What's That??? What's That??? What's That???

This is an addition to the previous post and closer to my intent when I started, but I again got carried away in the details of the story. I believe background information is very important.
A few months before this episode in the car coming home from Idaho Falls I was also in a car jammed in the back with two other passengers traveling to Aberdeen I think it was for our family reunion. The conversation that ensued between me and the person next to me however was quite different to my other story and surprisingly not nearly as annoying although one would have thought it so. "Utt's that?" "A house." "Utt's that?" "A house." "Utt's that?" "Another house." "Utt's that?" "A beautifully looking house with colors of orange and blue and a garage and backyard with lots of grass and some cars parked in the driveway." "Oh,...utt's that?" "A field."....."More field......a lot of fields.....hills.....mountains.....zzzzzz"
I condensed it, but you get the point it was me talking to my nephew Aiden of two years.

Now I don't really mean to be rude to the person who I sat next to on Saturday, but I can't remember a thing that was discussed, other than my question about volleyball at the institute after the brief moment of silence. My conversation with Aiden however, though much more simple, was drastically more enlightening. He got to learn what a house is - that it's a general term for a building a person lives in, there are a lot of them, and they don't all look the same.
Our conversation wasn't just endless talking about nothing, but an actual quest for him to learn, as well as for me (although I won't deny the possibility Aiden was also just having the time of his life knowing he could get an immediate response out of me every time). I learned some interesting things on that trip, but I'll have to save them for another time.

Why!!!

So there I was riding in a car from the Temple in Idaho Falls to Pocatello this last Saturday morning feeling thankful for the Ensign a friend had given me to read on the way home. There was a plethera of conversation going on in the car but to be honest I didn't feel much like talking so I tried to bury myself in talks about being prepared for general conference and the roles of the Relief Society. I finally succeeded in ignoring those talking sufficiently enough that it got really quite quiet and peaceful....when suddenly I felt bad for ignoring the person sitting next to me so I decided to ask a quick question so that I might simply talk a minute and then end the conversation politely instead of just ignoring them. Well it didn't quite happen that way, and in fact it became increasingly more difficult to get lost in reading....especially when the person sitting on the other side of me dropped out of the conversation completely while texting somebody, which in turn gave me an idea to check my phone and find I had received a text message as well while my phone had been off. So I responded but soon that conversation ended and it was back to sort of listening to the person next to me again.....I just wanted to scream! I had felt bad and just wanted to be polite but wish I had been content with the silence I had earned moments earlier. So another "ahah" moment came and I decided I could scream in a text message to 10 random (well maybe not so random) friends. And that was the word I said: Why!!!
Surprisingly enough all 10 friends did eventually text me back completely baffled at my question/exclamation. Two were somewhat concerned because of conversations we had had a few days earlier, seven responded once or twice but obviously weren't too interested in talking to me, and then one fine friend - who actually was the last to respond because she had just woken up - wanted to know every detail and find out exactly how I was doing. So, although I felt a little better because I had now become more popular in the world of texting than the friend next to me, I still didn't have the peace and quiet I wanted in the first place! Why!

The things I do...

