Destination of Diverse Discussion

So the Blogging Drought Begins

2011-05-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well, it's here. In less than an hour, I will be set apart as a missionary to the Missouri St Louis Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I will be an ambassador of the Lord. I will be on the Lord's time. I'm very nervous, but so excited. I know that this is where I need to be. Before I go, let me share with you my testimony.

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I know He lives. I know He is the very begotten son of a loving Heavenly Father who knows each of us. I know that His plan is for us to return to Him. This has been made possible by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love Them and want to serve Them with all of my heart. I know that these truths which we understand were restored to the earth by the prophet, Joseph Smith. The true priesthood is on the earth today. I have felt its power as I have exercised it worthily. The Book of Mormon is convincing evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that he restored the priesthood keys, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Kingdom of God on the earth. By reading the Book of Mormon, we invite the Spirit into our lives.

Most of you know that I am a very logical person. I don't think I'd call myself a skeptic, but I definitely appreciate evidence. Among logical people in the world, religion is not a popular topic. Many believe that you can't "prove" the points of religion. I contend quite the opposite. In Moroni 10, we are promised that if we will ask with a sincere heart, real intent, and faith in Christ, we can know if the Book of Mormon is true. By the very nature of that promise, a witness of the spirit is logical evidence that the Book of Mormon is true. I have read the Book of Mormon, and felt the spirit witness to my heart that it is indeed true.

I love you all so much. I will miss my family and friends so much, and I'm sure there will be tough days when I really miss home, but I have been called by a prophet of God, who communicates directly with my Heavenly Father, to serve the people of St. Louis. I'm not going to let them down. Pray for me, as I will pray for you. May the Lord bless you all as you keep his commandments and the honor covenants you have made.

See you in two!

Pictures

2011-05-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, in the land of mission preparation,

2011-05-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, something kinda ironic about me. I have given thousands of shots to myself. Literally, thousands. The shots that I give now, for my insulin pump, are not that much smaller than the shots you get for an immunization like a flu shot, tetanus, Hep A, whatever. The shots that I give myself do not freak me out. It's not my number one hobby, but it takes me about 3 minutes, and no big deal, doesn't really hurt that bad.

When it comes to doctors/nurses giving me shots, I get freaked out. I don't know what it is. It might be that the vaccine going into you hurts way worse than insulin going into you. It might just be that I'm not in control, that someone else is stabbing me. I don't know, but whatever it is, I don't like getting shots from other people. Kinda weird, I know.

So I need to get my hepatitis A and a tetanus (am I spelling that right?) booster before my mission. So this morning my mom calls our general practice doctor and makes sure that I'm good to come in and get those immunizations. For the reasons stated above, I was not in the least excited about this, but I want to be a missionary, so I agreed to go in.

My mom actually called in twice just because there was a little miscommunication about what records I needed to bring, what immunizations I needed, etc. Anyway, I went in today, checked in at the front desk, let them know what vaccines I needed and everything, and they sent me to the waiting room to fill out a big, long insurance page and sign for my dad. After all of this, the nurse opens the door and calls my name. I had actually just finished saying a prayer asking Heavenly Father to help me to be brave (yep, just like a Kindergartner, you better believe it). And as I stand up to head back, the nurse informs me that they don't have two of the vaccinations that I need.

"Uh...I only need two. Hep A and a tetanus booster."

"Yeah, we don't have either of those."

"Uh...okay."

"When you come in for your appointment on Monday, we should have them, and we won't charge you again."

"Uh...okay."

"Thanks for coming in!"

Seriously? You couldn't have told my mom when she called in? Or maybe the second time she called in? Perhaps when I came to the front desk? Maybe before you had me spend 20 minutes filling out insurance information? The detail that YOU COULDN'T HELP ME didn't seem relevant until then?

That's poor customer service, folks.

Trust me, I was once a customer service rep.

So Here I Sit

2011-04-21T15:08:00.002-07:00

So here I sit in a mostly empty dorm room.

I think about the memories I've made and the people I've met.

My ears are still ringing from the roar of the crowd as Jimmer sinks a three.

My butt is still sore from sitting through 5 and a half hours of testimonies (yes, in one day).

My abs still hurt from hours of laughing with FHE sisters and ward members.

My mind is still full from cramming for finals.

My emotions are confused, wondering where the time has gone, unsure whether to be anxious for the future, or sad to leave the past. I've been looking forward to being a freshman at BYU since I was in the womb. Now it's over.

I'm forwarding my mail onto Farmington, my heart on to Missouri.

I'm going to miss this place.

New Playlist!

2011-04-12T19:05:00.001-07:00

So if you haven't seen, I just put a new playlist on my blog :) I thought it was time for a change. I tried to pick a variety of songs so that hopefully everyone will find something they like :) Here's what I picked and why:

1.Forever; Chris Brown
This song reminds me of several things. It reminds me of the episode on the office when Jim and Pam get married and they play this at their wedding. Haha I laugh every time I think about it. Plus, it also reminds me of being in the flash mob with Elizabeth at the BYU basketball game that I posted about a little while ago. So fun. It's just a great song, and a clean Chris Brown song (which is rare).

2. Hallelujah; Shrek (not really by Shrek, but it's from the soundtrack)
I've been obsessed with this song lately. It's just a sweet song with sweet lyrics, great vocals, and a seemingly good message, though I haven't really read into the lyrics all that much...

3. Piano Man; the greatest songwriter of our age, in my opinion, Billy Joel
Ah, probably my all time favorite song. I don't even know what to say about it. Classic. Beautiful. Genius.

4. Hotel California; Eagles
This song is just a great acoustic guitar song with thoughtful lyrics, which many think is referring to drug addiction. I've looked into it and the Eagles all swear that it isn't...Who knows. Either way, it's not a bad message, it's saying that you can't escape it once you start. Not promoting drugs. No worries.

5. Tonight; FM Static
Boy-band-ish. Cliche. 90's. Love it. Reminds me of certain people and certain experiences that I've had.

6. All These Things That I've Done; Killers
I pretty much just like this song for the middle part. "I got soul, but I'm not a soldier." That section was on a BYU football video that they played before the 4th quarter to get everyone pumped in the stadium. So sweet. The rest of the song is alright too :)

7. Let It Rain; Living Things
Back in the day, my dad found a song called "Bom Bom Bom" by Living Things. I always loved it and it was just a sweet rock song. I showed it to my friend who liked it so much that he found some more stuff by them, and introduced me to this song, which has become one of my favorite rock(ish) songs.

8. Angel; Shaggy
Haha just a sweet, reggae-type song. It also reminds me of certain people and my senior year. Love this song.

That's all for now, have a good one :)

Not Meant to Embarrass (though it probably will)

2011-04-04T22:04:00.002-07:00

This is my dad.

My dad is an amazing man.

I could write for pages about my dad.

I won't.

One interesting thing about my dad, he worked really hard in high school as a wrestler and (as is the case with most wrestlers) got very strong. This strength came from hours in the wrestling room and gym. My dad has broad, strong shoulders. He's just built strong. My dad doesn't go to the gym anymore (sorry dad, secret's out) but he still looks like he does push-ups every night. I wish I had inherited this. I don't show the muscle that I occasionally have when I do buckle down and work out. And I usually just don't have any muscle.

Tonight my roommate (who was a linebacker and wrestler in high school and is built somewhat like a tank. or train.) convinced me to suck it up and do push-ups with him. Needless to say:

I'm a wuss.

(But just wait, in a month, I'm gonna be HUGE.)

(Yeah, right.)

Some pictures and comments and thoughts

2011-04-01T09:55:00.004-07:00

This is a ridiculously sweet picture I took of my all-time favorite soccer ball. I broke nearly every juggling record I ever had with it. Then I brought it to one of my games and the opposing team stole it. But hey, it will live in memory forever through this picture. I think it'll be the face of the World Cup someday.

This is me getting tipsy on New Years. With Martinelli's. :)

This is probably my all-time favorite picture. It's just so....us. I love Nate. He cracks me up all the time. It's not a flattering picture of me by any stretch of the imagination, but I just love it.

This is me with Lee Essig, one of my greatest friends. He's in Lima, Peru right now, and by the time I'm in St. Louis, he will have already been out for a year. Lucky dog. I miss him.

As long as we're talking about people that I miss like crazy, this is Adam Barlow. Probably my greatest friend. He leaves the MTC for Mozambique in 3 days.

Little known fact, I'm actually a Death Eater. April Fools. I'm actually Harry Potter.

Waiting in line for the...UNLV (?) game. I think. I'm pretty sure. I slept in a tent on freezing cold concrete in the snow, rain, and sleet. My memory is a little hazy. I'm pretty sure it was UNLV. And don't worry, I've got my loyal cougar shirt on underneath the neon jacket. I was just freezing outside. Also, why am I shrugging my shoulders? Anyone?

Well the underlying theme here seems to be things I will miss on my mission (friends, family, Harry Potter, BYU sports, Martinellis (?)). And it just wouldn't be complete if I didn't include waterskiing. Hopefully I'll get to go at least once before I leave, but I'm going to miss waterskiing. A whole lot.

Well I didn' mean for this to be a downer post. At all. So let me show you how I feel about my life. See this picture? SO happy that it's literally frightening. Are you not legitimately scared that my overenthusiastic self might just jump right through the computer screen and latch onto you, causing sever damage from exposure-to-unbelievable-joy? I know I am.

Have a nice day, everyone. Love ya :)

Experiences I will never forget

2011-03-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

Being in the epic flash mob (seen here) with Elizabeth during the Wyoming game.

Spending 3 days with just me and Nate in my apartment over Christmas break. I would have been very lonely without him.

Taking Matt to his soccer game and leading him in warm-ups.

PPIs with my dad.

So many long talks with my mom. And laughing about all of the good times we've had.

Nate being just as excited about me breaking 1000 as I was.

Matt's celebrations. Everything from his TOPS soccer games, to basement football, to the primary program.

Texting Elizabeth. Even if she did get a phone before she was 16 ;) I actually really like texting her :)

Analyzing BYU football, BYU basketball, Nate's soccer, my own soccer, march madness, bowl games, commentators, high school sports, church basketball, USA soccer, and so much more with my dad for literally hundreds of hours.

Getting hot chocolate with my mom after a freezing soccer game. And seeing how excited she was/is for my mission call. And going and getting mission suits with her. And knowing that she'd defend me and stand by me no matter what. (I really love my mom :)

Quotes over the years:

"You'll have to excuse your mother, she thinks she's musical." -Dad

"SORRY GUYS! I JUST TOOTED AND IT'S PRETTY BAD!" -Elizabeth

"Nanuts" -Matt (his version of "Numb Nuts")

"Holy Hail!" -Mom

"I don't want to read scriptures! It's just a book about a bunch of righteous people!" -Nate

So many more, but that will do. And I know you had to be there for most of these, but this post is more for me than for you :)

12.5 Random Thoughts at 12:50 AM

2011-03-22T00:12:00.003-07:00

Doesn't Mr. Clean look like a rough and tumble kind of guy? Can you see that muscly, bald, tank on his hands and knees washing the kitchen floor? I sure can't. False advertisement, I say.

It's funny how a mission call can have so many effects on you. One minute, I smile and think, "I can't wait to be a missionary." The next, I think, "Oh my. I better call Mom and Dad right now. I can't do it. What do I know about missionary work? Who am I to preach the gospel? I'm unqualified and unprepared." Luckily, I have a firm testimony of prayer.

I have long, heated conversations. With no one. Just me. Versus myself. I'm pretty good at winning these arguments.

Girls are SO much different than boys. I know this isn't groundbreaking. Just an observation, thank you very much.

Even though one of my roommates is super weird, I feel very blessed to have formed the relationships that I have with my roommates. They are great men of faith. I am very proud to say that I come from Kimball, 209.

Every morning (lately), I wake up with a random song stuck in my head. It's never the same one and varies from Rebecca Black (is that her name? The super annoying "Friday" song on youtube?), to Billy Joel, to Akon, to primary songs.

Blackberries bloom beautifully.

Did you hear that the makers of YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are all teaming up to create the ultimate social networking site?? Cool, huh!? It's going to be called, YouTwitFace.

I've been listening to Herod the Fink lately. Yep. Christmas songs. I love them. And I'm going to miss them.

Over the summer, I had a job painting a fence for a family in my ward (it was a big fence). I often find myself wishing that I was back in the sun, the smell of paint strong in the air, and music (or Harry Potter 7 hehe) blasting in my ears. I loved that job.

I have dreams on a regular basis that I get to play pick-up basketball with Jimmer Fredette. He's usually impressed by my three-point shooting.

Good friends are the greatest blessing. Man. There are so many good people in this world. It amazes me.

I was just thinking that sunflowers

Of BYU, and not just the basketball team :)

2011-03-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, first of all: that game was outstanding. If we can continue playing like that, we could make a deep run in the tournament. Knock on wood.

Okay, now that that's out of the way.

On facebook, after the game, a kid that I went to high school with (who I have a lot of respect for) posted several things about how much he hates BYU. He attends Utah State and loathes BYU. I just want to address a couple of the things he said he hates about BYU.

One thing he said was that he hates how BYU fans/students are brainwashed. Now, I will be the first person to say that the reason that I am a huge BYU fan is because my parents are. I was dressed in a BYU sweatsuit shortly after birth. I went to my first BYU football games before I had my first birthday. I've grown up with BYU in my blood. I don't believe this is brainwashing. Our parents teach us and as we grow up, we idolize our parents and tend to think like they do. Brainwashing involves things like teaching kids that if you bring down Americans and die in the process, you'll go to heaven. Brainwashing is knowingly taking away an individual's ability to see right from wrong--sports opinions do not fall in that category. Sports are a lot of things. They are entertainment, a way to teach life lessons, a way to express yourself, and so much more. However, the team you cheer for is not a decision of right and wrong. No matter how die-hard I am, nothing can change that fact.

Second, he said that he "hates BYU's rules."

I looked through his pictures, and he has lots of photos of himself at the BYU-Utah State football game wearing a shirt that switches the first letters of BYU and the most offensive vulgarity. It is very interesting to see his view on rules. I believe that the truth sets us free. I believe that when we live righteously, we are not restricted, but have more freedom. Freedom from addiction, freedom from spiritual death and the loss of the spirit.

I don't expect everyone to love BYU or to share these viewpoints. Let me just exercise my agency to say things that I love about BYU.

I love that I have a class entitled "Missionary Preperation."

I love that I get to learn about science and controversial topics from a gospel perspective.

I love that a lot of people at BYU are striving to be their best selves and live righteously.

I love so much about BYU, beyond sports. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I respect his as I hope he respects mine.

Oh, and I love Jimmer Fredette. :)

Last Night (slash morning) At 3 AM

2011-03-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

2:58 Loud noise. Like someone just banged a pan down on the burner in the kitchen.
2:58 I'm awake.
2:58 I become aware that I need to use the bathroom (it's a diabetes thing, needing to pee in the middle of the night)
2:59 Drag myself out of bed.
2:59 Notice on my way to the bathroom that the kitchen light is on and someone is singing in the kitchen.
3:01 Relieved.
3:01 Stop in kitchen and poke my head in and ask groggily, "Jonathan, it's 3 in the morning. What are you doing?"
3:01 Jonathan answers, "Making some beans."
3:01 Me: "Uh. Okay. Try to keep it down."

