I'm not your Mother...

So, this post is my rant about roommates not doing dishes. Anyone who has lived with me from the time I got home from my mission can attest that there isn't much that makes me more unhappy than a pile of dishes in the sink. It has even gone so far as me posting threatening nots and placing roommates on my black list. It probably has to do a lot with the environment in my home, where my mom always tried to make sure that the areas on the main level of our house were presentable so that they were ready at any moment for visitors.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I am not the cleanest person there is, and picture of the current state of my bedroom would prove that point well. I have never for the life of me been able to keep a desk clean for more than a week. But there is a difference between having piles of paper on a desk and piles of dishes in a sink. First off, papers don't rot and smell bad for the rest of your roommates. Secondly, very few people besides myself ever enter my bedroom, while our kitchen could often be used to entertain guests.

The last 2 years have been particularly bad when it comes to roommates who don't do dishes. Part of this is because the last two years I have had to live with a couple randomly assigned roommates, so that it was hard to discuss the problem with them. When I moved to my current apartment with Lamar and Pilgram, we all decided to go to the use only one plate system to avoid the dish problems that plagued our apartment last year. Alas, our new roommate (who is 31 and should know better) leaves dishes in the sink for WEEKS!!! Look, I can understand that sometimes you have to eat and run, or you need to soak the pan in water for a bit to get the stuff that you burned onto it out, but after 24 hours, if you haven't washed the dish it is only because you are lazy. The thing that irks me the most is when someone uses one of my pans and then doesn't wash it, so that it is dirty when I want to use it.

As you can probably tell from the post, this rant is inspired from a fresh bout. I spent an hour tonight cleaning the kitchen, and when I walk in there now there is MY pizza pan lying unwashed in the sink. Seriously, you can't take a 30 second break from watching your cartoons to wash off the pizza pan you used?!?! Our sink is never without a dish in it for more than a few hours in this apartment, and we all know who the culprit is, since 3 of us only use 1 set of dishes each and don't rely on the dishwasher. I actually got to the point where I threw away a bowl that sat on the counter for 2 weeks with pasta in it. I figure, if you aren't using it for 2 weeks, you won't miss it if I throw it away. Maybe I am a bad person, but you have to learn to do dishes sooner or later...

Google Buzz

Maybe I am just doing this wrong, or maybe nobody I "follow" ever does anything, but I am confused about this whole Google Buzz thing. The only time it ever tells me anything is when I post something. I know when I have updated my blog, or posted a video on youtube, I don't need a new tool to tell me that. It would be nice if it would tell me when the people I am following do something, but so far it hasn't. Murt posts on his blog for the first time in 2 months and not a notice. But when I put this blog post up, Google buzz will let me know.

In a related note, I recently discovered the Labs section in gmail. There is a lot of stuff on there that I could use to potentially make my google experience better. The one I chose to enable: when I push the "&" when I am on my gmail homepage, it brings up the classic snake game for me to play. Useful? Probably not. Hours of entertainment when I should be working on my thesis? Definitely. Thank you google labs, for giving me something to do instead of being productive.

Golden Birthday

So, today I turn 26 on the 26th. In honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I would post 26 random things about me and my birthday in general.

1. I was born at 5:01 am.

2. I found out that IU shared a birthday with Johnny Cash when one of my substitute teachers for English in high school basically told our class he was going to get high for the entire weekend to celebrate.

3. Favorite Birthday Cake, if it has to be cake: German Chocolate with coconut frosting

4. Favorite Birthday Cake, non-traditional sense: Cheesecake

5. Since I have been back from my mission, I usually go home over President's Day weekend to celebrate my birthday with my family.

6. When I was young, I got at least one kite for my birthday every year (something about being born close to March). In keeping with tradition, I gave my niece a kite for her 2nd birthday this year, which was on the 20th.

7. If I had waited a few more days to be born, I could have been a Leap Day baby.

8. I was baptized on leap day (along with nearly every other LDS person born in February 1984)

9. Today is also the birthday of Victor Hugo, Steve Blake, Hannah Kearney, and a host of other people, all of which can be found on wikipedia.

10. The Grand Canyon and Grand Tetons were made national parks on February 26th.

11. I was named after one of my Dad's childhood friends, not the bible character.

12. In 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed on my birthday.

13. I used to tell people that the only reason I liked Valentine's Day was that it meant there were less days left in February til my birthday than days that had passed.

14. I stopped having birthday parties early in my life because it meant my parents would buy me a better present (and really, what can you do at a party in February...)

15. Most common birthday dinner: when I was a kid, fajitas. Now, steak.

16. I hate when they sing Happy Birthday to you at restaurants, especially when it isn't your birthday and you are just there because you get a free meal any time that month.

17. Worst birthday meal: a few years ago when we went to this crappy chinese buffet in Provo, because it was free, and because they had remodeled so we thought it would be better. It wasn't, but it was nice of my roommates to want to do something for me on my b-day.

18. I did once have a frozen burrito for dinner on my birthday when I was in high school, because the day was so busy for my family that my parents weren't home at dinner time, but we celebrated later on, so not really a birthday dinner.

19. Birthday presents this year: hiking boots, tool kit, iTunes gift card and $50.

20. On my 20th birthday, I got a new mission companion and helped a family move out of their home.

21. In 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Japan.

22. Favorite ice cream: Cookies and Cream, no contest. I like all ice cream, but given a choice it is cookies and cream hands down.

23. February is pie month at Marie Calendars, so in recent years my Mom always buys a pie or two when I come home to celebrate.

24. When I was a kid, I used to set my alarm for 5:01 am so I could celebrate when I was actually born. That tradition has since died out.

25. Most people don't think I look old enough to be 26.

26. When I was a kid, we went to mexican food for my birthday pretty much every year (mostly Cafe Ole, then Casa Mexico)

So, there you have it. I hope you all have a wonderful day! I think it is the best day of the year to be born on, but I am a little bit biased.

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.