A group of us went to Salt Grass Steakhouse for dinner on my birthday. 28!
Me & Steph -- Dustin & Jenn -- Doug, Amy & lil' Megan
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Turning 28 -- 6/2/06
I stole these pictures from my friend's blog.
A group of us went to Salt Grass Steakhouse for dinner on my birthday. 28!
Me & Steph -- Dustin & Jenn -- Doug, Amy & lil' Megan
A group of us went to Salt Grass Steakhouse for dinner on my birthday. 28!
Me & Steph -- Dustin & Jenn -- Doug, Amy & lil' Megan
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
212!
This summer hasn't been the best for weight loss. I blame the stress of being in a car accident, of being separated from my family, etc. But really, I lost control.
I got up to 225 by the middle of June before heading to DC. SO getting down to 212 is actually a pretty good for me.
I'm learning that I actually like being a little heavier than the 190 I used to be. I don't look so skinny and goofy. (I don't think anyone WANTS to look like Bob Sagget.) I call this my "mature weight". I'm all for being healthy, but I have no desire to get down to a certain weight. Besides, if I can change it to muscle mass, that's more useful, and increased muscle mass increases the metabolism.
I got up to 225 by the middle of June before heading to DC. SO getting down to 212 is actually a pretty good for me.
I'm learning that I actually like being a little heavier than the 190 I used to be. I don't look so skinny and goofy. (I don't think anyone WANTS to look like Bob Sagget.) I call this my "mature weight". I'm all for being healthy, but I have no desire to get down to a certain weight. Besides, if I can change it to muscle mass, that's more useful, and increased muscle mass increases the metabolism.
BOOK REVIEW: The Life of Pi
I just finished reading a most amazing book. It is called the Life of Pi and it was written by Yann Martel.
In this book, a young Indian boy (eastern Indian, not Native American) named Piscene Patel (Pi for short) experiences life as the son of a zoo keeper in India. Pi experiences the cruelty of his peers at times and discovers religion. He practices Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity while taking a keen interest in science at school. His experiences being around animals and his observations of their behavior lead to some very interesting discoveries about the way humans behave. Pi realized that being free in the wild is not liberating to animals, it is scary. Humans too need structure, order, and a lack of uncertainty in order to feel at ease.
The political climate in Pi's native India changes, and his father decides to take their family to Canada. They sell of as many of the zoo animals as they can and bring some with them on their journey to have them delivered in Canada. They begin their travel on a cargo ship as it begins its journey across the Pacific. The ship has engine troubles so they stop in Manila for repairs. They are on their way again shortly, but Pi finds himself mysteriously awakened in the middle of the night. He climbs to the deck and the pouring rain only to discover moments later that the boat is sinking. His family is no where in sight, and some crew members toss him in a lifeboat. This is where the real story begins.
Pi is not alone in the lifeboat. He is joined by four others: a tiger, a zebra, a hyena, and an orangutan. The story continues as the animals interact under the harsh conditions of the open ocean and the laws of nature. Pi calls upon his experiences from living in the zoo to frame his experiences. He manages to successfully defend his territory from ferocious predators while learning how to survive on the open ocean.
The story ends with Pi Patel finally reaching land. He is hospitalized for a time in Mexico, and some representatives from the company that owned the cargo ship come to meet with him and gather information about the ship's sinking for insurance purposes. Pi relates the story of his coexistence with the animals, much to the disbelief of the two men. Pressed by the representatives, Pi translates the characters in his story to human form and re-tells the events of the past 8 months. At this point, one begins to wonder whether his companions really were animals, or whether he characterized his companions by an animal they most resembled. The story ends fairly quickly thereafter leaving the reader to wonder how much of the story was literal and what elements were metaphorical. In fact, some parts of the story remain so unexplained that the reader feels compelled to try to come up with his or her own explanation.
The Life of Pi is a fascinating tale of one human's encounter with God, the ocean, and his own nature. His journey through expansive geography, through spiritual awakening, and through mental and physical trials is both inspiring and sobering. I recommend this book to readers of all ages and backgrounds without hesitation.
