First Day of School- The Mysterious Foam Mystery

I started school today with a bang! I am really glad about all the work I got done. This semester I am taking Honors Government, Honors English, Biology, Geometry, and Latin. I'm loving all of it! (Well, except for Geometry. That's just okay.)

This evening my dad took me to the YMCA and finally taught me how to throw a football. Yes, I admit, I cannot  do the fancy spinny-like football throw. But dad was really patient with me, and now I can throw it somewhat better than before. I love my dad.

This evening I found something rather strange in the bathroom. I was just walking in to take a shower, when I noticed some strange foam all over the wall and mirror. It was all over, almost decorating, the toilet paper roll container thing. The first thing that came to mind was, "Oh my word! Some kid graffiti-ified the bathroom with my shaving cream!!" I looked on the counter and, sure enough, the can was lying on it's side with foam all over it.

I tried to clean up the room as best as I could before mom saw it and started stressing out about it. Even though it was cleaned, I still need to find the culprit of this mischief...

Another day

Yay! I'm beginning to get my Eagle Scout Project started! Yesterday my dad took me to the Food Bank to get a few questions answered; I was planning on doing a Thanksgiving Food Drive. Instead, the coordinator recommended that I try a Christmas food drive instead because Scouting For Food is held during the same time my project idea was, a fact I totally forgot when planning. After helping dad with some free wood from some guy's house, I went home after that. But I forgot two other important things to ask the coordinator: To sign my project, and for permission to use some barrels (for the donation). And so my dear mother took me to the place twice today. Ah well, the project's well underway now.

Today my parents went to the temple. I'm really glad they got to do that. Tonight's movie night, and I'm excited to watch Batman Begins. Henry traded in a chunk of his video game collection for some new ones at the game store today, and we are going to have pizza bread for dinner tonight. Ah, good times. 

Oh, blunder of the day: I went blackberry picking with Sabrina and dad at about midday today. We rode down a bike trail and picked blackberries found there on our bikes. My bike was the one carrying all of the blackberries once our two bowls were full. As we zoomed through a shady part of the trail, I noticed the usual bump squarely in the middle of the road. But my then it was too late. I hit the bump at normal speed, and an explosion of flavor just flew out of the bowls. Just blackberries flying everywhere. There was this young couple sitting on a nearby bench too. My dad bellowed, (as he always does) (NO!!!) and the young woman sitting there just laughed and laughed. Totally ridiculous. I was going to pick them up, but dad said no, and we continued our bike trip, leaving perfectly fine blackberries all over the trail. A few blackberries were still in the bowls; I think we might have enough for one jar of jam.

Home~!

Wow. Wow. So much to say.

Well, I just got back from the Perona family reunion. I went out into the woods and hung out with a bunch of Italians, pretty much. My little brother threw Josh Lipman (a kid his age) in the lake (pushed him off the dock), we shared memories of Grandpa Perona, we played board games, we chatted about life... I really enjoyed the weekend.

But the week, well... I must say, it was the best week of the year.

Education Week was just the spiritual recharge that I needed for the school year. I went to a bunch of just great classes. I went to not only the fun and spiritual youth classes, but I also went to a couple of classes about the end of the world, parenting, and house management. All of the youth classes have helped me gain more courage and confidence. To keep it brief, I've felt strengthened. And just to top it of, I met a bunch of new friends there as well!

There was this one guy, his name was Michael, who was a piano prodigy. He was 15, my age, but he had been faithfully practicing for 8 years. HE WAS USING THE FLAT OF HIS FOREARM FOR ONE OF HIS SONGS FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD! His fingers were spider-quick. He was pretty clever too; the kind of guy that knows what to say, know what I mean?

 I met many impressive young women there too. I was like, "Wow, spiritual... girls... everywhere!" It was fantastic! I am so excited for next year!

I have also decided to plan on something else for next year too: my return to Windsor, CA. Last summer I went there and participated in Aunt Heather's production of Bugsy Malone. I got to be the bad guy for that play: Dandy Dan! I wasn't able to come for this year's play: Fiddler On The Roof. Ug, I'm bummed that I couldn't make it! But this time, I will be saving my pennies for next year! I heard from Autumn that Heather is thinking of doing The Sound of Music. THAT would be great! I can already imagine myself as Mr. Von Trapp (dang, is it two "p"s or one?); that'd be rad.

