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Friday, October 27, 2006

Masks

Last year in Stevens I was *blessed* to have Ms. Stevens for English. Don't get me wrong, she was a very nice lady. She just wasn't a very good English Teacher. Looking back, however, I can remember one good thing that she taught us. It was the metaphor of a mask. In a distorted sense of the word, we all wear masks. We change our appearance and how we act according to the setting, the people we are with, etc. At any given time, we could change our mask, our dispostion, and become, essentially, a different person.

I have been reflecting on my own masks today. Do the masks I wear give me a bad name? Do the masks I hide behind really reflect what I am on the inside? Do my masks make me a different person altogether? What masks hurt me, and how can I change that? Should I have to change the masks I wear for different people? All of these questions have really made me ponder myself. I have really tried to find inside myself the real me, and then compare that blurred image with the masks that I wore throughout the day.

I shall now attempt to lay out for you how I really see myself -- my real self, without the maks. I am going to be completely honest here, so don't think I'm being egotisctical or anything. This is deep folks. Here we go, this could get messy. *Deep breathe, cracks knuckles*

At the very center of all of us is what I know as the Natural Man. It is what makes us human. It is what makes us prone to mistakes. It is what makes us capable of sin, what keeps us from being perfect. It is inside of all of us merely because of our bodies of flesh and blood. All of the sin we commit can be linked back to our own body in one way or another. We all naturally have a tendency to sin, and one of our main purposes for being here on Earth in this life is to conquer that natural man inside of us. What makes us who we are is how we deal with the natural man inside of us.


The other factor at the center of our being is our personality. It determines the way we react to things. It is ingrained in our soul, it defines who we really are. It marks us as individuals. It is what makes no two people the same. We'll come back to this idea later. For now, back to the natural man.




I try to live my life the way that I have been taught to live it. I read my scriptures, I go to church and seminary, and everyday I do my best to honor my Priesthood, as every young man who holds that authority should. Now that I think of if, the Priesthood really is at the root of my motivations in life. My Priesthood connects all my ideas, all my beliefs, my intentions. The ideas presented in the Purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood are guildlines in which I try to follow daily to help put off the Natural Man inside of me. The Purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood are to:

• Become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and live its teachings.
• Serve faithfully in priesthood callings, and fulfill the responsibilities of priesthood offices.
• Give meaningful service.
• Prepare and live worthily to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and temple ordinances.
• Prepare to serve an honorable full-time mission.
• Obtain as much education as possible.
• Prepare to become a worthy husband and father.
• Give proper respect to women, girls, and children.

These ideas give shape to my day. They effect how I act around people, especially around young women. They change the way I treat them, because they change the base instinct, that given to me by the natural man, from a carnal instinct to something sacred. When I am around young women at school, the thing I always try to aim for, first and foremost, is respect. I beleive that young women hold something sacred, something profound. It is up to us as young men to honor and respect the young women for who they are. Its not just about hold open doors for them. Its not just being nice to them. Its about treating them with the respect that they deserve.

When a young man does not honor and respect a young woman for who she is, then respect is lost on both sides, and a relationship of any kind cannot form. I really beleive that friendship between opposite sexes at any age is based upon how the man treats the woman. I always try to be as kind as I can towards the young women at school, because it is something that I have a desire to do. I always try to give young women their space. I feel that intimate or close contact -- outside of a friendly hug -- with a young woman is inappropriate; in my mind, it does not portray the respect that a young man should have for a young woman. Overall, I know that by being as courteous, kind, helpful, and true to our female friends, trust can be built, and everything else in those relationships can fall into place.

With that being said, I would like to revert to my topic for this post. What are my masks? I think that my masks I wear are the ways that I put off the natural man inside of me. We all have the tendencies to be carnal, and through law, order, common sense, and motivation, we are able to mask that carnal side of us and become more respectable. The ways that we behave either mask our base instincts or mask our personality.

Let me explain.

