Whoa...

Whoa, it's been a while. Not much has happened since last time. I've just been working on my mission papers and such. I swear those things are gonna give me an ulcer. The medical side of the paperwork is making me crazy. But hey, it's only once, right?
I know it's only February, but I really can't wait for spring to come along. Don't get me wrong, I love winter; I've just had enough. It's time for a change, preferably a warmer change. That'd be great, thanks. (Who am I talking to?)

Singles' Awareness Day!

Whew, it's been a while. Happy Singles' Awareness Day! Or, for those of you lucky enough to be in a relationship... valentine's day... whee...
So, I thought spring was almost here in Logan. It hadn't snowed in a while, and it was getting warmer by the hour, I swear. But, lo and behold, the biggest snowstorm of the season smashes us. New snow on the ground. Blech. But hey, it's melting pretty fast, so there is hope yet. don't get me wrong, I love winter... just not anymore...

That one song.

Do you have a song that, when you listen to it, it makes you think of something specific? I'm listening to one right now. It's called "Angel Eyes," by Jim Brickman. It reminds me of my brother John; he used to play it all the time on our piano (and sometimes still does). Maybe it's because it's one of the only songs he knows...
I know, it was a random thought, but it's better than nothing. Go and listen to one of those songs. It's probably been a while. If not, pin the blue ribbon upon thy chest. Please, go ahead.

Not a lot of time.

I'm going to bed in a sec, but I knew I should write something. Here ya go:
"If Dracula can't see his reflection in a mirror, how come his hair is always so neatly combed?"
-Stephen Wright

I hate colds.

I don't get sick very often (knock on wood), but when I do, it hits hard. Well, guess what? It's that time of year again: cold season. At least, I think it is... I'm like the harbinger of sickness seasons; I usually get it before anyone else. I guess I'm something like a virus forecaster. I should get paid for this.

An achievement of little significance

I did a front flip yesterday. That's right, Mark, the 6'5", 270 big guy did a front flip. For the first time. I feel special. Like I said, an achievement of little significance.

It's cold. Very, very cold.

It's cold out there. I've never lived through a winter colder than this one. But I guess I shouldn't be whining about it: at least it's not a hot summer. I would rather have a freezing cold winter than a blistering hot summer; it's just easier to warm up than to cool off. A warm blanket, or blow $12 bucks to get into a community pool that's already chock full of screaming kids, half-naked old people, and swimsuits that are more like tissues than aquatic clothing. Then again, most clothing is looking that way these days. Just watch the Oscars.

Used

Have you ever been used before? You know what I'm talking about: when someone acts nice (sometimes) towards you, but they think that, in exchange for their "kindness," you should do whatever they ask and get them things. I'm especially a sucker for this, as I've been told I'm really nice, usually to the point of being conned into doing stuff. I've been doing a bit of thinking, and I've found a few "friends" that are, for the lack of a better word, users.
So here we are, a few steps one can take to dispel said moochers. However, I'm NOT saying you shouldn't be generous to others or thoughtful, but these tips are strictly for stopping usage of one's self.
1-If they try to use something of yours, and you know they won't return it by past experience, work out a system that requires them to return it, almost like a video rental store.
2-If someone comes over to your house/apartment to "hang out," yet they only use something of yours and pretty much ignore you, they're moochers. Sometimes you'll just have to tell them outright that you're not just a piece of meat with cool stuff.
3-They may have some kind of "sob story," and because of it, may try to get pity service from it. However, if you have a friend who is sincerely suffering, help them in any way possible. But sometimes people use totally bogus excuses, or they overplay the severeness of their problem. Just use your good judgment, and, if needs be, tell them to knock it off. Sometimes that's what it takes for their mooching behavior to stop.
Everything I've said above is for dealing with moochers and users ONLY. Don't be a scrooge, but instead a generous and giving person. Just be careful.

2008 Election

If you've been alive for the last few months and reading my article (which I hope you have. I don't really want a very large undead/zombie readership following), you'd know that, not only has the media has done the impossible: it has gotten even MORE crazy than before. How is this near impossible event taking place? The answer: the 2008 presidential election. If you've been reading my blog (see above), you'd have noticed that I don't talk about it much, just for the sake of our sanity. We get enough of the election without me blabbering about it. Well, my fellow humanoids, now is the time to lose my election-innocence; I am going to talk about it. But not who to vote for, but the election itself:
It's annoying, it started way to early, and people are just plain sick of it.
This is one of those elections that make the poll-counters of old turn in their graves. It's so confusing, so jumbled and such a mess that people are quickly losing interest; it's just too much politics for people to care anymore. I have a message for those people: hang in there. Just a few more months, and we won't have to put up with it for 4 more years. Never give up, never surrender. What about me? I'm going to be gone for the actual election. Thank you, mission...
Be excellent to each other.


(YSA, I remember saying that, but not to who. Give me one more. C'mon.)

Interesting...

Life's kind of strange sometimes. You can do one thing, and something else happens. For example, since the beginning of the semester, I've been keeping a schedule, going to sleep and waking up at certain times, and actually doing my readings and homework. And guess what? Wouldn't you know it, life starts working out better than last semester! Whoa, how does this happen? Again, life's mysteries never cease to amaze me.
News for the peeps: I gots me a guitar! It's a black Fender acoustic/electric, and his name, in it's infinite glory, is Octavius. Isn't that the coolest? If you disagree, please, keep it to yourself, as you would not want to upset the almighty one (Octavius). I've only had one real guitar class, but I've already been teaching myself as many chords as I can. Oh, and I've practiced so much that my left fingers are bruised and my right thumb is getting a major bruise on it. But I shall not stop, nor slow, for the learning of the guitar is a learning of great importance... and such. Besides, being able to play the guitar makes one instantly 20% more attractive. Or so I've heard...
Later.
Oh, and "secret admirer?" C'mon, you've got to at least give me a clue...

Back up to Logan

I'm back up to Logan today, right after Jason's farewell. This sounds absolutely crazy, but I'm actually very excited to finally get back to Utah State. I've become addicted to college, I guess.
I'm pretty pumped: I got a new MP3 player! A Microsoft Zune. It's about as cool as the Fourth of July and Christmas combined. Yeah, that cool. Maybe I'll show it to you people sometime.
More random news; I'm starting on my mission papers this month. If everything goes according to plan, I'll be out of here by mid-May. I'm excited to get all of it done, except for the dental work. That's going to be REALLY fun...

Bummer

This is a sad warning to all those who read this (which are few and far between.) My good friend, lappy (my laptop), is leaving us. My dad sees it best if I were separated from my faithful companion, and therefore these posts may not appear as rapidly as they once did... I'm sorry to bring this terrible news, but alas, such is life.

An Interview

Interviewing isn't as easy as some people may think. In fact, the person who's being interviewed has the easier part. So I thought, "hey, I want to be interviewed." And someone did. Well, something... Facebook. Yeah, it's a geek fest (w00t!), but it's better than nothing, right? Besides, it lets me show how darn witty I am. Here's the transcript, if you will:

Q: What is your natural hair color?
A: Brownish. Wow, how amazingly exciting.

Q: What language do you wish you could speak fluently?
A: French. I like the way it sounds with all the snobby sounding words. Or British. That'd be awesome.

Q: What's your favorite sport?
A: Racquetball. It's the game of champions. Unless you lose; then it's the game of losers.

Q: Are you in love?
A: You'd better believe it. It's almost like Ice Cream and I were made for each other.

Q: Sweet or sour candy?
A: Sweet. I don't necessarily like the feeling of my teeth melting in my mouth.

I'll come out with more later. Mainly because I don't want you getting bored of it too soon. And the site that has some of the questions is down...
So, it's Christmastime. I like how that's one word: "Christmastime." We've gotten so lazy that we refuse to put a space in between the words. Wow.
Anyway, It's the holiday season. I still have some shopping to do, but not much. I am a poor college student, after all. I can't afford much stuff. I also have some cards to send out. Honestly, some people do nothing but complain around Christmas, saying that it's too much work and that it's totally pointless. Avoid these people, as they will suck the winter joy right out of your soul like a mobile anti-jolly black hole. Seriously, it's only once a year! And yes, it can be stressful, if you make Christmas too big of a deal. Take it easy. Only send a few cards instead of 400 of 'em. Relax, take a deep breath, and go eat a Chocolate Orange. If you don't know what those are, I pity you from within the deepest corners of my soul.
Just because I'm talking about this Christmas stuff doesn't mean that you won't be hearing from me until after Noel. Oh no, I'm not that easily disposed of. You'll be hearing from me before then. Check this place often. Really. You might learn a thing or two.

Gettin' used to it.

I have a strange theology that's not found very often in today's college scene. I try to be courteous. I know that sounds heretical and absurd, but yes, I do what I can to be polite to other people. When they need help, I'm the first to snap to attention and get to it. This being considered, it seems natural that others would be willing to try and help you, right? I just drove this person across town and paid for something of theirs, and the next day I need something dropped off next door. But wait, they're a bit tired. Oh, and they don't have their shoes on, so apparently it's just too inconvenient for them to do it. Maybe next time.
For years, I've had the "pleasure" of helping other people and being their "friend." That is, at least, until life's good for them. Then they don't need help, and Mark is just that guy that helped them that one time. I'm not asking for much, just a little loyalty. But yeah, it's a little late for that.
Now that my ranting is done, let us continue forth into the journey that is life. My life. My special life.
The deepest crags of Hell have split open and spewed out their abhorred spawn: Finals. As they emerged, they raised their eyes to the heavens and let out a bellow of challenge against freedom and liberty themselves. Luckily, this only happens once a year, but it is a time filled with darkness, fear, and abounding caffeine overdosing. However, there is one mighty weapon that may slay these creatures of darkness: nay, not procrastination, but the exotic and strange practice of studying.
Yes, studying is a strange and dangerous thing. It's like fire: it's extremely beneficial, yet at the same time dangerous if not used with great care. Let me explain...
If you study correctly, you re-learn what you've forgotten, and you are better prepared for the horrors yet to come.
On the other hand, if you practice study habits irresponsibly, the consequences may be dire. You can study too much, leading to sleep deprivation. This in turn may lead to extensive caffeine usage, which leads to frequent bathroom breaks, which leads to overheating laptops unsupervised, which leads to fires, which leads to mis-read and therefore offensive smoke signals overseas, which leads to a hasty nuclear missile assault, which leads to targeting errors, which leads to the destruction of the city of Magna (not that anyone would know or care).
You see? Be very careful when dealing with Finals Week. It's a mental minefield out there. Tread lightly.

Craziness

These last two days have been crazy to an extreme level of craziness. The amount of emotional fluctuation makes one's minds ponder... or just hurt. I could go into the details, but no one wants to hear me whine like that.
On a happier note, I don't have my first final until Wednesday! You know what that means? The only thing I really HAVE to do is study. Other than that, it's whatever I feel like. Although this may sound like life's about to get very boring... you're probably right. But what some people fail to realize is that I thrive on boredom. It give me time to think about the greater things of the Universe.
It's Michelle's Birthday tomorrow, of which the entire world will rejoice. There's a few things I don't get about birthdays, however.
Firstly, the infamous birthday cake. Cakes are foods that go back thousands of years, and I'm sure that they were used at several different types of celebrations. Maybe one day in Ancient Greece they were having a birthday party for some philosopher and they, in accordance with their philosophical ways, tried something totally insane and declared it fact. In this case, they declared that all birthday cakes must be on fire for proper celebration observance.
Of course, this must have caused some culinary hurdles to be figured out. They must have tried setting the whole thing on fire, which actually led to a great increase in charcoal supply. Putting oil on it and setting it ablaze, and eventually became the flambe technique, commonly used in French cooking.
But, lo and behold, along came the candle. I'm sure the candle had been used for long before this, but ingenuity was a new invention, so they were never used together. But when they were, oh, the rejoicing! And henceforth, to this day, the birthday candle has been a staple in our celebratory lifestyles.

A pretty weird day...

Today was one of those days that make you wonder if you're awake or not; and when you figure out you are, you realize that you have gotten more done if you were actually asleep. Today was my last day of Racquetball, so I thought my "final game" would be a thing of greatness and glory. I got skunked. I played cutthroat (3-player racquetball) with these other guys and I was defeated most soundly. They were up in the 14-15 range while I was still trying to break double digits. I swear I'm not really that bad at the sport, but I just couldn't get it together. Racquetball makeup was even "better." I showed up to play one last time, but all they did was go to their courts, and all I could do was watch, so I left after a while. Like I said, I would have gotten more done if I were asleep.
The rest of the day I didn't do much more than study, read, and attempt to hang out (that hasn't gone well for me for the last couple of days... or weeks). Such excitement I have never known before. Insert eye rolling.
On the other hand, tomorrow is the last day of classes, so there's a plus. And it's Friday, the official beginning of the weekend (for those of you who think it starts on Saturday, I shake my head in pity for you). I need this weekend. Like like or want, but NEED! I'm getting sick of people, and I need a time to become a hermit for a while. I know that sounds anti-social, but that's the point. I could go on about how bad my life bites socially and how my "friends" are doing this and that, but that would only waste your time, which you're already dangerously close to doing by reading this thing in the first place :) (I rarely use smileys, so consideryourself blessed.)
Like I said before, I'm going to try to update this every day, and that makes it YOUR job to check it often. Remember that promise you made last time? Remember, Santa's always watching you, and I have connections that can get him to let info "slip."
Be excellent to each other.

My first post...

This is my first post!... Hmm... wow, there's no fireworks, dancing chinchillas or purple squid like they said... Well, I can live without.
So, what do ya think? Pretty nice, huh? I like all the polka dot thingies myself. But hey, in all seriousness, PLEASE check this often, so I don't feel like I'm just talking to myself. That would be kinda... awkward. Promise me you'll use it often. Go on, promise. I'll wait...


Done? Sweet. But there's bad news: you'll have to wait until later to read the rest of my posts. I'm going to stop here for now. I don't want to waste all of the fun in one day. On that note, I will catch you homies later, yo.