tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51669088255753467072024-03-04T22:30:08.914-08:00Sporadic Thoughts from TylerTylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-72433863358967495072012-03-09T19:50:00.015-08:002012-03-09T20:57:15.248-08:00Missing my Lauren like crazy<div style="text-align: center;"><span><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left; ">Lauren has been gone for 36 hours on her trip to California, and I'm looking through pictures of us to try and make me miss her a little less, because right now it's a little much. Good thing she comes back in in another 24. There are more pictures that I'd like to share, but for the sake of brevity and upload time, here are a few of my favorites:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRF1_U2QzmlR7l98LokJ40vPsZik20HnmZbR7JZ63fsl_ny6zf51KUFA0s4pG9SORAD-KPLZ48tpJMieC9rwoI6xJvkXT967Qcwzkzs19VqsopC63XW5VWy_9Zp8QFFP28k-_UMeZWeUc/s1600/270125_10150315539181779_731431778_9134605_1969661_n.jpg"><br /></a></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_V_oX4kUtl2sJVpdF6MHcntsvENImvrxVjsBa6jtlRJ2nBJwyN4MIXbLBwBreWQJrjMN5QGLne58OtSozxzWSirCMqhfgqiR3Ni7Jb6vulUPqV_qibK5a4IsabPEndg0xLUA9GFa2dU/s400/260079_2061245483034_1001604139_32397827_6662619_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718122019503337890" /><div style="text-align: center;">This was the 4th of July. I told her I loved her the next day.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRF1_U2QzmlR7l98LokJ40vPsZik20HnmZbR7JZ63fsl_ny6zf51KUFA0s4pG9SORAD-KPLZ48tpJMieC9rwoI6xJvkXT967Qcwzkzs19VqsopC63XW5VWy_9Zp8QFFP28k-_UMeZWeUc/s400/270125_10150315539181779_731431778_9134605_1969661_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718122178953276082" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline; display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /><div style="text-align: center;">The night she told me that she loved me.</div><div><br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjvnn1JDM51yb_J5uXhlnK5XrU7oAzZ4o6LPk2xxT5Kg1ZgtKkuAqE4nKjUgoTULleJmYpEnytmRlqG59V1nMaXmN_FkU4BalSr5RgC3sp5hKub6KcJgU69r9kQO-htMFUdHBpsylZC4/s1600/DSCN0509.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjvnn1JDM51yb_J5uXhlnK5XrU7oAzZ4o6LPk2xxT5Kg1ZgtKkuAqE4nKjUgoTULleJmYpEnytmRlqG59V1nMaXmN_FkU4BalSr5RgC3sp5hKub6KcJgU69r9kQO-htMFUdHBpsylZC4/s400/DSCN0509.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718114192856988642" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">This is last summer when we hiked the Narrows in Zion National Park.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2DdCXxAq-U1vJKZl-DLSSL_ZlvhrqM5WT2qOX870o6ph2rKFhPFUS3MEdL7lLN8joB0ERPILd1jM9hu2E0cbnaBU1LIAgiEzpbZ1p-5iFlsXDYkkuDxbCLvOoTE_9Jm2mGoQ_xF_m5s/s1600/2966-LindseyGraysonBrid.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2DdCXxAq-U1vJKZl-DLSSL_ZlvhrqM5WT2qOX870o6ph2rKFhPFUS3MEdL7lLN8joB0ERPILd1jM9hu2E0cbnaBU1LIAgiEzpbZ1p-5iFlsXDYkkuDxbCLvOoTE_9Jm2mGoQ_xF_m5s/s400/2966-LindseyGraysonBrid.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718114701849810690" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Here she is looking at her tomato plant which I had Phil plant in a tree ahead of time to catch her attention. Meanwhile I'm waiting for her to turn around with the ring in my fingers.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIj1kj_v59aUUuhycpVNtSEwf6kieiX-oniFHEC9NcfPABsVUspo4HSJULnjDg7ycXHxR67z_WgF4WDgjK4E9O26TsY7vC67ClDCfgY8xuj2xsnh69xr4CNWi2zttJ7cGmUbrsTESTBno/s1600/092.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIj1kj_v59aUUuhycpVNtSEwf6kieiX-oniFHEC9NcfPABsVUspo4HSJULnjDg7ycXHxR67z_WgF4WDgjK4E9O26TsY7vC67ClDCfgY8xuj2xsnh69xr4CNWi2zttJ7cGmUbrsTESTBno/s400/092.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718112173938617906" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Our wedding!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2BvOJxwyFpwjxruS4K6q5ySDCnSOHLHICiVOQZ4CiJmNp2Z_zF5YEHKexlrli45kjfuybrV5u_zr41jnapSuaChk2Cr-MmTQQDiMMRKu-XDYokT5GP_HW-yPH1QCZWzwtdL-GBKw8Hg/s1600/116.JPG" style="text-align: left; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2BvOJxwyFpwjxruS4K6q5ySDCnSOHLHICiVOQZ4CiJmNp2Z_zF5YEHKexlrli45kjfuybrV5u_zr41jnapSuaChk2Cr-MmTQQDiMMRKu-XDYokT5GP_HW-yPH1QCZWzwtdL-GBKw8Hg/s400/116.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718125336965997266" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a>It is good to know that even though eventually death will probably separate us for more than 60 hours... we'll be together again for eternity</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In summary... who ever knew love was this good?</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ah... how about just one more for the road?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqZUB3QvPm6b3vo2M5wbsbdH2jD6GM_kqeGPbLQvUyfq8iqk8O1utiiwHoJfWnQoIQoDBIBVcJ1RQxTp_1FhXEWna6SKXNw_Qojq37UD0EJbURHrkZPNUuGDvXtEvtI_An8GU9wrsgRc/s1600/DSC_0779.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqZUB3QvPm6b3vo2M5wbsbdH2jD6GM_kqeGPbLQvUyfq8iqk8O1utiiwHoJfWnQoIQoDBIBVcJ1RQxTp_1FhXEWna6SKXNw_Qojq37UD0EJbURHrkZPNUuGDvXtEvtI_An8GU9wrsgRc/s400/DSC_0779.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718123859217262258" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Isn't she beautiful?!</div></div><br /><br /><iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sRcwhHCCL08?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-45689538682944356692012-02-02T14:28:00.000-08:002012-02-02T14:53:46.985-08:00Thoughts from CampusYesterday I was walking between classes and had a few thoughts that I thought might be worth mentioning on my blog. I haven't written much because with the weekly e-mails to Stephen, usually my noteworthy things are put in there. However, I had some musings that I decided to share on here.<div><br /></div><div>It's good to know that I had my i-pod in, so I couldn't really hear the outside world, which left me alone to my thoughts. I don't often walk around with headphones in because I like to be able to say hello, but I had them in yesterday for some reason. As I walked between my first two classes I passed a guy that I've met before. I don't remember him very well. I remember that he looks very thick. Thick neck, thick arms, thick jaw, thick head, thick limbs. His head kind of reminded me of a box turtle--thick and compact. He just looks really solid all the way through and could probably go through a lot of guys in sports. I got the chance to see him once (I don't remember how long ago or what I met him through) but I remember he was really kind of an introverted guy. Very nice and soft spoken. It helped me remember that people aren't always what they seem on the outside.