Reflecting back on my day, I realized just how much I mask myself at school. I am always trying to wear my "respect for young women" mask. I am always trying to mask my most base instincts concerning girls, and I try to give them the respect they deserve. This would be ideal, except for one thing: I beleive that this mask has begun to mask not only my natural man, but my personality as well. I feel that in my attempts to always respect the young women around me, I can never really connect with any of them because I am afraid of insulting or turning them away with my personality. I act very unusual around the opposite sex. I think some random side notes from Pride and Prejudice would fit here. Ahem...I alter my personality to try and fit the perfect "Mr. Bingley" appearance, the Mr. Nice-Guy who all the ladies love. By doing so, my real personality is masked, like poor Mr. Darcy. He means good, but he is just too stupid to figure out that he has to not only be a gentleman, but himself to make his impression and show who he really is. I lose my personality in the depths of the respect for young women, and find myself making a complete idiot of myself. I guess a kind idiot is better than a rude rich dude, right?

So, the way I see it, I have two options: A) I rewrite the Pride and Prejudice of my life, and respectfully introduce myself as the real me to the female population of the world, and flatter said Elizabeth Bennetts right from the start of the book, or B) I continue on with life as it is, and hope that my story ends the same as Mr. Darcy. Frankly, I need a new mask. One that fits me better; one that masks my natural man and lets my personality shine through. Bear with me o respectable young women. Once I find me a mask that fits me just right, things will be different. For now, just try to be my friend, as I shall try to be yours.

Now, I have written of but one of my many masks, and have covered only one of the Purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood. Alas, it is late and I must retire. Hopefully this post made sense, I had one heck of a time trying to write it. The ideas were all in my head, but I couldn't group those ideas into sentences and paragraphs very well. It either made perfect sense, or no sense at all. If it is the latter for you, sorry for taking up your time. Forget this post ever happened, and just smile and nod.

Expect more on my masks soon. For now, I leave you with this. Adieu.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

English Response: "Eat Poop!"

We had to read this super long sermon that was written by some dude in 1741 in English last time. For those of you who don't have Parrish, you can read it here. Its pretty boring, but you might appreciate it. Here goes.

“Eat Poop!”

I’m beginning to think that the Puritans weren’t really all that pure. After reading the first half of the sermon by Jonathan Edwards, I was beginning to question if any of the Puritan people ever had any hope in their lives. After hearing, “there is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God” several dozen times, it actually occurred to me that this guy was serious. His opinion was, “you suck, if God doesn’t like you, you have no chance”, and he really believed that. He was convinced that the only reason that the people in his congregation woke up that morning was because God didn’t feel like casting them all to Hell just yet.

In his talk, he called his congregation vile sinners, who we so filthy that provoked the eyes of God just by being in his holy house. I don’t know about you, but if I heard stuff like, “you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours” at church, I would probably throw a Hymn book at the speaker and tell him to suck a lemon.

It is my opinion that God loves all of us. He wants every one of us to do our best, and he stands ready to let us all in to his presence if we follow his commandments. He is our spiritual Father in Heaven, and he is a loving father who wants us all to find our way home. I say that this Jonathan Edwards guy needs a reevaluation of his scriptures, because I haven’t ever seen any doctrine that says God wants us to burn; rather, I have read the contrary, as I have already stated. My message to any of you who might read this---and I will make it considerably shorter than my good friend Jonathan’s message---is that God loves all of you, and we all have the opportunity to return to his open arms. Do your part; you’ll reap what you sow.

Jason Ownage

I don't know how many of you guys know Jason Liu, but get a load of this. This is impressive. The kid's got skills. Go Jason go, you are my new hero.

Check it out, my name's Jason.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

A Few Realizations

I've come to realize a few things today. Here they are, for your enlightenment/knowlege/entertainment/whatever. Enjoy.

