Return to Blog-o-Sphere - A month in review

So since getting married I have been busy with more pressing matters, than could be blogged about. Things important to national security (I am at times a nation unto myself :)) and to the general well being of my life and Marriage. So on this Saturday I am taking time to blog a bit again. I do not know how often it will happen, but I do enjoy the outlet that writing can be for me. I always disliked English classes is in school, but I find that my creative juices flow a bit more freely as I blog. It helps me to clear my mind and come up with new and entertaining ways to make those around me smile. So here is a recap over the past month of Marital bliss:


Seattle:
Spent the day as tourists in Seattle. Went to pike place market. Saw wonderful things. Went up the Space Needle to get a great view of the City.


Mariners 4 Yankees 1. Glad I could see one of a few wins this season. Brandon Morrow is throwing a no hitter through 7 2/3 innings. great game to watch with great seats. First big league game that my sweatheart had ever been to.


BYU 28 UW 27. We win and yet lose 3 places in the polls. Voters never make much sense. It was a Good game but I much prefer a Blowout win.


Victoria BC:
We spent the day in BC seeing Buchart Gardens and the downtown Victoria area. It was realy wonderful and tiring. so Tiring that on the way home at about 10:30 pm that night I managed to total my Dad's MR2 (:( I loved that car) The lone good news I guess was that the insurance paid him only a few hundred dollars less than what he was trying to sell it for... See Dad I am willing to go to great lengths and risk life and limb to make a sale! :)



More BYU Football:
BYU is awesome this year. They have had both impressive and unimpressive wins. but they are undefeated and at the current time ranked as high as 7th in the coaches poll. With the right combination of events, it is not incnceivable for them to end up in the National Title game. Forget JUST the BCS. We want the TITLE!!!



Garage Sale:
Wow putting on a garage sale is tiring and hard work. but it netted us about $900 bucks! so I will complain strait to the bank. :)

I think that about catches us up on a Rainy Saturday afternoon. I will do my best to keep up. :)

McKee Family Blog

I have created the McKee Family Blog (jrandheathermckee.blogspot.com) so that we can share our life together with everyone. I have posted a couple pics of our family to get us started. Here is a sample. Head over there to see the rest.

What Happens in Vegas...

The Age old adage is "What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas". Well this is Not entirely true. On Sunday Heather and I decided to elope to Las Vegas. After being asked by multiple people why we were waiting until November to get married we took thier advice and got married at a wonderfully high class little chapel on the strip shown here(please note tongue firmly planted in cheek)


Drive through services are available however we decided to go with the classier chapel service. We tied the knot at 2 AM 0n Monday Morning and are now enjoying our happily ever after. The only thing that stayed in Vegas was our lives as single folk! :) And we couldn't be happier.

The Happy Couple

The view from our room at the Bellagio

In front of the Bellagio

First day of school

So its official I have a Kindergartner. When was it exactly that I became old enough to have a kindergartner? I was reminded via a conversation with my mother about my first day of school in 1984. Yes it was a momentous year. BYU won the national championship and I started Kindergarten. I raced out the door before my mother had an opportunity to give me the requisite kiss goodbye or even shed a tear. Apparently my daughter had similar designs as she was ready to go long before dad and mom were ready to let her go. I did manage to snap a couple of pictures with my school ready little girl.

Camping

This past weekend Heather and I took our kids camping to Moose Horn Lake in the Uinta mountains. We had lots of fun. I have a new found appreciation for how tough it is to camp with small kids. Very little sleep was the order for the weekdend. The first night was next to zero sleep courtesy of little Shelbie and Makayla. And while Makayla slept well the 2nd night Shelbie continued to give us fits. Ahh the joys of parenting. Here are some pics of the weekend. At her request Heather is not shown in the photos as, even though she is encredibly gorgeous at all hours of the day, she felt that the whole camping experience was a detriment to her photogeneity. I politely agreed to disagree with her :)

Daddy fishing "for" Makayla

Parker Fishing

Shelbie gettting close to nature (and dirty!)

Parker's catch

Makayla and Parker with the impressive morning backdrop.

