Steve' Random Personal Thoughts

Jello Legs

2008-02-20T17:46:00.003-07:00

After face planting while going up the stairs for the second time in a row, I find myself wondering exactly why my legs won't hold me up after a good work out. 3 reps of squats with an embarrassingly small amount of weight and I'm prostrate for the rest of the day...

SM

The Prophet's Passing

2008-02-13T06:41:00.004-07:00

There has been a lot of talk in the LDS community, as expected, following the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley. He was a deeply loved and respected leader. He did wonders for The Church and touched millions of lives. As much as I would love to think I can write a tribute that does justice, I cannot, so I'm not going to try. But I do feel a lot of gratitude for his service. I am very curious to watch President Monson, his successor, as the mantle falls to him. President Monson is also a highly respected leader. Although I must admit that, being one who responds more to directness, I don't connect with President Monson's teaching style like I do that of, say, President Eyring, regardless, I suspect we will see the continuation and implementation of many great things under President Monson's inspired watch. In fact, I watched him speak last Saturday at the leadership training broadcast. His talk was a 100% President Monson talk, stories and all, but something about him was different. Whether it was my perceptions or otherwise, he looked like the prophet, and that is pretty cool!

SM

Blogging and Journal Writing

2008-01-30T08:59:00.001-07:00

Argh... I'm realizing that now that the newness of blogging has worn off, I'm getting about as good at it as I am at journal writing. I think about it. I think, "oh, I should do that" and I mean well, but ... well, you can see just how good my track record is!! But with a new year, comes new resolve. And it's only taken me a month to make that resolve. We'll see just how long it takes me to follow up on it! (But, hey, I'm all caught up on my studies for next weeks midterms...)

SM

More on the Bowl Crap Championship Series

2007-12-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry, but I won't likely get off the football topic until the season is over. It sort of consumes me, and of all the seasons to take cheap shots at the BCS, this is the one. A few thoughts:

1- I can't say how incredibly thrilled I was that both Oklahoma AND Pitt won yesterday. I didn't think Pitt would do it, but man... good job guys! Why am I thrilled? Well, of course one reason is because the Buckeyes get into the championship game. But more importantly, it shows that the BCS system of voting for who's best just doesn't work. I mean, come on, predicting a football winner is about as solid of a science as predicting the weather. Sure, we have all kinds of fancy computer models, but some random variables are just that ... random. And while the BCS computers boast to be able to account for strength of schedule, how can they, or the voters for that matter, truly account for the passion, desire, and drive of an underdog trying to take down the big guy? There are thousands of variables in a football game that can't be modeled. It's great for sports shows and statistics and commentary. It makes for a lot of interesting discussion pre- and post- game. But it cannot and should not determine the winner.

2- The big game will no doubt be OSU (11-1) and LSU (11-2). Why in the world would it not take Hawaii (12-0) or KU (11-1)??? Because the SEC would cry about it? I will admit that the SEC does appear to have a stronger conference than the other guys, so two losses in the SEC is probably not as bad as the same in the WAC, but then again, Hawaii didn't lose. To anyone. I would like someone to prove to me that someone can beat Hawaii. Oh wait, you can't. Because Hawaii isn't allowed to play with the big boys. Hawaii will get a BCS bowl berth, which is great. I hope they crush whoever they play. And a note to their opponent: Keep on your toes because Hawaii hits HARD.

3- Speaking of little guys in the BCS, lets review the games of non-BCS teams who have been allowed a change to play with the big boys (albeit, the losers of the big boys.) It's happened 3 times, Utah in 04, Boise State in 07 and Louisville before they switched conferences, I believe in 06. All 3 won their games. So non-BCS goes up 3-0 against BCS teams. Looks like the big boys are getting beat.

4- In short, just give the fans a playoff already. Take every conference champ and then fill in the rest of the brackets with at-large bids. Play the playoff and you can STILL have all of your bowl games in January.