Number One: There are three musical groups that I can think of that aren't recognized nearly enough. The first two are Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls. They need to make a come back. Really, I loved their music when they were "in style" (or "not in style" as some people thought then), and I realized that I still love it. I still know most of the words, and wow, they are pro. Go go go boy bands. (N*Sync was/is pro too). Spice Girls got me jumpin, although I really didnt know too many of their songs. The last artist that I just absolutely love is Yanni. I dont even know what the guy looks like, assuming that it IS a guy, or that he is even Asian or not, but wow. Let me tell you, there really isnt anything else like his stuff. His music is so pro. Right now I'm listening to "True Nature" and its just like, "wow, this is pro." Seriously, if any of you have Limewire, get on there and search for it, or some of his other good ones like "Quiet Man" or "The Mermaid". "Flight of Fantasy" is the coolest song of his though, by far. If you don't have Limewire, or any other way to hear that song, then ask me, and I'll send you it. Its great. Its very relaxing stuff, and its very fun to listen to. Great sound. He (she? Probably he...) need to be to listened to a lot more, cus its just too good.

Anyway, moving on.

Number Two: There is something magical about region dances. It could be the heat of the room, or the smell; or the masses of people who feel either out place or all over the place; or it could be the lighting and the refreshments. These things all bring magic to the dance, along with line dances such as Cotton Eyed Joe (h), classic songs like Forever Young, and DJ's that you can't understand, but who you know are out there. However, I've come to realize that these things are all just there to add to one final, determining factor of a region dance: the beautiful, modest girls. It is the girls that are so happy to be there, who somehow overcome their repulsion of one such as I to dance with one such as I, whether it be on or off the stage. I gotta say, a modest girl has got to be at the top of my ideal social caste, while guys like me are the untouchables in the doung heap, only looking up to what they can bring to a dance. Good work girls, stay modest, you really are the hottest.

Number Three: School musicals have great potential. Right now, in Seussical, I don't think there is much that we could do as a whole cast to improve the performance level much higher. I think we are all over the situation for the most part, with some minor bumps and rough spots here and there that are overall insigificant. We put on a good performance, and as far as high school musicals go, I really think we are nearly top notch. However, there is one major setback to all of this; the one and only thing that would completely change the outcome of our school plays exponentially would have to be the sound system. My family came to see it last night, and when I asked them how they liked it, they said, "I loved it, except for I couldn't undertand 3/4ths of what was being said." At the end of the play, all they could say was, "the music was great, I loved the props and outfits, and it was way cute". When I asked them how they liked the story, or if they liked how Yurtle the Turtle was the judge, or anything like that, they would reply, "I still don't think I know the story....wait, Yurtle the Turtle was in it?" Seriously folks, this is such a setback. From where I sit in the pit (yeeeaaaah buddy), I can hear 95% of the words (4% of which I can't hear because I'm playing my Bari as loud as I can). I can hear the story, the song lyrics, the emotions of the actors, etc. very well. I can vouch for them, they are pretty dang good at what they are doing. If we had a good sound stystem, everyone would be getting the show that I'm getting every time. They would be smiling and giggling like a little girl (like I always am) at all the child-like fantasies that would be unveiled to them, if only they could hear the words. People would be bobbing their heads, enjoying the words and beat of the music, and maybe even dancing like crazy (again, like I always am) while watching the play. Its such a shame, such a shame. If only, if only, eh?

Anywhom, those are my thoughts for the night. Its getting late, and I've got school and a musical to put on tomorrow. Yayz0rz, I'm excited, yea verily. Nighty night all.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

(h)

Did you see that sky today? Talk about blue.....

Oh how they taunt me!!!

Friday, October 20, 2006

Seussical Madness!

Oh man, I just got home from Seussical, and, wow, it was amazing. I mean, sure, some lines were goofed, and the orchestra missed some notes here and there, but still. Wow, overall, that was our best performance yet by far. If only people could see me dancing in the pit, I was going insane while playing my mad mad Barimophone. I was groovin, and my imagination was running wild, I love Dr. Seuss. I had so much fun during the play, and then we played Green Eggs and Ham, and that just made it all the better. It was so pro. Way sweet song.

So ye-hah.

Then it was all over, and I put away my Barimophone, then the real madness began. Nick, Glen, Nathan, Mitchel, and myself pimped out in our shades and our Pit Blacks (ooooh hot) and strode down the hall like the mad men that we are. There we met a few of "our" (sure, why not?) fans and had some good fun taking these amazing pictures, check it out, yo.

