Readers,
I find it time to begin a new chapter of my life, for two reasons:
1. I have a desire to add variety to my life.
2. I have been using an email account different from my blog-email account for months.
I will continue my blogging adventure on a new site. On A Stripling Warrior my writing will not be a trivial ramble of my life experiences (my personal journal gets enough of that!). Instead, I will place a higher emphasis on being a more inspirational/motivational writer. I have been studying many blog posts written by a personal development expert named Steve Pavlina, and I would like to give his style of writing a try. Of course I will continue to write about my life, but it will not be the sole purpose. I want whoever reads my work to have gotten something spiritual and uplifting from spending the time required to look at the blog.
In turning over a new leaf, I bid this white, plain-looking blog farewell. Goodbye.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
HAPPY!
Okay blog world, guess what? I'm not going to continue this life-sob-story style of writing anymore! It's all looking at life in the wrong way; there are so many more interesting things to focus on instead.
The past few days have been pretty sweetastic! I've been really cracking down on Biology; it has been so much fun! We got do do virtual frog and squid dissections; it was really great. I can't wait until college when I'll be able to dissect animals and body parts for real!
(this blog post is off of the top of my head, btw)
Okay, so, last Tuesday I went to another track meet. I had a really good time at it! Just did my best with what I had that day; next time I need to prepare much better! I notice I need to be drinking much larger doses of water more frequently throughout the day. Just that alone will give my organs the fluids they need to do their best. Javelin throwing has been coming along great! Coach Standley has been very encouraging and helpful in helping me get the basic techniques down. Next season I am confident that I will be able to actually throw it a good distance! I sometimes wonder about the Romans; in Latin we've been reading a lot about ancient Rome, particularly Caesar. We watched a movie about Cleopatra like, a month ago. The film seemed to be 4 hours long! Okay, so at one point in it, Octavian kills the Egyptian Embassador by throwing a javelin at him after the Roman gave a dramatic speech up on some raised plain. It made me think of this whole track experience that I've been having.
What if we actually used javelins in warfare today? Accuracy would be much more important. What about shot puts? I can imagine Jefferson Jarvis in Roman armor chucking one of those 12-pound balls covered in spikes or something off of the edge of a castle wall at barbarians below. It is just insightful for me to think that activities such as sprinting and distance running and hurdles and long jump and pole vault were also really useful in Roman warfare, but now they are all considered sport today. Well, I suppose the running activities are still important, but now we're so dependent on our technology as compared to the "strength of our own arm".
I noticed today that I am much better at sprinting than I am at distance running. I bet my endurance will improve once my water levels stay at a healthy level. My good buddy Josh has been making some fantastic PRs in his running lately. I've also enjoyed making a ton of other friends-
WAIT, OH YES! I need to tell you about Cabaret! Mwahahahahahaha!
Okay, so, last week on Thursday and Friday, I got to be a part of HVHS's Cabaret. For my performance on the first night I played "Hey There Delilah", and the crowd sang along on the final chorus! I think they enjoyed it. There were a ton of other awesome performances. One boy scout troop did a WW2 skit. "Oh John!" "Is that you, Hans?" *stands up and waves* "Ya!"
Nick did a crazy guitar solo of Wanted Dead or Alive. A number of beautiful young women sang as well.
I love life! I just had to say that just now.
One kid did some crazy beatboxing, and there were a couple of gay skits as well. But Mr. Lawson's act outdid them all. Not only is he the only music teacher in our district, but he is also in charge of the Student Government. Anywho, he and his band played a big pop medley using the B-F#-A#-E chord sequence. It was very funny! When Nick tried to pull of "Take On Me" by A-Ha, the song was put in a ridiculously high key, and you couldn't even comprehend the last line because he was screaming so hard in falsetto to hit the notes. "Da-da-da-da-, AHHHHHHH!"
After Nick's loud interruption, they began the chord sequence again, with Lawson starting "It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday-", but as soon as he started to sing the rest of the band members groaned loudly and walked offstage. Then says Lawson as he ran after them, "you guys do this every time! Come on; it's my most favorite song!"
Then he appeared onstage once again with Nick's guitar and smashed it to pieces on the ground! IT WAS AWESOME! He did the same thing the second night too!
(I found out later that he wasn't really smashing poor Nick's guitar; he was using old ones that were obviously being saved up for this annual event in the band room!)
I melted Kaeli's heart while practicing a special tune before the second night's performance. Yessss.
All of this talk on public school makes me want to go there! I feel like I missed out so much at middle school. I'll live, but I am seriously considering ditching Connections and finding a transfer to GPHS, where they have vocal classes and band classes as well as cooking classes and other awesome stuff like that. I'll be looking into that more; see what happens.
Oh, I've got a new scout goal: go to Philmont summer 2012 (It's in New Mexico)! It's a big, gritty 10-day backpack camp through the elements, or at least that's what I've heard it can be. There are lots of things to do at that camp I hear. I'll be going with Troop 24 (a REAL scout troop in town), who will also help me out with fundraisers and etc. to get the funds and preparations for it. I'm so excited! I need to find some real employment soon. Oh, I'm so excited for scout camp this year! GAHHHHHH!!!
I really feel like letting off some steam right now. I want to hang out with a bunch of really hyper singing teens RIGHT NOW.
Oh boy...
There are days when I just want to go and hit something! I want to go back to karate! It was so much fun. I am so darn excited for the great fun in May that Sabrina and I will have at the Baxter's house. They're into taikwondo, and I overread that Sabrina and I will be able to come along with them when they go practice! YAY!
The past few days have been pretty sweetastic! I've been really cracking down on Biology; it has been so much fun! We got do do virtual frog and squid dissections; it was really great. I can't wait until college when I'll be able to dissect animals and body parts for real!
(this blog post is off of the top of my head, btw)
Okay, so, last Tuesday I went to another track meet. I had a really good time at it! Just did my best with what I had that day; next time I need to prepare much better! I notice I need to be drinking much larger doses of water more frequently throughout the day. Just that alone will give my organs the fluids they need to do their best. Javelin throwing has been coming along great! Coach Standley has been very encouraging and helpful in helping me get the basic techniques down. Next season I am confident that I will be able to actually throw it a good distance! I sometimes wonder about the Romans; in Latin we've been reading a lot about ancient Rome, particularly Caesar. We watched a movie about Cleopatra like, a month ago. The film seemed to be 4 hours long! Okay, so at one point in it, Octavian kills the Egyptian Embassador by throwing a javelin at him after the Roman gave a dramatic speech up on some raised plain. It made me think of this whole track experience that I've been having.
What if we actually used javelins in warfare today? Accuracy would be much more important. What about shot puts? I can imagine Jefferson Jarvis in Roman armor chucking one of those 12-pound balls covered in spikes or something off of the edge of a castle wall at barbarians below. It is just insightful for me to think that activities such as sprinting and distance running and hurdles and long jump and pole vault were also really useful in Roman warfare, but now they are all considered sport today. Well, I suppose the running activities are still important, but now we're so dependent on our technology as compared to the "strength of our own arm".
I noticed today that I am much better at sprinting than I am at distance running. I bet my endurance will improve once my water levels stay at a healthy level. My good buddy Josh has been making some fantastic PRs in his running lately. I've also enjoyed making a ton of other friends-
WAIT, OH YES! I need to tell you about Cabaret! Mwahahahahahaha!
Okay, so, last week on Thursday and Friday, I got to be a part of HVHS's Cabaret. For my performance on the first night I played "Hey There Delilah", and the crowd sang along on the final chorus! I think they enjoyed it. There were a ton of other awesome performances. One boy scout troop did a WW2 skit. "Oh John!" "Is that you, Hans?" *stands up and waves* "Ya!"
Nick did a crazy guitar solo of Wanted Dead or Alive. A number of beautiful young women sang as well.
I love life! I just had to say that just now.
One kid did some crazy beatboxing, and there were a couple of gay skits as well. But Mr. Lawson's act outdid them all. Not only is he the only music teacher in our district, but he is also in charge of the Student Government. Anywho, he and his band played a big pop medley using the B-F#-A#-E chord sequence. It was very funny! When Nick tried to pull of "Take On Me" by A-Ha, the song was put in a ridiculously high key, and you couldn't even comprehend the last line because he was screaming so hard in falsetto to hit the notes. "Da-da-da-da-, AHHHHHHH!"
After Nick's loud interruption, they began the chord sequence again, with Lawson starting "It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday-", but as soon as he started to sing the rest of the band members groaned loudly and walked offstage. Then says Lawson as he ran after them, "you guys do this every time! Come on; it's my most favorite song!"
Then he appeared onstage once again with Nick's guitar and smashed it to pieces on the ground! IT WAS AWESOME! He did the same thing the second night too!
(I found out later that he wasn't really smashing poor Nick's guitar; he was using old ones that were obviously being saved up for this annual event in the band room!)
I melted Kaeli's heart while practicing a special tune before the second night's performance. Yessss.
All of this talk on public school makes me want to go there! I feel like I missed out so much at middle school. I'll live, but I am seriously considering ditching Connections and finding a transfer to GPHS, where they have vocal classes and band classes as well as cooking classes and other awesome stuff like that. I'll be looking into that more; see what happens.
Oh, I've got a new scout goal: go to Philmont summer 2012 (It's in New Mexico)! It's a big, gritty 10-day backpack camp through the elements, or at least that's what I've heard it can be. There are lots of things to do at that camp I hear. I'll be going with Troop 24 (a REAL scout troop in town), who will also help me out with fundraisers and etc. to get the funds and preparations for it. I'm so excited! I need to find some real employment soon. Oh, I'm so excited for scout camp this year! GAHHHHHH!!!
I really feel like letting off some steam right now. I want to hang out with a bunch of really hyper singing teens RIGHT NOW.
Oh boy...
There are days when I just want to go and hit something! I want to go back to karate! It was so much fun. I am so darn excited for the great fun in May that Sabrina and I will have at the Baxter's house. They're into taikwondo, and I overread that Sabrina and I will be able to come along with them when they go practice! YAY!
Monday, April 18, 2011
What a week
"And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done."
This whole week has been difficult for me. Has life gotten any worse? No, in fact, it's gotten a lot better. There are so many things to look forward to and so many productive things to do. Yet, my state of mind has been in the land of pessimism. Instead of being guided by the spirit, I have been dragged by Satan's angels to feel this way and that way about life; making molehills into mountains and falling apart over the smallest things. I have felt my life has become clouded, and my priorities have become hard to see.
Today's Easter Devotional helped take those clouds away. The beautiful music that was heard throughout it was just what I needed to feel uplifted from my miserable state. I fell into (another) breakdown when my dear friend Austin sang a solo of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives". Throughout the week, I have been wondering where God was in my life, and why things had become so difficult, even simple daily work. I have distanced myself from my God, and my family, and it has led me to fall back into depression, Satan laughing at my folly all the way.
There was something about this song that took those clouds of darkness away. Just skim the lyrics:
This whole week has been difficult for me. Has life gotten any worse? No, in fact, it's gotten a lot better. There are so many things to look forward to and so many productive things to do. Yet, my state of mind has been in the land of pessimism. Instead of being guided by the spirit, I have been dragged by Satan's angels to feel this way and that way about life; making molehills into mountains and falling apart over the smallest things. I have felt my life has become clouded, and my priorities have become hard to see.
Today's Easter Devotional helped take those clouds away. The beautiful music that was heard throughout it was just what I needed to feel uplifted from my miserable state. I fell into (another) breakdown when my dear friend Austin sang a solo of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives". Throughout the week, I have been wondering where God was in my life, and why things had become so difficult, even simple daily work. I have distanced myself from my God, and my family, and it has led me to fall back into depression, Satan laughing at my folly all the way.
