6 1/2 days

So when I left Lubbock last week for Dallas, I forgot my cell phone charger. I went to Best Buy to get a new one, but couldn't find the one for my phone... so I waited for my sister to bring me mine when she came into town. She arrived 6 1/2 days after I left town... and the phone was still working.

I think this is incredible. 6 1/2 days with no charge! Of course, since I completely drained the battery, it's no longer holding a charge of more than a few minutes, kinda screwing me up. And I'm about to check the Dallas metroplex for replacement batteries. Still, I think it was pretty sweet.

Tumbleweeds

So I drove home to Dallas today. Pretty uneventful trip, then got caught in the Dallas traffic, in a light drizzle. Super fun.

What did make the trip a little more eventful than usual was the tremendous amount of tumbleweed blowing across the road. Dodging tumbleweed can be difficult - especially if there's a significant amount of oncoming traffic. All told I'd say I dodged 20-30 pieces, but hit 2.

I think it's hilarious that there's actually that much tumbleweed. I don't think I'd ever seen tumbleweed in my life before moving to Lubbock.

Limits of power

If you're looking for a way to kill an hour, here's a very good, yet somewhat depressing way to do so. My brother Jeff sent me this video, which instantly sucked me in. But I think it's important, so I'm posting it, despite my resolve to try and be more upbeat a few weeks ago. Enjoy!

Part 1
Part 2

He brings up some interesting points about modern America...

The Adventurists

So I'm a fan of The Adventurists, a bunch of crazy Brits of the best fashion. Someday I'd love to have the abandon to do something like this. If I finish law school and the economy still stinks, that chance may come sooner than later... Of course, I also have this idea of canoeing/kayaking/rafting from Yellowstone to New Orleans... so we'll see which happens first.

Turnin' 30

So to celebrate my 30th birthday, I decided to go on a little road trip - to Roswell, N.M. - and see if I could find any aliens, and just to see what there is to see in Roswell.

The journey to Roswell
The trip to Roswell was pretty smooth, other than gale force winds blowing me around. This part of the country (including Lubbock) was once known as the Llano Estacado, or The Staked Plains, for the long blades of grass that grow naturally. This is what we fought the Comanche and the Kiowa for control over (that, and the fact that they wouldn't stop raiding our settlements). So I thought seeing this country was interesting - and bleak.

There was also the Goodnight-Loving Trail. I took a picture, and let you ponder why I thought 'Goodnight-loving' deserved a picture.

Roswell
When you think Roswell, you're probably like me: Good dairy.
Roswell itself was somewhat disappointing. I was hoping for way more alien stuff in the town - but really, that was just a few buildings scattered around downtown. I was expecting it to be bigger. It made Lubbock look like a huge metropolis. I actually drove around most of the town - hopefully I was missing something - like nice neighborhoods - on the outskirts.

Aliens
In truth, I wasn't sure what to expect when I got to Roswell, and wasn't sure how to go about 'seeing the sights.' Luckily, there was the UFO museum right on main street.

All the other stores looked pretty hokey dokey, so I thought I'd check this one out. Inside was a whole ton of stuff about the Roswell conspiracy in 1947, and basically continuing until the present day. I really didn't find anything convincing in the slightest, but there was a wack-job inside, also touring, who I could tell was a serious believer, so I kept my mouth shut. Of the museum my favorite two things were these:















So it's been a good birthday. I'm a little wary about 30 - that's all I have to say about that. Here's a pic of me turning 30.

Changes

So I decided to make some changes to the ol' blog. It's kinda a work in progress, so let me know what you think. Cleaner? Easier to read? Don't like it? Hate the colors? Want the old blog back?

More changes/upgrades to come over the next few days when I get around to them.

'Service'

When I was in high school, I hated the idea of being required to do 'service' for some of the clubs I was in. Hated it. The reason I hated it is because some activities counted for service, and others did not - who were these teacher's to judge if my service is adequate? Plus, there were hour requirements - who's to say that your 50 hours of service are more meaningful than my 30 minutes?

So it was refreshing to read this article, and have my basic thoughts on it well articulated by someone else.

Early Sunday Morning

If you want to remain my friend, don't text or call me early on Sunday mornings. Definitely not before 9, probably not before 10, and if you want to be safe, wait for 11. Central Time.

If you want to text me at 8 AM, when I'm sick, during finals, on a Sunday, for absolutely no reason, you are guaranteed to piss me off.

What are some acceptable reasons one might call/text Ryan early on a Sunday morning, without prior warning, you ask? Well, there are 2 reasons. Only 2.

1) You are going to give me something good. Information, food, kisses, etc.
2) You, or someone dear to you, are dying.

Christmas Party

So we had a Christmas party tonight with the branch - dinner, conversation, then many stayed and watched Elf. I came home and uploaded this sweet pic. Despite clear instructions to dress up, very few did... but I got many laughs, threw out many winks, rubbed the mustache a little bit in a creepy fashion, and asked some girls if they mind "going through the forest to get to the picnic." It was great!

