5 hours later before I even knew if my dad was alright. I really love my dad and this was incredibly stressful.

What was most annoying is how everyone I was with kept commenting on how it was sad that this was ruining my birthday. It bothered me that they felt a need to say that. My mom even was apologizing for it. I know they had good intentions, but I didn't care about my birthday at all at that point. It didn't matter. I just wanted my dad to be okay.

As a Child

As a child, it seemed so simple;
Every step was clearly marked.
Priesthood, mission, sweetheart, temple;
Bright with hope I soon embarked.
But now I have become a man,
And doubt the promise of the plan.

For the path is growing steeper,
And a slip could mean my death.
Plunging upward, ever deeper,
I can barely catch my breath.
Oh, where within this untamed wild
Is the star that led me as a child?

As I crest the shadowed mountain,
I embrace the endless sky;
The expanse of heaven's fountain
Now unfolds before my eye.
A thousand stars shine on the land,
The chart drafted by my own hand.