There was something about this song that took those clouds of darkness away. Just skim the lyrics:
I know that my Redeemer lives!
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead;
He lives, my ever living head!
He lives, my ever living head!
He lives to bless me with his love;
He lives to plead for me above;
He lives my hungry soul to feed;
He lives to help in time of need.
He lives to plead for me above;
He lives my hungry soul to feed;
He lives to help in time of need.
He lives to grant me rich supply;
He lives to guide me with his eye;
He lives to comfort me when faint;
He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.
He lives to guide me with his eye;
He lives to comfort me when faint;
He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears;
He lives to wipe away my tears;
He lives to calm my troubled heart;
He lives all blessings to impart.
He lives to wipe away my tears;
He lives to calm my troubled heart;
He lives all blessings to impart.
He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly friend;
He lives and loves me to the end;
He lives, and while he lives, I’ll sing;
He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King!
He lives and loves me to the end;
He lives, and while he lives, I’ll sing;
He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King!
He lives and grants me daily breath;
He lives, and I shall conquer death;
He lives my mansion to prepare;
He lives to bring me safely there.
He lives, and I shall conquer death;
He lives my mansion to prepare;
He lives to bring me safely there.
He lives, all glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same;
Oh sweet, what joy this sentence gives:
I know that my Redeemer lives!
He lives, my Savior, still the same;
Oh sweet, what joy this sentence gives:
I know that my Redeemer lives!
It helped me get the message: He lives! He is there "to help in time of need", "to hear my soul's complaint", "to wipe away my tears", "my mansion to prepare". The heavens have remained silent for me all week, though I've desired guidance from above, I guess I wasn't really listening for it; I was too busy worrying. The spirit fell upon me as I heard this hymn written for me like a tidal wave.
I know that my Redeemer lives. He is there, and will strengthen me throughout the rest of this school year. I can do it! I do not need to focus on my to-do list as much. I should read up Uchdorf's talk about "slowing down" again from last year. Focus instead on listening to the spirit and doing what I know is right. I don't need to be hard on myself for being imperfect, because bashing my head against the wall is not going to make it easier to think, so to speak. If I calm down, put away my weapons of rebellion (again), I know that my Redeemer can guide me to accomplish the goals HE has for me.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Another BIG Blog update
Thursday (3/31)
"I threw my planner in the air today, singing ay-o, gotta let go..." That's how my planning has been for the past few weeks; I think I'm in a stress rut. I've just got to endure to the end here; summer is so much closer, and its all of the fun things we've planned for it that's motivating me to push through. The actual today (4/10) was so uplifting, but first I'll get these journal entries in.
Yesterday grandpa spilled the beans about the Baxters coming over for Conference weekend, but I still didn't know any details about it (until I heard mom talking to Rory on the phone in the other room about seeing me at today's track meet). I was so happy to see them there!
Everyone did well at the meet; I personally saw Jefferson Jarvis make a new PR (and High School record). He let out a scream and hurled the discuss out into the stratosphere; it was mind-numbing to watch him throw 172.something ft today.
After the meet, the Baxters and I went to g-ma and g-pa Seable's house for a delicious dinner and a temple prep class that my grandparents were doing. Tonight's lesson was about the symbolism of the temple; it was very interesting stuff. I'm so excited to go to the temple to do all of the ordinances someday.
After the class I just kind of sat there on the couch staring at Ceana and Kaeli for the next hour or so, mentally tired from the day's events. I stole Jefferson's guitar and we wrote a little song to sing for Sabrina on her birthday. Ceana and I were considering waking up the next morning to make German pancakes during the "magic hour": 4 in the morn! I am fasting today (4/10) that I'll be able to change my habits so that I will be able to wake up that early; I have faith that I can once again become an early-to-bed-early-to-rise guy. I just need to choose the right and be more responsible with my time. Goal of the week!
Friday (4/1)
We woke at 6 instead for early morning seminary; brother Beckstead did a great lesson once again. The lesson was about polygamy, and the reason why our church once practiced it: because God said so. After class Ceana and I got to chat a bit more in the quietness of the church foyer. I gave mom a call after waiting for awhile, and she said to start walking home, and so we did. We were picked up from the road about 10 minutes after we began our walk.
After doing a bit of cleaning, all of the young women in the house had a wonderful day! Sabrina, Ceana, Kaeli, Rory, and my mom went out to lunch with a bunch of Sabrina's friends, and then had a surprise sleepover at Savannah D's house. I was considering an attack on the evening event, but mom didn't think it would be appropriate. The idea was simple; play a guitar under or next to one of Savannah's windows while wearing a monkey mask. Once found by someone, scream and run. I guess I'll have to save that idea for some other occasion.
Ceana was so polite and patient today (as usual); it really touched me. Rory and I convinced her to come to track practice with me. I had some strange fantasy idea that the coaches would allow her, unregistered and all, to practice with us. But it didn't work out as I had hoped, and she had to wait through the whole 2 hours or so of practice. But how did she respond when I came up to apologize? Irritation? No, just kind, calm, reassuring words. "It's okay."
I still have to do something special for her for showcasing her amazing selfless attitude and heart-of-gold on this occasion; what a good example to me!
Saturday (4/2)
General conference, yay! I got to go see the first session at Savannah's house with all the ladies there. It turns out that Cassidy and Allie were able to come to; it was so good to see them!
During the time between sessions, the Baxters, Cassidy, Allie, and my whole fam decided to go to the local pharmacy and get some 25 cent phosphates. Afterwards dad had this urge to quickly stop at our most favorite chocolate store in town and get Sabrina a bite to eat. He gave her money, she ran in, and brought back snickerdoodles to share with the whole bus-load; how thoughtful! They were gone in seconds.
We watched the second session of conference at home, then we went out to the backyard to play on the trampoline and the trees and everything. It was so fun, and Rory got some good pics. Visualizing coach Goodell in my mind, I had the urge to go do that 45 minute run that he told me to do, or else. So I tried to set up a walk for everyone to go on. Well, just to save the reader's brain a lot of trouble, it ended in me "getting lost" and getting late for the priesthood session. Another fantastic idea, Keenan. Planning things like this is a skill that you must develop over time, right? I hope so.
Anyways, when we arrived at the stake center for the priesthood session, whoever was in charge of getting the broadcast set up was having trouble getting the stream from Salt Lake. After 15 minutes after conference started they had it working. Anthony joked that once it would start working again we would see Thomas S. Monson saying, "-and that is everything you need to know to not get burned tomorrow. Over and out."
"FIND THAT TALK ON YOUTUBE!"
Anthony never ceases to crack me up.
It was a good meeting; it was actually a bit more informal than the other ones. Eyering's opening played cleverly on Uchdorf's talk, and President Monson's talk about marriage was just plain funny.
After the conference my father and I drove to grandma's house listening to Voicemail blare loudly from our car speakers and singing along like there's no tomorrow. "THE SPIRIT OF GOD, LIKE A FIRE IS BURNING..." It felt so great, just that time I had with dad in the car. We should sing together more often; it's a hobby I believe we both enjoy.
That night was full of some good board games, specifically Tribond and Heroscape. After playing these, we watched one of Anthony's most favorite movies: What's Up Doc? It was a very confusing film apparently designed to confuse the viewer. It was ridiculous.
Sunday (4/3)
Ah, today was a really good day. But it was also a sad day. Rory, Ceana, Kaeli, Sabrina, and myself got to watch the rest of conference at grandma's house. During the break time we watched this special program about retarded children and adopted children that made Rory and me cry. Grandma made some really yummy food while we were there, and the Baxters got to have a look at grandpa's workshop. On our way back to my house, the girls had a random notion to stop at a couple of signs that they found utterly hilarious to take some pictures: "Idle" and "Drury".
At the house we got to show the Baxters a few parts from the Liken video collection; some of our most favorite songs. Then Ceana and I played a few hymns on the piano together, just stalling to avoid having to leave. But they eventually had to go. We always have such good times every time we get together; I miss the Baxters. I hope I'll be able so see them again soon.
Monday (4/4)
Today was a really good day. Recharged spiritually and emotionally, I was able to do very well in my studies, track practice, and family life. I had better go through the general conference talks often; I could use everyday days like this more often. Excelsior!
Tuesday (4/5)
Today I went on a long bus ride to Klamath Falls for a track meet. Rule of life #3849201: Do NOT sit in the back of the bus.
Wednesday (4/6)
What happened today? I didn't record stuff very well here. Must have been too busy getting mounds of schoolwork done.
Thursday (4/7)
Similar to Wednesday, except today there was that one leadership seminar LL by Ms. Tuerk, which was really cool. Next time we do it the students that have been attending the seminar are going to be doing the whole meeting for a group of people. I love Ms. Tuerk; I would advance to say that she is the best ORCA teacher I've ever had. I am so excited to be in her AP Psychology class next year. GAH! Next year! I feel like singing "One Day More" from Les Mis. It just fills me with joy; next school year is going to be so fun. AP English Literature, Honors Algebra II, AP Biology, and AP Psych! I just want to scream; it's going to be fantastic! And karate; will be doing that too. And I'll find a consistent job, AND I'll be able to drive to it. Mwahahahaha!
I must keep on working, and remember the future is bright. "He gave me hope when hope was gone, He gave me strength to journey on..."
Friday (4/8)
More work, more track, more this and that. Tonight they did commando again, but I decided not to go; I was too tired. I heard that tonight's game of commando was police approved, but I learned otherwise the following morning.
Saturday (4/9)
I woke up this morning and went to a ward service project. We did some cleaning and leaf raking at a local cemetery, and I honestly had a pretty good time there. Haley, who went to commando last night, was prompted to text her aunt to get a ride home early in the night. It was a really good thing that she listened to the Spirit, because the whole thing turned out being pretty bad; she didn't even go into the details. Oh, by the way, Miranda's leg is still injured from the last time we played commando. But today she was feeling good enough to go without crutches.
As I walked past graves throughout the cemetery, I noticed one that caught my eye. It was a newer looking one, and had small statues of children playing around it. The name clearly etched in the marble was Austin Fryer, a name which tugged at my heartstrings and caused me to stop raking for a minute or two in respect. Austin was one of my childhood buddies, one of the best friends I can remember. He died of cancer at age 8, in 2003. I miss him so much, I cried there, looking at his grave.
After the service project, we had an exciting trip to the library. I have not been to the library in a very long time, and just loved being there! I'd like to just live at my local library, and I bet I could too, considering I just do online school. Maybe when I can drive... Anyways, I got a bunch of psychology books directed to teens. One of them, The 7 Best Things Smart Teens Do, has been simply fascinating; it has been really hard to put it down. I even referenced it in my Sunday School lesson today (4/10).
This evening was a ton of fun! Miranda had heard that there was a dance way out in Ashland, and her dad was willing to give rides! And so I was able to make it there thanks to Brother S' kindness. While driving there and back, Miranda and I had fun reading aloud from The 7 Best Things Smart Teens Do. She's a psych fan too; she's just wrapping up Sean Covey's The 6 Most Important Decisions You Will Ever Make. Her dad gave a ton of really interesting insight on what we were reading aloud; it was a really fun car ride for me.
The dance in Ashland was Neon themed, and there were a bunch of glow bracelets and necklaces there for people to just grab. It was a ton of fun! Haley was able to make it there too, and she had a great time. She reminds me so much of my cousin Jessie; it really makes me laugh. She seems a bit... emotional. How do I describe her? Well, we found the skeleton of a deer in the cemetery while cleaning earlier today, and she started crying. Tonight she wouldn't stop freaking out about some cute boy she danced with. Then she asked me if I would get some guy's number. I did, and she wouldn't stop thanking me even the next day in Sunday School. I believe that that young lady is a crazy-hyper ball of energy, poor lass. Love her anyways.