</div><div><br /></div><div>I next passed by a guy who had an obvious physical disability. He walked by teetering from leg to leg. A very stiff motion. He had his hands locked across his chest, much the way a choir or opera singer might lock them. I imagined that he probably locked his hands because it helped him balance in some way. I turned the corner and as I was walking down the hill from the crabtree towards the snell, which is by the law building kind of, I saw another interesting figure. This third guy was sporting a mustache, curly brown hair that was kind of longer, and tight jeans. He seemed to me to have hair from the 70's and clothes from the 80's. </div><div><br /></div><div>I thought as I walked by him that it is a very amazing blessing that we have to be able to pursue our own ideas and passions. That guy wants to dress like that, so he can. He can be an individual. He can be different if he wants to be. I just thought about how wonderful it is that we can each do that. Perhaps if he was the first guy I came across I would have thought he was weird. However, after looking at the first two and thinking about them as individuals and their lives/circumstances I think I was less prone to call the third guy weird.</div><div><br /></div><div>The last thing I'll point out is that the farther away from the third guy I got, the more time I had to think, and the older I realized I am becoming. The give away with this thought process. "That guy's clothes were definitely an 80's style. I wonder when that will all come back in. I may start teaching in an era where the kids all pull their socks up over their jeans to get them as tight around their ankles as possible. I remember when I wore baggy jeans. Would I rather have the kids in my school dressing in baggy jeans or thin jeans? ... Probably neither. I think I'd like them to just be clean-cut and dress conservatively. Oh man, that probably means I'm old."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-78986391699389025522011-05-23T11:27:00.000-07:002011-05-23T11:38:41.417-07:00Couch burning and relationship torchingHello again, all of my adoring readers.<div><br /></div><div>Bryan made a great discovery yesterday. He found a couch in a dumpster. This happened once before just over a year ago. We grabbed it and burned it. Here's a picture.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie15zA_OyAww-bGW5Nhr5r2hpgMC72ltt3ei1DHjnFp5txudLCSkgjBHpVpPAjv3mLSjqXsJnG4BlIiCx2QKBlKCQZVpG-CZ4GTp2cDV5yio8q0KHHfdjyVQQnVFdz12F1EYUD6C3euLs/s1600/25489_731946211939_17803794_39926511_3611277_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 318px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie15zA_OyAww-bGW5Nhr5r2hpgMC72ltt3ei1DHjnFp5txudLCSkgjBHpVpPAjv3mLSjqXsJnG4BlIiCx2QKBlKCQZVpG-CZ4GTp2cDV5yio8q0KHHfdjyVQQnVFdz12F1EYUD6C3euLs/s400/25489_731946211939_17803794_39926511_3611277_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609980850518684082" /></a>We expect just as much fun the second time around. In other news, Nik broke up with his girlfriend of 5 months. She lives in Idaho and he lives down here and it was hard. She eventually told him basically that it had to go somewhere or it had to stop. By go somewhere I mean, she wanted him to propose or she didn't see any point in dating any more. He didn't feel like he could propose yet and didn't know how long he would need to figure it out, and he let it go. They broke up a few times before but he said this one was pretty final. Dating is so gut wrenching. I feel bad for him. And I'm really glad I'm back with Lauren, all at the same time. Okay, well I don't have much else to say except that we're going to go pick up the couch from the dumpster today. The ensuing fire will probably be later this week. Here is the funny video I've chosen for this post.<br /><iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DFcIH2tK2iM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-34971875843185891122011-05-09T14:23:00.001-07:002011-05-09T14:59:55.504-07:00Shoes<div><br /><div>So I'm thinking about getting a new pair of shoes. Anyone who has gone shoe shopping with me probably remembers how particular I am about my shoes. Bryan thinks I'm ridiculous for the shoes I have. If at the end of this post you also think so, let me know in the comments. If you understand and agree with me, let me know. I'm curious what the reality of this situation is from a removed, dispassionate viewpoint. And I'm going to gauge reality from everyone's comments. Remember that only the family reads this blog so it's not like there will be tens of comments, so make sure to not skip the comments. The purpose of this particular entry is more like a survey than an update on Tyler's awesome life in Provo.</div><div> </div><div>Some background on the shoes I own. Like I said, Bryan doesn't think I need as many as I have. Here they are-</div><div> </div><div>-I have some left over black shoes from my mission. I use these for the MTC.</div><div>-Cheap but nice looking black shoes from ROSS. Used for sundays and nice occassions only, since they aren't very durable.</div><div>-I have some nice brown shoes for when I go to work or church in brown slacks.</div><div>-Running Shoes. I'm training for my tri-athalon and I use these exclusively for running since I don't want to lose them any earlier than I have to. I don't want to get injured during my runs, and a good way to prevent that is good shoes.</div><div>-Cleats. I use these for very competitive games of soccer/frisbee, etc.</div><div>-Rock climbing shoes. These are specialized and are only used on rock.</div><div>-Suede Puma tennis shoes. I use these when I want to look nice on a daily basis. They are one of two pairs of shoes that I wear to school or anything else besides school/work/sports. They are a lot wider than regular tennis shoes and are more like Puma's style of skater shoe. I can't really use them to run around.</div><div>-Doc Martins. I wear these when the ground is wet and I don't want to wear my suede Pumas, or if I want a dressier look. This is the second pair that I wear on a daily basis.</div><div>-Old tennis shoes. These are 3 years old. I wear these for all sports whenever I'm not wearing my cleats. They are starting to split out the sides.</div><div> </div><div>As you can see, I use all of these shoes for a specific purpose and they do all get used. The biggest problem comes with my 3 year old tennis shoes. It's not uncommon for me to wear tennis shoes this long but once they split out the sides I usually shift my other and newer pair of tennis shoes into a dual role for a few months. However, as you see from the descriptions above, my other pair of tennis shoes, the suede pumas, can't really be used for sports. That is why I want to get a new pair of shoes. Tennis shoes, to be specific. Is that ridiculous? I could probably get through one more summer on these old tennis shoes because they have only begun to split. That is the problem. I have a hard time buying another pair and having THREE pairs of tennis shoes, even if they all have a use. I just have a hard time saying, "this is my pair for hiking" "this is my pair for sports" "this is my pair for school" Here is a picture of the kicks I'm eyeing.</div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYgNJqUlzA2rxwL8q6cUHVeZ2YA2pq2WTcxcfofRs1J5wflUIx8C0xzyYi3U3JRYrc12-qFgTYdEit2h-ZIjUHre6hhJ2CB2-3vUloRaDfZ6dtBzbh_XTQeGO-3_kK0ViKBfCyf3QBoU/s1600/Puma-TOP-WINNER-WHITE-RED.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 257px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604838346818210514" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYgNJqUlzA2rxwL8q6cUHVeZ2YA2pq2WTcxcfofRs1J5wflUIx8C0xzyYi3U3JRYrc12-qFgTYdEit2h-ZIjUHre6hhJ2CB2-3vUloRaDfZ6dtBzbh_XTQeGO-3_kK0ViKBfCyf3QBoU/s400/Puma-TOP-WINNER-WHITE-RED.