Spain part 1-April 10th-13th (Not even spain yet...but still good)

Honestly, i just haven't even had the motivation to write about Spain yet. It's like when you know you have a huge project due for a really hard class, and you know about it 2 months in advance, but you wait until the weekend before it is due, and are up all night for 3 nights straight, and you get it done and barely scrape by. Ok it's not that bad, but i just have so much to talk about and mention, it's just going to take me awhile. I've debated breaking it up into parts, and i think i might do that just to help out the reader....if anyone besides me is reading this :) And just fyi, I'm at work right now at 4:31 AM on April 30th, 2008. I'm here at work to take overflow calls from Spain. They are paying me $5 extra/hour. So far i haven't had a call, thus giving me the time to write this. Here goes.

Thursday April 10th, 2008

The only reason i even mention this day is just from the night and the events following this night. I had gone up to Sandy to get some stuff for the trip. A camera battery, suitcase, passport, etc. By the time i got back to Provo, it was pretty late, around 11:00, or something like that. I still had a bunch of laundry to do, thus the possibility of even thinking of going to bed wasn't an option. I put in a load, and then didn't know what to do. Mike and Cami said they were going to go to the hospital to get a shake. (It's a pretty well kept secret...the cafeteria is open til like 2 am, and their shakes are pretty amazing) I didn't have any reason to go, so i joined them. We took some interesting pictures while there. When i got back, i don't remember what they did, but all i know is i didn't go to bed until 2:30 AM just being up packing and doing laundry, etc. The plan was to pick up Mike at UPS and then drive to the airport, and be there at 9, giving us an hour to make our 10:00 flight.

Friday April 11th, 2008
Woke up at 6:45, got ready, and left at 7:15. We got to Mikes work and still had to wait for him until almost 8:30. Since it was Riki and Kevin's wedding this day, Cami came with Mike (who was dropping us off at the airport) so they could just go to the wedding, which was in Sandy. Needless to say, Cami was pretty exhausted, and this angle proves it.

If you look close, and turn it around, you can see that it's actually her check, not her forehead....classic eh?

Since our entire trip was based on us not having to spend a lot of money on the plane tickets, we were flying standby. Mike Madsen's Mom worked for Delta, thus enabling us this option. Mike has been flying standby his entire life, giving him the knowledge and all the ins and outs of flying. A few days before the start of our trip, American Airlines had to cancel like 700 flights for some kind of inspections on a certain aircraft of theirs. Since we were flying Delta, i really didn't think it would affect us at all. Man was i wrong. We got to the airport, and got to our gate with at least a half hour to spare. Right when we got to the monitor showing the status of the flight, and how full it was, Mike knew we weren't going to get on that flight. Our plan was to fly to New York JFK airport, then catch the night flight to Spain. We watched the plane fill up, and leave without us. Of course to Mike it was no big deal, since this kind of thing does tend to happen when you are flying standby. So we went and talked to Delta to see what our options were. Both of us extremely tired and hungry too, it was the start to a really long day. We got tickets for a flight to LA that left a few hours later. We went and got a Cinnabon, an airport must, and just chilled for a while. The LA flight came around, and again we watched it fill up and leave without us. Again, we talked to Delta and then decided to get tickets to Boston. At this point we already knew we wouldn't get on the flight from JFK to Spain since it was already to late. The Boston flight would get us there that night, and we'd have a flight to JFK early in the morning. Well the Boston flight came around, and guess what, it filled up and left again...without us. ONE of us could have gotten on, and had Delta actually stuck to their rules, we both would have gotten on. There was a family of 3 RUNNING to the gate right before they gave us their seats. We were pretty mad, which i guess probably isn't right because those people DID pay for a full priced, reserved seat....but still, we were on vacation! So we didn't get on the flight. Neither one of us thought to bring our cell phone chargers...since we thought once we got to Spain, we'd just turn our phones off and have full battery when we got back. Yeah that was a mistake. And no where in the freaking airport had phone chargers...you'd think they would...honestly. So both of our phones were still pretty full, but Mike's was dying quickly, from talking to his Mom to figure out our options. Mine was ok, but it was dying too from using it for whatever. So our plan was to have Mike's Mom come pick us up, we'd go to his house and sleep (by this time it was like 4 or 5 in the afternoon), then come back for a Midnight flight to JFK. The flight looked awesome, and we were pretty much guaranteed to get on.
We went to his house, and crashed immediately and slept for 5 or 6 hours. But when we got back to the airport, things were just not going our way. The flight was delayed until 4:00 AM. We went back to his house, and slept for 2 more hours, woke up and came back and GOT ON THE FLIGHT!! WOO HOO!! Ok, so here's the craziest thing ever about this whole airport experience. I'm sitting there in my seat, a window actually, with a little girl next to me and her dad next to her. I'm kind of wanting to doze off, but really couldn't just because my body clock was already messed up. I look up, and see the back of a head, and a side profile that I swore I recognized. The girl turns around and i still couldn't catch a full view of her face, but at this point i was 90% sure i knew who it was. I turn around and tell Mike I thought i knew this girl, and he looks over. The girl was finally sitting down, and talking to her friend. Her friend notices that I'm kind of pointing and talking about them, and Hermana Jones from my mission looks over. We both have this look of "QUE!?!? COMO!??!...Are you serious?" And we're both like, "Wow, hey...how's it going?" How RANDOM is that? To see a sister from my mission that i haven't really even heard from or talked to in 2 years. After all the flights we couldn't get on, after the flight we were on was delayed until 4 am, etc. I don't know. I mean for whatever reason, it fell on both of us to be on an airplane at 4 am to New York. She said she was going to NY for her birthday, and when she got there, she met up with some other people. Now, I can't remember if she is married or not. I swear she is, but I didn't see a ring. It could have meant nothing, and been pure coincidence. I mean I always did think she was attractive, but if anything I think it was more of a "Look, remember the mission? You'll have missionary experiences. Take them, and help someone." (will be explained further ahead) I really didn't have a missionary opportunity at this point with my seating arrangement, but Mike did. He kind of talked to the lady he was sitting next to, but not really about the church at all. We both decided later on that we couldn't figure out what made it so much harder than being on a mission. It's sad, but the truth. So we waited an HOUR in the plane to take off. I guess since it was so early in the morning, they only had like 1 runway open, so we had to wait for some planes to come in and land. At 5:00 AM, our vacation was officially started.

