Weekend Update:

1) Four? I'm on antibiotics for strep and what I thought was bronchitis. However, I've been feeling worse and was running a temp. of 100 last night which leads me to think I've got a virus on top of the strep, possible bronchitis, and conjunctivitis.

2) I spent the weekend at our apartment watching movies and taking it easy. I finally watched "Crazy Heart" which actually exceeded my expectations. I 've always loved Jeff Bridges, but I forgot about my crush on his hair. The Dude always has nice hair (except when it's stringy because he's playing a drunk)

3) Forgiveness is good. However, this sign cracked me up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickdouglas/3828360668/

Weekend Roundup

Backpacking: A couple of friends decided to get a group together and go backpacking over the long weekend in West Virginia. 16 of us hiked in 7 miles (we took the wrong trail in) stayed two nights and then hiked 3.5 miles out on Monday. Absolutely Gorgeous, and a great time to be had by all. Completely chill trip, but then that's kind of nice sometimes.

Strep: My roommate Kelli, has had a cold for almost a month. I've been a little sick, but haven't gotten the full blown cold. She went to the Doctor initially, but didn't go again after the cold persisted.
Last night as I was lying in bed, Kelli came in asking for me to look in her mouth for spots on her tonsils. Needless to say, I'd be surprised if she tells me this evening that she doesn't have Strep Throat. After sleeping in the same tent as her for three nights, I think I'm coming down with it too, but I hope not. Darn these health professionals when they get sick.
Update: Kelli has strep and pink eye.

True Love. So Al and Tipper Gore are splitting? I don't have really strong feelings about either or as a couple, but it's still sad when couples call it quits. Especially after 40 years.

Fishing with Moses.

Round-up: "I'm your Cupcake" Edition

The Weekend: The highlight of the weekend? Spending Saturday afternoon on bikes with 6 friends riding to three cupcake shops in DC and then back home to Alexandria. We didn't get to go to the Alexandria shop due to my blue lips (I was fine-wind and pollen makes my lungs work a little harder) but still a great ride. Out of the three cupcake shops we visited, Georgetown Cupcakes was the winner. There's a reason the line goes around the block there on a Saturday afternoon.

Monday: I ended up attending a Mormons for Social Justice and Equality Family Home . Yes, this group really exists and apparently is thriving. I've read and heard about them, but haven't really paid attention to them much. Despite the somewhat militant name, we had a marvelous time talking about the environment and eating vegetarian nachos.

Random Thoughts:

Work: I still feel a little like Max from Rushmore; you know, the kid who signs up for all those extracurricular activities? Except, I'm not the one who is volunteering myself for projects, teams and new assignments on top of my regular duties. That being said, I'm glad I have a job, and these new assignments are interesting. Plus I'm meeting a bunch of new people. I like that.

Earthquakes: I received the following in a work e-mail today. I thought I'd pass it along:
Earthquake Activity not Abnormal
Source: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) - April 14, 2010
Scientists for the US Geological Survey indicate that 2010 is not showing signs of unusually high earthquake activity. Since 1900, an average of sixteen (16) magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes — the size that seismologists define as major — have occurred worldwide each year. Some years have had as few as 6, as in 1986 and 1989, while 1943 had 32, with considerable variability from year to year.
With six major earthquakes striking in the first four months of this year, 2010 is well within the normal range. Furthermore, from April 15, 2009, to April 14, 2010, there have been 18 major earthquakes, a number also well within the expected variation.
Aftershocks will continue in the regions around each of this year’s major earthquakes sites. It is unlikely that any of these aftershocks will be larger than the earthquakes experienced so far, but structures damaged in the previous events could be further damaged and should be treated with caution. Beyond the ongoing aftershock sequences, earthquakes in recent months have not raised the likelihood of future major earthquakes; that likelihood has not decreased, either. Large earthquakes will continue to occur just as they have in the past.

Glee: I finally got around to watching the first disc of "Glee" and I liked it okay. The show is fun, doesn't take itself too seriously and I'm a sucker for the covers. I can't say I'll actually follow it on Hulu, but I might netflix the 2nd season. After the episode with Kurt joining the football team, I realized I don't need to hear the song "Single Ladies" for a while though. Yeah, I'm slower than the rest of you, I'm sure. (although the video of the family singing to this song on youtube? Must-see).

