Bear Grylls, Expensive Cars, etc...

Tonight will be a relaxing evening at home with my wife. Becca isn't feeling well, so rest and plenty of fluids will be our nightlife. She's sitting right next to me reading a book about Bear Grylls that I gave her for her Birthday last year. Becca, what's your favorite thing about Bear Grylls? "He has a nephew named Mungo". I think her true favorite thing is the way he drinks his own urine, or compares the color of his urine to the color of his friend's urine. Tonight we also need to clean the house so that Christy never knows how messy our apartment usually is. In it's current state I doubt that Bear Grylls himself could make it from the door to the kitchen. And if he did, he'd have to drink his own urine on the way. 

I'm introducing a new feature on my blog. It's the Tip of the Day. The Tip of the Day doesn't represent the views or opinions of this blogger or his followers. It's meant to be either satirical, sarcastic, silly, or just plain stupid. I love playing devil's advocate. I'd make it a career, but the devil doesn't offer a good 401K. And he doesn't have any scruples. I just can't respect an unholy demon bent on the destruction and captivity of our souls that doesn't have any scruples. 

Tip of the Day - Family Finance

The only way to have enough money to pay for your children's college education is to not have any kids. Is this extreme? Maybe it's possible to do it by just having one less kid. First, decide how many children you want and then have one less. Let's say that number is four for the sake of this tip. It costs about 736,000 dollars to raise four children in a middle class home in the United Stated. If you only have three, you save 184,000 dollars! That leaves you with more than 60,000 dollars per kid. That will pay for a top of the line education. If you're really good at family finance, you won't have a family at all. With that 736,000 dollar "no kid bonus", you could buy this LeBlanc Mirabeau and enough gas to run it for twenty years.

It's a two-seater, which is great. Enough room for you and your groceries on your way back to your lonely apartment so you can eat two and a half bags of Doritos and then lick the processed cheese powder off your fingers while watching Cheaper by the Dozen. 

Jerry-man-der-ring

I spy with my little telescopic spy mirror...something....Bungee-y!!!!!!








I spy with my little telescopic spy mirror...something....Camera-y!!!!!!

I spy with my little telescopic spy mirror...something....Bird-y!!!!!!

I spy with my little telescopic spy mirror...something....Creep-y!!!!!!

Tied for first place in the greatest sister-in-law competition is Katy Anderson. She gave me a telescopic spy mirror and some bungee cords. Eternal gold medalist in the greatest wife competition, Becca Vaughn, has a great eye for things that I will think are the cat's meow. You should see the cuff links she got me. Yowsers! They rock. She is back in school and loving every minute of it. I'm excited to vicariously learn some Welsh through her. Here is an acrostic describing my adorable wife.

Bear Grylls Enthusiast
Empathetic
Caring
Capri Sun
Arsonist-NOT

Venerable
All That and a Bag of Chips
Uber Classy
Great
Heart of Gold
Norse God of Wisdom...Pretty much

It Needs a Name

What is this? It's the best picture I've ever drawn. It's a picture of the moon escaping backwards from a lasso happy pair of legs with a head and a cowboy hat stuck on somehow. All it needs is a good title. If you want to post a suggestion I would greatly appreciate it. You can also think of something funny and just laugh to yourself without ever telling anyone. I would greatly appreciate that too. Or you can spit at your computer screen in disgust. I wouldn't appreciate it. Your computer wouldn't appreciate it. But you might, so hey. 

I used to feel like that moon. Other times I'd feel like the cowboy, or the lasso. I'm happy to say that at this moment and as of late, I don't feel like anything in this drawing (with the exception of the color teal). I'm pretty happy. I'm not chasing anything. I'm not being chased by anything. I'm not being used by a torso-less cowboy. I'm actually pretty happy. I'm just enjoying life, hanging out with my wife, avoiding strife, sharpening a knife*, and thinking about Chuck Fife. We're out of debt now which feels pretty nice, so now we're saving up for the future. What does the future hold for us? Well, I visited the future* and I didn't like how things were, so I've been working to change them. The problem is that once you change the future you're back at square one and you don't know how anything is going to turn out again. Time travel isn't nearly as glamorous as Bill and Ted make it seem. 

I'm excited for school to start because I'll get to savor the fact that I won't be there. It's too bad that Becca has to go. I'm sorry Becca. It'll be over soon. I promise. 

* Bold-faced Lie

Do you hereby covenant?