Sunday (4/10)
Today I woke up and realized, "oh no, I was supposed to prepare a lesson in priesthood today!" I had lesson 15: Enduring to the end. I scrambled to make an outline of what I would cover and stuff I would use throughout the morning and on the drive to church. At church, after taking the sacrament, I walked Faidra in the hall throughout testimony meeting. Yes, today is our ward's fast Sunday. In Sunday school we continued to learn about the parables in Matthew; we discussed chapter 14, the one about the wheat and the tares. It was a very insightful lesson for me; there are a lot of different ways you can look at parables. I got to see Fa and Carmen in Sunday school too; they've been up in Portland to celebrate Fa's 16th B-day. Her actual birthday is tomorrow; I had better start writing a song. It should be interesting, because I already just love to use Fa's nickname in scatting anyways.
When it was time for priesthood, after some announcements of more service projects (I love how so many service projects are popping up all over the place now!), it was time for me to give my lesson to two other quorum members: Parker and Bryce. I tried as hard as I could to not follow the lesson and make it a more organic learning experience. Since I spent a lot of time yesterday just studying psych for fun, I included a bit of explaining about emotions that humans feel and that we are different than other animals because we can choose how we act because of a stimulant instead of reacting like an animal. As I talked more about the trials of Joseph Smith and the Pioneers, the more I realized that this talk was really for me. I finished off the lesson bearing my testimony, feeling refreshed and strengthened once again by the message shared. I think the scripture with the most impact to me was D&C 12-
AHAHA!! I just found my old triple combination with all of the stickers and markings and everything; thank you mom!Oh, thank you Heavenly Father!
Anyways, the scripture that really recharged me for today was D&C 122:7-8; read this aloud to yourself: "And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for they good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?"
I have been needing this verse for a long time; it was just what I needed for my emotional state. Give me any task and I'll do it, Lord!
Let's do it.
"I threw my planner in the air today, singing ay-o, gotta let go..." That's how my planning has been for the past few weeks; I think I'm in a stress rut. I've just got to endure to the end here; summer is so much closer, and its all of the fun things we've planned for it that's motivating me to push through. The actual today (4/10) was so uplifting, but first I'll get these journal entries in.
Yesterday grandpa spilled the beans about the Baxters coming over for Conference weekend, but I still didn't know any details about it (until I heard mom talking to Rory on the phone in the other room about seeing me at today's track meet). I was so happy to see them there!
Everyone did well at the meet; I personally saw Jefferson Jarvis make a new PR (and High School record). He let out a scream and hurled the discuss out into the stratosphere; it was mind-numbing to watch him throw 172.something ft today.
After the meet, the Baxters and I went to g-ma and g-pa Seable's house for a delicious dinner and a temple prep class that my grandparents were doing. Tonight's lesson was about the symbolism of the temple; it was very interesting stuff. I'm so excited to go to the temple to do all of the ordinances someday.
After the class I just kind of sat there on the couch staring at Ceana and Kaeli for the next hour or so, mentally tired from the day's events. I stole Jefferson's guitar and we wrote a little song to sing for Sabrina on her birthday. Ceana and I were considering waking up the next morning to make German pancakes during the "magic hour": 4 in the morn! I am fasting today (4/10) that I'll be able to change my habits so that I will be able to wake up that early; I have faith that I can once again become an early-to-bed-early-to-rise guy. I just need to choose the right and be more responsible with my time. Goal of the week!
Friday (4/1)
We woke at 6 instead for early morning seminary; brother Beckstead did a great lesson once again. The lesson was about polygamy, and the reason why our church once practiced it: because God said so. After class Ceana and I got to chat a bit more in the quietness of the church foyer. I gave mom a call after waiting for awhile, and she said to start walking home, and so we did. We were picked up from the road about 10 minutes after we began our walk.
After doing a bit of cleaning, all of the young women in the house had a wonderful day! Sabrina, Ceana, Kaeli, Rory, and my mom went out to lunch with a bunch of Sabrina's friends, and then had a surprise sleepover at Savannah D's house. I was considering an attack on the evening event, but mom didn't think it would be appropriate. The idea was simple; play a guitar under or next to one of Savannah's windows while wearing a monkey mask. Once found by someone, scream and run. I guess I'll have to save that idea for some other occasion.
Ceana was so polite and patient today (as usual); it really touched me. Rory and I convinced her to come to track practice with me. I had some strange fantasy idea that the coaches would allow her, unregistered and all, to practice with us. But it didn't work out as I had hoped, and she had to wait through the whole 2 hours or so of practice. But how did she respond when I came up to apologize? Irritation? No, just kind, calm, reassuring words. "It's okay."
I still have to do something special for her for showcasing her amazing selfless attitude and heart-of-gold on this occasion; what a good example to me!
Saturday (4/2)
General conference, yay! I got to go see the first session at Savannah's house with all the ladies there. It turns out that Cassidy and Allie were able to come to; it was so good to see them!
During the time between sessions, the Baxters, Cassidy, Allie, and my whole fam decided to go to the local pharmacy and get some 25 cent phosphates. Afterwards dad had this urge to quickly stop at our most favorite chocolate store in town and get Sabrina a bite to eat. He gave her money, she ran in, and brought back snickerdoodles to share with the whole bus-load; how thoughtful! They were gone in seconds.
We watched the second session of conference at home, then we went out to the backyard to play on the trampoline and the trees and everything. It was so fun, and Rory got some good pics. Visualizing coach Goodell in my mind, I had the urge to go do that 45 minute run that he told me to do, or else. So I tried to set up a walk for everyone to go on. Well, just to save the reader's brain a lot of trouble, it ended in me "getting lost" and getting late for the priesthood session. Another fantastic idea, Keenan. Planning things like this is a skill that you must develop over time, right? I hope so.
Anyways, when we arrived at the stake center for the priesthood session, whoever was in charge of getting the broadcast set up was having trouble getting the stream from Salt Lake. After 15 minutes after conference started they had it working. Anthony joked that once it would start working again we would see Thomas S. Monson saying, "-and that is everything you need to know to not get burned tomorrow. Over and out."
"FIND THAT TALK ON YOUTUBE!"
Anthony never ceases to crack me up.
It was a good meeting; it was actually a bit more informal than the other ones. Eyering's opening played cleverly on Uchdorf's talk, and President Monson's talk about marriage was just plain funny.
After the conference my father and I drove to grandma's house listening to Voicemail blare loudly from our car speakers and singing along like there's no tomorrow. "THE SPIRIT OF GOD, LIKE A FIRE IS BURNING..." It felt so great, just that time I had with dad in the car. We should sing together more often; it's a hobby I believe we both enjoy.
That night was full of some good board games, specifically Tribond and Heroscape. After playing these, we watched one of Anthony's most favorite movies: What's Up Doc? It was a very confusing film apparently designed to confuse the viewer. It was ridiculous.
Sunday (4/3)
Ah, today was a really good day. But it was also a sad day. Rory, Ceana, Kaeli, Sabrina, and myself got to watch the rest of conference at grandma's house. During the break time we watched this special program about retarded children and adopted children that made Rory and me cry. Grandma made some really yummy food while we were there, and the Baxters got to have a look at grandpa's workshop. On our way back to my house, the girls had a random notion to stop at a couple of signs that they found utterly hilarious to take some pictures: "Idle" and "Drury".
At the house we got to show the Baxters a few parts from the Liken video collection; some of our most favorite songs. Then Ceana and I played a few hymns on the piano together, just stalling to avoid having to leave. But they eventually had to go. We always have such good times every time we get together; I miss the Baxters. I hope I'll be able so see them again soon.
Monday (4/4)
Today was a really good day. Recharged spiritually and emotionally, I was able to do very well in my studies, track practice, and family life. I had better go through the general conference talks often; I could use everyday days like this more often. Excelsior!
Tuesday (4/5)
Today I went on a long bus ride to Klamath Falls for a track meet. Rule of life #3849201: Do NOT sit in the back of the bus.
Wednesday (4/6)
What happened today? I didn't record stuff very well here. Must have been too busy getting mounds of schoolwork done.
Thursday (4/7)
Similar to Wednesday, except today there was that one leadership seminar LL by Ms. Tuerk, which was really cool. Next time we do it the students that have been attending the seminar are going to be doing the whole meeting for a group of people. I love Ms. Tuerk; I would advance to say that she is the best ORCA teacher I've ever had. I am so excited to be in her AP Psychology class next year. GAH! Next year! I feel like singing "One Day More" from Les Mis. It just fills me with joy; next school year is going to be so fun. AP English Literature, Honors Algebra II, AP Biology, and AP Psych! I just want to scream; it's going to be fantastic! And karate; will be doing that too. And I'll find a consistent job, AND I'll be able to drive to it. Mwahahahaha!
I must keep on working, and remember the future is bright. "He gave me hope when hope was gone, He gave me strength to journey on..."
Friday (4/8)
More work, more track, more this and that. Tonight they did commando again, but I decided not to go; I was too tired. I heard that tonight's game of commando was police approved, but I learned otherwise the following morning.
Saturday (4/9)
I woke up this morning and went to a ward service project. We did some cleaning and leaf raking at a local cemetery, and I honestly had a pretty good time there. Haley, who went to commando last night, was prompted to text her aunt to get a ride home early in the night. It was a really good thing that she listened to the Spirit, because the whole thing turned out being pretty bad; she didn't even go into the details. Oh, by the way, Miranda's leg is still injured from the last time we played commando. But today she was feeling good enough to go without crutches.
As I walked past graves throughout the cemetery, I noticed one that caught my eye. It was a newer looking one, and had small statues of children playing around it. The name clearly etched in the marble was Austin Fryer, a name which tugged at my heartstrings and caused me to stop raking for a minute or two in respect. Austin was one of my childhood buddies, one of the best friends I can remember. He died of cancer at age 8, in 2003. I miss him so much, I cried there, looking at his grave.
After the service project, we had an exciting trip to the library. I have not been to the library in a very long time, and just loved being there! I'd like to just live at my local library, and I bet I could too, considering I just do online school. Maybe when I can drive... Anyways, I got a bunch of psychology books directed to teens. One of them, The 7 Best Things Smart Teens Do, has been simply fascinating; it has been really hard to put it down. I even referenced it in my Sunday School lesson today (4/10).
This evening was a ton of fun! Miranda had heard that there was a dance way out in Ashland, and her dad was willing to give rides! And so I was able to make it there thanks to Brother S' kindness. While driving there and back, Miranda and I had fun reading aloud from The 7 Best Things Smart Teens Do. She's a psych fan too; she's just wrapping up Sean Covey's The 6 Most Important Decisions You Will Ever Make. Her dad gave a ton of really interesting insight on what we were reading aloud; it was a really fun car ride for me.
The dance in Ashland was Neon themed, and there were a bunch of glow bracelets and necklaces there for people to just grab. It was a ton of fun! Haley was able to make it there too, and she had a great time. She reminds me so much of my cousin Jessie; it really makes me laugh. She seems a bit... emotional. How do I describe her? Well, we found the skeleton of a deer in the cemetery while cleaning earlier today, and she started crying. Tonight she wouldn't stop freaking out about some cute boy she danced with. Then she asked me if I would get some guy's number. I did, and she wouldn't stop thanking me even the next day in Sunday School. I believe that that young lady is a crazy-hyper ball of energy, poor lass. Love her anyways.
