It's a jungle in here!

To most, the mind is a safe haven of peace and tranquility where one can find solace and inner meaning about life. Well, NOT FOR ME! Its seems that my mind is a ravenous jungle in which there are many dangerous creatures all competing for space on the stage of my mind. They don't politely take there turn or wait in an orderly line. No! It is everyone for himself and there is a constant strain to be the "king of the hill" as it were.

From Family Life, Finances, and personal relationships, to anything that I have ever wanted to do with my life; they all seem to want my full attention. Even sometimes in my sleep they are still on stage dancing around yelling there ideas and there demands into my head; and every once in a while I can satisfy one or two of them and things seem to calm down. But inevitably, they always come back for more and want there new demands met.

So over the next few blog entries I am going to write more about these dangerous and sometimes bossy creatures in my mind. I will also talk about the ones that  I want to give more attention to but seem to be easily knocked around by the more vicious of the animals in my mind.

Is it a YOYO night for dinner?

Before I was married to Emily I had no idea what a YOYO night was and it honestly sounded very strange. I had to try and think about how you would eat a yo-yo. Well if you haven't guessed yet YOYO is an acronym for "Your on your own". Meaning that you have to make it yourself and clean up after yourself. Its now kind of fun to fake out my friends at school and tell them we had "YOYO" for dinner.

Usually when we do have a YOYO night I end up making something very simple and quick; that is becuase mainly I am a guy and we don't like to wait for our food. But it is also becuase I don't know how to cook food unless it comes out of a box. So needless to say that Mac & Cheese is always an option. So every once in a while give yourself a break and make it a YOYO night.

Cut me a break

I have been having a really hard week and it seems like it has beeen just one thing after another. And to top it all off last night I couldn't find my homework at home anywhere so I thought I might have left it on my desk at work. So I decided to go to the office and check. Well we got there, no homework, just a dead-end and a wwaist of time so then we are driving back to our home and as we are approaching an intersection Emily's car just dies. No sputtering no growns or moans, just stops dead and we coast to a stop at the light. I try to restart the engine but it just won't stay started. (and no, it was not out of gas.)

Luckily for me Emily had her phone so we called AAA and got a tow truck to come and pick up the car, and my Dad came and took us home. So now we are without a car because my car is still not totally fixed or registered and her's is in the shop. And to top it all off I have no idea how we are suppose to pay for the repairs that will have to be made on the car.

Blonde or Brunette

So Saturdays tend to be very odd now-a-days with me attending UVU classes. What use to be a day of relaxing and catching up on laundry and just getting a few things done, is now a day where we go to school and try to spend a few minutes doing homework for the classes that I have due on monday. Well, today was even a bit different from that becuase Emily's mother and younger brother came down from Vernal to spend the day. Emily's plan was to take her mom to the student spa and do a treatment on her and then come back and hang out a bit before they had to leave to go home.

As is typical with her family they didn't arrive until almost 2:00 pm and they decided to go to lunch and then take and go to Sally's Beauty Supply store. Well, when they got back to the house Emily announced that they were going to bleach Emily's hair try to get her to be a blonde. So they began the process of bleach and proxide and color. Finally when 2:00 am rolled around Emily's hair had gone from a Dark Auburn Brown to an almost Orange hue.

By then they had to call it quits for the night but that is not where the story ends. In the morning Emily had her mom take her back to the Sally's to get more product so that they could even out the color and try to at least get it to a reasonable blonde shade. After another treatment of color and proxide were done she ended up as a medium blonde with alot of red undertones.

Though I am not to keen on blondes I think that I will eventually come to like the new color on her. I just hope that we son't have anymore overnight bleaching escapades.

The Toilet and the Dog

Kinda sounds funny doesn't it? Well to tell the truth it was hilarious. So Duke was running around chasing Dutchess all over the family room when he decided it would be more fun to go and follow Emily into the bathroom. Since Duke had seen Dutchess jump up onto the toilet seat and watch Emily he decided he could do it too. But the only problem was, was that the seat cover was not down. So he come bounding in and makes a leap up onto the seat well he seems to gues right at firrst and gets all four feet on the seat but then his back feet proceed to slip and he fell butt first into the toilet. Then the panic set in and he realized that he couldn't get out and he was wet up to his waist line. Emily picked him up and began to laugh hysterically as he was struggling to get the "wet off of himself. I think from now on he will think twice before jumping up onto the toilet. Oh the joys of having a puppy.

Talking about the Weather.

Each Monday and Wednesday as I sit on the bus for 45 mins I almost always end up sitting next to someone I do not know. At first I feel like the little kid going to elementary school on his first day trying to be brave but fearing that the person sitting next to me won't like me or (worst case senario) will be mean and rude. But this is public transportation and even though it may be scary it is sometimes actually very enjoyable because you get to talk to someone who may not have the same view as you on a subject and so you end up talking about it for the entire bus ride. In some cases I have found that I merely just exchange the "hi" and "How are ya?" followed by "Good/Fine". Surprisingly though the subject of the weather has yet to come up in a bus conversation. The reason why I find it surprising is that the only thing that two bus riders have in common is the fact that they have both been standing in the weather for several minutes.

Well, since I have been writing this on the bus I have run out of time so I must say "So how about that weather?"

It's finished!

I love it when you are working on a project and you can finally say "I'm finished." That's the way I feel tonight. For the past few weeks I have been working on a freelance project for a good friend of mine. He has been writing a book and he asked me to do the layout and cover design for it. It has been very challenging as I have never done a book before, but it has been a great learning experience as well.

As soon as the book is published and printed I will put a link to it on here. I'm very proud of my work and I have always said that if you want to see how good of a designer someone is just look at the work that they do. When it comes to time management and getting things done efficiently, I'm not very good, but my finished products are always of the highest quality.

Only time will tell if his book does well.
Well it is late and I have to get up early tomorrow to get to work.

A Dog's Life

So last night I didn't get to  do any of my blog because we went to a play at the Hale Center Theater. It was a great little play but that isn't what this is about.

So we both are gone during the day from the house and we put our dogs in an exercise pen in the kitchen to keep them from getting into the other parts of the house. Well yesterday we came home to find that somehow they had escaped and they had been running amuck in the house. The first thing you have to realize is that Dutchess loves to chew and rip things up especially paper. And Duke is too young to realize what he is doing. (He is just out to have as much fun as possible) Oh, and Duke isn't potty trained quite yet. So you can imagine what we saw. Paper ripped in to teeny tiny peices, ribbons from emily's craft room strewn everywhere, and trails of poop where Duke and Dutchess decided to go during the day.

So we walk in the door and Duke comes runnning up to us all happy and excited like he has had the best day of his life and then Dutchess sits up on the couch like she has been asleep there for hours. I can only imagine what fun they had finding paper and playing with everything that was out in the house. Oh to be a dog and only have to worry about sleeping, eating, and playing.

That's our dogs life for ya.

People Watching! Its not what you think.

First and foremost, this is not voyeurism. That has to do with sexuality. People watching is watching the behavior and actions of  people in general. Usually this is done in a large area where there are lots of people. Schools, Amusement parks, Large City areas, etc are great places. While being at school it has been interesting to watch the people as they go to and from classes. Particularly interesting is the area where everyone comes to eat lunch and mingle. Naturally, groups and areas tend to form though everyone seems to space themselves out evenly. (This is most easily identifiable in the classroom where people will naturally place themselves fairly evenly spaced until there is no choice but to sit directly next to someone else.

In the near future I would love to go and watch the movements of people at Disneyland. This place is so much fun to people watch especially in fantasy land and Toontown. Often I have observed that even in the "Happiest Place on Earth" Adults with kids are so irritated that they will yell at a 4 year old or they will drag a child by the arm completely out of the park. I say "Come on. It's Disneyland let them have fun and be a bit noisy if they want. Eventually they will wear themselves out and then they can sleep and you can go ride the rides you want to."

Emily (my beautiful wife) and I are planning on going in September of 2011 and spending one whole day people watching with our cameras and just observe the movement and actions of the people in general. We will also spend several days being part of that crowd and still observing but also riding rides and seeing all the shows in the park. Disneyland is unique in that the park was designed to entertain at every turn; but also designed to be functional and user friendly. Take for instance, the trash bins. That's right, the trash bins. If you have been there you may have noticed that they just blend in with surroundings even in adventure land and tomorrow land. In fact you can be anywhere in the park and within 27 feet of where you stand there will be a garbage can. Why? Because Disney studied the movements of the people and found that the average person will only carry a piece of trash 30 feet before dropping it on the ground. So, hence 27 apart is the number they needed to help the people help keep their park clean. Interesting? I thought so too.

Dvorak or Qwerty?

Probably everyone looking at the title of this post is going to say... "What the ...?" The only people who might not are professional typists or someone who has had to do a report on the typerwriter. So to enlighten all of you about what those two words are here is a clue. Dvorak was the name of a guy who designed a keyboard; and now try and type the second word. (recognize it?) That's right it is the first 6 letters on your standard keyboard. So why Qwerty and Dvorak? Well for that you have to go back a few years to when computers were not around and the only way to get type on a page of paper without writing it by had was to use a typerwriter. (and you say a type..What?) If you don't know what one is google it.

QWERTY (standard) Keyboard Layout

So when the typerwiter was at its birth the only people who used them were receptionists and Legal personel and they found that the keys that would hit the ribbon of ink were getting jammed together because people were typing so fast that the hammers of the keys didn't have time to move out of the way of each other and would get stuck. So to fix this problem they invented the qwerty keyboard so that the person typing whould have to move their fingers farther apart between normal words and also so the hammers on the keyboard were farther apart. Thus they would type slightly slower and the hammers wouldn't get stuck and less jams on the keyboard.



So where does this Dvorak guy come in? Well he invented a keyboard that would allow the maximum typing speed by letting your fingers stay put in the home row keys for the maximum amount of time. On a Qwerty keyboard you can only type up to 300 words with just the 8 home-row keys. On a Dvorak Keyboard you can type over 3000 words without moving your fingers from the home row keys. That is a significant difference. in typing test done by dvorak he trained several secretaries in both of the keyboards and then had them take a typing test. The Qwerty keyboard maxed out at about 250 words per minute. On the Dvorak they were able to max out at 315 words per minute. That is an extra 60 words every minute.



A Dvorak Keyboard layout minimizes finger movement to type faster.



So why am I talking about this? I am actually trying to learn the Dvorak keyboard. and I think it is pretty cool as well. Go look it up. Wikipedia: Dvorak You can actually change your settings in the computer to type the Dvorak keyboard. So go take a look and maybbe you might be a Dvorak fan as well. Because there really is not point to the qwerty keyboard now other than it is the standard that is use around the world. No more jams no more point in slowing people down just a dumb layout of keys that make your hands move way too much.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Sometimes things in life get in the way and then there are times when the things that are helping you live get in the way as well. Yesterday was a very busy day. Over the last couple of months I have been working on a book alyout for a good friend of mine. He has written a second edition to his book and he asked me to do the entire layout of it.  It has been an amazing project. He has been writing about credit scores and the credit industry. I would tell more about it but it hasn't been published yet. When it is I will be putting a link to buy it on my blog. It is something that I am very proud to put my name on.

Well, anyway, last night I was trying to get it finished so that he can do his final edits. After those edits are done then we will be able to send it to the printer for production. So I basically stayed up until about 2:00 in the morning finishing it. It was exhausting and very rewarding to finish it and finally have the bulk of the project over with. Only time will tell if my design has helped make his book successful. (I sure hope so.)

Just like the title of this blog says, I am very very busy. I have to go to class and listen to another teacher talk through his syllabus. I will write another post today to make up for the one that I missed last night.

TTYL!

Blank Sheet of Paper

Some people say that a blank sheet of paper scares them but I think it is the best thing in the world. To most it seems like the blank sheet is a great big area that they must fill or use or put something great on. It is like a giant "white" black hole that is just too insurmountable to conquer. To them is may seem that the blank sheet is just screeming at them to make sure that whatever they put on it is great or grand or perfect. To this I would definitely have to disagree.

The blank sheet is a world of potential because anything can go there or it can become anything. With a sheet of paper you can travel to far away places, create entire worlds, see something in minute detail or just express yourself in any way that you want. In the book "The Imagineering Way" by the Disney Imagineers it talks about the blank sheet of paper.

"..when your faced with that blank page, you must make that first mark on it. It doesn't matter whether you are an artist, a writer, an engineer, or an accountant. Making that first mark is the challange. There is no question that making that first mark can cause even the most lionhearted among us to think twice. Should I play it safe and give the boss what I think he/she wants? Or should I be a risk taker and head in a new direction?"

So here is my challege to you today. Go get a blank sheet of paper and be a risk taker and let your imagination lose on it. Do finger paints or markers or anything that is outside of you normality. Let your imagination run wild and don't worry about whether it is good or not; just let your mind create. And don't worry there are plenty more sheets of paper to fill with the "perfectly done" stuff.

School Days

It is sometimes scary to start going to school again even though I would be in like the 20 grade or so. It was a bit scarier this morning becuase I was unsure which bus to get on to get down to the campus. I am now going to the UVU  (Utah Valley University, formerly Utah Valley State College) Campus.

I am taking several classes. The first one that I am taking is Photography I. It is mainly a Black and White 35mm SLR camera class. We have to develope our own film and learn to use a dark room and all of the photo processing techniques. It should be a fun class other than I have to be here at 8:00 am which means I have to get up at like 5:30 in the morning so that I can get on the bus at 6:30 to be at the campus at 7:30. It seems like a lot but it will help us save a lot of money on gas.

I love going to school and being around other people. It is fun to see which people are more outgoing on the first day. It seems like alot of people just keep their mouth shut for the first few classes. It will be interesting to see how this semester plays out.

My second class is a college writing course (English II) I really don't like writing but it is one of the required classes for my degree and so I will tough my way through it and try and at least get a C+ out of it. I think I will probably be having my dear sweet wife help me make corrections and help with any other stuff that I don't understand, which might be alot.

Well now that my first class is over for the first day time to go find a good spot to sit and work until my second class which sadly isn't until 2:30.

Duke and Dutchess

If you have read my blog from earlier you know that earlier this year we got a puppy named Dutchess. She is now 11 Months Old and about 3 Weeks ago we decided to get another puppy to keep Dutchess company while we are at work and school during the day. His name is Duke and we he was born on October 5th. He is a Cocker Spaniel just like Dutchess except for a white spot on the top of his head. He has a great color bloodline and we hope that one day we will be able to stud him for a litter of puppies.

He is so hyper and so full of energy. Dutchess had a hard time adjusting to him but now they seem to get along fine and they love to play and run and play tug together. He is learning very quickly though he is also picking up a few of Dutchess' bad habits as well. I will be posting some pictures of them as soon as I can get them uploaded from my camera. For now here is a more rececnt picture of Dutchess.



Duke - Born October 5, 2010 - He goes and goes and goes until he crashes like this.



 

Dutchess during our trip to Oregon (About 6 Months old)









Having both of them in our lives has helped to fill the space in our family. We know that eventually we will have kids but for now these two adorable puppies will be our family. Emily's mom even calls them her "Grandpuppies".

The Holy Sabbath

Sunday... The Lord's Day... A Day of rest... The Holy Sabbath.

Everyone seems to pay it no mind, but it has so much value and meaning in our lives that we should take every opportunity to savor the things that we can learn and do on this special day.

Our Great-grandfathers called it the Holy Sabbath; our Grandfathers called it the Sabbath; our Fathers call it Sunday, and now it's just the weekend. Our reverence for this holy day has slipped. We need to remember this Holy day and always be striving to make it HIS day. For it is the Lord's day. Even those people who are not religious acknowledge the fact that Sunday is different somehow. We need to be more aware of the things we do and ask ourselves the question of " Would I be comfortable doing this if the Lord were beside me?"

I love learning about Jesus and this year in church we will be studying the life of Jesus Christ through the reading and study of the New Testament. I have studied it before but I have not read it through from beginning to end. I look forward to reading it through this year. I pray that I will be able to grow spiritually and come to a better understanding of the gospel through the study of the Lord's life and teachings.

Scripture of the Day:
Romans 1:16
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

Game Night!

Having some time to just hang out with friends is very fun and relaxing. Tonight we went to Lynell and Jon Dissel's house and had a game night. It so much fun because we just  bring over a few games and then we pick a few and play through them. Tonight's selections were "Bang, The Adventurers, and Attica" For the most part they are usually just board games and we play more for the social aspect of being with other people who are around our own age. We don't get together as often as I would like but with schedules being very busy with school and work and babies and everything else in life it just seem like we only get to do it about every two or three months. We are trying to make it more of a monthly thing but It seems that it may not be possible but we will have to wait and see.

Our game night group usually consists of Emily and myself, Jon and Lynell, Beka and Matt (who are recently engaged and getting married in May, Who happen to have met through one of our game nights.) and then sometimes a few of Lynell's old friends show up, but mostly it is just the six of us. And that doesn't bother us to much for the fact that most of our places that we live are very small and we don't have much room to setup a lot of chairs and tables.

We seem to always get giggly a bit and reminisce about the "Old Days" in high school and then we also have that time when we get all serious and talk about life and what is going on with each other. I always love hearing all the amazing things that people are doing just for the mere pleasure of being able to reconnect. In some ways I hate getting old and growing up because more and more time slips by and friends get farther and farther apart. I loved the "glory days" of just being able to call up friends at the last minute and go out and do something. But that is all gone now and it we just have to savor the moments that we get to spend together.

Savor the moments that you have for soon the time you have will be gone!

2011... and beyond!

So what will 2011 hold in store for me? .... I have no idea, but I do know that I will bring it on with a smile and a good attitude.

Even thought this is actually the first day of the year I am going to count this for my last entry of 2010. The year has been long with moving and school and work and lots of ups and downs and plenty of happy times and sad times. And though I do not remember all of it; I certainly remember the highest highs and some of the lowest lows. I am hoping that this blog will serve as a reminder of the things that I have done and in time it should serve as a great mouth peice for those who come after me to see what my life was really like. I am hoping that some of my entries will inspire and some will uplift but most of all I hope that my entries will be able to help those who see it become better people and learn from my mistakes rather than having to go through it in the "School of hard knocks".

So bring it on 2011. I am ready for you!