Double Swoop

A bogey, in any form or number, is annoying. Swoop is too. What kind of bird is Swoop? Looks an awful lot like a wild chicken. From this point on, I will call a bogey a swoop.

Which Friends Character Are You?

Fuel Tank Door Indicator

Have you ever pulled up to the gas pump, gotten out of the car to refill the petrol, only to find that the fuel tank door was on the opposite side of the car? I have. Not necessarily with my own car, because that would just be ridiculous. But, we have all had the opporunity to drive someone else's car. And if you have to re-pump, it's not always easy to tell what side to pump on.

I found out recently that there is an icon in most car dashes that indicates what side the tank door is on. Now I hope that at least one person didn't know about this little icon. I just hate being the last person to know about this or that. I don't know if the picture is big enough. But see the little gasoline pump. There is an arrow that points to the side the tank door is on. Isn't this fantastic?!?

Office Loves

Fake office romances are fun!

Hop-ons

I work in rural Pleasant Grove. My work is surrounded by farmland. A couple weeks ago one of the farmers plowed his land. Ever since then, we have had some new residents here at work.

Stuff and more stuff

I opened a Boston Creme Pie Yoplait Yogurt a couple of minutes ago. I made sure I opened it away from me, so as to not get any on me. Well...of course it splattered. I keep finding little nuggets of it by the computer and on the computer. I hate a dirty computer screen.

So it's been a little while. I haven't blogged cause my life feels like chaos. I don't know where to begin. Ok, so it's really not that bad, but I have always preferred to make things bigger than they are.

I am in Utah. The adjustment at work has been slow. In my old position, I advised on our Associate degree programs. I am now responsible for Associate, Bachelor, and Masters degree programs. In addition, I used to only enroll recent high school graduates and now I enroll for all flavors.

The weather just took a turn for the worst. When I first got here it was nice, in the 70's-ish. I even went golfing after I got here. Slowly it got worse. Yesterday we had quite a bit of snow. Fortunately, it all melted. But, c'mon ... snow in the middle of October. I'm not ready for that. I went to the BYU - New Mexico game on Saturday. That was the coldest I've been in a long time. I think it was in the mid 40's. I think I picked the wrong time to come back to the Utah.

A couple of days after I got here, I headed to Anaheim. My aunt was getting married and asked me to do the photography. I was excited for the opportunity. This was my first solo gig (if you could call it that). It was a learning experience, to say the least. I've had the chance to learn a little from my friend Pete. Luckily he is patient, cause it takes me a little while to grasp things sometimes. There is so much more I need to learn.

While in Anaheim, I had the chance to go to Disneyland and California Adventure. I have to admit, it's not the Happiest Place On Earth for me. It's ok. There are just so many things I would rather be doing. I'm sure that if I had kids, it would be a different experience for me.
It just so happened that the weekend we were there was Anaheim Gay Days. It was celebrated mostly at Disneyland. I have added a picture to show you. This picture confirms a few things about Ute Fans. Check out the color...

I started writing this post 3 days ago and this is as far as I got. And I've been feeling the pressure to post so I'm just going to post.

Going back to Utah

The rumors are true. I am moving back to Utah. I will be making the move the last weekend of this month. I have the opportunity to do the same thing (mostly) that I am doing now. I will be at the new University of Phoenix campus in Pleasant Grove. Which brings me to my next point. Does anyone know of 1, possibly 2 rooms to rent? I prefer to stay in Orem, Lindon, Pleasant Grove, or American Fork. But, I would be willing to get crazy and branch out as far as Provo.
A little panic has set in. So, I need to find something quick. Thanks for any help.

