ESPN College Game Day comes to Provo, Utah (brought to you by Home Depot)

I was shocked to read that ESPN Game Day was coming to Provo to do their morning show before the BYU vs TCU game.

Granted both teams are ranked but the game will be on Versus and not on ESPN. In fact, the MWC even spurned ESPN and created their own network. So why is ESPN doing this? I think it is because this is the only ranked game of the week. I looked at the college football schedule and this is it. http://espn.go.com/college-football/schedule/_/week/8 There are no other games of interest going on that week. Well I guess we got to take what we can take. If it takes a loser week of football games for ESPN to come to Provo, then I guess that is good for BYU football. I sure hope we don't screw it up and lose like we did against Florida State. Good Luck Cougars!

BTW, I use this old BYU Logo because it is the one I grew up with and love. I just cannot accept the logo. I know it has been years but it is just not right.

What has been on my mind lately!

1. Obama wins the Noble Peace prize - What is up with that? He just started the job. They gave it to him for his potential not his accomplishments. Alfred Noble must be rolling in his grave right now. I also think he was given the prize because the is not George Bush. Bill Clinton deserves this more than Obama. What is up with those Norwegians, they are crazy!
2. Creigh Deeds - I am so sick and tired of his commercials. If I hear one more time about how many bills McDonald sponsored that restricted a woman's right to choose, I am going to go crazy. All he is try to do is scare women into not voting for McDonald. He has no concrete plans and all he can do is focus on a thesis paper written years ago. I am not surprised that McDonald is winning the state election so far. Glad to see Virginia is going to have a Republican Governor again.
3. This lady on my bus to work - She is so coordinated it is crazy. She has rings, ear rings, bracelets, necklaces, sweaters and coats that all match. So far I have seen her in Green, Red and maybe Orange. I am interested to see what else this woman has. It is unbelievable, she must have cleaned out one store of all of its stock.
4. Work - I have been so busy it is crazy. But I am glad to have a job and keeping busy.

Home Depot: Don't believe them!

When Home Depot tells you, you can do it with their help, don't believe them! Home Depot said I could paint the walls of my apartment using a paint sprayer, boy were they wrong. Painting my apartment before my move was a horrible experience. I got paint everywhere (body, hair, clothes and plastic covering the floor) and this paint sprayer did not cover as well as I thought (see examples). I should have just used a paint roller.

Anyway, if Home Depot tells you you can do it, they are wrong. You really cannot, hire someone, that is my next plan. What a bad experience.

On a brighter note the carpet cleaner I bought worked wonderful. That thing really did clean well. I plan on using it again :)

New Apartment in Arlington, VA

We signed the lease today. Here are some pics of the new place. I am so excited to be back in VA. The air feels fresher!

The outside of the building

Living Room

Dining Room




Kitchen


Bedroom

Random Info!

To continue my post on idiots at self check-out, I found another reason why these people should not be using this feature at grocery stores. I was buying salad today and got into the self check-out line. There was a huge sign covering the bill taker stating Debit and Credit ONLY, no cash. The guy in front of me was shocked, after scanning all his food, that he could not pay by cash. Come on buddy, could you not read the sign. Granted he was a late teenager/early 20 something but that sign was pretty obvious. Because of his stupidity, he had to wait for the clerks to come fix his mistake. These kind of people should not be using self check-out.

After reading one of my favorite blogs, www.foodnetworkaddict.blogspot.com, and his subsequent tweet about CVS that I realized I had not blogged about how horrible CVS really is. They have tags everywhere in their stores that say WOW, as if it is on sale, when in all reality it is not on sale. These tags are easily mistaken for their actual sales tag. It is the most deceitful advertising ever. I got to figure out how to report them. Ugh I hate CVS!

Okay that is it for now, but to random bits of info.

Wow!

So in my last post about 10 days ago, I had had my bad passport experience. Well today you will never guess what came today . . . .










My freaking passport. Who would have guessed. I was so shocked, I never knew they could process it so fast. I cannot complain about the U.S. State Department now, they did such a fast job. BTW, I never asked for expedited service. I am just speechless.

What a day

So it has been a while since I last posted but nothing exciting happened to me until today and boy what a day it was.