Beckett: Last night Kelli and I went to the French Embassy to watch a Samuel Beckett play, "First Love (Premier Amour) " performed by a renowned French actor (with English subtitles). Powerful, disturbing play about a homeless guy who has a sexual relationship with a prostitute. Yes, it's not for everyone, but wow, it was pretty powerful stuff, and I like art that expands my world-view without actually being a prostitute who has an affair with a homeless person.

Roundup: The Go Butler Edition!!

1) LDS Conference*:
Conference was great. I had several issues/questions that I hoped I'd find guidance with and each one (that I remember) were answered. To keep my mind focused, I followed the LDS Conference Twitter Feed. Although there was white noise to filter out, I found that it was valuable for note taking because I could do a quick search for memorable quotes.
Anyway, there were many talks that were memorable, and I may talk about it in length in another post. We'll see.
I did spot my favorite General Authority on Saturday afternoon giving the statistics of the Church:



*LDS General Conference: A bi-annual world conference of the Church, held in April and October, where members gather for five two-hour sessions to listen to instruction from Church leaders. General conference is broadcast via satellite from the Conference Center at Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.


2) Conceding Speech: Twitter
Fine, I know I ranted last fall about the fact that Twitter is superfluous. But after realizing that certain food wagons in DC only use Twitter to advertise where they are located, the NPR Monkey See "I'll read it if you read it" Book-club uses twitter, Yankees Reporters use Twitter, I caved this weekend. I still see Twitter as a potential time sucker, but I imagine I'll be on there a little more often.


3) Dear Duke:
Thanks for making it to the NCAABB Title Game. I'm not rooting for you, partly because I had you losing in my Bracket; but thanks to you, I won Smokey's Bracket again and I beat President Obama. Now, I know that because I'm bragging, I'll probably lose badly next year, but for now I'm just happy I won. Even if it means that one of Richard's friends may name their bracket "Kill-Joy" again next year like they did a few years ago.

Best of luck tonight,
Sherpa (Joy)


4) Quakin'
4 months in, and already I wonder if this is "Year of the Quake?" Sheesh. It's almost like we're in God's Major Quake of the Month Club. This keeps up and an earthquake in the low 7's won't be considered news worthy. Glad to hear there's minimal damage down in Baja and S. California.


5) Netflix on Demand? I love you.

Sunday, I discovered that Friday Night Lights season 3 is available on Netflix on Demand. A little Tim Riggins before Conference? Talk about a perfect Sunday.

6) Complete Non Sequitur

Found this picture on FFFound...If it brought a smile to this Cat-Hater, it might bring one to you too.

http://youmaybeoffended.tumblr.com/page/3

Hope you all have a great week!

Weekend Roundup: Vernal Equinox! Vernal Equinox!

1) Last Week
Last week was a bit of a roller coaster. Work has been crazy busy, and this morning I found out that the Secretarial Awards Ceremony I’m in charge of has been moved to the Fall. I’m doing everything I can to let them agree to let me go to Switzerland in September with Steven (see #3).
So, I only really pay attention to College Basketball until Tournament time, and since my other teams were out quickly, I turned my enthusiasm to BYU. BYU Men’s Basketball actually won a game in NCAA Tourney which was a major highlight of the week. Of course they lost on Saturday, but still-they proved that they could win a game at the Big Dance! Plus, Michael Loyd Jr.? He’s going to be fun to watch the next couple of years. The sad news is that a co-worker and close friend of mine passed away from cancer Wednesday evening. I worked closely with this co-worker for 4 years, and it’s always tough losing a friend. My heart goes out to her loved ones. However, the weather in DC has been phenomenal. Mid 60’s-70s with no wind and sunny days? Oh, I’d love to package up the weather over the weekend and save it for a rainy day. The tulip trees are just starting to blossom which means cherry blossoms in about 2 weeks.

2) The weekend?
Friday: I had Friday off and spent the morning at the Doctor’s office getting a Xolair shot. My nurse blew a vein in my leg, but she’s totally forgiven (seriously) for bringing me Cabbage and corned beef while I was waiting in the office afterwards. Food heals all wounds in my world. That evening Kelli and I sheepishly admitted to the other that we really liked “The Hangover” and we both wanted to see “She’s out of my League” but common sense ruled out as we went to buy tickets at the movie theater. Instead of paying $21.50 for a movie, we decided to spend $47.50 on a Dust-Vac. There’s logic to that decision somewhere, I think. Saturday: After Kelli got home from working a few hours, we went up to Eastern Market for Lunch. We didn’t find the pickle guy (my fave) or the Crepe Guy (Kelli’s fave) until as we were leaving, but still had a great time taking in the sun while browsing through the stalls. That afternoon I cleaned and watched my Bracket Picks go down the drain (Thanks Kansas!). After the first half of the BYU game, we went to a house farewell party that evening (friends are getting kicked out of their house as their landlady is moving back in) and talked to a good friend for most of the evening. Sunday: I slept in and didn’t go to Stake Conference. Oops. But there was more cleaning to be had, lungs to be convinced that pollen isn’t out to kill them, a dinner at our neighbors and tentative plans for next weekend made. All in all a great weekend.

