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!

"beautiful, beautiful zion"

i think lauryn hill said it best (the title).  i had the opportunity to visit some more of southern utah's finest landscape this past week and this is what i came out with:

the music featured in this video was:

sigur ros - takk - saeglopur

eddie vedder -into the wild soundtrack - guaranteed

it was hard for me to cut out any parts of the trip because it was so amazing.

here are some pics from the trip to bryce canyon and zion canyon national parks:

all credit goes to aldo quiroga who took them.

this is the car that i had to get upgraded to from a ford focus style car.

sad huh?

this is the cabin that we stayed at overnight at zion ponderosa ranch.

i swear i worked.  this is proof.

to explain this shot.  the times that it looks like i am shooting handheld out of the sun roof of the car in the video is because i am actually doing just that.  i am sorry those shots weren't steadier but i am not a rock, and the car was moving pretty fast.

the north face

a little while ago now, i bought the most perfectest jacket from the sports authority.  it is amazing all two jackets!  yeah baby, i went in looking for a soft shell and then i left with a brown soft shell and a green snowboarding jacket with a powder skirt.  pictures:

as you will see in later posts i am wearing it all over the place.  and it is perfect for scooter rides in the winter, you should try it out.

sorry about the pictures.  after i return to utah i will post better pictures.

byub part 2

so, it was taking forever. here is the second part of the byub post.

week 2: sea wolf - leaves in the river - leaves in the river

this one is about the leaves changing colors

i had to dumb down the quality so that it would fit.  other than that i am all ears for your suggestions.

John Holman is...

off  and on life, forever!

i have decided to get rid of my facebook account and get on with my life.  it is a social networking site that doesn't socially network me with anyone.  i also believe that you just update it with pictures but you do not get the stories behind the pictures so i have decided to get back to my roots in the blogging world and hook it up.  i am going to be updating this regularly and sending out an email letting people know that it is updated.  and i am going to try and give you as much of the story of my life that i can so that we can really be involved in each others lives and bring it back home so, 'i choo choo choose you':

p.s. if you have a blog give me the address so that i can keep up with you as well.  loves.

body art

wow.  this last weekend was awesome.  i made it on tv during a volleyball game and then saturday i went up to salt lake to see a friend that was long overdue.

we went to a little exhibit called 'body worlds 3'.  here are some pictures of what we saw:

i am super glad that i went and michelle and i were blown away by the amazing ability to extract all the different pieces of the body.  so dope.  i actually came away with a bigger and better testimony of the creative power and also of the body as a work of art set here by god.  it was truly amazing and i recommend it to anyone that is contemplating going to it, do it you will not be disappointed.

after the exhibit we went and picked up katie and then headed off to the pie pizzeria for some delicious food after looking at cadavers all night long.  it was delicious as always and well worth it to spend time with those girls and here some sweet jams like 'my michelle' by guns and roses, 'last dance with mary jane' by tom petty and the heartbreakers and then 'in the air tonight' by phil collins.

after the pie we relaxed and let our food digest over one of the greatest movies of all time.  'so get off your ath let's do some math'.  yep you guessed it 'school of rock'

scoot scoot

there i finally did it!  i got a freaking scooter and just in time for winter!  i have it all registered and am loving every second of it.  no matter the weather (unless dangerous) i am going to ride this puppy.  it is so fun.  i am glad that i got it and am really excited to ride it until it poops out on me.  i got a genuine buddy 125.  after registration and a few things for the scooter itself i am happy with where it is and am looking forward to riding it all over the world.  and by world i mean states.  and by states i mean the streets by where i live.  no freeway with this little guy.

here is a picture.

special thanks to toast for making it all happen.  i love you.

byub

i have had the opportunity to work at byub for a few years now and i just thought i would post a few things that i have done.  i have also worked on some commercials but they have not been finished yet but i will post them when they are done.  please leave me some feedback on these minute pieces and let me know what you think of them.  the edit is simple but any feedback would be loved.

week 1: the album leaf - into the blue again - the light

this one is on the buildings on campus and how they inspire us (or something like that)