I, Kyle, do hereby swear by the honor and livelihood of my chiropractor that I will blog at the very least once a week from this day forward. 

Now that's out of the way, you may be asking yourself why it has been so long since I've blogged. Was I abducted by aliens again? No. Was I on a mission again? No. Was I out declaring my mantra "You madmen! Stop feeding those salamanders!..." to the world? No. Was I just lazy? Yes. I was too lazy to blog. Luckily I've discovered a wonderful chemical that kicked me in the taste buds and dragged me to the computer, held a carboxyl group to my head, and told me to blog. This chemical is none other than the well known yet misunderstood CITRIC ACID. 

I came across a bag of the good stuff and tried making some super sour lemonade, but unfortunately the lemonade became saturated and it was pretty sour, but not what I was expecting, so I took a pinch of pure unadulterated Citric Acid and placed it on my tongue. Yowzers! That stuff is GOOD! Me and Becca are going to see the Dark Knight again and I think I'll bring along my good friend 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid. Who needs sour patch kids?

My hope is that frequent blogging will help me step it up and get more excited about polluting the internet with my life. I just need to renew my love for blogs. I want to go back to the day when blogs were "secret" yet all too public. The days when we would plan doing something outrageous just to see if we would be mentioned in someone's blog for it. 

Ode to Modest Midnight Showers

Closing eyes in hopes of rest,

sweaty shirt stuck to my chest,

beads of sweat form on my face,

I'm already a basket case.

 

I need relief from this steamy sheet

I've got a beef with the summer heat

To the shower for half an hour

Till all my clothes are soaked with power

Back to bed to feel the breeze

of the fan that cools my knees

Asleep to dream of want and wishing

Of the day when I'll have air conditioning.

Listen to this......Put aside your misplaced values and tireless pride for one moment and listen to the advice of a young man trying to help you. HAVE GOOD AIR CONDITIONING and USE IT. My life is completely different now. I fall asleep without having to shower with all my clothes on. No box fans. No sweltering heat. Only love and comfort. I used to be miserable from June 1st to September 1st. There was no escaping the heat. Me and Alan used to have a thermometer in our room. We would check the thermometer and google to compare the indoor and outdoor temperatures. At night I would wait until the outside temp was one degree lower than the indoor temp. Then I would open the window and turn on the box fan to suck in that cool delicious 91 degree weather to alter the climate of our 92 degree room. I hated life more than I hate politics. And anyone that knows me or has had the misfortune of crossing my path while on the campaign trail knows that is saying something.

                                                                                                           

Goodbye Platinum

Goodbye Platinum. May your next fiscal year be filled with happy and wealthy customers. I'm down to my last 30 minutes as a collections agent. It's been really busy the past couple of hours. A lot of people calling in with problems. Someone just called in and started telling me her problem (and boy is it a sticky problem), so I had to stop her and say, "let me be honest with you. Today is my last day and I'm off in an hour." She didn't care. So many people have given her the runaround that I guess she was desperate for someone to help her. She was really nice though. I'd like to take a moment to make a list of the things I liked most about working in collections.

1. The commission check
....
....

....

Wow, it's a pretty short freaking list ain't it! I'm grateful to Celia for getting me this job. It has helped me pay off some debt and learn a little bit about myself. Here is a list of things I learned about myself while working in collections.

1. I'll do anything for money

...

...

...

Wow, another short list. I'm about to have a week off to take care of some personal business and also relax for a spell.

****ALERT**** This is my first time to type "for a spell"****ALERT****

Me and Becca are planning on some fun summer time fun tomorrow. This may include two of the three following activities: Barbeque, Swimming, Clubbing Baby Seals. I can't wait . For your viewing pleasure I have inluded a drawing of the coolest scene imaginable. It's a cyborg ninja pirate riding two raptors like skis through a sea of storm troopers and shooting at a giant bullet proof robot. Also, waldo and white ninja are in there somewhere. Awesome!

If my closet was eBay...

If my home were the internet, and my closet were eBay, this is what I would wear today.



















Total Cost of Outfit= $113.87 + Shipping

The weekend is almost here again. I'm at work and it's 8:00pm. I only have one person left that I can call to collect from. His name is Al and he lives on the west coast. Hopefully he'll pay up. This weekend will be spent getting ready for the grand opening of our house/swanky summer celebration. I'm excited. There's a lot to do. I wonder if I should make a bunch of heart shaped ice. I have the capability, so why not? It's not St. Valentine's Day, but I am of the opinion that love should abound every day of the year, dagnabit.