You ever stay up really late knowing that the next morning you have to be somewhere bright and early...and you think, if I stay up just a little longer then things will start lighting up shortly and my already wonderful day will just become brighter? Well that's me right now.
Just got home from shopping at Wal-Mart...found almost everything I was hoping to find, and just a few things I didn't know I was looking for but was happy to have found.....spent just a little more than I anticipated however, but at least I got to enjoy some of it (the food and snacks) when I got home.
That was interesting....,but then I'm getting ahead of myself...back to waliworld:-0
Generally when I'm shopping I'm like most typical guys...know exactly what I want and am in a hurry to get it and avoid all else (unless I spy something delicious as I'm checking out like last Friday when I ran into the store [literally ran, not literally into - did I mention it was pouring rain?] to buy some tulips for my friend who I was taking on a date that night....they were kind of last minute plans but I felt I could still take the effort to get her something nice...you can always find flowers for a buck or two. So anyways, I was running late, hence I was on a mission to get in and get out....not likely....it was a Smith's in Taylorsville at 7:30pm and only two checkout lanes open with lines of people, and I picked the wrong one:(but made the best of it and picked up my favorite candybar - 5th Avenue [so delicious, like butterfinger which is also amazing, but much softer....mmm] - which I stuck in the door of my car because I couldn't eat it just before my date...but remembered it today at a time when I was particularly hungry - completely satisfying, even to the point that I decided to forgive my buddy and old roommate Jason who ate the last one I bought after I had left it on his counter for less than an hour while I ran an errand...last summer [shows how often I buy my favorite candybar....mostly just because I can never find it, but I really try to be prudent with things I really like so as to avoid addiction - you can splurge just about all you want on the things you don't really like] oh and I think that's the end of what I was saying about me only buying just what I need besides the occasional addition, which you can see from this example was quite crucial to the interruption of my stomach shrinking today).
However, when I shop late at night or have a real reason to waste time like waiting for my grandma (-:I love her, bless her soul, but sometime she is so slow:-), I take time to browse the aisles and look at all the interesting things to be found....I was doing a lot of that tonight, but I still only bought what was on my list (of course I made the list while in the store and some of the entries were quite general, life snacks, rather than specific. Overall though, I think I did well shopping tonight and wanted to mention how helpful some of the workers tried to be and even said good morning (I had to quickly check my watch), or attempted to help me although the worker was on her lunch break (at 1:30 AM - good time for it I think so) and in a department that was not her assigned area....alas, I was still unable to find that one item I was looking for....would have been fun to find it though when none of the workers had a clue where it would be or even if they carried it.
So, that was my adventure at Wal-Mart from midnight to 2am. Then I drove to my apartment after passing a cop at somebody's house and blocking part of one lane, and waiting at a few red lights when it was obvious I was the only car around. Of course, there wasn't any parking available behind my apartment where there should have been...interesting really since when my sister lived in the apartment just next door there was always two or so open spots any given time of the day. I let my car idle so I could be close and more easily carry my items into my apartment. And my fear became realized when I discovered the back door was locked (I still haven't gotten my key from my landlord) and headed to the front door to discover the same. But lights were on and noise coming from inside...and yes two of my roommates were home and still up so they let me in....no questions asked even as to why I was getting home so late....after some great management skills I drove (did you know that the same word is used in Spanish for manage and drive? - if I'm not mistaken) all my perishables into one of our freezers and then enjoyed some of my spoils (they weren't spoiled yet thankfully though, haha).
That's when I got online, disappointingly checked my facebook and blog, chatted with a friend for a moment, and then checked a few blogs of family and friends and proceded to produce the work before you now. And after a little bit of reading in a couple different books I'm going to decide if I really want to try and sleep before heading over to the school around 7:30am to print off an assignment (good thing I did take the time to renew my computer account today - oh the joy and wonderment I sometimes find when things work out just perfectly because of some decision I made and stuck with).

New Year's Resolutions vs. Resolutions for a New Life

I wonder how one little thing, or usually a number of things can happen that will cause a person to change their whole outlook on life and the situations they're in, have a whole new reason for pressing forward, excited about what's ahead, and knowing that this time things are really going to be different..........but then the slightest, minute thing happens that interrupts that feeling of awesomeness (couldn't find a better synonym) and raises the question and doubt that it really wasn't real or any different this time. It's always just the same old story right?

Despite my wonderment and numerous array of experiences in the aforementioned I think we can still choose to be optimistic and try again, give it another go, and persist in perfection....I know I'm going to. Some of my favorite stories from the scriptures are those of people and prophets that knew the sweet joys of persisting in doing what was right and what the Lord had commanded. Nephi in getting the plates, Nephi in not giving up on his brothers, the allegory of the olive tree, Abinidi, Samuel, Mormon, Ether, Israel (Jacob not giving up on his love for Rachel) Moses (how many plagues did he try?) Jonah, Peter, Paul, Joseph Smith (in getting the plates and in seeking redress and the establishment of Zion), Brigham Young (building the Salt Lake Temple) the Prophets of our day (still asking for our prayers and working towards having the Gospel preached in every land), and most of all, our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ in their efforts to have their children return home to them. These scripture and modern references just off the top of my head seem like plenty examples to show that our Father in Heaven never gives up on His children. If we think it's bad and a hopeless case when we try to start anew but then fall short so quickly, how must it be for them when they know of every time that happens to every single one of us. And yet they still haven't given up on us. So we can't give up. Maybe our New Year Resolutions have already taken a hard hit, but that doesn't mean we have to give in.
"Shall we not go forward in so great a cause as this? Yes! Onward to victory!"

Hasta

Well it's a new year which I'm excited for! A few friends and family members have been blogging for a while and I've checked it out a little bit. Over Christmas my family mentioned I should start a blog to include all my amazing words of wisdom and funfilled facts and experiences about myself...we'll see how that all goes since I've really been trying (and quite successfully for the most part) to cut down the amount of time I do spend online. Still, I'm new to this and it seems a little exciting so my next few entries should be soon and interesting to catch everyone's (or maybe just a special someone's;) eye.

Hasta