Far From Refuge

The first burgers of 2008! The weather is finally warming up and so on this Easter Sunday we decided to have a lovely barbeque. It was such a nice day. It was me, my two roommates (Jeff and Donnie), and our friend Shasta. Donnie and I are both from California, Jeff from Vermont, and Shasta from Vernal so we were all without family. I must also thank mom for the burgers, they were delicious. Jeff also bought some brats and of course some YooHoo. Nothing says summertime and BBQ like a nice frosty YooHoo. For those of you who haven't delved back into your childhood with a good swig of YooHoo, I highly recommend it.

Here is Jeff and Shasta handling the grill. There is something highly emasculating about not knowing anything about working a grill. Furthermore, the fact that I know more about fashion than BBQing and cars combined just makes me feel like the biggest woman ever. Needless to say, Jeff did a much better job at the grill than I would have.


The YooHoo, oh yes, the YooHoo. Its so good when it hits your lips!


You might be asking yourself who this 40 year old man is or why is there a cop/child molester at our BBQ. Nay, that is just Donnie with horrifically glorious mustache. He's playing the GEETAR as usual. Enlightening our ears with lovely music.



Shasta and me. Close up I think you may see my poor mans excuse for a mustache. I hate my facial hair. I am convinced its just growing to make me look bad. I wish it would either grow in full (like Donnie) or not grow in at all (like Jeff).


Me eatin a brat. I freakin love summertime and BBQs. Its sad that I say summertime and yet there is snow on the mountains still in this picture. Delusional much? Yet another example of me excited for what this summer holds but relishing my time left here in Utah.

On a side note, I finished The Kite Runner tonight. Amazing book I must say. It is pretty heavy as far as content, but its one of those books that is good to read to remind you of the blessings we sometimes take for granted. The book itself is fictional, but the subject matter is based on real things that happen all the time. In an effort to not give anything away to those who might read it, I won't go on. Just know it is a great book and I highly recommend it.

I hope you all enjoy Summertime by Sublime too. I thought it was fitting.

Sorry about the crappy nature of my last blog. Unfortunately blogspot doesn't let you see how your post will look before you actually post. Or if they do I don't know how to do it and someone needs to show me. Anyways, it looks way crappy and I'm sorry. I suck at life. Please bless that my next blog will look better and that it will actually be interesting enough for you all to read.

Snubbs

As of late I have had a resurgence of reading. I have really forgotten how much I enjoy reading. I remember as a kid I used to love to read, probably more than anyone in my family except my mom. Even when I was on my mission I read a ton of doctrinal books and loved them. Since I have been home from my mission I haven't really read that many books. I think part of the reason is that I almost feel guilty reading anything that isn't a textbook. That especially rings true this semester which is somewhat ironic. Anyways, regardless of the lack of reading for the past three years, with a few exceptions, I have been reading a ton of books lately. Luckily for me they have all been very good books thus far. I decided to write about a few of them...


I'm sure you will all remember my previous blog about this movie. For some reason, the two people have my recommendation and watched the movie didn't like it. I honestly don't get it. Everyone else that I have talked to loves it so I know its not just me. I guess I would just have to say in one case they didn't understand it (sorry Katie) and the other just flat out didn't like/get it (sorry Brady). Anyways, thats neither here nor there. After the movie changed my life I decided to dig deeper in the story of the main character and read the book to which the movie was based upon. I have to say that I was a little disappointed in the book for one reason and one reason only. I was basically expecting it to read like the movie but it didn't do that at all. It was more of just a documentary on the same time line of the movie. That being said, I still loved the book and thought it was very interesting to see a few of the things they changed for the movie. If you really liked the movie, I would definitely read the book. If you hated the movie or thought it was so so, I would definitely not read it.







The Fifth Mountain, what a great book. This one was referred to me by my good friend Cory Mon. He actually lent me his copy which was ever so nice of him. It follows a fictional story of Elijah the prophet when he fled Jerusalem. Its a very easy and quick read but very powerful. Ultimately, it was about our relationship with God and how it affects our daily life. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
















The Alchemist is by the same author as The Fifth Mountain and is more well known. This book has been recommended to me several times by different people and I finally got around to reading it. It reads just as quick as The Fifth Mountain but its less pages. This one is about following our "Personal Legend". Its a very spiritual book, like all the authors work, but its not overbearing. I guess I would just say that its about following your dreams and how God fits into that equation. When we have righteous desires the Lord helps us attain that which we desire. Really good book that I would once again recommend.















Lastly, The Kite Runner. This book also has a movie that was just made about it, but I have yet to see it. I have also yet to finish the book but am well into it. From what I have read thus far I really like but it is very depressing and heavy. We'll see what happens with the rest of the book.


PS This new song is by Magnet and I love it. Please enjoy it.

This me while I type this post, enjoying a nice L0-Carb Monster and the new Aesop Rock album. My headphones are huge but I love them.

I received a lot less comments on my last post then I thought I would. That either means that not everyone commented or a lot less people read this than I thought. Anyways, so I decided to do something new. Every time I make a new post will post a new song for everyone to listen to so it doesn't get boring. I'll still leave the older songs on as well for everyone to enjoy.

I feel like my life hasn't been really exciting lately and therefore haven't written much lately. Last week was Spring Break and I had the opportunity to take an awesome vacation down to Cabo. Unfortunately, I don't have any money to go down to Cabo or friends that were going so I just picked up a butt load of shifts at work and made some good money. I really despise those who have time and money to leave town anytime they wish. Thus I attempt to get through school and make something of myself so I can do that in the future.

News Update! I'm down to 245 lbs. which means I have lost about 25 pounds. Its crazy to think that I have lost that much in lik 2 1/2 months. Its also crazy to think that I have lost 25 pounds and I still weigh 245. Haha. Holy crap, Body-for-Life saved me from obesity. At 245 I still feel huge but I keep going forward with it all because I can see results. Its kind of how they say, "The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know." Well the more I lose, the more I realize how much I need to lose. I digress.

Since there isn't much going on in my life that hasn't been going on already for like 3 months, I will speak my mind for a minute. I'm not going to pretend that I am not excited about finishing school and moving back to school. Its really all I have that keeps me going. Maybe its the fact that I am completely over Utah, but I really don't think that is true. There is still so much here that enticing to me, especially with the cold finally going away. I'd like to think that the excitement just comes from the idea of the unknown. Not that California is unknown or new, but the experiences there will be. I'll be done with school and hopefully starting a career in accounting. Finally a big kid.

But like I said before, there is so much here that is enticing to me. It would be very easy for me to stay here, especially since I would be able to find a job a lot easier. For the past 8 months I have been living with Jeff and Donnie (my two lovely roommates, pictures will follow), and its been way fun because we are all friends, not to mention having Justin upstairs who is also a close friend. Donnie has only lived here for 3 months but its been fun nonetheless. He and my other good friend Cory Mon are looking to move into a house in the next month or so, with Jeff also being a possibility to move in with them. I was just thinking today how much fun that is going to be for them and I found myself being envious. Im excited to move home, but living the parents for isn't exactly an exciting living situation (sorry Mom). I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to live there this summer, but I still find myself being somewhat jealous of my friends. My only unmarried friend in California, Bill, already has roommates and it is unlikely that I will live with him. So even when I am ready to move out, there is a good chance that I will move in with strangers or those who I hardly know.This Donnie practicing in the next room while I type.

Now this isn't me complaining or being negative. I'd like to think its the other way around. Im glad that I am enjoying my situation here while it lasts. Jeff and Donnie both play guitar, and Cory comes over quite a bit and plays. Justin plays drums and on occasion holds his bands practice at our house. I seriously love being around music, especially the music here. Its a style of music that I wouldn't normally listen to and has definitely expanded my palette. I will miss it here, this house and Utah in general, when I leave. Its great to know that I have a group of really good friends here that I can come back and visit, which I plan to.

I think that is about everything in my head at the moment. I believe my next post is going to be more solidified than this one. I just had an idea about it right now. For now enjoy the new song I added. Its called Needle in the Hay by Elliot Smith. It always reminds me of The Royal Tenenbaums because this is playing while Luke Wilson's character is committing suicide. Turns out Elliot Smith apparently stabbed himself to death. A bit morose I know but I really like this song and that is what I think of every time I hear it.

How little or many of you actually read this blog ( I think there is more of you than I think because no one comments) I need your opinion on something. Being the music enthusiast that I am, I naturally think that everyone wants to be introduced to new music that is awesome. Therefore, I posted the music player at the bottom of this blog that will open the eyes and ears of those ignorant to the greatness of Thrice, Radiohead, and the like. However, it has come to my attention lately that this might be annoying to those who actually read my blog. Its kind of funny because I personally hate when people have music on their blogs. This is usually because I am usually already listening to my own music. My friend from work (Fish, you can read his blog by clicking on his link in my friends list) expressed on his blog that he hates when people have music on their blog. Furthermore, my quasi roommate Chain posted a similar blog asking whether people liked music when reading other peoples blogs.

So this is where you all come in. I have decided to copy Chain (sorry, Nicole), and ask you all, do you like the music I have on my blog? Is it annoying? Should I keep it or do away with it? You tell me since you are the readers and are the ones who subject yourselves to the pain and suffering of looking into my messed up life. Haha. Im going to give you all a week or two to leave comments and say whether i should keep it or take it off. I'll do whatever you guys want. Majority wins. So, let the comments roll. If you can't leave comments, drop me an email and let me know your thoughts.

Finally some pictures for you all! Yesterday Jeff Stone, aka Stone Bone, aka Old Man Bones, and I had quite the day. We headed out to the Great Salt Lake around Saltair, which is a concert venue that used to be a carnival. Many many pictures will follow. The main brunt of the pictures are taken around a place called Black Rock. It was cold as balls out there and way windy. After we hung around for bit there we headed caught a bite to eat at Rumbi Grill at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake, which is enjoyable. The main reason to go up to Salt Lake at all was to catch a band called, This Will Destroy You, who is on tour from Texas. They play a kind of music called post-rock, which is essentially instrumental rock music that is really technical and spacy with weird time signitures. The first three bands were of the same genre and I enjoyed them a lot, especially a local band called I Hear Sirens. This Will Destroy You ended up coming late but made it eventually. The show was a lot of fun. I guess if you aren't really into instrumental music, 3 1/2 hours of it might drive you crazy, but Jeff and I enjoyed it. This first picture is at Salt Lake obviously. I did a bit of altering with colors. I think it looks pretty cool.


This is me on top of Black Rock. It was a fun little climb and reminded me of when I was a kid and liked to climb. It was insanely windy on top of that thing.


Me by the water.


I thought this was a really cool shot with the sun and everything.


Doggy tracks...

Old Man Bones in his sweet Marty McFly vest. Is it any wonder he is so popular with the ladies?

More of me by the water.
This is Saltair. You are probably thinking to yourself that I got this picture off the internet and its way old. Nope, I took that yesterday. I hope you are enjoying my awesomeness in iphoto, because I know I am.



This Will Destroy You