Saturday April 12, 2008
Our flight got in at NY JFK around 11:00 AM, New York time. Our flight didn't leave for Spain until 7:30 PM that night, so we had some time to kill. We walked around, checked things out, looked at the flight, and did whatever for awhile. We found a gate area that was basically empty, and made ourselves a neat little space with two benches. We bought some breakfast sandwiches, and dunkin donuts to hold us over until the flight. New York is expensive. I brought my laptop so we would be able to communicate with people once we got to Spain, so we watched The Count of Monte Cristo. Mike hadn't ever seen it, and since there were no people in the area we were at, we didn't have to use headphones, which was nice. Mike talked to Becky for a while, and had a pretty good conversation from what i understand. But this turned out to be a mistake later on, as it drained alot of his phone battery. Time started rolling around for us to make our way to the gate for the flight to Spain. We exchanged our cash, and i won't even say how much because it kind of pains me to think about it...not really anymore since i was planning on spending a lot of money. All i can say, is having dollars and converting them to Euros...you get screwed. I'm glad i live in America. We checked in at the gate, and waited for them to clear our names on the flight. Mike had talked to his Mom, and she had said that basically the flight looked fine. Well, guess what, it wasn't. We again, now for the 4th time, watched the flight fill up and leave without us. Again, one of us could have gotten on, but seeing how we weren't sure at the time how the next flight would look, we decided to go together on the next one. So now it's 8:00, we're in New York, the next flight to Spain at all still wouldn't be until the next day. There was one to Barcelona at like 5, and the Spain flight at 7:30. Mike's phone, now with only 1 bar of battery left, was put to use again so he could talk to his Mom and see what the options were. He turned his off, and we used mine. I still had 2 bars of battery, so we were good for awhile. We figured out that one of his sister's had a friend that lived right there in New York, in Manhatten, and they had agreed to take us in for the night. Since it's New York, and no one has cars there at all, we had to take the Subway to get to their house. I wish i remember the lines we had to take. All I remember is we had to get on a train out of the airport, then catch the subway and make all kinds of connections to get to the guys house. The coolest part of this whole experience, for me at least, was this:

Only in New York can you see a sax player in the subway. I especially like the part at the end when he gets into the girls face until she gives him money.

Only in New York. So we got to the guys' house around 10 or 11, after taking about an hour on the Subway's to get there. I didn't take many pictures or anything on the subway, mainly from fear of being robbed, which probably wouldn't have happened...but still. The guy met us kind of halfway in between the station and his house. His name was John...i think...and his wife was...i can't remember, seeing how we never met her anyway.
So we get to his house, rather his apartment, and he shows us around. Man that place was so freaking small. It was just this tiny apartment with two bedrooms, a hallway, a kitchen, bathroom, and a "living room." We later found out that they pay $1800, which isn't even the full cost of the apartment. The apartment was nothing special, and he said it was pretty nice for the area. I like Utah. So since they only had one bedroom, Mike took the bed and I took the couch. He said his wife would be coming in to get her stuff for work like at 6 in the morning, but I don't remember ever even being stirred awake at all. We were both so dead tired, I don't think even like a firetruck, in my room, with the sirens blazing, horn honking, lights flashing, people screaming, and dogs barking would have woken me up. It was one of the best nights of sleep I have ever had.