In this book, a young Indian boy (eastern Indian, not Native American) named Piscene Patel (Pi for short) experiences life as the son of a zoo keeper in India. Pi experiences the cruelty of his peers at times and discovers religion. He practices Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity while taking a keen interest in science at school. His experiences being around animals and his observations of their behavior lead to some very interesting discoveries about the way humans behave. Pi realized that being free in the wild is not liberating to animals, it is scary. Humans too need structure, order, and a lack of uncertainty in order to feel at ease.
The political climate in Pi's native India changes, and his father decides to take their family to Canada. They sell of as many of the zoo animals as they can and bring some with them on their journey to have them delivered in Canada. They begin their travel on a cargo ship as it begins its journey across the Pacific. The ship has engine troubles so they stop in Manila for repairs. They are on their way again shortly, but Pi finds himself mysteriously awakened in the middle of the night. He climbs to the deck and the pouring rain only to discover moments later that the boat is sinking. His family is no where in sight, and some crew members toss him in a lifeboat. This is where the real story begins.
Pi is not alone in the lifeboat. He is joined by four others: a tiger, a zebra, a hyena, and an orangutan. The story continues as the animals interact under the harsh conditions of the open ocean and the laws of nature. Pi calls upon his experiences from living in the zoo to frame his experiences. He manages to successfully defend his territory from ferocious predators while learning how to survive on the open ocean.
The story ends with Pi Patel finally reaching land. He is hospitalized for a time in Mexico, and some representatives from the company that owned the cargo ship come to meet with him and gather information about the ship's sinking for insurance purposes. Pi relates the story of his coexistence with the animals, much to the disbelief of the two men. Pressed by the representatives, Pi translates the characters in his story to human form and re-tells the events of the past 8 months. At this point, one begins to wonder whether his companions really were animals, or whether he characterized his companions by an animal they most resembled. The story ends fairly quickly thereafter leaving the reader to wonder how much of the story was literal and what elements were metaphorical. In fact, some parts of the story remain so unexplained that the reader feels compelled to try to come up with his or her own explanation.
The Life of Pi is a fascinating tale of one human's encounter with God, the ocean, and his own nature. His journey through expansive geography, through spiritual awakening, and through mental and physical trials is both inspiring and sobering. I recommend this book to readers of all ages and backgrounds without hesitation.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a... change of plans?
I never wanted to be separated from my family.
My family and I left Provo, Utah on May 8th intent on reaching Ft. Worth, TX by May 10th, there to spend a week with family before continuing on to Washington DC where we would move into a new apartment before I began working on May 22nd for KPMG. I had gotten special permission to start my internship early, and we were excited to get our summer plans underway.
We stayed overnight just south of Denver, Colorado. We got a later start the next morning, and found ourselved crossing the border from Colorado into New Mexico just after lunch. As we neared Raton pass, we encountered some rain and thunder storm. Not giving it much thought, we continued on slowing to five miles under the speed limit. Just over the pass, our car encountered a patch of hail covering a 100 yard stretch of roadway approximately 1/2 inch thick. Unfortunately, I had the car's cruise control engaged at the time. The tires lost traction and began to hydroplane. The car slowly started to spin counter clockwise. I tried to turn the wheels to point down the road, but the car was still traveling over hail.
Somehow, I imagined we'd get out of the spin, correct the car, pull over to gather our courage and continue on our jouney. I had never been so wrong. The impact was an amazing shock. We rotated a full 180 degrees before hitting the concrete median divider while traveling backwards at about 50 mph. Steph and I had braced for impact while our three girls were sleeping in their carseats. All three awoke immediatly, panicked by the jarring impact. The impact occured where our three week old daughter was strapped in. All we could hear was their distressed crying.
Immediately after the impact, the car spun back around to face downhill. I guided the car off the roadway as it continued to slide. We stopped the car on the side of the road and watched as the rain began to wash the hail off of the roadway. The girls were okay. Each one was conscious and alert and had no sign of injury. We unbuckled them and held them closely in our arms. We immediately said a prayer of gratitude that no one had been hurt visibly and prayed for God to heal us of any injuries we had sustained. After a couple of minutes, I got out of the car to survey the damage. Wow. The right rear wheel was parallel to the ground instead of perpindicular. We weren't going anywhere.