Sick during finals

So I've been as sick as I've been in years for the past week. The last time I can remember feeling this crappy was when I had bronchitis in 2004 (and kept playing soccer anyway - Intramural Champs!). Studying for finals while this sick has not been fun. Two down, 1 to go.

One of the consequences of being this sick is simply how tough its been to breath. Most of the time you don't think too much about it, but when you wake up every 1 1/2 hours, every night for a week, gasping, it ain't much fun. I'm on antibiotics now, and feel like I'm getting better - but my voice is still shot. Hopefully another day or two and I'll be fine. Being sick during finals sucks - I've done the best I could with a poor attention span.

On another happy note: I'm turning 30 a week from today (next Saturday, the 13th). I'll be the first to admit that turning 30 and being single wasn't how I saw myself 10 years ago. The ride's been fun, and I don't regret any of it - but 'man was not meant to be alone.' Sometimes, say when you wake up at 4 AM gasping, and super hungry, it'd be nice to have someone eat cereal next to you.

And frankly my dating situation here in Lubbock is frustrating - I certainly don't think that's a news flash to anyone. There are few date-able girls here (sorry if that's crazy talk to anyone reading this), and just because they may be date-able does not mean there's interest from me or vice versa. And I have neither money nor time to consistently date beyond Lubbock. And I'll be 31 when I leave Lubbock, which means no more single's wards. So dating is awesome.

So what am I going to do? I have no clue. But I do know that celebrating my birthday in the Texas Tech Law Library is not an option. After all, the ride's been fun so far, and I'm going to make sure it stays fun all the way.

Stories

So I was reflecting upon a question a friend asked some time ago, "Do you like to read?" Pretty standard question, and of course the answer was "Yes, though I find it difficult to do with law school, because after reading all day long the last thing I usually want to do is come home and read more."

But I'm going to try and find more time for it. I think I can find 20 or 30 minutes a few times a week to not watch TV and simply relax with a good book.

Even more than simply reading, I just love good stories. Movies, books, songs, word-of-mouth, even video games. The medium doesn't really matter. The tone can be sappy or technical, the story straightforward or convoluted. As long as its good and I don't finish feeling like I just wasted my time - though sometimes that wasted time itself makes for a good story...

Hulu

Did everyone but me realize that Hulu.com offers movies? I realized this today, and I think it's great. They don't offer the newest movies, but some of them aren't too old, and oh yes, they're free. Kinda. You have to watch advertisements. But not many, especially compared to normal television. Redbox is cheap, but free is even cheaper.

So I've been thinking that if I were to buy a new desktop computer anytime soon (read: after law school), I'd want one with a high power video card, capable of outputting a hi-def signal to my TV, so I can find movies like these on the internet for free (or TV shows) and watch them on my TV.

Fun in Lubbock

My week was a roller coaster ride. Some good, some bad. In keeping with my new attempts at optimism, here are the good things:

1) I finished my paper. 28 pages on Government sponsored incentives for renewable energy, or efficient energy products.

2) This morning before church I went on a walk-about at the Lubbock Lake Landmark. It was a little noisier than I had hoped, but it was nice to get out and go for a walk. For those of you curious, I came across some tumbleweed - it really does exist.

3) My nephew (with my sister & brother-in-law) came over for a bit tonight. I don't have a lot of toys for a 2 1/2 year old. He played with my bean bag chair, my ab-roller, a headlamp, and then I gave him my harmonica, which he loved!
Here some pictures of him. Ladies, marry me and you could get one of these for your very own!


Yes, I did clean the slobber out of the harmonica when he was done. Yes, there was a lot.

Funny stuff

So I'm almost done with this monster paper I've been spending my time on, listening to Maggie Walters, but I came across some funny stuff today and wanted to share. Specifically, I got thinking about how awhile ago there was this website where you could see how you would fare against a bunch of 5 year olds. (31).

Well, I looked up the webdesigner, and it turns out he's done a bunch of really cool graphics for stuff, some of which I felt like sharing...

How to turn your car into an unstoppable murder machine - in 8 easy steps!
Reasons to grow a Giant Beard
How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you.
The History of How to Impress a Girl

Why so pessimistic?

So I was reflecting upon my life, and subsequently my blog, and I feel like I've been in a pessimistic rut. And that needs to change. First of all, we all know that the world is changing at a crazy pace right now, and there's lots of bad stuff going on, and there's going to be some hard times ahead. So its easy and perhaps weak that I've been focusing on that stuff. And B) Life is good.

(side note - I really think that's why Obama won the election: because everyone knows its bad, but he presented Hope and Change, two things we all want. I hope he brings those qualities back to not only the White House, but America.)

Anyway, so now I'm trying to be more optimistic, and I thought I'd point out some good things that have been going on in my life.