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div></div></div><br />Please leave your thoughts on what you think reality is. Thanks.Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-86079594510463971452011-04-01T13:57:00.000-07:002011-04-01T15:33:24.218-07:00SurvivalSo this last week I was over at Lauren's on monday night and as a result I went to FHE with her. They happened to be having a ward FHE that night and it was on emergency preparedness. Since that FHE, 4 or 5 days ago, it's been on my mind. If anyone needs things to put on a christmas list or wish list or anything, just remember--you can't go wrong with gear. I know I've said that before with regards to climbing equipment but I'm adding outdoor camping and emergency equipment to that list too. Basically, the store REI is a place where you could buy anything and make me happy. One of the counselors brought in his emergency pack and explained the things in there. He said that for 72 hours you should not only be able to survive, but thrive. He had warm clothes as well as work clothes, including work gloves. It all looked very well packed and inspired me to get a good emergency pack. The guy said boots are invaluable to have because you don't know where you'll have to go or what you'll have to do. You want to be able to be stable and also be able to help others until more help comes.<br /><br />Let me share some of the interesting things I learned. If a person has hypothermia you should not attempt to warm their body. The blood in their body has started to go to their core to keep them warm, making their extremities go cold, but also bringing the temperature of the remaining blood out there down. If you start warming up limbs, their body will think that it is okay to start circulating blood regularly again and will start pumping more aggressively which will bring all that cold blood into the core and chill the formerly warm blood. You also shouldn't wrap up in a blanket with that person to fix it all because recent studies have shown that you can't put off enough body heat to help the other person. You should make sure that any wet clothes are off, wrap them in a blanket to capture their own body heat, let them continue to shiver (it helps warm them up), and give them something warm to drink (helping to warm their core. You want to warm them up slowly so that the blood in their extremities is warm before it goes back into the core.<br /><br />How about frostbite? In frostbite, the water in the cells of the skin has started to freeze so rubbing a frozen limb for someone is likely to rip those cells up inside and be extremely painful for the person. The best thing to do is to warm them up in a bucket of water that is 98-105 degrees or so. That is just a touch colder than the hottest tap water. At least the BYU tap water comes out at 120, so a touch colder than that. You don't want to use a fire, stove, or something like that because the person with frostbite can't feel their frostbitten appendages and can't tell when they are burning themselves. Don't defrost the frozen skin if there is a chance that it could refreeze. Refreezing will cause more damage than if you had left it frozen for a few extra hours. Treat within 24 hours if at all possible.<br /><br />Cotton is horrible for survival. If it gets wet it doesn't dry easily. Nylon and fleece both breathe easily and dry easily. You should dress in layers. On the skin go with a layer that is moisture wicking. In the middle you want to insulate, and on the outside you want a water resistant layer. Not water proof, because then it won't breathe, but water resistant.<br /><br />In the event of an earthquake, no longer is the advice to get under a table or doorway. A falling roof can collapse these things down on you and crush you. Now they say to get to the side of a sturdy object. If a roof falls it will hit that first and then often create a void to the side of the object where a person could survive. If you are in your car, get out and on the side of it. If you're in bed, roll out onto the ground next to your bed, not under. That is what they taught us. I looked online for a source and could only find this- http://www.jeffersonreview.com/2011/03/where-to-go-during-an-earthquake/ The government's website with advice about earthquakes still says to find cover. Do what you will.<br /><br />Back to well established procedures. For shock, raise the feet, keep them warm, and put a pillow under their head. make them comfortable and just talk with them. Assign one person to just keep talking to the person, it is one of the most critical factors in keeping the person from having more severe complications.<br /><br />If a person gets something stuck in them, don't take it out. You don't know how much it will bleed after it gets taken out. Wrap around it to keep it stable and take the person to the doctor. If blood soaks through a bandage, add more bandage, don't remove and replace the old stuff. This is because blood has begun to coagulate and removing the bandage will rip all of that off.<br /><br />Okay, that's it for now. Here is the latest cool video that I've seen. If the people reading this blog ever get tired of reading my posts, hopefully you'll still come for the videos.<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GYnd5JRu86E" allowfullscreen="" width="640" frameborder="0" height="390"></iframe>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-86537770952059573922011-03-16T14:33:00.000-07:002011-03-16T15:08:43.270-07:00What I used to thinkSo here is a story that I forgot to include in my e-mail to stephen but I think is kind of humorous. It happened freshman year of college. I remembered it when Erin said that Carly's comments reminded her of when she was younger and she had ideas of how things would be and how things wouldn't be. I used to make a lot of those comments. I remember being in Daniel and Erin's wymount apartment during my freshman year and someone was pregnant. I know Erin was pregnant with Ashley but I don't remember if it was her or someone else that sparked the conversation, but what I do remember is that it came up that some women have a harder time than others being pregnant. Conversely, some women have an easier time. I often would say what I thought the future would hold and I said, "I'm going to make sure I marry a girl that isn't going to have rough pregnancies." Daniel's return question was, "How are you going to make sure of that and still keep a temple recommend?" Good question. I retracted my statement.<br /><br />Another one of those this-is-how-it's-going-to-be statements that I remember is also about marriage. I said, "I'm going to get married at 21, or at least engaged by 21." I remember the first semester I was home there was a guy in my FHE group that was 23. I thought, "What is wrong with this guy?" I thought that there might be a case here or there were a good catch is unable to go for that long without getting married, but largely everyone who went two years without getting married had some serious flaws. I'm now 24, turning 25 this year and as of yet unmarried. I'm left with one of two conclusions. Either I have some serious flaws and not a good catch, or my previous judgment was wrong. I've chosen to accept that I was wrong.