I have such a weird roommate.

Just some thoughts

2011-03-12T00:19:00.000-07:00

Whoever came up with the name Cheese Whiz needs to be fired.

I am going to miss BYU sports. More than I should.

If I had the motivation that I get about once a month (to work out) all the time, I'd be buff.

Fresh laundry is wonderful. Putting it away blows.

I hope I will be a good missionary.

I have amazing family. Immediate and extended.

Mission calls rank very high on the list of "Biggest Distractions for BYU Students who know they should be studying"

Jimmer Fredette is the best college basketball player in the nation. No matter what happens tomorrow (or today, technically).

I miss Adam and Lee and Sterling and Alex and Sam and Brad and Jared and Sean.

Life is great. I'm truly blessed.

Thanks for checking in :)

If I could have a conversation with my Junior High/High School Self

2011-02-25T14:25:00.002-07:00

Luckily, I had most of this figured out by my junior year. I've posted similar things before, but this has been on my mind. I'm going to write this in a seminary lesson/self lecture format. Perhaps a little contrary to the title, this is really what I wish I could tell the whole student body at Viewmont High.

To make a claim: The truthfulness or untruthfulness of the gospel is, without a doubt, the most important question that we face here in mortality. There are those who say, "The LDS church is good. There are good people who are members. The Book of Mormon is a nice book with some good principles." Quite frankly, these people couldn't be more wrong. The church is either true, and is everything it claims to be, or it is a lie. If the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith is a prophet, and this is the only true and living church on the earth today as it claims to be. There is no middle ground, no "It's a nice idea." It is what it claims to be, or it isn't.

Because of this fact, finding out for ourselves if the church is true or not is of utmost importance. Whether the church is true or not will affect nearly every major (and many minor) decisions in our lives. It simply does not work to just "not be sure." Of course, there is a time in all our lives that we must ponder, and before we get our answer about the truthfulness of the gospel, there may be a time that we're "not entirely sure yet." But this is the one exception. I challenge you to take both Moroni's and Alma's challenges (Moroni 10:3-5 and Alma 32:27). Even if you can "no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you." The Lord has promised that if you really want to know and you ask sincerely, He will give you an answer. Take Him up on it. Test the promise.

At some point, you will feel a "great anxiety over the welfare of your soul" as Joseph Smith did (not an exact quote, I'm going from memory here). The sooner this desire, this anxiety, takes place, the sooner you will find an answer to this ultimately important question. Let this desire occur now. Wait no longer to have a sincere desire to know truth. It will set you free, I promise.

Now, for those of you who already feel confident about the truthfulness the gospel:
Turn to 2 Nephi chapter 8. (Yay for understanding Isaiah!) Here, Isaiah talks about how the ideas of men and their opinions, will waste away. As someone who has graduated, let me tell you a simple truth: Your experience at Viewmont High School can only matter in two ways (in terms of eternal salvation) (by the way, this is Josh speaking, not church doctrine): 1. There are those who find good friends at Viewmont High. Their friends encourage them to make good decisions. Ultimately it is because of the good friends they made in high school that ensured their spiritual safety. And 2. There are those who, because of the opinions of men and because they want to be cool or liked, will compromise their beliefs and standards. They will fall prey to an ultimately more experienced adversary who wants nothing more than to see us fall into his traps. Because of the childish social pressures at Viewmont High, these individuals forfeit their promised mansions in the Kingdom of God.

After graduation, the social life of Viewmont High vanishes as quickly as it appeared on your first day as a sophomore. Nobody cares who kissed who at that party, or how awesome everyone on the basketball team is, or what that one girl said to offend your best friend's girlfriend. Now this is not to say that the social aspect of high school is evil or bad. It is not--if it is viewed with an eternal perspective. I have close friends from high school and I cherish their friendship like I do the relationships with my own family. I do not regret getting involved in the social atmosphere in order to gain favor with these friends who I now consider brothers and sisters. However, if there is any person or group that you are associated with that influences you to compromise your standards or beliefs, drop them. They are not worth your time. This is your eternal salvation we are talking about. I know how hard it can be to make a decision to change friend groups. At the time, it seems like it matters SO MUCH. But keep an eternal perspective, friends.

There is a challenge at Viewmont High to "walk the line." Interpretation: everyone (it seems) is trying to be good, but not "too good". In general, there aren't major drug problems, there aren't major gangs, and you don't have to worry about weapons being brought to school or your personal safety as you walk to class. In fact, most everyone could be classified as "good." But no one wants to be a "goody good." It is considered SO uncool for one to actually enjoy seminary or to actually turn off a song because it is suggestive. That's just too good. I would submit: What is "too good?" Is it possible, with an eternal perspective, to be "too good?" Are we not commanded? "Be ye therefore perfect." (Matthew 5) Strict obedience to the commandments, my friends, is nothing short of the Celestial Kindom.

So drop them. Get rid of the influences in your life that are preventing you from becoming who you can become. To be honest, it will be hard; I have an aunt who had an idiot boy at her high school make her life a living hell all throughout high school. I don't blame her one bit for never wanting to have to relive that time in her life. High school kids are cruel and devilish. I can't promise that you won't be judged for doing what is right. In fact, I can promise that you will. But you will be blessed for it.

Please, my friends, let us be examples of the believers. Let us live worthily of the spirit. Let us be who we want to be. As has been said by much greater men than I, we have been chosen to live at this time. We are not here by mistake. We cannot, must not, allow our royal heritage be wasted because of the opinions of hormonal, illogical, carnal, sensual, and devilish teenagers. Rise above. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail. The question is, which side will you be on? Make the decision today. The time for indecision has passed and now it is time to rise up.

Sorry for how long-winded this was, I just have had this on my mind and wanted to put it down in writing. If you made it this far, you get the best news of all: My call was sent today!! :)

My mission papers are in

2011-02-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

Guesses as to where I am going are currently being accepted. No prizes currently being offered. Sorry. Talk to my boss and convince her to pay me 30 dollars an hour and then maybe I'll be able to chip in some prize money.

Love you all :)

It doesn't do it justice...

2011-02-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

But this is some idea of what it's like to sit in the student section and get pumped up before the game.

First Thought Paper for Mission Prep

2011-01-31T12:02:00.002-07:00

Four years ago, my home Stake became the first Stake in the United States to put on the Stake Youth Conference called “Moroni’s Quest.” The youth conference was similar to Pioneer Trek, but instead of reenacting what the pioneers did, we all dressed up as Nephites and Lamanites, and spent 4 days reenacting the Book of Mormon from start to finish. I was 14 years old at the time. I remember the spirit being very strong and that my testimony was strengthened of the Book of Mormon.

This last summer, my Stake again put on the Moroni’s Quest conference and I had a chance to be involved a second time in this great event. This time, however, I received an assignment to be Nephi, son of Lehi, in the reenactments. All of the reenactments were pre-recorded, to avoid the risk of lines being forgotten and to help the whole program to run more smoothly. I had a couple different recording sessions and about a week before we were to set off, I felt that my part was essentially done. Come to find out, the director of the reenactments wanted all of the actors to have their lines memorized, in order to make it more real for both the audience and for us as actors. I was not very excited by this proposition, because Nephi had A LOT of lines, and I was uncomfortable enough as I am nowhere near a lover of theater.

Grudgingly, however, I put the recordings of my lines on my ipod and began listening to the recordings while I worked for my Bishop during the day. After listening to the recordings countless numbers of times, I found that the story of Nephi, taught to me since my primary days, began to change. I began to hear the voice of the Lord speaking to me, Nephi, commanding me to slay Laban, build a ship, and explaining how it was to be done. I found that the words of Nephi to the Lord asking for “strength, that I may burst these bands with which I am bound” became my own words and my own prayer, pleading with my Heavenly Father to forgive me of my weaknesses and shortcomings. I realized that Nephi was not born with faith. He had to trust in the Lord and the adversary worked to shake his faith just as he does today. I found it easier, in my personal reading, to liken the scriptures to myself because I now see the characters as people, the stories as accounts of real events.

After the first day of the conference, I was exhausted in every way. I had been up early for rehearsals and then gotten the plates, killed Laban, built a ship, passed the plates to my brother, Jacob, and died. As I got in the tent, anxious for some rest, my fellow priest quorum brother asked if he could read a chapter out of the Book of Mormon out loud, because it helped him focus on the words more effectively. Initially, I was irritated. We had just spent the last 18 hours reenacting the Book of Mormon! Why would you be anxious to read it now? As he read, however, the spirit fell over our tent in a way that I had never experienced before. His testimony and faith in daily scripture study, no matter what the circumstances, strengthened my resolve to read the Book of Mormon more diligently.

On the final night of the conference, we experienced the climax of the Book of Mormon. We were blindfolded by our leaders, and led through strange paths and were deafened by the sounds of thunder and lightning. After a time, we were instructed to remove the blindfolds. As our eyes adjusted, we saw Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, coming down the hill to meet us. I was called as one of the twelve disciples, and partook of the sacrament, administered by my Redeemer. I saw the change in the countenance of my fellow Nephites and Lamanites as He walked among us. I know that He lives. I know that the Book of Mormon is the record of His people in the Americas. It really is true.

Player Of the YEAR!!

2011-01-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

Seriously?

2011-01-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

BYU played Colorado State Saturday night. We beat them. But here's the thing that got me.

Jimmer Fredette scored a quiet 42 points.

Is that possible? A quiet 42?

But seriously, he had 21 in the first half that were great. He was playing his game, shooting the long-range, getting to the rack, all that jazz.

In the second half, he matched it, but with very little fanfare. Watching it with about 20 other freshmen in the lobby, EVERYONE was asking, "What happened to Jimmer?" and "Why isn't Jimmer scoring?"

He's incredible. I can't get over it. 42 points? That's absurd.

Beat the Aztecs!

The Very, Very Earliest Beginnings of a Potential Story I'm Co-Writing with a Friend and I May Have Stolen From My Dad, I can't remember for sure

2011-01-18T14:31:00.000-07:00

Shady.

That was the only way to describe him.

He appeared on rainy days on State Street in Bakersfield. He was always headed east, and always wearing a large, grey trenchcoat. His physique was altogether forgettable. Medium build, bland features, bland hair. He walked all hunched over like a timid high-schooler.

A regular occurence on campus

2011-01-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Almost every day when I'm walking to class, I hear some people who I'm approaching talking to each other. I think, "Oh that's cool, I wonder what language that is."

Seconds after I pass them, I replay the conversation in my head, trying to decipher where the duo must have served missions/be from. Then I realize.

That was English.

Thank you Lauren

2010-12-23T13:57:00.002-07:00

For teaching me how to love as deeply as my 18 year-old heart possibly could.
For helping me (indirectly) to learn to apply the Atonement.
For showing me how to have tons of fun.
For so many great times together, laughing.
For teaching me chivalry.
For helping me to be my best self.
For encouraging me (because of the person that you were) to think my most noble thoughts.
For encouraging me to serve a mission.
For teaching me sympathy.
For making me dig deep and turn to the Lord.
For opening up opportunities to be a better missionary.
For opening up opportunities to make friendships that I wouldn’t have made if we were still together.
For friendships made while we were together that I wouldn’t have made if we weren’t together.
Lauren, thanks for 14 great months. I cherish memories with you. They are close to my (broken) heart. I’m very sad that something so great and wonderful had to come to such a painful, immature, and bitter end. I’m so sad about the way you have handled the situation. I know you probably won’t read this, but I still wanted to thank you. I miss so many of the good things that we had together, but I have now realized that I deserve much better than the way you have treated me in the last month.
I deserve someone who cares enough to not want to hurt me.
I deserve someone who is nice to people, not just their significant other.
I deserve someone who loves me for me.
Someday, I’m going to find someone like that. You, Lauren, have helped me move closer to that person. In the end, after some serious maturation on your part, I think we could be great friends again, and maybe even date. But for now, I hope that you can realize your mistakes, think about someone besides yourself, learn your lessons, and be happy and successful in whatever you choose to pursue.
Now, other people need to be thanked.

Thank you Nate, for spending this week with me in Provo so that I didn’t have to sit with nothing but (potentially negative) thoughts for company.
Thank you Jesse, for your music that truly touches me, for caring about me, and for making your love for me apparent in your subtle way.
Thank you Mom, for letting me cry on your shoulder, being the absolute best mom, and for having sympathy in the most incredible, incomparable way.
Thank you Mom, Dad, Elizabeth, Nate, and Matt for so freely forgiving me and loving me fully and appreciating everything from my weird sense of humor to my specialty falsetto riffs in the living room (I guess those are the same thing).
Thank you Annie, for being the absolute best friend anyone could ever ask for. For listening to me, advising me, giving straight up sympathy, and assuring me that I deserve better treatment than I have received.
Thank you Becca and Jessy for putting up with me being in your apartment more than my own and also being wonderful friends to me.
Thank you to Adam for being my brother and an awesome roommate. You will make an amazing missionary.
Thank you Jessica, Elizabeth, and the rest of 129 for being awesome FHE sisters and letting me complain to you and caring.
I know there is more, but I think that covers the majority of my earthly helpers.

Thank you all. I love you and am so grateful to you all for caring about me and loving me. Also, thanks for dealing with the endless run-on sentences and ridiculous number of ands in this post.

Explanation :)

2010-12-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I feel bad because I've left some ominous, scary posts. Here's the story, so everyone knows what's going on.

So Lauren and I had been dating for about 14 months, and were just the happiest couple ever. We had lots of fun, we had our bad days like any couple, but 90 percent of our relationship was just smooth sailing and the other 10 percent was solved easily.

Over Thanksgiving break, Lauren broke up with me very unexpectedly. I didn't really have any forewarning, and that's part of what made it really hard. Originally, she said the reason was that with my mission coming up in about 6 months, we needed to break up, that it was just the best thing. Now I had been having similar feelings (about needing to slow down and become much less attached in order for me to be a good missionary and her to not be miserable when I left). I thought that just breaking up seemed like a pretty drastic action, but I accepted it and while it really hurt, I knew that I'd just have to get over it.

(I'm leaving out specific details here, but you'll all get the overview.) So after she broke up with me, and after saying that she still wanted to be good friends and everything, she was a really big jerk to me. I could give specific examples, but it's really not necessary, it's easy enough to say that she was really mean and did not show that she wanted to be friends. If anything, she made it quite clear that she didn't ever want to talk to me again, and that her life was much better without me. So that was hard.

Really hard.

But, I'm a strong guy, and I started getting over it. It really hurt, but slowly I was getting better at not thinking about it and getting over it.

The final dagger (and the origin of my last post) was that I found out that she already hooked up with a new guy. And that she's been with him for a week. This just really hurt that she didn't have respect or dignity to give me (or herself, for that matter) time to let wounds heal. So just to clear up the timeline--she hooked up with a new guy after about a week and a half of breaking up with me after us being together for 14 months. I don't think I'm alone in thinking that that is way too quick.

The hard part is that I feel like I've handled the situation so well and yet it's just one thing after another. But obviously, she has her agency. She's 16 and it's not an easy situation for her either. I definitely wish that she was handling the situation more maturely, but all I can control is how I react.

