The List

It all started the first Sunday of the year when I decided to write a list of all the things I wantto do this year. They aren't goals that will make me a better person, just new adventures that I want to accomplish and thought, "Why not this year?" So I made that list and then started thinking of other things I wanted to do but wouldn't be able to fit into this year. I wanted to be able to remember what those things were so I started making a list. I didn't list these things in any particular order, just as they came to mind. And before I knew it I was at number seventeen and thought, "Okay, I'll try and get to twenty." By that time I only had five lines left on the page so I thought "Alright, I'll fill the page." And now I have myself a little bucket list.


Things I Want to Do Before I Die...

1. ride in a hot air balloon

2. take a trip to the Outback in Australia

3. go back to New Zealand

4. ride in a helicopter

5. ride a horse on the beach

6. see "Rigoletto" in Italy

7. visit all 50 states

8. design/create a cake with fondant

9. drive a semi-truck

10. go skydiving

11. join the Peace Corps

12. sleep in a sleep car on a passenger train

13. go to Vegas and walk the strip

14. do an amusement part tour back east

15. go hunting at least once

16. go to Greece

17. walk the beaches of Normandy

18. take a picture of the Swiss Alps

19. go back to Gettysburg

20. snow mobile through Yellowstone National Park

21. learn how to use the foot pedals on the organ

22. drive a stick shift without assistance

23. read the Book of Mormon in one month or less

24. drive a convertible

25. be in a taping of "The Price is Right"


So from that list...

Things I Want to Do This Year:

1. go skydiving (any takers? seriously? I'm not kidding so don't mess with me)

2. sleep in a sleep car on a passenger train (hopefully to a state I haven't been to before)

3. possibly get letters of recommendation for the Peace Corps (this depends on timing)


Things I Want to Do This Year That Aren't On My "Bucket List":

1. visit Colette in Wisconsin again

2. move (I really don't like my current house)

3. go on a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon (which has been planned but not yet paid for)

4. buy my own snow mobile helmet with goggles (visors are AWFUL)

Anti-Closure

Lately I've had issues with the endings of movies. Specifically chick flicks. They all end the same way. They always end up together. It's the traditional pattern for a Hollywood chick flick. Haven't we gotten to the point where we don't even need the last three minutes of the movie? Don't we know they end up together? Can't we just use our imagination and end it ourselves?

Let me give you some examples...and don't worry I won't be ruining anything if you haven't seen the movie yet because you already know they are going to end up together. It's Hollywood.

Notting Hill: William Thacker finds Anna Scott at the press conference and tells her he's reconsidered her offer of love-"I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her." She then tells the reporters that she's going to stay in the U.K. indefinitely. Movie DONE! We don't need to see them going to awards ceremonies together and ending up on a bench in a park. She said she was going to stay indefinitely so we know they are going to get together. Use a little imagination and come up with your own ending!

Serendipity: Sarah and Jonathan find each other at the skating rink in Central Park. They embrace, they kiss, they cry. You really think they AREN'T going to end up together? They've spent the entire movie trying to find each other. Seeing them drink champagne in the department store is unnecessary.

Leap Year: Declan asked Anna "If the fire alarm went off and you had 60 seconds to grab something before running out, what would you take?" She didn't have an answer at the moment. Further into the movie she pulls the fire alarm during her engagement party and realizes she doesn't own anything she'd want to take with her. OBVIOUSLY she has a realization that she's engaged to the wrong guy and has to go back to Dublin to reunite with Declan. Why do we need to watch her return to Dublin and tell Declan that she really wants to be with him? We already know, thanks to the Chick Flick Formula, that they are going to be together. The movie should have ended at the fire alarm.

Now allow me to present a couple of examples with endings that I approve of...

My Best Friend's Wedding: Jules thinks she's in love with her best friend so she tries to stop the wedding. It doesn't work out and her best friend ends up marrying someone else anyway. Some may find this ending a little depressing because Jules ends up with no one but a gay friend (literally). Hollywood did it right with ending it right there. We don't need to see her end up with the man of her dreams a few years down the road. We get to use our imaginations! Maybe she ends up an old maid because she has issues with the "ucky love stuff". Maybe she gets over these issues because she meets the man of her dreams. Who knows? Who cares? The point is cheesy closure just isn't necessary.

