The Temple: Take 2

Today was a step up from what yesterday was. I got so bored yesterday I was about ready to shoot myself.

Today was our youth temple trip to the Twin Falls temple. Mother and I decided to go early and do a session before the youth got there. It was a great session and I learned more than last time. I can get use to this!

After the session we went down to meet with the youth and do baptisms. Bro. Bunn, Bro. Jeff Harris, and I were the baptisers. Bunn did the 1st half of girls, Harris did the last half and first half of the boys, and I did the last half. What a cruel joke. It was great and an awesome experience to baptize my brother, Zach, but the next three boys were the biggest ones in our youth. For those of you who don't know Aaron Tolman he is about 6 foot 4 and 250 pounds. The first time I put him under he almost took me with him. I got it down after the second or third try so It wasn't too chaotic.

I love the temple and I'm grateful to have one close now. The things you learn inside are so amazing. I love being a member of this church, and I cannot wait to serve my mission.

Great Experiences!

The past week has been such a crazy week for me, and now I'm finally getting the chance to blog about it.

Last Tues-Thur I got to spend time working with my cousin, Spencer and his wife Jessica. Spencer and I have gotten a lot closer since I've moved here. Even though we're about eight years apart, we have so much in common that we could almost be brothers. Even though working insallation was a drag, I was able to survive by sharing some good laughs with him.

Friday was the big day for me. I finally got to move back to Idaho for the last couple weeks before I head out on my mission. I had a great time this year hear in Utah. I had some great experiences. Below is a slide show of all my memories even though there aren't that many. I'm grateful for Parley and Marilynn who let me stay with them. I know that was probably a big burden on them at some points. I enjoyed hanging out with their family and watching their grandkids grow up.

Saturday was another awesome day for me. I got to go through the temple for the first time. It was such an awesome event, and the things I learned there are just greater testimony builders that our church is true. I went through the Twin Falls temple and my step-dad Bryan, and brother in-law Brandt were my escorts. (Head to Dani's blog for some pictures because I forgot my camera that day) Afterwards there was a lot of family there and we went to Chili's for dinner.

The last great experience I had was going to Pocatello yesterday on a road trip. I stopped by Danielle's house first and helped her with some errands. That was pretty fun stuff. Then I met Andrea at her apartment. We went over to Sportsman's, her work, and waited for Sam to get done working. They were both pretty depressed because it is so empty now. Today is their last day and then they're closing down. After Sam got off work we went to, you guessed it, Chili's for dinner. Man, I love that place. Afterwards we went over to a house who Sam's house-sitting for and watched, The Dark Knight. It was a really fun time, and all of us were dead after the movie. I had to make the trip back home around midnight so I was really tired.

So those are my experiences the past week. These next couple weeks are going to be intense. Lindsay's coming, Dani and Brandt's graduation, my farewell. Lot's of emotions are going to be zoomin soon.

My Taste in Music

I have been running out of ideas, but I see not many people have been reading my previous blogs. That's okay. I decided to write on my taste in music and why I like it. I love all kinds of music, except country, but there are three bands that stand above all of them and they are:

LINKIN PARK

My taste in Linkin Park started in the summer of my 9th to 10th grade year. I was sick of not having a certain band to like, and a style of music to turn to. I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was in Logan visiting my family (Lester's family) I was so bored there and we decided to go to Best Buy. I saw Linkin Park's album, Meteora, and I decided to buy it. I knew a few songs off the CD already so I thought it was a pretty good investment. I have fell in love with the band and listen to them constantly. I own all of their CD's and in fact I bought their newest album so early that I didn't get the collector's edition, because they had not put them on the racks yet. My favorite song from this group is "From the Inside"

"I'll take everything from the Inside

and just throw it all away

cause I swear for the last time

I won't trust myself with you"

I love Linkin Park because their songs are not about how much their girlfriend is a slut or how its always the girls fault. They sing about how they feel and all the problems that they can go through. It was this time in my life I was having major girl drama and this music helped me see that it wasn't all me.