Thats hot right there, you have to admit. Unfortunately, Glen was nowhere to be found at this point. This one is even better though.
Wilbur was even there to help us with our battle pose, how cool. Hahahah, Glen, what a stud.

Here are a few more cool pictures that I took of myself while I was waiting for Nick to pick me up before the musical, as well as some other pictures that I took throughout the night. (You gotta admit, thats pretty good for taking them of myself, eh?)

I wish I looked more intimidating....

What do you think, do you like these shades more?

This one is just plain cool. The light just added to the effect, don't you think? (What the lips?)

You are probably sick of seeing me by now, but I like this one...

Fine, just one more.....

Here is a pimped out General Ghengis Khan Austin for ya.

In the pit of madness, Nick goes crazy, and Glen just gets all the more studly. What a pimp :D

And last, but not least, is a cool pic Nick snapped of Katie. Thats awe inspiring right there, thats some mad mad photography skillz...although it was accidental *-) I just like the blur for some strange reason.

Anyway, tonight was fun. I hope tomorrow night is jsut as much of a party. You'll have some more sweet pictures, so count on it. Some that involve the Wiks, the pimped out "us", and a battle pose. I'll leave you hanging at that. Nighty night, alls.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Person vs. Self

Why is it that it is in our very being, our very disposition, to keep secrets? Stepping back from the view of our own inner conflict of keeping secrets, we can plainly see that keeping things in the dark is quite impractical. Let me explain. Ahem:

Today in English we talked about the themes of The Scarlet Letter. One of the themes of the book is based along the idea of keeping secrets. There are many examples of this in the book. For one, the good Reverend Arthur Dimmsdale, whom nobody suspects of being sinful, has been consumed by one secret, kept inside his heart for more than 7 long years. The guilt he carries from his adulterous actions has been blocked up inside of him, gnawing at him, wearing him down, making him physically ill. For seven years, he lives his public life as if nothing were wrong, as if nothing ailed him. For seven years, he let no other soul of his sin, and with nobody to confide in, nobody to confess to, he let his guilt, his secret, fester inside of him like a cancerous organ. He tried various things in order to rid himself of his guilt, but to no avail. He would fast for days, whip himself furiously, and hypocritically confess his sins to his congregations, knowing that they would not see him for what he was. He only added to his guilt and poor health through trying to keep these things secret; his secret grew so rank that it ended up killing him. His secret helped nobody.

Another example, taken from a post that Jaron put up a while back, is something that I think a lot of us can relate to. Sorry for the repetition, but I really do like this story...

*****

7th grade. I stared at the girl next to me. She was my so-called “best friend.” I stared at her long, silky hair, and wished she was mine. But she didn’t notice me like that, and I knew it. After class, she walked up to me and asked for the notes she had missed the day before, and I handed them to her. She said “Thanks,” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love her, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

11th grade. The phone rang, and it was her on the other end. She was in tears, mumbling on and on about how her love had broken her heart. She asked me to come over because she didn’t want to be alone, so I did. As I sat next to her on the sofa, I stared at her soft eyes, wishing she was mine. After two hours, a Drew Barrymore movie, and three bags of chips, she decided to go to sleep. She looked at me, said “Thanks,” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love her, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

Senior Year. The day before prom, she walked to my locker. “My date is sick,” she said. “He’s not gonna go.” Well, I didn’t have a date, and in 7th grade we made a promise that if neither of us had dates we would do together just as “best friends.” So we did.

Prom night. After everything was over, I was standing at her front doorstep. I stared at her, and she smiled at me. I want her to be mine, but she doesn’t think of me like that and I know it. Then she said, “I had the best time, thanks!” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love her, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

Graduation Day. A day passed, then a week, then a month. Before I could blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated like an angel up on stage to get her diploma. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn’t notice me like that, and I knew it. Before everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and cried as I hugged her. Then she lifted her head from my shoulder and said, “You’re my best friend, thanks!” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love her, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

A few years later. I sat in the pews of the church. That girl got married. I watched her say “I do” and drive off to her new life, married to another man. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn’t see me like that, and I knew it. But before she drove away, she came to me and said, “You came! Thanks!” and kissed me on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love her, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

Years passed. I looked down at the coffin of a girl who used to be my “best friend.” At the service, they read a diary entry she had wrote in her high school years. This is what it read:

“I stare at him, wishing he was mine, but he doesn’t notice me like that, and I know it. I want to tell him, I want him to know that I don’t want to be just friends. I love him, but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me…”

I wish I did too, I thought to myself, and cried.