1. Since I work in International Education and I was going to Canada on vacation, I thought it might be a good idea to finally get my passport renewed. It had been 15 years since I got my last passport (I was just 18 and boy did I look bad). So I went to the State Department's website to fill out an application and got all the necessary information. This is from the travel.state.gov
   
   STEP 1: Complete and Submit Form DS-11: Application For A U.S. Passport
   Complete Form DS-11: Application for a U.S. Passport. To submit Form DS-11, you:
   Must apply in person at an Acceptance Facility or Passport Agency
   Must include the additional documentation required by Form DS-11 (See Steps 2-5)
   Must not sign the application until instructed to do so by the Acceptance Agent
   Must provide your Social Security number
   
   STEP 2: Submit Evidence of U.S. Citizenship
   When applying for a U.S. passport in person, evidence of U.S. citizenship must be submitted with Form DS-11. All documentation submitted as citizenship evidence will be returned to you. These documents will be delivered with your newly issued U.S. passport or in a separate mailing.
   Primary Evidence of U.S. Citizenship (One of the following):
   Previously issued, undamaged U.S. Passport, Certified birth certificate issued by the city, county or state* Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth Naturalization Certificate Certificate of Citizenship
   *A certified birth certificate has a registrar's raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal, registrars signature, and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office, which must be within 1 year of your birth. Please note, some short (abstract) versions of birth certificates may not be acceptable for passport purposes. NOTE: If you do not have primary evidence of U.S. citizenship or your U.S. birth certificate does not meet the requirements, please see Secondary Evidence of U.S. Citizenship.
   
   STEP 3: Present Identification
   When applying for a U.S. passport in person, acceptable identification must be presented at the time of application.
   Primary Identification (One of the following):
   Previously issued, undamaged U.S. passport Naturalization Certificate Valid Driver's License Current Government ID (city, state or federal) Current Military ID (military and dependents)
   
   I completed DS-11 and went to the post office with the necessary documents (completed application, 2 photo's, my previous passport and my Maryland drivers license along with payment). I was shocked when I got the post office and they they could not help me because I did not have my birth certificate. NOWHERE on the website does it say I NEED my birth certificate. I then called the toll free number and they said due to 9/11 and after June 1, the U.S. State Department requires more information for passports. I totally understand the need for more security but I did as the website and application said. This is very misleading and frustrating. Now I have to go back to the passport office, with my birth certificate (thank goodness I got it from my parents) to get this completed.
2. For some reason I kept spelling photos with an apostrophe. I even sent out an e-mail to 250 people with photo's spell like this, ugh that was bad
3. I guess I had been taking the S9 express bus too much but I forgot how bad the regular bus is to take. When I got on the S4, the bus was packed. At one stop these two women decided that myself and the other 20 or 30 people packed in front of me were not moving fast enough and had to push their way through the crowd to the back of the bus. I was shocked. Come on ladies, wait a second give us all a chance to move, you will get a chance to sit down in due time.

Anyway, what a day. I hope you all had a better day than me :)

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone out there has a Happy 4th of July! There is nothing like celebrating our country's independence by blowing stuff up. I am going to get some KFC and watch fireworks. Anyway, Happy 233rd Birthday USA!

KFC/Taco Bell was at DEF-CON 5 last night

Okay, so on Wednesdays I try to do laundry and while my clothes are washing I run across the street and go to KFC/Taco Bell. Well last night was a unique night at the KFC, I have never seen so many strange, angry, upset, unsatisfied and just plain honery (sp?) customers. People were complaining, turning food back, running out, getting impatient, it was crazy. One lady asked for a "fresher" Frutista Freeze, I am sorry, but when you go to KFC/Taco Bell, fresh food does not come to mind. We are all looking for fried, greasy food. Was it a full moon last night?

Signed a deal with the devil on Sunday

Okay, so I broke down and I did it. I finally signed a deal with the devil and joined Facebook. Ugh, I cannot believe I did it. But while curious one day, I started to see if I knew anyone on this thing, I saw my brother was on it as well as some old friends. So, I broke down and did it. I am not proud but I am excited to see who I can get in touch with.

Anyway, if you know me, look me up on facebook, if you don't then don't look me up, I won't add you anyway.

One of my favorite things in this world

One of my favorite things in the entire world is a good salad bar. I know that this is totally lame but even as a kid I loved to eat at a salad bar. Granted, as a kid, the highlight was the pudding in the salad bar I got for dessert. Today we went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner. I got a regular meal with a salad bar. I totally got filled up by the salad bar.

Moving

Okay, so I think I am going to move out of Silver Spring, MD and move to Arlington VA when our lease ends in September. We need to lower our rent and moving to Arlington, might help us to achieve it. So this past weekend I went to Arlington to check out apartments. I guess I have been slumming it in Silver Spring that I forgot how yuppie Arlington is. I forgot how young and perfect everyone is in Arlington.