SM

Homecoming

2007-11-16T10:58:00.001-07:00

So, for the first time ever, I got off a plane in the Salt Lake airport and didn't feel like I was home. Weird. Usually, the end of a vacation is marked by the reappearance of the Rocky Mountains as my plane lands. Not that I felt like I was going on a vacation either. I sort of felt like I was in limbo, switching to my Utah life for a while until I return to my Ohio life. Weird.

And if that wasn't enough, my friend Nick and his fiancee picked me up from the airport and kindly drove me home to American Fork. So after 6+ hours of traveling, I finally arrived, exhausted, at home sweet home, a little after midnight. But as the car pulled up, what did I notice all over the house?? Blue and maize streamers. I opened the front door and rather than being greeted with a warm welcome from my family, I found myself face to face with a sign bearing the well-known Michigan 'M'. My family, incidentally, had already gone to bed. So I did what any good Buckeye would do, turned the Michigan logo upside down, and went to sleep.

We'll decide this tomorrow on the field my friends. Tomorrow. May the best team win and the Wolverines lose.

SM

Life in the SEL

2007-10-28T13:55:00.000-06:00

How appropriate is it that the library where I spend a significant portion of my time is referred to as The SEL. (That's an acronym for Science and Engineering Library, if you're curious.) In fact, I went there in the evening recently and there, in the middle of the rows of books, was a rather large contingent of my fellow students, each one seated in a row pouring over pages of economics problems like a bunch of prison inmates. Considering the size of our midterm tomorrow, this was no surprise. So I joined them. We'll see how it goes.

When I'm not studying in the SEL, I'm generally studying in the first-year graduate student office, which is probably no bigger than most jail cells. But it's much more quiet and easier to focus there than at my apartment and we did just get a brand new white board. It is in this tiny prison that I have asked many soul-searching questions. "Why did I want to become an Economist?" "What exactly am I doing on the third floor of a run-down building in Ohio?" "Why did I willing sign up for this?" and other such pondering things.

Jokes aside, however, I have been feeling rather blessed lately. I still haven't put my finger on it, but I feel very deeply that there are reasons for everything and the Lord will help my to understand those reasons in due time. I enjoy Economics, but I am still convinced, as I have suggested to a few of you, that there are bigger reasons for my being where I am that even I myself know. I think that's true of most of us. I love those moments when I feel that, for only a brief moment, I catch a glimpse of just what all of us have the potential to become. And not just vocationally. In our families, with our friends, and in a more eternal sense, our potential is absolutely huge. Of course, such potential brings with it the enormous responsibility to carry ourselves in a manner becoming of our eternal roles. But if there is one thing I am learning, it is that The Lord is always very, very quick to come to our aide as we strive to fill those responsibilities.

These are the things I think about in the SEL.

SM

OHIO

2007-10-06T15:03:00.000-06:00

I've been out here a month and I think I starting to get used to things. I've figured out my routine, I found the grocery store, a bank, a barber shop (except I didn't like it, so I'm still in the market), church, school, and Wal-mart. So I'm set, or at least heading in the right direction. Columbus is a nice town. It's laid back, very green, yet big enough that there's not a lack of anything. OK, It's a huge town, but spread out in a way that it doesn't feel like it. Except when I'm on campus... that place is massive, with 40,000+ undergraduates, 12,000+ graduates, 8,000+ professional students, and probably just as many squirrels. The squirrels are running around everywhere on campus, always scrounging for food, fighting with each other, and throwing nuts at people from the trees. So pretty much, they blend in well with the rest of the undergraduates.

I don't have any particularly deep thoughts related to moving out here yet. It's definitely been a new experience. I do miss BYU football and a few things like that. But it's not like there's a shortage of football on OSU campus. Or beer for that matter. That, of course, is a change from stone-cold sober BYU, where typical dorm parties consisted of smuggled in non-caffeine-free Coke. (I actually did have a roommate who would buy Mountain Dew and sell it for a profit on our floor at DT.)

But I am realizing that there are a lot of good people out here. I have a great group of people that I attend classes with, another good group at the institute, and I'm looking at getting involved with a few clubs or whatnot, as my schedule permits. It's is very busy... they warn us that this first year is pretty intense and so far I believe them. There is a lot of homework, a lot of studying and reading, and a lot of stuff to keep on. Unfortunately, being busy with the school routine, although it gives me plenty to do during the day, doesn't give me a lot of interesting stories to blog about. Unless you want to hear about convex production sets, in which case, leave a comment to that effect.