Sunday (4/10)
Today I woke up and realized, "oh no, I was supposed to prepare a lesson in priesthood today!" I had lesson 15: Enduring to the end. I scrambled to make an outline of what I would cover and stuff I would use throughout the morning and on the drive to church. At church, after taking the sacrament, I walked Faidra in the hall throughout testimony meeting. Yes, today is our ward's fast Sunday. In Sunday school we continued to learn about the parables in Matthew; we discussed chapter 14, the one about the wheat and the tares. It was a very insightful lesson for me; there are a lot of different ways you can look at parables. I got to see Fa and Carmen in Sunday school too; they've been up in Portland to celebrate Fa's 16th B-day. Her actual birthday is tomorrow; I had better start writing a song. It should be interesting, because I already just love to use Fa's nickname in scatting anyways.
When it was time for priesthood, after some announcements of more service projects (I love how so many service projects are popping up all over the place now!), it was time for me to give my lesson to two other quorum members: Parker and Bryce. I tried as hard as I could to not follow the lesson and make it a more organic learning experience. Since I spent a lot of time yesterday just studying psych for fun, I included a bit of explaining about emotions that humans feel and that we are different than other animals because we can choose how we act because of a stimulant instead of reacting like an animal. As I talked more about the trials of Joseph Smith and the Pioneers, the more I realized that this talk was really for me. I finished off the lesson bearing my testimony, feeling refreshed and strengthened once again by the message shared. I think the scripture with the most impact to me was D&C 12-
AHAHA!! I just found my old triple combination with all of the stickers and markings and everything; thank you mom!Oh, thank you Heavenly Father!
Anyways, the scripture that really recharged me for today was D&C 122:7-8; read this aloud to yourself: "And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for they good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?"
I have been needing this verse for a long time; it was just what I needed for my emotional state. Give me any task and I'll do it, Lord!
Let's do it.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The Epic Spring Break
This was a crazy spring break. It was supposed to be a super catch up week for school work, but I allowed other things to get in the way. Don't get me wrong; I got some work done. I just didn't get %100 all caught up. This next going to be so good; I'm so excited to have these lessons done. Anyways, let me tell you of my springtime adventures.
3/21 (Monday)
I woke up at grandpa Seable's house. Dad left me there while I was talking to Ceana via cell phone in g-ma's back room. I guess he heard me mention that I wanted to stay for the night in some of the conversation and just decided to go. This morning I spent some good quiet time doing schoolwork on g-ma's laptop. I love being able to take school everywhere. Then again, I suppose I can never escape, can I?
I also got to spend some time with my cousins, of course. The Jarvis family decided to go to a local museum today, and I decided to tag along. As it turned out, the museum was closed, and so we went to the local pharmacy for 25 cent phosphates instead. I got some wonderful humble-time walking around in public wearing grandpa's oversized sweats and itchy sweater; it was fun playing hobo for the day. All the same, it was nice when dad dropped off my track clothing for the afternoon.
That's right; an athlete never rests, not even for spring break. There was a skeletal number of the team there today; most of them were off traveling. But we had practice just like any other day.
This evening for family night we got to watch The Secret on Netflix. Whoever thought up this idea made it sound really epic and intense and whatnot. A lady puts together a group of authors, psychologists, and visionaries and they explain the "law of attraction". In other words, they put the concepts of faith and hope into a fancy-smanshy-science-y documentary. It was very very interesting. As it turns out, you attract everything and everyone around you via thoughts, whether you realize it or not. You can have anything you want if you just focus on it and eliminate all negative thoughts concerning it. "Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you..."
For example, if you hope that, "I don't want to be late", you are thinking negatively. You will most likely be late. Whereas is you think "I am on time" as you're waiting in that traffic line, your chances for being on time will dramatically increase only because you are thinking positively! It works, ask Einstein! Or Lincoln, or Beethoven, or Buddha, or Rockefeller... fun psych, indeed.
3/22 (Tuesday)
Today was meant to be another work day, only I got an employment opportunity by noon so I had to cut my quality school time short. The Harmons in our ward are killing, felling, and chopping up some trees on some property they just bought so they can have room on it for the new house they are building out in the woods. I got to come and help for ten bucks an hour. I think that their spot is nice, but it seems rather lonely. I guess no one will be bothering them out there, but I feel like when I'm looking for a place to live, I'm going to find a more social environment. I wonder if there is some way you can get a bomb permit that you could use to level ground and blow away trees on your property; that would save a lot of time for projects like this. I bet Brother Dauge has one or two we could use next time we eradicate trees.
3/23 (Wednesday)
I got a good bit of school done today + a special surprise. Tiernan H, a wonderful classmate of mine from Portland, happened to be down here for Ashland's Shakespeare Festival this week with her grandma. Allie, of course, had to plan a get together. So she called me up a couple of days before and badda bing= we got to spend the morning visiting, listening to music, and playing music at Allie's house. We even got to pester Jacob O on the phone, which led to some pretty interesting conversations. Tiernan is such a character.
This afternoon my father and I went to the cannery in Medford to get our family's food storage all re-stocked. I am so glad we did, but now my room is filled with boxes and cans. Where are we going to put all of this stuff?
3/24 (Thursday)
Today I finally finished the rough draft for the speech I have to do for next week for Government. Nothing else too exciting, other than track and piano lesson. Patience with self is a virtue.
3/25 (Friday) COMMANDO!
That's right, today I got to play commando. I'll tell you more about that in a minute.
This afternoon I got to go to the park to spend some time with the music group again. As it turned out, only the faithful Miranda and the diligent Jessie came. So we didn't have enough people for a band once again, but we got to play music and chat all the same. We'll get the whole group together one of these days, just you wait! After playing at the park for a bit we went to Miranda's house to hang out. While over there we played some pretty intense rounds of chess. As I was challenging Miranda's mom to a game of chess, I explained Education Week to her as an alternative to the now $400+ priced EFY. Both she and Miranda sounded excited about it; I hope she'll be able to come along with us this year!
Later that afternoon, Sister S was informed about a Commando game going on in town tonight. She was told that a group of LDS people decided to put it together, and that Miranda, Jessie, and I were invited. I had never heard of Commando before, but this is what I was told: You start at one point on foot, and then you have to get to another point without getting caught by other players looking for you in cars.
So Jessie and I called our moms to ask for permission. Jessie's mom said no, but mine said yes. And so, at 9 that night, Miranda and I went out to join 40-50 teenagers in this exiting game, beginning at the Denny's on the other side of the town. The end of the commando course was the All Sports Park, right on the opposite side of town. It turned out that it was organized by an LDS kid, but he invited a majority of non-LDS kids. There was smoking and foul language galore. Even a couple of police men showed up, just to see what we were all up to waiting in the parking lot. They told us that Denny's was complaining about us being there, and so we all moved to a different parking lot: McDonalds. It took the leader of the group (I believe his name was Thomas) awhile to find enough kids who wanted to be the drivers and spotters for the drivers. The most memorable line I remember hearing him say was, "EVERYBODY SETTLE DOWN. You haven't done anything illegal. Yet." (You're not allowed to run through private property in the game, but I remember hearing Noah had other plans...)
Once we had everything ready someone shouted "go" and the pack dispersed in seconds. It was kind of fun just sprinting and sprinting through the cool night, running and jumping over walls, and actually using the stamina I've been accumulating in distance running for something new. I looked over my shoulder a bit after jumping off of a tall ledge onto parking lot, spotting Miranda. She looked like she had injured herself jumping off of the wall, so I just had to run back and see what was the matter. She rolled her ankle, and was not able to run for the rest of the night. And so we hobbled along for a few more minutes and were caught; I couldn't just leave her there. We were caught at an intersection still in the downtown area, on 5th street I believe. The driver that caught us (Jordan F) flashed his lights and honked the horn while his spotter Noah yelled at us out the window.We piled into the back, and zoom: their search continued. Jordan was driving way to fast in town that night, stopping and turning sharply and abruptly, looking for kids on the run in the night. We found a lot of hobos walking around in the dark. Miranda and I were considering dressing as hobos for this occasion to make avoiding spotters easier, but we ended up using dark clothing instead.
Jordan dropped us off at the All Sports Park, where we waited for the rest of the pack to get there or be captured and taken there. The leader and his small team of 3 made it there first without being caught, and the rest of them were either dragged in or ran into the center of the park victorious. While we were waiting for everyone to come along, we decided to scare people in the dark. We saw two silhouettes in the dark moving towards us from a long distance, so we hid behind a bush, waiting for them to come along. At the right moment, we yelled "RAR!!" and scared two young adult men riding bikes in the middle of the night. The first one freaked out, and then said the F word more than any other person I have ever heard in my life, then raised his hand, as if to strike, but turned out to be a high five. He complimented us for scaring them, then we tried to explain what we were doing out in the park in the middle of the night. Then the capped, foul mouthed man mentioned, just before he was about to leave again, that he would have punched me in the face if Miranda wasn't there. Someone must be watching out for me.
The second couple I scared (Miranda had to go sit down) was two of the commando players, Matt and Sarah. I yelled, he looked surprised, she screamed, ka-ching.
Sooner or later everyone showed up at around 10:15. Some of the drivers and runners were acting pretty rowdy and dangerous; I am so grateful that none of them got hurt riding on top of speeding cars in the park or throwing bananas (that's right, bananas.) at each other like knives.
They were going to have a second round past curfew, but Miranda and I decided to pass it up. She called her mom, she came, picked us up, and dropped me off at my house. I am SO grateful that we got out of that safely; my mom's prayers worked. I don't believe I will be playing commando with that group again. BUT, I think I'll have to use it in a more legal setting for group dates in the future.
When I got home, the kids were excited to show me a surprise. They showed me to the little girl's pink room, and there I found my desk, my bed, Henry's bed, my drawer, my guitar...
I'm so happy; I have a pink room! It's cozier than our family's storage room, that's for sure. The little girls had their beds moved to the classroom. I think I'll be able to work in hear more comfortably; I'm so grateful for such a thoughtful mom.
3/26 (Saturday)
Today I slept in; I fell ill. I felt too tired to do any school, but I was able to help a bit with the cleanup work the family was doing today.
Haley had her 16th birthday party today; that was fun. They did a Twilight trivia, which I knew all about; I read Nightlight, so I knew all of the right answers to the questions. There was food and cake and Haley's most favorite music. Ah, and Savannah F was able to make it there; I haven't seen her in months! It was so good to see her again; it brings such joy to my heart. I miss my seminary friends from town. Candice ("The cowgirl dancer from that talent show a few years ago?" "Oh yeah, that one!") was also there.
3/27 (Sunday)
I am feeling really tired today. But I'm going to just ignore that fact and pretend I'm totally energized this week. In sacrament meeting today Sister Black gave a really good talk about putting Christ first. She mentioned using the Attributes of Christ in the Preach My Gospel book for self improvement, which I remember doing last year. I think I'm going to try that again. The Christ like attribute of the week is Charity, I will be working on this one and studying it all week long and then record how my behavior improves. This is going to be so helpful for me. I love Sister Black!
Parker gave a really good lesson about forgiveness in Priesthood today.
That's pretty much it for this week; now remember the Secret! "I will be able to accomplish my set tasks in all of my responsibilities this week easily!"
3/21 (Monday)
I woke up at grandpa Seable's house. Dad left me there while I was talking to Ceana via cell phone in g-ma's back room. I guess he heard me mention that I wanted to stay for the night in some of the conversation and just decided to go. This morning I spent some good quiet time doing schoolwork on g-ma's laptop. I love being able to take school everywhere. Then again, I suppose I can never escape, can I?
I also got to spend some time with my cousins, of course. The Jarvis family decided to go to a local museum today, and I decided to tag along. As it turned out, the museum was closed, and so we went to the local pharmacy for 25 cent phosphates instead. I got some wonderful humble-time walking around in public wearing grandpa's oversized sweats and itchy sweater; it was fun playing hobo for the day. All the same, it was nice when dad dropped off my track clothing for the afternoon.