• Saw Quantum of Solice, the new Bond flick. Best movie I've seen in months.
• My friend Jennifer Jackson, whom I met at Law School, was baptized
• I'm the Gospel Principles teacher, and I love it
• I got the new Gears of War video game, and it's awesome
• I'm almost done with my papers for the semester
• I really like the TV show Burn Notice (you can find it on Hulu)
• I think Maggie Walters' music is incredible. She's kinda along the same lines as Ingrid Michaelson.
• It's finally getting cold in Lubbock, and I love the biting cold in my lungs in the morning. It makes me happy.
  

Following the Prophets

So there's been all sorts of crazy reactions in California to the Prop. 8 vote, which passed, thereby defining marriage to be between a woman and a man only, i.e., no homosexual marriages. People, who claim to want tolerance, are rioting & complaining because they lost the election. My buddy Tyler wrote an excellent post on his blog about Prop. 8.

But what I want to point out is this: That those Latter-day Saints (Mormons) who disagree with Prop. 8 need to get their head checked. Or maybe their faith checked. Because they are directly disagreeing with the church's stance on what marriage is.

Here some quick points...

1. The Prophets have declared marriage between Man & Woman essential to God's plan.
2. The Church pressed for the passage of Prop. 8.
3. Members of the Church, prior to being able to enter temples, are asked the question "Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?" Guess what? Gay marriage is against church teachings. If you are LDS and think it should be otherwise, go tell your bishop you disagree with church policy and give him your temple recommend.
4. As was pointed out to me earlier today, this has all been discussed before. Elder Maxwell, in 1978, gave this devotional at BYU. Read & Re-read Paragraphs 3-6

Now, some people might call me a bigot or whatnot after this. That's actually not true at all. I don't really see any problem with equality regardless of sexuality, but I propose that it can be done in a common law fashion, just as if a hetero-sexual couple doesn't marry, yet can qualify for marital benefits.

Regardless of that, this post was pretty much just directed to those LDS who think they can respectfully disagree on this topic. So sorry, you can't.

Everyone deserves $$$

This article asks, where do we stop with bailouts? My answer: we shouldn't! Everyone deserves for the government to pay for their failing businesses. Isn't that what the pursuit of happiness is all about? I mean, just because your business sucks and people don't want to buy your product, that isn't your fault. It's probably Bush's fault, I mean, if we want to be honest about it.

For example: The automobile industry. Just because they continue to build automobiles that run off hyper-compressed ancient vegetation (fossil fuels) that get the same mile-per-gallon as cars built 20 years ago, and don't even provide factory radios with an mp3 audio jacks, we should keep buying lots of cars. And it's Bush's fault we're not.

Luckily, Obama, savior of American values, is here. If I had my way, the Federal Government would provide money to all the failing Circuit City's, Starbucks, automobile companies, mortgage companies, people who made poor decisions on their mortgages in the first place, Wall Street financial companies, Old People, Israel & Palestine, and Africa (just because they're poor). Oh, and art majors that make $20k a year. Because they're poor too. It's not their fault that artists get paid squat. It's Bush's fault.

*You probably shouldn't take anything written here seriously. It's meant to be sarcastic.

Treated like crap

So every once in awhile, we all get treated like crap. Most of the time we just take it on the chin, we roll with it. After all, we don't want to be the one treating someone else like crap.

Well, last night someone said something to me that kinda bothered me, but then this morning I woke up pissed off that someone had said that to me. I'm all for being nice and easy to get along with, but frankly, I think too often I just get pushed around by people that have absolutely no business pushing.

The new plan: Take it on the chin once. 1 time. 2nd time, ask them to adjust their tone, and make sure they understand I don't appreciate being spoken to that way. 3rd time, inform them of what a frickin' retard they are, how their mom is a frickin' retard for raising them that way, and tell them they probably shouldn't treat people that way. A 4th time would be bad.

To DC & back

I flew out to Washington D.C. yesterday for an interview. I loved it - the cool weather, the fact that the firm is right next to the Patent Office, seeing the Jefferson & Washington monuments as we taxied to the terminal. I saw the other Washington monument as well. What other one?!?

It turns out the Masons built a monument/temple in Alexandria VA, right across from where this firm's office is, and dedicated it to George Washington. So I looked at the thing all day long.
Anyway, so after my interview I took the metro clear across town and met up with Ken & Jim. We ate some good food, shared many laughs, and caught up.

Then I caught a flight back to Lubbock this morning. 2 Red-Eye's in 2 days isn't good for the body. I'm exhausted. But it was super fun - D.C. would be an incredible place to live.

Get Fuzzy

My friend Jenn sent this to me the other day...
Link to the Original.

Return to Caprock

So I went to Caprock Canyon State Park on Friday for a campout. Beautiful area, but kinda a frustrating night. Here's why: I broke my rule.