Looking back...

I was reminded recently about a blog post that I had put up here. One of my first actually. I was lamenting my re-entrance into the dating pool. It is funny to look back and see that in March I was asking for Princess Charming to show up. It took her a while but Heather showed up just in time. :) I am so thankful for her and I cannot wait for our Cancun Wedding on Nov 10th. Finally I get to begin the rest of my "Happily Ever After".

He Went to Jared!

So as many of you may have read I have found my own Princess Charming. Her name is Heather and on Friday I asked her to marry me. The best part is SHE SAID YES!!! Here are a few pictures of her ring that I did indeed find at Jared The Galleria of Jewelry. Heather sends her condolences to any eligible bachelorette who missed out, but she is Happy to claim me as hers. :) And frankly I couldn't be happier. More pics to follow but this should do for the interim.

New Pics

There are new pictures on the Daddy and Kayla picture archive. here is an example.

My Princess Charming

Blog-o-sphere this is Heather. Heather the Blog-o-sphere. We are very happy together and find great delight in playing with our children (She has 2, me 1) Parker, Makayla, and Shelbie, as well as spending alone time together. So refreshing to be with someone who so accurately completes me. (Yes it was Cheesy but also true)

A Tale of Two Spaces

So a few days ago I set aside time to clean my apartment up a bit. I am living alone for the time being so I can't possibly blame the mess on anyone else, except perhaps my daughter, but it is my job as daddy to clean up after her at this age. So I set out to clean the front room. you can see the results here.


So as you can see to the general public my apartment is a pretty clean place. Granted as always the dishes need to be done (but that is an on going problem not likely to be solved during bachelorhood) So I realized recently as I was brushing my teeth that my bedroom could use a similar level of love.


So perhaps over the next day or two I can get the dishes done and my bedroom cleaned. Being that over the last couple days I have cut my commute down from mattress to Office chair to just rolling over to pull the laptop into bed with me, perhaps I should expend a bit of the time from my saved commute in cleaning the "Office". But, Please! One thing at a time!

iPhone blogging

So I am trying to blog from my iPhone. I will have to see how this is works. It would be really great to be able to update while on the go.

Allergies Stink

So I have never really had any allergies in my life. I have dealt occasionally with a rather runny nose when the pollen count was very high, but never have I had something that I would attribute to an allergy. That all changed here a couple weeks ago when I had to forgo what was to be an exceptional climbing outing because my face looked like this. Not at all what I would consider a cool experience and very low on my "Boy I wanna do that again" list. Yes I look like Hitch from the movie when he found he had a food allergy, but the benefit he had (Eva Mendez to look after him) was what some might consider a positive externality. I on the other hand got to take Benadryl and rest up, while making jokes about "you should see the other guy". In the end I still don't know what caused it but I can hope Eva Mendez shows up on my doorstep to care for me. :)

The bane of my existence revisited

So after leaving AT&T I have done something that some of you may find funny. I am now an iPhone user. Yes that is correct. The very bane of my existence is in fact helping me to carry on my existence now. There are a few reasons for this. First and foremost the phone is pretty freaking cool. Granted it does leave a bit to be desired with its functionality as compared with the Blackberry's, but all in all it may well stand up to the title of "My Favorite Consumer Device" that my buddy Wade Eyerly dubbed it with a few months back, as he chastised me for sticking with my berry. The second reason is flexibility. Because of the way that AT&T treats the original iPhone I can upgrade to a new phone anytime I like. So when the new Blackberry Bold or iPhone 3G launch later this Summer (next week for the iPhone 3G) I can move into one of those and still get the upgrade price. And of course the best part is that I can expense it to the company :) Wait did I tell you that I love my job??

I have the coolest job ever.

So after I got home (and frankly a bit during my trip) I realized that I have quite possibly the coolest job ever. I get to sell a great product where I actually get to have some input on how its developed to make it better, and I get paid handsomely to sell it from the comfort of my own home. That's right I get to work in my PJ's each and every day if I so desire. I am really excited to get going and beating up my quarterly quota. Nothing like a spiff of 3K to the store of my choosing for being top sales this quarter to get the blood flowing. :) oh and that part about not ever having to work a weekend or Holiday again sure is nice :)

I Hate Texas...

