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Monday, March 25, 2013

She said yes! Officialy Engaged

I have a sleeping problem.  Perhaps a better way to put it would be that I have a problem with sleep.  Why sleep?  Why you gotta come up all in my biz and get in my face like dat?  I already dedicate hours a day to my three jobs, homework, church responsibilities, a goat, and stalking people over the Internet.  You want 8?  To add emphasis, you want EIGHT?!  And if I don't deliver, you attack me and knock me unconscious right in the middle of lecture.  Root.  I still can't believe it... 8 hours?  Don't be ridiculous.  Ain't no body got time for that. 

It was a busy but nonetheless awesome weekend.  I guess that makes sense because I wouldn't waste my time with something that wasn't awesome anyways.  Well, with the exception of Sport Chalet that is.

A friend of mine, Andy, went through the Temple for the first time on Friday.  Andy is going to be serving a service mission starting tomorrow.  On Friday, I was his escort.  Though I know that the experience was super awesome for Andy, it was also really good for me.  It's been four years since I went through for myself and going through with Andy caused me to "relive" that in a way.  As we went through, I just thought of what things would be like from his perspective, what questions he would have, and things that would stick out to him.  I've been through countless times since I first went and some things just don't stand out anymore after all the repetition.  It was super grape.

If that wasn't cool enough, I also was privileged to hear Elder Holland speak.  He was in the area for an 11-Stake leadership training meeting and used the chance to also attend the Stake Conference for the Pleasanton Stake.  Though everyone who showed up, either from the Pleasanton Stake or from another Stake nearby, to hear Elder Holland's words, the rest was really good too.  That's the second time I had heard Elder Holland speak in person.  The first time was in the MTC.

Going back to Saturday, I had sushi for the first time.  It was good, except for the spicy stuff.  Thanks Dave.  We had to wait for an hour before sitting down (racism), but it was alright.  It's a good thing I don't keep sushi in my fridge, because I'd eat it.  A lot.  If I wasn't losing weight I would have to start watching my diet.  I haven't had much time for running or going to the gym since the semester started.  I'm turning into a chubby nerd.  Merilee hates it.

Oh by the way, Hayley, Merilee's roommate, was proposed to by her boyfriend Ben.  She said yes and they're officially engaged!  I guess Merilee will be looking for a new roommate in the coming months.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Pop Tarts and Entropy


As my dear friend Stacy knows, S'mores happens to be one of my favorite ice cream flavors.  It's only in stores for a couple months out of the year, unfortunately.  S'mores also happens to be my favorite Pop Tart flavor.  I don't usually eat Pop Tarts, or at least I didn't.  About two weeks ago I bought some because it was late at night and I had the munchies when I was at the store.  They have proven to be a tempting late night snack.  I'm actually quite embarrassed about it because I usually eat really really healthily, especially for being a single college guy.

So Friday was date night.  It was great.  It was Ward Temple Night so I met Merilee there.  I borrowed my brother's epic picnic basket (it truly is epic), and brought stuff for sandwiches that we ate before the session.

I got to the Temple early and called Tim, my close friend that I grew up with.  We caught up a little before we had to hang up.  Tim has been living in Ohio for almost two years.  His mom was like a second mother to me and passed the Thursday before Dad.  I've been worried about him and we haven't kept in touch much since I was at her funeral.  I was very relieved and happy to hear all the good news he had.  He's been facing lots of challenges and it made me so incredibly happy to hear that he was working things out.  I'm so proud of him.  Between Tim's news, a fun date, and being at the Temple, Friday was just a great day.  The Spirit was felt, and I had personal prayers answered.

So at work yesterday, I came up with a new name for my department.  Instead of being called Footwear, it should be renamed Entropy, because I feel like everything is steadily descending into chaos, especially now as we are preparing for inventory.  The book that I'm reading, The Infinite Atonement, by Tad Callister, mentions the law of entropy.  My Chemistry teacher explained it by saying that things in nature will always decay from an organized state into a less organized state.  Callister says that the law "suggests that the universe, left to itself, would constantly move toward a state of disorder."  He uses entropy to highlight the infinite power of the Atonement.  It's God's influence and power that reverse the effects of entropy, or chaos, death, disorder, and destruction that plague mortality.  You can look at it sort of like God being the mechanic that maintains a car that would otherwise eventually breakdown without intervention.

Pondering that lately has shown me that it's completely true.  God is who sustains us amid all the entropy in our lives.  Just as the power of the resurrection restores order to those bodies that have been afflicted by disease or death, God's influence and our Savior's Atonement restore order to our lives.  There are times when it feels like disorder and chaos can rule your life.  Work, school, family, health, faith, friends - all can feel like they are decaying and falling apart.  One of my favorite quotes from Preach My Gospel is in lesson 2 when it says
"As we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can help us endure our trials, sicknesses, and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ" (emphasis added)
So life's pretty much looking up.  My friend is facing his challenges and making important decisions.  School really couldn't be going better.  I'm in a relationship that makes me very incredibly happy.  And I feel like God is answering my prayers.  At this moment in time, everything important to me seems to be falling into order, and it's not anything that I'm doing.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Orange Juice and Goat Milking Geniuses

At this moment there is a playlist on my blog that has a song by Otis Redding that is titled something like "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay."  I enjoy this song.  I enjoy even more Sara bareilles' version while having rainymood.com on another tab.  That's just how I roll.