********

I'm sure this has happened to us all at one point in our lives. Yeah, not the the extreme presented in the story, but in one way or another. I know its happened to me multiple times. I'm interested in a girl, and I don't make any sort of a move to get to know said girl, and I am left to wonder, never getting to actually know her. Well, it is either that, or I am interested in a girl, I make pitiful attempts to impress said girl, and in the end, make a fool out of myself. Thats generally the case with me.

Anway, the thing I am trying to get at here folks, is what good does keeping a secret do us? They don't help the situation. Secrets don't introduce you to the girl that caught you eye (or the guy that caught you eye for you female readers), they don't help you get to know that person; secrets don't confess a sin, and secrets don't make you any better. If secrets don't leave you wondering, then they are going to hurt you directly as they fester over time. Sure, it might not kill you like our good friend Reverend Dimmsdale, but why bother with the pain or the empty feeling that your secrets give you? Why struggle with the mixed emotions? Why keep yourself from the blessings--physical or spiritual--that you might obtain by mearly baring all?

I'll tell you why. It is like I said in the introduction to this post. It is in our very human nature to hide the truth. I beleive that we are afraid to see what happens to us after our secrets are revealed. How will I be punished for the crime or sin I know I committed? How will the girl react if I tell her? Will she run in fear? Will she just laugh at you? Or will she feel the same way you do? If so, is that really a good thing?

You see, the only reason we keep secrets is fear. We are wusses. We don't want to bear the consequences of whatever our secrets will reveal. We are more content to sit and bear our guilt or wonder about the possibilities than we are in freeing ourselves of the burdens.

I am here to say that we need to try our best to change this course of events. I think that if each of us just said what we felt, or what we felt needed to be said, then the world would be a happier place. Guilt wouldn't burden us down, and our thoughts would turn from, "but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me…" to, "he loves me, and she knows I love her." We could go from there, and we wouldnt have so many wounds to try and patch up.

I am also here to say that, even though this sounds like a great thing to me, I know inside myself that it is a lot harder than I make it sound. I accept the fact that the secrets I carry today will still most likely be with me tomorrow. Sure, the secrets I carry aren't things that are going to eat at me like Reverend Dimmsdale, but I will probably miss out on some of the rewards and blessings I could get if I only confessed my feelings. I really am going to put forth an effort at this, but I can't change human nature.

The moral of the story? Start with small things. Tell somebody something nice that you would normally be afraid of saying. Tell that friend that they look nice. Tell someone how you wronged them, and make ammends. Make a difference. Let your secrets out, and share your life with your friends and family. They are there to help you, but can't do so if you won't let them.

Way to go guys, I'm really glad I have the friends that I do. The new, the old, the guys, the girls. You guys make the difference in my education and my life, you guys give me that drive that I might not have otherwise. Thanks to all of you, those who know you've made a difference, and those who might not realise the impact they've had. You are all appreciated.

Over and out, Kyle J.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Good times

I remember the good old days. The days of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pokemon, and Power Rangers. I loved it. Over the last week or so these memories have come flooding back to me. First came the thoughts of TMNT. With the new movie coming out, TMNT, (click here if you don't have Quicktime) a pretty sweet looking flick, I got remembering the old movies. I watched them all the time, and haven't seen them in ages. Molly and I got talking, and decided that we wanted to watch the oldschool one again, so plans are being made, of which I am very excited about.

*****************************

Okay, here I am again several days later, finishing this post. The TMNT movie went down without flaw... minus the part where I ate off of Nick's plate and fork. mmmm Nick.... Anyway, it was pure genious; whoever made that movie should be praised, its so cool. Molly, if you see this, we need to watch the second movie very soon. That was too much fun.