The point is, I'm fine. Yes, it really hurts. I never thought that she would treat me this way. But, for the most part, I am doing much better. Obviously it's hard to not think about her, and that's when I throw my little pity parties like my last blog post. But I don't want anyone to worry. With time, it'll pass, and every day it gets a little easier. Thank you all for your support. I love you guys. I am truly blessed to have family and friends who care about me.

Hopefully

2010-12-15T15:04:00.003-07:00

The night is darkest just before the dawn.

Hallelujah

2010-12-09T12:18:00.001-07:00

Never have to go to 7AM basketball class again.

Possibly the Best Song Ever

2010-12-01T23:09:00.001-07:00

I've got a friend in Bethlehem
And the angels sing His name
I've got a friend in Bethlehem
And I'll never be the same

I've got a friend in Galilee
And He walks upon the sea
I've got a friend in Galilee
And He's always there for me

On storms I see, He reaches out for me
A miracle, if I believe

I've got a friend on the mountainside
And He's always feeding me
I've got a friend on the mountainside
And He teaches how to be

I've got a friend on Calvary
And He lived and died for me
I've got a friend on Calvary
And He died to set me free

On the third day, He rose up from the tomb
To break the bands for me and you.

I've got a friend in Bethlehem
I've got a friend in Galilee
I've got a friend on Calvary
I've got a friend right here with me.

Note To Self

2010-11-29T09:36:00.002-07:00

Ibuprofen does nothing for a broken heart.

Current Update in mostly incomplete sentences

2010-11-17T12:29:00.001-07:00

Tuesday November 17, 2010
6:40 AM
Sit up.
Head pound.
Quick check of all holes in my head (nostrils 1 and 2, mouth/throat, eyes, ears).
All holes clogged.
Think to self, "Guess I'm not going to 7AM basketball class."
Lay down.
Think to self, "You're going to fail if you don't go."
Sit back up.
Moan.
Pull on basketball shorts.
Suffer through basketball class.
Get back.
Call in sick.
Spend entire day in miserable stuffiness.
Go to sleep.

Wednesday November 18, 2010
8:20 AM
Sit up.
Feel okay.
Think to self, "I'm okay."
Go to work.
Head pounding.
Nose clogged.
Papers to write.
Quiz to take.
Cruise this weekend.

Blah.

Bucket List Check-Off

2010-10-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Get woken up in my apartment by the Cougar Marching Band, playing the fight song, on the day of homecoming. Check.

Rise all loyal cougars.

Deep Thoughts With Josh Crowley

2010-10-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think of life like my frozen burrito: Tons of things in life are great. But if it's cheap, it's just going to give you gas.

I don't know, I'll never be Jack Handy. It's a work in progress.

A short, thoughtful poem for you

2010-09-21T10:43:00.002-07:00

As I walked back from early class,
In the steady, cool morning air,
I passed hoards of my fellow freshmen,
And got high from their wafting perfume.

Yummy.

Quick Update

2010-09-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

So I'm about three weeks into college.

It's great. I can't say it's what I expected. I also don't know exactly what I expected, but whatever it was, this isn't exactly it. It's great though! I started my job this week, and that has been stressful, but good. I'm taking 12 credits and working 20 hours a week. I love BYU. I love that we have a prayer before class. I love cheering at the games as a student. I hope all is well with you and yours. I hope that I can post a little more often as I get the hang of everything.

“If you saw two guys named Hambone and Flippy, which one would you think liked dolphins most? I'd say Flippy, wouldn't you? You'd be wrong though. It's Hambone.”
Jack Handy quote

Thank you, friend.

2010-08-23T18:56:00.001-07:00

Good friends have been on my mind lately. I have had a ton of good friends in my life. I could go on for hours explaining all the people who have influenced me and how they have changed my life, but it suffices me to say this:

Thank you. Thank you for being my friend. I love you guys and truly know that the Lord has guided my life in a specific way. I only hope that I can give Him back a life of service and love and friendship to His children.

I am so blessed. It overwhelms me to think about how richly blessed I am. Thank you again.

P.S. I am moving down to provo in two days!! I'll hopefully be posting more once I'm moved in, considering that I don't really know what I'm going to do with myself for entertainment (other than BYU football, of course :)

Headline on this month's readers digest

2010-08-08T13:17:00.004-07:00

On the front cover of this month's readers digest read the story headline "13 things identity thieves won't tell you."

First off, how many of you are in contact with your identity thief/thieves and how honest are they with you? Are they holding back their secrets? Is the relationship open and personal? Or secretive? What isn't he/she telling you?

Now, to further mock this stupidly chosen headline, I have come up with my own list of 13 things that I doubt that identity thieves will tell you.

13. His (for the sake of this list, we're assuming it's a dude) mother's maiden name.
12. The answer to his "secret question" to change his passwords.
11. His credit card number
10. His social security number
9. Bank account number
8. Pin number
7. Kids names and birthdays
6. Passwords
5. His name
4. His address
3. His phone number
2. Where he keeps his valuables

And number one on the list of things that Josh thinks that your identity thief won't tell you:

1. Uh...THE FACT THAT HE'S STOLEN YOUR IDENTITY.

This whole "wait-a-year-to-get-into-the-mission-field" plan really stinks.

2010-07-25T09:32:00.002-07:00

See title.

How does this sound?

2010-07-07T17:40:00.002-07:00

$10 an hour
My own schedule
Free vacation/break time
Consistent, rewarding work
By myself (free to listen to ipod, think, sing, etc)
For the rest of the summer

Man, I am so blessed. My prayers were truly answered.

Help Available

2010-06-14T12:32:00.002-07:00

You know, like "Help Wanted" except it's "Help Available"

I need a job.

Lame post.

Here's a Nice Follow Up to the Invincible Teenager Post

2010-06-01T12:25:00.002-07:00

So I'm going to college in the fall. College is expensive. BYU didn't give me an academic scholarship despite good grades and a good act score. I then applied for a scholarship from the diabetes scholars foundation for 5,000 dollars. I put together an amazing application, if I do say so myself. No dice. Found out just now that I didn't get it.

Gosh dang it.

This sucks. Why doesn't anyone want to help me out? I don't know how I'm going to pay for college.

Another Flashback

2010-05-27T08:43:00.004-07:00

I'm graduating from High School next week. This reminded me of this experience:

I was probably about 9 or 10 years old. We were living at our old house (2 streets over from where we live now). I was sitting on my bedroom floor looking at the coin collecting book my parents got for me for my birthday, on the page for the state quarters. Each state's slot fell under the year its quarter would be released. I remember looking at the four slots for the year 2008 and my heart sinking.

"I'll be able to drive." I thought. And I started crying. Just the fact that this year was in the foreseeable future, that it was written in this book, scared me to death.

I don't cry about growing up any more, but it is weird to think that my life is going to change more than ever before in the next year. The next 3 months, really.

I'm so stoked. Bring on the world. Bring on college, mission, career, family. I know--I have invincible teenager syndrome. And I love it.

Word Documents From My Computer Through The Years

2010-05-16T14:55:00.003-07:00

1st 9th grade essay
AP Euro Summer project
6 Dollar Burger Poem
Blog fill in the blank story
Concert Critique
Conference Bingo
Cougar Report
Cover for poem project
Cover for SBO portfolio
Diabetes Scholarship Application
Edited Blog Stories
Essay Rewrite
Favorite Quotes
Hell Newspaper
In the Valley of Prumbles
Jack Handy Quotes
Josh's Poems
Josh's Resume
Josh's Short Story
Life of Pi and Lord of the Flies
Mr. Rogers Newspaper
Mr. Wolf
On Top of Water
Reflective Writing
Sacrament Talk
Stats Project
Sweet 16 Invite
Waterskiing Project
Writing is...

Flashbacks

2010-05-02T19:51:00.002-07:00

A couple days ago I went to Carl's Jr. After finishing all but the little bit of Sprite and the ice in the cup, I left it in the truck. A few hours later, on my way home, I grabbed the cup to sip the remains of my drink earlier. The mostly-water-but-Sprite-flavored liquid hit my tongue.

Almost as realistically as a time-traveling, cartoon vortex, I found myself sitting in a gold toyota. I was in the passenger seat with my dad, parked in a neighborhood in provo, finishing a whopper before kick-off. Greg Wrubel's voice was examining the game weather conditions, and it had taken so long for me to finish the massive burger that there was just a small mixture of melted ice and sprite in the bottom of my cup. With painful realization, I found myself slamming back down into the present, sitting in my truck, and my heart sank to the pit of my stomach.

I miss BYU football.

Yesterday I took advantage of the chance to drive our Mazda rather than the truck and plugged my ipod into the tape converter. With the ipod on shuffle, I found myself listening to "Sunny Days" by Jars of Clay. With the same reality previously described, I was transported into a small, white-and-purple glastron boat on a 90 degree summer day. I was laying in the bow of the boat, listening to the stereo play a CD entitled "Lake Favorites." My muscles were completely exhausted, having taken a beating the previous two or three days of the lake trip. My original sunburn was turning into a nice tan and I was with a few of my favorite people in the world.

I miss waterskiing.

Bathroom Humor (not really)

2010-04-26T13:52:00.002-07:00

Okay, this might be slightly awkward, but what is the deal with not flushing the toilet in public bathrooms? I've never walked into someone's bathroom in their house and found leftovers, so what's the deal with public bathrooms? I've tried to come up with any explanation and nothing makes sense.

Laziness? Can't be. Pulling a handle? Even lazy people do that.

Just forget? I doubt it. If you don't forget at home, you couldn't forget in public.

Humor? I just don't see how this is funny. Even if you have some twisted sense of humor and would get a laugh out of that, you don't get to see the reaction, so how is it funny?

Also, scratching swear words into the wall? What the heck? Do you really feel like a big shot? Anyway, I just don't get it.

Thoughts to ponder. Haha

Senioritis

2010-04-15T17:20:00.001-07:00

Oh how I wish I could graduate right now.

I always said that I'd never have a problem getting through high school; I've never had trouble coming to school and sitting in class.

I was wrong.

I'm pretty sure I must have done something horribly wrong to deserve the punishment of sitting in class every day, wishing I was at BYU or serving a mission.

Blah.

Little Brother

2010-03-20T16:16:00.002-07:00

I'm so sick of Utah fans around here.

Friday I was watching the Cougars win their first tournament game since 1993 in the library at my school during lunch when a bunch of people showed up in utah apparel and started cheering loudly for Florida. When asked about how the Utes did this season they promptly (and expectedly) responded, "I don't follow Utah basketball."

Of course you don't. They suck this year.

I just saw a post on Facebook from a Utah fan cheering on the Kansas State Wildcats.

Look, you don't have to cheer for BYU. I don't cheer for Utah, even when it's "good for the conference." Call me irresponsible and immature; I still don't cheer for them. But seriously, at least I have the decency to keep it to myself.

Utah didn't even make the NIT--the loser's bracket.

Grow up, Yewts.

It's 11:31

2010-02-26T23:43:00.001-07:00

and I feel like writing something short.

Few February Fridays,
those normally numbing times,
can meet the magnificence
of today.

:)

2010-02-16T20:28:00.001-07:00

Dear Josh:

The Admissions Committee is delighted to inform you that you have been admitted to Brigham Young University to begin Fall 2010. Through your preparation and personal achievements you have distinguished yourself from a very strong group of applicants. We believe you will make a positive contribution to our BYU community. It is a great pleasure to welcome you to our campus to pursue your educational goals.

Warmest regards,

R. Kirk Strong
Director of Admission Services

Accept Decision
Once you have decided whether or not you will or will not be attending Brigham Young University, please return to this section and inform us of your decision. For further explanation, see the frequently asked questions link.
I will be attending BYU.

I've decided

2010-01-24T17:10:00.002-07:00

that texting has actually been good for my writing skills, in a weird way, and as weird as that sounds. Here's my reasoning:

First off, I don't use the texting language (i.e. not using commas, saying txt instead of text, R for are, U for you, etc). The only habit I have gotten into is not capitalizing "I," which I feel bad about every time.

Secondly, and more importantly, I think being able to say what you mean in 160 characters is a valuable skill. My college entrance essays this year had to be 200 words or less, which is VERY limited space. I hate to say that texting helped me, but I certainly don't think it hurt.

Random thought of the day :)

It's My Life, It's My Blog

2010-01-20T15:41:00.003-07:00

I really don't have much to say today.

I'm hopefully going to the temple tonight and then to the Viewmont Hockey game.

I have an appointment with my endo (diabetes doctor) tomorrow.

I'm nervous.

Last time was my worst visit ever because I was not maintaining good control of my diabetes.

This time should be better.

They take a test that measures your blood sugar control over the previous three months.

I hate doing it. So much trepidation.

Anyway, hope everyone is doing great, I really am loving life, I just don't have a lot to say today.

Oh, I'm waiting to hear from the BYU admissions office. :)

Osmosis of Science Knowledge.

2009-12-28T10:46:00.002-07:00

I have now taken the ACT test three times. Once as a sophomore, once as a junior, and now once as a senior.

As a sophomore I scored a composite 30. I was thrilled with this score, and even more exciting was the well-roundedness of my score. My lowest sub-score (the subgroups are English, Math, Reading, and Science/Reasoning) was a 28 and my high a 31.

My junior year I scored a composite 31, which I was, again, very happy about. Unfortunately, my science sub-score dropped one point from a 30 as a sophomore to a 29, but I compensated by jumping my English score from a 30 to a 34.

Today I got my scores for the test. I scored a composite 31. Again. I know it is still a good score, but I'm really frustrated with myself. My science sub-score was a 25.

Twenty-five.

My stellar english score also dropped from a 34 to a 33. I really am not disappointed in the score itself. It's going to get me into BYU, which has been the goal since forever. I'm probably going to get a scholarship too, which is very good. I'm just disappointed in myself. If I had simply matched my score on the science portion from my sophomore year, I would have the 32 I was shooting for.

English Muffins! (That's my new curse word.)

Poetry is Beautiful

2009-12-16T13:09:00.002-07:00

The still sounds of a rainstorm speak.
They speak truth,
Bang
Swish.
Pitter patter.

My heart sings the song of eternity,
The anguish of a broken soul,
The rush of life coming fast,
The redeeming song of light.

Stand back up,
Run a mile,
Express some thanks,
Give a hug,
Close your eyes,
Vent some feelings,
Smell your pillow,
Fix some mistakes.

Moments define our lives.

I've Gotta Post About It...

2009-11-25T10:02:00.004-07:00

BYU's offense: Stellar
Utah's defense: Great as usual
BYU's defense: Meh
Utah's offense: Meh

First of all, I do not agree with most Utah and BYU fans. Max Hall, in my opinion, has overcome his choke-in-the-big-game-ness. He beat Oklahoma in what was essentially a road game on a killer fourth quarter drive.

He played very well against Florida State, especially in the first half. Our defense did not give our offense a chance to win the game. We had a couple key turnovers (not all Max) that ended up with a thorough spanking.

In the TCU game, Max did not perform well. I would have loved to see him come out and pass all over them (obviously), and he didn't. However, in my opinion, even if Max had come out and played an amazing game, we still would have lost. TCU is really amazing this year, and even though I think we could have stuck with them (at least more than we did), we still would have lost.

So, do I think Max is going to choke against Utah? Not a chance. His legend at BYU is on the line. He is an amazing quarterback, I don't care what anyone says, that is a fact. I really think my Cougs are going to win this one. I think it's the closest match-up there has been between these two teams in a long time. It's going to be fun.

Go Cougars!

Tidbits

2009-11-10T17:32:00.002-07:00

4.0 :)
Stake Musical Production
BYU Application :)
SBO Activities
Christmas Music
New Dog
Naps

Life is good.

El Futbol Americano

2009-10-26T17:38:00.002-07:00

In order to help compensate for the pain of not playing the best sport on earth, I've been playing football with some guys from school. I've played two games so far, once Saturday and once today.

Stats:

Saturday:

Touchdowns: 0
Receptions: 2
Dropped passes: at least 4
Good Tackles: 1 or 2

Monday:

Touchdowns: 3
Receptions: at least 7
Dropped passes: 0
Good Tackles: 0
Fumble Recoveries: 1
Number of times getting run over by a 6'5", 200 lb train: 2--ouch

So my hope is to get better at defense and continue improving on offense. I know this doesn't mean much to you guys, but I'm just excited to have a little testosterone flowing again. I think I'll go grill some steak and check on that ole boat engine now. *insert manly grunt here*

The Road Not Taken

2009-10-12T21:25:00.003-07:00

I'm sure most if not all of you have read/heard Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken." I love it, so I'm posting it along with my comments.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

How true. In today's world there is so much evil, so much hate, so much filth. It is easy, even in an LDS culture to take the common road: Go to church, say your prayers, casually read your scriptures occasionally, act like the church isn't that important, rebel because you can, clean yourself up, serve a mission, get married in the temple, be an average member of the church who likes some callings and hates others.

To me it all comes down to my faith and testimony in Jesus Christ. Being a "good" member of the church as a teenager is uncool. So what? If this (the gospel) really is true, as I believe it is, then a few people's judgment of me as a "Peter Priesthood" won't mean much on the ultimate judgment day. I wish all teenagers at Viewmont High got this concept. And I also wish it was as easy to live as it is to say. I'm not perfect, just trying.

That's my thought for the day :)

Even Though I Should Be Trying To Figure Out My Stats Assignment Or Getting To Bed, I'm Writing This Poem. Because I Can

2009-09-24T21:10:00.002-07:00

I am from the Crowley's
From slalom skiing and the gift-exchange.
And laughing till it hurts and serving with family.

I am from the Nilsen's
From staying up till 1 AM catching up with cousins
And listening to stories about my grandpa and grandma.

I am from soccer
From goals scored and juggling records broken
And sitting on the sideline and wanting to cry.

I am from Provo
From games before I could talk
And 66,000 screaming fans.

I am from lawn mowing
From loud music
And personal satisfaction.

I am from reading
From Harry Potter
And Where the Red Fern Grows.

I am from John
From hours of sports analysis
And home-teaching visits.

I am from Janet
From hot chocolate after soccer games
And long talks about life and girls.

I am from friends
From movies and Carl's Jr.
And pick-up basketball and life.

I am from life lessons
From working and bomb threats
And so much more to come.

Stink

2009-09-21T15:19:00.002-07:00

For lack of a better word.

Total Disbelief

2009-09-06T17:28:00.002-07:00

Unbelievable. I am absolutely amazed. Go Cougs.

I want to apologize for my less than optimistic post. I was honestly just trying to be realistic and prep myself for what I thought was going to be a loss for BYU.

I stand corrected.

Now regarding what I'm sure I'll be hearing from Utah fans on Tuesday back at school:

Sam Bradford's injury:

I'm sure that there will be plenty of people who will say that if Bradford hadn't gotten hurt, they would have beaten us in the second half. Certainly the game changed after Bradford was out. No doubt about it, there is no replacing a player like that.

BUT

When Bradford left the game the score was 7-7. The only touchdown he scored on us was after we handed them the ball on our own 30-yard line on a fumbled punt return. We held one of the best quarterbacks in the nation (maybe the best) to 7 points and no one can say that we couldn't have done it again. I actually felt more worried for our defense in the second half when they were running the ball at us and moving the ball effectively.

Now if anyone says that Oklahoma was over-rated, they can go suck a lemon. They were not. We outplayed an incredible team. Period.

Watch out college football, the cougars are here to stay.

Football Season

2009-09-01T20:02:00.002-07:00

Look at me, not even a full week and a new post already. So pretty much this Saturday is a HUGE day. BYU is playing Oklahoma. Here are my thoughts:

Reasons we could lose:

Oklahoma is a powerhouse. They have an amazing quarterback and overall amazing athletes, better than BYU's or anyone in the Mountain West for that matter.

We have a brand-spankin'-new offensive line, which could spell destruction for our offense. If Max is getting rushed every down, we don't have much of a chance.

Our secondary does not have my confidence until they prove themselves. We heard good things before last season, but by the end they were anything but up to snuff. I REALLY want them to be great, but they've got to prove it to me. Defending Sam Bradford is going to be ridiculously hard for the best of secondaries, let alone one that has yet to prove itself.

Reasons we could win:

Oklahoma played for the National Championship last season. BYU had a disappointing finish to say the least. This plays in our favor, in my opinion, because OU could easily come out overconfident. BYU, on the other hand, has something to prove.

We have a solid defensive line, while OU has a brand new offensive line also. I don't care how good Bradford is, no one can complete passes if they're getting smashed into the ground by Jan Jorgensen and Russell Tialevea every down.

Max Hall is hungry.

Mckay Jacobson is back. Dennis Pitta, Oneil Chambers, Luke Ashworth, Andrew George, Harvey Unga, and Manase Tonga round off what could easily be one of the best offenses BYU has had in a while.

I feel this is a very fair list. Obviously I'm ridiculously partial, but the things I have brought up are nothing but fact. Realistically, I give us a 15-20% chance of winning. Highly unlikely. My hope is that the football nation turns off their TVs saying, "BYU just gave an amazing OU team a great game. They kept it close and looked like a great team, but couldn't quite pull it out in the end. They are a force to be reckoned with."

I think anything within 14 points is a success for BYU. As long as no one gets injured, we don't turn the ball over, we create at least one turnover, and we don't get beat by more than 14 or 17, I'll keep my head held high at school Monday :)

Go Cougs.

My Sincerest Apologies

2009-08-26T18:59:00.002-07:00

School started. Let me repeat that slightly differently: summer is over. As in waterskiing, vegging, waking up at noon, movies with friends on weeknights—over. Ugh. Where did summer go? We JUST got out of school. Anyway, I know it's no excuse for my ridiculous lack of posting, but that is my measly attempt at an excuse.

Don't get me wrong, life is great. My schedule this year is:
A days:
Student Government
AP English
CE Chemistry
Seminary

B days:
Foods 1 (haha)
US government
Spanish 3
AP Statistics

Pretty fun stuff overall. It's going to be a great year. I could do with another month of summer, but I'm still just breaking into school, thats all.

I will do my best to post more often. :)

Kick kick kick kick kick...

2009-07-29T20:21:00.003-07:00

Two weeks ago I broke my soccer juggling record. It's now 1453.

I'm actually really proud of that accomplishment. I've been thinking about it a lot. I've spent countless hours juggling, it's kind of a part of me. It started back when I was probably 10 or 11 and my dad took me outside and started juggling with me. We would allow one bounce in between every touch. We were thrilled when we got 13. Amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it.

I remember the first time I broke 50. I couldn't believe it. I remember thinking, "What if I broke 100?! Wouldn't that be something." So I worked. A lot. And soon after I broke 100. Then I decided that one day I'd break 1000. And two weeks ago I did it. Wow. One of those priceless journeys I guess. Wouldn't trade it for anything. :)

Have a great day.

An Update In the Life of JJ

2009-07-13T19:58:00.003-07:00

I'm becoming one of those really lame bloggers. One of those bloggers that never blog. Lame! So here's a post. I feel like my life has been a huge roller coaster the last little while, so (although you probably aren't really dying to read about my life) I'm giving yet another update in the life of JJ Crowley.

Camps/Trips Taken So Far: Back East trip with family, EFY with cousins, Ward Youth Conference at Bear Lake, Student Body Office retreat at Bear Lake (two days after youth conference, haha), Priests Camp on the Snake River.

Trips Yet to Be Taken: Just one leadership conference. Maybe two. Probably one. YAY! Home at last.

SBO: Well, I've already mentioned it, but I'll be the publicity officer next year at Viewmont. Right now I'm brainstorming ideas of how to spice up the morning announcements because NO ONE listens to them, and it's killing me. I have to get the word out, and that is the best way, and yet NO ONE pays attention. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Soccer: This, in my opinion, is the saddest part of my life right now. For the first time in 9 years, I'm not on a team. It's killing me. I juggle every day (that I've been home), but my burning passion and love for the greatest sport on earth isn't being quenched. I think I'll go cry in my room now.

Summer Goals: At the beginning of the summer we (me and my siblings) made personal goals for the summer. Our parents then gave us an amount of money they would be willing to pay us if we completed the goals. I've gotta say, I really like this idea! I've been showered and dressed every day by 10:30 this summer (I know some of you just sprayed milk out your nose, but this is actually an accomplishment for me. I'm quite the "vegger" as my mom calls it). I've also been much more consistent on exercising and scripture reading because of it.

Life in General: Is great. I love life. I'm so blessed. Out of 6 BILLION people on earth I get to be one of 13.5 million who have the true gospel in my life. The Lord has entrusted me with his priesthood. I understand where I was before I came to Earth. I know why I'm here and that the Lord expects much of me. I know where I'm going after this life and what I have to do to obtain eternal glory and life with my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. Wow. I can't wait to share that with other people. Like I said, I'm more blessed than I can even express.

Well that went rather churchy towards the end, but this is a Destination of Diverse Discussion, so that's okay. :) Thanks for checking in and I will try to post more often now that I'll be home some more.

Craziness

2009-06-22T08:50:00.006-07:00

Well the day after school got out we (my family) went back east for a week. We got home at midnight (ish) Sunday, June 14th. At about 9 the next morning I left for EFY with my cousins. Whew! What a way to kick off the summer. It was so great. I don't have any pictures from EFY yet, but I should have some later on. Here are some from our trip back east:

The journey begins :)

Nate and Elizabeth in the grove. How precious :)

Wow. 'Nuff said.

The Susquehanna River.

The monument at the Susquehanna River (where Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the Aaronic Priesthood and baptized each other!)

Thomas Jefferson...A statue of him.

The Kirtland Temple.

Nate striking a pose in front of the Newel K. Whitney Store. This is where Joseph Smith taught the school of the prophets!

Angel Moroni on the Hill Cumorah. Awesome.

The Sacred Grove. Incredible.

JFK's headstone.

Honest Abe Lincoln. And Elizabeth. Thumbs Up.

How we all felt at the end of the trip. :)

Copy Center

2009-06-02T16:46:00.002-07:00

I have decided to copy my cousin kate and make my blog invitation-less. It's just such a pain for you and me to login constantly. If I have problems, I'll go back, but I don't see that being much of an issue.

The Two Poems...

2009-05-22T16:12:00.002-07:00

...that were published (along with my story) in Viewmont's first ever literary magazine.

Mrs. Mortimer is Waiting

If you should come across a freshly chewed piece of bubble gum,

in the middle of the rarely visited path between the Samson's and the Bells,

on a crisp October evening

on your way to visit Mrs. Mortimer,

who invited you over for cookies and grapefruit juice

for the third time this week,

and even though you're dreadint the musty smell

due to the ridiculous amount of cat food in the basement,

you still visit,

because heaven knows that this world needs more people like you,

who still rake the neighbor's leaves,

and eat at the local diner,

and walk the dog,

and read books on the weekend.

So leave the gume there,

Mrs. Mortimer is waiting.

It's kinda weird, kinda cool, kinda confusing. I really don't have any explanation, it's just supposed to be interpreted however you want to interpret it.

What Makes You?

The moments between sleep and consciousness,

Watching a thunderstorm,

Conversations with myself,

Listening to the sounds of your house at home alone,

Waking up before anyone in the tent,

Races against no one,

Silent self-evaluations,

Great contemplative songs,

Wearing the sweatpants you got for Christmas all break long,

Failed exercise plans,

Stepping over the sidewalk cracks,

Fighting for starting posoitions,

Success,

Disappointment,

Enthusiasm,

Pain,

Joy.

What makes you?

This one is self-explanatory. These are some of the countless over-looked moments that make me who I am today. Not my favorite poem I've ever written, but everyone on the staff really liked it.

Update In My Wonderful Life

2009-05-07T20:10:00.002-07:00

I made Student Body Office for next school year, which has been keeping me VERY busy.

Prom was fun.

Helping to coach nate's soccer team.

Still working to pay parents back for EFY.

Reading Harry Potter...again :)

AP Calculus test went well (hoping for a 5).

Not taking the AP American test.

3 pieces to be published in Viewmont's first ever Literary Magazine next week. :)

Moved from second assistant in the priest's quorum to secretary.

Life's good.

Can't wait for summer.

Love you for reading my blog.

Peace out.

The Somewhat Disappointing (in my opinion) Ending to a Decent Story Up To This Point

2009-04-25T07:47:00.001-07:00

Friday came with more high blood sugar symptoms. Sam spent the morning in and out of sleep, waking up only to put another log on the fire and fall back asleep. During the afternoon he pulled himself out of his grogginess to head to the river, yet again, to drain huge heaving gulps of water, only for it to pass straight through him in minutes.

“I’ve got to do something. I can’t lay here and die,” he thought, “not when they’ll be here tomorrow.”

So in desperation, Sam decided to jog around the meadow to try to use up any sugar in his blood that he could. After jogging just a short lap, Sam sat down, exhausted, the driving thirst returning. Unable to resist the roar of the river, Sam tried to get up, but collapsed in the process.

~~~

Sam slept late into the night before waking up, still delusional. He could see the glow of the dying fire and managed to get across the meadow and into his shelter.

~~~

Saturday morning passed much the same. Sam managed to keep himself awake by whittling a stick by the fire for most of the morning. He even managed to make it to the berry bush and to the river for some nourishment in the late afternoon. He knew he had to stay awake, or he might not wake up the next time. As the evening came on, Sam laid down near the fire, willing his eyes to stay open, his mind to stay awake.

As the sun began to set, Sam heard something in the distance. It was voices. Calling his name. In desperation Sam managed to yell back, “Here!” But that was all, there was nothing else he could do. Just as he slipped out of consciousness he heard,

“Hang in there, Sam. It’s gonna be alright.”

Down the River; Part 3

2009-04-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

The first thing Sam noticed when he woke up was the level of his blood sugar. He knew it was high. The ripping dehydration and fruity taste of his breath told him that he had a problem. Adrenaline had always been Sam’s biggest challenge in controlling his diabetes. Whether it was pick-up basketball or state cup soccer, his blood sugar always went high after an intense, adrenaline-pumping experience. Standing up, he reached into his pocket, hoping against hope to find his insulin pump. But all he found was some wet lint, his pocketknife, and his packing list, left in his pocket from days before. His heart sank. Not only was he lost. Not only would he have to survive until Saturday before anyone came looking for him. Not only did he have to find food, water, and shelter. Not only did he have to survive alone. He had to do it with a chronic illness. The more he thought about the task ahead of him, the more he wanted to lie in the grass and cry.