I totally miss my other poor people.

Utah

Okay, so I got back from Utah. I had a great time. As tradition falls in my family, it rained almost every day we were there. Even though I am from SLC, I have now moved away and I am considered a visitor.

We did a lot, we saw:

1. Downtown Park City
2. Park City Ski Lift (which was windy and rained on us)
3. Kamas - Dicks Drive-in
4. Olympic Sites
5. New Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple
6. Temple Square
7. Top of Church Office Building
8. New Church History Library
9. Chuck a Rama
10. BYU
11. The Great Salt Lake
12. This is the Place Park
13. Last but not least, lunch with my friend Maury, who looked fabulous. We felt like schmucks next to her.

It was a great trip and we had the best time, in spite of the weather. Many thanks to Maury for coming up to Orem to see us.

Wow, it has been a while

Okay all ya all, I just noticed that I have not blogged in quite some time, I am so sorry. But I am headed to Utah to go to the Temple Open House, see my friend Maury, among other things. I will try to blog more when I get home. Sorry all ya all.

What I learned in an hour

So today I took a walk and I learned more during my one hour walk than I learned all day long.

1. I don't throw that much garbage down the garbage shoot. I went to go throw way some garbage and I inadvertently threw away my keys. So I had to go with maintenance to get the keys out of the garbage shoot. I am amazed at what people throw away; they throw everything away. I try to avoid doing that so, I either recycle what I can, put food in the garbage disposal and throw away stuff I cannot recycle or garbage disposal.


2. I thought Silver Spring only had one crazy man who walked the streets, but I saw the two of them at the same time. Each were in different locations about a minute apart but they were two separate people. That dispeled the rumor that we only have one crazy man. One looks like a monk and walks around in robes, while the other is a cowboy. Who knew!


3. I always wondered where the vets stayed when the come to DC for rolling thunder. Little did I realize that the Comfort Inn in Silver Spring was a hot bed for bikers. I have never seen so much action at one time at that hotel. I have stayed at many Comfort Inns, I am cheap, and they are not all that, so I was surprised to see so many bikers there. They even stayed away from the cheap hooker hotel that is a house of ill repute.

RIP Longfellow Park Ward Building

Before moving to Washington DC, I lived in Boston, MA. I loved it there and attended the Longfellow Park Ward in Cambridge, MA. I found out today that the church I attended just caught on fire today.

It was so sad to see the building I attended Church, met good friends and had good fun was destroyed today. They say it started in the attic and then spread to the rest of the building. Read the following story from Boston.com http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/05/fire_breaks_out_1.html. I had just been up there in April last year and went past the old building. I hope they can rebuild it. My heart and thoughts go to those in the Longfellow Park Wards who called that building home. Good luck and God Bless ya!

What I learned from therapy

So, anyone who knows me, knows I have a lot of anxiety and a lot of issues. To cure that problem I have been seeing a psychiatrist and a psychologist. I have been seeing my therapist for a few months now and I have learned a lot about myself. The top being:

1. I am very needy
2. I think way too much
3. I set unreasonable expectations
4. I really think a lot of myself and people should do everything the same way I do
5. I exhibit irrational behavior
6. I am very suspicious and paranoid
7. and I am definitely crazy

But so far therapy has been very helpful, but so has the prozac. I am realizing my mistakes and I am trying to fix them. It helps that I have good friends, who are a lot like me, and can be a good sounding board. Thanks for putting up with me, I do appreciate it.

Self Checkout

This is me at self-checkout

Self-checkout is a great convenience at the grocery store. I love it, it makes it quick and easy and it is one less person I have to deal with. But some people should not be allowed to use self-checkout. They are:

1. The elderly - They are slow enough already, we don't need them jamming up the self-checkout line. Just because you can still drive does not mean you can operate self-checkout


2. Stupid people - you know who you are. You are the people who cannot read, understand a bar code, find fruit or vegetable codes, follow instructions, use a touch screen, or scan your items fast enough. My goodness people you don't have to look at each item, find the bar code and scan. Speed it up people


3. Families - If there is a long line, do not let your children scan the items or process the transaction. I know it is fun for the kid, hell it is fun for adults too, but it slows us all up. You are the adult, show some restraint and do it yourself. Allow the kid to scan an item the next time nobody is in line behind you.


4. People with a lot of crap (ie fruits and vegetables) - I know I mentioned it above but it needs extra consideration and it compounded when someone has a lot of food to checkout. If you do now know how to find the items code or find it on the screen don't use self-checkout. You are too dumb to operate it. Plus if you have a lot of food it slows up the line, specially when it all bags up and you have to run and clear the end area to make more room. Come on, use a checker, it will save us all time and frustration.