What rule? Well, if you haven't noticed, sometimes I'm picky about who I associate myself with. Even more so if it involves hiking or camping. Frankly, most of the time when I go hiking, mountain biking, or camping with people I don't know well enough to trust, I regret it. Such was the case this weekend.

Some idjuts (intentionally spelled that way for emphasis) decided not to go to sleep at all Friday night. Who cares, right? But the fact that they decided to stay up all night around the campfire 10ft from my tent, talking in not-so-quiet voices, kinda frustrates me. I had stuff I wanted to get done on Saturday, but didn't because I was so exhausted.

I kept myself pretty calm and even-tempered, because I realize it's only half their fault. The other half is mine - for putting up my tent anywhere near anybody else. I should have a) not gone or 2) set up my tent well away from the others. My fault.

I've been waivering

So I've been going a little crazy with the posts... but when you've got stuff to say...

I, like much of America, have been debating on which candidate I think best represents what I want from the President. Both have their +'s and -'s. But I read an article that I think everyone needs to read. I know there's only like 11 days until the election, but I'm glad I found this out now, not later. I now have my choice easily and clearly decided. No more indecision.

My decision maker.

I should warn you: this article has some insanely grotesque stuff. If you want to know the truth, you should read anyway.

Qualifications

So I had a post written out, basically mocking both Palin & Biden... and I decided that was the wrong approach to what I was trying to say. Not that I don't have strong negative feelings towards both candidates for VP. Rather, I just wanted to point out to anyone reading this that the qualifications for President have nothing to do with years in politics or foreign diplomacy experience. Rather, they are quite clearly articulated in the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, Clause 4.

"No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."

There may be debates about who one feels to be the better candidate to represent them in the office - that's what this ol' republic of ours is all about. But to say one of the people currently campaining for President or Vice President is not qualified is simply ignorant.

The View

So my friend Molly had this posted on her facebook page, and I loved it. However, this is probably the only time I will ever post anything from The View unless Goldberg and Hasselback come to blows...

On the Internet...

So when I moved to Lubbock, I had a choice. Do I pay $70/month for cable + internet, or ~$40 for internet? It was a tough choice because lets face it, catching good things on broadcast TV these days is tough. The schedules change, TiVo has changed the game, and I'm never home before 9PM. Having cable would be nice... especially for sports.

In the end, I decided to be cheap. I think watching sports is fun, but overrated - I'd rather go do something (unless its the Cougars). I got a good internet connection, perfect for Xbox Live and doing my homework from home.

What I didn't realize at the time was that TV networks were posting all of their shows online a day or two after they air. This means that I basically have my own TiVo via the interwebs all the time. And I love it, because I don't have to worry about being home to catch a show - after all, living your life according to a TV schedule is lame.

What prompted this post? Because I love NBC's Life & Chuck. But I don't think I've ever seen them on the TV, just my computer...

Insomnia

Last night I suffered the worst insomnia of life. At least that I can remember. I ended up falling asleep sometime around 4:30 AM. I kinda wonder if its my own fault.

• My 8 AM & 9 AM classes were canceled all week long, so I've been going to bed later and waking up later - but we're talking like an hour shift on each, not 5 hours. I kept the overall amount of sleep the same.
  
• I had a coke about 7 PM... but caffeine has never kept me awake 9 hours after I drink it. In fact, I usually feel like I get better sleep if I've had caffeine earlier in the day.

On the other hand, I've been super relaxed this week. After taking the Patent Bar, all my other stuff doesn't seem nearly as rough. Finals will be challenging, and I have a lot of work to do on 2 big papers due in the next 2 months... but my stress level is as low as it's been since before Law School.

So what did I do with my extra couple of hours? I watched some TV, tried to fall asleep, then started doing research for my papers. Yup... good times.

On a separate note, if anyone has been hearing about Joe the Plumber in the news and debates and doesn't understand why, here's the original video.

Who is John Galt?

Patent Agent

I just passed the Patent Bar. Phew.

This test basically took a good part of my life for 5 months. I've never studied with the intensity that I went after this - and I still had to take it twice. All I can say is how thankful I am that I'm done with it. For anybody wondering why I'm doing all this... Here's a distribution chart of salaries for entering lawyers. Here's some information about Patent Attorneys specifically.

Ideas

Good idea: Be prepared.

Bad idea: Doing this at home.

Atlas Shrugged

So all the junk going on with the markets the past few days/weeks got me thinking (in between massive study sessions for the Patent Bar, which I take again on Friday) about Atlas Shrugged.

The book is massive (1000 pages), but I very much encourage people to read it. The reason I bring it up is because I remain very much anti-entitlement. The debate tonight - I tuned in for about 30 seconds and they were talking about entitlements.

I don't think people, and in particular, most Americans, should be entitled to much at all. Veterans, yes. Other then them... I'm sure there are some that skip my mind at the moment, but very few people deserve something from the rest of us. And it ticks me off that the government is bailing out Wall Street, and just today bailed out a bunch of private companies...

