latest project

i have recently moved rooms in the same house to accommodate new roommates and to get myself into a private room where i could relax.  i loved my last roommate and we got along fine but i am just partial to a private room ever since i tasted of its sweetness not long ago.

i have been looking for different ways to spice up the room because of the plentiful bare walls that it has located in it.  the last person had enough to make the room look lived in while (in an effort to reduce what i had) did not have even enough to cover one wall.  there have been several ideas pitched and i am working on one currently to make an entire wall a huge mosaic of different pictures that i have taken but never printed.  i am also trying to find the cheapest (and the ugliest) frames that i can to add some life to the boring white walls that currently enclose me at night.

here is a picture of the progress:

but this brings me to my next point.  for months there has been a car sitting in the field outside of our house.  after one roommates suggestion we all decided to see what hidden treasures we could find within it.  we opened it and found that there was not a whole lot in it and deterred from taking too much out.  but we did find some sweet fabric.  i then had the idea "well if nobody is going to be using this car it has seats and i can take one out to have a chair in my room."  well it did not take long for that chair to be out, and realizing what a great thing it was the drivers seat was then removed too.  they were a little dirty so we thought to ourselves "let us get some seat covers for it."  the idea turned into me (and others) thinking that instead of buying seat covers i could sew a couple of seat covers to cover them and also to use the fabric that was just sitting there not being used.  after a few hours i had a pattern and then got to cutting and sewing.  the end result:

and who thought that the hfl department does not have practical classes?

bride-le your passions!

so after visiting the salt lake temple and watching another friend get married (brendon alexander getting married to shaylar crump) i was waiting for him to come out of the temple and the couple that was right before him was a very nice couple and i congratulated them on their recent marriage.  and being the helpful person that i am, i took the liberty of helping him put on his boutonniere so that he could be ready for his pictures while someone else was making sure the bride looked great.  he was in a bit of a daze and thanked me for the help.

i thought nothing of the couple until later.  we passed them several times as we both made our ways to various spots on, and around, the temple grounds.  it was only after the time we passed in the joseph smith memorial building that the story gets really juicy.

my comrade and i had just finished shooting our portions of the wedding video of the friends we were there to see and packed up and headed toward the elevator to leave the building.  as we arrive at the elevator one came and inside was the couple that i helped out in the temple.  i greeted them and asked them if everything was going good and made small talk so that it wasn't too awkward in the elevator.  after my foolish attempts the groom said to me that they were in the elevator because their photographer was waiting for them to come down and as the doors opened they were going to get pictures taken of them.  he told me that it would be funny to have me stand in his place and give the photographers a little laugh.  i was a little reluctant but obliged this request and then the reaction i did not really expect from the bride.  she grabbed me and agreed that it would be funny to see the photographers faces.  she held me on her hip as though she was gripping my hand in order for her not to plummet to her death.  we descended the rest of the floors and i put a smile on my face for the cameras.  the doors opened and the photographers started snapping away.  they then realized that we were not kissing and that i was in no way, shape or form the groom of such a lovely bride.

we all had a good laugh in the elevator and then my comrade and i stepped out and left the scene.  we discussed how that was such a weird request and how awkward it was for the bride to be all in and grab me so tight around the waist.  i wish i had the picture to prove it, but you will just have to take my word for it.

the price of food

my cousin got married the thirteenth of december and it was quite a fun day filled with family, food and love.  but this story, however, starts the following week.

my cousin jade works for ksl radio, and actually works with one of my former companions from the mission.  he invited some of us family members to see a screening of yes man (jim carry, the mask).  i was very happy about this because i wanted to see the movie but seeing the movie for free makes it ten thousand times better.  i went with my brother and his friend, jake, to see the movie but they had the good idea of making it a day event and just take in the atmosphere of salt lake.

like any good trip you need good food in order for it to make or break it.  so i had a few restaurants in mind and spat them out at the fellow trippers and the one that we decided on was the pie pizzaria.  now for those of you who frequent this blog know that the pie is near and dear to my heart and that it seems like i am always talking about it, but that is because it is the stuff memories are made of.  anyway, we went and had a delicious time at the pie and then headed down to the gateway in order to do a little christmas shopping and to get things taken care of for the upcoming holiday season.

we arrived at the shopping center and i told my brother just to park in the underground parking structure.  we went around looking at different stores for present for family members and for ourselves and then decided that we needed to head over to the cinema if we were going to see the movie.  we watched a very delightful movie (some parts we could have done without) and then proceeded to thank our cousin and his family for the evening and then parted ways.  we then went back to the car, got in and headed toward the booth to pay for the time that we had spent there.  i thought that i had grabbed enough vouchers but that was not the case as our total came to five dollars.  combined total of cash in the car out of three people: two dollars.  what were we going to do?  what could we sell her that would make up the difference and then she would let us out and on our merry way?

i then had a flash of genius and informed the spokesperson of the car that we did have leftovers from the pie that could satisfy the mightiest of hungers.  the following dialogue was uttered (to the best of my recollection):

spokesperson: we only have two dollars but we do have some leftovers from the pie.

attendant: really?  well, what kind of leftovers?

s: there is cheese pull-a-parts and pizza.

a: what kind of pizza?

s: pepperoni

a: well, i usually don't accept anything but cash for the parking fee but i am really hungary and the pie does have excellent food. (pensive hesitation) okay! i'll take the leftovers.  i am starving!

s: thank you, enjoy the food.

a: thank you and i know i will.