So for my new job I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Austin Texas. I had never been to Austin so i was excited for the opportunity to see a new place as I got my feet wet with my new job. The problem is as we were landing at the Austin Airport I looked out the window and remembered that I HATE Texas. I think this hate springs from those two fateful summers I spent in San Antonio with the Air Force. Looking out the window I could see... flat. lots and lots of flat. I missed the mountains, that add majestic beauty to where I now call home. Getting off the plain I felt heat and humidity. Heat really isn't that bad for example today in Utah it was in the mid 90's, but add to the mix a sticky variety of 90% humidity and you have a recipe for suffering.
You see I love to ski and I recall my dad saying something to the effect of "if God had wanted Texans to ski he would have made the Bull$h!t white." Not sure I can argue with this. Now that being sad my mother was born a Texan and still claims that heritage and I love her very much. Many Texans have this over inflated sense that their hometown is the only one on the planet that really has any significance in the world. This arrogance is similar to Californians who can't find anything good to say about any locale not located in the state that is do to break off and slide into the Pacific the next time a good quake rocks the San Andreas fault. I digress...
Home on the range sounds like a terrible bore. give me a home slope side with ski-in ski-out access and then we can talk about living the good life. One of the few things that Texans do up to the level of their ego is Texas BBQ. I cannot deny that this is really good stuff. For dinner we ate one night in a spot that the brisket melted in your mouth and the pork fell off the ribs in a mouthwatering symphony of really good eating. And in classic Texas style the place was called something like Bubba's. The food really was pretty good but after 3 days of Mexican and BBQ my gut was ready to digest something other than beef and guacamole.

The End of an Era

So today is my last day in the wireless industry. I have been doing this same sort of job now for nearly 5 years, but today I leave it all behind. It is a bit surreal to be honest. The industry has been good to me. I got the last year at BYU paid for courtesy of AT&T, I took a once in a lifetime trip to Cancun for 5 days on Sprint's dime. I have made great friends both with customers and coworkers, and I have met some people that I could probably do without ever meeting again. I have made good money and on the whole I have enjoyed what I have been doing. Life has been hard through the past 5 years. I changed majors in school and went through a divorce. Some of my life's hardest days corresponded with time periods during the past 5 years.
today things are looking up. I have graduated from BYU, I landed a great new job in a growing industry, and I am dating a wonderful woman who looks to make me happy. Simply put I am doing great and and happy where things are headed.
As with all new endeavors I am a bit anxious to get started and settled. The new job has great earning potential for me and I honestly think that I can excel and meet some financial goals ( Debt free by 32) which excites me.
Maybe it isn't so much the End as it is the opening of a new chapter of life. Whatever it is I am anxious to get moving with it.

T-3 Days... and other musings

So my last day is fast approaching here at AT&T. I am excited to get started on the new job. I have purchased my plane ticket to Austin, TX so that I can attend some meetings. I ordered a Vonage phone line so that I will have an office phone. It even has a cool phone number ending in 0999. Once I am up and running I will get an eFax line that will make my virtual office complete. Last night I even cleaned my office so that it is ready to begin work. I am told that a laptop is forthcoming with which to do my work, so with that and my desktop I will be set. I am interested to see what sort of laptop I am set up with. Alfresco is an open source software company so this screems "Anti-Windows" And my new boss's boss is a self proclaimed apple fan-boy so I might just be looking at a macbook, which I would be ok with cuz they are pretty cool machines. I have to choose what phone I would like. The company kicks in something like $200 towards its purchase. I think I will go with a Curve like I have now for the time being. However I am hopeful that the Blackberry Bold will come out soon so that I can move into that.
Last night I had dinner with a friend of mine. We went to Noodles and Co. and sat on the patio to enjoy the really great evening temperatures. We sat there for almost 3 hours shooting the breeze and talking about some of the finer points of life. I realized at one point that with my new employment I could make this sort of relaxing evening a ritual. No longer will I work until 9 pm. no longer will I work weekends or Holidays. everytime I think about this I get a grin spreading across my face. :) Time to enjoy life. When ski season rolls around I am not going to miss as many powder days. And the new job is going to allow me to pay off my debts at a rate that will let me reach my goal of being completely debt free by age 32. And I started dating a great girl. to put it simply... I am pleased with where life is headed.