Sunday April 13th, 2008
John informed us that his ward started at 9. We really were planning on going, but after the extra long day, days, we had had, there was no way we were getting up. He actually came in at like 8:30 and checked to see if we would be going. Mike wasn't awake yet, and i was still out of it, and i told him not to worry about it. We both really woke up around 11 or so, both fully energized. He got back at about 12:30 and informed us about a singles ward that met at 1. We decided it would be pretty cool to go to church there, even though we really had wanted to go in Spain, but it was still cool. We got ourselves as ready as possible, and went. The ward met in a chuch house, but it really wasn't a church house. I mean it was, but it was just a building in the middle of Manhatten that didn't really even look like a Church. But the coolest part was once you were inside, it really did look exactly like any church that i have ever known. That, to me, is one of the absolute coolest and most amazing parts of about the church. Anywhere and everywhere you go, it is the same. The structure, the teachings, the buildings, the hymnbooks, the beliefs. Everything is the same. There really isn't another church on earth like that. The ward was actually two wards combined. I guess one of the ward buildings was undergo construction, so needless to say the place was pretty packed. We found some seats like on the 3rd to back row, which made us feel weird since we generally try to find seats near the front at our normal ward. We decided not to stay for Sunday School and Priesthood since we really didn't have much time until our flight left. We went back to the apartment, and ate a sandwich that John had stuff for, and just kind of chilled for once. Mike looked at the flights, and we started to realize it wasn't looking to great. There were some open seats, but it wasn't looking for sure good at all. We made a decision to stay another night, which he said he was fine with...but really he wasn't. I guess his wife is a pediatrician, and had worked 2 full days including the day we were there. She would be coming home the next day, and he wanted her to have the full house to do what she wanted. He said it would be find if we slept there that night, but he would need us to leave in the morning. We were fine with that, but then we started making plans for stuff to go and see the next day, and kind of mentioned that we would just leave our suitcases there and come back and get them. He said he would want us out completely....we were like, "umm...ok." We later found out that he is extremely protective of his wife, and just didn't feel comfortable with the idea of us coming back without him being there. Not that he thought we were going to attack his wife or something, but his point was he didn't want her to have to worry about us coming back. We were even thinking just leave our bags at the door and slip in and out and she wouldn't even know we were there. Mike left the room, then 2 minutes later called me in and we decided to just go to the airport and see if we could get on the flight. It would be better staying there the next day than lugging our suitcases all around New York. It was pretty rude that he wouldn't let us keep our bags there, but at the same time he DID put us up for a night...and gave us food...two complete strangers....but it still bothered me for awhile. He even said something to the extent of "I know a lot of places have somewhere to store your bags while you visit the museums or what not." Yeah, not gunna fly dude. oh well.

We went out and decided we didn't have enough time to get to the airport via subway, and flagged down a taxi. The standard rate for a taxi to the airport from anywhere in Manhattan, was $45 plus fare, which was like $5. We didn't really have a choice, so we coughed up the money. In reality, it was a pretty neat experience being in the taxi. I mentioned previously that we both decided we needed to take the missionary opportunities when they arose for us. The guy's name was Abdhoul, or Rabuhl...we really aren't sure, but something close to that. He was African, actually from Africa, not just a black guy in New York. He grew up Muslim, but said he had talked to some Christians and liked the things they talked to him about, and knew some really good people. We then proceeded to give a really basic first discussion. I mean it wasn't in depth at all like i would have given in the mission, but it wasn't just a fly by either. We talked about where the name Mormon comes from, where the church was organized, kind of what we believed, and other things he had questions about. It was easy bringing up the church since we were on our way to Spain, and people asked us how we knew spanish, which brought up the mission, and so forth. He was pretty interested, even if it was just purely interest for information about other religions as he told us. He did tell us though that he would like to read The Book of Mormon sometime, if anything more than to learn more. That's kind of the world views as i see it, alot of people just think it's good to know about every religion and things they believe in. Obviously it is a good thing, but knowing there is a true church on planet earth is the most important thing. Mike had a Book of Mormon he had been reading, and i guess it was pretty hard for him, that he decided to give to him if he promised to read it. He wanted us to put our names in it so he could remember us. Mike had a hard time giving it up i guess because it's the one he had been reading since he got home from his mission. But he decided it was more important for him to have it. Who knows, maybe he didn't even read it and gave it away and someone else will read it. You never know and i think that's kind of the point we started to discover on the trip, that the most important thing is to implant the seed. This is the man we taught and gave the Book of Mormon.

Kind of a crappy picture. Not sure why. But this is the guy, he was pretty cool.

We got to the airport, checked in, went through security, and got to our gate. There was already a bunch of people there, which of course wasn't unexpected. We told them we were there, and they got our names on the list. Well the people started loading the plane, and it came down basically to us being there. They were saying there was only 1 seat in coach available and 1 seat in Business class. We were bummed that we both couldn't get business class, but that's the luck of the draw. We get on, and lo and behold there were like 5 Business class seats open. We both got business, which was a blessing from giving talking to Abdul....at least that's what i think :) Holy crap, Business Class Elite is AMAZING. They wait on you hand and foot. You have your own tv to watch whatever the heck you want, they give you these amazing noise canceling headphones, they give you amazing dinner, the seats recline basically all the way back to laying down, the blankets and pillows are way nice, the people treat you like a king, and it's just awesome. I ate a pasta dish, with a Lobster Bisque soup...both of which were pretty dang amazing. Then the Ice Cream Sundae, was also amazing. I think i drank more soda on the flight there than i had in the past 2 months at all. There's just something about drinking a Coke on the airplane that makes it taste SO amazing. I also got addicted to Cranberry juice w/ Sprite, one of my favorite drinks ever. I watched The Golden Compass and Dan in Real Life. Everyone said The Golden Compass was all about the anti christ, and anti religion, but i don't know why people think that. It was just a good movie, period. Dan in Real Life is pretty amazing too. Steve Carrell is pretty dang awesome, of course i already knew that from watching the office. But it's true, he's such a good actor. On the plane i sat next to a guy named Victor. He was really a nice guy, and really helpful. He showed me on a map where we were going and where Malaga (where our hotel was) was, and how to get there. He told me what buses/metros to take to get to the train station, etc. I got his phone # and email in case i had any questions or anything, and he gladly gave them to me. I haven't emailed him yet, but i am planning on it. I think it could be to my advantage in the future to have a friend in Spain, for whatever reason i may need it one day you know? So that was our plane ride to Spain. It was about a 7 hour flight, but didn't feel like it since we were in such nice seats and i watched movies the whole time.