5. People who cannot learn a simple lesson - these are the people who throw their food half way down the conveyor belt, where the system checks the item, only to have it come back because the system could not register it. First you are an idiot because you threw it. Just gently place it on the belt and move on. Throwing it does not help anyone, particularly me, if I am waiting behind you.


6. People who take their bags out of the bagging area before you are finished. The system will freak out if it thinks you are trying to take stuff away. Be patience, pay for all your stuff then remove the bag. (this happens at Safeway and CVS a lot)

Anyway, these are some of the things that drive me up a wall about self-checkout. It is a wonderful thing, but you have to realize your own limitations and know when to use a checker. Self-checkout is a privilege not a right. Not everyone has the right to use self-checkout and you should know who you are.

Bad Idea

So, I thought I had some good ideas this last week but they all turned out to be bad ideas!

1. Wear my cute new Cole Hann Loafers to Georgetown - only to walk back and forth 3 or 4 times, about 2 or 3 miles. I got a big blister.
2. Walk all over NYC for my birthday on a bright sunny day - only to have said blister break and spread blood and blister water all over my sneakers.
3. Wear my tan pants on a rainy day - walking into work with wet tan pants is really impressive
4. Drive to NYC with a car starter that I thought was still working- only to buy myself a $355 starter.

This reminded me a lot like the SNL Commercial parody for Bad Idea Jeans. If I can get my computer to work I will post the video, check back soon.

100 days, The GOP and Arlen Specter

Finally, President Obama's first 100 days are over. We don't have to hear about it any more. Thank goodness!!!

Anyway, on to other news, as we all know Arlen Specter became a Democrat so he could win re-election in 2010. It is sad to see but I think it spells a bigger problem for the Republican party. Olympia Snow wrote an op ed piece in the New York Times that I thought is really good. The best part was her quote of Regan and call for a return to the traditional Republican Party. We cannot be so exclusive. We need to be more accepting of others or we will lose it all.

Olympia Snow said:
"There is no plausible scenario under which Republicans can grow into a majority while shrinking our ideological confines and continuing to retract into a regional party. Ideological purity is not the ticket back to the promised land of governing majorities — indeed, it was when we began to emphasize social issues to the detriment of some of our basic tenets as a party that we encountered an electoral backlash.

It is for this reason that we should heed the words of President Ronald Reagan, who urged, “We should emphasize the things that unite us and make these the only ‘litmus test’ of what constitutes a Republican: our belief in restraining government spending, pro-growth policies, tax reduction, sound national defense, and maximum individual liberty.” He continued, “As to the other issues that draw on the deep springs of morality and emotion, let us decide that we can disagree among ourselves as Republicans and tolerate the disagreement.”

I couldn’t agree more. We can’t continue to fold our philosophical tent into an umbrella under which only a select few are worthy to stand. Rather, we should view an expansion of diversity within the party as a triumph that will broaden our appeal. That is the political road map we must follow to victory."

Anyway, here is the article if you want to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/opinion/29snowe.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

The 100th day is coming

So today was a pretty crappy day at work, but what got me through the day, besides the thought of dancing with the stars tonight, was knowing that President Obama's first 100 days are almost over. I am so tired of hearing about it. I know it is a mark that the press likes to use to compare presidents to each other but enough is enough. I guess it has to do with the fact that the news each day has a graphic showing their coverage of the first 100 days. Well it also has to do with the fact that I don't like the current administration.

Easter as a kid

So I was talking to my friend Carren about my past Easter's and I remember that I had video of our 1st Easter after my brother Scott was born. So below is that video. I also added a special video of me with Scott, a few month later. I say yea, yea yea over and over again. It is mind numbingly boring but very indicative of me as a kid. Thought you all might want to see it.

BTW, this video came from my dad's 3mm reel of film so the sound and picture is not good. So I want to apologize in advance for it.

Enjoy, I know I did.

Happy Easter Sunday

I hope everyone out there has a Happy Easter. Below is one of my favorite pictures from chruch for Easter. I hope you enjoy the day and have lots of eggs, ham, peeps, and etc.

Why don't people know my name

Okay, so growing up my mom could never remember our names so she would always yell all the children's name and eventually she would get to the right kids name. Mark, Scott, Craig why did you do it? The order of names would change and so would the thing we did wrong but my mom would always call us all by the wrong name. The worse for me is when she called me by my little brothers name Scott. I thought that had ended now that we were adults and in different cities. But now it is not just my family. My neighbor called me Scott the other day. I just about died. She has done it before but I finally decided to write about it. What are the odds she would forget my name and call me by my brothers name. Our names must be naturally linked. Anyway, I found it interesting.