<br /><br />Here is the latest funny video I've seen.<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/N9oxmRT2YWw" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-11090896684733396092011-02-27T15:33:00.000-08:002011-02-27T15:54:19.499-08:00So the Oscars are tonight. I don't know who will win what. Of those nominated for best picture I've seen Toy Story 3, The Social Network, and Inception. Of the others that I haven't seen the only two that I'd like to see are True Grit and The King's Speech. I've heard that the King's Speech is a lock for the win so I'd especially like to see that to see what the hype is. I've heard that there are only a few minor parts where swearing is heavy, so I would think that the clearplay would turn it into a veritable PG movie. But let's return to those that I have seen- I thought the social network was good, but not the best movie of the year. I actually didn't think that about any of those three. But in all fairness, let's look at other movies I saw from 2010. Megamind, Prince of Persia, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, and How to Train Your Dragon. Prince of Persia was easily the worst of that list, but an equally clear choice is the second to last movie-Alice in Wonderland. Let's look at my rankings for these movies. 1 being best.<div>1. Social Network</div><div>2. How to train your dragon</div><div>3. Harry Potter</div><div>4. Inception</div><div>5. Toy Story 3</div><div>6. Megamind</div><div>7. Alice in Wonderland</div><div>8. Prince of Persia</div><div><br /></div><div>Other movies from 2010 that I still want to see besides the two I mentioned above include: Tangled, and Tron. Maybe Red. Anyway, those are my thoughts. I'd like to start watching more new movies because it always seems like there are a million that I want to see. Always feel free to let me know about movies you'd recommend. (Thanks Erin and Daniel for the recommendation about Waiting For "Superman."</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a song on youtube that I like called "Teach Me How to Jimmer"</div><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cqX_b_Bu4hI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-20398013999278155692011-02-14T19:14:00.000-08:002011-02-14T19:19:48.353-08:00RockySo I think I want to start posting my favorite youtube videos as I come across them. Here is one about some guy from France who goes around pulling pranks. If you search more of him just be cautious, I ran into a couple of his that weren't appropriate. Also, even though only family views this blog, I've decided to grab Jessica's button for this post.<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hqOBR_Xbw2I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /><br /><strong></strong>.com” target=”_blank”><img src="http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/b407/nathanandjessica2005/AmesFamilyPics020-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" />.jpg<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><strong></strong></span>”>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-84659712714805192182011-01-17T21:35:00.001-08:002011-01-17T21:51:13.489-08:00MLK jr. dayI'd like to say I appreciate your comments, Erin and Jessica. I know that I have two people that read my blog. So I thought I'd let you know that I played racquetball again with Lauren a few days ago, on Saturday. As I was beating her in the first game she said, "how about we play to 21, not 15?" I ended up beating her 21-9, 21-6, and 21-18. She said, "You shouldn't be this good." I guess I looked confused or said something because then she said, "if you've only played 3 or 4 times in your life, you shouldn't be this good!" I apologized, but I don't think it changed anything. But she wasn't too mad because afterwards she invited me over for dinner and made this breaded chicken that was just amazing.<div>I decided to post some videos from my mission up here that relate to my most recent letter to Stephen. My memory card had problems so it would skip around a lot. I have 4 videos, so I'll post all of them.</div><div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyap-29fo77RaHngbVxBGw9Eyq6W3ogPhe-pLpJtEyYHGw4YnGTrw4ocJoJY8jPzkTT2-4ZeQX9riiWoiNi6g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw0HSzGFtknc-ErqrS3qTfXi6TgcBvRawGYk812--3EOqlfSI2BPvebqFWG822xV8IvABc5j8WfjdMHrQ7C1g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxByHEvtm6K8W_4spbyGbhMTFGOFU4WupvwuT40wScoA-CcZDAdDz_oWqu95FFfIgvw0fu0QhwG6I9LTXvUfg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw0h5PofadHEX0b5w87sf0YBkGOIBhXo5kvWWCdZdwsxojtwev-z7zC_86j-fvU3mMshPfMoXE9dgJkRiTHhw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-76437011652474987092011-01-12T18:29:00.000-08:002011-01-12T18:42:28.976-08:00RaquetballI'll start off with a quote from Calvin and Hobbes, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; "><h1 id="title_div3703279529" property="dc:title" class="photo-title" style="margin-top: 12px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3em; ">"if your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life"</h1><div>I played raquetball yesterday and this quote reminds me of it. Though I obviously wasn't playing on grass I did play hard enough to come away with green knees if it had been possible. I have scraped elbows and bruised hips. I haven't played since before my mission, a little over 5 years. As you all know, if my opponent wants me to give the game my best, I will. I was playing a friend, Lauren, who plays consistently. She told me that she would go easy on me because she didn't want me to be too tired afterward. She told me that she's had guys say before that they would be fine, and then they're sweat is dripping all over the floor. Well, she gave me the first serve, which was kind of her, and I proceeded to take a 3-1 lead. She then said to watch out because she plays on a different level when she's behind, and she wasn't going to take it easy anymore. A few minutes later I had a 6-1 lead. The game got a little bit more tough and the game was tied at 9, I believe. I told her at that point that I didn't know if I could win, I was slipping all over the sweat on the floor. Her response, "whatever. You're not even sweating." I got a good laugh out of that before I served it and scored a point. I went up 12-9 before she got on a run and won 15-12. It was a really fun game. I've only played racquetball maybe 4 or 5 times in my life, but I can't think of a time I haven't enjoyed it.</div><div> On another note, Condoleezza Rice is coming to speak tomorrow in the Marriott center and I'm very excited to hear it. </div></span>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-70385373217028222052011-01-09T19:52:00.001-08:002011-01-10T08:59:35.699-08:00This week not too much happened. My classes started for a new semester as well as my training program. I'm in a furniture design class that I'm pretty excited for. I'm not sure what I'll build yet, I'll let you all know once I decide. Another consideration is how much money am I willing to spend on this thing? If I went with nice thick pieces of lots of rare wood it could add up pretty quickly. One piece of that stuff isn't too bad, but if the entire piece had rare wood, it could end up around 2K pretty quick. I'm hoping to keep it under $500, and however much lower than that I'm able to keep it, so much the better. <div> As for the training program, this week I began training in earnest for the triathlon I'd like to do this year. I'll be swimming on Monday and Wednesday, running and lifting on Tuesday and Thursday, biking on Friday, and Saturday will be my combo day. Like I said, I started training in earnest this week, and it was enjoyable. Exercising really does make you feel great. On a side note that I'm sure is completely unrelated, I ate like a horse this week. I was just so hungry, I ate 4 or 5 meals every day. Okay, since I know how interesting that is, I'll try to shift gears and tell a better story.</div><div> On Wednesday night we played UNLV in basketball, at UNLV. Our basketball team is ranked 14th in the nation and UNLV is ranked 25th, so they have a good team. Another point of interest is that our basketball team hasn't won a game against UNLV at their court since before Dave Rose's time as BYU bball coach. That translates into something like 5 years. The game was a kinda big deal but not too huge, so ESPN didn't pick it up, but CBS college sports did, which we don't have on our TV. So what we all did, we went to legends grill, and they have an upstairs room where they set up a big TV and probably 100 chairs or more. Bryan and I were there, and it the game started out with us having a slim lead (This was wednesday yet I just heard Bryan mention the game on the phone to Analisa in the other room). So we were up 15-12. Then they went up 24-15 or so. It was really nerve racking. As the buzzer for the first half went off they took a last shot which missed, so we went into the break 38-35 with us in the lead. Bryan promptly got up out of his seat and tried to make his way out of the room without a word to anyone. As he tried to get past a fold up chair that was in his way he grabbed the back of the chair, and threw it, it landed on the ground with a bang. Everyone in that area kind of looked over and he just hustled through the rest of the crowd looking like he had just been notified that he had been kicked out of school. He was white in the face, walking as fast as he possibly could, knocking into people's shoulders, etc. When he came back, we asked him what was wrong, and he said that the game was too tense for him. I made mention to the chair, and he said that his hands weren't working well, they were too shaky, so it was the only thing he could do to get it out of his way. I thought it was a little humorous.</div>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-34195652172096326912010-09-15T18:09:00.000-07:002010-09-15T18:41:02.490-07:00Tune-upI think everyone remembers when one of the exhaust pipes on my car rusted through and broke last summer and made riding in my car an unforgettable experience. When I had it brought in for a check-up the mechanics put a quick weld on the rusted metal, a quick fix. A week or two ago the weld broke, proving the pipe needed to be replaced altogether. I took it into a mechanic to have that replaced and while there I asked the mechanic to take a look at the rest of the engine and see what needed tuning up. Apparently there were quite a few things that could be done- the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced and it was leaking oil into the engine block, and the spark plug wires and plugs needed to be replaced immediately. He said other things that needed to be done but weren't as urgent. Those included changing the cooling fluid and changing the fuel filter. <div><br /></div><div>I gave him the green light on the spark plug wires and the valve cover gasket (gaskets scare me a little bit because what if I don't get the seal like I should? Plus, a lot of gaskets take substantial work to get to.) I told him not to replace my spark plugs, that I wanted to do that. So he fixed what I asked, then I stopped on the way home to get some spark plugs, and a spark plug socket (thanks, dad, for telling me recently that spark plugs need special sockets). Bryan asked me recently if he could observe whenever I fixed something on my car so I waited for him to get home and we changed the spark plugs on my car. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've taken so long to explain this because it was a large feeling of accomplishment. I had never changed a spark plug before. When I got under the hood I regretted having him change the wires (he also changed the distributor cap, but I don't know if I could have done that). The wires look like something I could have done. It left me wondering if, instead of taking my car back in to have the other things done, I should just try to do them myself. I checked on the price of a fuel filter at auto zone and just the parts would cost $174 while the mechanic would do it for $114. When I googled the fuel filter online, I found it for less than $50, but it didn't look like the same fuel filter that I saw at auto zone. Any thoughts on how easy on this may be? Dad, I'm specifically hoping for feeback from you. Also, for any of you who have taken your car in to had a complete service on your cooling system, is $90 a good price?</div><div><br /></div><div>In any case, my car sounds like a dream now, I don't remember if it was this quiet before, but I feel like I'm driving a new car with how quiet it sounds. I have a date this Friday, and I wanted to get it fixed before then, but I hiked the Y with this girl last weekend and didn't stress about getting it fixed before then. I know you're all wondering "why not?" The answer is that now when she gets in my car it will feel new and nice to her too, and we can joke about how bad it sounded. That's my best attempt to make the best out of a bad situation. </div><div><br /></div><div>I think that's all for right now, but I hope to put up some pictures next week. Oh, and for anyone wondering how much I saved by replacing my own spark plugs, it was a little over $40 (by the mechanic's estimate).</div>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-67059986742407029882010-08-23T11:03:00.001-07:002010-08-23T12:13:02.081-07:00Already the end of the summer.I'd like to point out to everyone that the title of this blog is "Sporadic Thoughts from Tyler" I'd like to put an emphasis on the word, "sporadic." <div><br /></div><div>So what's the latest in my life? I moved this past week into my new apartment in University Villa. I am in apartment 37, Stephen was in 38 last year. I am living with Bryan still and living next door to me are Trevor Guthrie and John Baird. We haven't met more than 20 or 30 people in the ward yet, so it is hard to give any true opinion of the ward, but from what I can tell, it is going to be a fun ward.</div><div><br /></div><div>When we moved in this last week, there were a few things missing... hand soap, shower curtain, etc. Small things like that. Bryan's take on it? He doesn't mind showering without a curtain. Not if it is going to cost him $7 for a curtain. Sometimes his frugality impresses even me. For anyone who is looking for the rest of the story--I bought the shower curtain.</div><div><br /></div><div>I start school next week. I don't really have any feelings towards it, it is just something that is going to happen, neither exciting nor depressing. </div><div><br /></div><div>As I was writing this post I actually got an e-mail from an old mission companion. He is brazilian and is in SLC for a week. I'm going to drive up and visit him for the day tomorrow I think. That'll be awesome!</div><div><br /></div><div>I also spoke with another Brazilian elder from my mission on facebook today, and he asked if I was married. I told him I wasn't, that I didn't have a girl yet, and that needed to come first. His response to that was:</div><div>"hey man many girls there</div><div>Just ..date them</div><div>go and ask them for date"</div><div><br /></div><div>I realized that for members down in Brazil, they probably don't see any reason why it can't just be like that. I realized there was no side stepping that logic, so I just admitted that I should date more. I definitely hang out enough with girls, but I am going to try and go on official dates a little more. I'm sure the girls would appreciate it too.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, that's about it for now. If anyone wants me to blog about things that I'm not blogging about, let me know, and I'll try to include it in my next post.</div>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-11722274718701362412010-05-03T14:07:00.000-07:002010-05-03T15:26:16.632-07:00My trump card (Hint: not Jacob)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7dW8D8ZnF8BATqzlWZ-E2I3uFTeT1njwvhvguos-NNtMWdOBWyZvgkMq4mLAgGijIZlmwHDhYUSdXp1KgfSG1jRaJGf2iEXNfR1kYbucy13Adgx-eE0LOclEL0S2SGkK2rIwv_FyQcw/s1600/DSC00587.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7dW8D8ZnF8BATqzlWZ-E2I3uFTeT1njwvhvguos-NNtMWdOBWyZvgkMq4mLAgGijIZlmwHDhYUSdXp1KgfSG1jRaJGf2iEXNfR1kYbucy13Adgx-eE0LOclEL0S2SGkK2rIwv_FyQcw/s400/DSC00587.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467163910294125778" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9c1INEL601FnkMDfmjbrOsIFqlDyc7CKbr_1R-eRZQ1vMWbVUiJqzvYGhKjyWijKoznFk7PQFX5pmZ9zKMAZkhZ9TLhswolhU6H5GlhQZ7WCDgCqBNBhcpdOQwkfa9ZKF9qe8azADAo/s1600/DSC00586.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9c1INEL601FnkMDfmjbrOsIFqlDyc7CKbr_1R-eRZQ1vMWbVUiJqzvYGhKjyWijKoznFk7PQFX5pmZ9zKMAZkhZ9TLhswolhU6H5GlhQZ7WCDgCqBNBhcpdOQwkfa9ZKF9qe8azADAo/s400/DSC00586.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467163901491853794" /></a><br /><div>I've been realizing how much of a great card rock climbing is in my hand. I meet girls all the time and whenever they find out that I rock climb, they always always light up and say they think it would be so fun to do. Well its that easy. There are so many hard ways to get a girls number that I force myself to go through, yet I have the easiest way of all. I simply say, "well, let me grab your number and I'll let you know when we're going." Boom, done and done. Its like clockwork. It reminds me of freshman year when I lived in Heritage. We would walk down to the creamery with the intention of grabbing something small, like chip dip or something. We would walk and on our way would quite often see cute girls we didn't know. I had it down to a science. I would glance at them once or twice as we were approaching them, allowing them to notice my glances(and thereby notice US). As we would walk by, I would stop halfway past them, and say, "Hey, do you live in E. Richards? You look a little familiar" They would then tell us what building they lived in and I would say "wait, what are your names?" I would say that with an air of thoughtfulness as if I had met them once in passing. I would then announce that I guess I didn't know them, give them my name, introduce Bryan or whoever else I was with and let them know that we were going to the creamery to grab something real quick and would they like to come along? They would usually bat their eyes, twirl their hair, look back and forth from my eyes to my lips, etc. It never missed once. Honestly, I can't think of a time it didn't work. If we liked the girls, we'd stall in the creamery, comparing prices or buying multiple items, and if we realized that our personalities were different it was a quick painless way to find out. I got lots of numbers and dates like that. It was my trump card. I always knew the climbing card was good, but I just had extra-ordinary success with it over the weekend and I realized what a mega card this could be. Yes, it could probably even be called a trump card.<div><br /></div><div>Let me tell you what is not a good trump card for all those of you trying to imitate my life: "Hey baby, I drive a 1990 two tone red Corolla. Wanna take a spin in it sometime?"</div><div>"ooo, two tone!"</div><div>"Yeah, eat your heart out. I think it was the hard water from the sprinklers that corroded the back half of the paint job into a dull red. But the front is still a shiny cherry red!"</div></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4DDffnkSryiiQk9oQ2P76kpzvnWOk9fBTH9lRu_FizjtjTN76KxxHfK5L6Qc7jGeCnLc0yYbc2Xg0PK60nRpNfEkhJSMfeHS2JxPgCU5neZ0h5iM0xs2E8Ug7bU9Q5I-Oe9UPGwWZJc/s1600/From+phone+086.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4DDffnkSryiiQk9oQ2P76kpzvnWOk9fBTH9lRu_FizjtjTN76KxxHfK5L6Qc7jGeCnLc0yYbc2Xg0PK60nRpNfEkhJSMfeHS2JxPgCU5neZ0h5iM0xs2E8Ug7bU9Q5I-Oe9UPGwWZJc/s400/From+phone+086.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467159714951459970" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>or</div><div><br /></div><div>"Hey, did you know I don't even have to work out to keep my six-pack? Yep, I'm just THAT skinny."</div><div>That's not gonna win anyone very many dates.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are some videos of when we went camping and climbing in the tetons last year:</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx_4Ov95Y4FCq4JAMy-oUZ8H4PTDVHnXlchWrHL-DmlsTwMECpvDGjWlsB4rCbDi_Lh5Joow-Zd-3BIN1iKlw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxefKZBXSXUgUJRVbLdR_uxmHcs_uD8K9CEfF51UMTjShTZ1WqQOU9GLfijXt5PueOE3n85C_b8BR0_Y-7x_w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwYMB3qbHr9_hQ-gkf2yT8FC3CJBb0ycJv4mnfPOMNFwER4YUGve9cHlh5wrEgQEms4fdzwIWcRnKgpn49M-g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwivwjgoaj0SlcS8IzR2PR0qbKUemBVWDWqChEaBIkbGHkFZ0ZVj6GMRl82fzEQPgORrsoWgDAWQDiq4DowQg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-44657355975736790322010-03-22T16:39:00.000-07:002010-03-22T20:54:51.259-07:00CarSo today my class went on a field trip to Wing Enterprises, where they make the little giant, a kind of ladder. Hal Wing, the founder and CEO gave us the tour. He told us lots about his business, showed us the warehouse, the factory, break room, presentation room, and everything. He was very personable and intelligent. When we left I told my teacher, "That didn't make me want to teach. It made me want to be an entrepreneur." We all piled back in the vans and drove back to Provo. As I was walking back to my apartment and thinking about my experience and how plausible running a business and being successful seems. Even if the success is mild. So I decided that I will also add another possibility to my future. Because going into administration takes a few years, I will have a few years as a regular teacher, with my summers off. If I can come across something that I can do well enough during the summers, it might be more profitable just to teach during the year, and run a seasonal business during the summers. Feel free to leave thoughts about that. Mr. Wing also showed us his impressive car collection. To list a few of the cars that he had in there: One of FDR's personal cars adapted for him and the secret service, the only one ever made to those specs; a bentley with aV-12 engine that he's taken up over 180 but will go over 200; a 2005 Mustang GT4 that he took to a show in 2009 that took 1st place; David O. McKay's personal Buick; a car (can't remember what type) that he modified and was named one of the 10 best cars in Utah; and the yellow Pontiac Solstice that you'll find at the end of this post (both a picture and a video of him revving it). There were about 30 or 40 such cars that I'm sure could all be sold for six figures.<div><br /></div><div>He is extremely wealthy. I mean he had a ring on his right hand that had an 11.2 karat diamond in it. And the other hand had an equally impressive ring on it. I don't want anyone to think I'm fantasizing about a summer business that lands me a 71 Corvette in show condition (though I wouldn't object, much like Tevya). I am just thinking that it would be fun to run a summer business. I suppose the best I'd dream it up to be would be a job that made me wealthy enough that I didn't really need to teach, but still did just because I enjoyed it. I wouldn't be able to be there every day obviously, so I'd need to hire a manager to do stuff for me. Maybe I'd teach a half day and then leave to do some stuff on my company, and I would never even get into school administration. Of course, that is the largest I dream it would ever get. More realistically, I'd like it to bring in an extra 20-30K over those four months. At least I think that is what I think I would need to make to have it be worth my while. But I've never had a family to provide for or a mortgage so I might be surprised.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight for our FHE activity we played something called "bigger and better." It is where both groups get a penny and have to go apartments to see if someone in the apartment will give you something bigger and better and so on. Whoever comes back with the biggest and best thing wins. We came back with an FHE family of 13. They couldn't top that. </div><div><br /></div><div>Over the weekend, we went climbing, Tyler, a friend of his, Stephen, Jeff Carruth, me, and Annette. It was the first time Stephen had met Annette and he told me that he had realized since coming to college that just because a girl doesn't get married her freshman year doesn't mean there is something wrong with her. He then said Annette was a great example of that, super fun and super cute. It felt good to have him to validate my past dating choice. Then again, most people are interested in Annette as I've mentioned before.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jessica gave me some homemade bread last night which was super nice of her. The bread is very good, I ate it for dinner tonight. Just wanted to throw that out there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, here is the car and video:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPYLyDHgj-2WIy0y592w5k5L6EuEKuMmym-NKLtm4wLldfW6NYxUKol-Z8FLf6e2d64_vZ5SDV4VQD4hGq_xBlyQAFeze2_WXlonb8BlY-QhsgynXqohCWuX1NVNh_GhQVkR5k6G348U/s1600-h/0322001343.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPYLyDHgj-2WIy0y592w5k5L6EuEKuMmym-NKLtm4wLldfW6NYxUKol-Z8FLf6e2d64_vZ5SDV4VQD4hGq_xBlyQAFeze2_WXlonb8BlY-QhsgynXqohCWuX1NVNh_GhQVkR5k6G348U/s400/0322001343.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451665073521556818" /></a>This car was made out of all NASCAR parts he said.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzti1GV_To93onef1PvxO8sISqUjZ2UgC6cWqrOsEU_f3gbkO5avELrTiHPELr8E66xNjGMiZhZ-yC73GVvRA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-4687870867778037822010-03-14T17:13:00.000-07:002010-03-14T17:36:25.877-07:00Climbing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSejNQ_1hJhoBrwnjxI94v0WaNQmj55ChorvCCKpAeJ1ZYdcj8xaXmHqN47AaNgY4OuZj1xSr6FL_6DzlRjmwN0GG8tnRsdp3Sjy8WsuUoSRZR7G76YeBLpZVQoV8yoOFQ72he9cBz4w/s1600-h/From+phone+227.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSejNQ_1hJhoBrwnjxI94v0WaNQmj55ChorvCCKpAeJ1ZYdcj8xaXmHqN47AaNgY4OuZj1xSr6FL_6DzlRjmwN0GG8tnRsdp3Sjy8WsuUoSRZR7G76YeBLpZVQoV8yoOFQ72he9cBz4w/s320/From+phone+227.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448651957258570738" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqW_WemZ9gOflXGMVV5HuVHs9_Dc5DzZXQB2vUuqhrE6ttKLfK-_r9FcCghndLuFWGk7Ota3vutsw_VZgafOKljBuMX8UVpUb2IA9g-HiZ1qjhUUIJhi6d9p8DAijP9WQQ866etfWSUE/s1600-h/From+phone+223.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqW_WemZ9gOflXGMVV5HuVHs9_Dc5DzZXQB2vUuqhrE6ttKLfK-_r9FcCghndLuFWGk7Ota3vutsw_VZgafOKljBuMX8UVpUb2IA9g-HiZ1qjhUUIJhi6d9p8DAijP9WQQ866etfWSUE/s320/From+phone+223.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448647760361709682" /></a><br />Hello everyone,<div> This last week I really wanted to climb outside for the first time this year. I decided to do a lot of schoolwork on saturday so that I could climb on Friday. The weather was supposed to be in the 50's on Friday and snowing on Saturday. We went and climbed in the canyon and it was a beautiful day. Stephen is hoping that we can take him and a date of his climbing with us sometime. I don't know if his date will feel comfortable being the only couple on a date. Well, I guess Jeff Carruth wanted to bring a date too, but it might still be weird since they can't really avoid the people who aren't on dates, we're the belayers. I just hope the weather is warm enough. The snow has come and gone in provo like four different times. Its juking so hard I'd break an ankle if it were basketball. Speaking of sports, Shawn Poor called me yesterday and wanted to make preliminary plans for a backpacking trip this summer. I'm sure there will be more to come on that. I went to his apartment later that night (at like 11, so very late) and stayed until morning. Its good to see him every once in a while. We tried to go to the wal-mart there in downtown SLC to look at the furniture they sell, since we are both into that. Shawn would have majored in industrial design if he had been accepted to BYU but is studying architecture at the U instead. He is designing a table for his studio desk that is fairly cool looking, some of the shelves are built like a suspension bridge with lots of wires holding them and stuff. He forgot to square up his power miter saw before he made some of the miter cuts for the joints so some of his joints (on the parts he has already done) are off. It doesn't seem to phase him, but I don't think I could live with that. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have recently been making a lot of progress on my cedar chest and so I've been spending some time putting together the nightstand I built but didn't assemble last winter. The wood has been warped a little bit, and several aspects of the craftsmanship make me cringe. I don't think many other people would even notice if they looked at it, but having my memory refreshed in my classes about how to do good quality work, I can hardly stand it. If it wouldn't cost so much to start it over, I really might. Oh well, it can be in my kid's room or something or maybe I can show it to my classes as one of my first pieces of furniture. Really interesting huh? But that is what this blog is for, to tell you all about the latest happenings in my life.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jacob and I were taking an online revolutionary war quiz last night and we got 2 out of 8 right. One of the ones I got right was, "Why was John Hancock the first to sign the declaration of independence?" Feel free to leave answers in the answer section. Make sure you know your answer before you click on the comments part and look at other people's answers.</div><div><br /></div><div>I want the Canon G11, but have a hard time spending over $400 on any one thing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe I'll post one more picture from climbing, a picture from the top to the bottom, of Tyler Mix relaxing in the hammock. These pictures were all taken from my phone since I don't have the G11 as I established before. Should someone find an extra $400 in their heart for a camera for me, that'd be really nice. I don't think I could accept it, but if someone won a G11 for free or something, I would take that. Just remember that the next time someone asks you if you want a raffle ticket.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, it looks like blogspot is going to put my second and last picture up at the very top, contrary to what I wanted. And since I can't figure out how to change it, I guess this post will open with a picture of someone many of you don't know.</div>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-69236794199610583882010-03-01T16:55:00.000-08:002010-03-01T17:09:29.298-08:00March 1st update.So I finished reading <i>Great Expectations </i>today and I really, really enjoyed it. After I finished it I sat back and thought about it. It seemed to be a book whose focus was character development. I felt like that was what the book was teaching, yet it was told with plenty of action in it. It did what movies have a hard time doing with their limited time, and that is to tell the story of a character's development in depth, while still involving action, mystery, love, and suspense. I enjoyed the end of the book immensely and after having finished it just walked around my apartment for a good five minutes, smiling. It was just so satisfactory the way the book ended, no loose ends being left undone, but being all finished within the last few pages of the book. I'm glad I own a copy of it.<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Over the weekend, most of the family was in town for BYU's game against New Mexico. We lost a heartbreaker, 83-81. We even had the last possession, inbounding it with 0.6 seconds on the clock but we couldn't do anything with it in time. However, it was really nice to see everyone. Lunch at Jessica's was super good and lots of fun. It was great to see them.<br /><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In other news related to their visit, our apartment looks very different without all the movies, it is a much gloomier place without all those colors in it. Bryan and I finally found the place we're going to sign for the next 12 months, Campus Plaza. Its the one on the north side of 800 N. and just west of 700 E. right by the sinclaire gas station on that corner. We are planning on moving into the bottom floor to save on air conditioning in the summer, we won't need to worry about heating costs in the winter because the only utility we will pay is electricity. </div><div> Tonight is FHE, and something is planned, but the girl who is in charge won't tell anyone what it is. I proposed to the guy in our apartment who is in charge that we should go to the quarry one week and climb. Speaking of that, the highs in Utah County this week are supposed to be in the high 40's. We're planning on climbing this week if it feels warm enough in the canyon, which excites me about as much as Christmas did when I was a little kid. I better make sure that I'm doing super well in my classes because I know that I'll be tempted to neglect it come April. However, on that note, I am doing much better this semester about spending the time necessary in each of my classes. It probably has to do with my interest in my classes. Okay, until my next update, talk to you all later.</div><div><br /></div></div>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166908825575346707.post-61334869702227309082010-02-23T10:34:00.001-08:002010-02-23T10:45:09.929-08:00Trip to St. George<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So this past weekend I went to St. George for a conference in Technology and thoroughly enjoyed myself. We went down, and I talked with the driver, a Canadian, all the way down. I mention that he's a Canadian because we all know that I'm instantly more open to being a Canadian's friend than anyone else, perhaps. They're just funnier. We got there and checked into the conference and then had an opening speaker, and then we adjourned until the next morning (Saturday). We went to the Olive Garden and had an awesome dinner. I ate as much as I could, and it felt wonderful. The next morning, after our stay in a nice hotel, we ate a complete breakfast and then we were off to the workshops of the conference. I went to the photography workshops which meant we went out to a canyon around there and just took pictures all morning. Afterwards we came back and sat in on a class about studio lighting. Is anyone jealous of my awesome trip yet? Lunch came next and was a complete dutch over meal. I had two plates followed by a dutch over peach cobbler and ice cream. On the way home our teacher bought us blizzards from DQ. <div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>To top off this wonderful weekend I went to the gym that night and found that my bench max has increased. I had taken about 6 months off between the summer months and the winter months and had lost a lot of strength. This means I'm back. Back as strong as I've ever been. I'm going to start running again but eating more so that I don't lose that weight. I think there's a great chance I could be as strong as ever, with as much endurance as ever, all while being as heavy as ever this summer. This is good because I'd like to do a little more this summer. On the plate right now is climbing, intermural softball, Utah novice volleyball tournaments, and I'd like to add some occasional mountain biking and a tri-athalon or two.</div>Tylerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03138653742273311937noreply@blogger.com3