The Polls are In

I asked "What tells the most about a person?" You voted. The vote is over, the polls are in. McCain wins! What? Dang it! I'll go into more detail on that in my real post for today, which I'm writing now.

Well, 9 of you voted. No one agreed with Forrest Gump that their shoes tell the most about a person. No one thought that hands or car tell the most. (Which surprised me. I think hands are VERY good at telling about a person. Their occupation, hobby, wealth status, and even mood can be derived from hands.) One of you thought asking someone "tell me a lot about yourself" is the best way to tell. Two each thought blog and friends. (I agree with the friends people). But, the winner by popular vote, 44% was the eyes. For me, eyes are third. But, that's why YOU voted, and I am telling you my opinion now.

Thanks again for voting. I'll put a new poll at the bottom when I decide what it'll be about. Stay tuned.

I decided. Go vote. :D

It's on the left now. If you didn't notice :)

This is Not a Blog.

It's a Space Station!!!

I have a feeling this blog is going to be very "stream of consciousness," meaning that it won't make sense to anyone but me. "But Austin," you say. "That's how your blogs always are! That's why we love them!" Fair enough. You always see right through me.

Let's get the bad and the ugly out of the way, so we can focus on the good and the beautiful.
This has been the winter of car trouble. I ran into a curb, causing me to buy a new rod for my car's chassis, Tracie had no heat, so we bought a heating motor and resistors for that. NOW, my car has stopped working. This happened earlier this winter, and we just jumpstarted it, and it worked. Now, after trying to jumpstart it TWICE, it is d-e-a-d. I'm dreading taking it in, so Tracie's been driving me to work/school, and I've taken the bus occasionally as well. And we were wondering what to do with our nonexistent excess money, now we know! Ah, the joys of life and winter!

Another, less expensive but almost as annoying feature of my life is the Soundtrack of "Hairspray." Tyler and Cheryl gave it to us. (We love it, thank you. But...) Unfortunately, "Hairspray" sticks in your head like it was made of hairspray or something! Think of the most annoying song: Hey Mickey You're so Fine, most songs by Gwen Stefani, Spice Girls, or the Wiggles. I'd almost prefer those. This is simply because the Hairspray songs are so good, they're infectious. Stuck in my head from when I shower in the morning to when I can't sleep at night! We've officially boycotted the CD from being played for quite awhile. It is an odd feeling. On one hand, I really like the music, lyrics and singing. On the other, I CAN'T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD!!! That's all the complaining for now. And Tyler and Cheryl, thank you again for the gift. I do appreciate it and love it, I just wanted to blog about it because it's a funny feeling to love and hate something so much at the same time. Like George Bush.

I can't WAIT to go to Texas! We're leaving on Valentine's Day (Or Valantine's Day, the correct spelling for our family) and will be there until President's Day. I haven't seen my immediate family for over a year now, and I Need it!! I can't wait to see them, and am literally giddy with anticipation. FIFTEEN DAYS!!!

Now I come to the Topic part of the Blog. I'm tempted to break it up in several entries, but I've been blogging a lot, and I don't wanna. So, I'll just make a title in bold for each general topic: Work, School, Home, and Politics.

Work: A New Record, And David Bach buys us Pizza!

David Bach, Financial help guru extraordinaire and someone we do training programs for had a conference call and I was invited. True, my phone was on mute, so he couldn't hear my chants of "Go, David! Go, David! You the man! You the man!" But it was motivating and cool to hear him tell us what a great job we were doing, and the money we were bringing in. As a thank you, he bought all us working on the Bach Project pizza! Now I can tell people that David Bach bought me pizza. And it won't be a lie anymore!
David Bach is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Author of Automatic Millionaire, and Smart Couples Finish Rich. He's appeared on Oprah more than half a dozen times, and was recently on Regis & Kelly.

Also at work, where I set up interviews for people wanting to join a training program in such things as getting out of debt, creating their own business, or investing in Real Estate or the Stock Market, a record was broken. The old record for most transfers in a day was 31. Well, yesterday, Austin got 36! Yeah, baby! It felt good, everyone cheering me on, the proverbial crowds going proverbially wild. I also got a bit of a prize, though it wasn't without its side effects:

Interpretation of Dreams

Last night, I had to prevent myself from dreaming about transferring calls and qualifying in my sleep. I haven't had this problem since I was at QualitySmith.

And speaking of weird dreams, I have a bit of advice for you all: If you ever read Terry Pratchett's Disc World books, DO NOT read them before going to sleep. I won't go into too much detail, suffice to say dreams involved a sentient briefcase, a giant turtle, (giant as in flying through space) and the eighth color, octarine. (that is, a fluorescent greenish-yellowish-purple)

And speaking of dreams (I've been doing this a few paragraphs now, pay attention!) I had a cool discovery the other day. I was talking to my parents about Tracie's blog, her poll, in fact. My dad told me he put down flying, and that he often has flying dreams, and in them he sets new records for long jumps and plays basketball very well. This was really exciting for me (Austin, get out more. Hang on! I'll explain why!) this was exciting for me because I too have flying dreams where I'm good at basketball and do the long jump! Like father, like son.

School is School, which is to say, Good

School this week has been nice. In English, I've turned in what I feel were my best papers yet, the teacher agreed. I'm going to try to submit some for the school literary magazine. I'll let you know how it goes, though I'm a bit skeptical, as the last time I submitted poetry to UVSC's literary magazine, they were all sent back. Naturally, it led me to assume they have very very poor taste and standards. But, I thought I'd give them another chance.

Art History was enjoyable, we had our first test. I studied much too much, but it's Art History, so it delighted me to study so much. If I didn't Ace the test, I'm sure I trumped it. (i.e. I did well.)

On the Home Front

We still live in our apartment. This weekend we had Trent & Jessica McNeil over. It was very fun. I don't know why we don't do more with them. (Hint hint) We ate and played our GameCube and then played Cranium. They left early, partially because Trent was going by our clock on our VCR, still set to Daylight Savings time (lousy farmers) and partially because Jessica is pregnant, and because they had things to do.
I must comment on the food. Because it was so wonderful. And because Tracie will murder me if I don't. We had homemade spinach artichoke dip courtesy of Tracie, with garlic bread and juice supplied by the McNeils. For our main course we had Fettucini Alfredo courtesy of Tracie again, with Alfredo sauce from scratch, and cajun chicken, courtesy of me. This of course leads me to my next meandering thought.

I'm a Sous!

That's right! As great a chef as Tracie is, and though she'd never admit it, she wouldn't be quite so great without such a great supportive staff. That's where I come in. I'm the sous chef. I stir the risotto or couscous or pasta or whatever so it doesn't burn, I usually take care of the meat, and do the clean up afterwards (usually). In exchange, I get her delicious cuisine, but more importantly, I get the opportunity to cook with the woman I love. We greatly enjoy cooking together, and every night, I look forward to savor her menu, but truly feast of her company. Can I be more cheesy? Probably, but it would be admittedly difficult.

And finally,

I'm no Pundit, but I know what I like! (Mostly)

With this being Primary Season (political. Not church for kids) and with a Mormon running, I've paid more attention to this presidential primary than any other before. Here are some of my views. I consider myself a Moderate, mostly because I don't think I know enough to have that much of an opinion, and I assume both Republicans and Democrats have some good ideas, so I'm for those good ideas, regardless of party.

I am Against the War. Even if we're doing those men and women who have died for this war a disservice, that isn't enough reason to kill more of them. In my humble opinion.

The Candidates:
Democratic: For the Democrats, (that is, Hillary vs. Obama, as Edwards has now quit) I was leaning Obama, he seemed smart, charismatic, and black. But then he received backing from Kennedys, so I think that maybe he's not such a good choice. As for Hillary, I echo Ammon who echoed Chris Rock: "I think America is ready for a woman president. But does it have to be that woman?"

Republican: I didn't want to support Romney. He seemed like a flip-flopper, as well as more of a schmoozer than a politician. (Yes, there is a difference, however slight). Also, he's a Mormon, and I didn't want to support him carte blanche just because of his religious preference. That would be like all the "Christians" who would vote against him for the same reason. However, as the race has been playing its course, I support him 89% now.

In case you're wondering, here are/were my feelings of the other Republicans.

Ron Paul: An excellent choice. Pro Constitution. But not wealthy or corrupt enough to have a chance.

Mike Huckabee: I'd just as soon vote for Hitler. He'd be more tolerant and intelligent.

John McCain: An ok choice. It looks like he'll be the nominee, which means we'll have a democrat for a president again. He would've been a better choice in 2000 or even 2004. I would say give it up, but he's winning, so good for him.

Ideally, if a Republican were to win, I'd like McCain to be elected, with Romney as his running mate. McCain, being 900 or so years old dies in the first year in office, and Romney, as Veep takes the office. Sadly, I feel that's the only way he'll get in there. I hope I'm wrong, and I admit I know little. But that's my two cents for this primary season.

Maybe I'll change my tune come next Tuesday.

Well, that's about it. Thanks for reading. I'll keep writing as long as you do. (And shortly after you stop)

OOH! This is my 50th post! Hooray!

The Smell of Syrup

For the last few days, my work has smelled like syrup. I'd grown used to it, until yesterday, when Tracie noticed the smell of it on me. I couldn't get rid of it. When I came in to work today, several of my friends at work have the same predicament.

We all had theories as to where the syrup smell came from. Some said it's from somewhere else in the building, and it's filtering through the ventilation system, some said it's our boss, who has an obsession with pancakes. Some others think that someone in the company is having an affair with Mrs. Buttersworth.

I myself think that someone is wearing a new syrup-scented cologne to attract fat chicks.

Gordon B. Hinckley 1910-2008

I was 13 when Gordon B. Hinckley became the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Most of my memories of a Prophet are about him. The world is better because this man lived the life that God wanted him to. He is with his sweetheart now. President Hinckley, thank you for urging me to stand a little taller, to read the Book of Mormon, to love my neighbors, in short, to do the things the Lord would have me do.

I remember while on my mission, we showed the video "Gordon B. Hinckley: Man of Integrity" to someone we were trying to help find his testimony of the Prophet. (He already believed the Book of Mormon to be true.) After watching the video of his life up to that point, he said to us "How could that man not be a prophet?" And was baptised shortly after. Without direct contact, just by living his life, he helped bring this person and I know countless others into the fold. I know this man was a prophet of God, and that he now is before his Redeemer, who has taken him into His arms and said: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Gordon B. Hinckley 1910-2008

He will be missed.

And...Glass of Random is LIVE

www.glassofrandom.blogspot.com is here! Tracie and I have our fiction blog up! We sent invites to many of you. If you'd like access, give us your email address.

Do You REALLY Want to Know?

If you do, then try this.
If not, you can take the blue pill.

Since the dawn of mankind, we have asked certain questions. Why am I here? Does life have a purpose? Is there a God? Who am I? Why was Star Trek canceled? Why were the new Star Wars movies so bad? Why did that chicken REALLY cross the road?

And now, I have the answers.
You are here, because if you weren't, you'd be there. Yes, life has a purpose. Yes, of course there's a God. You are you. Because it was a lousy show. George Lucas. The chicken didn't cross the road. It's not smart enough to have a reason, it just did. The same reason kids eat Apple Jacks, even though they don't taste like apples: They're made of 100% sugar. I mean, they eat what they like!

A British man I was speaking to had to leave. So he said "Top Drawer! Cheerio!" Not to be outdone, I naturally countered with "Office Chair! Raisin Bran!" Those English. Bad teeth and bad breath. Weird spelling. Driving on the wrong side of the road. Unattractive twits thinking they're better than the rest of the world, when their accomplishments are solely credited to their ancestors. Like a nation of well-mannered Paris Hiltons.
(Can't blame them for the teeth and breath too much. English Cuisine, in more polite circles, is known as: "The-only-cuisine-worse-than-French- cuisine.")

I might as well tell you why I'm doing this entry. One, I'm very bored. Two, I love that picture! (Thanks, flickr! and thanks, Ammon, for introducing me to flickr. -How do you introduce someone to a website? Austin, this is flickr, flickr, this is Austin. Mingle. --How do you recognize an island? Hey! Wait, don't tell me. Didn't we meet last year at the Fineman Bar Mitzvah? You look a LOT like Hawaii! Didn't we meet last year at the Peninsula Club?) Three, I get to announce a NEW BLOG!!!!!

Since we're both such creative, brilliant sorts, Tracie and I have decided to make a new blog! It's going to be only fiction and writing by one, the other, or both of us.

We weren't sure of the name, possible ideas were: Fiction Forum, Fun Fiction, Farty Fiction, Fictitious Farts, Austin's Anecdotes & Tracie's Tales, Sundry Stories, Slutty Stories, Slappy Stories, Tall Stories, Biscuits, T&A, and What are You Lookin' At?

We finally decided (on Tracie's suggestion) that we call it 1 million reasons why Austin is the greatest! OK, fine. That one was my idea also. We are calling it Glass of Random. Why? Well, it's very significant to us. We'll probably say why on the new blog! Ooh! A cliffhanger! I love it!

I'm so excited, and I hope you are too! Now, before you start crying and screaming and making suicide threats or worse (i.e.: watching Desperate Housewives), don't worry. Austintatious and Unadventures of Tracie will go on as planned. Phew. This is just a way for us to display our creativity, for all our readers out there (well into the billions by now, I'm sure) and work on writing projects together.

I think first I'm going to post some of the papers I've written for my English Class. Well, first, we're going to MAKE the site, but we're doing that tonight. Stay tuned. Like you wouldn't. ;)

Sailor Take Warnin'

A Red sky rises. Blood has been spilt this night. No, not really. I can't back that up. Gorgeous picture though, huh?

So, anyway, my job has just outlawed facebook, (and youtube and myspace, but I never go to those places anyway) which is where I've been spending a lot of my time in between calls. (visiting friends, playing the superhero game, and doing Lord of the Rings Trivia) And so, since I don't feel like reading facts or non facts on wikipedia, or reviews of books and things on amazon, (while I work, of course) I've decided (at least for now) to write more in my blog.

This means that my blog may not have the stellar content and sparkling wit you've grown accustomed to. I'm sorry.

...

So, hi. I'm not sure what I want to talk about. I asked Tracie, and she said she wouldn't tell me any ideas because I always steal hers. (True) So, I'd like to ask you, my readers, (I love you guys!) to tell me what you'd like to see me write about. I thought about doing a poll asking what you'd like to see, but then I'd have to think up ideas myself. And who wants that!?

A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.

I've gotta get off my butt and do something new & exciting or at least noteworthy so I can blog about it!

This week has been like most other weeks. We've been eating healthily, working out, not losing as much weight (probably because we still spend a lot of our time on our respective derrières, working, and watching TV). I've been in school, Tracie celebrates the fact that she's not in school. Utah's cold. Our heating bill is up, and the world keeps turning. (From what I can tell).

Here are the bits that make this week, well, this week.

Tracie and I have renewed interest and effort in our story. No, not the Tracie and Austin Story. The fantasy we've been playing around with and working on for, gosh, over a year now.
It still has lots of groundwork to be laid before we get started, but the world it takes place in, and the story itself, is beginning to take a clearer shape. It's still in its very rough stages, so I won't say much about it. What I will say is, it's about a world dominated by dragons, good and evil, and the people's attempt to overthrow their masters and choose for themselves. And we're very excited about it. My poor novel is on the back burner, currently. Not a bad place to be, but that's where it is. We've also decided to work on our story (hopefully one day a trilogy, a best seller, and blockbuster movie. But we're trying not to get our hopes up. Wise, especially when the story has yet to be written, or even plotted out).

We spent time with family, of course. Although Tracie's parents are busy, we got to see them (never enough for Tracie) some. We went to Justin Harris's Birthday, (Happy Birthday, Justin) and got to eat some great cake & brownies. And wish Justin well.
We also went down to Spanish Fork to see my Uncle Jim's family again. It does my heart well to see some of my close kin here in Utah, as I haven't seen my family in over a year. But we're going out in February, and my Mother is also coming down in March! Yipee!

We got a new bed pad, I kept wetting the old one, no. That's awful. A few months ago when we house sat for Alan & Kris we slept in their bed with one of those really comfy mattress pads. Our bed has been pathetic ever since. So Kris took Tracie to CostCo, where we got a new mattress pad! It's still unflattening/inflating/doing whatever a mattress pad does, so we're hoping to use it tonight! Tracie also got what looks like a lifetime supply of spinach and oranges, but they were like $2, so I'm not complaining.

In final news, my English Teacher took me aside after class today, and told me I only have 13 minutes left to live. No, he told me he really enjoyed my writing, that it was very good and it's a pleasure to have me in the class.
I thanked him, and told him about my secret weapon: being married to an editor. An EXCELLENT editor. (A sexy editor, but I chose not to disclose that nugget of truth).
So, that was a great boost for my ego, as I really enjoy and look up to this teacher.

Btw, new poll at the bottom. As I said last week, what someone would do for a Klondike Bar says a lot about them. Apparently, of the people that view this blog, none of you would cluck like a chicken, but one would moo like a cow (do we have to say "moo like a cow?" What else would you moo like? And don't say your mother, Sean Connery.) One of you said you'd do whatever it takes, thankfully none of you said you'd kill a person. Two of you said you'd watch American Idol, and FOUR of you said you'd kill someone on American Idol, namely, Sanjaya. I wonder if you'd do this strictly for the Klondike Bar, or was the Klondike Bar a mere afterthought?
But, as I so often do, I digress.

So, if what you'd do for a Klondike Bar says a lot about you, what says the MOST about you? That's what I intend to find out!

Until next week!~
Or until I update again. Whatever.

Why so Serious?

"I only do this because I'm having fun. The day I stop having fun, I'll just walk away. I wasn't going to have fun doing a teen movie again.... I don't want to do this for the rest of my life....I don't want to spend the rest of my youth doing this in this industry. There's so much I want to discover."

-Heath Ledger

Steven Wright Quote

I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time". So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.



Have a good weekend!

The Tube, the Polls, Pseudo-Vegetarianism, and the Panda Mafia

No, I don't mean the You Tube, the Water Tube, the Breathing Tube, the Toothpaste Tube, or other kinds of tubes. I mean the Tube Tube. The TV. Television. As Homer Simpson said, "Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover!" though it's not really a secret my feelings for the Television.
It's my Achilles Heel. Except, lots of things are my Achilles Heel. And, I'm not really that Achilles-like.
So, anyway, this week has been rather uneventful. Tracie and I have plopped ourselves on our overly comfy couch, and enjoyed a lot of our Christmas presents. These presents have been DVDs.
I won't bore you too much with details, (not like I'm boring you now, much more boring details, I assure you) but I will say we've watched Animaniacs Season 1, Lois & Clark Season 4, Lord of the Rings- The Return of The King- Extended Edition, and one full DVD of Appendices. (Yeah, that's the proper spelling) Among other things.
On a positive note, thanks to Tracie's brilliance (coupled with my laziness) we've started working out while we watch an episode of something, so we get exercise but it doesn't get in the way of our TV watching. Genius or what?

New Poll: Votes are in, resolutions are as follows:
Of the 12 voters that showed up, most voted Republican, (big surprise).
9 of you wanted to lose weight (let me know how that goes), 9 of you wanted to be more religious (with 3 of you confessing you checked that box because you felt guilty if you didn't. I confess I would have checked that box too, if I didn't have the high moral code that I do to not vote on my own polls.), 2 of you said it's to spend more time with family and/or loved ones, 2 of you also said you were celebrating the fact that you haven't been arrested yet. (I wonder if it's the same 2 people that want to spend more time with loved ones...) And there was 1 vote each for something never done before, and something dangerous- like voting democratic. And 1 vote for making less resolutions and more goals. Let me know how that goes, when you're changing history, and the rest of us are still trying to lose the weight we inflicted on ourselves at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Check out the new poll at the bottom. It's been said that you can learn a lot about a person by what they'd do for a Klondike Bar.

Also, this week has been the week of eating healthy. Super healthy. We've had shish kebabs, risotto, wilted spinach, margherita pizza, lots of salad, couscous, southwest sweet potatoes (don't knock it til you tried it. Deeeeelicious), hummus and cucumber pita wraps, and other stuff with no meat. (Albeit the kebabs had a little) I've told several people jokingly we're experimenting being vegetarian. I don't think it's going to work out. If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat. -John Cleese (I think)

Follow Up: We FINALLY got some fresh basil at the store. I bought 2 bunches.

Other than TV and eating healthy, this week has been rather uneventful. School is still good, work is getting better and better.

Sidenote- Our team at work hit our goal of getting 160 transfers, so our boss bought us Panda Express for lunch. (Not as healthy as lately, no. But I deserved it.) My fortune cookie looked like it came from the Mafia.
It read: "Your Loyalties will be rewarded."

Final note: Not that you care, but I added a counter on my blog. It counts how many hits I get, and measures how insecure I am. With apples.

I AM POLARITO!!!

some of you may be wondering what's up with my posts lately. They've been pretty random and uninteresting.

To make it up to you, I'm going to post completely about myself.

So, on facebook, I found this application called Superheroes. It randomly generates for you a superpower (mine is Magnetism, hence the name Polarito) and lets you fight other heroes or villains. I am of course a supervillain, though I'm only the rank of henchman, currently.

It wouldn't be so fun, but all the super powers you manifest while not inherently funny, the way you use them is. Also, the descriptions are pretty funny also. For example, the precognition power has the ability to drive your opponent crazy by finishing all their sentences, or my Magnetism power lets me unscrew someone's chair so it'll collapse, or I can drop an ocean liner on them.
I've only been playing a few days, but I've stolen 4 powers from others. And you thought I was wasting my time!

Here are my 5 abilities, how the game describes them, and some facts about Polarito:

Magnetism

Anything made of metal, you own. Bend steel sheets like paper, stop bullets in their tracks, or just disrupt cellphone conversations... you have the power

Ice

Freeze your enemies- lock them in blocks of ice or make the ground impassable. Or perhaps just make their noses run.

Rubber Body

Stretch any part of your body up to 20 times its length, bend around any object...nothing's beyond your reach! (No, really, any part)

Precognition

With the ability to pierce the veil of time and discover future events, you must now choose between altering the destiny of mankind... or winning big on the Superbowl

Bauble

While everybody else is decking the halls with boughs of holly, you use Christmas decorations to attack and maim people. In the spirit of Christmas.

ORIGIN: Had cancer, so they gave him an experimental SUPER MAGNETIC LEG!!!! Polarito uses it for whatever he feels like.

MOTIVATION: Greed, dominance, and the Polarito way.

ARCH-NEMESIS: the Champion of Freedom, Ice Girl! (Tracie)

I forgot to mention Bauble's best power: Electrocuting enemies with Christmas tree lights!
As Tracie would say, telling you all this probably earned me several geek points.

that's about it for now! Stay tuned for Wednesday. Nothing interesting has happened lately, but I'm bound to post something!

Coincidence?

So, does anyone else think the Flying Spaghetti Monster looks like the Pokemon Tangela, or is it just me? Pastafarians beware!

Day of Celebration!

I love January 10th. Because it's my parents Anniversary, and my sister-in law Lynette's Birthday! This way, if I remember one, I remember the other and I get brownie points! (unfortunately, if I forget, I lose points.)

Well, happy birthday Sugie! Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Not that many famous people I've heard of or admire or respect were born this day. I guess it's just so special already that those stuck up celebrities couldn't handle the great things that already happened on this day! C-3PO and R2-D2 wish you many happy returns as well.

Yes, you're looking. But can you SEE?

I think I should take a break from posting for awhile, since I've done one every day for the last few days. I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of me.
Well, if you're getting sick of me, you don't have to read this. It'll be here when you come crawling back, I promise.

What a week! What a time! What a sentence! What a paragraph! What shall I talk about first? Let's talk about my first week of classes! Review: Austin is taking English Composition-H, Art History (Renaissance-Present), and Geology (6 billion years ago-now). Update: Austin has decided to drop Geology. Why? Let me put it this way: I thought I'd be bored with a class about rocks and the history of rocks, rock families, rock groups, and rock musicians. That joke may be lame, but it's Seinfeld-worthy compared to the instructor. I think one of his parents must be a rock, because he seemed to only have one-half of a personality. He reminded me of Ross on Friends, only if Ross were cooler and more sure of himself. He obviously has a passion for rocks, (and so did his mom, if you know what I mean...) but he's so dull, I knew I couldn't take the class. A dull subject? I can do. A dull instructor? Everyone has them. Put them together? Can't do it. Also, as I've said, several people I know really LIKED Geology (not as much as this professor's mother, but that's a different story), and I feel I need a more engaging, interesting teacher than Professor Boring.

Now, Art History. I've only taken one class so far, as it's a Saturday course, but, so far, so good. While I feel I know and understand more about Art and Art History than the teacher, (that's not me bragging, it's just the truth) but, she's very passionate and knowledgeable, so I plan to enjoy it, even if it is more of a review than a learning experience.

Finally, English Writing. I saved the best for last. The teacher is fantastic, very off-center, which makes class, at the least, refreshing, at the best, sublime. Here are a few things from his syllabus:
Purposes of this class:
To understand & see the beauty of the English language & its magic
To see
To keep looking after we think we've seen
To change our perceptions
To Astonish

It's maybe the first class ever where I've been excited to go home and do my homework, because of the teacher's ability to inspire and excite. I expect great things from this class, and myself, if I do say so myself.

That's school. By the way, the picture at the top of this article is by Tim Noble and Sue Webster, it's a real sculpture made of junk, and that's what its shadow really looks like. My English teacher showed it and similar pictures to us, to get us to think, and to see. The below image is one of these. It's made of knives, forks, & spoons, made by Shigeo Fukuda.

And, speaking of machines made out of junk, this week, because of all this wonderful snow, my car rammed into a curb, bending an axle, or rod, or something, and we had to pay a pretty penny, plus $249.99. OUCH. But, it could be worse. Glad it was a curb, and not a car, person, or cat. Ok, so I kind of wish it was a cat... ;) So, for the rest of the snow season, I'm going to be driving VERY carefully and VERY slowly.

On a happier, less expensive note, my dad's sister Kerri, her husband Robert, and my cousins Emily and Nicholas Ostergard all came to town last week. We went over to my Uncle Jim's house twice to visit. It was a lot of fun, and I was very glad to see them. It was cool to feel like one of the "grown ups" this time, too. We also got to visit with Jim's family, obviously. (We tried avoiding them, but it was inevitable. It is their house, after all.) We loaned them 'Stardust', Tracie's and my favorite new movie. That's the last I heard of them. I hope they're ok. I hope they watched it. ...And I hope we get our movie back.

That's it for now, lotsa fun, family, friends, faith, fortitude, feathers, flying, fish, franks, forks, finches, funk, and figs.

TTFN!

*One more note. I couldn't pass this up. Omphaloskepsis. Anyone know what this means? Anyone ever done this? I know I have. I am right now. Sometimes when I work out, sometimes while I'm just ruminating. Thanks, Freerice.com!

My Band

Don't get too used to me posting so often. Just enjoy it while you get it. ;)

I did the random band generator on ammon's blog (www.ammon.tumblr.com)

My band is called "Minsky's Burlesque"
our first album is: "Gratification of Receiving Them."
Here's our cover:
Now the only question is: "What kind of Music do we play?"

Forget the Beef! Where's the Basil!?

Another quick blog entry before Wednesday. Stay tuned, it's gonna be a good one.

We had a fun adventure this night, so stupid that it begs to be told.

Tracie makes a delicious Margherita Pizza with mozzarella, olive oil, tomatoes, and basil. When we went shopping, Wal-Mart was out of Basil. In fact, it was out of quite a few things we needed. So, I planned to go shopping later on in the week for the things we needed. (If you haven't deduced that basil was one of the things, I'm sorry, but there's no hope for you. I still love you, I just pity you a bit more.)

I should also say that today both of us had eaten a very early lunch, and we were looking forward to dinner.

Anyway, today, I went to Albertsons to buy what we still needed. They didn't have any Basil, so we went to Harmons. They didn't have any, so we went to Smith's. They didn't have any (starting to see a pattern?) so we went to a different Albertson's. They didn't have any, so we went to Target. They didn't have any, so we went to Wal-Mart again. They didn't have any, so we went to Macey's. THEY didn't have any, so we went to a different Smith's.
Nope.

Final count: 8 stores. No basil.

So, it being 9:30 and our night of basil hunting fruitless/herbless, we admitted defeat, went home, and ate some delicious honey lime chicken sandwiches with tomatoes and avocado on ciabatta bread. Don't you feel sorry for us.

We wondered if there was some basil epidemic or recall, or maybe it was National Basil Eating day. Or maybe the Mad Mayhem Monster decided to hide them all in all the stores in Orem and Provo.

All I know is, I'm now very angry at my old friend, Basil.
Unfortunately, he's so delicious I can never stay mad for long.

It looks so innocent, doesn't it?

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

With the end of my first poll a success, I thought I'd write up a quick entry before the official one, on Wednesday.

After much controversy, dimpled chads, and all kinds of crazy Floridians, I have come to the conclusion that YES, I will start posting polls on my blog. 8 of you said yes, and one of you is getting their eyebrows waxed. Let me know how that goes.

Scroll down to the bottom to vote on the new poll. I'll be doing it every week. Or so.

*By the way, I made it so you can select as many as you like. enjoy

Happy New Year!

I thought I'd start with an original title to kick off the new year!
But then I thought, who cares? It's 2008!

Despite my feelings for this holiday (we're celebrating what? Buying a new calendar?) this holiday was very fun and nice. We went sledding with all the McNeils around, (Alan, Kris, Taylor, Troy, Jen, Maddie, Eric, Tyler, Cheryl, Tyson, Preston, Mason, Trent and Jessica. And the Harrises/Harris'/Harris (plural) Justin and HayLee.) Despite my trepidation, it was a lot of fun, and I didn't fall or break my leg off or die or anything! It was in Midway, Utah, which, of course, is west of Heber, Utah, which is in the middle of nowhere, Utah. We sledded in these inner tubes, (but they were so big they were like outer tubes! HA! giggle giggle snort) which were pulled up the mountain on a ski lift conveyor belt thingie (that's its technical name. We called it "magic pully man.") and slid down the hill. We also learned it's more fun to ride tandem, the more the merrier, and I learned not to slide down on my belly, as the snow gets in your face and it hurts your back. Ah, youth! Where did you go when I needed you? After the sledding, we went to Troy and Jen's condo, ate, played Disney Scene It (guys vs. girls. Guys won, thanks mostly to Troy, though Tyler's valiant effort of thumb wrestling and a staring contest with his mother was enjoyable as well.) We then bade farewell to the Troy McNeil family, heading back to Modesto, CA (not to be confused with Immodesto, CA) (Actually, they're in Madera, CA. But then my joke wouldn't have worked.)

Most of the holiday besides that leading up to new years was very laid back. (Code for boring.) Tracie and I mostly slept in really late, watched tv, played video games, read, etc. (Which is just fine with me.)

Quick tangent. During this watching tv, playing video games and reading, I've been reading "Stardust", which, sadly so far, I like the movie better. It's just not as exciting, and the characters aren't as fun, smart, silly, or sinister. It could be that the movie follows the book pretty closely, so there aren't many surprises. I still greatly enjoy Gaiman's writing style, but, I was expecting a bit better.

Tangent the second. I just found out my ring finger is almost the exact same diameter as a penny, as i have a penny (big spender, that's me) and i was playing with my ring, and the penny fits it perfectly (and the ring fits my finger perfectly also). What this means for the future, I don't know. I've considered taking my show on the road, but then I'd probably just open for bigger acts, like identical hand twins, or the Aquabats.

New Year's eve hoopla was hooplariffic! (Real word) We went to Tyler & Cheryl's house in Spanish Fork and ate all kinds of hooplalicious foods, played Wii, made Mii characters that look somewhat like us (mine was the one with deep, brooding eyes, and goofy smile) and did what is quickly becoming a family staple: sang karaoke. I enjoy it, but if I hear that Christina Aguilera song ONE MORE TIME, I may have to eradicate my eardrums with a power drill.
My feelings for New Years, as I said, are less than enthusiastic. In fact, I think it's one of the most useless holidays there is. But, I didn't have to work on New Years day, OR New Years eve, so my complaining will end there.
A funny thing about this new year, we actually missed it. While singing on the Leadsinger(tm) Karaoke, we realized it was 12:01. So, we did our OWN countdown. I kissed the most beautiful woman in the world for the first time this year, and then we concluded our night with some Guitar Hero 3 with Trent and Jessica. Happy New Year!

Resolutions
I don't have that many resolutions, as I'm pretty happy with my life now. Or, rather, I still haven't reached a lot of goals I had in 2007, so those will probably be recycled. I think my most original goal is to lose weight this year, I'd like to lose 25 pounds. The problem is, they keep finding me! (get it?! LOSE pounds! Like I'm some negligent parent trying to abandon my children at Disney World, but they keep following me!) In regard to that, I'd like to make funnier jokes this year. I'd like to finish my novel, try to start publishing some of my children's stories, get a job I'm happy at and make money at again (this job I'm happy at, my last job I was making more money at, so I'd like to combine the two). I'd like to go to the temple more often, make more friends, become closer with the friends I have, be kinder, take Tracie out on dates more often, and finally, keep more resolutions this year.

I'm excited to start this semester, as I've said before, I'm taking Geology, English, and Art History. Still a bit hesitant about the Geology, but the English and Art History will help me get through it if it's lame.

Three days left to vote on whether or not I should start polling on my blog. Scroll down to the bottom of this page and vote!

Hope everyone had a happy new year, and here's to 2008! May we have more joy, less sadness, more blessings and less self imposed trials than we did in 2007!