I ran back up to the point of entry station at the top of the pass (about 1/4 mile back up the hill). The police and an ambulance came to the scene. The rest of the day was a blur of hospital check ups, repeatedly thanking God silently, and trying to figure out what to do and how bad things were. We managed to get to a hotel after everyone checked out okay. It wasn't until we were settled that we had a chance to internalize what we had just been through. It was emotional on several levels. Our two oldest girls continued to jump on the beds as Steph and I stared at each other and took turns recounting the experience. I held Steph when she cried. We were feeling pretty low.
The car was badly damaged. The insurance company was very helpful. Being stranded in a hotel wasn't much fun at first. We decided to make the most of it. We bought swimsuits and ice cream. I spend most of the days tracking down information and making sure that bills were submitted to our insurance agency. The dealership that got our car allowed us to come unload. Our hotel room was full of all our things.
Steph's Dad rescued us two days after the accident. He drove out to pick us up. We spent an hour and a half loading up his van with all our things. We were very excited to be off on our way home to TX once again. The van didn't look promising, but the man at the dealership's mechanic shop was optimistic about the repairs. We knew there was not way things would be complete in three weeks, so we changed our plans. I cancelled the apartment we were holding and pushed back my start date to June 14th (the original start date). We all felt like we needed time to recover from our experience before heading to DC anyway.
The car never seemed to get worked on. It took 2 1/2 weeks just to get parts to Raton. Then, delay after delay. Finally, a week before I needed to be in DC, we accepted the obvious -- the car would not be ready. I got a flight out and packed my things. We still hoped to be together in DC, but inside we knew it wasn't likely. A week after I got to DC, the dealership contacted us to let us know that they had just discovered (after 5 weeks) that the transmission had been destroyed when the car slid. The insurance covered the additional repairs, but that meant waiting another extended period until the parts were delivered.
I went home to visit my family after two weeks. It never felt so good to be going to TX. Five days went by quickly and before any of us were ready, I boarded the plane back to DC. Now, I live in the basement of some BYU graduates who are also in the Accounting profession. I try not to think too much about being away from my family. Instead, I keep myself busy catching up on books and movies. When it's nice outside, I work in the yard or drive around exploring town. I haven't learned how to enjoy being on my own, and I don't expect to. From this separation, I've learned that my family is everything to me. I smile and laugh when I think about my girls and they way they hug me. I have a sad, wistful smile on my face when I think about holding my wife. Sometimes my arms want to reach out and hold the space in front of me, hoping her form will be there. And some days I cry.
In three weeks, I'll travel home for Eden's 4th birthday. And two weeks after that this internship will be over. I can't wait to be on my way home again.
My family and I left Provo, Utah on May 8th intent on reaching Ft. Worth, TX by May 10th, there to spend a week with family before continuing on to Washington DC where we would move into a new apartment before I began working on May 22nd for KPMG. I had gotten special permission to start my internship early, and we were excited to get our summer plans underway.
We stayed overnight just south of Denver, Colorado. We got a later start the next morning, and found ourselved crossing the border from Colorado into New Mexico just after lunch. As we neared Raton pass, we encountered some rain and thunder storm. Not giving it much thought, we continued on slowing to five miles under the speed limit. Just over the pass, our car encountered a patch of hail covering a 100 yard stretch of roadway approximately 1/2 inch thick. Unfortunately, I had the car's cruise control engaged at the time. The tires lost traction and began to hydroplane. The car slowly started to spin counter clockwise. I tried to turn the wheels to point down the road, but the car was still traveling over hail.