Cherry Blossom's in Washington DC

The upcoming LDS General Conference

Okay, so I found this article in the Salt Lake Tribune about the upcoming General Conference in SLC. I thought it was pretty good because life in SLC is boring and anything that would enlive it would be great. I have a few favorite parts that I highlighted in Red. I know it is about the Gay community service in SLC but his commentary about Conference is so good.

Enjoy!

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12011359?source=most_viewed

The semi-annual conference of the LDS church is coming up next week. Thousands of Mormons will gather in the Conference Center to receive instruction from our leaders on the best way to get to heaven.

Meanwhile, demonstrators will gather outside and loudly insist that we are instead going to hell for all sorts of reasons, but mostly just for being Mormons.

In the past, anti-LDS demonstrators have come mainly from the ranks of ultra-conservative Christian groups protesting what they see as our heretical approach to the Bible.

But this conference could have been different. Mormons and the Christian Gestapo might have actually been forced into a tenuous alliance had a third group decided to demonstrate.

For months, Mormons have been bracing for a conference demonstration from gays angry over the church's support of Prop 8 in California, which effectively denied them the right to throw rice at each other.

Or maybe it was something about wearing white or tying tin cans to the backs of their cars. I can't remember for sure because it's been so long and, honestly, I wasn't paying attention anyway.

Unfortunately, gays won't be demonstrating this conference. I'm disappointed because getting yelled at by messengers from a loan shark Jesus has gotten old. I was hoping for something new and exciting.

Instead of waving signs and shouting invective, the gay community says it will turn its efforts to community service projects.

Let me see if I got this straight. Gays plan on changing attitudes through behavior that promotes genuine concern for the well-being of others. Hmm, I've heard that theory before but can't remember exactly where.

We have to put a stop to this. Seriously, what's conference attendance going to be like if this behavior catches on and no one is mad enough to yell at us?

It would be nice if some of the country's larger breweries would demonstrate during conference. The church has thwarted lots of alcohol reform in Utah. Why aren't the Budweiser frogs hopping mad around the Conference Center?

Vegans should have a real bone to pick -- oh, sorry -- with the LDS church. Mormons are serious carnivores. The church owns huge welfare farms including some with cows. The bread we use in our Sacrament is made with real dairy products.

Hollywood should get on our case. Who knows how much money the movie industry has lost because avoiding R-rated movies is considered by many Mormons to be the 11th commandment?

Given the nature of Mormonism, plenty of groups besides those should be downtown next weekend carrying signs. In fact, I'm one of them. There are things about my church that bug me.

Rather than tackle larger issues like the three-hour meeting block, mandatory white shirts, and the right to cross examine testimonies (I would love to see that), I'm going to start slow. I've already made my sign. It's huge and says "Excommunicate Larry Erdmann Now!"

Larry hasn't done anything bad other than be a Mormon. But according to some people, that's enough.

Parking wars

Parking wars is a show on A&E http://www.aetv.com/parking-wars/. It is about the men and women of the Philadelphia Parking Authority. You see them ticketing, booting and towing the cars of in Philly. You also see the people who express their outrage in furious Philly fashion. The show is great. A lady at work jokingly said I should go check it out when I am there and say high to the meter maids. Well, we took a wrong turn looking for a bank and ended up right infront of the site. I was shocked when I realized where I was. I had to run out side of the car and take a picture. Anyway, here they are. I am posting this mainly for my friend Robert. Enjoy my friend.

Wild Times at IKEA

So, as everyone knows, I love IKEA and I love a good deal. Well the two combinded this weekend when IKEA had a kitchen sale. I did not read the ad correctly but this stock pot, that I wanted, was only onsale today. So I woke up early and trecked on over to IKEA in College park. I was shocked, there was a line wrapped around the parking lot. I thought it was for their free breakfast but NO it was for this stock pot. Who knew (okay well I did, it normally goes for $35 and was on sale for $10)! So we ate breakfast, then I marched on down to try to get my pot. I hit it at the right moment, they started letting people in the pot line from the staircase, so I was able to get past a lot of people who were waiting earlier. I kind of feel bad about that, but there was no rule against it. Anyway, I made my way down the line and grabbed my pot. People brought 2 or 3 family members just to get multipule pots, even though there was only one per houshold. But this thing is big. I love it. I cannot wait to make broth out of it, or even soup!!!


