The Big Five

Decisions, decisions . . . already I've come to realize that the hardest part of writing a blog is deciding what topic to write about. The choices really are endless. So, after a week of considering this, that, and the other, and the other, and the other, I've finally figured it out.

Last week my basketball season ended. The other day Michelle and I went to a hockey game. Tomorrow I'm going to a soccer game. I'm living it up with the sport's world. So, why not talk a little about sports. However, since sports is such a huge topic all it's own I'll limit it down to the fabulous Big Five. I'll let you know how I feel about them and try to explain why.

Baseball
Let's get started with the lowest on the totem poll. Pretty much, this game is funner to play than to watch . . . and I really don't like playing it that much. Of the Big Five, baseball takes the back middle seat. (But hey, according to some “The hump is good!”)

And why do I feel this way? Because I enjoy the team sports. In baseball the total amount of team play amounts to about 60 seconds. Usually there is a maximum of only three players involved in any single play. It could be the pitcher throwing the ball past the batter to the catcher. Or the batter hitting the ball, the outfielder picking up the ball, tossing to first base to get the batter out. Then there's the rare double play. Batter to the outfielder's glove, to the 1st basemen (I'll even go one more and say to the 2nd basemen,) A baseball game that makes the headlines is one where the pitcher throws a no hitter. Yep, the kind of game where nothing happens.

Hockey
OK, so there's a lot going on in hockey that I don't understand. Just the other day I learned a little bit about what those blue lines on the rink actually mean. Even though I don't always know why things are happening, but I still enjoy it.

Hockey is one a low scoring game so some people might not be interested in it, but for me the low scoring makes every play that much more intense. When the puck gets near the goal everyone is standing up and leaning in as close as they can to see what happens. Besides, who doesn't like the full speed impact? It's great to see the tactical use of a body check. Plus it's impressive how much those guys can do on a pair of skates. They are cutting and diving and pushing each other over just to get to the puck, all this being done in a pretty coordinated manner. Yeah, I said “pretty coordinated” cause sometimes it ain't so coordinate, those times are pretty fun to watch too.

Football
Another great contact sport. I would probably love it even more if the USU football team did better each season, but hey I still enjoy catching a game now and then. We just got season tickets for the Utah Blaze in a package deal, maybe I'll get more into the game.

Football keeps things interesting by giving a different amount of points for so many different things. When the game is drawing to an end everyone is talking about all the different combinations of scoring that can be used to get to the needed amount to win. Basketball is the only other game that actually has more than one point possible on any scoring situation. (Some might argue that baseball could fall into that category, but I beg to differ. It's one point for every player that passes the home plate, so even with bases loaded you still need to get all four players across that plate.) I guess that's part of what I enjoy so much about football, options. There are so many different choices to be made even before the play begins, rather they're going to devote themselves to a pass, a run, or the option. And then the defense needs to try and guess the play correctly, or just make the best out of the choice they made.

Basketball
As I mentioned earlier, my basketball season ended last week. When the USU aggies lost against KSU, It was called done till next season. When the aggies are playing I try my best to catch every game that's being played. Sometimes I can only listen to it on radio, other times I'm able to watch via the internet. Either way, I love USU basketball.

Hockey players on ice is pretty impressive, but basketball players moving the ball between and around different players to get it where it needs to be is awesome. This is a team sport at its finest. Every player needs to know what the plan is and what their part in that plan is. There are only 5 players out on the court, that's the fewest players involved in any of the games (unless a hockey team gets two of their players boxed, but that's a different matter), so one person makes a bigger difference in how the game goes. Basketball is the high scoring game, no other sport in the Big Five comes close. In basketball the stops and the scores can be a big deal.

Soccer
What can I say about soccer? It's known as The Beautiful Game. I have to agree.

Soccer has a flow that seems to appear in other games on occasion, and that's only with the best teams. Again, this game is a low scoring game and the ball spends a lot of time living in the midfield, but that's what makes soccer so exciting. When the ball moves into the 16 yard box everyone's eyes are glued to the field to see what is going to happen next, it always results in the whole stadium yelling and clapping or a mass gasp of disappointment. My theory is that the only reason some people don't enjoy soccer is because they don't understand it.

Guess that's all I'm gonna say for now, but maybe some other time I'll chit chat more about what those people who don't like sports are missing.