Anyway, back to the book. In the book, people continue to say that they are entitled to stuff, and deserve this, and they deserve that. Countries, states, companies, need subsidies to continue operating. Kinda like California right now.

Believe it or not, I've softened in law school - I can actually see the value in some social programs. I think everyone deserves a chance at making a life for themselves. Hopefully this money problem will be abated and we can have some breathing room for 10-20 years. Eventually, I predict the truckers going on strike, and suddenly nobody has food, oil, coal (for 80% of all powerplants), or medicine.

How about this for an entitlement: "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

Seriously: Read this book.

p.s. Ayn Rand was kinda crazy on some stuff, so don't take this as an absolutism on her.
p.p.s. There's a crazy 100 page oratory late in the book I recommend skimming.

Night Air

So my dad worked late nights as a cop for many many years. He once told me that he loved the night - that there was an energy that you could feel driving the streets at 3 AM, when they're empty, that's just incredible.

I love the empty streets, the crisp air, the quiet. Right when I got home from my mission I used to wake up every morning at 5ish and go running in Provo. The quiet was awesome. Especially when it snowed, and the world was completely silent except for the crunch of the snow under my feet.

Anyway, the reason I started writing this stuff is because the other day I was driving home at midnight, and I had forgotten how much I love the night. I loved the glow from the lights, the smell... it was very nice.

4 Bar K

So I think I just found my new favorite restaurant in Lubbock. It's called the 4 Bar K. It's a catering restaurant my buddy Mark had told me about last year, but it's only open on Fridays from 11-2, so its been a trick getting there.

Basically, it's all you can eat BarBQ & drink for $7, with some small dessert thrown in for fun. You get this tortilla from the boss man, who loads a bunch of delicious meat in it, and then you pick your sides - corn bread, coleslaw, chips & salsa... mmm... And there's live music. Today it was just some dude and his guitar - I don't know if its the same guy every week...

Anyway, if you're in Lubbock and you want some awesome grub, you should hit this place up. Of course, its sorta a word of mouth place... it doesn't even say on the website that they serve lunch. Oh, and it's sorta outside of town... Like in the countryside. Just head East on 82nd past highway 27 until you think 'Wow, there's no way Ryan wanted me to go this far' and keep going. You'll see a barn on the right - that's the place.

Sick of the library

I'm sick of always being in the library late. I know I'm not the last one out every night here at law school, but I was often the last one out in undergrad, and I've been pulling some pretty long days/late nights here in law school. Frankly, I'm sick of it.

But, hopefully it'll all pay off. Then I'll go on a vacation to Alaska, while all the people who watched Friends -instead of studying- sit on their couch... and watch Friends.

Or even better, maybe they can watch 'Everybody loves Ramon noodles'. What an awful show. Hate it.

Quick Trip

So I went out to San Jose for an interview - a really quick trip, and I really liked the San Jose area. But the travel to and from was rough. I'm pretty exhausted. Despite said exhaustion, here's a quick map of my travels over the past 2 days.


The biggest surprise of the trip? The size of El Paso. I had no idea it was so huge. A million people! I always thought it was this small little dusty town where nobody speaks English. Little did I know it's a huge dusty town where nobody speaks English!

We're jacked

So here's a couple of quick links leading me to the conclusion that we are definitely hosed as a country.

From 2004.
From last February.
From this week.

Plus this one... about oil futures.

Anyone who thinks this is going to get better anytime soon isn't looking at the money trail. The fact is, the Chinese already have been buying most of the bonds the U.S. sells to cover these debts. I'm not exactly sure how it all works, but I do know that U.S. citizens are not the ones buying the bonds. We're in the hole, big time.

If you think McCain is going to lead us out of this, you're wrong. He wants to cut taxes even further. Exactly how does that make sense? We owe TONS of money. Unfathomable amounts of money, and we're going to tax, i.e. 'make', less money. That's a brilliant idea.

If you think Obama and his 'change' platform will fix this, you're wrong. While Clinton had the right idea and lead to some very good fiscal policies, Obama's platform is currently to increase social programs in the U.S. You know, because we're not already paying for enough junk.

By the way, this bailout that Bernanke and the others are promoting. Twice the cost of the Iraq War, once the pork is added in. But at least a lot of Americans have affordable housing - now my tax dollars can subsidize those loans.

Go America.

Ladyluck Speedway

So on Friday I went to the Ladyluck Speedway here in Lubbock. It was Awesome. Many years ago I was on the BYU electric racecar team, which was super fun. So I had had some experience with racing - but never dirt racing. This was sweet. They had stock cars and they had sprints. Saw some sweet crashes and pushing and thankfully everyone came out healthy.