Got to love a sale.

A check off my list of things to do

Today I accomplished one of the things I have always wanted to go to: Attend a NCAA Tournament Game. I got tickets to the BYU vs Texas A&M Game.

The game was great until Texas A&M built a 20 point lead and there was no coming back. Ugh it was horrible. BYU cannot win a NCAA Tournament Game! The final score was 66-79.

Anyway, I was able to capture the BYU Fight Song so that made me happy. So, enjoy the video, I know I did.

DVT Prevention Month

For thoes of you who do not know, this month is Deep Vein Thrombosis Prevention Month. Why am I concerned about this? Well, I was recently diagnoised with Factor V Leiden on one of my genes. That is actually pretty good, it is better it is not on both genes. But I am much more susceptable to blood clots. Luckily my anxiety keeps me up and moving. I am also on a low dose asprin regimin for too low good cholestoral. So thoes are too things that really help me out. But anyway, since this is DVT Prevention, I think I might have to do something for the cause. Think about doing something yourself.

The Most International Costco

So, I recently went to Costco and I realized I must go to the most international Costco in the country. As a white male, I am a minority. I would be interested to know how many different nationalities and how many different languages are spoken there. I would imagine there are a lot. I would guess 20 or 30 countries and 5 to 10 languages. Anyway, I just thought it was interesting, are there others out there that have experienced the same thing?

I really have been working too much

So, I found a sign today that shows I am working too much and not concentrating on the "important" things in life. 1st I found out that Princess Victory of Sweden got engaged to be married to her longtime boyfriend. Wow, that is big news. I was shocked, how did I not know this. Ugh, I am so disapointed. But I am happy for her, she has been with this guy, who is a gym owner, for years. I know the whole family likes him, infact they like all the significant others in the family. 2nd, I then found out the Prince Carl Philip broke up with his girlfriend of 10 years under the pressure of announcing his own nuptuals . How could this have happend and I not know about it? I guess I have been too busy at work to read my gossip columns and etc. Ugh, so little time and so many trashy details to uncover. I need to refocus my priorities.

Even I am not this crazy

Okay, so anyone who knows me at all, knows I am not the biggest fan of President Obama. I don't agree with his politics and I think he is a bit extreme (please review the current budget for help in this area), but I don't think he is Hitler or the Anti-Christ (we all know that was President Clinton, remember black wednesday (okay that was just at BYU) after he won the election, he he he I AM KIDDING!). I saw this online about Obama. It is the best thing I have ever scean.


Enjoy.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=219482&title=unusual-suspect

It's Started

Okay, so the worst season in Washington, D.C. has just started. The kids are starting come to DC for their school trips and the tourists are not far behind. The reason this is the worst time of the year is because these kids don't have a clue when they go to lunch or run around the city. They are all between 12 and 15 and they have no idea of the set rules and regulation that exist in DC.

1. you don't crowd the lunch counter, there is an orderly way to order and pick up that hamburger and burrito.
2. don't block the sidewalk trying to figure out where the White House is or waiting for your bus to pick you up. Move to the side, we only have an hour for lunch and need to move it.
3. that also goes for the escalator, walk on the left, stand on the right.
4. don't bring your kids with you on the Metro during rush hour traffic or to a breakfast joint in the city. They are slow and block the way of busy workers headed off to the job.
5. your life is not that important, don't yell about it on the Metro.
6. just wait until you reach my age and become an old curmudgeon, you will realize how stupid you are.

Number 6 is dedicated to me. I am sure when I was a boy scout and touring NYC and DC, I was just this bad. But now I understand the dirty looks I got for being a dumb tourist. Now when I go on vacation I try not to be the dumb tourist.

My Favorite Infomercial

Okay, so I was watching late night bad TV and they showed my favorite infomercial, The Magic Bullet Blender.





My other favorite one is the GT Express 101. I just love this lady

Happy Valentines Day

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentines Day.

For some of you it is also single awareness day.

I will probably spend the day with my Valentine and watch a cheesy movie with dinner.

Love you all.

I am afraid this might be my future

It is so sad, but I think I could become like this man. I know I can complain and I like to get the best service but I could totally see me doing this, especially if I start to get some dementia. Pray for me to not do this :(

Authorities said a man, 66, was arrested after calling 911 on Saturday to complain that a fast food restaurant ran out of lemonade. After a drive-through employee failed to respond to the man's threat of contacting the police, the irate diner called 911, a police report alleges.He spent about 5 minutes talking to the 911 operator about his complaint.Boynton Beach said the man was charged with abuse of 911 communication.

