Gummy Ball (Hats are Showin')

When I was going through my stuff in Phoenix I came across a picture of me when I was first trying out a mohawk. It looked pretty goofy. Not even decked out in full punk gear with metal studs and a mohawk did I ever look intimidating. Some of my friends were pretty scary looking. "Wow, let's walk on the other side of the street to avoid that punk kid." But with me, people wouldn't mind asking me to babysit their young children. That's not a bad thing I guess. I never really wanted to be intimidating anyway.

Travelogue

I have returned from my much awaited vacation. I left last Saturday early in the morning and arrived in Las Vegas where I attended my sister's wedding. It was fun. Braxton and I walked around in the unbearable heat for what seemed like an eternity. The reception was pretty short. My dad looks really different. I hardly recognized him. Here's a picture of my folks. So, we stayed the night at a friends house and then headed for Phoenix the next day. We got to Phoenix and pretty much just chilled with my parents. Monday we saw Jessica and her family and went with them to the mall to hang out. There were some awkward moments for me. Usually it's fun to see someone you haven't seen in a long time and talk about the good ol' days, but for self-evident reasons I didn't have much to say about the good ol' days. It was good to see her and her family again though. After the mall, Braxton and I went back to my parents' house and spent the afternoon in the pool. Tuesday I dropped Braxton off with his Cousin in Mesa and I drove to
Tucson to see the newlyweds, Lashley and Tania. About five minutes away from Lashley's house my car overheated and died. Lashley picked me up and I hung out with him and his wife for a while. They had some awesome wedding pictures and seemed happy. Both of them would recommend marriage. Here's a picture of them with my gift to them (the pinata). I got back to my car, filled up the radiator, started driving, the car started smoking, I pulled into a Jiffy Lube, they said my radiator hose was cut, they said they couldn't fix it, I asked who could, they said Pep Boys, I said that's who replaced the radiator hoses last week, they said the Pep Boys a couple blocks away should fix it for free then, I went to Pep Boys, they said they couldn't get to it till the next day, I left my car, I called Alan, he tried to call his mom, I started walking towards his house, I bought a non-sweaty shirt at the thrift store, I called Chelsea, she was at the airport, we had a nice chat, Alan called me back, his mom picked me up, she was real nice, I met Alan's dad, he's just like Alan, I slept in Alan's bed, I picked up my car the next day, and I made it back to Phoenix in the early afternoon. Here's a picture of me and part of Alan's cat. Wednesday, I went to Mesa with Braxton and saw the temple and then we called up Cheslea and she invited us over. We met her family and she and her sister made us fajitas. Then we went to an open microphone night at Coffee Talk and saw glass blowers and statues. The next day we went to Dunkin Donuts and tubing down the salt river. I should have put sunscreen on my knees. It was a good time. I'm glad we got to hang out with Cheslea and her sister Abby (sp?) It's funny. We actually had a conversation about how there aren't many ways to spell Abbie and it shouldn't be hard to get it right, but I never asked how she spells her name. Oops. Then Friday I drove home and now I'm here. Now I'll just post some more pictures.


This is Jessica and her brother and sisters.










Here I am with Lashley's wife, Tania.










Braxton at the Mesa Temple.








Chelsea and Abby about to be eaten by a zombie cactus.












Chelsea at Coffee Talk.






Abby, Chelsea, and Braxton with our friend Howard.










Me giving Joe a hand with a brick.










Abby preparing for the tubing adventure.

DTT

Del Taco Tuesday was a huge success (with the exception of the absence of a few key founders). We had a few newcomers that helped us set a new record for tacos eaten. Braxton ate 12! Wow! Next week Braxton and I will be in Phoenix, so we'll have to find a Del Taco there if we want to participate.

Independence is great sometimes. It's great to not have to depend on anyone else and to not have anyone else depend on you. This indepenence only lasts so long. I'm trying to take advantage of it by traveling and such, but the truth is that I can enjoy it every day. Yesterday I was driving in my car and I thought. "Wow, this is my car. I own it. My name is on the title. I pay for it's insurance and repairs. No one else has any claim on it." It felt good. At the same time independence can be lonely. "It's just me and my car. No one else." If I planned on it just being me for my entire life, I probably wouldn't still be going to school, so it's a good thing to look into the future. I could easily support myself on a Dilliard's salary and I really wouldn't mind it, but if I want to have a family some day, it won't cut it. Independence, in this sense of the word, is great, as long as it's only temporary.

666

It's amazing that I'm not dead. People die all the time, and I've had quite a few close calls. On my way to pick up Braxton traffic was tight and we all wanted to get wherever we were going as fast as possible (about 70-75 mph). Suddenly the car in front of me slammed on it's brakes and swerved to the left. I remember what went through my mind...."crap". "Crap"for three reasons. First, I was afraid of hitting the car in front of me. Second, I was afraid of slamming on my brakes and being hit from behind. Third, the realization that cars don't swerve out of a lane unless there's a good reason to. So, the car in front gets out of the way and reveals the debris that is littering my side of the road. I tried to get out of the way, but I hit a big chunk of metal with my right tire. It's a miracle that it didn't shred my tire to pieces. Then I slowed down steadily and weaved in and out of debris the best I could until it was finally clear again. On the way back there was a huge traffic jam on the northbound side of the road and a fire truck and ambulance at the same spot where I had my encounter. I was lucky.

At work I spent all day cleaning out the stockroom with my manager. She was going to throw away an old mannequin, so I asked if I could have it. She said I could have it. Now I have it. Awesome.

Braxton

I'm up and about a bit earlier than usual. Soon I'll be taking off to the airport to pick up Big B. It's amazing how many times I've been to the airport without actually going anywhere. I'm bummed though. I tried to get today off, but I couldn't switch with Jose like I had planned. So, right after I get back from the airport, I have to go straight to work and spend all day there. Oh well, at least I have Del Taco to look forward to, and tomorrow I'll have all day to hang out with Braxton and have fun.

Last night I sat in on a Europe meeting hosted by Council Bluffs. It was fun. I'm thinking that I might make a quick trip to Europe this year after all. I think it would be fun to fly to London, have lunch with Council Bluffs and the rest of the Europe crew and then fly back home. It would definitely be the coolest/most expensive lunch of my life.

Lonely Saturday

No one is around. I have nothing to do. I find myself rocking to Franz Ferdinand and eating cookie dough. I guess that's something. Jared's band practiced this morning. I should feel privileged to have access to my own private live band, but I wasn't in the mood so I went for FIVE BUCK PIZZA!!!! Yeah! FIVE BUCK PIZZA!!! I grabbed my pizza and went in search of a lovely place to consume it and make it a part of me. We are what we eat. I am made up of Five Buck Pizza, Del Taco, Frozen Burritos, and Cookie Dough. That explains a lot. Anyway... I ended up at the Mall. Wow. I am wearing my ref jersey, so naturally I went to Foot Locker, walked up to the first employee I saw and said..............................................."nice shirt". He smiled, I smiled. We understood each other. A bond was formed that will never be broken. So, I walked around the mall and saw that the Da Vinci Code started in ten minutes. So..... I watched it. It was good. If I find myself flipping through channels on TV in two years and It is on TBS or something.....I'll watch it again. Now I'm home alone. Alan is at Lashley's wedding reception. Council Bluffs is working. Skuffs is .....well....not here. Braxton is in Texas, but not for long. The only friends I got to hang out with today were, Tom Hanks, the guy at Five Buck Pizza, and the guy at Foot Locker. Would it be weird for me to go back to Foot Locker just to hang out with an employee there? Yes, it would. Too much cookie dough. Need Milk. Over and out.