It's so good to be home. I feel a lot better now that I'm back where I belong. I really missed my family. They redid my room while I was gone; my mother is so kind! I am NOT going to let this nice new room get disorganized and messy again! Must... keep... clean...

Ed Week Day 1

Oh, what a day. After a day of being at Ed Week my normal life seems so lame. I feel like simply dropping everything in my life and go live at Aunt Jo's house for the rest of my single life. I'll ask mom if I can do that. I went to a parenting class called Replenishing Relationships first. It was a real good and clever class, I must say. I now know a few tactics I will use to torment my children's lives. Ha, jk. I want to be the best dad eva. Going to this class has helped me prepare for being so. The next class was something like the Influence of Music. It was really neat. You can change and ease almost any situation with the right music. Bro. Miner is an excellent pianist. I just had to go to his third class, and so I dropped the dating class I was going to go to and went to another session by him instead. After that I was not feeling to well physically; I had started the day with a banana, Nutella, and bread. And so I decided to stop for a period for lunch instead of go to a class that was called something like Letting the Lord Lift you When you Feel like you're Sinking. Grandma and aunt Heidi told me all about it later, and so that was fine. I quickly ate a hamburger at the Wiilkinson Center and then just hung out with some of the staff as I had some fun playing the piano that they had in The Terrace. It was cool. I got a compliment from a passing girl, "Were you playing Buble? You are my favorite!" That sure made today worth living. After that I went to A couple of youth classes about having the strength of the Holy Ghost with you and praying always and other good jazz like that. I have made a couple of new friends already; I'm so happy about that!

Well, after finishing the day's classes Autumn and Jessica both wanted to "date" some guy named Zack who Ika had met at EFY. I decided to come along; I was thinking I might be able to help with the Eagle Scout project he was going to go to help with first. And so they let me come along. I must tell you, this Zack guy is probably the best young man I have ever met in my life.  Age18, plays a ton of instruments, crazy singer, social success... The list goes on and on. I'm not surprised Jess and Auty like him so much.

Day 2 in Utopia...

I must say that today I have really felt unproductive. Really all that I did today was sit around, play more board games and play more music. I didn't really feel like I achieved anything today. I blame no one but myself. :( :( :(

Gabe was simply bent on playing Dungeon Lords, the 4 player required game I had. And so we did, only we played with the twins Eden and Thomas, Aunt Ally's kids, both of about 8 years old. Bad, bad idea. The game is ages 12 and up, and now I can see why. I'm never going to play that game again unless there are 3 other highly enthusiastic young adults or adults who want to play in a secluded area for 2 hours straight. Ug. Madness.

I miss my family.

I had some fun with a Cornet (trumpet-like thingy)  that Uncle Clark let me play with today. I was making that instrument WAIL. Like a cruelly abused animal. I was laughing so hard at the strange noises I was making with this instrument. It was a lot of fun. Maybe if I practiced more, and had lessons or something. Ha, my schedule will be busy this semester already; what am I talking about? Someday...

Oh, the school year is going to be so great! Sigh...

Utopia

Well, I have spent most of the day sitting in a car, playing guitar uncomfortably, reading The Host (which is a very captivating and interesting book, by the way,) and eating snacks. But hey, it was sure worth it! As we started to get into the city of Salt Lake, I had fun looking at random people on the streets and saying, "Hey look! It's a Mormon!" It was just fun being able to just identify people like that. As we entered the suburbs, I couldn't help but notice how Utopian the entire community seemed. It was so strange to me. All of the nice, pretty houses, kids playing, people taking walks. It got into even more detail when I entered one of the houses. The house was the home of some relative of mine, I think they were my cousin's grandparents on their other side. The houses had basements. BASEMENTS. And, at least in the one I was in, a pretty decent one too. Carpeted, cool, lovely. It was a good place to be. They must've been a really wealthy old couple, I was sure of this when  I got a look at their car: A 2010 Lexus. It is the most futuristic vehicle I have ever driven in. You could not hear the sound of the engine, the ride was ridiculously smooth, the car had a mouse. Like, a computer mouse! Did GPS and other stuff on it. It was almost like a computer on wheels. You were able to open and start the car if you had the keys for it IN YOUR POCKET. No handling of the keys necessary. It was an almost sci-fi experience for me.