Why can this not happen to me

I have got to figure out how to make this happen.

Who Knew

I found this so fascinating. Who knew BYU was so popular, according to US News and World Report. BYU ranks #2 behind Harvard in popularity. US News says of the 74% of applicants who are accepted to BYU, 77% of them actually go. Harvard has an 8 percent acceptance rate with 79% attendance rate. Now BYU's rival did not do as well. The University of Utah, on the other hand, ranks #31 with an 82% acceptance rate and less than half actually attend (47%). So, what that tells me is that Utah is a safety net school. Anyway, it is quite interesting.

Worst Day In My Life!

Okay something happened today that I never thought would happen to me for a long long time. But today I got an invitation to join the AARP, shown below. Common people, I am 34 years old not 50 years old. Now granted I do act like an old man and I am a curmudgeon (as my co-workers remind me on a daily basis) but I do sometimes act like a 15 year old girl. In all reality, I do think I will be the old man on the block who sits on my porch and yells at the neighborhood kids for crossing into my yard.

So, after a few minutes and I got calmed down, I called AARP and they said that anyone over 18 can join. I looked online and this is what they say about membership. "For those under 50 who support the association's goals and objectives, we offer an associate membership. Once an individual celebrates a 50th birthday, the associate member automatically becomes a full member, receives a membership card, and can take advantage of all of our benefits and services." While I do support AARP in their goals I don't want to join until I can reach full membership and I will proudly wait until I reach 50!!!! Until then, AARP you can keep my membership on hold.

Brought to you by the Letter J

1. Job – I really do love my job, it is great. I do a lot of exciting and different things. Things I never thought I would have the opportunity to do. After a series of bad jobs, it is nice to do something that I truly enjoy, where I am appreciated, and I make a difference.

2. Jackson Hole – This is one of my favorite vacation spots in the world. I love the natural beauty and that Yellowstone is so close by. It is nice to be in an area where animals are so prevalent and free to roam.

3. Jon – One of my favorite roommates while at BYU. If there is anyone in this world that I strive to be like it is Jon because he is an all around good guy. Friendly, nice, helpful, smart, and many other good qualities. He has had a rough year with the death of his daughter but if there is anyone who could handle it is Jon.

4. July – I love July for several reasons, 1st the 4th of July, I love America and the flag and nothing celebrates this more than our independence day. I am also very patriotic. 2nd I love fireworks, watching them is one of my favorite activities. If somehow we could add lights to the 4th of July, such as Christmas lights I would be in heaven. 3rd It is my mom’s birthday. I love my mom, she is a great woman and I wish I could be the best son ever for her. I owe my mom so much for all she has done for me. She would fly out to DC just to help me out if I needed it.

5. J/k or Just kidding – What a great word, it can erase anything bad that you say. Well not really but it is fun to think so. I love what Ellen says about this. If you were really just kidding or just joking, both of us should be laughing. I love that line, it is so true, we use it lot to pretend to erase what bad things we say.

6. Jenna and all of my nieces and nephews. Oh, I love those kids. Tanner, Jenna, Chase, Brady Samuel, Paige, and Tyler. They are one of the only reasons I ever want to go back to Utah (sorry family but you got relegated to the bottom level when you had your own children). They are so cute, fun, happy, innocent, and too many other things to count. It just makes me so happy to be around them.

7. Jönköping, Sweden – This is one of the first cities I visited when I arrived in Sweden. Sweden is the home of my ancestors and one of the best places in the world. It is also the headquarters of Husqvarna the Swedish equivalent to GE they make lots of stuff including front loading washing machines. What a great invention, they clean better than top loaders and are more energy efficient. Using those washers in Sweden was my first experience in being “green.”

8. Jam – Much like Joey on Friends I love jam. It is a wonder condiment, and most importantly I was able to use it in Sweden.

9. James Bond – The greatest movie franchise ever. Roger Moore and Sean Connery are the best bonds out there. Although whats his name is not far off. You got to love the movies, sex, violence, international intrigue and bad villains.

10. Jeux Olympiques – or in English The Olympic Games. I know this is the word in French but I had to find a way to incorporate my favorite things in the entire world – The Olympics. Every 2 years the winter or summer games occur. What a spectacle that is beyond measure. The one in Beijing was wonderful. I was so sad that I could not attend the Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

The New Republican Party

I am so happy that The Republican National Committee has elected Michael Steele as its Chairman. He is a wonderful moderate Republican and former Lt. Governor of the Great State of Maryland. Congrats go to the GOP for a smart move by electing a man who can change this party and bring it back to its orgional values. I hope Chairman Steele is able to make the party more inclusive and accepting of others. Good Luck GOP!