Death Star Explodes

So today I accepted a job offer from a new company. No i am not going to sell drugs like I thought I might orignally. While that field still does enthrall me I have accepted a job with a firm called Alfresco Software. No longer will I be palgued with customers who can't understand how they could have possibly gotten thier phone wet, or how they could have gone 1000 minutes over on thier plan. Goodbye to retail. Goodbye to working Holidays, or Saturdays, or BYU football game days. No longer do I have to pretend that I didn't really wanna go home to Seattle to see my family for Christmas. I am now an Enterprise software sales professional. The best part? I work from home! Thats right I can work in my pajamas if I so desire. so these pics are for you AT&T. Ever noticed how the AT&T logo smacks of the intergalactic menace that Luke and the boys took care of for us a while back??

Stone Temple Pilots

Matt and I went and saw stone temple pilots last week. AWESOME SHOW!!! I highly recommend for any and all members of my fan-dom. I grew up with STP and remain a huge fan. here are a few pics from the show taken with my trusty Blackberry Curve.

The Bane of my Existence

So on Monday, Satan (aka Steve Jobs), announced plans for the 3G iPhone at the Apple world wide developers conference. This was not a wholly unexpected announcement. What was a bit unexpected was the release date, July 11th. Now for those of you thinking

"Hey that's only
a month off"

let me help you understand how that month is going to play out. For the next 4 weeks I will field at a minimum 25 phone calls a day asking

"hey when does the new iPhone come out"

or

"is there a waiting list that I can get on for the new iPhone?"

or my personal favorite,

"So, tell me about this new iPhone."

Needless to say I am already fed up and it will just get worse.

One side effect of this new phone will be a dragging month of June. Our Sales numbers will flounder. And then iPhone will come out and it will all be roses again. but until then I will have to endure a really rotten sales month. Thus adding fuel to the "get me the heck out of here" fire. I still have yet to hear from Johnson & Johnson but I am hoping that very soon this will change.

Spring Cleaning

So the other day I decided that it was bout d@mn time that I clean my room. After toiling away and getting a few loads of luandry out of the way. I managed to learn a few things in the process; that I do in fact have a floor under all that junk, that dust isn't actually a color for furniture, and that carpet feels better underfoot than an assorted mix of denim and synthetic fiber textiles. So after some dusting and a healthy dose of Pledge and Fabreeze my room is all nice and clean. A room that I am much more anxuious to show off than when it resembled a toxic waste dump mixed with a nuclear disaster site.
It is amazing how much better I feel with a clean room. Matt and I really do have a nice place. it was noted on my birthday how much better it all looks with the living room clean. I really enjoy entertaining when the house is clean. There are a few odds and ends that have never quite made it out the storage area... but on the whole its all very nice.

Tagged

My sister-in-law Katie tagged me... so here goes!

3 joys: My Daughter. she is daddy's girl. A good powder day. Waste deep and ultra light. Spending time with friends around.

3 fears: Being alone for the rest of my life. Not achieving my highest potential. And Missing a great powder day :)

3 goals: Out of debt entirely by 32. Find my best friend and put a ring on her finger. Get a job that lets me have my weekends again.

3 current obsession/projects: Getting back country ski gear, Pay off the car, My dating life is always a project currently the finding pool is depleted.

3 random facts: I can text with either hand, I am now the owner of 4 pairs of skis, I still have yet to see a national park in Utah. (sad I know)

Lets see I tag Kody, Kate and Matt

Another day another year

So yesterday was my birthday. I DID NOT in fact go skiing. I woke up in the morning and just was feeling particularly lazy so I slept a bit more and then went to church. For my birthday my parents announced that they are getting me the very skis that top my personal wish list (shown above). Dad ski races with a few guys who work for K2 so they're going to hook me up :) All in all it was a good birthday. We have more cake left over than I even wanna think about. All in all it was a sucessful birthday. I still can't believe I'm 29...