DISTURBED

This is my dark music. Even though it's not that dark haha. I love Disturbed just as much (if not more than) Linkin Park. My love for them started early in high school, probably my Junior year in weights when I heard their album, Ten Thousand Fists. They actually have some great songs. If you look up the lyrics (because you can't understand them half the time :) My favorite song, as of now, (it changes so often) The Curse

I've held on too long just to let it go now

will my inner strength get me through it some how

defying the curse that has taken hold

never surrender i'll never be overcome

Disturbed just makes me feel invincible when I hear their music which pumps me up. Which explains why my XBOX Live GamerTag is ND3STRUCT1BLE (pronounces Indestructible) after the song, Indestructible

I'm Indestructible determination that is incorruptible

From the other side a terror to behold

annhilation will be unavoidable

every broken enemy will know

that their opponent had to be invincible

take a last look around while you're alive
I'm an Indestructible master of war

THREE DAYS GRACE

This band is kind of out of the ordinary, but finishes out my top 3. This group is a little more relaxed, but sings about almost the same things. My favorite song is Over and Over

So many thoughts that I can't get out of my head

I try to live without you everytime I do I feel dead

I know what's best for me, but I want you instead

I'll keep on wasting all my time

There are some artists I hate, but the biggest one that stands out to me is TAYLOR SWIFT haha. Not just because she's a chick, and she sings country, but she's only what, 19? She sings songs as if she's a 9th grade drama girl. Every song is about how it's ALWAYS her boyfriend's fault and she's this perfect girl. She's always the victim of her relationship problems. It just drives me insane.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

I'm slowly gaining more love towards this band. This is my screamer band. When you look up the lyrics you'll find that their is some great stuff here.

NICKELBACK

Nickelback is a hit and miss with me. Some of their songs are just so awesome and I loved them before they came out on the radio. Namely: Far Away, If Everyone Cared, Saving Me, Someday, but then there are some songs that I just don't understand. They're kind of dirty for me and nah. Like Figure You Out and Something In Your Mouth.

A Proclamation to the Dating World

This was an essay/proclamation given by a kid in my English class on campus. It is so hilarious and I think it is all so true. He's from Boise and I think he's gotten a good perspective on the issure, by Nick Harley:

The whole problem started in the beginning, with our first parents, Adam and Eve. Eve wanted what she could not have: the forbidden fruit. I propose that girls are still being beguiled by that same serpent that was in the beginning. Bishop G. S. Nelson once said “Girls think that nice guys are boring and safe.” He acquired this insight during his numerous interviews with girls that attended the BYU ward in which he served as bishop.
The Nice Guy. The guy who is nice, genuine, sincere, and kind. Some girls ask if this guy exists. I am here to tell you that he does. He is that guy that you turned down last week when he asked you out. Yes, that is right. Last week’s rejection fits that description, but why did you reject him? Nice guys are no mystery. They go out of their way to do nice things, compliment girls, and are therefore boring. That’s why nice guys finish last.Girls. I would like you to stop and think for a second of a nice guy in your life that is always there for you but for some reason you cannot see him as a future companion. Then I want you to think of the way you talk to your friends about this person. Would you not say something to the effect of, “We are just friends; we could never be more than that”? The nice guy is the person you talk to when the mean guy rejects you. When you are not asked out on a date he is the person you call so that you are not alone. He is always there for you because he actually cares about you.
The “Friend Zone.” The nice guy enters into the “friend zone,” which is a zone that is impossibly hard to get out of. Once the nice guy tries to get out of the “friend zone” he becomes awkward and the relationship is never the same. But whose fault is it really? Some would say, “I do not find him attractive”, but I do not believe that to be true. It is not necessarily his appearance that makes him unattractive, it is the fact that he doesn’t play “the game”: there is no chase. Girls, it is just as shallow for you to go for the mysterious, funny, impossible guy, as it is for a guy to just go after looks. You are not unattracted to the nice guy, he just isn’t the mystery man you have imagined yourself dating. We all know the nice guy would treat you better than anyone else, but you still reject him.
The Next Best Thing. Girls fear that they can do better than what they already have, that they can get someone that is just a little better. They let this fear dictate what they do and who they date. Once girls have something, they need the next best thing. They are never satisfied. They think they need something new, something that is just out of reach. This fear that girls have causes them to go for the untouchable, the mean guy that does not want anything to do with them. When a girl pursues that kind of guy and gets rejected she says, “Why can’t I just date a nice guy?” She quickly forgets that just recently she rejected the nice guy who really did care about her. (Sam: This is my favorite line) I believe that girls have an inherent quality that makes them honestly believe that if they can already get the guy, then they can get a better one, and that they deserve more.
Victims. An argument that girls often use is that they are victims of guys that take advantage of their emotions, just as the nice guys feel they are victims. Girls need to take into account which kinds of guys are victimizing them. If they would just think about it, they would realize that they are chasing the mean guys. The nice ones do not ever want to upset them, but since they do not go after the nice guy, they are just asking for trouble. Girls, almost all of your problems and issues would be resolved if you would just stop rejecting nice guys, and give them a chance. Good Guys, This Is For You. You know you have been treated unfairly in the past, but please take the following information into account and use it the next time you think about asking a girl out. If the good guy finishes last, then that means only one thing: the mean guys finish first. This is because a girl likes a challenge, things that she cannot quite have. Girls know that nice guys are always available. When girls get lonely they know they can always rely on you being there for them. Nice guys, you appear desperate because you go out of your way to be a gentleman. Girls enjoy this game. The mean guy is mysterious… you never know what he will do next. He does not pay attention to the girls, and when he does, it is usually to make fun of them. For some reason girls love that. Everything he says is funny— not sincere or genuine, but funny. Someone has to change, and there are two options.
1. Girls: Give the nice guy a legitimate chance. Stop being beguiled and have an open mind.
2. Guys: Become the mysteriously impossible guy the girls are looking for. Play the game better than they do.

Utah Drivers

Another thing that has crossed my mind the past couple of weeks has been how stupid Utah drivers are. Note that it didn't take 10 months of me living here to figure it out, but I really got irritated the other day. They all drive as if they're in a huge hurry to get somewher. I have never seen cars switch lanes so often. There will be 6 cars waiting in one lane at a light and 4 cars in the next lane over. The last guy in the lane with 6 cars will cut you off just so he can be one car length closer to the light. I mean c'mon. Whoopde do you saved yourself 2 sec. It's always funny when the lane he just left ends up going faster and he get's left in the dust.

For being in such a hurry these idiots do not know what the purpose of a green arrow does. There has been numerous times where I will wait at a light for 15 seconds before the few cars in front of me decide they want to go at a green arrow. C'mon dude. If you're going to cut me off then at least go when you're supposed to. Here's another hint to. If you're trying to turn right and you're at a red light. and the intersection to the right of you has a green left arrow. You can turn right without worrying about oncoming traffic. Amazing huh.

Maybe I'm posting this because I'm coming an insane driver, or just maybe because I'm a smart driver and if you use your brains rather than your foot you can actually get places faster.

VIDEO GAMES: MY LIFE

I have to admit my life is video games. I don't know how I will live without them for 2 years. I have achieved a gamerscore of 8,750 so far. Which is pretty decent for the amount of games I own. Here are some games I find myself playing a lot...

MIRROR'S EDGE:

I let my friend, who I used to work at APX with, borrow my game, Mirror's Edge. This game is about a girl street runner, Faith, who's sister is framed for a murder. Faith must use her street running abilities to avoid cops and discover who actually murdered the victim and clear her sister's name. This game is so fun, because it allows you to do things you could never dream of doing in real life like jumping off buildings and running up walls. I give it a 4 out of 5!

MASS EFFECT:

Mass affect is a story that takes place in the 22nd Century (~2180) I love this game because you get to determine every outcome of the game. When you start the game you will choose your background and abilities you have. You choose the dialogue and how to react to certain situations. You can choose to be the guy who takes the high road, or you can be an officer who it's "my way or the highway" or maybe a little bit of both.