While there, I got to hang out with my coolest uncle ever: Uncle Paul! For those of you who don't know him, he is an Irish (accent and all) guitar and ukulele expert. I played him some of my songs on my new guitar for him; he acted interested and impressed. He showed me a lot of stuff too! He helped me get rid of a bad habit I had about my strumming; I didn't relax my arm enough and used my arm instead of my wrist to strum. I'm working on breaking this habit; I'm really glad he told me about it. I've been trying to learn how to play a more advanced version of More Than A Feeling, and he helped me figure out some chord variations that really made it sound smoother. He is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He asked me, "So, how many lessons in guitar have you had?" I said none, and then he said, "Well, I can see that!!" Hahahahaha! Uncle Paul, I love you!

Well, after hanging out at my cousin's grandparent's house, I went over to my Aunt Jo's house. She is in her 30's, but she still acts like a teenager. She is such a fun aunt. I think she will help me discover more music, to increase my musical knowledge. Speaking of awesome and modern music, I need to learn how to play My Wish. I heard that song on a movie I watched while driving and remembered that it was one of Ceana's favorites. I'll get started on it ASAP. I love being able to play songs that my friends and acquaintances know and love.

Anyways, I got to have some fun in my own way tonight: Board games! My cousin Gabe is 12 years old, and is cooler than I remembered. He is an awesome actor and a board game enthusiast. We had a good time playing some of my most favorites: Dominion, Tsuro, Galaxy Trucker. He really really wanted to play Dungeon Lords, the most complicated and fun game I own, but we couldn't find others who wanted to play it. The game needs exactly 4 players. It takes a long time to play, especially if you are playing it for the first time. Hm, we'll have to play it sometime while I'm here. I also would like to try to play Heroscape: a favorite of mine that Gabe owns.

Anthony, Jefferson, Jason, Alex, Jo, and Gabe are now watching Spiderman 2. Ahh, just being here is bliss. I love my family.

The Vow

Today I was awoken by my grandpa. He and I were going to go to an art demonstration that he was going to do in an art gallery in a town about a hour's drive away. And so we did. There were a bunch of awesome sculptures and paintings in the gallery. It was awesome. I need to use more adjectives. My most favorite sculpture was a bronze of David. No, not Michaelangelo's David; a different one. This one seemed more like an actual person and it was not nude. It made me think of a strong and faithful young man willing to give his all to the Lord. It was a very inspiring piece of artwork. I would really have liked to own it to put in my house someday, until I read the price tag: $4000-something! I can't remember exactly, but the cost of the model was a bit out of my price range. The trip was successful for grandpa; he has some of his clay sculptures of "49ers" in that gallery now. He also got some new contacts. My grandpa is so awesome. Oops; there I go again.

On our drive home me and grandpa were chatting about life at my age. Our conversation lead to grandpa talking about this one group of kids in which he was a part of when he was a young man. The group was called The Vow. He had heard a talk from one of the apostles and he wanted to base this group on it. The group was a fellowship, I guess you could call it a dating group. The whole group vowed, however, to not pair up with anyone. They would always do stuff together. And another vow they all made was this: That each individual's first kiss would be over the alter in the sealing room in the temple. I found the idea of such a group totally aweso- uh, I mean, fantastic! And so I will join this "ancient" brother/sisterhood; who's with me??

I quickly jotted down this log; we are just about to leave for Utah now! :) Hopefully we'll be there for my cousin Alex's birthday tomorrow evening!

Happy Again~!

Ah, you know what really can get you out of a slump?

Good ol' physical labor.

I've been chorin' all day, and now I feel AWESOME. I got started on painting a part of my uncle's porch and made a path in my grandparent's yard. Caleb helped out a lot too. It's a good, productive way to ignore the devil. :) Practiced piano too; that was fun, as usual. Going to play some more guitar too. I've also gotten started on reading Preach My Gospel. It's never too early to prepare for teaching as a missionary!