Tonight there is a Ward barbecue.  I'm pretty pumped for it since I can't remember when was the last time I went to a barbecue.  The occasion is to celebrate the marriage of a couple in the Ward.  They're having a bridal shower before the guys come over for the food.  It's great to see people take that important step, especially in a Singles Ward.  I don't know the couple extremely well, but I'm nonetheless happy for them.

I got some orange juice on Thursday.  It was sweet.
Mary, the mother of the family that I rent my room from, has resumed asking me when I'm going to get married.  Before Merilee and I broke up, Mary and I used to joke about me and Merilee starting our family out of the 100 square feet that I currently rent.  This week, Merilee and I decided to try dating again and Mary has naturally resumed the talk of marriage.  Mary and her husband, Dave, were talking about getting hitched on their second date.  I don't know what it must be like to have that happen.  Scary?  That's probably what I would have thought of the situation had it happened to me.  I've heard even more seemingly insane stories and they make me wonder why things can be so different with different couples.  Some just know right off, others take obnoxious amounts of time, and then there's plenty in between.  I don't think it really matters which kind of couple you end up being; what's more important is being happy while you are together.

This was a good week for school.  At least I think.  I aced my calculus exam from last week.  I was worried because I had left the exam feeling good but all my classmates were discussing how hard it was.  When people were getting their scores, most were content with a "C" or ecstatic with a "B".  I worried because my goal is always to have 4.0 status each semester, and doing poorly on this exam would have pretty much killed that chance for this semester.  I got it back on Monday and I did really well, so I'm happy about that.  I also had a physics exam on Tuesday.  I wasn't worried about it.  I was so not worried in fact, that I went for style points and forwent writing up a page of notes with all the formulas for reference on the exam.  I should get it back on Monday.

Merilee says I'm really smart.  I feel bad for being labeled as "smart" sometimes.  I think that being smart shouldn't just be being able to do things that others think they can't do.  There's a lot of things that others excel at that I don't think I could ever excel at.  These things include things like doily making, goat milking, advice giving, singing, writing in cursive, tickling, and whispering.  I don't think that I should be labeled as a genius because I know how to take symbols on a piece of paper and rearrange them into other symbols.  Anyways, I don't know where I was going with this.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Hobos, Dates, Fathers, and Epiphanies

Fancy Free T Shirt
I got a free T-shirt at work yesterday.  It made me think about why free T-shirts are so awesome.  It's as if the donation of the shirt made it infinitely more valuable than any other article of clothing in your closet,  with perhaps the exception of another even more valuable free T-shirt or your cozy socks.  Aren't things given supposed to be of less value than those you earn?  Nevertheless, whenever someone walks by giving out free T-shirts, you know I'm all over that like a hobo on a ham sandwich.

I guess I should mention what's going on in church.  Tomorrow I actually have the lesson in Elder's Quorum.  Last week I was in Ward Council and Merilee, a woman I was dating until about a month ago, announced that the sisters had conjured up a dating contest that would be starting that day.  It was called the Tri-Valley 2 Week Triple P Blitzkrieg.  She even wrote about it in her blog here.

Basically girls are trying to see who can get the most dates by either asking guys out or by being asked out since the Elders Quorum has been encouraged to have the same contest.  Anyways, I was a little disappointed when I heard about it.  Disappointed because I had already chosen dating as my lesson topic, and my lesson wasn't until the next week.  My Elder's Quorum President asked me what my lesson was going to be on a few weeks ago.  I told him that it would be better as a surprise.  He said, "oh are you going to be calling the brethren to repentance about their home teaching?"  I told him no, while thinking to myself, "it's even worse."  I had known that many girls were frustrated at the lack of dating going on in the Ward due to the men not asking anyone out, so I was pumped for the opportunity to address the issue.  Surprisingly, my feelings have changed this week.  I actually think that the timing was perfect and has allowed me to think of some new ideas for the lesson.

It's interesting how you think about some people more once they're gone.  One person I've been thinking a lot about is Dad.  Tomorrow will be two months.  At institute on Tuesday we were studying Romans and my corner of the room was assigned to read 8:14-18.  I'm kind of a loner and was sitting in the back row so I just read it myself while the other two or three read over it together.  I had had a train of thought going through my mind the past week, especially since Merilee posted a video on facebook.  It was a Mormon Message titled Earthly Father, Heavenly Father.  I had thought many times, while watching my brother Paul's kids, about the similarities between earthly parenthood and Godhood, and I really enjoyed the message.  The part that "hit" me was a quote at the end from the Quorum of the Twelve that said "Of all the titles of respect and honor and admiration that are given to Deity, he has asked us to address him as Father."  It made me reflect on my attitude towards God, especially while praying.

I've been praying for a lot of things lately.  Thinking of God as my Father actually really helps me to have hope.  That's what I felt in the five verses we read.  I felt like sharing my thoughts when it was my corner's turn to share what we read, but I didn't.  I just let the other guys talk.  I'm really not used to sharing personal stuff in front of people and I also didn't want Merilee to think that I stalk her page everyday.  But it was great thinking, or realizing rather, that my Dad, if he were here, would really be willing to give me anything as long as it was for my good.  He would do it because he loves me and wants me to be happy.  Even imperfect fathers know how to give good gifts to their children (Matthew 7:9-11), and I feel blessed to know that God is my Heavenly Father.  I know it's something so simple and that it's so fundamental that it's the very first topic taught to investigators but it just was great to think about this week.  I don't know why it takes a video on facebook or lessons at insitute for me to have these little epiphanies, but I'm grateful for them.  I feel like I've had a lot of these kinds of experiences recently.