Forcing himself to gain control, however, he stood up and took account of his surroundings. He was at the edge of a small, somewhat-circular meadow lined with trees. He was wearing a pair of jeans, an old t-shirt, and a long sleeve flannel button up. Slowly, the Boy Scout in Sam began to emerge,

“If you get lost, stay in one place, don’t wander.” Sam thought. The advice had been given to him countless times. A flood of memories of watching “Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls” episodes came rushing to Sam’s mind. Sam’s dad had always said,

“You’ve seen so many of those survival shows that you could probably survive anywhere on Earth for the rest of your life, Sam.”

“And he was right.” Sam thought. “I can survive here.” But the more Sam thought about the advice to stay where he was, the more absurd it sounded. He couldn’t sit here for two days, alone, waiting to be found.

“I just have to be able to find my way back. It’s simple.”

In minutes he had circled the meadow, marking each tree with his initials. When he was finished, relief rushed over him. He was on his way to survival. It wouldn’t get any easier than that, but this first action set firmly in his mind his decision to survive. After going the river to drink, Sam returned.

“Ok,” he thought, “I’ve got to have some kind of shelter.”

After several hours, Sam had built an effective lean-to shelter at the end of the meadow, farthest from the roaring river. Next, Sam spelled out the word “HELP” in huge letters in the middle of the meadow in logs. Once again, the achievement of something proactive eased his mind a little.

Sam spent the remaining hours of daylight searching for any food. Just beyond the trees to the east, Sam found a single bush of red berries. Despite his high blood sugar, Sam couldn’t help but stuff himself full of the tart, red berries.
~~~

The night was an endless tunnel of freezing, restless darkness. Every drop of moisture in the grass froze overnight and when Sam finally woke up, his blood sugar still high, he was covered in a dusting of frost. When the discomfort of the cold frost had overcome his desire to lie in the shelter forever, Sam army-crawled his way out of the shelter. After going to the river for several long gulps of the cool water, he went to gather some dry tinder and wood. It wasn’t long before he had found a several dry branches and a fallen, dead pine tree.

“Nature’s gasoline.” Sam thought with a smile, remembering roaring bonfires at previous camps. Carefully he transported the branches to his shelter, trying to salvage every precious needle. After some consideration, Sam determined that the best approach was to carve a semi-circle groove into one of the larger, dry branches and then to rub one of the other branches in the groove to generate the spark.

When Sam had completed carving the large branch, he began the daunting task of starting the fire. He dug down into the dirt to protect any precious sparks from the wind, and then started rubbing. He rubbed for hours, experimenting with short, fast, jerky strokes and longer strokes with more pressure.

Sam sat all afternoon, still showing signs of high blood sugar, with blistered fingers, rubbing the sticks together. When the sun had just begun to set, Sam heard something behind him. Turning he saw a rabbit sitting not ten yards to his left. Thinking quickly, Sam reached to the ground where he knew sat a small, baseball-sized rock, his eyes still locked on the unaware rabbit. Picking up the rock in his now sweating hand, he focused in on a small patch of the gray fur. Slowly he adjusted his legs to face the rabbit and then, as quickly as he could, he side-armed the rock with all his might at the rabbit.

Bullseye.

Sam jumped up off his aching knees to examine his kill. His stomach screamed in excitement at the prospect of food. Turning back to the branches, Sam stretched his arms and returned, reinvigorated, to his fire building.

The extra motivation of the rabbit was just what Sam needed. In less than half an hour, Sam had a blazing fire burning. After cleaning the rabbit somewhat clumsily, he cooked and ate it, supplemented with several crimson berries squeezed over the sweet meat.

“Just like Bear.” Sam thought, smiling.

Down the River; Part 2

2009-03-31T14:42:00.001-07:00

Lunch ended quickly and soon the boys were racing down the river, with Sam and Matt leading the way. Soon the group came to a sign reading, Warning: White Water Rapids. Approach At Your Own Risk. This was met by another cheer from the troop as butterflies rose in each stomach.

Sam approached first, carefully aiming for every gap. As more boys dropped into the fast water, it became apparent that something wasn’t right. This wasn’t anything like the videos the troop had watched in preparation sessions. The water was too high and too fast. Gaps were difficult to see and the scrape of rock on the fiberglass bottoms of the kayaks could be heard over the roar of the river. Not thirty seconds into the rapids, there was a broken, gasping yell from Matt who was helplessly floating with the river, having lost his kayak. Jim watched as Matt would fall below the waterline, only to resurface several seconds later.

Jim paddled hard, trying to maneuver his way towards Matt, ignoring his own safety. As he came within feet of his flailing scout, there was an ear-splitting crack as Jim’s kayak hit a hidden boulder. Jim was thrown forward as his kayak came to an immediate stop. His powerless figure landed limply in the water, disappearing quickly under the surface.

Still ahead of the pack was Sam. Through his tear filled eyes, Sam caught a glimpse of the bottom of the treacherous rapids. Adrenaline surged through his veins as he paddled harder towards the next gap. His renewed determination propelled him hard and fast—too fast.

In his firm surge towards the gap, he had overshot it. Abandoning safety, he leaned towards the gap in a panicked attempt to fix his mistake. Without warning, his kayak tipped over, holding him in a death grip under the water. Frantically he flailed under the water, freeing his legs from the kayak. In a blind frenzy, his arms found the slippery surface of a fallen log in the water. Straining to keep his head above the water, Sam took a huge gulp of air, plunged his head under, summoned all of his strength, and pulled himself along the log towards the bank.

After a moment to catch his breath, he got up and scrambled up the bank to the top of the rapids. He searched hopefully for any sign of a scout, kayak, or leader, but found nothing. His mind racing, Sam ran down the shore to the bottom of the rapids. This time his hopeful search turned to a discovery of despair. Floating down the river was the lifeless body of every member of the group. Sam panicked and raced towards one of the bodies, caught on a rock near the shore.

Sam reached his friend and pulled him out of the water, turning over the body in his arms. It was Matt. Praying for a miracle, Sam checked for a pulse.

Nothing.

He held Matt’s face to his cheek, feeling for breathing. Still nothing. Sam dragged his friend up the shore and began performing CPR. Two emergency breaths. Fifteen compressions. Breath. Fifteen. Breath. Fifteen. Sam eyes burned with tears as he desperately tried to revive his best friend. Just when it seemed hopeless, Matt suddenly coughed and vomited several times. Despite his joy, Sam remembered that Matt could choke on or drown in his own vomit. Quickly, Sam turned him over and hit him on the back.

But he didn’t heave. No more coughing. It was over just as quickly as it had begun. Sam desperately felt for a pulse. Still nothing. No breathing. Springing into action, Sam began CPR again. But this time there was no vomit. No coughing. No hope.

Sam turned, beyond tears, beyond feeling, and walked aimlessly. Within minutes, he collapsed.

Down the River: A New Short Story

2009-03-23T09:10:00.001-07:00

I wrote this for creative writing. It's too long to post the whole thing at once, so I'll post more later.

Sam Brinkhart yawned in the mid-80 degree weather Tuesday morning as he paddled his kayak towards the bank of the Snake River. The local scout troop was on a five-day river run in southern Idaho. Sam struggled out of his kayak on the shore and walked up the bank to wait for his turn in the small latrine. As he stretched out his somewhat cramped legs he chatted with his buddies.

“So Matt, I’m thinkin’ you’ll be the first one to eat it.” Sam joked.

“Yeah right. My money’s on you.” Matt responded. It was the extreme unlikelihood of either scenario, which made everyone in the group laugh. Matt and Sam were by far the most athletic boys in the troop, and both had picked up the skill of kayaking with abnormal ease.

“In fact, I’ll bet your tube gets caught on someone’s oar and you fall in.” Matt added. Matt was referring to Sam’s insulin pump. Sam had been diagnosed with diabetes when he was twelve. He was one of the shortest members of the group. He had dark brown hair and a deceptively scrawny build; everyone knew that Matt was the only boy in the troop who Sam couldn’t out-muscle. His genuine friendliness and easy-going nature made it easy to kid with him, as Matt enjoyed doing frequently.

Matt was a state champion wrestler in the 198 weight class and looked the part of tough guy. His high cheekbones, sunken eyes and cauliflower ear were enough to make any physical competitor curl into the fetal position in terror.

Soon the group was back on the water, led by Jim. He was an experienced outdoorsman who had played the part of scoutmaster in the neighborhood for over twenty years. He was especially excited for this group of 15-17 year old boys because of their excellent physical condition and fearless nature.

Bringing up the rear was 26-year-old Tim Treft. He loved being with the boys as it took him back to his days of scouthood. As assistant scoutmaster the responsibility of manning the equipment raft fell on him. All of the food, cooking equipment, tents, and backpacks were in the raft with him.

When the sun started to set, the boys set up camp and began cooking their tin-foil dinners in the campfire.

“What’ve you got in your dinner, Matt?” Sam said, trying to strike up some dinner conversation.

“Ground beef, cheesy potatoes, and some veggies. You?”

“Barbeque chicken, rice, beans—

“Beans!?” the whole troop moaned, “You’re gonna stink up the tent!”

~~~~

The next morning went similar to the day before; the boys joked and raced and soaked themselves to the bone. When the boys stopped for lunch, Sam piped up,

“So, when do we get to some white water Jim?”

“When your mom gets here to hold your hand.” Matt joked.

After examining the map, Jim said, “Looks like the first rapids are about a mile from where we are now.”

This was met with massive cheers from the boys.

“Hang on.” Jim said, “We’ve got to review the procedure of taking on ra—

“Ah come on, Jim! We’ve been over it a thousand times! Aim for gaps, take it slow, watch for obstacles, lean back, we know! Please can we go?”

“Alright, but everyone be careful, we don’t want an accident.” Jim warned.

“And no crying, Sam.” Matt added.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do.” Sam joked back.

Why They Will Always Be The Little Brother...

2009-03-07T21:15:00.003-07:00

Let's say your little brother hides in the back seat of your car and tags along on a date. You are extremely irritated when he pops out of back seat and drenches you with his fully loaded super soaker. You are forced to turn around and take him home and change your clothes and you miss the movie you were going to see. Why might he have done this?

1. He needs attention.
2. He thinks it'll make him cool.
3. He knows that you're too nice to beat the crap out of him for it.
4. He thinks he's funny
5. He just flat-out enjoys being a pain in the rear.

Let's say that a bunch of Utah fans deck themselves out in Utah apparel, show up to the BYU vs. Utah basketball game at the Marriot Center and decide to show up early and force their way into the BYU student section.
Why might they have done this?

1. They need attention.
2. They think it would make them cool.
3. They know BYU fans are too nice to beat the crap out of them.
4. They think they're funny.
5. They just flat-out enjoy being a pain in the butt.

The first story didn't happen. The second did. I'm actually not upset by it at all. I'm just pointing out that Utah fans can't get upset by being referred to as BYU's "little brother" and still pull stunts like that.

I know I'm a little late, but GO COUGS!

Blog Review

2009-02-23T18:34:00.004-07:00

Today in creative writing, we basically had free time to write whatever we wanted. My creative juices weren't flowing at all, so I decided to look back on my early days of blogging. I basically read everything I've ever posted. And in the end, although there was a lot of junky stuff, it was very apparent that my blog has declined in quality and popularity in the last year or so. Hopefully, I'll come up with a great idea for a short story in the next day or two that I can start posting to jump start this blog.

After reading everything, I realized that I never did post any pictures of my broken nose that I got last May. So, here it is. Keep in mind that this was immediately after the InstaCare cleaned me up. As in no shower, no water. I look pretty out of it and hideous to be perfectly honest. But that's all right, you guys know how attractive I normally am ;) jk.

and just for good measure, I'll add an awesome photo of me :)

Josh's Almost Alphabet of Alliteration

2009-02-15T13:07:00.003-07:00

Auntie Anne answers Adam's apathy with adoration.
Big bad British boys bring bright bristles to the board.
Cowardly cackling Chris cries and croaks on the coaster.
Dark dungeons destroy dumb dimples.
Every egg examines each and every entity.
Four funny fingers find fifteen flapjacks.
Gallons of gurgling gruel gave giddy girls gleety gloom.
Hundreds of huge hungry hippos hurled humble humorists at Harry.
Illustrious images issue inheritances.
Jealous jaguars jab jackals jubilantly.
Klutzy koalas kindle Karma's kiss.
The last legend of eleven lavalavas leave lasting legacies.
Millions of meticulous machetes make major maladjustments to manic mandrills.
No Nates need nice nights.
Obviously obtrusive ocelots organize ominous oranges.
Plenty of purple panthers pry pickles from pasty pans.
Quickly quieting queens quit the quizzes.
Red rumbling rhinos restrict righteous Ron from reading about rascals.
Slimy sloths sing sweetly in the sunshine.
Tiny tots tire terribly.
Under Uncle Ud's umbrella you understand.
Victorious Vikings vitally view volatile vipers.
Wispy walruses weigh wimpy whiskers.
Existential executives exempt expectant experts.
Yacking yacks yell at young yodelers.
Zealous Zane zaps zero zebras.

Please excuse the lack of commas.

Story results

2009-02-01T16:08:00.003-07:00

Sorry that it has been more like 2 weeks. After reading all of your stories I felt like I couldn't really pick one that was better than all the others. So I've posted them here, in no particular order, for your enjoyment. For some reason blogger isn't allowing me to change fonts or anything, so i can't emphasize the inserted words, although you should be able to tell which ones were changed :)

Kate’s
Once upon a time lived the tricky Brian Family. Matt and Louie lived sweetly with their 4 sandy children: a crunchy 16year old named Paul, a creamy 200 year old named David, a freezing 45 year old named Brent, and a hot 1 year old named Freddie.

One radical day the Brians decided to take a difficult vacation. Matt, being the adventurous type, decided to allow each member of the family to bring nothing but -34 changes of clothes and 1 other item of their choice. Paul decided to bring a super toothbrush, David some powerful scissors, Brent a tough machete, and Freddie a realistic blanket.

After quickly jumping in the car and driving 89 miles, the Brians met the first of many obstacles on their innovative vacation. In the middle of the road stood a wild gnu. “Just scrub it to death with my toothbrush!” Paul suggested. “It’s worth a shot,” said Matt. And so they did, leaving the curly gnu utterly defeated.

20000 more miles down the road, they met a fancy, horrendous, scary beatle, which was charging their car snappily. “Chop its face with my scissors!” shouted David. “It’s worth a shot,” said Matt. And so they did, leaving the beatle utterly defeated.

Finally the Brians reached their destination, a ghost-like, savage lake called Rough Lake. They quickly set up camp, running out of precious daylight due to the unforeseen obstacles along the way. Soon they had dinner: smooth, ruddy bananas, and rowdy tacos. Although none of them said anything, everyone felt that, as bill and ted might put it, “Something strange was afoot at the circle K” as they settled down to get some rest.

Brent awoke sorely at 3 o’clock in the morning to see a royal, rugged, rumpled frog standing outside the tent window, looking down at him. “Well hello,” said Brent, nervously. “Hello, I’ve come to get your back,” the frog responded. “Oh, well in that case, take this!” and Brent hurled his rash machete at the sad frog, leaving it utterly defeated. The next day, the Brian family burned a breakfast of sacrilegious oatmeal and sadistic rice. Recognizing the bad omen at once, they decided to call the vacation off and go skiing.

After skiing for only 23 dollars, the Brians headed home. On their way home, however, they met a sagacious trout. “Just hang by its neck, with my sagging blanket!” yelled Freddie. “It’s worth a shot,” said Matt. So they did, leaving the saintly trout utterly defeated. Soon the Brians were home, safe and free from these strange happenings. And they lived happily every after.

Sean’s
Once upon a time lived the fantastic Billy Family. Bob and Mary lived rapidly with their 4 bulky children: a pleasant 44.324234year old named Sally, a cowardly 1 year old named Antonio, an angelic 1 billion and 1 year old named Jecepe, and a grand ½ year old named Dave.

One flashy day the Billy family decided to take a bold vacation. Bob, being the adventurous type decided to allow each member of the family to bring nothing but 65 changes of clothes and 1 other item of their choice. Sally decided to bring an obese Pillow, Antonio a pudgy ipod, Jecepe a vibrant stop sign, and Dave a picturesque clock. A

fter daily jumping in the car and driving 3 miles, the Billys met the first of many obstacles on their juicy vacation. In the middle of the road stood a boring Liger. “Beat it with my Pillow!” Sally suggested. “It’s worth a shot,” said Bob. And so they did, leaving the melodic Liger utterly defeated.

144 more miles down the road, they met some weak, turqoise, fabulous ants, which were charging their car happily. “Just throw my ipod at their faces!” shouted Antonio. “It’s worth a shot,” said Bob. And so they did, leaving the ants utterly defeated.

Finally the Billys reached their destination, a fleshy, wimpy lake called brown Lake. They quickly set up camp, running out of precious daylight due to the unforeseen obstacles along the way. Soon they had dinner: snotty, hard Apple pie, and bloated bananas. Although none of them said anything, everyone felt that, as bill and ted might put it, “Something strange was afoot at the circle K” as they settled down to get some rest.

Jecepe awoke pronto at 3 o’clock in the morning to see a creamy, spicy, juicy dinosaur standing outside the tent window, looking down at him. “Well hello,” said Jecepe, nervously. “Hello, I’ve come to make your bed,” the dinosaur responded. “Oh, well in that case, take this!” and Jecepe hurled his flaky stop sign at the peculiar dinosaur, leaving it utterly defeated.

The next day, the Billy family burned a breakfast of wacky mashed potatoes and gravy and frustrated pizza. Recognizing the bad omen at once, they decided to call the vacation off and go play Badmitten. After playing Badmitten for only 271 dollars, the Billys headed home.

On their way home, however, they met a pink bunny. “Just decapitate it, with my pasty clock!” yelled Dave. “It’s worth a shot,” said Bob. So they did, leaving the balloonish bunny utterly defeated. Soon the Billys were home, safe and free from these strange happenings. And they lived happily every after.

Grandma’s

Once upon a time lived the Smooth Orson Family. Juan and Juanita lived haphazardly with their 4 gargantuan children: a measly 1k year old named Jeramiah, a finicky 24 year old named Felipe, an abundant 7 year old named Fernando, and a loose 300 year old named Miaria.

One floppy day the Orsons decided to take an arrogant vacation. Juan, being the adventurous type decided to allow each member of the family to bring nothing but 1 change of clothes and 1 other item of their choice. Jeramiah decided to bring a widening purse, Felipe a fast-moving tool box, Fernando a wobbly ladder, and Miaria a strong radio.

After scarcely jumping in the car and driving 39 miles, the Orson met the first of many obstacles on their fragrant vacation. In the middle of the road stood a loosey-goosey snake. “Why don’t we just suffocate it with my purse?” Jeramiah suggested. “It’s worth a shot,” said Juan. And so they did, leaving the ancient snake utterly defeated.

84 more miles down the road, they met an adorable, winsome, affable old man, who was charging their car reluctantly. “Just kick my tool box at its face!” shouted Felipe. “It’s worth a shot,” said Juan. And so they did, leaving the old man utterly defeated.

Finally the Orsons reached their destination, a mean-spirited, willy-nilly lake called Rare Lake. They quickly set up camp, running out of precious daylight due to the unforeseen obstacles along the way. Soon they had dinner: unassuming, worldly-wise chips, and street-smart yogurt. Although none of them said anything, everyone felt that, as bill and ted might put it, “Something strange was afoot at the circle K” as they settled down to get some rest.

Fernando awoke blindly at 3 o’clock in the morning to see an innocent, mind-mannered, evocative squirrel standing outside the tent window, looking down at him. “Well hello,” said Fernando, nervously. “Hello, I’ve come to blow your nose,” the squirrel responded. “Oh, well in that case, take this!” and Fernando hurled his fragrant ladder at the smothering squirrel, leaving it utterly defeated.

The next day, the Orson family burned a breakfast of winning lettuce and downcast marinara sauce. Recognizing the bad omen at once, they decided to call the vacation off and go sky diving. After sky diving for only 65 dollars, the Orsons headed home. On their way home, however, they met a numb butterfly. “Just smash it with my abominable radio!” yelled Miaria. “It’s worth a shot,” said Juan. So they did, leaving the frigid butterfly utterly defeated. Soon the Orsons were home, safe and free from these strange happenings. And they lived happily every after.

Matt’s
Once upon a time lived the cowardly Valentine Family. Waldo and Juliet lived mourningly with their 4 giant children: a smokin’ 8 year old named Dick, a flabby 13 year old named Rafael, a chewy 21 year old named Matt, and a fluffy 33 year old named Eduardo.

One cuddly day the Valentines decided to take an drunk vacation. Waldo, being the adventurous type decided to allow each member of the family to bring nothing but 45 changes of clothes and 1 other item of their choice. Dick decided to bring a crazy Cell phone, Rafael a clumsy belt, Matt a gay beanie, and Eduardo an elusive printer.

After proudly jumping in the car and driving 66 miles, the Valentines met the first of many obstacles on their wicked vacation. In the middle of the road stood a flirtatious Matt. “Why don’t we just stun it with my Cell phone?” Dick suggested. “It’s worth a shot,” said Waldo. And so they did, leaving the happy Matt utterly defeated.

99 more miles down the road, they met an angry, hot, attracive llama, which was charging their car righteously. “Just whip its face with my belt!” shouted Rafael. “It’s worth a shot,” said Waldo. And so they did, leaving the llama utterly defeated. Finally the Valentines reached their destination, a beautiful, sexy lake called sweet Lake. They quickly set up camp, running out of precious daylight due to the unforeseen obstacles along the way. Soon they had dinner: strong, big Peaches, and sleepy gouda cheese. Although none of them said anything, everyone felt that, as bill and ted might put it, “Something strange was afoot at the circle K” as they settled down to get some rest.

Matt awoke wonderfully at 3 o’clock in the morning to see a greedy, buff, cocky parrot standing outside the tent window, looking down at him. “Well hello,” said Matt, nervously. “Hello, I’ve come to Poop your pants,” the parrot responded. “Oh, well in that case, take this!” and Matt hurled his stuck-up beanie at the lovely parrot, leaving it utterly defeated.

The next day, the Valentine family burned a breakfast of sick lettuce and timid hot dogs. Recognizing the bad omen at once, they decided to call the vacation off and go do Yoga. After doing Yoga for only 101 dollars, the Valentines headed home. On their way home, however, they met a puffy worm. “Just smash its neck, with my brave printer!” yelled Eduardo. “It’s worth a shot,” said Waldo. So they did, leaving the blue worm utterly defeated. Soon the Valentines were home, safe and free from these strange happenings. And they lived happily every after.

Dad's

Once upon a time lived the warm Bin Laden Family. Sadam Hussein Bin Laden and Barack Obama Bin Laden lived astonishingly with their 4 fuzzy children: an enormous 3 million year old named Moses Bin Laden, an irritating 7 and a half year old named Ryan Seacrest Bin Laden, a sickening 53 year old named Chuck Norris Bin Laden, and a fast 273 about a billion year old named Mike Tyson Bin Laden who they called Tyson.

One glitzy day the Bin Ladens decided to take a flighty vacation. Sadam, being the adventurous type decided to allow each member of the family to bring nothing but about a billion changes of clothes and 1 other item of their choice. Moses decided to bring a serious iPod Touch, Ryan a contemplative garage-door opener, Chuck a green screwdriver, and Tyson a frigid bowling ball.

After poorly jumping in the car and driving 6 miles, the Bin Ladens met the first of many obstacles on their heavy vacation. In the middle of the road stood a mushy lobster. “Why don’t we just kill it with my iPod Touch?” Moses suggested. “It’s worth a shot,” said Sadam. And so they did, leaving the eye-popping lobster utterly defeated. 57.73 more miles down the road, they met a ripped, slanted, bumpy umpa lumpa, which was charging their car longingly. “Just fire my garage-door opener at its face!” shouted Ryan. “It’s worth a shot,” said Sadam. And so they did, leaving the umpa lumpa utterly defeated.

Finally the Bin Ladens reached their destination, a scruffy, toe-curling lake called fascinating Lake. They quickly set up camp, running out of precious daylight due to the unforeseen obstacles along the way. Soon they had dinner: chunky, watered-down taco salad, and slimy macaroni salad. Although none of them said anything, everyone felt that, as bill and ted might put it, “Something strange was afoot at the circle K” as they settled down to get some rest.

Chuck awoke dejectedly at 3 o’clock in the morning to see a fat, childish, blood-curdling wolverine standing outside the tent window, looking down at him. “Well hello,” said Chuck nervously. “Hello, I’ve come to clean your ears,” the wolverine responded. “Oh, well in that case, take this!” and Judas hurled his purple screwdriver at the fearful wolverine, leaving it utterly defeated.

The next day, the Bin Laden family burned a breakfast of blue-ish tuna salad and lightning-quick potato salad. Recognizing the bad omen at once, they decided to call the vacation off and go snorkeling. After snorkeling for only 87 dollars, the Bin Ladens headed home. On their way home, however, they met a prickly jolly green giant. “Just smash it, with my blind bowling ball!” yelled Tyson. “It’s worth a shot,” said Sadam. So they did, leaving the hairy jolly green giant utterly defeated. Soon the Bin Ladens were home, safe and free from these strange happenings. And they lived happily every after.

Fill in the Blank

2009-01-19T14:15:00.002-07:00

Some of you may remember when I used to do these. If you don't here's how it works: I have already written a short story that is "story on the ceiling" worthy for you crowleys (it's weird and is not exactly a page turner for you non-crowleys). I have counted up the replaceable adjectives, verbs, adverbs, etc and they are as follows:

34 adjectives
4 adverbs
7 names
8 numbers
4 items
4 food items
4 living, moving things
1 phrase in this format: Verb your noun (i.e. Suck your blood, eat your food, read your book, slice your apple)
1 recreational activity

Here's where this process is different than in the past: I want everyone to provide me with the previously stated parts of speech. In one week (ish), I will fill in the blanks with your provided elements, leaving me with multiple stories. The best story (as judged by me and my siblings) will then be posted for your reading pleasure. Hopefully this works out how I'm envisioning.

Sacrament Talk

2009-01-11T16:55:00.002-07:00

Well first off I wanted to apologize for my flakiness of writing on this blog. Second I want to thank you for coming back even after I abandoned your trust. And third I will explain what this post is: I gave a talk today in church and decided to re-write the dating section of the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet to fit my topic of home teaching. I got a kick out of it as many of the ward members did, so now you get to see it for yourself. :)

In the church, home teaching can help members develop lasting friendships and in some extremely rare cases, find an eternal companion. Even those members with exceptionally high standards need to be home taught in order to fulfill the Lord’s commandment to “visit the home of each member” found in D&C section 20. Home teachers are responsible to teach their assigned families about standards such as honor, virtue, the sanctity of the priesthood, and the sanctity of womanhood.

Begin home teaching when you are 14 years old as assigned by a priesthood leader. Home teaching can lead to immortality, help members meet new people, and give you good experiences. Not all teenagers want to home teach, but they need to. Many young people do not home teach during their teen years because they aren’t interested, avoid opportunities, or simply want to delay forming serious relationships. These aren’t good excuses, however, and friendships developed through home teaching can and should be made at every age.

When you go home teaching, go in your assigned companionships and to your assigned families, not to your best friends house. Strive to go on multiple home teaching visits to the same families throughout the year. Perform service for you home teaching families. Plan lessons that are positive and inexpensive. Do things that will help you and your families remain close to the spirit of the Lord.

Mr. Rogers Article

2008-12-27T11:02:00.002-07:00

This is an article I wrote for an assignment in creative writing:

Mr. Rogers mystifying off-camera life is explored in depth.

Everyday we watch him stroll into his house crooning a tune proclaiming yet another wonderful day in the neighborhood. We watch him change cardigans and from dress shoes to slippers. The he usually plays with a child’s toy or gets a phone call.

We may learn about how orange juice is made or build periscopes out of a milk cartons. We visit the fascist Land of Make Believe and we watch him change back into his regular clothes and leave.

But where does Fred Rogers go? After all, doesn’t every episode take place at Mr. Rogers home? Does he return home at night after leaving the set? What is this man, whom our children admire and spend time with every day doing when he’s not being filmed?

When asked about Mr. Rogers off-camera life, Mr. McPheely said, “I go to the billiards hall most every day of the week and he comes every Tuesday, but that’s the only place I’ve ever seen him off-set.” Bill Frye, the Garbag Guy on Mr. Rogers said, “He came to the Bingo club I attend once, but I’ve never seen him there since.” No other character on the show offered any other insight into the life of Mr. Fred Rogers.

So who is he? Does he gamble away his money at the local casino, preventing him from buying new sweaters? Does he work a side job at the Sizzler to provide for 4 wives and 27 children? Does he return home to eat Lean Cuisine and watch soap opera re-runs? Or does he simply visit the local craft store to figure out something new he can make out of construction paper, glue, staples, and rubber bands?

Whoever he is, more needs to be learned about the overly cheerful mysterious old man with a strange imagination and too much time on his hands before he infects the developing minds of our children.

Ask me to show you the whole paper sometime, it's quite well done if I do say so myself.

The Adventures of Band

2008-12-12T15:05:00.002-07:00

So you've probably all heard me complain about how bad the band is at Viewmont. Our director, Mr. Chaston, drives me nuts. He's a horrible conductor in my opinion, especially after I was spoiled with Mr. Wolf for three years in Jr. High. Anyway, today the plan was (as a little post-concert relaxing class period) to pull out ALL the percussion equipment, show how it works, and put it all back, showing where it belongs. I wasn't opposed to this idea for the most part, although pulling out old snare stands that don't work should have made him accept that we need to GET RID OF THEM not put them back!

Anyway, we started the period how we always do, with Mr. Chaston talking for at least 20 minutes straight about things we have already heard, then someone getting irritated, making a comment, and him getting upset with that person and staying in a bad mood for the rest of the day. The problem was we have A LOT of percussion equipment, so every moment he talked, we were wasting time.

So eventually, someone pissed him off, so he just sat there for 5 seconds looking like he was about to erupt, and then said, FORGET IT! GET OUT THE EQUIPMENT! A few minutes later, I was talking to one of the percussionist and realized that all we have to do is tick him off a little! After all, he had us do WHAT WAS PLANNED after he got ticked off! Sheesh. That's all I have to say.

Another Change

2008-11-24T14:58:00.002-07:00

So that whole spiritual idea didn't seem to be so hot among readers, so I've decided to make this a "Destination of Diverse Discussion" so I'll talk about anything and everything I want to. Kind of how it used to be, but hopefully more interesting.

Now regarding the game Saturday, (because I'm assuming you are all waiting for me to comment about it) it stunk. The only thing I'll say about the actual football game is that any Utah fan who thinks that BYU was absolutely crushed just because of the score is kidding themselves. If you're honest, that game was much closer than 48-24, our defense really did what it needed to do so that our offense had a chance to win the game.

The offense didn't deliver.

And it sucked.

But enough about that. Life goes on. I think. I hope.

My extended family is coming this week for a big Thanksgiving bash. I'm psyched, it's going to be a blast. Anyway, if I don't post until thursday: HAPPY STUFF YOUR FACE DAY. and don't forget to thank your Heavenly Father for how richly blessed you are. I know that I don't do it enough, and I think we can all thank him more often for how abundantly we are blessed.

And now I'll leave you with the drumline's motto this past marching season:

Don't suck.

Another Thought

2008-11-19T14:51:00.002-07:00

Last Fast Sunday I was thinking about kind of the same thing as I posted about last time. My main thought, however, was that it would have been really cool if Heavenly Father had put me in the perfect situation so that I could have been Nephi's right hand man, or best friends with Captain Moroni, or lived in a cave with Mormon or Moroni. As I was thinking though, I realized that I am extremely lucky to have the people around me that I do.

My parents are amazing examples to me. I have incredible uncles and aunts who I look up to with so much respect and I have awesome friends and other extended family who are such an inspiration to me as well. I'm close to my Grandma and Grandfather and feel that missing my other Grandparents is a blessing, because I have to have faith that I can meet my Grandma and will see my Grandpa again someday. An besides that, it has also brought the nilsen side of my family closer together.

I have amazing priest advisors and an amazing bishop. I have gotten to be somewhat close to a brother in my ward who was just called to the stake presidency as well as our new stake president. My siblings have blessed me in many ways by not only helping me learn life lessons with them in our home, but just being friends that I'll love forever.

So, in the end, I'm glad that I live when I do, because living in a cave couldn't be all that great, no matter who is there with you. :)

Change in Blog Theme

2008-11-11T15:02:00.002-07:00

I was thinking today. I've been really sick of the world lately. Sometimes I get frustrated that we live in the most wicked days the world has ever seen. There is so much filth all around us and quite frankly, it sucks. So far, this blog to date has been a place for me to tell you about my life, fill out surveys, talk about byu, and post my story, but for now, I want it to be a place where I can talk about churchy stuff. I'm not saying that every post will be solely churchy stuff, like I might post about my life once in a while, participate in a tag or two, and probably mention byu more than you want to hear about it, but for the most part, I want this to be my own little spiritual sanctuary. So for my first thought:

The other day I was feeling like life was getting too hard. Not to the point that I'm suicidal or anything even in that realm, but I was just feeling what I stated above: living in these times sucks. So I said a little prayer that as I read my scriptures I would receive a little motivation, a little boost as to why this was all worth it. I already knew the answer, but I thought that it was a valid topic to dedicate my scripture study to. The first scripture I read was Mosiah 14:3-5.

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

That's why it's worth it. Because he wants us to return home so much that he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities and I know that with his stripes we can be healed.

And that is my thought of the day :)

Tag

2008-11-04T17:17:00.003-07:00

1 OF YOUR NICKNAMES: B3 Bomber (drumline thing)

2 DREAM CARS: 1976 white corvette, yellow retro camaro

3 FAVORITE COLORS: Blue, green, and orange,

4 FAVORITE SPORTS(if any): soccer, football, basketball, indoor soccer

5 FAVORITE BOOKS: harry potter series, the firm, runaway jury, princess bride (yes, the book), bleachers

6 FAVORITE MOVIES: Princess bride, batman begins, batman the dark knight, miracle, sixth sense, remember the titans,

7 FAVORITE FOODS: six dollar burgers, roast, steak, manicotti, poppy seed chicken, sunday chicken, tacos (preferably beef),

8 FAVORITE SONGS: Tomorrow is today, summer highland falls, meant to live, kernkraft 400, better together, bubble toes, faithfully, my girl

9 FAVORITE STORES TO SHOP AT: are there that many stores? lets see, DI, the apple store, scoreboards sports, dicks (haha), carls jr. (lol), DI, scoreboard, did I say DI?, DI

10 DESIRED VACATION SPOTS: England, rio de janeiro, florida, california, europe all around, bahamas, idk, europe should cover it.

Quiz TIme

2008-11-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

So my dad has his 40th birthday party a week or so ago. My mom had me make a BYU quiz because byu was the theme of the party. So, since I don't really have time to post anything else, I'll post my quiz. I know there are a few people who already know the answers, so I'm sorry that this is kinda lame for you, but I don't really have time for anything else.

Cool, Complicated, Quiz of Cougar Comprehension

1) What year did BYU go undefeated and win the National Championship?

2) Who is the only BYU player to win the Heisman Trophy and what year did he win it?

3) How many BYU quarterbacks have won the Davey O’brien award? (Extra credit if you can name them)

4) What BYU player won the Doak Walker award?

5) Which generally overlooked BYU quarterback passed for more career yards than Steve Young (hint: the first 5 are: Detmer, Beck, McMahon, Bosco, Walsh. Steve Young is 7th, who is sixth?)

6) From the stretch of 1978-1984 BYU played in the same bowl game every year, what bowl was it?

7) Who gained the most all-purpose, yards in their career for BYU?

8) Who gained the most all-purpose yards in a single season for BYU? What season was it?

9) What receiver caught the most passes in their career for BYU?

10) Tie breaker (if needed): How many yards did Ty Detmer throw for in his career? (try to be the closest)

Mourning, Some Poems, And News

2008-10-20T14:12:00.006-07:00

Ok, BYU lost. There. It's out there. I know it. I don't deny it, nor will I make any excuses for my team or anything like that, the truth is it sucked. It sucked bigtime. I cried myself to sleep Thursday night. I hate frogs, in fact I killed my little brother's pet frog after the game. Ok, no I didn't, it already died a couple weeks ago. But I wish it was still alive so that I could kill it.

To look on the bright side-if there is one-I got a chance to teach my little brother about true fanhood. You see when the game was completely out of reach my little brother, Nate, said,
"Let's turn it off, this is stupid."
Now to an onlooker this may seem to be an act of acceptance and reality. But as a true fan, I'll tell you that this was actually a prime example of a fair-weather fan in action. I turned to him and said,

"Nate, are you a BYU fan just when BYU wins or are you a BYU fan no matter what?"

He looked at me and said, "You mean you want to watch this?"

I responded, "I'm just as upset about this game as you are Nate, in fact, probably even more than you, but I'm still a BYU fan. Even if BYU lost every game in a season, I'd still call myself a BYU fan with pride."

Lesson learned.

Now, I finally got my poem project back in creative writing, and since I still haven't come up with a new story idea, I'll just post some of those for now. The first poem needs explanation, but I can't through writing without getting wordy, so if you're losing any sleep over it, ask me about it the next time you get a chance and I'll explain how I came up with it.

Creeping From My Bunk For Water
A huge dilapidated living room,
with some pirate theme,
caused a thirst so unmanageable
as I was lifting a pot of steaming asparagus,
that a dimpled, fat, white,
heavyset girl with a ponytail,
who was my homeroom teacher,
Mrs. Winterbottom, offered me a brownie to ease the thirst.
I then rose and made a speech,
"You aren't supposed to
creep from your bunk for water, even with thirst so unmanageable
that
your face
lay
in a certain room
swearing
that the thirst was to a point
that it might be more wrong than we know.
Even when
the fall of the heart calls on heroes
I had seen pictures of,
those tall daughters whose fast footsteps
seemed to've corrected
the breathing of some stupendous creature,
not even then do we creep from our bunk for water."

The Thong Song
There is a song;
It is so long.
When it gets stuck in your head
You'll wish you were dead.
I think I'd rather wear a thong.

The Life of a Fife
This is a fife.
It lives in the fickle fissures of far-off Frinkleville.
A fife eats the finest, frothy, frugal, flounder.
It likes filming, flying, flopping, and fizzing around its fickle fissure.
For fun it finds feisty fools and fights their freaky friends.
Friday my fife found my favorite French fries and flung them at my furious face.

Oh What Fun It Is To Water-Ski

I hear the zipper and now I'm awake
My muscles are sore and I'm starting to quake
But shortly I recall, the sooner the better
Quickly goes on my black, hooded sweater

A little hot chocolate I quickly sip
And I try to forget about the short length of our trip
After a bit of muffin, we're on the lake
Gently I stretch, for my body's sake

I slip off my shirt in an awkward pose
And a whiff of campfire is caught in my nose
I remember last night, with the music and laughs
I think a little more sleep might have helped my calves.

I gracefully dive in and catch my breath
The soreness in my muscles now feels like death
I surface the water and slip on my ski
Ah! Now it's warm, I just took a pee

Soom on the water, smooth as glass
No boats to see, no boats to pass
A feeling like heaven, complete peace of mind,
An emotion I can never seem to find

With freedom of motion I zig and I zag
The tighter the turn, the less the sag
As I make a hard cut, my body seems to moan
I let go of the handle and release a silent groan

I hit the water, as hard as concrete
Again my body and the soreness meett
I was just getting dry! Now I'm all wet
I have to search for my ski, which I swim to get

I'm limp and tired and back in the boat
Watching other skiers, making mental note
"Give me a rest!" is my body's plea
Yet oh what fun it is to water-ski

And last but not least

As I think about the world and all it's crazy creeps
A nervous emotion into my body seeps
I don't like this feeling, no I don't like it
That's why I've decided to make my blog private

If you don't tell me your email, your face I will flog,
not to mention you'll never be able to read my great blog!

At Long Last

2008-10-12T08:47:00.002-07:00

After months of searching, I finally have the song that is played before byu games in the stadium. It's called Kernkraft 400 by Zombie Nation.

Quote of the Day: "You're stupid and you have body odor." (Imagine with an oriental accent.)

Homecoming

2008-09-28T12:08:00.002-07:00

Well homecoming was this weekend and it was awesome. I asked a girl named Cassidi Widdison who was my parents daughter on trek. She is so nice and super cute. For our day activity we went disc golfing, which was a ton of fun. I was really worried that it would be too hard and nobody would really enjoy it, but it worked out and everybody had a good time. Last night we went to Robintino's for dinner, which was alright. We had fun chatting although neither Cassidi or I was very hungry, so we didn't eat much. Then we went to the dance, got pictures, and danced the night away. Afterwards we went to my friend's house and watched "The Eye." It's a really dumb movie if you ask me, but I still had fun.

Office quote of the day: "You think I'm retarted?"

59-0

2008-09-15T15:23:00.003-07:00

I knew this team was legit, it just took a couple games to show.
GO COUGARS!

Who am I? 24601!

2008-09-06T17:42:00.002-07:00

So in Creative Writing we are working on a poetry project where we have to write many different styles and formats of poetry. Because this is the first of the year, our teacher is making ourselves and our personalities the topic of many of our poems. I think I'm going through the classic high-schooler-trying-to-find-his-identity phase. I say this because as I try to write these poems about myself, I realize that other than soccer player, water-skier, wannabe-writer, and mormon, not a whole lot describes me, and the first three of those are pretty shallow descriptions (in my mind). I don't know, maybe I just don't want to open the depths of my soul to my creative writing teacher.

(If you don't get the title of this post, don't ask.)

Almost an exact copy

2008-08-30T09:52:00.003-07:00

Well, I don't really know what to post about and I know that my blog is getting boring to read, but for right now I'll copy my cousin Kate's blog and tell you about school and football (yes, again, I know).

So my schedule:
A days:
1st: AP Calculus; pretty good so far, I have a funny teacher who explains the concepts pretty well so far. I think I'll pass the AP Test.
2nd: AP American History; SO much easier than AP Euro. No comparison. But I still look forward to learning a lot in that class.
3rd: Creative Writing; Easily my best class this semester, in fact I think I'm going to drop one of my second semester classes so I can take Creative Writing 2. You'll probably be reading a lot of what I write in there.
4th: Percussion Ensemble; Well, what would school be without percussion? Marching band is...well, not just getting to me, it has bored (sp?) a hole in my skin and infected me, leaving few moments free of thoughts regarding marching band.
B days:
5th: Seminary; I have a really awesome teacher and what appears to be an awesome class. I can only hope that it will be better than my class last year.
6th: English; Much harder than originally expected. I have an interesting teacher, who makes a point to swear during every class period, but I think I'm going to learn a lot from her.
7th: AP Calculus Lab; basically a Calculus study period/study hall. This will certainly ease the burden of two AP classes.
8th: Physics; I have a hilarious teacher and I look forward to learning physics. Because it's math-based, I think I'm going to do very well in that class.

BYU FOOTBALL STARTS TODAY! MY INSIDES ARE BURSTING WITH EXCITEMENT!

This is a poem that I wrote in creative writing (hopefully no one is offended, it's meant to be a "racist against white people" joke poem).

Just because I'm white

Just because I'm white,
Doesn't mean I can't jump,
Doesn't mean that I'm slow,
And doesn't mean I can't put on a show.

Just because I'm white,
Doesn't mean I can't rap,
Doesn't mean I can't groove,
And doesn't mean I can't get funky and move.

Just because I'm white,
Doesn't mean I'm not sick,
Doesn't mean I'm not chill,
And doesn't mean my name can't be li'l

Why can't I be tight?
Why can't I flirt?
Why do I find it necessary to tuck in my shirt?
Oh yeah, just because I'm white.