A New Level of Commitment

Well, yet again we've let a HUGE amount of time pass since posting something for our blog. I think the only person that still remembers this thing exists is my niece that likes to show up and feed our fish that lives at the bottom of this page. (If it wasn't for her it would probably be dead.) Now, I don't know how most people are, but I actually do have ideas running around in my head. I've looked at BookFace and decided that it wasn't for me. Guess I just feel that most of my ideas need more explanation than what is commonly acceptable to blurb about in the social network settings. Sure I keep my account so that I can . . . um . . . why do I keep my account? . . . hm. Anyways, the decision has been made: I'm making a goal for myself to have something posted here on a weekly basis. To make it even more likely to happen I'm using some of the “goal achievement standards”. Yep, I'm making it measurable, telling someone about it (you), and I'm writing it down so's I won't forget. Should be a fun ride for those of you that want to come along. I'm not promising that these posts will be interesting, or uplifting, or help you lose 30 pounds in two weeks. However, there will be something here. In fact I'll say that there will be something new here by Friday night at midnight. So in other words from Friday night at midnight to Friday night at midnight is will be one week. ( I was trying to think of some way to work in more “Friday night at midnight”, but just couldn't get ther.) No idea what all these posts will be about, possibly a lot of them will be about different rants that I have pent up inside of me. (Some future rants: People running with limp wrists; People riding bikes without using their hands; Swimming for exercise; Joggers and bikers that yell “left” as they run by; Blue poster putty. OK, I realized that my rants were taking on an exercise theme so I threw in that last one for kicks.) I might use this space just to post recent pictures of hikes/walks Michelle and I have been on. Posts might be reviews about books I've read or movies I've seen or even TV shows I enjoy watching. Maybe stuff will be posted about the last Aggie game I enjoyed or got upset about (that would probably mean I thought the refs were terrible, or it's football). Who knows, the choices are endless and I'll just try to keep going for as long as I can. If anyone was paying attention, I made sure not to say that I would be making a post on a weekly basis, this leaves the window open in case Michelle decides she wants to put something on here also. (Then my goal is met and I'm free for the week, wahoo.) With all of that being said, I'm going to leave you to ponder what might be coming in the near future, or just to just go on with life as you usually do.

I Would Walk 500 Miles . . .

Well, it's begun. Michelle and I have set a goal to run a half-marathon sometime this year. Mind you that I haven't even tried to enter a 5K while Michelle has been in the Deseret News 10K (#79 in the "Female 19-24" group).

We've looked online and found some running schedules to get us worked up to the 13.1 miles of misery and today was the inauguration of the training. We plan on giving a 10K a try during our training schedule and then will move on to the half-marathon of everything goes well (i.e. I don't end up finishing the race in an ambulance).

The best part about this is that we really have no idea where or when we're going to run, but it's a fun idea and I'm sure that if we waited until a decision was actually made then this whole ordeal to make me sweat a little more would never actually take place.

Wish us health and good luck, and if you have any ideas of good runs to go on just let us know.

My Mammal Friends of Old

I'd forgotten how much I missed the zoo until I went back there and saw some of the animals I had a chance to work with. Since I had my camera with me I decided it would be good to get some pictures of them.

Reiley was one of the Wied's Marmosets I cared for. Just to give you an idea of how small he is, that is half a coconut shell that he's eating out of. Reiley and his brother lived with one of the sloths and they were always trying to eat her food, so it was always tricky to find a way to keep them out while letting the sloth get to her food.

This is Eddie. He was always so curious and would often get in the way of my work by trying to grab his food before it was in his dish. He is so agile and quick, I would love to see a cotton-top tamarin out in nature. These guys are amazing.

Kilo is nocturnal and so it was actually pretty rare to walk by and see him doing anything other than sleeping in his hammock sucking on his paw.

As you can tell by the photo, Scratch really did value her personal space. (This look was just because I was taking a picture through the glass.)

Turner was one of the four squirrel monkeys that was great at making messes. As you can tell by the background, they usually threw their veggies more often than they ate them.

My brother home at last!

June 26th was a most happy day for our family. A dear brother, son, cousin, and friend came home from his 2-year mission for the church. James served in the Uruguay Montevideo mission and had a most wonderful time serving the Lord and his children there.

We had a fun time meeting him at the airport. Jimmy and I actually surprised him by showing up at all. He had been told we wouldn't be able to make it because I didn't get work off in time. (It was a small miracle, a tender mercy, that I was able to find someone to work for me last minute.) We even made him a candy bar poster to have the Bejaranos give him in our stead. As he was reading the poster, we snuck up behind him--it was a great moment and I smothered him with a big hug.

Here is just part of the group that was there to meet him at the airport. Afterwards the whole group of us (probably around 25-30 people) went to Golden Corral to celebrate. James, who was still an Elder at this point, found the sites and sounds of the city a bit different than his beloved Uruguay, but was totally stoked to be with his family, as were we to be with him. It was great to be able to just talk with him, ask him questions, and hear his accent. (He wasn't used to speaking in English yet, and maybe still isn't even a few weeks later.)


Next we went to our home in Heber were a 'home makeover' had been taking place over the last few weeks. Mom, Carlos and the girls had been working on various projects throughout the house (like remodeling the kitchen and basement) for the last couple of months in the hope of having things nice for James when he got home. An angel in their ward (Amber Sission--the same who put together our wedding shower and luncheon) got a group of other ward members to help out. The week before James came home they were painting, cleaning, weeding, planting flowers, laying tiles, etc. It was such a blessing, especially for my sweet mom who always seems to have a little too much on her plate (only because she is constantly in the service of other people.)

We had a great time looking at pictures and souveneirs he had brought from Uruguay. Here is a very interesting cup used for a traditional South American herbal tea. The outside is made of a cow hoof.

Since James has been home we've had fun spending time together. I went down to Heber to see him most of the weekend he was home, we saw him over the 4th of July, and got to go see the Oquirrh Mountain temple open house with him last week.

These Free Spirits Don't Know How to Slow Dance

I think I've come to realize that we simply need to stop planning camping trips, every time we do the weather turns against us. Mind you, we are not worried about being out in the woods with a little bit of rain, rather we don't have a good place to lay out our tent for a drying off period. (Nobody enjoys camping in a moldy tent.)

So, with the fates working against us we decided to enjoy some benefits of Logan that don't include going to the nearby moistened canyons.

Every now and then the local artists get together with some of the businesses and holds a fun little activity known as "The Gallery Walk". It's rather enjoyable, you simply go around Main Street and see what businesses have their doors open. Inside of participating locations they will be featuring paintings, sculptures, and other things throughout their shopping area (some of the better ones include snacks).

The evening turned out to be a very pleasant temperature and no clouds were in sight (the next morning was a different story). We visited a few different locals, talked to some of the artists, and even saw the new UPR broadcasting center.

However, one of the highlights wasn't even in the confines of buildings, it was right in the middle of the street. A small section of road had been blocked of back in the "Granola District" and a band was playing away. When we first arrived on the scene there was only one younger girl out on the road dancing away in front of the band. Everyone else was simply enjoying the music, maybe a little swaying or maybe a little tapping of the feet. As the band played on though more and more people began to join her.

Michelle and I went into one of the buildings right nearby to look at their displays and by the time we came out the whole street was filled with people; young, old, and everything in between. Most were swinging rather normally to the music, but there were a few that forced me to ask if they could hear the music at all. (They looked to be about high school age, so that might have explained their confusion.)

As we were observing this party of freedom in the middle of the street the band started a new song that was a bit slower beat than what they had been playing just a short time ago. As the music want on it seemed to sedate the crowd into standing mode once again. It was at this point that Michelle made the observation of how apparently difficult it was for free spirits to slow dance. (I'll admit that we weren't the greatest at dancing, but at least we tried.)

We ended the night with a walk around the Logan Tabernacle and decided that we could go camping some other time, in some other place if that's how it ends up, but we're going to miss these activities in Logan.

To Dream . . .

Sometimes you work so hard towards a single goal that when the opportunity finally arrives it becomes the most difficult thing you can do.

I've been in contact with the education curator at Hogle Zoo talking to her about this that and the other. On Wednesday afternoon I emailed her inquiring a little more about the possibility of a second internship starting in mid July.

Later that evening Michelle and I went to a work party for one of her co-workers. (The co-worker had been there for five years of so and had just moved to a different job so that she could spend more time with her children.) At the party a lot of the people were asking me about my job prospects (because if I do ever get a job it probably won't be in Logan, which means they will also lose Michelle). Of course we told them about how much we hope we can stay in Utah, but right now that didn't seem very likely since the Hogle Zoo is on a hiring freeze.

Well, we returned home full n' happy (you can never have too many creamies,) and I decided to quickly check the internet to see if there was anything interesting job/internship wise. Low and behold, there it was, an "Immediate opening" at Utah's Hogle Zoo.

Now I feel it is important to note here that before this came about I had turned in ten or so resumes to various organizations across the nation, so I've become pretty proficient at producing a cover letter and resume that covers what they seem to be looking for. (At least this is according to my simple understanding, I have yet to be called back for an interview from any of them, but I just think that is because they are amazed by my potential and consider me to be over qualified . . . )

With all my preparation it has always been in the back of our minds that the ideal situation would be for me to get a job at Hogle, Michelle to be accepted into the PA school at U of U so then we'd still be able to be close to our family. I don't see any reason why Michelle wouldn't be accepted into the PA program (high GPA, minority, easy to work with, everybody loves her, etc. etc. etc.) so really the biggest hurdle to our dream was the hiring freeze at the zoo.

This job posting was on Wednesday and it is now Saturday evening. I think I've finally finished my resume and cover letter for the position, but I'm just not quite sure. Constantly in my mind is that little gnawing feeling that it needs something more (I know, experience, but besides that). It feels like there is so much riding on this application that I'm probably going to miss something simple. Oh well, Michelle will read over it later and I will work it over a little more and the plan is that I'll get it in the mail on Monday. Wish me luck.

P.S. According to my sources on the inside, this position is actually for a primary keeper position, which I would probably never even bother applying for at another zoo so nobody get too excited, but "you never know".