Library Binge

There comes a time in every college student's life where that student is expected to account for everything learned over four months. This time is called finals week. Now, this time is approached differently but for me it is a bitter sweet experience.
Most students find themselves cooped up in the library. However, these students aren't usually just studying. A new study showed that during finals week students spend 1 hour on facebook for every 2 hours of studying. Now this study may not be true but you get an idea on how ineffective studying can be.
For me, sites like twittter, facebook, youtube, google news, spotify and others deter me from my much-needed studying. I have yet to find a solution to this problem. It occurs every four months.
But distractions or no distractions, finals week does come and then it goes. For all those who are struggling to stay motivated for the rest of this week. Good luck and remember that how you perform on your finals correlates with how successful you will be.

Strescity

Here i am again, its almost midnight and i forgot to write in my blog this week. This week our professor for mcom 320 class asked us for our weekly assignment to find someone more stressed than we are and do something kind for them, then blog about it.
It was Saturday around one O clock and I still had loads of homework to do, namely finish my case report. As I was in the library my brother texted me and asks if I could help him real up some concrete in his basement so he could fix a pump which was under the concrete in a tank. I, at first said I couldn't because of homework but hanged my mind and helped him out for a few hours. I, mainly just hit concrete for a couple hours until it was all broken up them we removed the loose concrete and got into the tank to fix the pump. We found out that the pump actually wasn't broken but the drain was clogged with a plastic cap. We removed the cap and the water began to flow into the tank and the pump wonderfully pumped the water as it was designed to do.
Although I didn't get any homework done. I felt good helping my bro out. Sometimes you just need to forget about yourself and help other peeps out if you know what I mean!

Thanksgiving

Okay this weekend was epic. I went to good ol' Preston, Idaho for thanksgiving and it was a blast. We ended up doing some awesome stuff. On Tuesday my dad asked us to fix some fences so we did. After that we chased cows into the place where we fixed the fence. There wasn't a whole lot of snow at our house but we brought out one of the old snowmobiles which doesnt require alot of snow and used it to chase the cows. After this we cleaned up around the farm and threw a few snowballs at each other.

On Thursday we, of course, ate some really good food and made a few pies. After dinner we went up strawberry and cut down a beautiful christmas tree. However it took us a while to figure out how to put it on the trailer because two of our straps broke that were needed to tie down the snowmobiles and there was no room for the tree, but after an hour or so we managed to figure it out and safely get home with all of our snowmobiles and the tree!

Tweeter!

Twitter. What is it? How does it work? Why do you have a twitter account? These among many other questions have been asked at me multiple times since I have been telling people about my twitter experience. To be honest, I had these same questions, actually I think everybody goes through the stage of wondering what twitter is. I know i did. I got an account about a year ago and didn't know what to do with it. However, for Mcom 320 I am forced to tweet because it is part of my grade. Now, at first, I was annoyed that i would have to tweet at least once a week, but now I can't seem to not tweet at least once a week. 

So, what is twitter? I'm sure I don't fully understand what twitter is nor what it's potential is. But it seems to be a great way to stay connected with things going on around the world. If you want to know what's going on with college football you can follow accounts that will update you on this subject. Accordingly, the same goes with any other subject one has interest in. Also, it is a great way to connect with friends and see which of your friends are witty enough to post funny tweets or, at least something that is interesting to read. All in all it is a great way to keep updated and a cool way to post a status. (much better than Facebook!) I know many are skeptical of Twitter, but all it takes is a little faith. Try following a couple people you trust and BAM you will be hooked and your life will never be the same. ever! Ok maybe it will. and maybe you'll hate it, but it IS worth a try. Click here to sign up!

Geocaching

Geocaching... what is it? I am not really sure. Its kind of like a world wide scavenger hunt. People all around the world hide caches (usually a small box) with some random goodies. Once placed they log the gps coordinates of the cache on the geocache website. Once it is logged anyone can get online, type in the coordinates and be on their way of finding some interesting treasure. 

I first heard of Geocaching from a friend a year ago. It seemed like something I would be interested in, but never really gave it a second thought. However, since then I have geocached several times. Yesterday, my friend from P-town, Idaho came down to Provo to take a break from the small town. We thought geocaching would cool so we went up rock canyon and began searching for geocaches. We attempted to find four but ended up only finding one. Sometimes the gps on my phone is not all that accurate. There is something about finding something in the wilderness that makes you feel like a man. This is called geocaching. 

IDAHO

I found a trend through out my blogs. They always explain what I did over the weekend. I dont know if its because the weekends are the only time I actually do something worth writing about or because its the last thing on my mind. Both are probably pretty accurate. Nevertheless, this weekend was bomb! I went back to P-town aka Preston, ID. Ya the place where Napoleon Dynamite is from, and the place of the famous preston night rodeo.
The main reason for me driving to Preston was to hang out with the fam because my brother just received his mission call to Atlanta, GA! We had a great time together reminiscing about our missions and getting him pumped to go serve the Lord and the people of Georgia for two years! He will be a stud missionary.
Also we were able to play on our new backyard. More specifically, we played some 3 on 3 football. It was dope. Overall, it was a super awesome weekend chillin with the fam.

Halloweeeeeeen

To be honest, I feel like Halloween lost its awesomeness when I stopped trick-or-treating. I remember those younger years driving around with mom, stopping at every house for the soul purpose of getting candy that would last me the rest of the year and spill over into the next. I remember driving in the typical mini-van with all my little halloween friends. Of course these were the days before trunk-or-treat, which has seemingly taken over the mormon community.
I wish I still had it in me to trick-or-treat. I know many think that its just one of those things that ends when you become a deacon or a beehive, which is probably correct. However, it would be cool to get some extra candy, even if I am 22 years old.
Halloween this year was fun, nevertheless. Our group of friends dressed up as iphone apps so collectively we were the iPhone. It was clever and people seemed to enjoy it. We did not win the costume competition at our ward party but still had a blast. Overall, Halloween this year was bomb.

Las Vegas

A 4-day weekend in Las Vegas. Boo ya! It began Thursday at 4 o clock. Some friends and I headed out to Las Vegas to take a break from the traditional weekend at BYU. The drive down was long and uneventful but that was made up for in Vegas. We did alot of cool things but going up the stratosphere was probably the most memorable.

Friday night we decided to go on a few rides on top of the stratosphere. It was easy getting to it because, if Vegas knows how to do one thing, its accommadate people. They probably have as many car garages as provo has cars. This was nice because we found a spot easily and made our way into the stratosphere. At the bottom of the stratosphere we bought our tickets for two rides, insanity and big shot. We went on bigshot first which is alot like the rocket at Lagoon just not as big or fast, BUT it was on top of the stratosphere and we could see the all of Vegas which might have compensated for the lack of the other things. After the bigshot we went on insanity which is a ride that hangs you out in middair and spins you around like a cheap carnival ride. It was only cool because we were about 1200 feet above the ground which was a little intimidating but exciting. After spinning for what felt too long, I became sick and thought I would hurl. Luckily the ride stopped before this occurred. We jumped off and talked about how cool it was then went back down the elevator to ground level. We checked out the fountains at the Bellagio and attempted to see the volcano at the Mirage but it closed right when we got there. Then we just hurried home and went to bed. It was a good night.

Redbox Confrontation

Wednesday in Mcom 320 Professor Shayne Clarke gave his students an unusual but interesting homework assignment. This assignment entailed of each student giving a complete stranger something. I was planning on buying someone lunch on Friday, but somehow I completely forgot about this assignment until saturday night around one o clock in the morning. 

I walked into fatcats and decided I would give a pop from the pop machine to one of the fatcat workers. For some reason the pop machine wouldn't take my dollar so I bagged that idea and went to seven eleven. I walked inside grabbed a fresh cold lemonade from behind the glass. After I purchased the drink, I kind of wandered around the store and around the parking lot looking for someone to give this lemonade too. Then I saw a man chillin at redbox choosing a movie to watch with his girl probably. I approached him and asked him if he would liked lemonade. He said yes so I gave him the lemonade, hopped in my truck and drove home. A wonderful way  to end the night.

Bam!

Another weekend has past. Its crazy to think this semester is fourth the way through. So far, it has not been too bad. I am enjoying my classes. This past weekend was pretty good; it started out with making pizza and playing water pong. The pizza's we made were from scratch and turned out super well. Oh and Friday we attempted golfing at cascade in Orem. However, we only got to the third hole until it began to pour down rain. We were getting soaked so the cascade man told us we could come back Saturday and finish our game when the weather cleared up. Saturday we finished up our golfing. I was not on my a game and played horribly, but it was still fun. After golf hit up the BYU football game and then ended the night with a pazooka and fifa. Another great weekend  at BYU. Yaya

Oh Snap!

Okay this week was brutal and awesome. It began with a midterm on Monday for Russian literature and ended with phenomenal talks from general conference. In between I had two more midterms and also went to the football game, BYU vs Utah State. It was such a good game. My friend and I showed up after the half-time show and honestly, I thought we were going to lose. The last 4 minutes of the game were amazing. Riley pulled through and made some very good runs and throws. The game was great, which is more than I can say for my midterms. They all went relatively well except for my accounting exam. I’m not sure what my score is but I probably bombed it. Hopefully I find out today and maybe general conference will be able to cheer me up after I find out my score.  I am ready to put this week behind me and take on the next week!

PROVO

I'm taking a golf class this semester because I thought it would be a good idea. However I didn't know it was 4 days a week for an hour. It has been good though. For the class we have to go golfing at least 3 times through out the course of the semester. So today, My roommate and I pulled out the clubs and got our golf groove on. I won't lie, I'm pretty crappy at golfing. If i remember correctly, I lost multiple golf balls. But I am starting to get this technical game down. My biggest problem is driving. I can't seem to get the ball to go straight down the fairway; it always slices to the right.

 My other classes this semester are alright. I actually am really enjoying my business writing class. I already implement the things I have learned in it and it has been awesome!

Golf

I'm taking a golf class this semester because I thought it would be a good idea. However I didn't know it was 4 days a week for an hour. It has been good though. For the class we have to go golfing at least 3 times through out the course of the semester. So today, My roommate and I pulled out the clubs and got our golf groove on. I won't lie, I

The Climb

Okay so last weekend we decided to veer from the natural routine of watching a movie Friday night and, instead, prepared ourselves to hike Mount Timp. Word on the street is if you haven’t climbed this Mountain, you aren’t a true human. Therefore we climbed it. We didn’t just climb it, however. We climbed it in the middle of the night in hopes to see the sun rise from its hiding place while chilling on the summit. And that is exactly what we did.

This little venture was exhausting and mentally tiring. I found myself stranded on a random glacier, soaked by hidden water holes, separated from the group, and at a dead end of multiple trails.  Nevertheless, I did make it to the top and was able to see the beautiful sun rise from the east.  It was worth the climb most definitely. It is one of those things I am glad I did but will probably never do it again, at least not for awhile.  

This Semester's New Hobby

Who knew that Labor Day could bring a BYU student so much joy, not only for a day, but for many days to come? Maybe you do, I don't know. All I know is I have found a new interest that caught my attention faster than I can download an app on my Iphone 4. So what is this new interest that occupies my mind in class, at home, or during leisure time? Yes, you guessed it, Rock Climbing.  

Monday aka Labor Day, My brother and I took a small journey up American Fork Canyon to try our hand at rock climbing. He had been a couple times before and I was a complete novice. Also, he had never lead a climb before, so this was a first for both of us. The climb was great.  There is something about climbing that brings the man out of a person. Maybe its the strain on your muscles or the adrenaline that pumps through your veins when you are about to slip or can't figure out where to place your foot next, whatever it was, was awesome. So if you want to take a break from school, become a man, or connect with nature, rock climbing is one way to do so!

The Art of Blogging

It has been a long time since my last blog post and, quite frankly, I thought my blogging days were over. Once I returned from Jerusalem my desire to blog diminished. However, This fall I am enrolled in a business writing class and one of our assignments is to blog once a week. At first I was disheartened because blogging isn't my cup of tea. But I am beginning to warm up to the idea and its growing on me, slowly, but surely. The purpose of blogging, our Professor says, is to let us write about whatever we want and get practice developing our writing skills. More and more as I get farther in life with school and work, it becomes more apparent to me how vital it is to develop and acquire great communication skills. I am no Shakespeare but with practice and persistence by the end of this semester writing will hopefully be something I enjoy. 

Shalom Out Yis'rael!

 This will be my final post from Jerusalem to end the experience of a lifetime. As I have been thinking over the past few days and looking back on the experiences I have had this semester it almost seems fairytale-ish or a dream from which I don't want to wake. It truly has been a once in a lifetime experience that has changed me forever.  I have seen and walked the sites where Christ walked, healed, preached and blessed. I studied his words where he preached them and felt his love where he expressed and showed it to his disciples. I have experienced more than I deserve and have learned much from the holy sites, friends at the JC, the scriptures, the natives, exceptional professors, and from the wonderful example of Jesus Christ. Israel has become a part of me, it has sunken deep into my soul and will never be rooted out. O, Jerusalem I will never forget thee! Here are some pictures to recap the good times that were had in this blessed land.

Palm Sunday March. It was so cool to see the thousands of people who came to Jerusalem to celebrate the triumphal entry and the last week of Christ's life. 

Weirdest thing I have done in awhile.... float in the Dead Sea. The craziest phenomenon. I loved bobbing but be careful not to get the salt in your mouth or eyes, it stings like crazy. 

Dome of the Rock

My sanctuary in the Old City, the Western Wall. 

Old City Street!

Herodian Palace. One of my favorite pictures.

Sunset Club at its finest. Never has the sun had such devout fans. 

Pyramids!

At the finish line of the first marathon in Jerusalem. I  only ran the 4.2 k but it was still fun and totally worth it. 

Little Sabrina at Ein Gedi. She is a doll. I am going to miss her. 

Jordan with some Bedouin influence

I know this blog post is long past due but it is because I  had a problem uploading my pictures onto my computer. However this problem has been fixed because I just realized that I have an sd slot for my sd card on my computer... something I wish I would have known about 3 months ago. We returned form Jordan not too long ago and it was definitely a highlight of the Jerusalem experience. Of course it was no Galilee or Egypt but it was pretty cool and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We stayed there 3 nights and 4 days. The highlights of the trip were: Petra of course, royal tombs, hikes up rigorous mountains, park-our all over Jordan but mostly Petra, running to every site to assure that we got the most out of the experience, the monastery (tomb of Aretas the 4th), good food, royal suites, and best of all good company. Oh and we also had some sauna and Jacuzzi time at the hotel in Amman.

This here is the treasury. One might notice this particular tomb carving in a famous movie.  

This is the monastery, another tomb of an unknown important man. This fine structure can be found about an hour or so (if your walking) from the treasury.  We were able to go inside this tomb but then found out it was not allowed and had to get out. It was awesome though. 

This is right outside the royal tombs looking out across the canyon where the Nabateans once inhabited this rocky terrain. 

This is on our way up to the "High Place". I'm pretty sure this was the halfway point. There were a bunch of rock altars,  so we added to this wonderful scene by building our own. Those are the people that I hiked up with. It was such a fun hike and the weather was pristine. 

Not really sure about this one just thought that it was cool that someone carved this into the rock on top of the "High Place". 

Here we are on top of the high place after a treacherous hike. I snagged a shot while the others were taking a small breather. The view was quite wonderful.

Royal Tombs at Petra. 

I love the Shwarmas here. This is a shwarma shop located in Amman, not far from our hotel. 

we call this the "man grab" at the JC. This is one of many head carvings in the musuem at the Amman Citadel. 

 This is at the largest roman theater in the Middle East.  Standing next to me is Chelsea Jackson, one of the gems here at the JC, with some sweet dudes from Amman who wanted to jump into the picture. 

On our way back from Jordan we got to stop at the Jordan River and  have a little devotional.  It was really cool to be able to read the account of Christ's baptism here. So sweet!

A Continuation of Galilee and a little taste of Jerusalem as Well

"simply nature" is how I would coin this picture. 

Here we are dabbling our feet in the Jordan River

a steel chariot drawn by steel horses at Megiddo

A little spring that flows into the River Jordan. I tasted it... pretty good.

After our nature walk through Tel Dan. 

On top of a huge castle that we explored for an hour or so. It was awesome.

This mosaic is located in the ancient city of Sepphoris. It is known as "The Mona Lisa of Galilee"

This is Audryn and I taking a small break from our busy schedules to have a small picture moment together. 

This is Jess and I at Haifa

This is also at Haifa with the Med Sea in the background.  The little girl I'm holding is Emily Judd, the daughter of one of the professors here at the JC. She is a doll.

Sunset at Galilee. I can't seem to get enough of this beautiful Sea with the sunset.

This is Mt. Carmel where Elijah has a showdown with the priests of Baal.

Haifa I presume

This is Donny and I just chillin next to the Med Sea

some ancient pillars at Caesarea

Ok now we are back in Jerusalem. this is the Jewish quarter of the Old City.  One of my favorite pictures for sure.

This is the western wall, by far my favorite place in the Old City. It is part of the retention wall, which was built by Herod to hold up the temple mount.

This is the day we went to the tomb of the kings

In a tunnel at Haifa

O Galilee, O Galilee

Wow it has been forever since I have updated this thing and for good reason to I would say. We just got back form Galilee about a week ago and we were there for 10 days or so.  It was such an amazing experience to be able to go to the cities where Jesus Christ walked, taught, healed, and blessed those who were in need and inflicted. So many wonderful things occurred in this part of The Holy Land that are hard to describe and would take forever to write down. I hope some of these pictures will portray the wonderful things that were experienced in Galilee. It was experience that has changed my life forever.

 A sweet jumping picture at Beit Shean. We stopped here on our way to Galilee. 

Beit She'an!

here is some of the crew taking a break from swimming in the Sea of Galilee!

After a long day field tripping we took some time to capture the sunset and just live in the moment!

Sea of Galilee

We took a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. We read from the scriptures about the  events that occured on this sacred lake. It was amazing!

Found a heart rock at Peter's primacy

A beam of sorts in my eye

some of the broskis at the Med Sea!

this is where we hiked to and swam for about an hour. The water was freezing cold but it was a blast.

My roommate Greg Hudnall and I on our way back from the swimming hole. 

probably a lily of the field. 

This is K-Hutch, one of my dear friends at the JC. 

One of my favorite little girls, Sabrina Muhlestein. 

Here we are at Hurtzi right by galilee.

In a byzantine church if i remember correctly. I am sitting in the apse of the church.