pet peeve

I don't claim to despise, hate, or detest very many things in life, but today I pinned down one of my pet peeves that really gets me: foods that cut up the inside of your mouth.

You know the foods I'm talking about, the stuff that causes your mouth to be lacerated every single time you chew. We have all been there: starving, in a rush, requiring some kind of caloric intake, desperate for something to save us from starvation (or at least to helps us claim that we still believe in eating breakfast). These food provide what we need, but at a stiff price: the cost of safe gums.

Lets face it. These foods are the equivalent to chomping on some razor blades that contain some minimal nutritional value. Let me list off a few that we know aren't good for our mouths but we still con ourselves into eating sometimes:

• Cereals (i.e. Cap'n Crunch, Cheerios, Cookie Crisp, Count Chocula)
  
• Croutons
• Chips
  
• Chips Ahoy Cookies
• Coffee (I've never experienced this one myself, but I do know that hot chocolate isn't too kind on the mouth unit)

Lets hold on for a minute here. For those of you like me who watched Sesame Street for hours as a kid, and was really good at the "One of these things is not like the other" game, take another look at the list we just created.

Am I the only one who gets a little suspicious that all of those foods have the letter "C" at their beginning? There must be some kind of diabolical plot associated with the third letter of the alphabet and things that appear like they are going to make your life better, but really just chew (starts with C!) you up in the end. Here are a few more examples:

• Communism
• Checking accounts
• Chevrolet Cars
• Cocaine and/or Caffeine
  
• Chess
• Chef Boyardee products

Heres my end point: the letter C is out to get us. Which makes me realize another one of my pet peeves: rogue alphabet letters.

Plug for SLC

So, about three months ago I was paid to essentially go tour Salt Lake City for the better half of a day. Prior to that experience I have never realized what a nice town SLC really is. There is actually alot of cool stuff there, and its pretty clean and developed nicely in my opinion.

I need to make an excuse to go on another day trip. (Too bad it will be hard to get my office to sign on to another excuse and pay me for it, but you never know). Here is a fun picture I took from my recent excursion. I entitle it, Salt Lake City: deserted at 6:37pm

life and death

This week turned out to be quite the eventful one.

It started on a sudden, but exciting note. My aunt delivered my newest cousin David earlier last week. He was born at 32 weeks and has had one crazy ride getting ready to be born. His mother was hospitalized multiple times during the pregnancy, and is still having to work through some very rare and serious conditions. David was born just a little under 4 lbs and with a full head of hair. He probably is the cutest kid I've seen in a long time. Here he is saying hello to all the folks who read my blog:


Unfortunately, the week ended on a very sad note. A good friend of the family, Craig Decker, drowned on Saturday while boating on the lake with his family. He dove into the rough water to retrieve some equipment that had been knocked over by a strong wind, and was overcome by the waves. Needless to say, it has been a tough blow to his family, our family, and so many others who knew and appreciated Craig.

As I reflect on the highs and lows, ebbs and flows, and the beginnings and endings of life, I am glad I have the perspective of the restored gospel of Christ to help me see a more complete picture of our existence and our purpose in life. My view on death is gladly adjusted by the deep assurance I have in the resurrection, the immortality of the soul, and the eternal nature of the family.

So, to my new friend David I say, "Welcome! We are glad to finally have you here but just because you finally can breathe on your own doesn't mean you need to slow down on your goals. Life only gets better after you learn to cook and feed yourself."

And to my departed friend Craig, "Thanks for everything. I'll see you in a few."

Operation: Cash dispersal

Hey all! I just finished up working on the conference I haven been helping to plan/execute for the last 8 months. It was a great success, and I may blog about it soon when I get some photos of it. Notwithstanding its massive success, it came at a price...actually few of them.

Price #1: I put in a record 90 hours or work within 7 days (that even includes taking the Sabbath off). Good thing the place where I work has a bigger budget than most other university departments. I work well, but after 40 hours, I'm not cheap.

Price #2: I was running off of 5-6 hours of sleep a night during the week of the conference. To some of you this may seem normal, but to me, it took its toll on my sanity. I require a hefty dose of REM's to keep my mind from wigging out.

Price #3: Connected with the previous loss of sanity from lack of sleep, my well-being also suffered from a lack of good chocolate milk. I was forced to consume the U of U chocolate milk for 5 days over the course of the conference breakfasts. Don't get me wrong, I rarely refuse food in any form, yet compared with the glorious chocolate milk of my alma mater, this U's pithy substitute did little to medicate me in my moment of emotional need.

It was a crazy week, and it proved to be a little much in the end. I checked into 'overtime rehab' last Monday and didn't check out until Wednesday morning. I may have to write a little about that one too in a future post if enough people ask me continue asking me about it.

Anyways, on to the focus of this post. Needless to say, I now have a little more "disposable income" than I had budgeted for, and now need a few suggestions on how to eliminate it as fast as possible. Please kindly post any suggestions.