Fly First Class

So, I did not get selected for jury duty. That is okay, it was a robbery misdemeanor.

Anyway, my friend Kevin sent this to me. This is why you should always fly first class.

Jury Duty

So, I got called up for Jury Duty. I have to serve tomorrow, Monday Jan 26th. I almost forgot to check on Friday to see if I had to go to court. I have been on a jury before, and I am not looking forward to being on another one. I know everyone says it would be great to be on a Jury as part of your civic duty but I hated it. Granted the trial I was on in Utah was for murder but it was still tough to do. I know I play a tough republican on crime but when it really comes down to it, it is hard to send someone to prison. I am just glad it was not a death penalty case. That would have killed me. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me that I don't get picked and that if I do get picked it is for a white collar crime like money laundering.

It's Finally Over

Well, after over 2 years of campaigning and a tough election it is finally over. We are finished hearing about CHANGE!!!!!!!! Barack Hussein Obama is now the 44th President of the United States. Now any mistakes that are made are of President Obama's making. I really don't wish anything bad happen to him, even I am not that bitter of a Republican, but Obama cannot use Bush as the excuse for anything going wrong. It will be interesting joining the opposition, I have had a lot of practice with the Democratic majority in Congress, don't even get me started on them.

Anyway, Congratulations President Obama, this is a very historic moment and I am glad that I was alive when it happened. I hope our country can heal from the past 8 years and that Obama makes good choices. I really do want the best for this country and I think he has the skills to make a lot of positive changes. I am not a fan of big spending but I think we need it now. The auto industry among other industries need to change, our infrastructure is falling apart, and we need to repair our international image. I think Obama can do this well. He says that he is not beholden to special interests groups but only time will tell what he does when the unions come asking for help since they helped him get elected.

Once again, it is over, we won't have to hear about Change We Can Believe In anymore. He better bring it or he is out of office in 4 more years.

This sums up the Inauguration

I saw this in the Washington Post this weekend and thought it was great. It totally sums up the Inauguration this coming week.

Here is the direct link to the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/comics/almanack/011009.html

Good luck to any of you going to the Ceremony. It will be a tough day. Sorry for the sizing issue:(

Be Prepared, Its D-Day

Okay, so the inauguration of Barack H. Obama is coming up in about 2 weeks. It is a very historic occasion and one worthy to note in history, but you are crazy to come to DC for the inauguration. First DC is going to be on lock down. 2nd, security is going to be unbelievable. The security perimeter zone is huge. 3rd, the entire world (ie the rest of the world outside of of DC) is going to be here. They are saying 3 to 4 million people are coming.

Here is a map of all the street closures http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100000666902257773673.00045fd51cf352b39888b&start=0&num=200&ll=38.888761,-77.010727&spn=0.05211,0.10849&z=13 I mean this is crazy. I am so glad my work is canceled because there is no way in hell I would try to get into the city. In fact I am leaving the city and going to Virginia Beach. If any of you are coming to DC I wish you luck, there is no way you will be able to get around.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year. I am hoping that 2009 is much better than 2008. When I was a kid every New Years we did our New Years Resolutions. Here are mine!

1. Continue to do well at work. I love what I do. I am excited because I have a couple of really big projects coming up this year. I think if I can do them well then they will be a good opportunities for me.


2. Get into better shape. I always have a goal of losing weight and they have not worked well. But this year I really will do well. I want to lose about 20 or 30 lbs and 10% body fat. If I am lucky then I will look like this guy -
Granted this means that I would have to reduce my age by 15 years, grow some extra hair on the head, and lose some hair on the chest and back but a goal is a goal no matter how impossible.


3. Be a better friend. Keep in better contact with friends and do more with them. I really do have a good group of friends and I want to be a better friend to them.


4. Be more charitable. I have a good job and I am lucky to have it. I am thankful everyday that I have this wonderful job. Because of that I feel that in 2009 I should do more to help those that are less fortunate. I am going to try to donate more money and give more of my time to others.
5. Travel. I want to see more of the USA. I am hoping to go back to Utah this year and maybe travel to Erie, PA - Niagra Falls - Toronto. Why Erie, PA, I want to go to a Chick-fil-a that this guy use to own here in Silver Spring.
6. Keep up with Blogging. Try to use it more as a journal of my life.

Anyway, I hope you all have a Happy New Year and good luck with your New Years Resolutions!