Groundhog Day: It's finally February 3rd and Phil wakes up with Rita. There's no cheesy marriage proposal, there's no "1 year later", it's just "Let's live here!" and DONE. PERFECT ENDING! Now (if I desire to think about the movie AFTER it's over) I can picture them getting married or moving into their new house in Punxsutawny, PA, etc. The possibilities are endless because Hollywood didn't tell me what happened.

What is comes down to is this: I don't need closure when it comes to a chick flick. I know they are going to be together and I know they are going to be happy. Cheesy proposals, corny lines referencing something earlier in the movie ("Let's bet on it."), and weddings of supporting characters are superfluous. Hollywood should save themselves a little money and save me a little time by just cutting out the last couple of minutes.

So let's practice this no-closure-use-your-imagination thing: I'm 23, as single as single gets, graduated from college, working a full-time teaching position, counting the Sundays until I can move out of this ward...

The History of the Cardboard Regatta

Three summers ago I experienced my first Cardboard Regatta. We had at least two weeks to put our boats together. Our only resources were cardboard, duct tape, and the engineers in our ward. We came up with some pretty good stuff! Our first summer we only had one boat to race against and we won, without a doubt.

Cardboard Regatta 2007
48th Ward

My first cardboard boat




Getting ready to launch. My boat was the far one.




Paddling in for the win.

We had another regatta just a year later with the same ward, same resources. This boat was built even sturdier. We didn't have another ward to race against so we raced against some fellow wardies in an inflatable raft.

Cardboard Regatta 2008
48th Ward

Our sturdy structure

Ready to launch

Paddling to the other side

This year we had duct tape and cardboard. No engineers and not nearly as much time. We were split into four groups and were expected to construct a cardboard boat within a couple of hours. We were without engineers in our group and so we were left to our own experience, which was limited. I didn't have anything to do with the designs of the boats from the last two years and I couldn't even remember what they had looked like. We sure didn't come up with much.

Cardboard Regatta 2009
16th Ward

Our poorly designed boat/raft.
We did layer the bottom with LOTS of cardboard but it still didn't do much for us.

For some strange reason (probably because people are nice), Andrea and I had been receiving lots of compliments on our boat (more like a raft) and were feeling pretty confident about this race.

Our original plan for the win: I would paddle and she would be the motor.




Our plan quickly failed.




We resorted to my pulling the front while doing the side stroke and Andrea still being the motor.

When I could finally touch, we just pulled the boat to shore.

Needless to say, we came in last. But we finished! So I hyperventilated half of my way across first dam. Not only was my body working harder than normal, but I was trying to breathe in freezing cold water. My lungs were definitely not pleased with me. I wanted to quit but Andrea wouldn't have it! We actually came up with a great gospel parallel but that's for another day.

My favorite part is that as we were leaving the house before the race Andrea asked if we were going to get wet. "No!" I said, almost insulted. "We'll be totally fine. I've done this for two years and stayed completely dry." Whoops!

Completely soaked

The moral of the story: have engineers in your group and give yourselves a little more than a couple of hours to complete your project. Oh, and a motivator like Andrea.

Life After College

After completing and incredible student teaching experience in Hamilton, New Zealand, I graduated from Utah State University in May. Upon my return to the States, after experiencing a glimpse of paradise, I expected everything to be bliss. I'd graduate from college, find myself a job-in Logan (I was adamant about a Logan job)- and everything would work out wonderfully. Instead I was bombarded with real life. I shouldn't ever have expectations like that. I mean really...who do I think I am to have things work out so easily?

The supportive parents-Thanks for the help with tuition and New Zealand!




The supportive grandparents-Thanks for the help with tuition!



The supportive sibs

I graduated and moved to a different house and started working for Logan City. Things were going smoothly until I started going home a lot. It felt like all of my conversations with my parents were about my future. "What are you going to do about insurance? Where are you going to look for a job? You know you need to keep your options open and you shouldn't limit yourself to Logan." I could almost quote these conversations word for word on my way TO Idaho Falls, before they even happened. I just wasn't that worried about it all. With my luck, I wouldn't find a teaching position but Logan City would offer me a full time job in the fall and I'd be happy with a job I loved and benefits to take care of me.

Suddenly it was June and I had partially filled out two applications and checked job openings about ten times. "Things will just happen. I don't need to worry. I'll get a job. I don't think I need all of this effort." This was a scare mentality now that I think about it. Again, who am I to think I'm so invincible? I was happily mowing for Logan City when I received a voicemail one day from the principal. "Hi. This is the principal from Logan River Academy. I got your name and phone number from the University. I hear you're looking for a PE position and we'd like you to come in for an interview."