I just called Al. He didn't answer, so I left a message telling him to call me back. He won't call back. They never call back. I'm still really excited about starting this new job. I'm not even worried about doing something I've never done before. Part of it is the fact that I'll only be interacting with a small, fixed, group of people. No customers to interact with. Just me and the bacteria. I think Becca should change her major to microbiology. That way she could be my lab tech and we can spend all day together. Just us and the bacteria. That would be nice.

Lunar Cycle

I heard it through the grapevine that the moon is supposed to look really pretty tonight. I think I'll take the time to get a good look. Also, Becca and I have made it an entire Lunar Cycle as a married couple. You learn a lot of things after being married for a month. You learn that your partner is/isn't a werewolf. You learn that they do/don't hate you. You learn that they have/haven't a secret imaginary friend named Prince Foopletauser. You learn that they do/don't like full moons. In the case of Becca, she isn't a werewolf, doesn't hate me, hasn't an imaginary friend named Prince Foopletauser, and I'm pretty sure she likes full moons.

In Native American tradition, the full moon in June is referred to as the Strawberry moon. Picking the strawberries by the moonlight in June honors the crops and ensures a good strawberry harvest the next year. In Native Kyle tradition, the full moon in June is referred to as the Swimming Pool moon. Swimming by the moonlight in June honors the water and ensures a nice body and tan for the swimming season next year.

Ode to the Moon - A lovely Poem by Kyle

Crazy all weirded out Moon Man

Why don't you lay off and get out a spoon, man

Drink your Tang like a holiday

And do your thang all the day

Your rays and haze attract the gaze of yesterdays

Guide me through the maze of trays and doughnut glaze

Treat me kind; like a state flower

Please don't pick me for another hour

Crazy all weirded out Moon Man

This song sounds out of tune, man

Microbiology! I am doing it!

The big news is that Paola with Supranaturals called me while I was at work yesterday and offered me a job! I start July 7th with my new title...Microbiologist. I'll be doing testing on their products to make sure there isn't any microbial contamination. It pays a lot more than I was expecting and it's just five minutes further from where I work now! It's not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but it IS a step in the right direction. People always act amazed when they hear I graduated in molecular biology, but I always bomb the follow up question, "What are you doing now?" "umm I'm a collector for a security system company." Now I can say I'm a microbiologist with a real job and real benefits and a real title. I'll even have a lab tech to assist me! I was applying for a lab tech position in Salt Lake, and now I'll have my own lab tech, maybe even two if it gets busy. I'm fooling myself if I think it will be an easy job, but this list of jobs and their stress ranking tells me that "natural scientist" is a pretty good bet if you want low stress. What I do now would probably be considered "customer service/complaint worker". I'm glad to get on the second list. I think Katy should stick with Bookbinding, and Becca should never be an Inner City HS Teacher.

Top 10 Most Stressful Jobs
1. Inner City HS Teacher
2. Police Officer
3. Miner
4. Air Traffic Controller
5. Medical Intern
6. Stockbroker
7. Journalist
8. Customer Service/Complaint Worker
9. Secretary
10. Waiter

Top 10 Least Stressful Jobs

1. Forester

2. Bookbinder

3. Telephone Line Worker

4. Toolmaker

5. Millwright

6. Repairperson

7. Civil Engineer

8. Therapist

9. Natural Scientist

10. Sales Representative

All of these people are just as likely to get ulcers, by the way. Ulcers can be aggravated by stress, but they are caused by the bacterium Helicobactor pylori. ( List and fact taken from the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Kyle's Get Rich Quick Plan

I've been thinking about money a lot today and have decided to dedicate a blog to one of my favorite roots of all evil. Here are some financial tips I've either heard about or made up.

1. Set up a website that directs people to another website that pays you money for referrals. Even better, charge people a fee to join your program and then "pay" them to set up websites that direct people to your website and then direct them instantly to the main website. Soon, you're right in the middle of a low cost, low risk internet pyramid scheme.

2. Sell drugs for a major drug lord. Even better, pay other people to sell the drugs for you. And they can get people to sell drugs for them. Soon, you're right in the middle of a high risk, high cost illegal pyramid scheme.