My Homeboy

So over at the Ski Utah website they are selling T-shirts with a Yeti on them. This is quite possibly the awesomest looking Yeti that I have ever seen. With his skis strapped to his back complete with avalanche gear I wanna meet this abominable skiing snowman. I think we'd be homeboys. We could rip the steeps all over the Wasatch, and hike for powder on an epic day. Or maybe he and I could finally make the ascent of Timp and ski the front face. hey maybe he can come be a heathen with me this Sunday as I take a near once in a lifetime opportunity to ski on my birthday. At any rate he is obviously one cool hombre.

What to do...What to do...

So my birthday is this week. I have even worked a minor miracle and managed to get a Saturday off in order to take the time to celebrate. The only trick is I am not sure HOW to celebrate. I am torn for what I actually want to do. I have considered being a heathen and skiing on my birthday(which happens to fall on a Sunday this year). But I am tempted simply because I have never been in a position to ski on my birthday. Real, honest to goodness, lift served skiing on the first of June. Snowbird is running that day and so I may very well go make some turns before putting the Recons away for the summer. I am trying to figure out what to do with my free Saturday. Last year I had a kegger party with some varied success. I was a little disappointed that people didn't stick around and party but alas it is what it is. The keg is probably out for this year but should make a triumphant return for "JR's XXX Birthday" next year (that's roman numeral 30). So this year is likely to be a bit more low key but I still want to have a good time. So perhaps riding some roller coasters at Lagoon will be the choice. The weather is supposed to cooperate with highs in the 80's.
Its funny I really don't feel any older. if anything I feel younger. but that 1979 in my birth date tells me otherwise. I get to be the same age as my mom this year. That oughtta make her happy. :)

Rain

So being from Seattle I am not afraid of the rain. Many days I even welcome it. But this morning I caught myself in a moment of Utah wimpiness... I considered getting my zip-on hood for my Gore-tex jacket because of the downpour outside. I quickly shook myself out of the strange funk that had gripped me and put my head down like a good Seattleite and met the rain head on. The rains are due to continue to the weekend so it will be a respite from the sunny and mid 90's heat from the weekend. It is a double edged sword. The heat outside was nice but running the AC in my apartment is PRICEY!!! So the rain allows me to sleep more comfortably and keeps my wallet healthier. :)

the bottom line is I am so bored at work that I am blogging about the weather... yeah You said it I need a new job.

JR's Wishlist

So my birthday is coming up. and I got to thinking. With my new found budget and my goal of being out of debt by the time I turn 32 I wont be spending tons on toys but I think it is still important for me to put away a little from each check for "mad money" spending. So I wanted to compile a list of stuff that I am wanting to purchase for myself. Some of its gear I need for backcountry skiing with my pops, some of it is stuff I just wanna get cuz... i want to. And as long as I do it with cash and not to the detriment of my more far reaching goal then I feel justified.
Here is the list:
1. K2 Shuksan Backcountry skis
2. A/T binding for said ski
3. Garmont Radium A/T Boots
4. A Mountian bike with which to enjoy the incredible terrain in Utah.
5. SigSauer P229 .40 Caliber
6. I'm sure the list will grow over time...

Mad skillz and dealin drugz

So my cousin who works in pharmaceutical sales told me that I need to put together a "brag book" so that I can show off my mad skillz. This is a book that basically shows a potential employer why I'm so cool and they should therefore hire me. So I get to show off my serious nunchuck skillz ( with the Wii anyway), my bow staff skillz (a broom/mop handle works right?) and my Jedi Mind tricks (convincing my Calculus professor to give me a B when I had originally been scored a D has to be a Jedi mind trick.) The problem I have with the brag book is that I like others to realize that I kick some serious arse without having to show them. If I have to point it out its sorta like having to explain the punch line to a joke, it loses its effect. But the bottom line is this. JR is a pretty killer salesman and if you give him a job he might just be the best drug dealer you've ever hired.

The end of the internet

It is quite frustrating when i am at work and I reach the end of the Internet. I got to that point again today just before deciding to blog about it. There is nothing worse than needing good quality online entertainment and be devoid of it. Granted out work firewalls block a few items that could supply endless hours of entertainment such as YouTube or any of the social networking sites but you would think that in the vastness of the World Wide Web that I could find something that would entertain me as I look outside the window and see near 70 degrees and partly cloudy skies. My typical list of things to do runs something like this. Check on the Mariners(yes this is terribly painful of late), next is BYU football, followed by anything new in the Wireless world, followed by checking on the most addictive site on the Internet SteepAndCheap.com. At this point I run out. I have read most of the relevant news for the day by virtue of being on the Seattle Times web page or one of the rags in Salt Lake. So i ask. WHAT ELSE CAN I READ and not get fired, thrown in Jail, or disowned by my loving parents?

Total Money Makeover

So for graduation my parents got me a book. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. Ramsey is a guy who has a radio talk show and gives financial advice. He has been through the wringer having gone bankrupt in his late 20's and then risen back to millionare status by helping other people not make those mistakes that he did. Pretty noble. I enjoyed the book a great deal and realized that I need to make a few changes in order to be financially healthy. The motto of the book is "Live like no on else so later you can LIVE like no one else." My parents have become Ramsey converts. After reading the book I too have decided that following his "baby steps" will help me to better financial health. The first step? Establishing a $1000 emergency fund. I am half way there after selling a few toys that would get better use from a new owner. Once my emergency fund is in place then I will start tackling the debt that I have racked up. my goal is to not turn 31 with any debt. Now this is a Huge goal considering when I say no debt I mean no student loans no NADA. I feel like this will set me up so that by the time I am 35 I will be financially secure and able to do anything that I like. I think these are realistic but definately streching goals. But how sweet will it be when I am financially free to do as I please. :)

Great Picture

Creative Juices... & mixed random thoughts

So the last few days I have been trying to feel creative and to come up with a blog post that would be fun... yet I have been woefully inadequate. I simply cant get a good feel of the creative flow. I am not entirely sure why.
My birthday is upcoming. 4 weeks from yesterday. I can t believe I am going to be 29, and 2 days later Makayla turns 5. I am not old enough to have a 5 year old. That reminds me it is time to get pictures taken with she and I again. I will need to call my friend John Tahero so he can shoot those for us. Pictures are fun to take with Kayla and always come out good. They have become my annual birthday gift to myself since the divorce.
I have been contacted by a few head hunters looking for sales people. I will see what happens but I am not convinced that I want anything they are offering. i dont want to take a pay rate cut. I cant afford to. So basically I want everything I now have AND something better. yes yes I want my cake and I want to eat it too. But hey I'm worth it.

Time to read

One really great side effect of not having to deal with school any longer is that I get to read books that I WANT to read. I have re-found my love for reading a good spy novel. Right now I am neck deep in "The Invisible" by Andrew Britton. I really enjoy the author. After I finish this one I will delve into a couple new ones. Perhaps a Grisham novel or my roommate has a new one that he is reading that I might steal. It is rather refreshing to be able to spend my free time as I see fit. This coming week I plan on spending some time in the gym in a renewed effort to get back on my LGN (Look Good Naked) diet. and maybe just maybe I can gain those extra 10 pounds that I have been after for the past year plus. :) And, no, I'm sorry... I have tried but I cannot take anyones' extra 10 pounds that they are trying to lose... sadly it just doesnt work this way.

The Job Hunt

So now that I have graduated, and am moving on in life, it is time to find a new job. I have worked in the cell phone arena for quite some time now but I am getting a little burnt out. I have been in contact with some friends who are in the pharmaceutical sales arena and I am hoping to get some interviews and move away from wireless. It is refreshing to not have school to worry about anymore yet I find myslef with much more free time than i am accustomed to. But I still have yet to get any more sleep. Go figure.
I went and saw Ironman last night. GO SEE IT!!! Fantastic movie. I was thouroughly impressed. I am sure I will see it again. As a consequence of seeing it the movie got out at about 1:30 am. so needless to say my butt was draggin this morning when I had to open the store at 8:30 am. Whenever I get a brilliant idea like a late movie my body makes sure to remind me that I am a lot closer to 30 than 20 or 25.
As if I needed further reminder tonight is daddy night. I am really excited to spend some QT with Makayla. Rest assured that by the end of the night I am going to be ready to crash.

Grades are in...

And its official I have completed all the requirements for graduation. I am so glad that I can close the book on that chpater of my life :) Here is a picutre of Makayla and I on graduation day.

Right after convocation I took off for San Diego as was previously noted. Here are some more pictures.

Us at the Santa Monica Pier
We went to the San Diego Zoo for Michelle's Birthday.

This was of the stern (nautical term) of the harbor cruiser that we had dinner on for her birthday. It was a great evening.

I have been mulling over my next 'o so clever blog post and will post it once I find my clever side again. Needless to say I am pleased to be a BYU Alum and now I transition into "Find a better Job" mode. Pharmaceutical Sales here I come!!!

San Diego

So, a very sweet girl convinced me that I needed to go on vacation after i graduated. So i did. :) we are currently in San Diego and will be spending her birthday at the world famous San Diego Zoo. I am excited. Yesterday was Sea World and sadly tomorrow I head home. :( The weather has been glorious and the relaxing atmosphere has been so nice. I remembered why it is a good idea to go on vacation. I will have pictured forthcoming. :)

The Music That Surrounds Me

So I decided today that I should add music to my blog. I figure I'd put up some of the music that I spend my day listening to. Most of it is mid to late 90's alernative with a healthy dose of grunge rock, and a few other spices thrown in so y'all know just how eclectic my music taste is. If you were to steal my Ipod (please don't I'd be mad) you would be treated to a random assortment similar to, but much larger in scope than this list. T-72 hours to finals completion... I need a Red Bull.

The Price of Cotton

So I am an economist by education which means that I like to look at supply and demand curves, and analyze how shocks to the economy effect everyday life. So apparently the local temperature is a supply shock to the cotton growers all over the world. Without fail it would seem that with increased temperatures the price of cotton increases.
Now you might think that over a national market like we have in the US that supply shocks might me minimized because when it is warm in Utah its still darn cold in Wyoming or Montana, or North Dakota. But time after time I have seen the effects of this market shortage for cotton. the temperature rises and without fail the price goes up. I mean, for what other reason could it be that as the temperature increases so does the distance between women's hem lines and the ground, or the vertical distance from a woman's chin to her neckline? clearly there is a correlation between the temperature and cotton prices. And now as an honest to goodness graduated economist I will have to look into the matter.

The Symbol of Completion

That's it, my log awaited class ring. I am pretty proud of it. Its taken long enough to get. A week from today is commencement. Just gotta hit the books and do well on those finals.

Adrift on a Sea of Procrastination

So yesterday I walked out of a class at BYU for the last time. Sure I have to take 3 exams, all of which hold the promise of being particularly evil, but I never again will have to set foot in a classroom. (unless I get my MBA at some point, but this is beyond the point) So today I find my self in this strange limbo land. My final exams are Monday and Tuesday of next week. Its strange I know I probably SHOULD start to study, but I am not sure my brain will let me. Granted these exams will be crazy hard, but I start to reach diminishing marginal returns and I find it difficult to study any more past a certain point. I am most worried about my econometrics exam, followed by my price theory exam. My financial econ exam will be a beast but I am for some reason just not as worried about it. So thus I float...

In other news, on the upcoming post-grad roady we are planning on going to a Dodger game in LA after spending the day at the beach. I am excited to see one of the games great venues. Chavez Ravine (Dodger Stadium) is a historic and storied park. It falls in behind Wrigley and Fenway and that rats nest that the Yankee$ call home. (How could it not be a rats nest if its full of Yankee fans) but it is still one of the great old parks and I am excited to go. I plan to eat myself a Dodger dog, and leave a rediculous pile of peanut shells in my wake. MAN I LOVE BASEBALL!

No More Teachers! No More Books! ...

So today my academic career comes to a close. Its not bitter. Its not bittersweet. Its just freakin sweet!!! I finished my last paper last night. It ended up being 16 pages of analysis on basball statistics for the past 30 years. And the best part was that I was in bed by 11 o'clock. So aparently it took my ENTIRE tour through academia to learn how to not procrastinate a paper to the point where it takes an all nighter to finish it. Maybe I really did learn something :)
After today I have 3 exams to take and I am officially finished. Those exams are not going to be cakewalks by any stretch of the imagination but I am confident that I will triumph. So very VERY soon I will no longer have to stress on a Sunday evening that I have homework to turn in the next day. Boy thats going to be sweet. So now with all of my new found free time i can read books that I WANT to read. Or if i am feeling like it I can take a walk in the park with a really cute friend on a sunny day. Or kill people and break things in the virtual reality that comes to me via the Playstation 3. Or beat my roommate mercilessly at Smash Brothers on the Wii. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!!!!!!!
Could life be any better?? I submit that it cannot!

The Man in the Glass

I found this poem again and decided that it needed to be posted. Its full of truth.

When you get what you want in your struggle for self, And the world makes you King for a day, Just go to the mirror and look at yourself, And see what THAT man has to say. For it is not your father or mother or wife Whose judgment upon you must pass. The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back in the glass.

Some people might think you are a straight shootin' chum and call you a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you're only a bum, If you can't look him straight in the eye. He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest, For he's with you clear up to the end. And you have passed your most dangerous, difficult test If the man in the glass is your friend

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years, and get pats on the back as you pass. But your final reward will be heartaches and tears If you have cheated the man in the glass.

Sound Financial Advice... and other thoughts

So In my next to last class of Financial Economics, Dr. Jensen left us with some financial advice that I plan to follow. He said "Pay 10% to the Lord, 10% to yourself, amd spend the rest" to which one of my classmates said "or 80% to your wife" This is from a man who has spent his life studying the economy and is looking at a well taken care of retirement. So as far as advice givers go he has the qualifications.

I am taking a vacation after graduation. A little road trip to San Diego. Never been to San Diego. We are stopping along the way in Las Vegas and probably a Dodger game too. I am excited, no school no work... just me and a freind and lots of play time. I am really looking forward to it. It was brought to my attention that my last vacation that didn't involve Seattle or a Mariners game was nearly 3 years ago, whilst married (mostly happily) in the Caribean. So it is a vacation FAR overdue.

So there are 2 days left of classes for me. Yup 2 classes. Then finals... boy its gonna be wierd to not worry about school any more.

Spring Fever... and other random thoughts

So today is a gorgeous spring day. Its sunny, and getting warmer, makes me wanna go do drastic things like run. Now you may laugh because I say running is drastic but for me it is. Last week I went for a nice 2 mile run and nearly had to have a lung transplant at the end. But there is a reason its called spring FEVER. Fevers only come with an ILLNESS. So clearly I am not in my right mind when I go running... but even amongst all the hacking and feeling as though a lung is about to relocate itself from the pulmonary cavity onto the sidewalk, it feel remarkably good.

Today I had realization. I have 3 days left of school. 3! Thats like... in my entire academic career 3 DAYS! So needless to say I am excited. Now I just need to survive those three days and thier respective final exams and I will be golden. :)

Today I also had another realization. With my homework for the week complete, my monster papers pretty well in check, and working an opening shift at work, I find myself with very little to do this evening. The girl I would choose to spend my evening with is otherwise occupied tonight so it may be a night for killing terrorits on Rainbow Six Vegas 2. But the realization came when I thought about how my evenings will go after graduation. I realized this is just a prelude to how my evenings will go. "No more teachers, no more books..." I get to relax and spend my evenings how i want to... GOSH! I'm just not sure how to spend my new found free time. Maybe with the extra time Princess Charming will find me... :)