That's right; an athlete never rests, not even for spring break. There was a skeletal number of the team there today; most of them were off traveling. But we had practice just like any other day.
This evening for family night we got to watch The Secret on Netflix. Whoever thought up this idea made it sound really epic and intense and whatnot. A lady puts together a group of authors, psychologists, and visionaries and they explain the "law of attraction". In other words, they put the concepts of faith and hope into a fancy-smanshy-science-y documentary. It was very very interesting. As it turns out, you attract everything and everyone around you via thoughts, whether you realize it or not. You can have anything you want if you just focus on it and eliminate all negative thoughts concerning it. "Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you..."
For example, if you hope that, "I don't want to be late", you are thinking negatively. You will most likely be late. Whereas is you think "I am on time" as you're waiting in that traffic line, your chances for being on time will dramatically increase only because you are thinking positively! It works, ask Einstein! Or Lincoln, or Beethoven, or Buddha, or Rockefeller... fun psych, indeed.
3/22 (Tuesday)
Today was meant to be another work day, only I got an employment opportunity by noon so I had to cut my quality school time short. The Harmons in our ward are killing, felling, and chopping up some trees on some property they just bought so they can have room on it for the new house they are building out in the woods. I got to come and help for ten bucks an hour. I think that their spot is nice, but it seems rather lonely. I guess no one will be bothering them out there, but I feel like when I'm looking for a place to live, I'm going to find a more social environment. I wonder if there is some way you can get a bomb permit that you could use to level ground and blow away trees on your property; that would save a lot of time for projects like this. I bet Brother Dauge has one or two we could use next time we eradicate trees.
3/23 (Wednesday)
I got a good bit of school done today + a special surprise. Tiernan H, a wonderful classmate of mine from Portland, happened to be down here for Ashland's Shakespeare Festival this week with her grandma. Allie, of course, had to plan a get together. So she called me up a couple of days before and badda bing= we got to spend the morning visiting, listening to music, and playing music at Allie's house. We even got to pester Jacob O on the phone, which led to some pretty interesting conversations. Tiernan is such a character.
This afternoon my father and I went to the cannery in Medford to get our family's food storage all re-stocked. I am so glad we did, but now my room is filled with boxes and cans. Where are we going to put all of this stuff?
3/24 (Thursday)
Today I finally finished the rough draft for the speech I have to do for next week for Government. Nothing else too exciting, other than track and piano lesson. Patience with self is a virtue.
3/25 (Friday) COMMANDO!
That's right, today I got to play commando. I'll tell you more about that in a minute.
This afternoon I got to go to the park to spend some time with the music group again. As it turned out, only the faithful Miranda and the diligent Jessie came. So we didn't have enough people for a band once again, but we got to play music and chat all the same. We'll get the whole group together one of these days, just you wait! After playing at the park for a bit we went to Miranda's house to hang out. While over there we played some pretty intense rounds of chess. As I was challenging Miranda's mom to a game of chess, I explained Education Week to her as an alternative to the now $400+ priced EFY. Both she and Miranda sounded excited about it; I hope she'll be able to come along with us this year!
Later that afternoon, Sister S was informed about a Commando game going on in town tonight. She was told that a group of LDS people decided to put it together, and that Miranda, Jessie, and I were invited. I had never heard of Commando before, but this is what I was told: You start at one point on foot, and then you have to get to another point without getting caught by other players looking for you in cars.
So Jessie and I called our moms to ask for permission. Jessie's mom said no, but mine said yes. And so, at 9 that night, Miranda and I went out to join 40-50 teenagers in this exiting game, beginning at the Denny's on the other side of the town. The end of the commando course was the All Sports Park, right on the opposite side of town. It turned out that it was organized by an LDS kid, but he invited a majority of non-LDS kids. There was smoking and foul language galore. Even a couple of police men showed up, just to see what we were all up to waiting in the parking lot. They told us that Denny's was complaining about us being there, and so we all moved to a different parking lot: McDonalds. It took the leader of the group (I believe his name was Thomas) awhile to find enough kids who wanted to be the drivers and spotters for the drivers. The most memorable line I remember hearing him say was, "EVERYBODY SETTLE DOWN. You haven't done anything illegal. Yet." (You're not allowed to run through private property in the game, but I remember hearing Noah had other plans...)
Once we had everything ready someone shouted "go" and the pack dispersed in seconds. It was kind of fun just sprinting and sprinting through the cool night, running and jumping over walls, and actually using the stamina I've been accumulating in distance running for something new. I looked over my shoulder a bit after jumping off of a tall ledge onto parking lot, spotting Miranda. She looked like she had injured herself jumping off of the wall, so I just had to run back and see what was the matter. She rolled her ankle, and was not able to run for the rest of the night. And so we hobbled along for a few more minutes and were caught; I couldn't just leave her there. We were caught at an intersection still in the downtown area, on 5th street I believe. The driver that caught us (Jordan F) flashed his lights and honked the horn while his spotter Noah yelled at us out the window.We piled into the back, and zoom: their search continued. Jordan was driving way to fast in town that night, stopping and turning sharply and abruptly, looking for kids on the run in the night. We found a lot of hobos walking around in the dark. Miranda and I were considering dressing as hobos for this occasion to make avoiding spotters easier, but we ended up using dark clothing instead.
Jordan dropped us off at the All Sports Park, where we waited for the rest of the pack to get there or be captured and taken there. The leader and his small team of 3 made it there first without being caught, and the rest of them were either dragged in or ran into the center of the park victorious. While we were waiting for everyone to come along, we decided to scare people in the dark. We saw two silhouettes in the dark moving towards us from a long distance, so we hid behind a bush, waiting for them to come along. At the right moment, we yelled "RAR!!" and scared two young adult men riding bikes in the middle of the night. The first one freaked out, and then said the F word more than any other person I have ever heard in my life, then raised his hand, as if to strike, but turned out to be a high five. He complimented us for scaring them, then we tried to explain what we were doing out in the park in the middle of the night. Then the capped, foul mouthed man mentioned, just before he was about to leave again, that he would have punched me in the face if Miranda wasn't there. Someone must be watching out for me.
The second couple I scared (Miranda had to go sit down) was two of the commando players, Matt and Sarah. I yelled, he looked surprised, she screamed, ka-ching.
Sooner or later everyone showed up at around 10:15. Some of the drivers and runners were acting pretty rowdy and dangerous; I am so grateful that none of them got hurt riding on top of speeding cars in the park or throwing bananas (that's right, bananas.) at each other like knives.
They were going to have a second round past curfew, but Miranda and I decided to pass it up. She called her mom, she came, picked us up, and dropped me off at my house. I am SO grateful that we got out of that safely; my mom's prayers worked. I don't believe I will be playing commando with that group again. BUT, I think I'll have to use it in a more legal setting for group dates in the future.
When I got home, the kids were excited to show me a surprise. They showed me to the little girl's pink room, and there I found my desk, my bed, Henry's bed, my drawer, my guitar...
I'm so happy; I have a pink room! It's cozier than our family's storage room, that's for sure. The little girls had their beds moved to the classroom. I think I'll be able to work in hear more comfortably; I'm so grateful for such a thoughtful mom.
3/26 (Saturday)
Today I slept in; I fell ill. I felt too tired to do any school, but I was able to help a bit with the cleanup work the family was doing today.
Haley had her 16th birthday party today; that was fun. They did a Twilight trivia, which I knew all about; I read Nightlight, so I knew all of the right answers to the questions. There was food and cake and Haley's most favorite music. Ah, and Savannah F was able to make it there; I haven't seen her in months! It was so good to see her again; it brings such joy to my heart. I miss my seminary friends from town. Candice ("The cowgirl dancer from that talent show a few years ago?" "Oh yeah, that one!") was also there.
3/27 (Sunday)
I am feeling really tired today. But I'm going to just ignore that fact and pretend I'm totally energized this week. In sacrament meeting today Sister Black gave a really good talk about putting Christ first. She mentioned using the Attributes of Christ in the Preach My Gospel book for self improvement, which I remember doing last year. I think I'm going to try that again. The Christ like attribute of the week is Charity, I will be working on this one and studying it all week long and then record how my behavior improves. This is going to be so helpful for me. I love Sister Black!
Parker gave a really good lesson about forgiveness in Priesthood today.
That's pretty much it for this week; now remember the Secret! "I will be able to accomplish my set tasks in all of my responsibilities this week easily!"
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Can't Stop Smiling
I feel really really happy right now. This coming Spring Break is going to be the BOMB: School catch up! It will feel so good to finally be back on track; I'm so excited! Alright, here's the summary for last week.
3/14 (Monday)
I've been using a lot of my schoolwork time lately for two main projects which I have mentioned before: the Mark Twain Writing Style essay and the pro-Virtual School Speech. Doing this plus all of the other things I have on the list (track, scripture study, household chores, breaktime/socializing, piano, guitar, Eagle Project, etc...) has left me very little time for all of my other school assignments. But that's what Spring Break is for for me; to make up for all of that.
Tonight I had the privilege of seeing Haley Peters perform at the Treble Festival at South Medford High School. It's an annual event that is more or less a bunch of teenage women choirs performing all evening long. I got a ride there from Haley's grandparents. SMHS is a VERY new school; it just opened up this year. It looks more like a college, including huge green fields, expensive and fancy looking architecture, and a seriously jacked up choir room. It was amazing.
While looking for the choir room in the huge building, I happened to run into one of my friends from youth conference from last year: Christie Hunt! It was great to see her friendly face once again. Apparently she's giving track a try this year too; she's starting up with javelin throwing. The knowledge I obtained that she would be at the Central Point dance this coming Saturday solidified my intentions: I MUST find a ride!
The choirs mostly did okay, yet quite a few of the members seemed rather sloppy. Haley's grandpa is quite a singer himself; he treated us to his super-western-flavored "You Are My Sunshine" solo on the ride home.
3/15 (Tuesday)
Today I did a lot of future-research. More stuff about colleges and resume building and things like that, partially for my SAT Prep class. I got to do a bit more research/drafting on the Twain project as well. Today is our piano lesson day; I've been slacking in my piano study lately, I admit. I can and will be a better pianist! Even though I accomplished most of the things on my list today, I still was feeling a bit down on myself because I didn't accomplish ALL of the things on my list, when I feel like I could have. Tonight's temple trip helped me get out of my perfectionism again (it's one of those addictions that I have to overcome by relying on the Savior and having faith that I will be delivered from it. I guess all addictive behavior/bad habits/compulsive behavior is like that.)
At the temple tonight, I made sure I brought my notebook. Never go to the temple without a notebook; there is so much personal revelation that you can receive there that you may forget about (especially if you have a mind like mine). The information that I felt prompted to write down is going to be of great use to me as I try and plan out these next few weeks. I testify to whoever is reading this that God DOES hear your prayers, and will answer them if you listen for His answers.
3/16 (Wednesday)
Today I tried a new planning method suggested by Anthony. He said that I should try not only making a well prioritized list, but also to try to set them into my day time (example: 9-10 is for Government, 10-11 is for Geometry, etc.) And that seemed to work pretty well for me this morning.
Today was my very first track meet. It wasn't anything official, it was just a "practice" one we were doing with Rouge River to see what levels of strength we are all at in our different events. I've been loving track so far; it's been such hard work! Something good ought to come from all of this running. Today I only did the 800m run, and I was able to keep up with Annie (Ms. Super Runner) the whole race, and finished it off pretty well for a first timer! I'm excited to see how well I can beat my last time in our next meet. but I hope to be able to do the relay race and javelin throwing at our next meet. I think it'd be fun to give pole vault a try. At least just once; that looks way too fun to pass up.
3/17 (Thursday)
Today was ORCA Cares Day! I got to meet a bunch of students from around here, and Cassidy's family showed up too. We did some path restoration on one of my most favorite parks in town. There were a bunch of little kids there, but each of them were very enthusiastic about helping. It was so cute to see their little arms lifting adult-sized shovels to try to put a bit of the bark into wheelbarrows. Very precious. Watching children work brings such joy to my heart.
After track today I took a long nap. My body is feeling a bit fatigued.
3/18 (Friday)
Another school day and track.
3/19 (Saturday)
Today we drove around begging for donations from various businesses. We were able to get estimates for the prices for everything in my project, and everything is coming along very nicely. The most urgent thing I need to do now is find a lot of volunteers for the day-long car wash fundraiser that we're doing next Saturday. I'm very excited to get this done so I can start really focusing on school again.
There was a dance in Central Point tonight, which I went to. Noah S, Jaden P, and Jared P carpooled with my father and me while also helping pay for gas. It was a wonderful dance. They played a lot of fun music, and I got to dance with a lot of beautiful women; what could be better? And guess what? The Jarvis brothers showed up this time! They did a basketball tournament today and were pretty beat, but I guess they decided to come anyway last minute. T'was good to see them there! And yes, Christie was there, but she was a bit late. There were some really crazy dancers at that dance, it was so fun!
3/20 (Sunday)
Good Sunday. Got to spend some time at the Wright's house for some quiet time and helping Carmen with a bit of songwriting. There was a family fireside tonight held by gma and gpa about geneology. I got to learn some great things about our heritage. There are so many inspiring things to learn from the past.
3/14 (Monday)
I've been using a lot of my schoolwork time lately for two main projects which I have mentioned before: the Mark Twain Writing Style essay and the pro-Virtual School Speech. Doing this plus all of the other things I have on the list (track, scripture study, household chores, breaktime/socializing, piano, guitar, Eagle Project, etc...) has left me very little time for all of my other school assignments. But that's what Spring Break is for for me; to make up for all of that.
Tonight I had the privilege of seeing Haley Peters perform at the Treble Festival at South Medford High School. It's an annual event that is more or less a bunch of teenage women choirs performing all evening long. I got a ride there from Haley's grandparents. SMHS is a VERY new school; it just opened up this year. It looks more like a college, including huge green fields, expensive and fancy looking architecture, and a seriously jacked up choir room. It was amazing.
While looking for the choir room in the huge building, I happened to run into one of my friends from youth conference from last year: Christie Hunt! It was great to see her friendly face once again. Apparently she's giving track a try this year too; she's starting up with javelin throwing. The knowledge I obtained that she would be at the Central Point dance this coming Saturday solidified my intentions: I MUST find a ride!
The choirs mostly did okay, yet quite a few of the members seemed rather sloppy. Haley's grandpa is quite a singer himself; he treated us to his super-western-flavored "You Are My Sunshine" solo on the ride home.
3/15 (Tuesday)
Today I did a lot of future-research. More stuff about colleges and resume building and things like that, partially for my SAT Prep class. I got to do a bit more research/drafting on the Twain project as well. Today is our piano lesson day; I've been slacking in my piano study lately, I admit. I can and will be a better pianist! Even though I accomplished most of the things on my list today, I still was feeling a bit down on myself because I didn't accomplish ALL of the things on my list, when I feel like I could have. Tonight's temple trip helped me get out of my perfectionism again (it's one of those addictions that I have to overcome by relying on the Savior and having faith that I will be delivered from it. I guess all addictive behavior/bad habits/compulsive behavior is like that.)
At the temple tonight, I made sure I brought my notebook. Never go to the temple without a notebook; there is so much personal revelation that you can receive there that you may forget about (especially if you have a mind like mine). The information that I felt prompted to write down is going to be of great use to me as I try and plan out these next few weeks. I testify to whoever is reading this that God DOES hear your prayers, and will answer them if you listen for His answers.
3/16 (Wednesday)
Today I tried a new planning method suggested by Anthony. He said that I should try not only making a well prioritized list, but also to try to set them into my day time (example: 9-10 is for Government, 10-11 is for Geometry, etc.) And that seemed to work pretty well for me this morning.
Today was my very first track meet. It wasn't anything official, it was just a "practice" one we were doing with Rouge River to see what levels of strength we are all at in our different events. I've been loving track so far; it's been such hard work! Something good ought to come from all of this running. Today I only did the 800m run, and I was able to keep up with Annie (Ms. Super Runner) the whole race, and finished it off pretty well for a first timer! I'm excited to see how well I can beat my last time in our next meet. but I hope to be able to do the relay race and javelin throwing at our next meet. I think it'd be fun to give pole vault a try. At least just once; that looks way too fun to pass up.
3/17 (Thursday)
Today was ORCA Cares Day! I got to meet a bunch of students from around here, and Cassidy's family showed up too. We did some path restoration on one of my most favorite parks in town. There were a bunch of little kids there, but each of them were very enthusiastic about helping. It was so cute to see their little arms lifting adult-sized shovels to try to put a bit of the bark into wheelbarrows. Very precious. Watching children work brings such joy to my heart.
After track today I took a long nap. My body is feeling a bit fatigued.
3/18 (Friday)
Another school day and track.
3/19 (Saturday)
Today we drove around begging for donations from various businesses. We were able to get estimates for the prices for everything in my project, and everything is coming along very nicely. The most urgent thing I need to do now is find a lot of volunteers for the day-long car wash fundraiser that we're doing next Saturday. I'm very excited to get this done so I can start really focusing on school again.
There was a dance in Central Point tonight, which I went to. Noah S, Jaden P, and Jared P carpooled with my father and me while also helping pay for gas. It was a wonderful dance. They played a lot of fun music, and I got to dance with a lot of beautiful women; what could be better? And guess what? The Jarvis brothers showed up this time! They did a basketball tournament today and were pretty beat, but I guess they decided to come anyway last minute. T'was good to see them there! And yes, Christie was there, but she was a bit late. There were some really crazy dancers at that dance, it was so fun!
3/20 (Sunday)
Good Sunday. Got to spend some time at the Wright's house for some quiet time and helping Carmen with a bit of songwriting. There was a family fireside tonight held by gma and gpa about geneology. I got to learn some great things about our heritage. There are so many inspiring things to learn from the past.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
BIG Blog update
Okay, here we go.
2/28/11 (Monday)
Today was another school day + some new stuff. Last night I went to a family dinner over at my step-uncle's house. The Guerras are a really great family. While there, I got to spend some time chatting with my buddy Keith Campbell. One of the things we talked about was the upcoming track season, something I had been considering. That night I made the decision that I wanted to give it a try. So today I went and got a physical done at Dr. William's office. It went fine, except for a heart murmur that he heard. My heart swishes blood round inside before pumping it out now and then. He said it shouldn't be much of a problem, but I should go get an ultrasound for it just in case.
Later this evening Mikaela Hauck came over so we could practice our song for the choir concert. We chose Hey There Delilah, and it was very easy to practice. got to meet her mom too; she's a cool lady.
3/1/11 (Tuesday)
Frantic LL/mom works day. Like I promised, I spent a chunk of my morning recording a song that I had been practicing for Eden Worden's birthday. I think she really enjoyed it.
This afternoon my mother and I got out to Hidden Valley. After sorting through some paperwork, I went out to the field to join the distance runners. I've already memorized all of their first names! Taylor, Annie, Dakota, Hunter, Josh, Rachel, Sierra, Carly, and Devon. Coach Goodell is a fantastic coach. He's an old guy with a moustache and grey hair who speaks in a reliable, motivating tone. I'm going to really like working with this group.
After running a ton (which felt GREAT), I followed my cousins Anthony and Jefferson Jarvis into the high school's weight room. Those guys are the best weightlifting parters ever! They're both very motivating and dedicated; Anthony keeps everything light and full of laughter with his typical Anthony-humor. Both of them are throwers in the field; Jefferson is state-known for his discuss-throw. They then dropped me off at New Hope Market ("No Hope Market. Good luck getting home, Keenan." -Anthony) where mom picked me up later.
3/2/11 (Wednesday)
Today was a good day! Sure, I didn't get a huge amount of school done, but it was a good day nevertheless. I got to go to track again; feels great so far. This evening I stayed at the school after working out and walked over to the choir room. There Mikaela and a couple of people were hanging out. After playing some music on guitar and piano while socializing with a couple of my good friends from choir (Clark, Allison, Sam, Jeremy), the choir recital began. Mr. Lawson didn't let me perform with the rest; oh well. I still got to do the duet, which turned out nicely. And for the encore, two handfuls of the choir + me decided to sing Nelly Bly from last year, which was a lot of fun indeed. "Nelly Bly has a heart warm as a cup of tea, and bigger than a sweet potato... down in Tennessee!"
3/3/11 (Thursday)
Today was the beginning of the breakdown period. Schoolwork was done. Scripture study got done. Brother Johnson came over to bring back the review of my eagle scout project from the board. They called for a lot of things: legality, vandalism protection, maintenance, more specific things, measured diagrams, specific list of volunteers and specific list of doners. Also, they needed me to calculate how much exactly everything involving the project would cost and how I would meet all of the expenses. I admit it; I felt like giving up on the project and starting over with a new one at that point. But I came to realize that I needed to learn to accept this sort of thing. Accept rejection, improve your proposal, and then sent it in again. I can do this! I think I can I think I can...
3/4/11 (Friday)
Haha, today was very different from usual. I went to school with one of my best buddies Carmen Vadillo! I went over to the Wright's house at 7 this morning, and then went to Grants Pass High School as a guest for the day! It was a ton of fun; going to school for a vacation from school, whoo!
Anyways, we started by going to Carmen's Poetry of Rock class (I know, "that's a CLASS?"). I played Don't Be Like Romeo and Waiting for one of her assignments there. Later she told me she got a lot of extra credit for having me come and perform, which I am very happy for. After that class we went along to her World History class. I don't remember too well what it was about, but they were discussing the war-life and peace-time life of a well known Indian conqueror. Just as a side note, it surprises me that World History is a required class in the public schools, but American History is an elective. It really should be the other way around, I believe. At least that's how it is at ORCA.
Anyways, the next class was Spanish, if I remember right. It was WAY too easy for Carmen (she's from Spain; it was her first language!) I just smiled and pretended I knew what was going on throughout the class. The teacher there was teaching all of the kids a song in Spanish, which was pretty fun indeed. The teacher's a guitarist.
Next off was Geometry, which I really enjoyed. I didn't even know what the SIN and COS buttons were for before!
And finally before lunch, we wrapped it up with Chemistry, which was a blast! The main point of the lesson was endothermic and exothermic reactions, and the teacher did a real example of both of the reactions! Chemistry is so fun! I'm so excited for next year; I think I'll try Chemistry next year. Or maybe I'll do Physics. There's so much to learn in the sciences!
Then we went to lunch and played more guitar in the big cafeteria. After playing a bit more music and talking with many of my other friends from that school, mom came and picked me up. I know, it may've not gotten any schoolwork done, but I think it was worth my time. If I was in the city district, I think I would like to go to public school. I get kind of lonely here at home now and then, and public school doesn't seem so bad. That was only one day of it though; I'd probably have a more accurate hypothesis if I had spent a week or a month in the public school system. I don't know. Maybe I'll just wait 'till BYU to get out into the world. I don't really think there is anywhere else I would want to spend undergraduate school than there. Less drugs and beer, and more modest women (my wife will probably be somewhere in that swarm of LDS girls; that's always a plus, right?). Plus, the Philosophy/Psychology classes will actually be teaching CORRECT principles because Mormons are teaching them. Why would I want to go anywhere else? I think they have an AFROTC there, so I may have to choose the Air Force over my original idea of the Marine Reserve. I don't know; I really want to be on a reserve system, and the Air Force doesn't have one. I'd have to serve full time for a time, but I suppose it would be like another mission, right? I'll have to research my options for service a bit more.