(okay i might have added those last two lines, but it makes for a better ending)

how amazing is that though?  i was going to give the leftovers to my roommates because i know they are in love with the pie just as much as i am.  but, what can you do with two dollars, leftovers, a starving attendant, and a five dollar fee?  i thought all parties involved made the right decision and now i have this story to tell.

giving thanks to human kindness

this thanksgiving was one that i will never forget.

first of all, i was not planning on going home for thanksgiving until a week before the holiday.  second, i had to work until right before thanksgiving. third, i left the day of thanksgiving.  and forth, i had never driven with a dear friend (jill marie haar) from utah to california.

the real meat of the story comes into play on the day of thanksgiving.  after much deliberation i left for the thanksgiving break on thanksgiving due to work factors for me and my traveling companion.  we were planning on leaving around noon that day so that we could make it home in a decent hour.  after much texting, calling and waiting for other people to do what they said they were going to, jill showed up around 2:30 - 3:00 to pick me up for our adventure home.

we started the journey late, yes, but that didn't deter us from attempting to get to at least las vegas before stopping at some friends house out there to sleep.  everything was going great.  we were making great time and made it to saint george at a decent hour for the car that we were in (7:30 - 8:00).  after stopping for gas and getting a chance to look around for some food we decided to head on to vegas to eat because it is more of a tourist location and the chance that restaurants were open was greater there then in saint george.  as we started to head off in that direction there was a peace officer on the highway that got off the freeway, and i am always paranoid that they are going to get right back on the freeway to catch people that are speeding.  i made sure that he exited but drifted into the rumble strip (that thing that makes your car vibrate on the side of the freeway) and then proceeded further after seeing him turn to not come back on the freeway.  however, a short distance later the car started to shake so i got off the road at the port of entry exit to see what the matter was.  the car has a little smoke coming from it and then i was informed that the fluids that needed to be checked before the trip had not been.  thinking the worst i opened the hood and then proceeded to check the various reserves and fluids.  all the levels were low and made us think that we had done something terrible to the car.

i called my dad to see if there was anyone in the saint george area that he knew and he informed me of two families that were friends and then i proceeded to call them as jill called aaa to see if we could get someone to come out with fluids.  i reached one of the families and then we cancelled the tow truck because we did not want to pay for a tow truck to come out and help if someone would do it for free.  i reached a family friend that offered to help and he told us that it would be thirty minutes before he got there and that we should just sit there and wait.  we obliged and then (seeing as how it was thanksgiving) he asked us if we had had anything to eat.  we told him no and then said that he would bring us food so that we could at least have a little thanksgiving and salvage all the time that was left in the day.

thirty minutes later he showed up with fluids for the car.  but he also brought turkey sandwiches, celery, peppers, carrots, candy, pumpkin pie, and a half a gallon of milk to wash it all down.  we gratefully accepted the meal and were stoked to receive such a bounty for our troubles.  we then toped off the fluids and told the family to go home but they said they would follow us to make sure that the car was running properly at least until the next exit because you cannot return on the port of entry exits.  we then travelled a total of three feet before i realized that nothing had changed and that the shaking was actually worse off.  i got out of the car and inspected the tire to find that we had a flat.  all that waiting and we could have just changed a tire.  stupid me! but in my defense i have never gotten a flat tire before so i didn't even think of checking it.

after i got the tire changed we attempted to make it to the next exit to turn around and head back to saint george to get the tire fixed to finish the trip the next day.  after all that was said and done we started to drive and realized that we were not going to make it to the next exit and had to call aaa again to have them send out a tow truck.  we were on the phone with them and family for the next little while explaining the situation.  no matter what we did dick morgan (the family friend) offered to stay with us until all the problems were resolved, and once things went south, he offered us a place to stay for the night so that we didn't have to stay anywhere else that night.

well, long story a little shorter, we stayed at dick's house but didn't even make it there until 11 something.  three plus hours after arriving in saint george.  we entered the home to find beds made for us and then in the morning an amazing breakfast laid out for us and we were obligated to eat it before we could leave.  we accepted and ate our hearts out and then got on the road and made it home safely the next day, but we (jill and i) could not have seen this love and kindness from a family that, really, neither one of us met.

pictorals:

i was not even kidding about the milk.

why would you ever joke about a thing like that!