Okay, so I didn't mean to sound like such a hater on my last entry. Texas has lots of redeeming attributes (i.e. the presence of Abby and her family, Billy Bob's - The World's Largest Honky Tonk, and it's share of large cities), but it's difficult to accentuate the positive when you're stuck in a boring class/hotel room in Wichita Falls. Either way, I'm only here until Wednesday, so this will be my last weekend hanging out with the Youngs. They've been more than hospitable, and I can't thank them enough. Especially for all the hysterical pictures I'll eventually be posting on here.
Class is stil going well. I scored a 90% on test number two, so I'm pretty happy with myself. The third and final test, which I'll take Wednesday morning, is supposed to be the most difficult, but I'm pretty confident I'll pass.
After leaving Wichita Falls, I'm going to take a rather long route getting back to Utah in order to see as many people as possible, including Brad and Kristy, JR, Jimmy and crew, and the whole Vegas clan. I don't really have a set schedule, but I'm hoping to be home by the ninth. Basically, whatever happens, happens. I enjoy driving by myself, singing really loud, and stopping to eat and pee whenever I want. It's going to be a good time.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Art School
Today, class, we're going to draw a landscape of Texas. First, place your paper sideways. Then, draw a horizontal straight line across the middle. Congratulations! You've just completed your first Texas landscape. You're ready for the Louvre!
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Piece of the Pie
I'm chilling at Abby's right now. She has to work today, but Charis is going to entertain me until she's done. Last night, we ate pizza and played games at Charis's place. It's amazing how much I laugh when I'm around this crew. Maybe I can convince them all to move up to Utah, because there's a snowball's chance in hell of me moving to Texas. Voluntarily, anyway.
Today, I think we'll be meeting Abby and John for lunch, and then probably shopping all afternoon. I have a ton of homework I should probably work on, but chances are I'll put it off until Sunday evening when I get back to my hotel.
Sorry I haven't been posting any pictures. I've taken some pretty interesting and funny ones on my weekends at the Young homestead. (Believe me, there's nothing worth photographing in Wichita Falls.) Unfortunately, I seem to have left the cord for uploading pictures from my camera to my computer back in Utah. I can remember to bring shoes for every outfit, but this one crucial cord, I forget.
By the way, if anyone ever wants to challenge me to a rousing game of Pop Culture Trivial Pursuit, I have two words: BRING IT!
Today, I think we'll be meeting Abby and John for lunch, and then probably shopping all afternoon. I have a ton of homework I should probably work on, but chances are I'll put it off until Sunday evening when I get back to my hotel.
Sorry I haven't been posting any pictures. I've taken some pretty interesting and funny ones on my weekends at the Young homestead. (Believe me, there's nothing worth photographing in Wichita Falls.) Unfortunately, I seem to have left the cord for uploading pictures from my camera to my computer back in Utah. I can remember to bring shoes for every outfit, but this one crucial cord, I forget.
By the way, if anyone ever wants to challenge me to a rousing game of Pop Culture Trivial Pursuit, I have two words: BRING IT!
Friday, January 20, 2006
Foamy
I'm sitting in Starbucks (a moral dilema in itself) drinking my decaf soy caramel latte, and piggybacking on their wi-fi for a few minutes. I hope everyone is well. Texas is still the ugliest state in the union, and I'll never understand why people from here are so proud of it.
Class is going okay. I scored a 97% on my first test yesterday, the highest score in the class! The material is difficult, but the class is easy. Let me explain. Officially, class is from 7 AM to 4 PM. We show up at 7:30 and BS for 30 minutes. We go to lunch at 10:30 and come back at 1 PM. I'm usually back in my room by 3. But I studied my butt off for the test. Maybe if the instructors spent more time on the actual lessons and less time telling us which bars to go to, the tests wouldn't be so difficult and the class wouldn't last three weeks. Oh, well. The good news is that I'm going back to Dallas to visit Abs this weekend. Yay!
Class is going okay. I scored a 97% on my first test yesterday, the highest score in the class! The material is difficult, but the class is easy. Let me explain. Officially, class is from 7 AM to 4 PM. We show up at 7:30 and BS for 30 minutes. We go to lunch at 10:30 and come back at 1 PM. I'm usually back in my room by 3. But I studied my butt off for the test. Maybe if the instructors spent more time on the actual lessons and less time telling us which bars to go to, the tests wouldn't be so difficult and the class wouldn't last three weeks. Oh, well. The good news is that I'm going back to Dallas to visit Abs this weekend. Yay!