Well that's going to be it for part 1. I know this probably isn't 100% complete since it's only part 1, and i haven't added any pictures in yet. I am at work right now, so i don't have any way to add them. But i will, don't worry.

lalala

K. So i just organized my pictures on my computer. Why does have to take so long? I love blogging....maybe it'll be up sometime...we will see

Oh and work has been crazy and i hate it and i want a new job, preferably at a hospital...any help would be appreciated!

AIGHT!

Spain, more to come.

I went to Spain. It did rain. Just like they talk about in that movie...My Fair Lady? Never seen it. Anyway, i'm going to blog the whole thing, with pictures and stuff. It was pretty sweet...It was an adventure. And adventure Charleeeeee, i went on an adventure!!

Spain is neat.

Is it worth it?

Is it worth it? That's my question. Honestly i really don't know if it is. I realize the majority of my posts probably have had some mention about the dating life, and just really how annoying it is. You know what, it's the truth. It's annoying and i really do not like it sometimes. I'm tired of being the nice guy. Green day really did say it how it is:

Nice guys finish lastYou're running out of gas
Your sympathy will get you left behind
Sometimes you're at your best
When you feel the worst
Do you feel washed up like piss going down the drain

Pressure cooker pick my brain and tell me I'm insane
I'm so fu*#@$* happy I could cry
Every joke can have it's truth but now the joke's on you
I never knew you're such a funny guy

Oh nice guys finish last
When you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back
You might break your spine
Living on command
You're shaking lots of hands
You're kissing up and bleeding all your trust
Taking what you need
Bite the hand that feeds
You lose your memory and you got no shame

I know that it never hurts to be a nice guy, and of course it's best to treat girls with utmost respect and kindness, but seriously i've gotten to the point i just feel like it's not worth it. I have some really good friends, which is great i know. Don't get me wrong, i like having friends, however there comes a point....when friends just doesn't cut it anymore. Especially when you lose friends when friends get a boyfriend or whatever, and you're left hanging in the air alone. I don't mind being a nice guy, it's what i'm known for. But you know, it just seems like it's not getting me anywhere. I don't want friends anymore. I mean, JUST friends only, always. Friends are good to have, and i know really to find a "companion" i need to be friends first with people. My problem is, it always ends up being JUST friends and i'm sick of it. I see guys that are not nice; guys that are jerks; guys that treat girls like crap; guys that are just retarded....somehow all manage to get the girl. Maybe i should stop being so nice and just start not caring about how girls feel, and stop playing games. I really don't think i could do that. It's not in my nature. I'm just to caring and nice, but i'm seriously considering dejando de ser el heroe y amigo de todos.

On a better note, last night was amazing! I went and saw Story Of The Year at the "Rock in UVU" concert that X96 put on. It was a free concert, if you could win tickets off the radio. But you could also buy them at the venue for 9.63 (96.3 fm). I had my buddy Pace pick up a ticket for me, Steve, Aubrey, and Tyson. We got there a little late, but it was still just one of the opening bands. The Brobecks...they were ok...not amazing. The thing that dissapointed me the most, was the fact that Story of the Year didn't play last. I guess the "Highlight" of the show was supposed to be "The Bravery". Don't get me wrong, they were pretty cool...just to follow suite after Story of the Year, is basically impossible. Had The Bravery gone first, i think i would have enjoyed them much more. Story of the Year was basically and utmost amazing. They put on a wicked awesome show. Throwing their guitars around their necks, throwing guitars across the stage, doing back flips off the stage, freaking standing on the crowd (the singer) while singing....they were pretty freaking insane. One of the best shows i've been to....the only show i've been to in freaking so long. I NEEDED to go to a show. It wasn't just a want anymore, but a physical need. It just relieves me of so much stress and i can think about stuff at concerts. Call me weird.

Anyway. Story of the Year: Living life and being good at it. A prime example.

Question. What kind of Bear is Best?

Ok. I think have an official favorite scene from The Office. If any of you have seen it, you will know why it's so funny. Honestly the text just doesn't quite do it justice. I really don't know how to post a video on this thing, so i think i will just post a link....to watch it, go here.

Script:

Jim: [Dressed as Dwight] It's kind of blurry. [puts on his glasses] That's better. [exhales] Question. What kind of bear is best?

Dwight: That's a ridiculous question.

Jim: False. Black bear.

Dwight: Well that's debatable. There are basically two schools of thought---

Jim: Fact. Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

Dwight: Bears do not--- What is going on--- What are you doing?!

(Jim: Last week, I was in a drug store and I saw these glasses. Uh, four dollars. And it only cost me seven dollars to recreate the rest of the ensemble. And that's a grand total of... [Jim calculates the total on his calculator-watch] eleven dollars.)

Dwight: You know what? Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, so I thank you. [Jim places a bobble-head on his desk] Identity theft is not a joke, Jim! Millions of families suffer every year!

Jim: ... MICHAEL!

Dwight: Oh, that's funny. MICHAEL!

Basically, the funniest thing in the world. I have been texting everyone i know lately the question from the title. Seriously, it's so random....but everyone that knows The Office well enough to know that's where i'm coming from, has responded correctly. It's great.

Now the officially reason i'm blogging. What IS the best kind of bear? Well, lets go into this deeper.

First we have the coolest bear ever. Created by Disney of course, i mean who else can take a bear and make it a famous yellow ball of fur?

Yep, Winnie the Pooh.

Look how cute he is. Laying on a cloud. I wish i could lay on a cloud. You know....I always wondered why he never wears any pants...then again no cartoon boy characters ever wear pants....would this be lack of a certain body part? We may never know...

Next in line:

Mr. Teddy Bear and family.

Although almost the same as Winnie the Pooh, they are easier to cuddle with and love. The positioning of these bears....well i'm just not sure about. Just don't let a small child get ahold of one, they might get the wrong idea, or they might decide it's funner to rip the eyes and stuffing out....ok maybe that was just me...but hey...what kid doesn't like violence?

Next is not my favorite kind of bear, but a pretty good one at that.

The Chicago Bears.

I don't know much about the NFL. All i can remember is horrible memories of 4th grade when my teacher Mr. Henning, who was obsessed with them, would talk about how they were the best team ever. Ironically, i remember them being just about the worst team in the NFL during the year i had the man as a teacher. It's kind of cool though how things work out....The Miami Dolphins who were a major dynasty during that time period...or later on...i'm not really sure. It would have been back in the 90's sometime, and you know what i just don't care enough to figure it out. Point is, the Bears went to the Superbowl a couple of years ago....and the Dolphins ended up winning only 1. Yes 1 game this past season. I like that though. Teams can turn around like nothing. Take the Boston Celtics (NBA). Worst team in the league last year. They made some awesome trades, and this year they are the best team in the league. They used to be a dynasty too, although i wasn't alive for that time period. Now if only the Jazz could win a championship.....

Next we have a quite neat bear. Say hello to:

Mr. Polar Bear

I think he might be sticking his tongue out because it's blue...i mean if i had a blue tongue, i'd probably be sticking it out a lot too....maybe....maybe his tongue is just infected from licking himself or from eating raw fish. I'm glad my tongue is not blue. Although maybe it should be seeing how i go to BYU....don't they say you bleed Blue? Maybe there is some truth to bleeding red....although your veins ARE blue....but your arteries are red, and arteries are much bigger and more high pressured than veins too. Maybe we'll never know the truth. I'll ask someone that knows for sure one day, and i will let you all know.

The Panda.

I was trying to think of what i could write about the Panda. I don't have any real information about them, other than they eat a lot of bamboo and every picture i've ever seen of them is them sitting on their butts. Maybe it's just the laziest bear there is? The other thing to consider is how they are both Black and White. I'm guessing there aren't any color racist pandas out there. I guess if you were a blue, or pink, or red panda you might get picked on or singled out. But other than that, i'm guessing pandas are pretty un-racist. They are pretty sweet. Not gunna lie.

Wait.....i just found out.....Red Panda?

So...apparently there is a red Panda Bear....but since it's black, white, AND red, it's still not racist....it might be. But probably even less so. I'll bet all the regular colored pandas pick on them. Poor Red Panda.

The Black Bear

Black Bear. Beets. Battlestar Galactica. Ok i really have no idea of Black Bears eat beets. Considering it's something coming from Dwight, i'm sure it's correct.....since it seems he knows pretty much any and every useless bit of information. But in all honesty, Black Bears are pretty dang awesome. Seriously look at this bear eating that plant. Man what a hard ace! No but for real, it's rumored that a black bear can be about 7 feet tall standing on its hind legs. If i saw that, i'd probably pee my pants and let the bear just eat me. If i survived, at least i'd have a cool story right?

The Grizzly

I really don't know the difference between a grizzly and a brown bear, if there is one, or even if there is a difference between a grizzly and a black bear. I just googled grizzly and this came up. Maybe if anyone has any real information about the kinds of bears and differences, it would be cool to know. I really could care less, but i want to have a pet bear some day. Maybe train it to play the guitar and sing to me, or even just let me use it as a pillow...although i'll bet the fur wouldn't be as amazing as you would think...

Dancing Bears....

Ok so maybe it's not a kind of bear, but hey they are dancing and that makes them their own class right? Or in Dwight's words....their own school of thought.....I want to dance with a bear.

The Koala

By far the most lovable. But you know, beneath the cute face, and huge puffy ears, i'm willing to bet Koalas can be kind of mean. Maybe i'm wrong. I don't know if i want one necessarily, i would prefer a Red Panda now that i think about it. But i would like to learn how to climb trees like they do. Climbing trees is cool.

Care Bears

I am currently at work. I was kind of running out of ideas of bears to write about, when i asked some people here at work and someone brought up the Care Bears. How could i forget about these lovable Disney characters? Who doesn't wish they had some kind of magical power that comes from your belly when you shout in unison "Care Bear Stare!!" You know, if i could have a power that came from my belly when i shouted "Jefe Stare!" I think it would be to turn whatever i am trying to defeat into a roll of toilet paper. Chances are, if i am trying to defeat something i'm not going to be into liking it...thus making it the one thing that no one would want to be....basically i think you get the idea.

Last, but DEFINITELY not least:

Yogi Bear

Again the bear is not wearing any pants, and there is no prominent evidence as to what sex Yogi is. Everyone assumes Yogi is a male, but without the pants on, and nothing to prove it otherwise, i'm keeping the options open. Sure he has a tie on, but i've seen plenty of people wearing ties that are not male. AKA Cami Clay's work uniform (little boy hehehe :) ), and for that matter, anyone that works at The Brick Oven. I'm sure there are numerous other jobs also where females are required to wear a tie. Get it together Yogi, put some pants on, or let us know what your identity is.

That's all the bears i care about writing for now. There are a million others i could write about. Gummi Bears, The downy bear, Chicago Cubs, etc. I just don't really care anymore and i think we've gotten the idea that really there isn't a best kind of Bear. Dwight would have us believe it is the Black Bear, but i would disagree. This is the best kind of Bear:

Walrus

Umm...ok...it's not a bear. But recently i've decided basically i have NO IDEA what someone was thinking when this creature was created. It's just a tub of lard with two huge tusks and famous for having the largest.....something....on planet earth. I'm not gunna lie....i'm pretty sure having those tusks just isn't comfortable. How are you supposed to kiss your girlfriend? Maybe there are just Male Walrus's....that procreate a-sexually....who knows. All i know is i'm glad i don't have one of those, cuz i'm sure it would smell like rotten fish 24/7.

I'm done. This is all. I hope you have enjoyed this entry as much as i really thoroughly enjoyed writing it. Go ahead and comment, or make fun of me, whatever you want to do. I just wanted you to know another option in living life and being good at it. Being a bear lover.

(FYI, my nickname in my family is bear. So i'm gunna have to go ahead and say i'm the best kind of bear there is. Hands down. And i know Cami's nickname is Bear too...so she can be almost as cool as me....if possible.)

*oh and if anyone knows why i can't make the stupid blog save some spacing changes i want to make to it, then let me know. It's kind of irritating.

In the Air? Sera?

What could be in the air? Oxygen? Pollen? Rain? Snow? How about....Love....maybe...possibly? Well it sure seems like it!!

Basically, everyone is getting married. It seems like it's the time of year, or THE year to do it. Who knows, maybe it's both. Maybe i should jump on the bandwagon...yeah right. I really don't have a problem with people getting married, but when it' SO many people that i know...it just kind of gets boring and old and annoying to hear about. Especially when they are quick marriages....even though my sister was in one of those until the guy basically didn't have the guts to go through with it and broke it off....but they are still dating. I dunno...i guess it's her life, but i think personally she needs to move on. But i support her either way, cuz i love her and i want her to be happy.

Just to name the ones off that i can think of:

Mike Bready & Cami Clay-August 15th New York Temple (not sure which one)
Jake Beuchert & Mindy-August 23rd Salt Lake City Temple
Ace Stryker & Lacy-August 2nd....i think Manti temple?
Matt Harris (from work) August 16th Washington DC Temple...i think
Jarrod Cain from work...not sure when or who to, but he is getting married
Ian & Rebecca (from the ward) Sometime in June
Rikki and Kevin (Cami Clay's roommate)-again not 100% sure when or where
Liesel Nielson....haven't talked to her in forever, but sometime this summer
........that's all i can think of for now. I know i know of more but i don't really care to put them. Just to make my point, i know of 8 weddings alone....just for this summer. I'm pretty sure at least 4 or 5 of them are in August....i will be attending probably just the top 3 since they are the closest friends. Heck i'll be in the line for the second one, just because he's basically a best friend since forever and wouldn't have it any other way.

So why am i going off on this? Do i wish i was engaged too? No. Not really. In fact, i don't think i'm anywhere near ready to be married. However, i would like to see my life maybe start going in that direction. But right now i'm just kind of trying to really find out who i am and what the heck my deal is with some aspects. WHAT do i want to do with my life...you know? I' m really happy for all the people that are getting married. That's great for them. If it's right for them in their life, that's awesome. I never imagined Mike and Cami would ACTUALLY REALLY be getting married (since apparently no one believes Cami :) ) But it is way awesome and i'm glad to support them.

As far as my life goes in that department, i'm working on it. Kamee and I went out again on this past Tuesday. I drove up to Brigham City (yes i know i am crazy) and went to hang out for a little bit with her before we went on our date. I wanted to be there when she got off work, but it turned out she had to go to the bank to get a loan for her car, so she wasn't available to hang out til around 4. I got there around 3:30ish. I just met two of her sisters, nephews, and dog. Then we went and got her Mom a drink to take to her work. I met her Mom. Then we went on a shopping spree...looking spree...to see if we could find some alligator binoculars....the reason for this....well at Disney on Ice (read here) We saw some kids that had them...obviously purchased at the event, probably for a ridiculous price. I'm sure they didn't work worth crap, but we have wanted to find some ever since...just cuz they are cool...i mean they are alligator binoculars....what's cooler than that? Anyway, in the end we didn't find them...and honestly i don't think either one of us expected to find them. We just got some from her house and took off. We decided to drive her car down to the game since i had just driven up from Provo and it just kind of made sense. Plus i could just come back after and hang out for a while. We went to Applebee's in Layton....and it was pretty cool cuz Kamee said she would pay for dinner. So this date, was kind of a joint date thing....i'm not sure what that means, if it means anything, but it was good. She's pretty much amazing. We continued and went to the Jazz game. We got there, and parked, and walked a bit. Luckily it was a nice night out, so it wasn't terribly cold. We get into the game, and go up to the upper bowl (i had tried to get tickets off of eBay for cheap, lower bowl...but it didn't happen, so i had to buy some upper bowl tickets.) ANYWAY...so we get up to our seats, and i look at the row and think "oh crap." There is a guy, and like 8 kids in the row where we were supposed to be sitting. I say "Umm i think you are in our seats." He just looks up at me and shakes his head with a sly little evil, stupid jerk, smile on his face and goes back to the game...i'm like.."yeah you are, let me look...yep you are." I get the same response and just decided it wasn't worth it to fight a guy that has 8 little kids with him for two seats. We find some seats the next row up and across the aisle and sat down. The Jazz won, the game was fun, and we had fun too. We got churros and powerade...w/out a lid...(I guess it's a stadium regulation they have to take off the lids so people can't throw lids at the players? But...if i'm going to throw something, might as well be more than a lid...like an opened, topless bottle of liquid....someone really didn't think this through)...We left the game early, 3 minutes, and walked back to the car. She was way tired, so i drove her car home for us. We got to her house and i met another sister, her brother, and her mom more formerly. Basically we all just sat there while they asked me a billion questions. But i didn't mind because i'm friendly like that and i was just happy to be there at the moment. I decided it was time for me to leave around 11:15 just cus i had to drive back to Provo to work the next day at 7 am....not smart....but you know what? It was worth it. Sometimes extra effort and sacrifice are needed to make things worth while. We are planning on getting together soon again, i hope sooner than later cuz it's hard not being able to hang out with someone that you have some interest in....but i think the distance thing just makes the chances we DO get together, that much better.

Lastly for now....and i have a whole other post i need to write about and put pictures on from our party last Friday...but i have a new/old friend. New and old. Britnie Richards. If any Beuchert is reading this, they will know who she is. Randomly she found me on facebook. She came to the party last week, and basically we have been texting and talking a ton lately.....becoming really good friends. She's pretty awesome. She's pretty much fully involved with somethings in my life right now....kind of awesome how things just pop up. I mean....only one person knew that i kind of needed a really extra good special friend right now in my life, and that person seemed to lead her into it. I know he is always watching out for me. Elder Eyring said once in a talk "God is always watching out for you and taking care of you." It's true. He does. He knows what i need, and why i need it, and whether or not it would be good for me to have it when asked for....just like a Father....amazing how that works! :)

Well my friends, this ends tonight's post. I have to work tomorrow...Saturday...from 8-5. Basically it sucks. But that's life. I hope this post has helped you all understand a little bit more how to live life and be good at it.

What a FANTABULOUS idea!!

You might wonder what the title means. Don't you worry, you devilish little person reading this. The fantabulous idea will be revealed.

First let me go ahead and start with some background on how the whole experience came to be. This actually could be a pretty big, "way back when" story, i'll try to keep it at a minimum. I have an Uncle who is divorced. As we know, generally, it is harder for older people with many kids to go out and start dating again. Since we are in the digital age, and it is generally acceptable and not frowned upon to use the internet for everything, he decided to use it to try and find some people to date. The site being referred to is ldsplanet.com. Yes it is what it sounds like. A website devoted to dating for those of the LDS faith. Of course it isn't run by the church, but it feels like a safer place to meet people who believe in the same things and have the same morals and etc. So the whole point of this, without rambling on much more, is my uncle met some people on there and had at least had a good time going out with them. My sister, who by the way is an amazing girl and shouldn't have ever needed to use the internet for dating purposes, was having some bad luck with the guys she knew. My grandma who is technologically impaired herself, suggested to my sister she try it out just for fun and see what happens. She met a lot of guys on there she talked to and went out with. Since my sister, uncle, and cousin (later to find out) all tried it, i figured why don't i? The way i see it, is really there are just different ways to meet people, make friends, and find people you are interested in. The internet just seems logical now adays with all the technology and things available to us. However, by no means am i saying it's the only way to go or am i frowning on standard normal meeting, and dating in person. It's just another means of communication and meeting people.

Well needless to say i did find some people to talk to, but after like 2 months i really hadn't found anyone i was really interested in, or at least intrigued to meet and take out. The week i decided to "cancel" my membership, just meaning stop paying for it and letting my subscription ride out, i met a pretty dang awesome girl. Oddly enough i forgot to cancel it and had another month for it, therefore making my communication with her longer than expected. Of course we exchanged emails so we weren't limited to the LDSPlanet zone of use, and eventually phone numbers and it has now turned into a real friendship. Not just "someone i met online." At least that's how i feel about it. Maybe she feels differently, but it doesn't appear to be so for now.

Since neither one of us is in school, and we both work a ton, even conversations on the phone have been limited. But we have talked quite a bit, and decided we needed to meet in person and do something fun. Well she told me she had March 14th off work, and ironically enough when it came down to it, i did too. The original plan was for me to just to go up to her house....oh yeah side note....she lives in Brigham City, which is about 2 hours from Provo...which makes everything more difficult, but doable. So the plan was just to basically meet and have fun doing whatever. I was at work and just thinking if there was anything we could do in Salt Lake that would be: A) fun B) worthwhile and C) different and unusual. I casually just found a website of things going on in Salt Lake, and found out Disney On Ice is being put on right now. Since i was at work, i texted her kind of jokingly about going to Disney on Ice. She replied way excited and said we should do it. I looked up tickets, and of course prices varied. But there were some that really weren't too expensive. Plus i felt like i owed it to her to do something fun since we wouldn't really get to hang out very often due to distance issues. So we went.

So we made plans to just meet in Salt Lake, since it's basically the middle for both of us, and most practical. Since i didn't have to work that day at all, and she had to work til 3, we decided we'd meet around 5:00 up at Gateway. I got there first and waited for her, and put our name down on the list for the California Pizza Kitchen. She got there and we met and talked and joked about whatever, then went in and sat down. Now the only reason i'm telling every detail of this, really is for myself. So if i'm boring you, i'm sorry! So we go in and sit down. Our waiter is a soft talker, on top of the loud restaurant, so we really had no idea what the crap he was talking about at all. We ordered some pizza...half bbq chicken and half Thai....which was AMAZING by the way, and i highly recommend it the next time you go there. Our stupid waiter never brought us any bread, which is BS cuz they are supposed to and i totally forgot until we were walking out and saw other people with it, AND i had left him like a 20% tip...when he really didn't do jack for us. Anyway, we finished dinner and wen to the show. Now, keep in mind first of all that this is DISNEY on Ice...not some random small name event. So of course there were TONS of people with little kids there. Probably at least 60% of them were little girls dressed up as Princesses, seeing how the title of the show was Princess Wishes. So basically it was amazing seeing all the little girls dressed up as Princesses. Even the little pudgy ones were freaking cute too. I had thought about dressing up, but not seriously and had we dressed up I'm sure i would have felt way weird, but not out of place. There were even mom's dressed up....yeah pretty awesome. I wish i would have taken my camera. I'm retarded for not...but what can you do. Go again i guess....The show really, was pretty amazing. I was quite impressed. It was pretty funny too when they brought out some huge dragon thing and made it kind of scary, during the Sleeping Beauty section, and all the little girls were scared and clinging to their mom's and siblings. Sadly, she didn't cling to me....but it's probably only because we were laughing so hard at the little kids freaking out (not to be mean, but it was pretty funny. And cute too :) ). Intermission came, we went to look at the stuff they had for sale (of course) and i totally would have bought her a something, except for every something was at least $15...for a plastic wand that lit up....of course amazing to little kids, but completely unnecessary for what they cost. Even the bottle water (without a cap...NBA regulations...) was like 2.75 each. Yeah, lame. So we watched the rest of the show...that she mocked as being romantic and untrue....kind of odd, but funny, and left of course :)

We didn't know what to do. it was only like 9:20, and since we didn't want to end the night so early, and her house was an hour away, and mine (in sandy) was only 20 minutes, we left her car in a safe place in Salt Lake and went to my house. We decided it only appropriate to watch a Disney movie, seeing how we just came from a Disney event. The movie we decided on, was Beauty and the Beast. Basically it was exceptionally amazing because my parents only had it on VHS....yeah i don't know how we seriously ever got through the VHS period in our history. I do appreciate DVD and HD more now than i ever did before. That movie though, is amazing. It is seriously so good, such a good story, so....amazing! I took her back to Salt Lake and she drove the hour home and the night "officially" ended around 1:30 am for both of us. It was quite the adventure.

No i didn't kiss her, no we didn't hold hands, but yes i do want to go out with her again and we are planning on it for a future date. Just at the moment i'm not right sure when since i haven't heard from her all day. But she had to work today, and i'm sure she's pretty beat so i figured i'd give it a day rest :)

So what was the fantabulous idea? Well if you haven't figured it out yet, it was Disney on Ice. I do recommend it to anyone with an itching to do something fun and different and not TERRIBLY expensive at the same time. Just be prepared to be in a crowd of snow white, sleeping beauty, aerial, and princess jasmines all ages 3-10. It was quite the good time, and again another way of living life and being good at it!