12 Days

Am and I have just attended our last 3 hour block at the singles ward. There are a lot of good memories there. I have had the privilege of being in one great singles ward after another for the last 8 years, but the last 3 that I spent more than 3 months in have really stood out. Bishops Petersen, Davis, and Roberts have been phenomenal! They set the tone for their wards, but there have been so many friendly and faithful people in those wards that were just as responsible for the atmosphere at church. I'll miss them all.

But now I am (finally) moving into the next phase of life. If it is possible to be both ready and woefully unprepared at the same time, then I think that describes me well. But I know that I have found a "one", and I'm making her my "only". I've never been happier. And yet, I see greater happiness still to come. It seems like I am seeing the world with new eyes. The possibilities are endless.

And then there is this endurance thing we have to go through. The next 12 days will be an endurance test for sure. I can hardly believe that I am getting married, and that I have found someone so amazing to share the rest of my life with. At times I feel like I don't deserve the blessings I've been given, but I'll never turn them away.

Tabling Things For Awhile

Why is it easier to talk about things, i.e. feelings for another person, after the potential for a relationship with that person is cut off? I do know why, because there is no more risk involved, there is no more pressure. But why does it have to be that way? Ever since people developed finding pools of more than one, it has been this way. Wouldn't it be easier and more effective if it was no big thing to know how much interest someone had in you from the beginning? That it was no big deal to be perfectly honest with another person about your feelings for them? People wouldn't be getting their hopes up just to be dashed later on, they would know right away.

Instead, we all play this game, whether intentionally or not. He complimented me this way. She touched me here. He helped me do this. She sat next to me at the party. He didn't make eye contact. She sounded bored. It just goes on and on.

It has to be for some reason though. Every single person has to deal with it to some extent or another. It's not like it is some unique phenomenon to one person. So obviously, it must be important to the human experience... somehow... It's "opposition in all things" in action. Help people appreciate something truly good when it finally works out. Well, if that's the case, then I know some people that are going to be seriously appreciative at some point. Because I've been picking up this theme a lot recently, from quite a few different sources.

Actually, based on the timing of things falling apart for me, again, I know exactly what is going on, for me at least. It's a test. A test that I've been given time and time again. One that I haven't exactly passed with flying colors. It's either: a girl comes into my life and motivates me to get things straight, or I've decided to get things straight and then a girl comes along. Either way, they are taken away to see how I react. Will he keep doing the things he needs to for the right reasons in the absence of the girl? And unfortunately, I don't have a great track record to this point. But then, if I did, maybe I wouldn't be given the test as often, if at all. So now I am more cognizant of this particular test, I should be expecting the girls to start lining up soon, right? But I'll still have to deal with the game though. I certainly can't expect that to change all of a sudden.

Oh yeah, I've missed a couple of days of gratitude posts. Trying to catch up feels intimidating at this point though, so I'm not going to try to do so today. I'll just do one for today.

I'm grateful for second chances. And third chances. And fourth chances. And Umpteenth chances. Everyone deserves another chance. I'm grateful for all the chances I've been given. Life would be too depressing otherwise. I'd never have hope for something good. Everyone deserves something good, right?

Color Festival Craziness

Yesterday, I went with Melinda, Caron, and a couple of Caron's friends down to the Color Festival at the Hare Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, UT. I'm still a little fuzzy on the significance of the throwing of the colors. But hey, it was fun anyways!


Before the throwing of the colors


After


Caron and I

The color came off pretty easily in the shower when I got home. We'll see how my clothes look after a washing. To see more pictures, just click on any of the above thumbnails.

Too Much Popular Media?

I guess I've seen too much TV and too many movies in my years. But then again, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Not in this case, but it had plenty of potential. We had the day off, so a group of us went into the city today. We took a ferry over from Jersey and then walked around Times Square. We ate at the Olive Garden, and I had the stuffed chicken prosciutto. Good stuff. Four of us ended up going down to Canal Street which is in lower Manhattan. This is the center of imitation merchandise in the city. There are street vendors around in all the tourist spots, but this is the mecca of cheap knock-offs.

Almost as soon as we get street level from the subway, this little chinese woman comes by and shows one of the girls a paper with a bunch purses on it, and asks, "want to see?" "Uh, sure..." And we were off. She takes us down this alley way for 2 or 3 blocks. This is starting to feel really shady, but we keep following. When she takes us into this building that she has to unlock to get into, I stay at the door, making sure it doesn't shut behind us. She stops and tries to talk us into continuing on with her. Her English is not great, which makes me nervous, big language barrier. "Come see purse, come see. No scared, come see." She was very insistent. But we go in. She takes us up 6 flights of stairs into a sweat shop. Wow! Definately not your normal tourist locale. It is night and several people are leaving for the day, so it is not super crazy in there, but there are still a few chinese ladies working on sewing projects. She takes us into a side room filled with purses. Chanel and Prada knock-offs. I stood at the door to make sure we weren't shut in or that some martial artists would take us totally by surprise. I didn't know what to expect...

When the girls decided upon a purse style, they asked for it in a different color. The lady got on her radio and then took us back to the street. This shady looking chinese man smoking a cigarette came up to us with the purse in a shopping bag. He wanted $35 for it, but they offered $30. He only went down to $34. I didn't like being in the alley so I stood apart from everyone else, so once more I could watch either end of the alley for any surprises.

Thank goodness my imagination was larger than life rather than accurate. Nothing happened, except we got ripped off and had an experience that not many people get.

(Editor's Note: The editor wishes to apologize for taking so long to post this entry. December 1, 2007)

Language Barriers

I was walking down the hall at my hotel tonight and passed a middle-aged couple going the other way. I did the kind of under the breath, "Hello" as I walked by, and the man replied, "Good Morning" in a German sounding accent. I kind of wondered about that for a second as I continued down the hall. Then I heard the wife wonder about it too, "Good Morning?" He responded to the effect of, "Ya, Gut nacht, good night; Guten tag, Good morning..." (Pardon my German, Tim)