One thing that's super fun about any racetrack are the people. Lots of interesting characters. I've told a few people, but one thing I learned is that the family that smokes together stays together, as evidenced by a mother passing her smoke on to her son, who then took a drag. That's the Mom above - she had another son (maybe 19?) that she passed her smoke to. Another thing I learned was that it's OK to induce permanent hearing loss in infants, as evidenced by this babyseat at the race.
But overall, I really liked the race. Unfortunately it was the last race of the season - next year I'll be sure to catch a few more.

Red Lobster

In my opinion, the best Mexican food in Provo is Diego's Taco Shack. It's delicious. I almost always get a double, or triple order of carnitas. Pulled pork on a small tortilla, with some chopped onions, lime, and salsa.... mmm...

But alas, I'm not in Provo anymore, and I think its time to find some new restaurants that I can say are my favorites... Today I'm trying out Tom and Bingo’s Hickory Pit Bar-b-que. Sounds like my kinda place.

Not on my list - Red Lobster. First of all, let me start by saying that until this past summer I had never been to Red Lobster. If it were up to me, I'd probably never go again. I'm not a big seafood guy, but Red Lobster is overpriced and a little on the gross side. OK, a lot on the gross side. I simply fail to see the allure of this restaurant. I've been there 3-4 times now, and walk away disappointed every time. I don't foresee me going back unless pressured to do so.

Sunday Nights

Sunday nights are the worst. I mess up my sleep habits every Friday and Saturday, and can't fall asleep before 11:30 or midnight on Sunday. Almost ever. I purposefully try to wake up early on Sunday, but not having church until 2:30 makes it tough to be so motivated. I keep telling myself to wake up early and go for a walk... but its usually easier to sleep. And so, today I'm a sleep deprived wreck. Ya! At least I got ~ 4 hours!

Lance Armstrong

Following Michael Jordan, Brett Farve, and many others, another athlete has decided they shouldn't have retired - Lance Armstrong. Now, I loved watching the Tour when Lance was in it. And the truth is, I'll be rooting him on again. Frankly, it's stunk the past year or two - especially once Landis was found to be doping (which I still kinda doubt, but whatever).

However, what does bug me a little is that he's claiming that its to raise Cancer awareness.

Wait wait, Now I get it!
- Winning 7 times after cancer didn't do enough for cancer awareness.
- Selling a ga-gillion yellow bracelets didn't do enough for cancer awareness.
- Running the New York marathon in 3 hours didn't do enough for cancer awareness.
- Being on TV almost everyday doesn't do enough for cancer awareness.
- Dating Sheryl Crow, then dumping her for one of the Olson twins didn't do enough for cancer awareness.

But winning a race you already won 7 times in a row will do it. Yup.

Weekend Update

After going to NYC last weekend, and not doing any homework during that weekend, plus having some HUGE tasks due the following Wed. and Thurs., this week turned out to be a real pain. Some late nights and a lot of stress later, and I was burnt out.

In contrast to a rough week, I spent the weekend watching BYU and Texas Tech win their respective football games, catching up on other things that needed doing, and just relaxing. It was super nice, especially in contrast to the crazy week, to just sit back and relax. While I'm sure this week will have its own challenges, I feel refreshed and ready to go again.

NYC

So I flew up to New York City for the Labor Day weekend. It went by quickly and was a lot of fun.

I'd never really spent any meaningful time in New York City before, so this was kinda different. What I discovered is that
A) Lubbock and New York are about as polar as it comes within the United States
B) That New York actually reminds me a lot of Argentina, the way the traffic works and just the feel of the city
C) If you ever want to see something strange, NYC is the place to go.

The two funniest things I saw there: A dude walking around with a live cat sitting on his head, and this post-it-note on the suggestion board at Governor's Island.

A lot of people say that New York is a place that's fun to visit, but they'd never want to live there. I don't think that's me. I think it'd be fun, but very different. The idea of living without a car is disconcerting. Lots of walking.

Anyway, now back to school. I'm retaking the patent bar on the 10th of October, so time is now pressing.

Todays Dilbert

Yet another Lawyer joke...

*Update: My brother put up the same post, which I hadn't seen before posting this... kinda creepy.

Lawyer Joke

Here's a joke by B.J.Novak, who plays Ryan on 'The Office.' Oddly, the women at my law school didn't think it was as funny!

Battered women?

Sounds delicious...but that doesn't make it right.

USA finances

Someday I'll get around to writing more on how bad a situation I think America is in Financially. In the meantime, I really want to see this movie. I.O.U.S.A.

in Texas...

Yet another way to know you're in Texas is when you're sitting in Church and you hear,

" 'Cause he knew he was fixin'ta die"

from the pulpit.

Back to Lubbock

So I'm back in Lubbock - without internet until next Tuesday, so I'm up at the Law School right now, checking upon my assignments that are due the first day of class, checking emails and posting this.