3) Trip Plans
March is here and I already have two big trips (Ecuador and Switzerland) planned. Ecuador will include the Galapagos Islands, and Switzerland will be 2 weeks of hiking in the Alps with my baby brother. There’s a smaller trip to Montreal in July that we’re hoping to do, and then there’s Christmas and a trip to Portland to see a baby get blessed. I’m already saving for a house down-payment, but it’ll be good for me to do some further cut-backs on my expenditures.
4) The “I will if you will” Book Club
One of my absolute favorite blogs is “Monkey See” on NPR. The primary writer, Linda Holmes” waxes poetic on pop culture and each post is a gem. A couple of weeks ago after admitting she had never read Twilight, she started the “I will if you will” book club on the blog with Twilight as the first book. Today is their first installment of talking about Twilight and Linda chose to talk about the writing with another Monkey See Contributer. Here’s an excerpt about the book:
It's just this wildly florid prose that's wielded with the subtlety and repetition of a jackhammer, all in the service of a story that's going nowhere being told by a girl who seems to be fighting me for the gold medal in a not-liking-her contest.
Monkey See Blog

5) Health Care Bill
All in all, the Health Care Bill has kind of been an exercise in hilarity. I wasn’t real impressed with anyone during the whole debacle, but they finally passed it. Now that it’s passed, I’m hoping that it actually does more than just line the pockets of the Health Care Industry and actually gives the uninsured a chance to have cheaper, more comprehensive health care and it gives those that are insured better health care. Because really, our Health Care system is broken and unfortunately I don’t see how anyone except the government can fix it. Here’s hoping that the Bill will actually help fix the problem. And if someone could explain to me (in a rational, logical manner) how passing this bill would move us over towards a totalitarianism government, I’m all ears.

6) Everyone’s Favorite Mormon: Glen Beck!
I’ll be honest. I’ve only watched about 2 minutes of Glen Beck before changing the channel, so all I know about him is mini clips here and there, and others verbal repudiation of Beck. However, Beck encouraging listeners to flee churches that had hints of social justice shows of a lack of understanding of basic Christian Doctrine
Roger Ebert wrote an enjoyable piece about Beck and some great points that he learned about Mormonism. A highlight from his blog is here:

Nor, for that matter, could a genuine conservative identify with a flywheel like
Beck. Conservatism is a political and ethical philosophy that exists in another
universe from Beck's shopping cart. Remember that TV show where couples raced up
and down aisles seeing who could jam the most loot into their carts? Beck loads
up from the shelves of the Discount Screwball Supermart. He needs material to
fill his daily hours of air time and fuel his fans with one-liners they can pass
off as thought.

One of my friends, Matt, wrote a thoughtful, sometimes humorous (the kicking puppies line is great) post about Mr. Beck and Beck’s summation of the “religious left.” Definitely food for thought. From his post:

The savagely brilliant religious imaginations that Martin Luther King, or Walter
Rauschenbusch, or Dorothy
Day mobilized behind social reform worked because of their
comprehensiveness. They began with a vision of the world in part inspired by but
not bound to the contexts they found themselves in. And the social reforms they
advocated for were not merely an end in themselves, or to satisfy our basic
human impulse toward charity, or to pursue greater egalitarianism as a
self-contained good. Rather, their calls for social reform were bound inexorably
into the most basic and primal aims of Christianity – to, through the atoning
acts of Christ, attain for humanity salvation. Their theologies of social
transformation were based upon their imagination of the Kingdom of God. They
were radical, then, in the best sense, not merely political. They knew that the
world that Christ calls us to is not the world we live in; that the things
Christ asks of us cannot be fully embodied in the tools of politics. One does
not get that same sense of the incarnation of Christ in the politics of Jim
Wallis. And that, because, like those of Beck, they are simply politics.
So,
I feel an incessant, nagging suspicion that perhaps Beck’s salvo is a justified
one. This is not to endorse his somewhat staggering ignorance, bluster, and
paranoia; indeed, Beck suffers acutely from the same problem he diagnoses; he
believes God is on his side rather than engaging in that constant struggle that
should afflict every Christian – worrying that he is on God’s. It is, though, to
point out that as in every age, idolatry may be the most pervasive sin of our
own.

Random Bits:

1) I went home over the weekend to attend a baby shower and see my family. The trip was quick, but worth the 25 hours of traveling in 5 days (not that I’m counting or anything. The baby showers were in Lehi at my cousin’s house and there was another one in Bountiful.
2) Okay, these commercials have been around for several months, but I adore this guy. These commercials come on tv and nothing stops me from watching them. Well, almost nothing: Thank you, ridiculously awesome Old Spice Guy.


3) For Lent, I went back to my old stand-by, giving up candy. Since I adore candy, there’s rules (chocolate isn’t considered candy, but Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are forbidden—except for the ones I ate on Sunday) that might be silly, but they work. All I can say is, I’m so looking forward to Easter Sunday and a Cadbury’s Crème Egg.
4) My dad has been researching the family lines on his mom’s side. Turns out there’s Zimmermans not too far back. Granted, I know we’re not related to my favorite Zimmerman (Bob,) as his family is of Russian Jewish descent and our line is German (not sure if they are Jewish even though it’s a Jewish name) but I still thought it was pretty cool.

Roundup: SasSquirrel Edition

1) This weekend included the movie "Whip It!" I was hoping the film would be pretty good, and I cracked up a lot. The story was cute, the acting solid and it was fun. Drew Barrymore is on a roll after her stellar performance in "Grey Gardens," and she shows great promise as a director.

2) Friday, I went on a hunt for an albino squirrel on the National Mall. No minature Yeti was sighted lasty week, we'll see if I go back to confirm the first initial sighting.

What DC's albino squirrel may look like....Looks like a cousin of Bunnicula.

3) The Yankees finally exorcised the Angels, winning in 6 games. Although the Angels were pesky as always, the Yankees played superior ball. Now onto the Phillies on Wednesday.

4) Yesterday was the annual Del Ray Parade. Since I have no dog or child yet, I didn't enter the parade-but had a great time watching the spectacle. The categories were pets (highlights were the lobster-bulldog, elephant chihuaua etc.), children and adults, and strollers. This family won the stroller competition. If you're in Alexandria next year, you should check it out!

Round Up: Shut-in Version

1) I think the seasonal flu shot gave me the flu over Columbus Day weekend. I thought I was doing okay late last week, but then I started feeling a chest cold Saturday coming on and I've been in our apartment since. I'm fine, I've got Gatorade, expectorant, a Wii, comfort food, a nebulizer just in case and I've even been able to work some from home. Hopefully I'll be able to go to work on Wednesday.


2) Yankees: Up 2-1 against the Angels. They didn't have it last night, and I'm really hoping the game tonight goes better and they are better to head back to the Bronx with one game up. They can't expect to strand guys on base like that and still have a chance against the Angels.

3) Television: For the playoffs, I bought a antenna for our television to get the basic broadcast channels. I don't quite feel out of sync with the world, and well-commericals are cooler when you go long stretches without watching any tv. That being said, I kind of miss my 1.5 years of no TV. We'll see if I put the antenna away after the play-offs. Hmm, I think I've turned into one of "those people."

Roundup: Whoop, Whoop Whoopie Pie Edition

1) Kelli and I went up to Lancaster County yesterday to a Whoopie Pie Festival. We didn't make the festival until the tail-end of the festival, but still had a great time. Ever see a 250 lb whoopie pie? Those things are huge. We also found a pottery shop that is one of the coolest shops I've been to out there.

Lancaster County is gorgeous-the Amish were harvesting feed corn but did I take any pictures? Oops. Taken October, 2007

2) A blog I read had a post about a Faces of World War II project that is currently ongoing. The photographer is a 24 year old who has been traveling the country taking pictures of World War II vets. Pretty amazing stuff. He photographs the men and women in their uniforms, or with their army issue equipment.



3) Actual sentence from Dan Brown's new book, "The Lost Symbol":

"His massive sex organ bore the tattooed symbols of his destiny" ...

Ouch.

Okay, now that I've pointed example 353 of Dan Brown's horrible writing, yes I'll probably read this book. Will I give it a four star rating? We'll see. Brown's books are fun even though that man needs a new editor and/or a 12 week English bootcamp course from Mrs. Hawkins.
Link

4) I'm not going into the details about how this was leaked (maybe there is a use for Twitter) but President Obama calling Kanye West a jack-ass for that stunt at the VMA's? Obama went up a notch in my book.

5) I had my first xolair shot two weeks ago. Two of my closest friends have both commented that I seem better than I did before the shot. You aren't really supposed to feel the effects until a month after a shot, but I feel better. I rode my bike to work 3 days in a row and hadn't been able to do that since October of last year.

Roundup

Smuggling: Kelli and I decided to watch a light movie on Labor Day since the weather was rainy and we’ve been watching dark, depressing movies lately. We chose “My One and Only,” based loosely on George Hamilton’s life. Right before we left for the theater a peach cobbler that I made came out of the oven. Kelli suggested we take it with us to the theater. Needless to say, the whole theater smelled of peach cobbler. What’s the craziest food you smuggled into the movies?

Pinstripes: Wednesday Kelli and I went to see the Yanks play Baltimore at Camden Yards. Great game, and holy cow CC Sabathia is huge. He’s a big guy!

Xolair: I had my first Xolair shot on Friday. I got a shot on the top of my thighs in each leg. I didn’t react to the shot at all but got to stay in the Doctor’s office for 3 hours after the shot.

Pulitzer Prize: Whoever decides to write about a 3 day period in 620 pages should be shot. I’m reading 1947’s Pulitzer Prize winner write now and I’m trudging through it by will-power alone.

Football: I’m a little sad football season has started. I like 2A High School football, but other than that? I'm a casual fan-and the starting of football season means baseball is only a month or so from wrapping up. However, I was pleased to hear about BYU's win. Of course, I heard the news in Fast and Testimony meeting.

Roundup

1) Uh, What’s the deal with these town halls? After listening to Hannity yesterday, you’d think that we’re in the middle of a revolution.

2) According to Sean Hannity, if someone calls you a Nazi, then it’s okay to call them every other name in the book.

3) I’m addicted to baseball. Okay, I’ve been addicted to the game for years, but after going to two games in a row and the Yankee-Sox series, I find myself wanting to schedule my free time around the Yankee games. More so than usual.

4) I’m in Utah until the 29th of this month. Part of this time I’ll be working out of the Vernal BLM Office. This is the first time in 8 years I’ve worked in the west at all, and the first time in 12 years I’ve worked in Vernal.

5) So, there's a movement of Freehikers out there (hiking in the nude-I couldn't make this up). A group of them hiked up to Red Mountain just above Vernal a few years ago, and the entry about the hike is priceless. Totally brought a smile to my face-I've hiked, snow-shoed, mountain biked, and rode atv's up Red Mountain, but never free-hiked up it. Wonder what I'm missing?
http://kenfreehiker.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-08-03T06%3A49%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7

Roundup:

1)4th of July

My bureau coordinators and I put on a Department of the Interior Length of Service Ceremony several hours before the fireworks go off on the 4th of July. The cool part? A meal and a roped off place to see the fireworks with 600 or so Interior employees and guests. Not to mention, one of the best places in DC (if not the best place according to a few locals I know) to see the fireworks display. Oh, the event went off fine, I even thought to snap a few pictures, which hasn't happened before.

Secretary Ken Salazar with recipient

M. Allen leading the audience in the National Anthem

2) Web Site Story

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

There's few musicals whose soundtrack is better than West Side Story in my world, and this parody hits most of the right notes. The best part? It's really not that over the top. I know people whose lives are like this. Me? I'm hoping I never am this tuned into the net. ;)

Roundup:

1) While I was in Baltimore.....

President Obama took his girls to my neighborhood's icon, the Dairy Godmother.

2) Lungs:

I've been struggling with asthma/sinus infections since October, so my Pulmonologist ordered a sinus cat-scan and blood work to measure the reactivity of my lungs (IGE level). The Cat-scan shows that I've got fluid in my left maxillary sinus and I've got a referral for an ENT. The IGE level came back 153 (35 is severe), which means my lungs are extremely reactive and we're going through the paperwork to get me on Xolair Therapy. I'm just happy that we've figured out what's going on, and there's medicine out there that'll help me get better.

3) Marty Robbins

Marty Robbins singing "El Paso" live in the '60s.

Ah, Marty Robbins. I could write pages about this guy. If you can't stand this video, blame my parents.

Check out this move at :10 seconds. What a fox!

4) Disney Princesses I can get behind:

Photographer Dina Goldstein decided to photograph "what happened if the Disney Princesses didn't live happily ever after"... The outcomes are above.

Via Gnomie, Via Cup of Jo: