This has gotta be the good life!!

I ran a 10K two saturdays ago. With these people:

That was a lot harder then I thought it was going to be. But that was two weeks ago.

K, rockin week last week!! I had a rough draft of a 20-page paper due on Tuesday and I had to write a computer program to make a robot do something awesome.  

So this is our robot Jimmer. He follows the black line on the paper until it leads to a box. When he touches the box he stops until you clap your hands, then he catapults the red ball over the wall. Then you clap because he made it and he says "Cecil!" Jealous much?

So school was just insane. I pulled an all-nighter writing my 20 page paper called "A comparative analysis of the four main pain rating scales used in hospitals." Its a pretty revolutionary paper in my opinion. I'm gonna change the world. Remember my name.

I finished the first hunger games book on Thursday and decided that I HAD to go see the premier. It needed to happen. So I posted on Facebook:

cuz friends don't let friends miss the premier of Hunger Games. I found a ticket!! So I went and had the freaking best time ever. It rocked. You'd think the awesomeness would end after a midnight showing of the Hunger Games right? I mean, you can't possibly fit anything else awesome in a day. WRONG! That's just when we got started. I got picked up by Madi, Nadine, and April from P80 and went to IHOP. I'm amazed at how when you think that you're close to people you can break through and see another side of them and get even closer. I spent a crazy amount of time P80-ing this last weekend.

After playing a grueling game of Truth or Cartwheel/Somersault/whatever we ended up waiting in the Krispy Kreme parking lot for their Hot Now sign to come on at 6AM.

That night rocked.

Then guess what? Guess what? The next night I went to Winco with Madi and Carlie. Oh man that was amazing. Ever been? You'll need a tour guide. Or two. I have some I could recommend.

That night also rocked.

Then guess what? The next day we all went to the Festival of Colors.

Not pictured above, the miraculously magnificent Madi and the curiously charming Carlie.

Oh yeah, and bought GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!

Did you hear who is going to sing at my wedding? Oh, Brigham Kmetzsch.

To top it all off, I got this note and it was not signed. BUT, I keep ALL of my nice notes, so I have PAH-LENTY of handwriting to compare it to. And guess what?? I found a match. It was another anonymous note. Ugh. I figure now that I know RMs are scary I just need to get married to the first person that offers. That's probably the right move. 

See ya lates!

Tyler Mails a Letter: A Children's Story

Once there was a child named Tyler.

Tyler learned from his parents how to write a letter. Apparently they forgot to teach him how to clean his room. 

After struggling for some time, Tyler finished his letter. It was his letter of denial to the county against their accusations.

He was a happy guy, that Tyler!

Tyler knew where to find the mailbox where he could mail his letter. He had scouted it out beforehand.

After leaving his apartment, he found himself in the lobby. He kicked open the lobby door with all his might!

Locating the "outgoing" box, Tyler began to push the letter into the slot.

It got stuck and needed to be pushed harder. "It will be worth it," Tyler said.

After he got the letter into the box, Tyler began to walk away, but looked back longingly at the box. He missed that letter already.

Suddenly, thousands of people started to run up to Tyler. The must have recognized him from his show "Between Two Arms." All of them wanted pictures and autographs.

But Tyler only waves.

He opened the door and went into Broadbent 23 where he lived. He was momentarily distracted by the flashy colors on the door.

Tyler felt happy of himself. He did it! He had mailed a letter! He had done what so many people couldn't do; only wave to a group of Paparazzi.

But mailing a letter is no big deal for Tyler. He does exciting stuff like that every day! Someday maybe he'll go on a real adventure like a safari in Africa. Until then, Tyler has these memories.

I love you P80!

The Curse of Dan the Man

Its been a little while! What's on my mind?? Good Question. Glad you asked :)

First, a video...






Ah, that never gets old!! So, tonight for the ward talent show my roommates and I are doing this song ^^. We are recreating the music on the piano, adding beat boxing, having somebody riding the bike and somebody being the dad and then some singing and some dancing. It's going to rock hardcore! I really love coming up with piano parts for stuff like this.
So I think Dan the man might have severely damaged my leg...Curse you Dan the Man!!! Or maybe the curse of Dan the Man is on me?? Scary thought! I was thinking that it I broke my leg right when it happened, but now I'm thinking its a muscle tear instead. Either way, I'm wondering if I should still be going to our frisbee tournament this weekend in Colorado Springs. Its going to have to be a gametime decision.
I've been doing some pretty cool stuff in my ME 373 (C++ programming and numerical methods) class lately. For example, we wrote a program on the computer on Friday that was supposed to direct a Lego Mindstorm robot to wait for a loud sound, then go forward two rotations of its wheels, turn 90 degrees to the left, then go forward until it sees a ball, go up to the ball, yell "fore!" and hit the ball with a club. Pretty sweet, right?? I thought so. We plugged our robot into the computer, downloaded our code into it and watched it perform our tasks. next week we can do whatever we want to with these robots.
My roommates rock! Seriously, they are always there when I need them. They are my best friends. They are all leaving on missions in the next couple months which is so sad for me, but its definitely the right move. They will love the mission field.
BTA (Between Two Arms) is so much fun to be a part of! We just decide to do an episode and we record it and post it online. We don't plan at all what we are going to say. Sometimes that makes it a disaster, sometimes it makes it so good that we can't even contain ourselves! Last night we had Hailey Hamblin on the show and it was pretty dang funny! Where is the show going? haha, probably nowhere. Really, its just been a great creative outlet for me and a chance for the world to see Tyler. I think every 3rd grader should see Tyler and watch his web show. For sure!
My ward here rocks! I absolutely love everyone so much! I don't want to think about what its going to be like without everyone I've become friends with being a 2 minute walk away. :'( Its coming up soon though!
Basically, life is goooooooood. Oh so good.
And check this out!!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

What up peeps?? Just for the record, I am watching C-SPAN right now. And they're talking about the Tax Code. I think I've reached an all time low in my TV consumption...

I know you all want to know how Las Vegas was. So, I'll tell you. IT WAS AWESOME!! Seriously, it rocked. I was really nervous heading into the tournament because I only played collegiate sports before my mission when I played rugby at Northern Arizona University, but if I remember right we lost to the Arizona State High School Champions. Its because all the guys on the team were doing crack before the games and drinking beer during the water breaks... Well, I just wanted to go in and catch a frisbee. So I did it. Then I just wanted to catch a touchdown - so I did it. Then I wanted to lay-out in the endzone for a touchdown. If you were wondering what a layout is, look below \/ \/

So I did. BYU won five games, lost zero. We beat teams like the Air Force Academy, Santa Clara, Lewis and Clark, Eastern Michigan, and ASUZA (I think). The closest any team got was 8-13. We stomped. But then we  forfeited all of our Sunday games and lost the tournament. Thats what happens when you play for BYU.

While I was gone, my roommates were a little bit crazy. Among other things, so many other things, they made this commercial for our webshow Between Two Arms:





GO HERE TO BE AMAZED!

My life has had a lot of changes in it recently. I like the lyrics from David Bowie's song "Changes."

I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same

His advice to dealing with change? "Turn and face the strain." Pretty good advice. Plus I just like the word "impermanence." It feels good coming off the tongue. Impermanence. Also, I'm just glad that I can be someone that knows I'm not in the driver seat here, that there is meaning and purpose in everything.

A quote for the road: "And finally, when you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But know also that, as you are learning this lesson, God wants to give you something better."

That's Wassup :)

Vegas Baby!

My friends, I am off to Vegas! Every year there is an Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Las Vegas called the "Trouble in Vegas." It's a Saturday/Sunday tournament and some of the best teams around the country come to play. We only play on Saturdays, so we never win but we put up a good fight (or so I've heard).

We're all carpooling down tomorrow and staying at a condo thats owned by one of the team members. Then, all day Saturday we play. I'm so excited because I have never played in a tournament before, a legit frisbee tourney, and I'm sure its totally amazing!

Just a quick update on my life for anyone that cares...

Frisbee rocks. I love it. I just started dating an amazing girl that makes everything around me seem better. I seriously don't deserve her. Our web show "Between Two Arms" is still alive and well. You should probably watch it... It brings variety to my life.


Seriously though, why do I have it so good? I'm blessed with the best friends there are. I love all of you guys so much! Thanks for always supporting me in everything.

Let me leave you with my favorite painting:

Weight Lifting

First off, I want to say that I am just enjoying life right now! A lot of the time I don't know how I am going to make it through the day getting everything done that I need to, but apart from that stress I am doing just fantastically!

I ran across a video that I heard a long time ago in a devotional given by Elder Busche. The full text of the talk can be found here. It's my absolute favorite talk. ever. I've found a lot of comfort in those words during hard times over the past few years.



Ok, now that the serious stuff is over. I was thinking a lot about why I do the things I do. Like go to the gym. I go to the gym every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 3:00PM and lift weights with my buddy Eric. Why do I do this? I think about 10% of the reason I lift weights is to get in better shape. I could always use 2 more inches on my vertical jump or half a second off of my 40 yard time. I could use more arm strength for sports. So, 10% is basically for sports. What is the other 90%?

I want to look good ;)

Thats it. I just want to look good. I want people to look at me and think, "Dang, he's in shape!" Especially girls. I push myself to the limit all the time so that some girl some time might find me attractive. Haha, stupid I know.

But that's why a lot of guys go to the gym, not just me. I think over time that will change and I'll be going to the gym to keep my muscles moving and working right. But for now, I'll stick with this.

Wow, wow

My life has been so great lately!!! And a little crazy. I am a part of a new internet TV show called "Between 2 Arms" that can be seen at our apartment blog here. Basically I'm a star. Or a co-star. With Tyler Crofts. My roommate.

Things have really been changing fast here. Every day I wake up and just wonder if something else is going to happen that rocks my way of life just a little. Without fail, it has. I really don't think much has changed in my own personal life but those I am close to have recently had theirs flipped upside down. Maybe I'm ready for a change too.

A year ago I had a double hernia surgery to repair damage done from lifting weights incorrectly. It was a painful procedure and recovery process. But while I was unconscious my mind was firing like crazy and running so quickly. The nurse attending me as I came out of the anesthetic told me later that I was mumbling about having "figured it out," and had "come up with the formula." Then I asked her repeatedly for a pen a paper until she brought me four small pieces of notepaper and a pen. In my delirious state I filled the pages with the ideas as if they were just running out of my mind onto the paper. Then I fell back unconscious. When I finally came to, the nurse recounted the adventure and gave me the notepaper. To my surprise it was legible and made sense. More than anything though, it was humorous. I put the papers away in a shoebox and didn't get them out again.

Until this semester. My technical writing class requires a self-directed project and paper on the topic of our choice. I decided to dig these pages out a take a look at them again. It really struck me that while unconscious I could come up with a unique idea, and it is unique, and put it on paper. I mean, when does that ever happen?!?! This one had to come from the Big Guy. You know, God? Anyways, it is opening itself up to me and I think this is one of my chances to make an impact and a change in this world. I can't tell you the specifics until I get a little more research done. I don't want to spoil the surprise. Just know that its pretty impressive.

Wow. Boom. Its all the same to me. Happiness. Friends. Attitude is key. Do what you need to do to be successful. Don't look back. Stick to your guns and you'll begin to love the way you live. Don't let others choose your life for you, make those important choices yourself. Don't let people stand in your way, but make your way include stopping by those people that need you. Don't be distracted by the gloom of life when the sun is only rising. The Perfect Day. Ether 12:4. I love everyone that I get to see from day to day. I take the time to try to brighten someone else's day because you took the time to brighten mine. Tonight while I was on duty a girl told me, "Can I tell you something without being creepy? You have a really nice smile." Best feeling ever. You rock!