Somehow, I imagined we'd get out of the spin, correct the car, pull over to gather our courage and continue on our jouney. I had never been so wrong. The impact was an amazing shock. We rotated a full 180 degrees before hitting the concrete median divider while traveling backwards at about 50 mph. Steph and I had braced for impact while our three girls were sleeping in their carseats. All three awoke immediatly, panicked by the jarring impact. The impact occured where our three week old daughter was strapped in. All we could hear was their distressed crying.
Immediately after the impact, the car spun back around to face downhill. I guided the car off the roadway as it continued to slide. We stopped the car on the side of the road and watched as the rain began to wash the hail off of the roadway. The girls were okay. Each one was conscious and alert and had no sign of injury. We unbuckled them and held them closely in our arms. We immediately said a prayer of gratitude that no one had been hurt visibly and prayed for God to heal us of any injuries we had sustained. After a couple of minutes, I got out of the car to survey the damage. Wow. The right rear wheel was parallel to the ground instead of perpindicular. We weren't going anywhere.
I ran back up to the point of entry station at the top of the pass (about 1/4 mile back up the hill). The police and an ambulance came to the scene. The rest of the day was a blur of hospital check ups, repeatedly thanking God silently, and trying to figure out what to do and how bad things were. We managed to get to a hotel after everyone checked out okay. It wasn't until we were settled that we had a chance to internalize what we had just been through. It was emotional on several levels. Our two oldest girls continued to jump on the beds as Steph and I stared at each other and took turns recounting the experience. I held Steph when she cried. We were feeling pretty low.
The car was badly damaged. The insurance company was very helpful. Being stranded in a hotel wasn't much fun at first. We decided to make the most of it. We bought swimsuits and ice cream. I spend most of the days tracking down information and making sure that bills were submitted to our insurance agency. The dealership that got our car allowed us to come unload. Our hotel room was full of all our things.
Steph's Dad rescued us two days after the accident. He drove out to pick us up. We spent an hour and a half loading up his van with all our things. We were very excited to be off on our way home to TX once again. The van didn't look promising, but the man at the dealership's mechanic shop was optimistic about the repairs. We knew there was not way things would be complete in three weeks, so we changed our plans. I cancelled the apartment we were holding and pushed back my start date to June 14th (the original start date). We all felt like we needed time to recover from our experience before heading to DC anyway.
The car never seemed to get worked on. It took 2 1/2 weeks just to get parts to Raton. Then, delay after delay. Finally, a week before I needed to be in DC, we accepted the obvious -- the car would not be ready. I got a flight out and packed my things. We still hoped to be together in DC, but inside we knew it wasn't likely. A week after I got to DC, the dealership contacted us to let us know that they had just discovered (after 5 weeks) that the transmission had been destroyed when the car slid. The insurance covered the additional repairs, but that meant waiting another extended period until the parts were delivered.
I went home to visit my family after two weeks. It never felt so good to be going to TX. Five days went by quickly and before any of us were ready, I boarded the plane back to DC. Now, I live in the basement of some BYU graduates who are also in the Accounting profession. I try not to think too much about being away from my family. Instead, I keep myself busy catching up on books and movies. When it's nice outside, I work in the yard or drive around exploring town. I haven't learned how to enjoy being on my own, and I don't expect to. From this separation, I've learned that my family is everything to me. I smile and laugh when I think about my girls and they way they hug me. I have a sad, wistful smile on my face when I think about holding my wife. Sometimes my arms want to reach out and hold the space in front of me, hoping her form will be there. And some days I cry.
In three weeks, I'll travel home for Eden's 4th birthday. And two weeks after that this internship will be over. I can't wait to be on my way home again.
Monday, July 10, 2006
I am a family man
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I am not a blogger.
Two months later and I'm in Washington DC. It's a much longer, much more dramatic story than that, but it would take me an hour to type up everything that has gotten us from plan A to plan K. I'm getting more bruised from rolling with the punches than from the actual punches. But DC is great, and I'm loving my job. I could love doing almost anything for $27/hour.
Last weekend, for the 4th of July, I went back to visit my family in TX. (Again, long story. Maybe I'll tell it if you're patient). We finally got some family pictures taken. I actually have a picture to post! So, without any introduction, here are some of the pictures of my family.
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