SM

I'm back

2007-10-06T11:49:00.001-06:00

OK, I took a break from the blog thing for a few months while I got my life in order, moved to Ohio, started my grad program, etc., etc. But I'm back and will start updating this again, at least relatively often. (How often relatively is remains to be seen.) I'll try and get a real post up later today.

Also, note that I have split my blogs: One for personal thoughts, things like what's going on in my life, what's on my mind, etc. and another for political thoughts, which includes rantings about, well, politics.

Anyways, enjoy and feel free to leave all of the comments/hate mail you wish!

SM

One Step at a Time

2007-07-31T16:08:00.000-06:00

So, my sister just returned from a mission in New Jersey. Most of you probably already know that, since I've been rather excited and have not been very quiet about it. As much as I didn't want to return from Japan myself, I'd been waiting for her to get back for some time now. You miss your family a lot more when they're the ones out on an adventure and not yourself, I suppose.

Anyway, chatting with her since she's been back has made me think back on the past 18 months of my life to see how much I've been able to grow and learn. The growth in my sister is tremendous and easy to see. That happens when you serve, if you do it right. Which she did. And without going into too much detail about my own personal strengths and struggles, I have definitely used her example to help myself to set new and better goals.

Because while I do believe one person can make a difference in the world, I think we can make a more profound and lasting difference if we seek to better ourselves and the people around us, one individual at a time. I don't think there is a government program that will wholly perfect society, so I'm not going to look for one. It would be nice if there was, but because individuals are by nature individual, blanket cures are not a substitute for individual works. That what impressed me about what my sister did. She hasn't stopped talking about the individuals she met, influenced, and was influenced by. She speaks of them by name, even though I have no clue who they are. And she glows when she does it.

Jean Val Jean from Les Miserables taught me the same thing. He faitfully walked past a beggar and dropped a gold coin in his hat every day. Although I don't do it everyday, when I'm approached by someone in similiar conditions, I try and contribute something. I've been told that I shouldn't because "they're just going to buy booze" and maybe that's true. But that's their choice. Whether or not I give is mine. And while I will continue to oppose universal health care (since I'm a conservative and therefore I told that I hate the poor) I will continue to support local charities and individual giving. I think that's really the best way to change society. And not just in areas of health care and poverty, I just use those as examples because that seems to be the hot topic to talk about recently.

Before going on a 50-miler with my scout troop, our scout leader said "the way to eat a whale is one bite at a time and the way to hike 50 miles is one step at a time." I also feel that the way to change society is one individual at a time, starting with ourselves.

SM

Locked Out

2007-07-09T10:24:00.000-06:00

So, I went to Seven Peaks with a few friends the other day and managed to lock my keys in my car. And my cell phone. And my friend's keys. And his cell phone. Man I'm getting old. Anyway, we were quite stumped, but then I remembered that I keep a spare key in my desk drawer. Thinking we were saved, we walked over to a friend's place who lives near Seven Peaks and bribed her to drive us over to my apartment. We excitedly ran up to my door (on the second floor) and realized it was locked. And no one else was home.

So, we put our heads together, and ran around to my bedroom window, which was unlocked, but on the second floor. So my friend lifted me up and endured my stepping on his shoulders, head, face, basically anything I could grip, while I struggled to pop my screen out and pry the window open. Then I grabbed on to everything I could I pulled myself in. Through the closed blinds, incidentally. Oh, and I put a 2-inch hole in my screen too.

But hey, we got the key, got into my car, and saved the day.

SM

Aloha

2007-06-22T13:45:00.000-06:00

So, my and my fam went to Hawaii. You know you're jealous! If you haven't been, I highly recommend it. It was one of, if not the most, enjoyable vacation I have ever had. But rather than tell you about it, I thought I'd share the journey via picture. Now if only I could figure out how to get Blogger to put pictures in...

