what an inspiration!

Wow people, oh my goodness I'm married to a GENIUS! (Who's dangerously attractive might I add ;)

My beautiful wife Staci will be graduating SUMMA CUM LAUDE with highest honors from NAU! (4.0 GPA !!)


she'll walk May 8th, 2009 @ 2 pm and I couldn't be any more proud. She really is an inspiration to me, both in education and otherwise. At times I get discouraged with my schoolwork, feeling so far behind with kids in my classes being 5 years younger than I am, but Staci has helped me (and continues to help me) push myself and get it done. WAY TO GO STACI! WOOT WOOT!!

YEAH BABY!

The Friendship Debate

I’m finding two very similar social problems that I don’t know how to deal with, and if there’s anything you can say about it please do.

The first is the type of situation where the memories you make today ruin the good ones from long ago. Take for example a friend today who has made a mess of their life, and their toxic relationship with you now ruins the image of good times you used to have. Sure you had fun back in college, or that project you worked together on back at your part time job, but realistically there’s nothing that bonds you together now. You’re differently people. The only thing that keeps you ‘in touch’ is that social spider web of cell numbers, Facebook, Blogs, or the occasional run-in around town). You feel you’re moving on in life, and they are holding you back, to live in the past. It’s not intentional, it’s just a byproduct of staying in contact throughout the change. I know that to be true but I’m finding people I used to know so well that I don’t know at all. My perceptions of who they are, is being crowded out by who they’ve become and with some of them, I don’t like the change.

How do you know it’s time to let go? Maybe the person hasn’t made a mess of their life, but you’re still not able to connect like you used to. You simply have nothing in common anymore.

That leads me to my next problem, those so-called “relationships” that have decayed to the point where you haven’t spoken in months or years, and even when you did know them the bond felt hollow. You may have taken a class for one semester together, or briefly worked on the same team at your job. Maybe even a mission buddy that you’ve fallen out of touch with. Either way it’s just not the same. Should you fall out of touch so that the memories become sweeter? Or keep ‘em in your cell phone, “just in case” you decide to call one day out of the blue?

I simply cannot care that much, about so many people. It’s impossible. think I’m crazy? Try it. Get out a piece of paper and outline a list of every social ‘circle’ you can think of, be it Work, Family, College, High School, Mission, whatever. Now list the names of EVERYONE you can think of associated with that circle. Just a first or last name will do. Obviously there’s more than a few names of people we haven’t spoken to in years. I don’t know about you but there’s many I try to keep in touch with but it’s just not working. We’ve outgrown the relationship yet I haven’t mentally moved on past it. It’s hard, prioritizing who you want to spend your time with, or thinking about.

Both problems likely come from the same source. Society today teaches us to have relationships that are a mile wide and an inch deep. We’re as the sower, who, instead of cultivating crops in a specific area and watching them grow to maturity, instead scatters seeds wherever we may and returns randomly to check on the progress. No one plant is nourished and growth overall is limited. Ok ok, sorry to get all philosophical on ya, geez. But still it’s true, we try to make a million new friends without having deepened friendship with any one of them. In my opinion one of two things is happening, either the new associates are distracting us from furthering our contact with our old friends, or our old ‘friends’ are keeping us from spending time with the new ones.

I have a lot of numbers in my cell phone, at least a hundred friends on Facebook, and who knows how many people reading my blog, but yet I feel very distant from everyone except my wife and family right now. my perceptions may be off but in society today it feels like most everyone is living in the past, talking about how ‘good it’s been’ instead of how good it could be. Few people I know look forward to the future, branch out, try new hobbies, and reinvent themselves so that there’s new life to our relationship. And if they have, they just don’t talk about it. At least not with me.

In my opinion Staci and I are doing very well at making plans, and carrying them through. We’re advancing in our jobs, moving forward in school (with her graduation in May), going on vacations, gaining new hobbies, and overall moving forward in life. We just don’t have friends to do it with. in social circles if we’re not talking TV, (which we don’t have/want), we don’t talk. It’s hard for family to relate to us as well, because they’re all in a different stage of life, and our current friends just can’t (or don’t) connect. I know distance and time are factors, but in a world more connected than ever I’m finding sad excuses.

*** Not meant to offend anyone / please comment (even anonymously if necessary) ***

the TITAN!

here's what they have to say about it:

"twenty-five stories, stretching over a mile in length and with speeds approaching 85 mph...Titan will live up to its reputation. After a quick climb up the lift hill the ride starts with a stomach wrenching 255-foot drop, tied for the third tallest in the world. Even the brave will quiver to the size of this drop into a 120-foot dark tunnel far below. Thirty passengers on board one of the coaster's three trains will feel the force as the speed through at 85 mph!

The second half of Titan is a series of high-speed helixes that will test your strength to handle intense, powerful G-forces. Forces of up to 4.5 G's will be sustained for several seconds as the train speeds through the series of twisted helix turns. It's a fitting finale for an amazing roller coaster before pulling into brake run.

here's what I say: wow...! WOW WOW HOLY COW that was awesome! here's a before and after picture of us

Before:

After:

and here's what it looks like going up

and from a distance, it's still just as impressive

it was AWESOME!!!

"Tastes like Chicken"

so now that it's a week later the glamor may be dissipating but nevertheless I said I'd blog about gator and here it is!