There was this nice lady and a young woman who I assumed was her daughter who came up to us with some cookie-like treats while Caleb and I was painting. They were some neighbors that just wanted to give us some treats, I guess. T'was a nice thing to do. I asked them is they needed any jobs done around their property and the lady said, "Oh, we've got plenty of work!" And so I said something like, "Alright!" And so I went over there a bit after I was done painting and knocked on their door. Some girl opened it up, and I had interrupted them in the middle of their dinner. Oops. Another one of my many social blunders. The lady said, "Oh, I have no work for you right now..." And so I was like, "Oh, okay. If you have any tomorrow let me know."

Say, that reminds me, we are leaving to Utah tomorrow! I'm happy about that!

I'm so excited for school. I think I'll be a lot happier once I get back into going to seminary, learning lots of good stuff, and going back to choir! I feel a lot better when I feel productive. Summer is too laid back for me.

Sigh, I feel happy.

Gollum Moment

There are times when I feel like Gollum. No, I do not obsess about evil rings, or eat fish raw, or try to kill people, or sing creepy songs (well, actually...), but I feel that I sometimes have internal conflict as this favorite character of mine did. I obsess about others: What they've done, experiences they've had, how strong they are, and what amazing skills they have. It is these people that have driven me to improve. I want what they have acquired. True friends, role models, leaders, relatives, I thank you for existing. You are all my preciouses. Just don't throw me into a volcano anytime soon. Please.

Log 2

Today I did a bit of lawn mowing. The coast was not looking as good so we did not go to the beach. This after noon the missionaries who spoke in church yesterday came over for their P-Day. They played pool, chatted, and then shared with us a great lesson. Our conversation with our grandparents was originally focused on 2 Nephi 32:8-9. The main point our conversation came to was this: All sin is a form of Pride. All Pride is a form of Enmity. Enmity is simply not loving. And so, the best way to be a saint is to follow the Savior by loving one another and loving unconditionally. Your level of intolerance is your level of wickedness. Act as the Savior would. That really hit me. I've been trying to develop an ever stronger relationship with the Savior. I've felt His love truly on a number of occasions and cannot deny it. However, as I have tried to follow Him, I feel like I've become distracted. This has created a decrease in my happiness and faith. But I think I have found the real core: If I go back to my old philosophy "I love you regardless of what you do or what you have done," I will once again become the happy, light, friendly character that I felt I was at the beginning of the year.

There has not been too much to do here at grandma's house but think. I can feel the devil's angels fighting me; trying to make me feel jealous, covetous, hateful, and vengeful. But I must NOT give in! With the help and strength of my Savior and by the power of the Holy Ghost, I will be able to overcome the natural man I am sure. I will accept the plan of happiness; I want to be happy! And yet, why is it still a trial to fight thoughts that lead to sadness and grief?

Starting the Blog: At Grandma's house

Hi. 

I am Keenan Seable. I never considered starting an actual blog before. However, after being inspired my others, I have decided to do so. I guess I will start with today, with a bit of background. I am currently living at my grandparent's house with this random and crazy teenager named Caleb. We are going to go to Utah to attend Education Week. It is a week full of learning about mostly gospel topics. I will go with other cousins of mine; and expect it to be just as fun as I was my first year of going, if not better. While here at my grandparent's house I've been mostly just relaxing. I've done a bit of work around the place, but there is not much work to do. I wish there was. I thankfully brought my guitar and my piano music to keep me musically occupied. My grandparent's don't have a piano, however, my uncle and his family who live next door do. I'm busy practicing some of my most favorite songs on piano such as Haven't et You Yet, Christofori's Dream, The World Will Know, and Bring Him Home. I write songs for the guitar and am currently working on a piece called Waiting; it is the most complicated tune I have yet composed. But I need to find some other things to do with guitar too. Thankfully I have the internet: the way I educate myself in the art of playing guitar. I'll find a new song to play sometime.

This Sunday I attended sacrament meeting at a small branch nearby. It was great; two missionaries spoke about the Lord's will and how to make His Will your own: by praying for it and serving others. There talks really hit me. That is really what is most important about this life: How much you follow Christ. I guess not necessarily how much service you do, but how much love you put into it. That's what matters. 

Tomorrow I plan on playing more guitar, going to the beach for family night, finding some more service to do in this quiet house or at my uncle's house,  and preparing to leave to Utah ASAP; I am excited to see my cousin Gabe and his family.