This evening I went to a music party at Miranda's house. Fa, Carmen, Truli, Brittany, Sabrina, and Jessie showed up, but none of the guys did. Not too many musicians were there too, so we didn't really get any recording done. But we had a good time anyways. We played chess and pictionary. I got to duel Miranda on a pole with sticks! She won; I am out of practice when it comes to body balance!
3/5/11 (Saturday)
Today Brother Buckman and I went to a service project. Sister Bishop had a lot of garbage on her property, and a good group of the men in our ward came and took out 4 truckloads of it. Brother Buckman is an awesome guy; he was another veteran I got to interview. He gave a good review of his experience in the Navy.
This afternoon I did some intense planning for my Eagle Scout Project. I spent almost 4 hours trying to write up new ideas and plans. To raise money, I'll be holding a car wash on the 26th. I've got to make more calls, interview more people, get more information, then write it all up in a spiffy eagle project encased in a binder which I need to find somewhere. This experience I had today really burned me out; I felt mentally exausted. So I just crashed and spent some good leisure time on facebook for the rest of the evening.
3/6/11 (Sunday)
As it turns out, I injured my knee by overworking it in this first week of track. It became difficult to even walk today. Mom suggested I stay off of my feet and not go to church, and so I did. I tried to take a really long nap that day, but had a hard time feeling comfortable (Henry took my mattress again. Long story). Later today I decided to give Ceana a call, and that cheered me up a bit, as usual. But other than that, today was just a day of more Psych/scripture study and not much more.
3/7/11 (Monday)
Holy smokes. I got a lot done today.
Today I finally cracked down and called the CERT coordinator for Josephine County.As it turns out, Ernie is planning on doing another training course for new team members soon, and just needs to get more people on board. He put my name and number down, and will give me a call when he has the date down! It will be so fun. I feel like this training will not only help me to be better at emergency prep and community service, but it will help me become a bit more sharp and aware. "Son of man a man in time you'll be..."
Got a great amount of schoolwork done today; the two most scary assignments I'm trying to do are the Mark Twain 5-page essay and the Political Speech 4-pages. I tried to do a rough draft for the assignment on the writing style of Mark Twain, but I only had enough information to fill up 2 1/2 pages. This is going to mean a lot more research. I've been researching about the debate of whether virtual school should be an option for Oregon students, but I haven't gotten anything on paper yet. I might be able to yammer on about it for 4 minutes on improv, but I also need to turn in the paper + all of the MLA citations.
Hahaha! I could just hear myself say, "Once the Mark Twain Essay, the Politics Speech, and the Eagle Scout Project are done, THEN I'll be happy." Oh brother; time to change my way of thinking, right?
"If I were any better RIGHT NOW, I'd be twins!" Man up!
Besides, I totally love all three of these projects. All of them are simply going to take a lot of hard work, that's all. The more I do this sort of thing, the better I'll be able to bear hard work. Mark Twain is a funny guy. It's a shame he didn't care for the Mormons when he gave Salt Lake City a visit. He really needed the gospel in his life. I'll just share a few of my personal favorite quotes by him:
Patriotism: "You see my kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its office holders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from Winter, disease, and death. To be loyal to rags, to shout for rags, to worship rags, to die for rages - that is loyalty to unreason; it is pure animal; it belongs to monarchy, was invented by monarchy; let monarchy keep it."
Work management: "If you have to eat two frogs, eat the bigger one first."
Optimism: "There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist, except an old optimist."
Love: "Wheresoever she was, THERE was Eden."
3/8/11 (Tuesday)
More school... more errand running with mom... more track... knee still trying to heal... more psych study... another piano lesson...
3/9/11 (Wednesday)
Today was crazy. That's all I feel like saying; too much inecessary and exausting information.
3/10-11/11 (Thursday and Friday)
Today I went to the first official ORCA assembly. It was concerning the ORCA Cares Day on March 17. Students all over the state have organized service projects for everyone to go to. Down here in Southern Oregon, I've set up a park path restoration for my most favorite park in town. It's going to be great, and I'm excited to meet all of the students that will come!
I notice that my personal studies are really getting in the way of everything else in my life. I need to make that a smaller part of my day so I can spend more time on school and family. I really need to work on strengthening my family relationships particularly
Today I improvised a plan to save my parents money! The plan was that I would go to track, then go back to the Jarvis' house with the guys. While there, I'd plan with grandpa more stuff about the Eagle Project, while thinking up ideas for tomorrow. Then I would stay over at grandma's house, then go to seminary with Anthony and Jefferson in the morning. Then I'd come back, and we'd record our St. Patrick's Day video (that's right folks. We're making a music video for every holiday this year! Mwahahaha!). Then I'd go to track again with the guys and then go back and then mom would pick me up after taking Julie back from Henry's birthday party. That wasn't the original idea, but that was how it all turned out! Jefferson let me borrow a fingerpicking book for guitar; I'm so glad! Now I've got some guitar material that I did not just find for free online! The songs that are in this book that I want to master are Piano Man (Billy Joel), Leader of the Band (Dan Fogelburg) Love theme from Titanic (My Heart will Go On) (DON'T WATCH THAT MOVIE. I never did, but I know of it. I've heard the love theme by Celine Dion though, and it sounds nice.), Can You Feel The Love Tonight from the Lion King, and Let It Be by the Beatles. Jefferson is an amazing guitarist and pianist, but he won't admit it, the humble guy.
3/12/11 (Saturday)
I got to do another service project today! Brother Rudd picked me up, and we drove to a big house in the middle of nowhere to fill it with a new family's stuff. I feel so ashamed, I don't even remember their name! They have three young boys between the ages of 9 and 3. And there's a grandma too. I had a good time doing the work, which took quite awhile. Near the end of doing the second load of the big moving van, the work was getting a bit boring to me, which can only mean one thing: START SINGING AS LOUD AS YOU CAN! Then the work became fun again. I had a good laugh with Jessie Rudd who was also there about surprises. She found the long and dramatic story about "The Thanksgiving Surprise" from last year rather interesting. We've got a new inside joke about brother Buckman. One of the men working there was thinking of taking all of the shelves out of a dresser that we were moving before getting it in the house. All brother Buckman said was, "Well, we put it in here with all of the shelves. Just buck up and lift!" And then the guy grumbled, "You hear that from a guy with "buck" in his name." Ah, it's the sort of thing that sounds stupid in writing, but funny if you were actually there. Why do I find the smallest things hilarious that would seem insignificant to anyone else? I don't know, I don't care. TRUE TO MY VALUES! One of them is Laughter, and no one will stop me again from laughing when I find something funny and appropriate to laugh at.
Sorry, feeling a bit philosophical today.
After wrapping up that service project I went home and crashed. I felt really really hyper. I felt just a bit slap-happy after a really stressful week. It was the climax of "breakdown week". I played airsoft war with Henry and had a great bonding experience with him. I almost wrapped up the 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management. That book has been so so helpful to me; it really has been a message from God. It's almost like a handbook for the Franklin Planner. HA, I still remember Preston Baxter's joke about my new planner (I know, another sounds-stupid-on-paper thing), "Franklin is missing his planner!"
Tonight I got a ride from Sister Wright to a dance in Medford! Fa and Miranda got to come along as well to the 80's themed event. It was just what I needed to unwind, I'm so glad I went. I got to meet new people and also meet some familiar faces from youth conference. I even persuaded one of my newfound friends with crazy poofy 80's hair (her name was Emily) to start a great big conga line! Also that night, I got to meet two dance junkies while all of the real men were out of the cultural hall waiting for Baby by Justin Bieber to stop. Shane and Brent are two crazy dancers too, just like me! I love meeting people who share my beliefs on how a body should behave on the dance floor. I've seen these two zealots do their thing before, but I had never personally met them till then. Another thing that made the dance rather special was that there were a bunch of guys with JROTC uniforms all over the place. I think they were supposed to be doing security work, but I saw a couple of them busting a move now and then. It was great. And lastly, always my favorite, there were tons of beautiful young women there. Why do you think I go to these things in the first place?
3/13/11 (Sunday)
And now for today. Today we all forgot it was daylight saving time, so our family missed sacrament meeting! I decided to skip Priesthood so I could go to sacrament meeting in another ward; I'm not going to try to live for more than 2 weeks without the sacrament. I went to Brother Hancock's Sunday School class today, which was pretty good! It all was because of a change in my way of thinking. Last night I was talking to Fa about the class, and she said that she really liked it. That surprised me. So, I've decided to try something new: look for the good things in Brother Hancock's methods. Now his classes are great!
I love this way of thinking, I think I'm going to have to give it a try on a lot of things. Mwahahaha! Let's rule the world.
2/28/11 (Monday)
Today was another school day + some new stuff. Last night I went to a family dinner over at my step-uncle's house. The Guerras are a really great family. While there, I got to spend some time chatting with my buddy Keith Campbell. One of the things we talked about was the upcoming track season, something I had been considering. That night I made the decision that I wanted to give it a try. So today I went and got a physical done at Dr. William's office. It went fine, except for a heart murmur that he heard. My heart swishes blood round inside before pumping it out now and then. He said it shouldn't be much of a problem, but I should go get an ultrasound for it just in case.
Later this evening Mikaela Hauck came over so we could practice our song for the choir concert. We chose Hey There Delilah, and it was very easy to practice. got to meet her mom too; she's a cool lady.
3/1/11 (Tuesday)
Frantic LL/mom works day. Like I promised, I spent a chunk of my morning recording a song that I had been practicing for Eden Worden's birthday. I think she really enjoyed it.
This afternoon my mother and I got out to Hidden Valley. After sorting through some paperwork, I went out to the field to join the distance runners. I've already memorized all of their first names! Taylor, Annie, Dakota, Hunter, Josh, Rachel, Sierra, Carly, and Devon. Coach Goodell is a fantastic coach. He's an old guy with a moustache and grey hair who speaks in a reliable, motivating tone. I'm going to really like working with this group.
After running a ton (which felt GREAT), I followed my cousins Anthony and Jefferson Jarvis into the high school's weight room. Those guys are the best weightlifting parters ever! They're both very motivating and dedicated; Anthony keeps everything light and full of laughter with his typical Anthony-humor. Both of them are throwers in the field; Jefferson is state-known for his discuss-throw. They then dropped me off at New Hope Market ("No Hope Market. Good luck getting home, Keenan." -Anthony) where mom picked me up later.
3/2/11 (Wednesday)
Today was a good day! Sure, I didn't get a huge amount of school done, but it was a good day nevertheless. I got to go to track again; feels great so far. This evening I stayed at the school after working out and walked over to the choir room. There Mikaela and a couple of people were hanging out. After playing some music on guitar and piano while socializing with a couple of my good friends from choir (Clark, Allison, Sam, Jeremy), the choir recital began. Mr. Lawson didn't let me perform with the rest; oh well. I still got to do the duet, which turned out nicely. And for the encore, two handfuls of the choir + me decided to sing Nelly Bly from last year, which was a lot of fun indeed. "Nelly Bly has a heart warm as a cup of tea, and bigger than a sweet potato... down in Tennessee!"