Anyway, on my way back out to Lubbock on Monday I saw two really cool things:

1) A house on fire in Seymour, TX. It was surreal, just right off the road. Everybody was stopping and watching for about 30 seconds, then driving on. It was pretty crazy. Did I ever see any sign of firefighters? No.

2) Aurora, TX - and the cemetery where they buried a space alien. I'm not kidding.

Greenville, TX

So I finished up my summer at L-3 Greenville. I'm guess I'm ready to head back to Lubbock, since I'm doing so on Monday. But I couldn't leave without a small tour of Greenville.

First of all, its not pronounced 'Greenville', its pronounced 'Green-vul.' It helps if you add a pinch of hick and a pinch of twang to it.

This definitely is a nice addition to my list of crappy towns. What makes it crappy? Primarily that they don't take care of the place. It just looks like a dump. Poor traffic patterns certainly adds to the crappiness. But here's a few interesting things about the town.

1) They once upon a time had a decent baseball team that beat the Yankees.









But of course they didn't take care of it and now its a parking lot for electrical transformers. Neato.


2) This is downtown. It's pretty dilapidated, but I hear they have a really good costume shop.

3) This is where the 'Modern' crappy shops are. The fast food, the mini-malls, etc. I think it looks like crap because the electrical lines are all above ground. If they were to bury the electrical lines, the property value in Greenville would probably double overnight. It just looks like crap.

Also here's two great shots:
Check out this sweet house... and since when is corn brown?!?

Chicago

Chicago was sweet. I had some good interviews and my ol' buddy Powell (Aaron) came out from Spokane to interview as well. He and I met this crazy dude in the EL terminal, got some deep dish Chicago pizza, then went swimming at the hotel. It was pretty sweet.

The true vacation took place after the interviews were over. Powell took off and Jenn Wheeler came in town. She wore me out walking all around downtown Chicago. We took an architectural tour, walked the lake shore, went to the Field Museum, ate at some sweet restaurants, went to the Art Museum, listened to Lalapalooza, saw Wrigley Field, and saw the LDS temple. Here's a few of my favorite shots from the weekend:










This is Chicago. Beautiful town - when the weather's good. When the weather's poor, not fun.










This is the Ghost and the Darkness. They were some killer lions in Africa many moons ago, and the only thing I really wanted to see in Chicago. I was super happy we found them. This other thing is the Big Bean.

This was an incredible poster explaining leadership among native Americans... Jenn really liked the tshirt...










And this is Jenn looking cute, with my face covered. I think its funny...

Off to Chicago

The family reunion in Park City was super fun. Got to see lots of cousins, kids were running around. I'm thankful for Mikelle, Shannon, Ken, Kevin, and Jenny for spending their Saturday with me.

I'm also super thankful to have a family that loves one another so much.

Going back to Utah was kinda weird, I'll be real. First time in a year - I miss it. I think I was starting to be 'satisfied' with Texas, then I got back to Utah and realized that one doesn't have to breath super-humid air, and that there are mountains to climb (and descend!). I don't know if/when I'll make it back to Utah next, but it certainly has a special place in my heart.

I'm off to Chicago tomorrow - job interviews!

Family Reunion

I leave tomorrow for a family reunion up in Park City and come back on Sunday. It comes at a perfect time - I need a vacation.

68%

So this summer I've been busy. Like, 'no fun' busy. Frankly it stinks. I've been working all day, then doing the extra stuff at night so I can try and get ahead in the hunt for a job post-law school. For a few weeks this meant the law journal write on competition, which was no fun. For the past 6 weeks its meant studying for the U.S. Patent Bar exam. This is the test you need to complete to be able to represent others and submit things to the United States to get a patent.

Well, I took the test yesterday, after putting over 200 hours into studying, and needed 70% to pass. I got 68%. That's a hard thing. All that time and effort, just so I can take the test again sometime in the coming months. Fun.

Anyway, the results are 'unofficial', so I'll wait until the final results come in the mail before I sign up again.

Caddo Mills TX

Continuing my account of crappy little Texas towns comes Caddo Mills, TX. I was actually kind of excited to check out Caddo Mills because it's quite a bit bigger than the other towns I've gone through so far. Whereas Nevada and Josephine had basically no stores/businesses in town, Caddo Mills has a nice gas station, a subway, a grocery store, a used car dealership and a small little 'downtown.'

This is a sweet firetruck for sale at the car dealership. I didn't check on the price...

Unfortunately, once I began driving around a little, my hopes for this little town disappeared. This is a crappy little town. I would rather live in Josephine or Nevada. What makes this town crappy is two things.

1) A really trashy side of town, separated by the main road from a nice-er side of town. I wouldn't really call it nice. Decent maybe? Houses on both sides are run down, weeds growing everywhere, and everything needs a new coat of paint. What distinguishes the nicer side from the trashy side is the use of brick on the nice side. Wooden houses, or aluminum trailers, just don't hold up without constant care.