We stayed the first night in Honolulu in this hotel. The beach in the distance is Waikiki. Alan made this picture what it is. Thoughtful. It makes you think. About life. And other stuff.

For the rest of the trip, we stayed in Laie, aka Provo in Hawaii. The temple was beautiful and the inside was apparently redone just a few years ago. This was my dad's first trip to the temple since he was learning Japanese in the LTM (Language Training Mission) something like 35 (!!) years ago. (They were sending missionaries to Japan back then? Wait... Japan had been discovered back then??)

Me and my bro's looking like real boarders. Okay, not really, but I like the picture anyway. This was at Sunset Beach and was the biggest waves we dared wander into. I think they were 3-4 feet, although I'm not sure how to measure a wave. They would break about 2 feet above our heads. This was probably the funnest thing we did. I'm still scrubbing the sand out of my hair.

Here we are all posing for a picture with Chief, the firedancer at the PCC. This guy was probably the best all-around entertainer I have ever seen. He was extremely talented and absolutely hilarious. And humble to boot.

My sisters at Sunset Beach. That wave is about ready to swallow them whole.

And one last picture of the beach. God really knew what He was doing when He made the Pacific.

SM

Never Forget

2007-06-14T13:57:00.000-06:00

So... I haven't updated this for a while. I've been in Hawaii (picture will soon be coming) and doing other stuff... like.... Anyways, please anticipate some upcoming light-hearted posts and cool pictures. You know, stuff you might be interested in.

In the meantime, I've been feeling rather sick to my stomach these past few days over something I learned about a friend. And I guess I need to vent.

I was reunited, rather randomly, with a friend I haven't talked to forever. It was wonderful. I love my friends and love to keep touch with everyone. (That's part of the purpose of this blog.) We chatted about how things have been and spent a lot of time catching up on life. But something didn't feel right. Looking through a few pictures of the past few years was revealing: There was evidence that this person is no longer living a very good life. To the extent that it really made my heart bleed.

Some quick background: This person served a very honorable mission for the LDS Church. Although raised in a family that was only partially active in the church, several experiences convinced my friend that servicing a mission would be a good idea. My friend turned out to be one of the very best missionaries I've ever seen. Not in terms of winning converts, but in a more comprehensive sense. Holes in socks were just surface evidence of how hard working and dedicated this person had been. Hard work and love literally radiated from my friend upon return from the mission and continued for years.

But something happened and that's not the case anymore. The light is gone. And while I don't have a first-person confession as evidence, it's pretty clear that activity in the church has diminished and lessons from the mission have been forgotten. My friend is losing a battle with the secular things of the world. And it appears that the casualties could be pretty bad... I'm not sure. I haven't approached my friend yet and am still debating to what extent it is appropriate for me to.

But discussing my friend's woes is not my purpose here. I have known far more people who have fallen, struggled, and come back as stronger than people I've known who have fallen and given up. Human beings are remarkable in their resiliance to overcome extremely difficult challenges. I trust this situation will turn out the same, but until then I'll probably continue to feel a little sick.

I'm posting this because I felt a need to, well, testify I suppose. I like to debate politics but every time I do, I shy away from using religious based philosophies in my arguments. Even when discussing moral issues. It is, afterall, politically incorrect to do so. I've been asked why I oppose gay marriages and my response is usually Republican: We need to protect traditional families. This is true, but the real reason I oppose it is because God says it's bad and I trust God. It hit me pretty hard a while ago that my religious beliefs are not something I can, nor should, divorce from my political beliefs. America is a land based on freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. Separation of church and state is an institutional distinction and does not have to imply separation of politics and religion, which is ideological.

Our ideals should come from whatever motivates us. From whatever feels right. (Note that I said feels "right" and not feels "good". But if I was to edit that sentence I would maybe change the word "feels" to the word "is".)

So why mention my friend? My friend is struggling because my friend forgot about the foundation. The secular debates and challenges of life appear to be winning at the moment. It made me wonder: Where do we as a nation stand in this same battle? Is political correctness and the fear of standing up for our beliefs--because often our beliefs are religious--causing us to sit passively? I don't know. I hope not. But sometimes I get the same sick feeling when I listen to politics and it seems like people are afraid to just stand up for a belief and let the people decide. I think Romney handles the religion issue well, but I wonder what the reaction would be if he said something to the effect of "ya I'm Mormon and this is what I believe and it probably will have an influence on my policies because it's a set of ideals that I've seen make a positive difference in my life and others." I don't know how that would go over, but I would certainly respect anyone who did that, be they Mormon, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist or anything else. That is, if they did it and meant it.

So my appeal to my friend and to everyone else is to please, never forget. Never forget what got us here. Never forget the blood shed for this country. Never forget the good fortunes we do have. And never, ever forget what God has done for you.

I really don't know what sparked this post, just a gut feeling I guess. I've been thinking about these things for a while before I ran into my friend. But what I do know is that there are much larger things at work than the petty political debates I love so much. And there really is strength in believing something and standing for it. And in never forgetting where those beliefs come from.

SM

Poor Officiating, Poor Losing

2007-05-29T11:28:00.000-06:00

So, I caught the game yesterday. It was too bad... it was a loss that really hurts for the Jazz and possibly ended their bid for the finals. I still have hope, but...

Now, let me say up front that I do believe the officiating was unfair and played more than just a minor role in the Spurs' win. I mean, from a purely objective standpoint, the Spurs' 24 free throws to the Jazz's 2 is quite an amazing statistical anomaly. Keep in mind that the Jazz lost by the amount of 50% of the Spurs' free throw opportunities.

THAT SAID, you can't ever blame a game on the refs. It was another obstical the Jazz were unable to overcome. It's too bad, but that's the nature of sports. Everything doesn't always go your way. If there was anything worse than the refs, it was the fans. And although only a few relative to the size of the crows, it was enough to give Utah a bad name. There needs to be more class. That's more important than winning.

Again, I don't blame the refs for the loss. I would analyze the game and say "the officiating was poor", but oh well. Dig in and play harder. The other statistic...that only D. Will and Boozer scored in the double digits, also shows that there was plently of room for the Jazz to have won. So take the loss with class and play better in the next game.

If there is no excuse for poor officiating, there is absolutely no excuse for poor losing.

SM

Go Jazz!

2007-05-16T09:49:00.000-06:00

Now, although I am an avid college football fan, I've never been all that into basketball. I just haven't been able to find that spark in me to get me to watch the games and support my team. In fact, I will admit to being, well, a fairweather Jazz fan. The thing is... the weather is very good right now! I didn't miss a game in the Golden State series, and now that we've pounded them into the ground, I'm really getting excited. As much as I wish it was still Stockton and Malone--no one deserved a championship more than those two--I hope this team of Jazz rookies can go all the way in the memory of those two greats. This year, it's "Basketball Boozer"! (If you don't know what that is a reference to, well, then you probably have a life.)

SM

My Poor Car

2007-05-02T11:00:00.000-06:00

I'm about ready to drive my car off of a cliff. And not because I'm sick of all of the bickering in congress and just want to get away from it all. Although that's not a bad idea...

I'm just sick of the stupid thing never working. I mean, it's been a great car and all, but when it gets in a bad mood it really goes off the deep end. A brief history for those of you who are not familiar with it: I bought it in July 2002 for a good price. The previous owner knew nothing about cars, but had a lot of money, so it had been professionally taken care of on a regular basis. (To prove this, when we were looking at it we asked if the car "uses oil." Meaning, of course, does it burn oil and/or does oil need to be added beyond regular changes. His response was, after a little hesitation, "Ummm....ya. Ya, I'm pretty sure it does. I think you pour it in right there." And he kindly showed us where the oil dip stick was located. At this point I determined that this guy didn't know enough about cars to possibly con us into buying a lemon and so I got it.)

Anyways, it's been a wonderful car, it's just old. 10 years and 150,000 miles to be exact. But it still gets 36+ mpg on the freeway and for a person who commutes 45 minutes one way 5 days a week when gas is at $3.00 (!!!) per gallon, this thing is a gem. But, other than maintanence that I can fix on my own, I have yet for it something major to break and not have to be looked at by at least 2 mechanics before one of them can figure out the problem. It likes to conceal its problems. The symptoms are all there, but we can never figure out the root cause. Kind of like [fill in your emotionally-disturbed, mid-life-crisis-experiencing public figure here. I was thinking Brittany Spears?].

So what now? Well, 6 months ago my engine started squealing. It sounded like a belt. In the wake of this, we've replaced the belts, the alternator, the timing belt and everything else in the timing case, and checked out (although not yet replaced) the power steering pump. The squeal has also been diagnosed by 3 professionals and fixed as many times. And guess what? IT'S BACK. So I'm taking it in to yet another mechanic tonight. Wish me luck. On the phone, he said he thought it's the tensioners. I'll be one angry person if it is... seeing as that was my first hunch, but $800+ later, I still haven't touched them.

Maybe I should bite the bullet and get a new car. But I'm going to grad school in the fall and I'll be living 5 minutes from OSU campus. So there's no point in getting one until this one explodes. And frankly, so far the repairs have been significantly cheaper than a new monthly car payment. So the only benefit is a new car would save me from ranting tirades like this one. But if I didn't have my car, I'd find something else to rant about, so that's a wash.

SM

Simple Things

2007-04-12T14:03:00.000-06:00

OK, so I recently my book and was on a quest for the next one to start. I supressed the urge to go buy something new and instead dug through my bookshelf for something I hadn't yet read. I found a small copy of Matsuo Basho's, The Narrow Road to the Deep North. This is a collection of poetry by an author often considered to be the grandfather of Haiku. Now, three years ago this would have never happened. Prior to Dr. Gessel's literature class that I took as a fluke, I wouldn't have been caught dead reading poetry. In this life or the next. But that class changed my thoughts on literature in a profound way. And now I not only can appreciate good literature, I enjoy it.

Anyway, here's what I learned: In the introduction, there was a comment from Basho received concerning a banana tree. He noted how useless the tree is. It has blossoms but they're ugly, the wood can't be used for building, etc., etc. But then he states that it is precisely this usefulness that he likes. (Although his comment was far more poetic than my butchery of it here.) He had learned the value of appreciating things because they are what they are. He had a grasp on the concept of simplicity that really is astounding. Reading more of his disciple's comments, it is clear that these guys were genious not because they were intellectual like Socrates or Plato or Aristotle, but because they were masters of simplicity. This is something I think we could all take a lesson from, myself in particular.

So, minutes after I put the book down, I got a text from my dear friend, Hardcore Steve. Yes, that's really what we call him. It is not uncommon for him to send wildly random text messages and this was no exception. "'You must be behind your enemy, in order to kick your enemy's behind.' --A Wise Guy". I laughed pretty hard. And then I stopped and realized that this joke too, is genius in its own right. Think about it. There's word play on the several different definitions of "behind". 1) There's the physical position of the speaker facing his opponent's back and there's, well, the other one. 2) The phrase "kick his behind" is, for some reason, always humorous. 3) The quote is attributed to "A Wise Guy" which is more word play: the word wise makes the quote sound like a Chinese proverb, but the term "wise guy" also means a jokester, which fits the ridiculous nature of the saying. So there is all of this complexity wrapped up into a phrase that is aesthetically simple. Genius. Pure genius.

I then stopped dead in my tracks realizing that I had completed the above analysis unconsciously. Feeling somewhat shocked with myself, I quickly retired to my room for a period of meditation and self-evaluation.

SM

Go Buckeyes!

2007-04-11T19:11:00.000-06:00

So, as many of you are painfully aware, I like to tell stories. So here it goes with a new segment I like to call "Story Time". (I put as much thought into that as the title of this blog, if you couldn't tell.)

I had the opportunity to fly out to visit Ohio State University, where I will be attending graduate school beginning this fall. I had a great time and enjoyed stomping around the insanely huge campus. I happened to be there when OSU beat Georgetown in the final four. I believe the entire campus of some 50,000+ students was drunk that evening. Well, to be fair, it was probably about 49,800, since the Mormons wouldn't have participated.

I, however, spent the evening dining at a Chinese restaurant with a few other prospective students and the star of this story, the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Hajime Miyazaki... quite possibly the coolest Japanese guy I have ever met. This guy was the absolute embodiment of everything a good Economist should be. He had the intellect, the personality, the sense of humor, the slight kookiness and the glasses to fit the bill. I'll leave the details up to your imagination. Seriously though, he was pretty funny to talk to. When he heard I had lived in Hiroshima, we ended up having a rather long discussion about the yakuza (Japanese mafia). I didn't realize that 1) I knew that much about the yakuza and 2) well, ya. I think I may have given the wrong impression to the other students.

The highlight of the whole trip was the plane right to OSU. Ready for this? So, to keep the price down, I got a one-way ticket on Delta and a one-way on Southwest. The Delta ticket routed me first to Cincinnati. Now, Cincinnati is something like 2 hours away from Columbus, where OSU is located, by car. But that's not where I went next. Nope. I went to Laguardia. On Long Island. In NEW YORK. Then, I had to rush over to the gate for my next leg. This plane was one of those tiny ones with a 6 foot ceiling. To get to the plane we had to 1) walk onto the tarmac 2) get a ride in a bus to the plane and 3) board, but after storing our carry-ons under the plane since it was too small for even those. Fortunately this plane took me to Columbus. Total time there: 12 hours. Total time back: 4 hours.

SM

Easter

2007-04-09T11:04:00.000-06:00

It was a good and thoughtful Easter weekend. A friend from the mission, was visiting from Japan and I had the opportunity to catch up with her after some 5 years. (It's hard to believe it's been that long...!) Also owing to her visit, I was able to talk with quite a few people that I served with but haven't seen forever. It didn't hit me until after the fact, but that really was a great way to spend Easter. It brought back a lot of memories of the time we spent doing our best to serve to Lord and spread His gospel. More than that, it brought back the feelings I had. After she left, I spend a good deal of time talking about missionary work with my father, who also served in Japan.

The Sunday comics featured a wonderful comment in the strip "Mallard Fillmore". Mallard discusses with his politically-correct advisor the unfortunate idea that in order to avoid offending anyone, Easter can only be about bunnies and colored eggs. Now, watching my little sister run around the house looking for eggs begs an admission that such holiday traditions are a very good thing. I am grateful for such traditions that create fond memories and develop love and unity. I am also grateful for The Savior who gave His life and rose again that He might give us life. I am grateful all of those who give of their time and energy to spread the Good Word. Although the holiday is past, I still pray that the spirit of it may continue with us all.

SM

Welcome

2007-04-05T16:43:00.000-06:00

So, I finally decided to start a blog. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm prone to ranting on about whatever is on my mind. However, the more passionate I get about things, the more I've noticed my friends gradually disappearing, or at the very least growing disinterested. Thus, I figured I would increase the longevity of my friendships if I vented on the internet rather than face-to-face.

I do plan on posting a wide variety of thoughts, not just politics. But, anyone who knows me will expect a good deal of commentary on politics, conservativism, economics, society, culture and religion. And yes, there may be some occasional conservative hatemongering as well, ala my good friends Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. But I'll try to keep that to a minimum. I'll also try to hold your interest with other thoughts on the things I'm passionate about: music, sports, and life in general. This will hopefully be a good way to keep up with what I'm doing without actually having to deal with me in person.

A quick word on the title. Frankly, I'm not sure that I like it yet. I wanted to come up with something all-encompassing and representative of my values, beliefs, ideals, etc. etc. But apparently I either 1) have none or 2) am so scatter-brained that it's really impossible to sum my thoughts up with a concise title of sorts. I'm inclined to believe the latter. Plus, it's not really original, although I did think of it all by myself.

Maybe eventually I'll come up with a title I like. But in the meantime, I think it fits alright. Afterall, when your one-way commute is 45 minutes, you have a lot of time to, well, think. And hopefully what I write here will make you think a little too.

SM