By the way, there's a Pappadeaux in the phoenix valley, just in case anyone else wanted to try it also. anyway, here we are in Dallas, about to go in


the appetizers on the menu...



so for those of you wondering, alligator does NOT taste like chicken, and neither do frog legs! here's a pic...





it really doesn't taste chicken. it's actually A LOT BETTER! (serious, the guy on Transformers knew what he was talking about! // ok random I know)

they put a lot of creole seasoning on it (Tony's ?) anyway, it was dang tasty!

however as for the frog legs.... they did taste like chicken... tiny chicken. that had been soaking in water for weeks. : P

So much stuff!

honestly, this past weekend had so much in it I could write a novel. I'll try not to though!

here's the rundown of how I've spent the last 3-5 days:
the night before my birthday (Wed. , march 4th) my parents invited us over for a feast! we had ham, sweet potatoes and even gluten free pineapple upside down cake! so yummy. it was great to hang out with my parents for the evening. weird to think I was turning 23 already. still feels like I'm 17.
anyway, B-day morning I got up and went to school (fun, fun {/roll eyes/} - to be honest I just ditched out of my morning class. it's 'buried cities and lost tribes', with a substitute, watching a mind-numbingly boring movie. w/e. not going to waste my time.
all throughout my philosophy class while they dissected the various 'social classes' Plato found most people in, I was hastily writing a list of all the crap I needed to pack for the Trip to Texas! - can you blame me? my mind was elsewhere. all in all we packed, and jumped on a plane! to .... Albuquerque? - a breif scare for sure, before we knew it, we were bound for Dallas! we stopped in Lovefield Airport, and were hastily picked up by Staci's parents. it was great to see them too. after a quick ride we were at their house!
the biggest surprize for me? that Frisco, TX looked a WHOLE LOT like where I served my mission just south of DC! I loved that area and especially the victorian style homes. Staci and I have been leaning heavily toward moving out that direction and the more I see, the more I like!

upon arrival Staci's parents also had cake! mmmm.... German Chocolate. can't go wrong with that. I know, I have a sugar intake problem, I'm workin on it!



the next day was awesome, mainly cause we were able to lounge around without having to rush anywhere. Chili's for lunch was fun, and Staci's mom's handicapped parking decal was pretty helpful too! (we uh... borrowed it for six flags :P )

later that day I was able to go with em over to Staci's brother's house, Bryan and Heather. very nice family, and cool house too (just a few miles away). 'whilst' we were there (btw, Staci's fav. word ;) we were able to hang out and even have Bryan, a Chiropractor help readjust us! it's cool too because he has alternative medicines and techniques and suggested several ways both Staci and I could overcome our individual health issues. very encouraging, it's great.

that night we had a blast as well going to a seafood kitchen named "Pappadeaux" (poppa-doe's) ok, seriously, this is the kind of restraunt that will make you rethink your life! for anyone who knows me, I hate seafood. seriously, HATE seafood. it's a strong word, I know, but this place... gets to ya. I was trying stuff I didn't think I'd EVER eat! .... Alligator, Frog legs, even BACON WRAPPED SHRIMP! (eat your heart out Mark D. ! haha JK). Oh, and I'm bloggin about the Gator all by itself!

that night they rolled me out back into the car, we went back to Staci's parents house where her dad Faren proceeded to whip me in several games of Pool.



I think it was after the 2nd time he jumped my ball to sink the 8 that we decided to call it quits. I got taken for a ride! I guess I asked for it though. "Just one more game" - at least 6 times.

Saturday morning we ate a big breakfast, packed some food and headed off to Six Flags. kinda scary because neither Staci nor I had any idea where we were going, we just hoped the little GPS didn't have a sick sense of humor. (More on Six Flags in a future post)

later on in the afternoon Staci's brother Adam and his GF met up with us to go on another round of rides before the day ended. by the time we left we couldn't hardly walk!



sooooo tired. we went over to Pei Wei to grab some food, and then got lost all the way home. good times!

Sunday morning it was hard to leave. Literally - we could barely move at first! after we forced ourselves to get up and pack we took the long trip back to the airport, a little sad to go. the flight home wasn't bad, we just wish our ticket let us know we'd be making a PIT STOP IN TULSA! thank you southwest. grrr. not bad, just frustrating that we had a ticket describing a direct flight but a plane that does otherwise. I think it was only frustrating because Staci and I got split up on the flight and had to sit by strangers. before the 2nd takeoff we swapped seats though, and watched 'The Sword in the Stone" all the way home. (another b-day present!)

can't wait to get out of town again! this morning I got up and ready to go to work and my throat was hurting pretty bad. wouldn't have been a problem if it didn't hurt to talk. I started losing my voice though, which puts me in a tight spot for work so they let me have the day off. I definately appreciated that!

stay tuned :)

Home Again

well this past Thursday I hit the not-so-big 2 3. (seriously, what's so great about 23?)
it was DEFINITELY a big thing for me though! A BIRTHDAY WEEKEND in Texas! Whoo Hoo!!

I have so much to say I'll actually post several times about different events. here's what you can expect: Flight to + from Texas for a 4 day weekend in Dallas area with some of Staci's Family / Eating Gator + Frog legs / Six Flags over Texas (Day/ Caricatures/ Souvenirs ) / Six flags (Rides + Experience) and more.

it was AWESOME! Stay tuned.