Anway, back to the post. Yes, the memories. So, a while back I was reminded of the goodness of Power Rangers. I got thinking about them somehow, and I went as far to research the oldschool seasons on Wikipedia. It was so pro. I read all about the Rangers I grew up with, and Queen Rita and the works. Things I had completely forgotten about came back to me, and it made me really wanna see the madness again. It was so good. All of you Power Rangers fans out there, don't give up hope. Let them live on in your memories. And here, to top it off, here is the origional intro. So primo. I loved that show so much. The green/white Ranger was my favorite. I even had the white ranger's sword for a toy. It was so cool, I played with it all the time. I wish there were some way to watch all those old episodes again, that would be so primo. Maybe Limewire...I'll have to check.

Another awesome thing that I grew up with was Pokemon. I got talking to Molly and some other people about Pokemon somehow, and I couldnt help but remember my days after elementary school watching Ash, Brock, and Misty out on their adventures. I could even recall a lot of the theme song. (8)I want to be the very best, like noone ever was. To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause! (8) Oh man, I was into the show, for sure. Up throw the third or fourth season, I was going strong. I even got into the cards quite a bit, although I really never had that many comparatively. I was very proud of my collection though, I thought I was so cool. Oh, and Molly, I did bring my cards to school that one day, I just never got around to showing anyone but Nick. Aahhh, I loved that show so much. Team Rocket was so eeeeviiiillll!! Pikachu was domination, and Ash was just my idol. Thats all there was to it. Meowth, thats right!

(As a side note, If you wanna here the origional theme song, click here and listen. The movie is good for some laughs too, minus a few...lets say, lame parts.)

I sorta got into the Yu-gi-oh show too towards the end of the first season. I liked the show. By no means was I interested in the cards, but I did enjoy the show. Anywhom...

Those three shows practically raised me. Those were the good old days. Expect more on this topic soon, I will be expressing my love for another part of growing up: Nintendo.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

English Response: Giles Corey: Puritan Rockstar

Giles Corey: Puritan Rockstar

I would like to think that I am a lot like Proctor, but I don’t think I have what it takes. Proctor does what is right no matter how hard it is for him to do so. Giles Corey, on the other hand, is sort of in it for himself and his family. He has his eyes set on tangible things, like land. He was always feuding with others over property and trivial things like firewood, and even in the end was thinking of his land.

Now, I think some explaining is in order. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m a buttcheeck, focusing on the temporal realms of this world. I think the thing that drew me so much to Corey is the way he handled these temporal things. Sure, he was selfish and unneighborly, but I think he always had his family in mind.

I spend probably 60 or 70 percent of my free time at home on the computer. I feel guilty because I am not doing anything great with my life, and I am not doing anything that helps others. At the same time though, these temporal things that I spend my time with bring me a level of joy. I talk to my friends all the time on the computer, and spend a lot of time in the Blogosphere. In this case, I am not doing these things for my family, as Corey was. I am benefiting myself, true enough, but I think the socialization and communication helps my friends. I try to help them with homework whenever possible, and I try to offer my thoughts and good ideas in my Blog posts. These things are very temporal, but in the end, they can still benefit my friends and me. Corey stayed focused till the end, and wanted to help others in the ways he knew how. That’s all I’m about, even if it is a waste of time.

For My Sister:

:)

That is all.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

English Response: “Death!” “That’s Maggie, Grandpa.” “Oh…Death!” “That’s the cat.”

As promised, here is my response to the very exciting, nerve-racking, injust Act 3 of The Crucible.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Homecoming, a week later (continued)

K, so sorry for the formatting of the last post. I'm not too familiar with posting pictures. These will be easier to see whats going on...


Aye, avas! To the tunnel of love!(Yeah, Thatcher just looks "special")
Smile Marissa! :DOh wow. Score it.
Oh yeah (h)
Who knew we could look so good in formals in a concrete tunnel?
To the Outside World
I see the moon, and the moon sees me....only, my eyes aren't open
To the Dance!!
I have some more pictures from when we were at the dance, but I'm all out of time for now. The story continues later. Ta~

Homecoming, a week later

I think it is nigh time that I write about homecoming. Its been a week, and nothing has been said. Thus, I figure its time to write about it. I shall be posting a bunch of pictures, but before I do that, I'll tell yeh a little secret I've learned from my first date. Money does not = fun. I am not ashamed that I spent only $34(ish), because I had a blast. We played How to Host a Murder, and that was great fun. We had some Pappa Murphy's Pizza, and wow, great lunch for a group date, let me tell ya. Yummers. It turned out Melissa Whiting was the evil shapeshifter. Who knew? Get her boys!

So, then we took some pictures of us in our awesome outfits. Oh, speaking of which, I forgot to mention that we went to the DI. thats right, the DI. On a date. Dang straight. That was really fun. I bought big goggles, cus my part was a swimmer/lifeguard dude, Marissa got a lucky 8 ball for her fortune-telling part, thatcher got a sweater to tie around his neck all preppy-like, Valerie got some mad mad alien hunting items, and the best part was Jared's bling bling that he bought. So cool. But yeah, back to the pictures. I don't have those pictures yet, cus they were taken on an old-school camera. No digital. But, after we ate dinner that night, which was at my house, prepared by my parents, we went to Arrowhead park and took about 80 pictures. We had a blast taking them. After all, who just walks around a park in formal stuff? Just us, that's who.


Here is us at dinner at my house. Good stuff.































Here we are on the bridge at the park, eh?















Here we are tromping through uncharted terain in our formals. Where's my machette?
































On the boardwalk of life.








































































Im gonna post this up to this point, cus otherwise its gonna take forever to publish.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

So one studly muffin says to another studly muffin...

Today was primo. I don't think today could have gotten much better. I had early morning seminary, where I was enlightened beautifully. I helped Tania with her physics, which surprised me, seeing how I actually figured stuff out ( :O ! ) It was pretty sweet action. Then I had computer tech, and that was just...computer tech.

But then, oh boy. Jr. Choir. I am LOVING that class. As of Tuesday, my range has gone up about 4 notes. Somehow I changed the way I sing, and my notes aren't nearly as pinched and nasty sounding as they used to be. Granted, they aren't perfect and "on top of the note" as T would say, but I can hit them very firmly and moderately well. (Very well compared to how I used to sing, for sure.) We got new chairs, which is pretty hot. I am saddened though, that I can't walk around the class now on the seat of the oldschool chairs. That was half of my choir experience :( But its all good, a minor set back, seeing how now I can actually sing. yay.

So yeah, choir was good fun. I even broke out of my shell during the announcement-mingling of students, and talked to....people, which was good. Several people in fact. I was way hyper the whole class, but under control. (ish) :D All-around great times, for one and all. Levi, what a studly muffin.

Then we had lunch, and thats always good fun. Nick and I had some good kicks and giggles at the end of the table by our lonesome, I quite enjoyed myself. We played some Frisbee after that, and that was great. We have some great potential in the Frisbee department. Peter, who can do thumbers like nobody's business, Benji, he's got hammers down pat. Nick and his wheels of death, and Brad with his biscuits. Oh man. Great stuff. Thatcher...well, he's diabetic.

Next up, Rockwell. How cool is he? Pretty cool, I must say. He went off on a primo tangent of Bill Clinton, made fun of Scott Malone, AND kept that grin of his on his face the whole time. It was great. Who knew history, and the class thereof, could be so much fun? And then there is Glen. He was all over the Hi Ho situation, with the discussion of religion and such. Way too cool. Glen, you got all the ladies, for sure. Rock on. Oh, and I got to use the amazing hall pass again. I just love missing out on educational experiences because I have to tinkle. Its always done with a skip and a grin.

Then we had English with Parrish. Oh man, I love Parrish. So cool. We read act 3 of the Crucible today. I was Giles Corey, a crotchety old senile man. He started sobbing, and well, lets just say I had some fun acting his part. Nick got some laughs too, with his "roar" comment. So good. I love that kid. Parrish, the narrator of the play, says something to the effect of, "and the croud roars with dissaproval". And Nick, right on cue, "rar!" *silence from the class, laughter from Kyle* ...........10 seconds later................... *laughter from the rest of teh class* So good. Nick, what a stud. (lots of studs in this world, for sure.) Then I was freaking out about the play. Oh man, it gets intense. I wanted to jump into the play and slap some people around, cus really, they were making me very anxious. I was bouncing up and down, trying to yell out to the people, "its a lie, a liiiiieeeee. shun the non-beleivers!!!!!" But alas, I was just little old Giles, not able to do anything about it. I DID get to say something to the effect of farting on someone though. Who knew protestant people farted? Or farted on other people for that matter. ^0) Great fun, expect a good English response in the next few days.

Then came Suessical pit practice. Muy, muy bien. So some people dont really know how to play much, but wow. Somehow, I managed to play most of it, and most of it well. It was crazy. The best part is, it was Act 2 stuff. I suck at Act 2. But today, I was all over it. It was so fun. Then there was Nick, tooting away in his happy little Hulk-like way. That really just makes me smile. I love listening to Nick get into playing his Clarinet. It so fun and...happy inside :D You truly are Clarinick, brotha'. Yay for Suessical, I hope we can all get down and dirty with it and make it really good for all ya'lls. Its got great potential, very fun play.

So yeah. I just had a blast. All day was a party. A very educational, fun-packed party. And now I get to go to Mutual. Yay, that should be fun. Rick is a studly muffin, I love that kid. I'm glad he's in my english class, cus wow. How cool is he. Pretty cool.

So yeah. Lots of studly people. Peter, Nick, Rick, Glen..oh, Glen... Peter....I said him already, but he gets two votes, cus he's just that amazing. Go my favorite sports team, go.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

English Response: Go Suck a Lemon

Go Suck a Lemon

I know I already wrote about Reverend Hale in class, but I want to talk about him some more. I think that Reverend Hale is trying too hard to please everybody. He thinks of himself as a professional because the people of Salem asked him to come to their town to sort things out. He honestly believes that he knows the signs and symptoms of witchcraft, and that the things that he does to help people are judicious and helpful.

Taking into account that this was in the 17th century when people really didn’t know much, maybe Hale really thought his “facts” on witchcraft were really fact. That being the case, he thought that he was really doing the world some good by ridding it of witches. However, I would really like to know where he got these “truths” from. Somehow, these things must have become “fact”. Obviously his methods had never been proved before. Maybe he thought that his methods worked, seeing how he had convicted witches before. It seems strange to me that people would trust his opinion when his methods of finding a witch when they hadn’t really been proven before.

Hale began to see that maybe there weren’t as many witches as he thought there were in the world. When so many people were accused of being a witch, he began to see that maybe people just started accusing other people of witchcraft to get the attention away from themselves or to try and get the accused into trouble. He began to see that people could cause mischief without the devil’s influence.

Monday, October 02, 2006

English Response: Secrets

I hope that this post will work. It'll be kicks and giggles if it does.

Secrets

It is my opinion that no good has ever come of keeping secrets. I like so-and-so. I killed so-and-so. So and so killed me. You know, the usual secrets. No good ever came from keeping those things to your self. If you tell someone your secrets, then things will always turn out better for you in the long run, guaranteed.

In the Crucible, terrible things happened because secrets were kept. Take John Proctor for example. He had an affair with some teenage girl when he had a wife and kids at home. He kept it secret until it couldn’t be kept secret any longer. His wife found out in the end, and then he was really in for it. Because he hadn’t fessed up to his sin, he lost a lot more trust with his wife than he would have had he come out and told her to begin with. He couldn’t even go out of the house for more than a few hours without his wife being suspicious of his actions. When he even mentioned the name Abigail, she freaked out and got angry at him.

The same thing happens in real life. When people have a secret that shouldn’t BE secret, then they should tell someone as soon as possible. It may cause them embarrassment and/or shame, but it will get the problem out in the open. In the long run, the outcome will be better for someone who tells all than someone who keeps things concealed. This is one of my life goals: don’t dwell on secrets. I will tell someone who needs to know things that I could otherwise keep secret. It will benefit me and the other person greatly.



Tadum!