Tagged

2008-08-24T15:38:00.005-07:00

A - ATTACHED OR SINGLE: Single.
B - BEST FRIEND: I'd have to say Jordan, Matt, or Sean.
C - CAKE OR PIE: Pie, no doubt.
D - DAY OF CHOICE: Friday
E - ESSENTIAL ITEM: Insulin pump :)
F - FAVORITE COLOR: blue and green
G - GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Passing the AP test, or getting a 30 on the ACT (and I like to think that I'm not a nerd, oh well)
H - HOMETOWN: Well, I like to say Provo, but really Farmington is my home.
I - INDULGENCES: the office, BYU football, water-skiing, hot chocolate, egg nog.
J - JANUARY OR JULY: July
K - KIDS: are baby goats
L - LIFE IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT: BYU football
M - MARRIAGE DATE: undecided
N - NUMBER OF SIBLINGS: 3 (younger sister, two younger brothers)
O - ORANGES OR APPLES: oranges
P - PHOBIAS OR FEARS: getting in a wreck and injuring someone that's in the car.
Q - QUOTES: (See blog title) "The mind must wrap around the foot."
R - REASON TO SMILE: 'cause I'm so funny
S - SEASON: Summer IF I go waterskiing a lot
T - TAG SOME FRIENDS: Kate, Thomas, Matt
U - UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I'll sometimes stop and say, "Is there anything I'm nervous about right now?"
V - VERY FAVORITE STORE: DI, seriously, everything I buy from DI I use/wear.
W - WORST HABIT: Sarcasm/rolling over other people's opinions
X - WENDY'S OR MCDONALD'S(sorry, not much goes with x's): I'm going to go with Carl's Jr.
Y - YOUR FAVORITE FOOD: Steak, roast, tacos, manicotti, hamburgers, sunday chicken, the list goes on
Z - ZODIAC: Taurus (I think)

Just Can't Wait

2008-08-17T18:49:00.003-07:00

I've bought my season tickets and although the olympics and the approaching school year are distracting me, I'm about ready to..I don't know...do something really crazy that makes you realize how much I LOVE BYU FOOTBALL!!! Do I deny the fact that this is an obsession? No. Do I realize that most people don't consider my love natural or acceptable? Yes. Do I care? NO! I FREAKING LOVE BYU FOOTBALL!

Life's Simple Pleasures

2008-08-07T09:34:00.002-07:00

I'm just discovering the joy of Deep Thoughts WIth Jack Handey. Here are a few of my favorites so far.

Probably the earliest flyswatters were nothing more than some sort of striking surface attached to the end of a long stick.

If you saw two guys named Hambone and Flippy, which one would you think liked dolphins the most? I'd say Flippy, wouldn't you? You'd be wrong, though. It's Hambone.

If you go parachuting, and your parachute doesn't open, and you friends are all watching you fall, I think a funny gag would be to pretend you were swimming.

If you're in a war, instead of throwing a hand grenade at the enemy, throw one of those small pumpkins. Maybe it'll make everyone think how stupid war is, and while they are thinking, you can throw a real grenade at them.

I think a good product would be "Baby Duck Hat". It's a fake baby duck, which you strap on top of your head. Then you go swimming underwater until you find a mommy duck and her babies, and you join them. Then, all of a sudden, you stand up out of the water and roar like Godzilla. Man, those ducks really take off! Also, Baby Duck Hat is good for parties.

If you lived in the Dark Ages and you were a catapult operator, I bet the most common question people would ask is, "Can't you make it shoot farther?" "No, I'm sorry. That's as far as it shoots."

Instead of a trap door, what about a trap window? The guy looks out it, and if he leans too far, he falls out. Wait. I guess that's like a regular window.

It's sad that a family can be torn apart by something as simple as a pack of wild dogs.

How come the dove gets to be the peace symbol? How about the pillow? It has more feathers than the dove, and it doesn't have that dangerous beak.

I hope, when they die, cartoon characters have to answer for their sins.

If, when you die, you get to choose between regular heaven and pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if not, oh boy!

(That last one is just one that I've heard my dad say, so I'm sorry if it's not word for word.)

Short, Sweet, To The Point

2008-08-02T21:47:00.003-07:00

I've decided that long, drawn-out posts that I write in hopes for lots of comments are dumb. I'm going to give lots of short posts for the most part from here on out. Quick updates, short stories, and quotes should fill these roles. So:

I've been thinking about righteous desires and living life to the fullest. When both are combined, we do not need to worry, or do anything except just that--live life to the fullest in persuit of our righteous desires. Sometimes I worry about the complexity of life, but in all reality, life is simple: Desire righteously and live righteously to the best of your ability.

Always On My Mind

2008-07-27T11:24:00.003-07:00

Sadly, I have only been skiing three times this whole summer. A sad let down from the 17 days of skiing that I had last summer.

I finally got a new ipod and bought myself an itunes gift card (due to the fact that I didn't have to pay a penny for my new ipod!). So lately I've been thinking about what music to get, any suggestions would be welcome.

This season's theme is "Quest For Perfection." ...'Nuff said.

If only...

My team just finished a tournament. We beat my old team, beat Sparta premier, tied Rangers premier, and lost to the top team in the state for our age group in the final. I played pretty well and we're pleased with our result. I'm so incredibly sore.

The strain of drumline captain is getting to me. I've always taken it seriously when people have said to me, 'You need to go home and practice and have that ready to play by tomorrow.' Clearly this isn't the case with everyone. Grr...

Oh my goodness, this movie is incredible. Freaky, but incredible.

Now, regarding the situation at work that you all want to hear about: I can't tell you anything until it's all over, I'm sorry.

My babies

2008-07-18T07:19:00.003-07:00

These are my new cleats. The picture really doesn't do them justice. They are truly a thing of beauty and were it not for the second of the ten commandments--well, you get my point.

A few nice things about them are:

1. They are made of Kangaroo leather-an extremely lightweight, durable material that breaks in quickly and forms perfectly to your foot.
2. That's pretty much all I had in mind, but they are freakin' sweet and well worth the $130 I paid for them (For those of you going, "What an idiot! $130! Is he out of his mind?!"--130 dollars really is not that expensive when it comes to soccer cleats, top of the line cleats are up around $300 or more.).

Tag and some news

2008-07-10T19:33:00.004-07:00

The rules are as follows: List 3 Joys, 3 Fears, 3 Goals, 3 Current Obsessions, and 3 Random Surprising Facts About Yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.

Joys:

1. Family
2. Friends
3. Life
(Sorry thomas, I know that was a direct copy, but that is really all I can think of to fit under "joys")

Fears:

1. Losing people close to me
2. Sustaining an injury which would leave me in misery for the rest of my life (seems like a legit fear to me)
3. Disappointing people who are counting on me

Goals:

1. Play well in my soccer game tomorrow night
2. Serve a mission
3. Live a happy life

Obsessions:

1. BYU football
2. Soccer
3. Right now, Harry Potter, I know I'm a big nerd, oh well, it keeps me away from the tv during the summer which is a good thing I guess

Surprising Facts:

1. At the end of the day I will often decide what the "word of the day" was for me
2. I'm getting a new pair of cleats tomorrow
3. I rarely stay up past 11:30

And now for the news:
I FREAKIN' PASSED THE AP TEST!! TODAY IS LIKE THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE SO FAR!

oh yeah, I tag anyone that wants to do this that hasn't yet

The Best Ideas Are Stolen

2008-07-02T21:34:00.001-07:00

This is from my aunt's blog:

I’m not really into tags, but this one speaks to my inner child. You see, on every person’s birthday in my childhood home (and remember there were TEN! of us), we sat around at dinner and recounted memories of the birthday person. Hands down, the person who enjoyed this tradition most was my dad—he practically shot sunshine out of his ears as we each took a minute to share a funny and/or touching memory of each other.

And now with my own little family, we have carried on the tradition of memory sharing. My kids especially like to recall the time I ripped a melty-sticky cookie from Max’s hands and yelled unintentionally like the Soup Nazi, “NO COOKIE FOR YOU!”

See how fun this is? I’m humiliated already!

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, if we’ve actually met in person or not, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

It sounds like fun, although it seems that my little blogosphere that I created has started to die, though I hope it will quickly resurrect.

Things I've Learned In My Working Career

2008-06-29T11:04:00.002-07:00

Turning in one application usually won't get you a job.

Sometimes it does.

Transmissions get REALLY hot during the summer.

A 16-17 year old male with his 35-45 year old mother/father asking for help out with their groceries is the epitome of laziness.

Telling someone you busted their sprinkler head is hard, especially if they're old and grouchy.

Some parents take their kid's sports WAY too seriously.

Transmissions are sharp.

Paper bags suck.

Getting paid $7.50 an hour as a 12 year old is lucky.

Transmissions are heavy.

Some people love food more than their own bodies.

America consumes a ridiculous amount of meat.

My legs must be ugly, because I got sent home to change into pants (even though we are supposed to be able to wear shorts).

A simple raise of a flag means more to some people than their religion.

ATF does not come out of clothes.

Never walk into a grocery 5 minutes before closing time on a saturday night to do your grocery shopping for the week, it's just plain cruel.

Apparently it's possible to get going 145 mph in a 25 mph zone (hacking up a lung sound).

There is such a thing as SPAM burger in a can. Hurl. And people buy it. Double hurl.

College is a very good thing which I will definitely take part in.

The Incredible Results of the Fantabulous Ginormous Quote Challenge with the Gargantuan Prize of 100 dollars!

2008-06-23T12:26:00.002-07:00

Just kidding. But here are the results:

1. Too Much Time On My Hands, Styx

2. Batman Begins

3. The Office, Benihana Christmas

4. The Outsiders

5. Dream On, Aerosmith

6. Remember the Titans (of course, sheesh, if you missed that one you should be ashamed)

7. MULAN! This one had pretty much every single one of you besides matt, who either didn't know any of the others (which I doubt) or just chose not to participate.

8. Groundhog Day

9. The Best Two Years

10. Tomorrow is Today, the great, Billy Joel

And by my count the winner is my dad, with a pretty awesome score of 8. Sorry thomas, cheating off other people never works, especially if it's sean :D.

Quote Time

2008-06-19T20:49:00.002-07:00

Well, you all know I love quotes, and it's been a long time since I had a quote post. So...

1. I've given up hope on the afternoon soaps and a bottle of cold brew.

2. What's the point of all those push-ups if you can't lift a bloody log?

3. Some places won't make it though, 'cause egg nog is seasonal.

4. Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.

5. Sing with me, sing for the year, sing for the laughter, sing for the tears

6. "You had twelve brothers and sisters?" "Eight." "Yeah, twelve sounds better."

7. And what are you, a sheep?

8. Watch out for that first step-it's a doosy!

9. No wait, now he's goin' the other way, no, he stopped, he got somethin' out of his pocket, no wait, IT'S GUM!

10. I don't care, to know the hour 'cause it's passing anyway.

Don't use the internet, it's lame, just fyi, there are quotes from tv shows, movies, and songs.

Reader Request

2008-06-16T21:10:00.002-07:00

Ok, so this post is not what you're thinking, really I've just had a couple "requests" of things to post.

First of all, sorry Heidi, I didn't get any pictures of the cast, I do have a picture of my nose right after it was broken on my phone, however, I cannot post it because we do not have internet service on our plan. One of these days I'm going to get internet service for just a day so I can buy some more games and ringtones and such-on said day, I will be sure to e-mail the picture to myself and then I can post it.

Secondly, there was a request for more info on the nose. So, as already mentioned, I had surgery on it. When he did the surgery to move it back into place, it kept trying to move back. To help compensate he shoved a sponge up my nose to hold it in place. Basically at my follow-up appointment he just pulled the sponge out (which hurt a little, but not too much, my eyes just watered for a minute or two) and said "Be careful, don't hit it again." It took about 5 minutes. We walked in, he ripped out the sponge, and we left.

Lastly, Matt Montgomery asked that I post the critical e-mail I sent to Amy Donaldson.

Brief summary of her article if you don't want/have time to read it: The NBA just came out and said that they might start fining players for "flopping." Originally she was against this, but after taking a trip to Europe and watching a little more soccer, she realizes how "critical" it is that we avoid letting the NBA become European soccer. Ridiculous. As you will see momentarily, I went a little overboard, maybe my blood sugar was high or something, I don't know, but some of the things she said (as you will see) really ticked me off.

Mrs. Donaldson,
I just read your article “Flipping opinion on flop rule” and although I understand your viewpoint, I was aggravated by your presentation. These 4 sections of your article were particularly frustrating:

1. “After just two matches, I saw more grown men writhing around in alleged pain than I did shots on goal. If another player even got within spitting distance, and had a shot at stealing the ball, the fragile athlete fell to the turf with more grace than a ballet dancer and a look of anguish that would make Clint Eastwood proud.” And flopping will “make you look like the world’s wimpiest man…”

First of all, your comparison of flops to shots on goal is ridiculous; at least 75% of a soccer game is played in the middle third of the field. Of course there were more “flops” than shots on goal! Defenses are good enough that shots on goal in professional, particularly EUROPEAN professional, soccer are rare and usually there are less than 10 shots on goal. Secondly, the reference to a soccer player as a “fragile athlete” is most disgusting. Allow me to relate some facts about soccer to prove my point:
(At this point I had a chart comparing soccer to basketball such as "Length of field/court: soccer, 100 yards bball 60 feet; length of game: soccer, 90 min. bball, 48 min. this is not to offend anyone, I was just making a point about how athletic soccer players are. Also, I was not saying that bball players are not athletes either, simply that some parts of soccer require a different level of endurance/conditioning than bball.)

As I’m sure you know, soccer players are running at least 80% of the game. To refer to such an athlete as “fragile” is, as I said, disgusting.

2. “I don’t want to see the NBA go the way of International soccer” and “After watching a few international soccer matches this week, I’m beginning to believe we better nip this trend while it’s still a stinking bud.”

My only issue with these statements is the lack of assessment and abundance of opinion-stating. As far as I’m concerned, we read your columns to get accurate, reliable assessments of events and facts relating to sports, not hear you badmouth sports you don’t like.

3. “I had to flip the channel to a Lifetime movie after three consecutive flops embarrassed even an Oprah-loving bawl-baby like me.”

Are you kidding? If you would put a particle of effort into thinking about how incredibly talented and athletic the players you are watching are, it would far surpass the annoyance of an occasional flop. Also, you far exaggerate the frequency of flops in soccer, they’re there, but not as you’re suggesting.

4. “That seems to be the case in soccer. Officials not only reward the floppers, they pick them up, dust them off and scold the player who got too close.”

Once again: Are you kidding? What soccer are you watching? The last time I watched a professional soccer game (Champions League final, you should check it out, I saw a minimal amount of “wimpiness”) the ref did no more than blow his whistle when he saw a foul. The scene you are describing is not exaggerated, it’s just flat-out a figment of your imagination.

I’m not denying the presence of flopping in soccer, and I don’t like it either, but your portrayal of soccer players and competitive soccer as a bunch of wimps running around and falling to appeal to the ref is ignorant and uneducated.

Sincerely,
A Concerned Reader

An Update in the Life of J.J. Crowley

2008-06-09T15:12:00.003-07:00

I'm working at Dick's Market in Centerville, it's a good job and I'm enjoying it.

I have a follow up appointment with the ENT on Wednesday.

I was seriously afraid of getting addicted to Lortab while I was on it.

I'm not.

I wrote a brilliant, critical, harsh e-mail to Amy Donaldson in response to her article in the Deseret News this morning. Any soccer fans who are in the mood to get mad, check out http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700233069,00.html.

I'm currently thinking about the next Trepidation-like project for this blog, it needs a little rejuvination.

I find out if I passed the AP test in the second week of July.

I'm the Viewmont Drumline Captain.

I'm on a new soccer team, after all that drama, I'm going to play for a brand new team where I'll get playing time and I already know a few of the players, plus they're at about the same level as the team I was playing with before.

I'm currently saving up for 3 things: a new Ipod (my old one died), texting for my phone, and money for boating.