As far as the story goes... The galaxy is made of many different races. There are three main races: The Asari, Salarians, and Turians. Each race has a member who is considered part of the "Citadel Council" For many years the humans have tried to be admitted into the citadel council, and when a Turian Spectre (Spectres are like the secret agents) decides to go rogue, they allow you to become a Spectre to stop him. This turian, Saren, is trying to open the transporter to allow the Reapers, a robotic race, to come in and annhilate all of galaxy life as we know it. This annhilation has been a chain of events that has happened ever since time began.

This game is so fun, and actually makes you play the game at least three times in order to get all 1000 gamerpoints. However I messed some things up and I had to play it all the way through almost 6 times. A sequel is set to come out in the 1st quarter of 2010 and I will be asking Zach to buy that game for me so I can play it when I get home. The sequel has been said that what decisions you made in the first game will affect the storyline in the second. I'm way excited. I give it a definite 5 out of 5!

HALO 3

One of the best trilogies of all time has definately been at the top of what I play. I mostly play this game online against others and am exited to tell you all that I've finally reached a level 45/50 ranked skill level. I'm currently a Brigadier grade 2.

Just yesterday the new "Mythic Maps" were released into XBOX Live Marketplace and you know I was one of the first 1,000 to download it. The new maps include: Sandbox, Orbital, and Assembly. My favorite one is Sandbox. It's a forgers dream. Me and Zach will have lots of fun with that when I come back home.

THE GUITAR HERO SERIES

I have not played a whole lot of guitar hero lately, but how can I not put this game in. As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I'm pretty dang good at this game. I've betten "Through The Fire and Flames" on Expert several times now, and am only two songs away from the "Enlightened Guitarist" achievement which is achieveing 100% on 20 songs.

Guitar Hero World Tour is a fun game as well. However the guitar is much easier, and I suck at the drums. Plus I'm usually too lazy to set them up to really play them a whole lot.

Breaking News: Guitar hero is coming out with a greatest album game in June. They will have their best songs from the 1st three guitar hero songs and will make it able to be played on drums and vocals. This means Through the Fire and Flames will be able to be played on drums soon.

The Start of my Numerous Blogs

So it's been over a week since I've written on this thing and there has a lot that has gone on in my life. Not really, but I feel like I should share to you how boring my life here is in Orem, Utah. I will post other blogs of random things that are going on, but this first one will just explain what I have been doing since my last blog (March 30) So here we go.

First off HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIELLE! For those of you, don't worry, I called her one her birthday. This isn't the first time I'm saying it.

This weekend I went to a surprise party for my friend Darby. The party was on Friday, but her birthday isn't actually until Apr. 6th. Sam Crane was the only other girl I knew there. It was still fun. Darby has some hilarious guys in her ward.

The weekend of Apr 3-5 was crazy. Of cousrse we all know it was general conference. I guess Parley and Marilynn have a tradition where their entire family goes up to the cabin and watches conference. Well there was too much snow on the mountain this year so they decided to have the entire family spend the weekend at THEIR HOUSE. It was crazy, but it was so fun. On Saturday we had a birthday party for Eli. He turned 4. All these birthday parties, and no one had realized my birthday was next Tuesday. That's okay.

Next Week:

Monday of course was the national championship. I was going for Michigan State, but they committed so many turnovers it was unreal. They did not deserve to win that game even if it was close. I also got a text from Katie and she's like, "Sammy wammy it's your birthday tomorrow. we're going to throw a party."

Tuesday was my birthday and it was just another day to me haha. The party that night was pretty fun. Clint & Amanda, Jenny & Judd, and some of Wendell and Ginger's kids came. 19th birthdays are just not as interesting when you've already had your call. Not to mention I didn't get any actual presents on my birthday.

One more class left of school on Monday. I'm so freaking excited. two more weeks and I can move back to Idaho.

Well that concludes on what's been going on. Stay tuned for other subjects that have crossed my mind.