I was in shock! I didn't fill out an application. PE jobs are nonexistent in this valley. HE found ME. So I called him back. And I got an interview. And I felt good about the interview. And then I remember him saying that it's a year round school and he would need me to start as soon as possible. And then I got a second interview. And then I hoped I didn't the job. And then I did get offered the job. And then I was in emotional turmoil. And I cried and worried. A lot. I didn't want to quit my current job. I liked the idea of mowing lawns better than molding minds. If I screwed up while mowing, the grass would fix itself and it would all be okay. If I screwed up a child, well that's not an easy fix. But I jumped in with both feet and I took the job.

So now I teach all the health classes and all the PE classes. And I love it. It's definitely not mowing lawns, but it provides some good laughs and some great experiences. There is life after college!

My students are a little rough around the edges. Some have been to detention centers. Some of them were court ordered to LRA. Most were woken up in the middle of the night by an escort, with or without handcuffs, that said "You're leaving, and you're leaving now." And off they went to begin a new era in a treatment center. And here I am, educating them during their treatment. I have a lot of students who had drug problems, I have a couple of students that have OCD, some students with anger management issues, and some students with all of the above. Most of them are boys, some of them are girls. But just like every other high school student, they have an excuse to not change into PE clothes and to not participate in class.

This job has its challenges, for sure. But this job also has insurance, and a salary, and experience that I couldn't get anywhere else. And so I'm not mowing and I'm not outside everyday, but I'm happy. And not every college graduate can claim as much.

Keep Your Head Down

I only have a few minutes so instead of blogging about my wonderful weekend I'll just share a thought. I went golfing on Saturday with my brothers. It's a new thing I'm trying to pick up and the first lesson I've learned is that golf is an inconsistent sport. If you're looking for some consistency in life and you want to try something new, don't try golf. You'll feel like your skills are superb one day and you'll start throwing clubs the next. The second lesson I learned is the point of this blog. Maybe it's far fetched, but I like it.

We were on the third hole. It was a short hole and the last one was really bad so I thought, "Great. This is my chance to do pretty well. I can make it to the green in just a few strokes." I swung and it was crap. I swung again and it was crap. Justin said "You can't pick up your head. If you pick up your head, the whole thing goes to pot." I responded with, "You just can't anticipate great things in this game can you?" I then took that line and turned it into something more and applied it to my life because thinking is what I do.

Sometimes in life we need to look up and see the whole picture or the entire golf course. We need to see everything before us and look at the possibilities that lie ahead and have an eternal perspective. Then we need to look at the hole we're currently on, or the stage of life that we're currently in and evaluate what needs to be done there. At each hole there are tasks to perform to get us to our goal for that stage of life, which can be likened unto each shot we take to get closer to the hole. Here's the most frustrating part. We get so excited about reaching our ultimate goal that we pull our heads up to look at the results when really we need to keep our heads down to finish the task at hand. Even when you pick up your head the task gets completed; but if you don't follow through all the way with the best that you know how it might take even longer to reach your goal.

The moral of my story is this: Don't anticipate great things. Expect great things because they definitely can and will happen, but don't anticipate them. Anticipation is distracting. Focus on the task at hand, follow through, and look how much closer you are to the ultimate goal. Then take a look at the big picture and measure your progress.

So get out there and enjoy the rest of the golf season before the cold comes. Just remember to keep your head down.

Mahmeeseetuh

Mamacita,

Just wanted to give you a shout out and thank you for all you've done. I want you to know how grateful I am that you were born 23 years ago :) and how grateful I am that of all the babies in the nursery Grandma and Grandpa picked you. Without you I'd probably still be on earth somewhere with some family but I would look different, I would be different, and my family would be different...and I'm glad that's not the way it is. So thanks Mom for choosing Dad and having me and being amazing. Your example has led the way for me through the years. I appreciate your enthusiasm for life. I just want to highlight one particular thing today in your honor: she plans her work and works her plan. She accomplishes the things she sets her mind to and always follows through with what she says she's gonna do. What a wonderful lady.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Follow-Up

For those who were curious about how my blind date turned out...it turned out the same way they always do. We had a good time and he said he'd call again sometime. But don't worry, I didn't get my hopes up. I've learned that boys aren't truthful at the doorstep. Instead of being honest and not saying anything at all they get word vomit and say things they don't mean like "I'll call you again sometime." So it was another date that turned out the same way as all the rest; but I'll not be deterred from giving anything a shot. Anyone care to throw another one my direction?