Sunday, January 15, 2006
The Lone Star State
I know it's been a while since I last posted, but it seems the good people of Wichita Falls don't believe in the 21st Century and all that it includes (i.e. high-speed wireless internet access). Luckily, I'm visiting my good friend Abby in Dallas this weekend, who is blessed enough to have such modern conveniences.
I'd love to write about my road trip and my wonderful class and the cultural diversity of "Texoma," but it's just not going to happen. The only thing I've experienced worth noting thus far is the crazy dreams I've been having, which, unfortunately, I haven't been logging. I think I'll purchase a notebook so as to write about said dreams, in the hopes of back-logging them over on Tripping Lucid upon my return to Utah.
Until then, entries will be sporadic, at best, e-mails will go unanswered, and blogs will go unread. My apologies to everyone, but until these people can live in the now, we'll all just have to deal with it.
I will say this: I arrived at Abby's house about six and a half hours ago, and I've already about laughed myself silly. It's good to have friends. Especially friends with internet.
I'd love to write about my road trip and my wonderful class and the cultural diversity of "Texoma," but it's just not going to happen. The only thing I've experienced worth noting thus far is the crazy dreams I've been having, which, unfortunately, I haven't been logging. I think I'll purchase a notebook so as to write about said dreams, in the hopes of back-logging them over on Tripping Lucid upon my return to Utah.
Until then, entries will be sporadic, at best, e-mails will go unanswered, and blogs will go unread. My apologies to everyone, but until these people can live in the now, we'll all just have to deal with it.
I will say this: I arrived at Abby's house about six and a half hours ago, and I've already about laughed myself silly. It's good to have friends. Especially friends with internet.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Cowboy Express
I'm in a suburb just south of Denver. I didn't leave Layton until 1 PM because I didn't start packing until this morning, plus I met John, Ryan, and Kyle for brunch. Except for some severe wind in the first half of Wyoming, the drive wasn't too bad. The first part was the worst because I have a bit of a cold and I just wanted to turn around and go home and get in bed. But on my first gas stop, I picked up a Red Bull. Now, Red Bull has to be the worst tasting thing ever meant for human consumption, but it sure does what it promises. One other promise they should list right on the can should read, "Causes urine to turn a bright, neon, radioactive yellow colour."
I'm planning on stopping in Amarillo tomorrow night. That way, I can drive into Wichita Falls on Tuesday while it's still light. I'm not really in any hurry to start this class, but I'm going to try to enjoy it as much as possible.
I'm planning on stopping in Amarillo tomorrow night. That way, I can drive into Wichita Falls on Tuesday while it's still light. I'm not really in any hurry to start this class, but I'm going to try to enjoy it as much as possible.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Deep In The Heart
I leave tomorrow morning on a 17 hour drive to Texas. I'm going to a three-week advanced class for work. I'm not looking forward to the class or the three weeks in Wichita Falls. However, the road trip part should be fun, plus, I'll get to hang out with Abby on the weekends, which will be great. Feel free to give me a call anytime over the next three days, just to make sure I haven't fallen asleep at the wheel.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Jet City Boy
I spent this week in Seattle visiting Paul, Trish, and Roxy. Here's the chronic-what?-cles of what we did.
I arrived Sunday a few hours before the Dinki, who were on their way back from St. Louis. Sunday night, we were all pretty tired from traveling, so once we got back to their place, we pretty much crashed.
Monday, we got up and drove two hours north to Vancouver. None of us had ever been to Canada before. Here we are crossing the border.
Vancouver was pretty cool. We basically just walked around the city and shopped all afternoon.
Trish had to go back to work on Tuesday, so I got to spend lots of quality time with Paul and Roxy. We took the bus downtown to meet Trish for lunch.
Trish works on the 35th floor of this huge building in downtown Seattle. It's a beautiful building and she has a great view. When we were walking through, I felt so business-like and metropolitan.
This is Trish at work. Doesn't she look like little miss business executive?
Tuesday night, we went to this great vegetarian restaurant, and then to Whole Foods. Now, I know Whole Foods may not sound like it would have been much fun, but I've never been to one before, and I thought it was pretty cool.
Wednesday, after lunch with Trish at the Cheesecake Factory, Paul, Roxy, and I walked down to the Space Needle. I know everyone has seen a million pictures of the Space Needle, but I figured I should put one on here anyway. You know, just to prove that I was actually there.
We also went to the Experience Music Project, which is basically a big rock 'n roll museum. It was kinda expensive, but the projects they had (including a Jimi Hendrix exhibit, a Bob Dylan exhibit, and a hip-hop exhibit) were pretty cool. My favourite part was the exhibit detailing music in the pacific northwest. I was particularly interested in the grunge and riot grrrl details.
Wednesday night, we went to a place called Taco Del Mar, which had great burritos, with Steven and Meredith, some of Paul's college buddies. It was great to meet them, especially since Paul and Trish seem to think that Meredith and Abby are somehow cosmic twins or something.
Unfortunately, I had to leave on Thursday, so Paul, Roxy, and I went downtown for our final power lunch with Trish.
It was such a great visit. I really like Seattle, and words can't express how great it was to see Paul and Trish after almost a year. Also, this was the first time I've ever gotten to see little Roxy. Everyone always says their baby is the cutest ever, but Paul and Trish can say it with confidence. Every place we went, people were telling them that she should be a model. She was very active and always smiling. I wish I could be around more to experience her growth.
And a gigantic "THANK YOU!" to the Dinki for letting me crash at their pad. The military can be difficult in that relationships created are so often broken due to moving around so much, but I'm so fortunate to have forged such a wonderful bond with them in Japan. You guys are the best!
I arrived Sunday a few hours before the Dinki, who were on their way back from St. Louis. Sunday night, we were all pretty tired from traveling, so once we got back to their place, we pretty much crashed.
Monday, we got up and drove two hours north to Vancouver. None of us had ever been to Canada before. Here we are crossing the border.
Vancouver was pretty cool. We basically just walked around the city and shopped all afternoon.
Trish had to go back to work on Tuesday, so I got to spend lots of quality time with Paul and Roxy. We took the bus downtown to meet Trish for lunch.
Trish works on the 35th floor of this huge building in downtown Seattle. It's a beautiful building and she has a great view. When we were walking through, I felt so business-like and metropolitan.
This is Trish at work. Doesn't she look like little miss business executive?
Tuesday night, we went to this great vegetarian restaurant, and then to Whole Foods. Now, I know Whole Foods may not sound like it would have been much fun, but I've never been to one before, and I thought it was pretty cool.
Wednesday, after lunch with Trish at the Cheesecake Factory, Paul, Roxy, and I walked down to the Space Needle. I know everyone has seen a million pictures of the Space Needle, but I figured I should put one on here anyway. You know, just to prove that I was actually there.
We also went to the Experience Music Project, which is basically a big rock 'n roll museum. It was kinda expensive, but the projects they had (including a Jimi Hendrix exhibit, a Bob Dylan exhibit, and a hip-hop exhibit) were pretty cool. My favourite part was the exhibit detailing music in the pacific northwest. I was particularly interested in the grunge and riot grrrl details.
Wednesday night, we went to a place called Taco Del Mar, which had great burritos, with Steven and Meredith, some of Paul's college buddies. It was great to meet them, especially since Paul and Trish seem to think that Meredith and Abby are somehow cosmic twins or something.
Unfortunately, I had to leave on Thursday, so Paul, Roxy, and I went downtown for our final power lunch with Trish.
It was such a great visit. I really like Seattle, and words can't express how great it was to see Paul and Trish after almost a year. Also, this was the first time I've ever gotten to see little Roxy. Everyone always says their baby is the cutest ever, but Paul and Trish can say it with confidence. Every place we went, people were telling them that she should be a model. She was very active and always smiling. I wish I could be around more to experience her growth.
And a gigantic "THANK YOU!" to the Dinki for letting me crash at their pad. The military can be difficult in that relationships created are so often broken due to moving around so much, but I'm so fortunate to have forged such a wonderful bond with them in Japan. You guys are the best!
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Ringing In
Ryan, John, and I went down to Salt Lake City tonight to celebrate the New Year. After eating dinner in Bountiful, we went to a house party until 11-ish, then went to Club Sound. The music was great and we saw lots of cool people.
I can't recall the last time I ever kissed anyone on New Year's, but this year I kissed myself, so to speak. It gives me hope and faith that this is going to be a great year.
I can't recall the last time I ever kissed anyone on New Year's, but this year I kissed myself, so to speak. It gives me hope and faith that this is going to be a great year.
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