3/3/11 (Thursday)
Today was the beginning of the breakdown period. Schoolwork was done. Scripture study got done. Brother Johnson came over to bring back the review of my eagle scout project from the board. They called for a lot of things: legality, vandalism protection, maintenance, more specific things, measured diagrams, specific list of volunteers and specific list of doners. Also, they needed me to calculate how much exactly everything involving the project would cost and how I would meet all of the expenses. I admit it; I felt like giving up on the project and starting over with a new one at that point. But I came to realize that I needed to learn to accept this sort of thing. Accept rejection, improve your proposal, and then sent it in again. I can do this! I think I can I think I can...
3/4/11 (Friday)
Haha, today was very different from usual. I went to school with one of my best buddies Carmen Vadillo! I went over to the Wright's house at 7 this morning, and then went to Grants Pass High School as a guest for the day! It was a ton of fun; going to school for a vacation from school, whoo!
Anyways, we started by going to Carmen's Poetry of Rock class (I know, "that's a CLASS?"). I played Don't Be Like Romeo and Waiting for one of her assignments there. Later she told me she got a lot of extra credit for having me come and perform, which I am very happy for. After that class we went along to her World History class. I don't remember too well what it was about, but they were discussing the war-life and peace-time life of a well known Indian conqueror. Just as a side note, it surprises me that World History is a required class in the public schools, but American History is an elective. It really should be the other way around, I believe. At least that's how it is at ORCA.
Anyways, the next class was Spanish, if I remember right. It was WAY too easy for Carmen (she's from Spain; it was her first language!) I just smiled and pretended I knew what was going on throughout the class. The teacher there was teaching all of the kids a song in Spanish, which was pretty fun indeed. The teacher's a guitarist.
Next off was Geometry, which I really enjoyed. I didn't even know what the SIN and COS buttons were for before!
And finally before lunch, we wrapped it up with Chemistry, which was a blast! The main point of the lesson was endothermic and exothermic reactions, and the teacher did a real example of both of the reactions! Chemistry is so fun! I'm so excited for next year; I think I'll try Chemistry next year. Or maybe I'll do Physics. There's so much to learn in the sciences!
Then we went to lunch and played more guitar in the big cafeteria. After playing a bit more music and talking with many of my other friends from that school, mom came and picked me up. I know, it may've not gotten any schoolwork done, but I think it was worth my time. If I was in the city district, I think I would like to go to public school. I get kind of lonely here at home now and then, and public school doesn't seem so bad. That was only one day of it though; I'd probably have a more accurate hypothesis if I had spent a week or a month in the public school system. I don't know. Maybe I'll just wait 'till BYU to get out into the world. I don't really think there is anywhere else I would want to spend undergraduate school than there. Less drugs and beer, and more modest women (my wife will probably be somewhere in that swarm of LDS girls; that's always a plus, right?). Plus, the Philosophy/Psychology classes will actually be teaching CORRECT principles because Mormons are teaching them. Why would I want to go anywhere else? I think they have an AFROTC there, so I may have to choose the Air Force over my original idea of the Marine Reserve. I don't know; I really want to be on a reserve system, and the Air Force doesn't have one. I'd have to serve full time for a time, but I suppose it would be like another mission, right? I'll have to research my options for service a bit more.
This evening I went to a music party at Miranda's house. Fa, Carmen, Truli, Brittany, Sabrina, and Jessie showed up, but none of the guys did. Not too many musicians were there too, so we didn't really get any recording done. But we had a good time anyways. We played chess and pictionary. I got to duel Miranda on a pole with sticks! She won; I am out of practice when it comes to body balance!
3/5/11 (Saturday)
Today Brother Buckman and I went to a service project. Sister Bishop had a lot of garbage on her property, and a good group of the men in our ward came and took out 4 truckloads of it. Brother Buckman is an awesome guy; he was another veteran I got to interview. He gave a good review of his experience in the Navy.
This afternoon I did some intense planning for my Eagle Scout Project. I spent almost 4 hours trying to write up new ideas and plans. To raise money, I'll be holding a car wash on the 26th. I've got to make more calls, interview more people, get more information, then write it all up in a spiffy eagle project encased in a binder which I need to find somewhere. This experience I had today really burned me out; I felt mentally exausted. So I just crashed and spent some good leisure time on facebook for the rest of the evening.
3/6/11 (Sunday)
As it turns out, I injured my knee by overworking it in this first week of track. It became difficult to even walk today. Mom suggested I stay off of my feet and not go to church, and so I did. I tried to take a really long nap that day, but had a hard time feeling comfortable (Henry took my mattress again. Long story). Later today I decided to give Ceana a call, and that cheered me up a bit, as usual. But other than that, today was just a day of more Psych/scripture study and not much more.
3/7/11 (Monday)
Holy smokes. I got a lot done today.
Today I finally cracked down and called the CERT coordinator for Josephine County.As it turns out, Ernie is planning on doing another training course for new team members soon, and just needs to get more people on board. He put my name and number down, and will give me a call when he has the date down! It will be so fun. I feel like this training will not only help me to be better at emergency prep and community service, but it will help me become a bit more sharp and aware. "Son of man a man in time you'll be..."
Got a great amount of schoolwork done today; the two most scary assignments I'm trying to do are the Mark Twain 5-page essay and the Political Speech 4-pages. I tried to do a rough draft for the assignment on the writing style of Mark Twain, but I only had enough information to fill up 2 1/2 pages. This is going to mean a lot more research. I've been researching about the debate of whether virtual school should be an option for Oregon students, but I haven't gotten anything on paper yet. I might be able to yammer on about it for 4 minutes on improv, but I also need to turn in the paper + all of the MLA citations.
Hahaha! I could just hear myself say, "Once the Mark Twain Essay, the Politics Speech, and the Eagle Scout Project are done, THEN I'll be happy." Oh brother; time to change my way of thinking, right?
"If I were any better RIGHT NOW, I'd be twins!" Man up!
Besides, I totally love all three of these projects. All of them are simply going to take a lot of hard work, that's all. The more I do this sort of thing, the better I'll be able to bear hard work. Mark Twain is a funny guy. It's a shame he didn't care for the Mormons when he gave Salt Lake City a visit. He really needed the gospel in his life. I'll just share a few of my personal favorite quotes by him:
Patriotism: "You see my kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its office holders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from Winter, disease, and death. To be loyal to rags, to shout for rags, to worship rags, to die for rages - that is loyalty to unreason; it is pure animal; it belongs to monarchy, was invented by monarchy; let monarchy keep it."
Work management: "If you have to eat two frogs, eat the bigger one first."
Optimism: "There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist, except an old optimist."
Love: "Wheresoever she was, THERE was Eden."
3/8/11 (Tuesday)
More school... more errand running with mom... more track... knee still trying to heal... more psych study... another piano lesson...
3/9/11 (Wednesday)
Today was crazy. That's all I feel like saying; too much inecessary and exausting information.
3/10-11/11 (Thursday and Friday)
Today I went to the first official ORCA assembly. It was concerning the ORCA Cares Day on March 17. Students all over the state have organized service projects for everyone to go to. Down here in Southern Oregon, I've set up a park path restoration for my most favorite park in town. It's going to be great, and I'm excited to meet all of the students that will come!
I notice that my personal studies are really getting in the way of everything else in my life. I need to make that a smaller part of my day so I can spend more time on school and family. I really need to work on strengthening my family relationships particularly
Today I improvised a plan to save my parents money! The plan was that I would go to track, then go back to the Jarvis' house with the guys. While there, I'd plan with grandpa more stuff about the Eagle Project, while thinking up ideas for tomorrow. Then I would stay over at grandma's house, then go to seminary with Anthony and Jefferson in the morning. Then I'd come back, and we'd record our St. Patrick's Day video (that's right folks. We're making a music video for every holiday this year! Mwahahaha!). Then I'd go to track again with the guys and then go back and then mom would pick me up after taking Julie back from Henry's birthday party. That wasn't the original idea, but that was how it all turned out! Jefferson let me borrow a fingerpicking book for guitar; I'm so glad! Now I've got some guitar material that I did not just find for free online! The songs that are in this book that I want to master are Piano Man (Billy Joel), Leader of the Band (Dan Fogelburg) Love theme from Titanic (My Heart will Go On) (DON'T WATCH THAT MOVIE. I never did, but I know of it. I've heard the love theme by Celine Dion though, and it sounds nice.), Can You Feel The Love Tonight from the Lion King, and Let It Be by the Beatles. Jefferson is an amazing guitarist and pianist, but he won't admit it, the humble guy.
3/12/11 (Saturday)
I got to do another service project today! Brother Rudd picked me up, and we drove to a big house in the middle of nowhere to fill it with a new family's stuff. I feel so ashamed, I don't even remember their name! They have three young boys between the ages of 9 and 3. And there's a grandma too. I had a good time doing the work, which took quite awhile. Near the end of doing the second load of the big moving van, the work was getting a bit boring to me, which can only mean one thing: START SINGING AS LOUD AS YOU CAN! Then the work became fun again. I had a good laugh with Jessie Rudd who was also there about surprises. She found the long and dramatic story about "The Thanksgiving Surprise" from last year rather interesting. We've got a new inside joke about brother Buckman. One of the men working there was thinking of taking all of the shelves out of a dresser that we were moving before getting it in the house. All brother Buckman said was, "Well, we put it in here with all of the shelves. Just buck up and lift!" And then the guy grumbled, "You hear that from a guy with "buck" in his name." Ah, it's the sort of thing that sounds stupid in writing, but funny if you were actually there. Why do I find the smallest things hilarious that would seem insignificant to anyone else? I don't know, I don't care. TRUE TO MY VALUES! One of them is Laughter, and no one will stop me again from laughing when I find something funny and appropriate to laugh at.
Sorry, feeling a bit philosophical today.
After wrapping up that service project I went home and crashed. I felt really really hyper. I felt just a bit slap-happy after a really stressful week. It was the climax of "breakdown week". I played airsoft war with Henry and had a great bonding experience with him. I almost wrapped up the 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management. That book has been so so helpful to me; it really has been a message from God. It's almost like a handbook for the Franklin Planner. HA, I still remember Preston Baxter's joke about my new planner (I know, another sounds-stupid-on-paper thing), "Franklin is missing his planner!"
Tonight I got a ride from Sister Wright to a dance in Medford! Fa and Miranda got to come along as well to the 80's themed event. It was just what I needed to unwind, I'm so glad I went. I got to meet new people and also meet some familiar faces from youth conference. I even persuaded one of my newfound friends with crazy poofy 80's hair (her name was Emily) to start a great big conga line! Also that night, I got to meet two dance junkies while all of the real men were out of the cultural hall waiting for Baby by Justin Bieber to stop. Shane and Brent are two crazy dancers too, just like me! I love meeting people who share my beliefs on how a body should behave on the dance floor. I've seen these two zealots do their thing before, but I had never personally met them till then. Another thing that made the dance rather special was that there were a bunch of guys with JROTC uniforms all over the place. I think they were supposed to be doing security work, but I saw a couple of them busting a move now and then. It was great. And lastly, always my favorite, there were tons of beautiful young women there. Why do you think I go to these things in the first place?
3/13/11 (Sunday)
And now for today. Today we all forgot it was daylight saving time, so our family missed sacrament meeting! I decided to skip Priesthood so I could go to sacrament meeting in another ward; I'm not going to try to live for more than 2 weeks without the sacrament. I went to Brother Hancock's Sunday School class today, which was pretty good! It all was because of a change in my way of thinking. Last night I was talking to Fa about the class, and she said that she really liked it. That surprised me. So, I've decided to try something new: look for the good things in Brother Hancock's methods. Now his classes are great!
I love this way of thinking, I think I'm going to have to give it a try on a lot of things. Mwahahaha! Let's rule the world.
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