Update

It's probably time I bogged again. Much has happened since the last time. Actually, not that much has happened.
First off, the music to the right is Ray LaMontagne. He is one of my favorites. Way Mellow...but Way Good. My friend, Shalayne, and I were talking today. She and I like the same kind of music. I apparently never suggested him to her. I felt ashamed. So I told her I would put some of his music on my blog. These represent my favorites. Maybe push play before reading the rest of this post. Awesome.
I was at the Gateway in Salt Lake a couple years ago. I happened to be in one of my favorite stores, Virgin Records. Along the wall, they have music suggestions. Often they represent music that is selling, not necessarily good music. I was sampling and wasn't too impressed with anything. You see where this is going - don't you. Before I listened to Ray (he and I are on a first name basis), I read a little snippet about him. It was from an article in the Rolling Stone. The article described him as a cross between Al Green and Van Morrison. That's a pretty bold remark. Those happen to be two of my beloveds. I was struck. The first song I heard was Trouble and loved it instantly. I stood there and listened to the whole album.
A couple months later he was came to Salt Lake. My brother and I went to see him in a small cafe/warehouse. I was 5 ft from him (first name basis) and it was one of my most memorable concerts. Some may not like it, but I suggest at least a casual listen.

Speaking of music, I was able to see Dave Matthews Band on August 20th. I have seen them several times. This will probably be my favorite. Some may know that LeRoi Moore, one of the founding members of the Dave Matthews Band, died a couple days prior to that. I didn't think they would go through with the concert. Dave started the concert by saying "We dedicate this to LeRoi Moore. You'll always be our friend". He then went into a song called Bartender. I've provided it to - to the right. That song set the tone for the next little while. It was somber. I noticed that the further they got into the set, the more lively they became. I had an interesting thought. For me, as a listener, music can be extremely cathartic. Why wouldn't it be that way for the musician? They finished in typical DMB fashion. The energy was just a little more charged than usual.

I guess I really don't have much to say. Send some good vibes my way. Some people were bugging me to put more pictures on my blog. I'm not in the habit of taking pictures of myself. But, here is one from November. I know I look like I am in pain, but I am actually laughing. That is my friend Matt in the background. Something he did, I don't remember - do you Matt? - made me laugh...hysterically.

Rockawhat?

I stumbled across this a couple nights ago. I was sampling some songs by Radiohead in iTunes. In the bottom right corner, there was a suggestion. You know..."Purchasers also purchased this purchase" type thing. So I clicked on it. Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Radiohead. "Awesome", I said. Some of the renditions were pretty cool, some just kind of lame. However, I noticed that there were several other artists...some were pretty cool, some just kind of lame. My favorite is the Eagles. Check it out.
Sorry Ryan, there isn't any Brittney Spears. But, Bjork should suffice for now.
Marc I'm going to Dave Matthews on Saturday. Not as cool as Central Park. I take what I can get though.

Pizzeria Delicious

I am always interested in trying new places. I think living in Utah Valley I became accustomed to the usuals. And though I enjoyed eating at them, I longed (yes longed) for something fresh and new. Better yet, my palate longed (yes longed) for something fresh and new. When I moved down here I was excited at all the new opportunities. However, it has been hard to find people to go with me.

About 6 weeks ago, my bro-in-law said that he heard about the pizza joint that was getting a lot of national buzz, including on Oprah. I asked around and sure enough, Pizzeria Bianco was the Bianco Bomb. I also found out that there was a crazy wait. One friend showed up at 6:30, and they told him that he would be able to eat at 9:30. Reservations can be made for groups between 6-10. I'm not sure why not 4, or why not 12. We gathered 7 to set a reservation. The soonest was 5 weeks out.

There was a line of 30 or so people waiting to get in at 5:00. We were the only ones to have a reservation, so we got in pretty quick. The environment is pretty cool. I'm sure it only fits 30-50 people in there. It's snug. We sat right next to the oven. The pizza is prepared next to the bar next to dining area.

I was told that I need to try there Margherita Pizza: Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozarella, and Basil. I wanted to try something else as well. I figured I could take home what I did not eat. I also got the Sonny Boy: Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozarella, Salami, and Gaeta Olives. For me, the restaurant lived up to the hype. And I will try to make my way back soon. The draw is the quality and freshness of the ingredients. I wanted to keep eating, but physically could not. I am not going to try to write some grand food review. I'll just tell you it was fantastic.

There is a restaurant in Orem that is similar. I believe it is Pizza 210 or something like that. It might be the only shop located in that new mall/condos/trapper keeper located on State Street in Orem. I went there a couple months ago. I thought the food was pretty good there. So you could go there...and kind of understand what I am talking about.