2) A dilapidated downtown. This was just gross and severly disappointing.

It looks OK from here. But once I got even with the buildings they were all closed and in severe disrepair.

So what did this little drive teach me? That having more people in your town doesn't make a lick of difference in the quality of the town. Some people make it a priority to take care of their town, some people don't.

Why we're broke

I don't usually have time to watch the Daily Show much lately. And by lately, I mean the past 3 or 4 years. But I still really enjoy it sometimes so I turned it on last night and Ted Koppel was on, talking about China.

I thought the comments a nice mix addressing multiple reasons for current and forthcoming economic problems in America. As far as Koppel goes, I think he screwed up by letting his opinions get in the way of his reporting, and paid a price - which is unfortunate.



The only thing I feel needs to be recognized is that Koppel and Stewart talk a little about the cost of the war, but make no mention of how much we spend on Social Security, Medicare, or U.S. Foreign Aid programs, all of which I'd be fine cutting out to pay for the war (not that I think they're totally bad, I just don't think government has any mandate to be involved in them. but that's another subject.)

Josephine, TX

So I continue to study for the Patent Bar. I take it the 19th, and basically it's making my life miserable. So in one of these miserable moods I decided it was high time to highlight another Texas town: Josephine. I figure any town named for some dude's daughter has to be alright in my book.

To start off the journey, since I wasn't in a real great mood, I decided I'd do better if I had my usual drink of choice. (By the way, if anyone from Sobe wants to sponsor me, I'll gladly do ANYTHING you want. )
Sure enough, I immediately felt better. I then proceeded down a dirt road for the Josephine Cemetery. I think you can kinda tell something about a town from the way they keep their cemetery... how a community chooses to remember its dead. Anyway, so I head out to the middle of nowhere to this cemetery,
almost hit a tractor, then get to the cemetery, which pretty much looks like this:
But you know, sometimes there's reasons you feel like going someplace you've never been.
I don't know who this dude was, but maybe someday I can find out. Anyway, there's nothing like being in a cemetery in the middle of nowhere to clear your mind. Absolutely beautiful out there.
I always feel bad when I come across an infant's plot. Anyway, back to Josephine.

Josephine is a better kept town than Nevada, TX (which I highlighted 2 weeks ago), tho it's actually about a hundred less people less. The lawns are all immaculate, they have a nice city park, multiple water towers, and I happen to know that for the 4th the police department was hosting a BBQ and stuff in the city park. I saw no signs of commerce, but I get the feeling that people who move to Josephine are looking for a quiet place where everybody knows everybody, where people will work hard to take care of their homes and their land. I give Josephine a thumbs up.

Last Place on Earth?

Just about the last place I think I could ever be found would be at a Jesus Rock concert. OK, so the actual name was Celebrate Freedom, but it was one of those big Baptist sing alongs, with much preaching and rock n' roll in between. We listened to some preacher talking about some woman that had an abortion, and we reveled in the amount of of merchandise that the money changers were swapping at a church event (that's a dig from the Bible ya'll!), but the highlight was the band - we only got to see one, Sanctus Real. They were actually very good.

p.s. I only went because of a girl.
p.p.s. Of course I put my hand up and waved a little with the crowd. You know, so I could get the spirit an' such.

Rome?

I'm too exhausted and it's too late for me to post much about this. All I can say is that I believe America to be on the slow but sure road to extinction when we refuse to eliminate pedophile rapists. No doubt other people will think its a sign of civilization that we don't kill vermin like this. To those people I reply that you are destroying the morals of this country. But hey, what's that matter. It's not as if declining moral codes ever caused the fall of an empire... oh wait.

I haven't read the entire opinion yet, but from what I have read it seems that the majority's main argument is that social mores have shifted such that killing crap like this would be "cruel and unusual." While the mores may have shifted, I also think such behavior as a Nation is self-destructive and sad.

Nevada, TX

So I'm pretty dang busy this summer - and I feel like the rest of it is already filled with obligations. This makes it tougher to find adventures and stuff going on, but an idea popped into my head to highlight some of the Texas towns I pass on my way to and from work. This week's town is Nevada, TX.

Now, you're probably saying, Nevada TX? and pronouncing it incorrectly. You see, it's pronounced Ne-VAY-da. Yup, and it's a real winner.

Here's the sign, and I think the population is maybe a little on the generous side.
Most of the town consists of doublewides or really nice 1-2 acre mini-mansions. Quite the wealth disparity. I'd guess the majority of the town works the surrounding fields doing corn or wheat. Here's a picture of the biggest store in town.
Other than that, the nicest building in town is the Baptist Church.
Nevada seems like an ok small town that's been down on its luck for years. Right now its at the edge of Metropolitan Dallas' expansion, so real estate prices are probably jumping or poised to jump significantly in the next 5 years. Maybe then they'll have more of a city park than this: