The Curse...

So, this weekend I went home for my sister's wedding reception, and on the way home I confirmed something I have suspected for a long time...I am cursed. What kind of curse, you ask? Well, it is the curse of the chipped windshield. You see, ever since my mission, whenever I have a pristine, chip free windshield, it is inevitably chipped on my next drive on the freeway. I thought at first this was simply a result of the decision by the Idaho Transportation Department to chip seal the freeway, a decision which left loose gravel on the freeway for several months, just waiting to give my windshield a chip. However, that project has been completed for a while now and the curse lives on.

You probably want to hear the whole history of the curse, and you are about to get it. It all started when I was living at the Glenwood in the summer after my mission. While driving on one of our many adventures that summer, I got a chip in my windshield that turned into a crack. I ignored it for several months, but finally decided it was worth fixing and forked out the money for a new windshield. My next trip home on the freeway, I got a chip in my brand new windshield. It was at this point that I learned an important lesson about the curse: it only strikes when there is no chip in the windshield. I ignored this chip, knowing that my car was on its last legs and not wanting to put too much money into it. Fast forward to summer 2008, and my car dies on the drive home. I get a new car with a pristine windshield, and you guessed it, promply get 2 chips on the way home. I once again ignore these chips for a while, but as I am out in Boston visiting my brother in June 2009, he gets a chip in his windshield. The curse lives on. He gets his chip filled, so I decide I should do the same. At my next oil change, they offer to fill it for free and I oblige. The day I get the oil change, I leave for home and get a chip in my windshield again. This is when I knew I was cursed. Nevertheless, I got the chip filled when I got back to Provo, and lo and behold, as I am driving home this weekend, I get a new chip in my windshield.

Now look, I could blow this all off as chance, but the facts just won't let me. I mean, one or two chips I could accept, but this is beyond the point of anything other than a curse. I went through the first 22 years of my life chip free, and suddenly in the last 3 1/2 years my car windshield has become a veritable rock magnet. I guess I should figure out why the curse started so that I can rid myself of it before it gets any worse.

Back by Popular Demand...

So, given that I had 2 recent comments suggesting that I post again, and I always give the customer what they want, I figured I owed another post. Actually, I was going to post while I was in Prague, but I decided to catch up on my hand written journal instead. As most of you probably know, I recently had the opportunity to head to Europe to do some research for my Master's thesis. We spent our nights in Prague, and our days traveling through the Czech Republic (and even a short distance into Germany and Poland) collecting samples at rivers and seeing the countryside. For those of you who have never been to the Czech Republic (can't think of anyone who would be reading this that that statement doesn't apply to, but you never know), it is green and hilly, a lot like the Eastern United States without the humidity. My thesis adviser claims that they have more castles per square mile than any other country in Europe. Since it would take me forever to write an entry about the whole trip, I figure I will do it in parts, each one containing a few photos and some specific things about the trip. I'll call this first entry, "Things to know while traveling in the Czech Republic". Accompanying pictures likely have nothing to do with the topic of the post.

First off, it is a long flight to the Czech Republic. With the time change added in, it takes a whole day to get there. You will be tired when you get there. Lucky for me, I had people to keep me awake so that I only woke up at 3 am the next morning and was fine thereafter. The thing people probably wonder about the most is how we got around without speaking any Czech. Well, just about everyone in the Czech Republic speaks English. In Old Town Prague, their English is typically very good, but the farther away you get from there the less they speak, although they all speak a little bit and every restaurant has an "English" menu.

And speaking of the food, there are a few things you should know when going to a restaurant. First off, it is going to take a while, so don't plan on being in and out in no time. Second, make sure they know you speak English when you go in. This may save you up to 30 minutes, since otherwise they will give you a Czech menu that you won't be able to read, and the waiters come by only infrequently. Next, you should know that you have to pay for water at the restaurant, and you only get one bottle, so save some for dinner. Also, make sure you ask for "still" water, unless you want mineral water. And for some reason, water is the hardest English word for them to understand, even though the Czech word is "voda", which sounds almost the same. Lastly, you have to ask for the bill, and since they don't come around often, make sure you ask for it as soon as you are done. Tipping is optional, and 10% is considered a large tip.

Other random things to note...make sure you have money with you in case you ever need to use the bathroom, since most cost money. If you park your car on the street, and it has French plates, the tires may get slashed. Even if something on the menu sounds like something you would order at home, it is probably something completely different. The English in the English menus, on the English tourist pamphlets, and on English signs is very poor. Well, I have probably rambled on enough for this post, I'll write more about the trip later. Any questions may be answered in the next post. And now for pictures...

Me on the Charles Bridge

Me in front of St. Vitus Cathedral

Adrspach Rocks

Astronomical Clock at Old Town Square in Prague

New England

Well, now that it has been a few weeks since I have posted, and I think nobody reads this anymore, I figure I had better post on what I have been up to the last few weeks. See, my brother just graduated from law school, and it made a good excuse to go and hang out with my 1 year old niece for a couple of weeks. Really though, we went out to see the Northeast, since we may never have a chance to go back.

Me and my niece became pretty good buddies over Christmas. I played with her a lot, and she seemed to warm up to me pretty quickly in Boston. This is the first night we were there. She is even more amazing in person.

So, we flew into Boston and then went up to Bar Harbor Maine. I wish I could post some pictures, but they are all on my brother's or Dad's camera. It was very beautiful. We took the long way back to Boston through New Hampshire and Vermont and visited the Joseph Smith Birthplace. Then it was graduation time. After the graduation my Dad, my Brother and I hiked about 50 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Then we packed up a moving truck and drove it across the country in 3 1/2 days, sleeping 2 of the 3 nights in the back of the truck on a mattress. So, if you have missed my random musings or reports on what is happening in my life, I apologize.

Always wear sunscreen...

So, once again, I have taken a month off from posting. But you all know how it is...life gets busy, you have 2 final papers to write in 2 weeks, you take your only final and get out of town so your roommates don't kill you because you are sitting around the house in your pajamas all day long while they are headed up to take their finals, you then have to put everything together for a week of field camp, move out of your apartment and into a new one all in the same day, then go TA field camp, and then you forget anything interesting that you could blog about because you waited so long and are now working 7 hours a day and not eating lunch because you forgot to buy mayonnaise when you went to the store. Also, I am not as good at manufacturing things to write about as some of my blogging counterparts.

So, as far as getting out of town went, I went down to Capital Reef National Park with my Dad for a few days of camping and hiking during finals week. We put in quite a few miles and had some sore feet, but we saw some beautiful scenery. I wish I had pictures to share, but unfortunatly I need new rechargeable batteries for my camera, so my Dad took all the photos and I don't have any. What I do have, though, is some advice all of us have been given throughout our lives...don't forget to wear sunscreen. Many of the readers of my blog may even remember a song that came out a while ago that shared that message, way back when I was in high school. I did not, however, follow this advice on this particular trip and I paid the price. On our first hiking day, my Dad and I hiked about 12 miles unprotected from the sun, and I got the early summer pink that we all need after a long winter of long sleeves. I knew the next day I would need sunscreen to prevent pain, but we didn't have any, so I went without. I actually hiked with a jacket on in near 80 degree weather to save my arms. But the sun still got the better of me, burning the tops of my ears and the backs of my legs. Being pale and prone to sunburns as I am, I knew if I took a cold shower that night my sunburn wouldn't hurt as bad. Well, that worked, except that a few days later my ears started to peel. So much skin peeled off that they started to bleed. Two weeks later they are finally done peeling.

Now, I know the title of my blog exhorts you to examine your preconceived notions to see if they are holding you back. However, in the case of sunscreen, I don't recommend testing the advice you have no doubt received many times. When going out in the sun, learn from my mistake and put on some sunscreen.

April Fools' Day

So, I woke up this morning and realized that today was April Fools' Day. It got me wondering where we came up with this crazy "holiday" where people try to make other people look silly and most people spend the whole day being skeptical of anything anyone tells them. So I went on a very brief search to find the origins of April Fools' Day. My search began and ended on Wikipedia, where I learned it has been a holiday for a long time and nobody really knows the origin. Who knew?

So all this work looking for the origins of the day reminded me of the only time I have really been involved in an April Fools' Day prank. It is a funny story, so I figured I would write it down for the few people who read my blog to reminisce about the good old days (if you weren't involved in this, feel free to enjoy the story for the first time). Probably the best thing is that while this was supposed to take place on April Fools' Day, nobody who was pulling the prank had the guts to pull it off when the day came, so the prank was actually pulled of a couple of days later. As I remember, the story goes something like this (feel free to add your perspective/rebuttals in the comments. I actually had very little to do with the whole thing so I won't be offended).

It all started as we headed up to Lamar's house for our semiannual conference weekend retreat. Kip was driving, and for some reason we stopped at Wal-mart. As Kip went to find whatever he was after, I split off with Clint to see what we could find in Wal-mart (there may have been a 4th person in the car, I only remember the three). As we got out of earshot, Clint tells me that when he had been in Wal-mart months ago with Med, they had found these dog cookies that looked like real cookies and had decided they would e a great April Fools' Day joke. So, we went to the pet section and he bought the cookies. I guess if I hadn't been with him I wouldn't have been in on the joke, so apparently I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

So, as I said before, we were too chicken to pull the prank off on the day at Lamar's house, so we waited until we got back to our apartments. It seems to me like it must have been a Sunday afternoon when it finally went down, because everyone was around, but I could be wrong. Since the whole thing was Clint's idea, and since he was the one who had money invested, it fell to him to take the cookies to the apartment across the hall (where everyone was for some reason) and offer the cookies to the roommates. I was laughing too hard to try it anyway. So, he went across the hall and gave the cookies to everyone, and surprisingly everyone took one with only a little suspicion. They all ate them, and apparently they tasted fine because nobody said anything. Clint went back and offered everyone another, which had to raise some suspicions, but pretty much everyone accepted again. So, Clint decided to leave the box on the table and tell everyone they could have more, so they would read the box and see they were dog cookies. As the legend goes, Murt happily obliged to take another cookie, and while looking at the box remarked "Lick 'n Crunch, that's a funny name" and proceeded to eat another before anyone realized the implications of the statement (don't know if this was the second or third cookie, could have been either). We all enjoyed a good laugh afterward, and got some good mileage out of what was left in the box. The best was the person that came over and just took a cookie without asking if he could have one. So, that is the only real April Prank I have ever been involved in. Not great, but it sure made me laugh at the time.

In Like A Lion...

Well, it is that time of year...the weather is nice for a week, then it snows (for all you who have been enjoying 70 degrees, just wait...). All of the geology classes take field trips (ours was to Honey Lake. I would post pictures, but my camera is out of battery so I can't upload them...maybe later). Spring research conference is in the air. And we have to figure out where we are going to live for the summer and the fall.

So, I spent 4 days this last week on a field trip... 2 days of 10 hour drives, 1 day of field work, 1 day of sight seeing. The drives were long, the field work was good, and the scenery in the Sierra Nevada mountains was excellent. I am sure you don't want to hear about the TDS of thermal springs and where the wells were in relation to the playa and the alluvial fan, so I will spare you. We did do some cool things in the Sierras though. We hiked through a lava tube (don't worry,the lava was long gone). We saw Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. We visited a cool waterfall called Burney Falls. And we visited the Allen Telescope Array, a SETI run array (definately a highlight of the trip). All in all, a good trip.

So, now it is back to trying to survive until finals are over. On top of school work, I am to the point where I am getting close to finally having a thesis topic, which means writing and research starts soon. We also have to make the difficult decision of where we are going to live for the spring and summer and next year. Always tough, especially now that we are all old guys and are tired of living in young wards. Sometime the search will end, we will sign a contract and be done with it. Until then, just another thing on the plate. Welcome to spring I guess.

More sideways stories...

Due to the popularity of my last post of random thoughts, and because I stay awake at night pondering these things (no, really...), here comes the second installment of random thoughts by Dan Ritter, only this time I am not extremely bored and running a fever.

First off, why in the world is it called "Daylight Savings Time"? I mean, we aren't saving any daylight, just moving it from one place to another. I actually looked it up on reference.com this morning, and it had no answers. I did find out that in Europe it is called "Summer Time", but in Provo that doesn't seem appropriate since the time has already changed and summer is a long way off. I guess "More daylight in the afternoon and less in the morning time" just doesn't have the same ring to it. The funny thing is, the entry at reference.com says that daylight savings time "causes problems for farming, entertainment and other occupations tied to the sun." How exactly does this create problems? We aren't changing the amount of sun in the day, just when it occurs. In fact, wouldn't this benefit people who rely on the sun, since they don't have to get up as early to catch the sunrise? Anytime I lose an hour of sleep, I am going to seriously investigate the process that caused the loss, and daylight savings time seems a little dubious to me.

In other news, sometime this month is the one year anniversary of my last date. This won't really surprise anyone who knows me. I don't know the exact date (that would be a little weird), but I know it is sometime in March. So by now you are wondering, how in the world has he gone a year without going on a date? (Okay, I know, most of you know exactly how it happened, since I am pretty sure everyone that reads this knows me pretty well). The truth of the matter is, I enjoy going on dates, but I hate asking people on dates. I hate calling people on the phone. And with dating, after the first phone call, the pressure just keeps going up. I trace my hatred of phone calls back to an incident in my childhood. As with all little kids, I enjoyed answering the phone. That is, until one fateful day. In my memory, it was in the evening, although it really could have been any time of day (and who knows whether it was during daylight time or standard time). The phone rang, and I ran to answer it. In my haste to answer the phone, proper answering dialogue slipped my mind and instead the words "Dear Heavenly Father" came out. Needless to say, the story was told in my family for years, and answering the phone has never had the same excitement. Now, when I go to make a phone call, I pace around the room, my palms get sweaty, and I have to plan out exactly what I want to say and practice it several times in advance. That is a lot of work for me to go through to go on a date, so I usually won't do it unless I am really motivated. Hence, it has been a year.

This is an actual picture of me calling someone to ask them on a date. Notice the panicked look on my face. A look of sheer terror, to be sure.

Quarterlife

Well, as anyone reading this probably knows, I turned 25 this past Thursday. That means if I live to be 100 years old, a quarter of my life is gone. I can't say that I regret too much from my first 25 years. Sure, there are things I wish I had done differently, or things I just wish I had done, but overall, my life has been pretty fulfilling so far. I know life has a lot of ups and downs, and probably even more of just the stuff in the middle where you aren't ecstatic but you are in the dumps either, but when you look back at it after the fact and from a distance, the bumps are smoothed out a bit and the bad times are hard for me to remember. Sure, my life hasn't been perfect, but it sure hasn't been bad. Hopefully after the next 25 years things are just as bright.

A few random thoughts about 25...I am the same age my Dad was when I was born, and I am the second child...guess I am a little behind! Also, after you turn 21, there are very few birthdays that give you more freedom, but I guess turning 25 makes your car insurance lower and lets you rent a car cheaper in most states. So, in case you are wondering, I am a safer driver now than I was last week.

P.S. I found out after I posted my last post that I had a fever the night I wrote that, so if there is anything particularly weird in that post, I blame it on the fever.

Random Musings After a Month Off of Blogging

So, this semester has been a little crazy for me, what with working 20 hours a week and doing classes (I know, some people's lives are a lot worse, but 9-5 everyday is unusual for me, ask anyone who knows me). So, since not a lot of people read my blog, I figured I didn't need to update it for a while. And, honestly, I don't think anyone wants to hear about life in the hydrogeochemistry lab or my weekly advanced hydro papers (if you do, just let me know)

So, the month of February is upon us. If you don't like February, don't worry, it is already almost over. Lots of amazing people have been born in February throughout the years...George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, et cetera. I myself came within a few days of missing out on being born in this amazing month. Of course, if I had waited a couple of days longer, I would have been born on leap day, every kid's worst nightmare. I turn 25 this year, but honestly, after you turn 21, nobody really cares anymore exactly how old you are except for car rental places and insurance companies. Actually, my niece turned 1 today, and I think I was a little more excited to shop for her birthday than I am to celebrate my own.

As long as we are on the subject of February, we might as well talk about Valentine's Day. I have never been one to celebrate the holiday much, having never had any real reason to, and this year was no different. But, as Valentine's day came around this year, I decided to move away from the "hater" mentaltiy I have always had towards Valentine's Day. I mean, I guess it isn't the worst thing in the world, and someday I will find joy in it. But for now, it passed much like any other day.

Since this post has really turned into a crazy stream of conciousness, you should probably know that I have a cold right now and I am pretty tired. I may regret some of what I type when I read it after I am fully cognizent. I guess you should never be bored and sick at the same time. Hopefully life picks up a little in the next few weeks so I have something more to write about.

California Here I Come

So, this holiday break I did something a little unusual... I spent only the first 10 days at home, then came back to Provo and went with Lamar to his family's condo in Huntington Beach, CA. Good times were had by all, so I figured I would detail it on my blog. We drove down on Monday, December 29th, stopping on the way at Excalibur in Las Vegas to partake of their buffet. The only problem with the buffet was that on the outside of the building they advertised 2 for 1 from 2 to 6 pm, but when we got in we discovered that they had suspended 2 for 1 until after January 2. We ate there anyway and got on our way to the beach.

Tuesday was hang out at the beach day. Lamar took much of the time we were there to build a sandcastle. I built a smaller one, but I took less time and Lamar's sandcastle skills are far superior to mine. He actually had some little kids stop and admire his, then come back an hour later to admire some more. We caught a sunset on the beach, then headed to a street fair on main street.

Lamar with his Castle...and the Sunset from the beach

Wednesday began with a long bike ride along the beach path. We ended up in Newport Beach, and there were some pretty cool houses there, some of which had their boats docked basically in their back yard. We went to lunch at Lamar's Aunt's house in Laguna Beach and spent the afternoon there. After a quick dinner, we headed up to Downtown Disney to spend New Year's Eve and catch the fireworks at midnight. There were some musicians there and we walked through the shops. When the hour came, the fireworks went off, but we couldn't see them because the fog was so dense. Made for a fun (i.e. scary) drive home.

Downtown Disney... and Lamar with brother Yusef (fog, not snow).

Thursday we got up late, and went back to the beach for some boogie boarding. We both tried surfing once, but the waves were pretty big and it made it a lot of work. That evening we went up to Long Beach to the Aquarium of the Pacific. It was a nice aquarium, and we got in for $10 because we went after 5, but they were open late for the holiday season. Good deal.

Boogie Boarding

Friday we went to lunch at Crystal Cove with Lamar's Aunt, then headed up to Knott's Berry Farm. We rode all the roller coasters there (we got there at 4 so that we could get in for half price), then made it home in time to watch the 4th quarter of the Sugar Bowl.

Saturday we got up and left. We stopped in Vegas again, but this time we got the 2 for 1 discount at the Excalibur buffet. We nearly turned the car around several times and headed back to California as the car thermometer started reading negative numbers in Utah, but ended up coming back to Provo.