3. Slip and fall. The trick to this is to always be aware. Always be on the look out for potential hazards in public places. Say you're in the store and you see a wet spot with no wet floor sign. All you need to do is slip and pretend to injure yourself. Have your doctor friend write up a report and then sue the store. Settle for a moderate amount of money, pay the doctor friend and lawyer, and you'll have enough left over for a trip to Costco or a tank of gas.

4. Print Money. As long as you print small bills you can totally get away with it. The only problem is that the paper you'll need to buy in order to make it look like a real bill is actually more expensive than the worth of a real dollar. You can get around this by cutting up a newspaper and depositing the pieces with any blind bank teller wearing gloves.

5. Offer to pay people in gas cards. You would be amazed that gasoline is worth more than money. People would rather have a 5 dollar gas card than 6 dollars cash. Next time you go to a yard sale. Bring a couple 20 dollar gas cards. I'm thinking of buying my first house in gas cards personally. The more expensive gas gets, the more valuable gas cards become, even though the exact opposite is true.

6. Go to Craigslist and look for items in the 'free' section. Go and get them. Then get on eBay and post the same items with the same descriptions only put *RARE* or *ANTIQUE* before them. Those old sneakers and bike tires will sell like hot cakes.

7. Write a book. Publishing and advertising is expensive, and writing takes a lot of work, but there are ways around it. Here's an idea. Write down a few pages of really weird stuff that you think no one in their right mind would want to read. Then print off a few copies from the Internet and leave them in places like obscure coffee shops, gelato shops, and any other shops that only sell one item, but in a lot of varieties. It's essential that it is a shop and not a store. A boutique is even better. A lampshade store is a bad idea, a lampshade shop is a better idea, and a lampshade boutique is the best idea. Soon young weird hipsters will be banging down your door willing to pay wads of cash for "Delirious Dan and his Delightful Doppelganger".

8. Take anything you find on the street. Glue some Googly Eyes on it. Sell it at the flea market.

9. Build up good credit. Get lots of credit cards. Buy everything you would ever want. Leave the country.

10. Go to Vegas and bet everything you have at the roulette table. If you lose...refer to tips 1-9. If you win. Great.

Job Search

I applied for a job in the oncology department at the University of Utah. I would be pretty much curing Leukemia, but it's so far away. Just a little while ago I got an email informing me of another job opening in Springville. I would be counting how many bacteria there are in factory produced goods, but it's so close. Now I have to decide. Do I cure Leukemia, but go to Salt Lake every day, or do I count bacterial colonies and make the short trip to Springville every day? It's like betting on one of these lobsters. Each lobster has his own unique strengths and weaknesses. Look at the gorgeous stance of Ricardo (right) and the intimidating stare of Brent (left). Which won you ask? The answer is....no one knows. All witnesses were killed during the battle. What we learn from this is that you can't wait to see which wins. You have to pick a winner so that if you die, you can assume you were right. That's the secret to living a healthy life. OPTIMISM sauteed in italian seasoned-four cheese IGNORANCE.

I can't wait for it to be the weekend. The free time I've been craving is just around the corner. I can't wait to get a job and assume that it's the best choice while never knowing or caring if the other one could have been better. I can't wait to eat some taquitos tonight. I can't wait to change the world with the wisdom hidden in this blog post.

S-L-O-W

Not Work

I want's some free time! Sure, me and Becca get a little bit of free time, but I want LOTS of free time. Becca found out that in Cedar City they will be performing Cyrano de Bergerac. We're going to get away for a weekend sometime. I don't remember exactly when, but I do know it isn't this weekend, so it isn't soon enough. This weekend will be fun though. We have a lot of shopping we still need to do. Maybe I'll even have time to do a little sewing.

Work

I have been successful as a collector because I found my niche. The problem now is that there is too much competition and everyone is about to take over my niche in order to survive. My competitive spirit screams, "BRING IT ON!!!" It's too bad that my competitive spirit only makes up .00001% of my overall spirit. Even my rodeo spirit is at .00002%. That reminds me that I haven't been to a good rodeo in a while. Anyways, this month isn't going to be a good month for collections. It may be time to seriously consider going to Salt Lake in search of employment. Here are the problems with Salt Lake:

I. It's far away

...A. Gas is Expensive

......1. $4.oo a gallon

......2. It will keep rising

...B. I waste my entire day commuting

......1. I'd rather be chillin' with my wife

......2. I hate traffic

...C. I'd be tripling my contribution to Global Warming

......1. I don't really care about Global Warming

......2. I like it warm

......3. A couple degrees a decade doesn't bother me

......4. I'll invest in a swimsuit manufacturer

II. It's not close

...A. Gas isn't Cheap

......1. $4.00 a gallon

......2. It won't get any lower

...B. I spend less time out of the car

......1. Less time with my wife

......2. I love being out of traffic

...C. Etc...

What do I do? I want to ride a bus to take care of the gas problem, but that just increases the time problem. I should just recruit biotechnology companies to Utah county. I just need to prepare a convincing argument to lure companies from L.A., Boston, Houston, etc..., get them to move out here, work for them for a year, and then convince them to move to San Francisco so me and Becca can live there.

Creative Genius

Why am I not creative? I see things like family photos of E.T. and Michael Jackson and I think, "Why didn't I think of it first?" Of course! Now that I don't have to waste all my brain on school I should be putting it to good use. I could.....put moustaches on E.T. and Michael Jackson for instance. Or I could add Mr. T and Mary Jane from Spiderman. Then I could have two M.J.s a Mr.T and an E.T. Brilliant. You know, if I quit my job, I could concentrate my efforts on the M.J. squared Mr. E.T. moustache industry. I don't have the guts to do it though. I'm just not good at taking risks. I'll have to eventually though. Otherwise, in 20 years me and Becca will still be living in Provo and I'll still be working at Platinum. No Way. If I don't have a good job when Becca graduates we should start a business where we catch lions in Africa and sharks in....the ocean or wherever sharks are. Then we'll teach the lions to swim and the sharks to walk. Then we'll have a reality T.V. show where the Lions and Sharks have to live together in an apartment with Billy Crystal, Pauly Shore, Richard Simmons, and the blond guy from "Wings". It would be a freaking HIT! I just know it. Here is a list of things I will need to be like the creator of this E.T + MJ photo.

-Creative Genius

-A Creative Outlet

-Guts

-A Computer with Windows 95 or better

- A Memory of the 80s

- A Supportive Wife

- Sonicare toothbrushes

Wow! I already have 4 of the 7 things! I just need creative genius, a creative outlet, and guts! That should be easy. A quick trip to Wikihow will give me all the information I need.

Okay I searched for "Creative Genius" and I found "How to be a cute genius"

I searched for "A Creative Outlet" and I found "How to install an electrical outlet from scratch"

I searched for "Guts" and I found "How to make fake guts for a Halloween party"

With these new talents, no Halloween party, electrical outletless wall, or genius beauty competition will be the same again!

Two Tickling Toothbrushes Tuesday

Here is a list of Kyle Vaughns who have been married recently or will be married soon.

Kimberly Pflug and Kyle Vaughn Wedding PA 04/15/06

Kate Dennie and Kyle Vaughn Wedding VA 06/21/08

Natalie Edwardson and Kyle Vaughn Wedding TX 06/17/06

Latasha Kelly and Kyle Vaughn Wedding TX 07/19/07

Hailey Vaughn and Kyle Vaughn Wedding AR 01/03/08

Becca Anderson and Kyle Vaughn Wedding CA 05/17/08

April Sanchez and Kyle Vaughn Wedding CA 06/21/08

I'm one of them!!!!!!!!! Isn't it awesome? I'm happy for Kimberly Pflug. She deserves a last name like Vaughn. I also think it's appropriate that Hailey Vaughn and Kyle Vaughn are getting married in Arkansas. Well, I'm back at work after a wedding and a honeymoon. Married life is great. It's treating me well. Now we do things like brush our teeth at the same time and in the same room. Awesome. We got some Sonicare toothbrushes from Becca's parents and we busted them out last night. I was so excited to use them, but there was one little problem.....The moment we put them in our mouths we spit toothpaste all over the bathroom and nearly died laughing. They tickled sooooo much! It was like putting Carrot Top in your mouth it was so funny. It was also a good bonding moment. We could look into each other's eyes as we laughed and sprayed toothpaste into each other's faces.

Days Till I See My Betrothed: 2 more or less

Yesterday I worked from 8am to 9pm. Today I worked from 8am to 9pm. Tomorrow......I won't make it. I think I'll only work till 4. I don't want to die here in my little cubicle with my headset on surrounded by post-it notes. Not a week before my wedding; not with this scratchy beard. Everything is fuzzy right now. I've talked to so many people with so many problems. I feel kind of like I did as a missionary. It's too bad I can't solve people's financial problems by assigning them scriptures to read in the Book of Mormon. Well, I probably could, but I don't know how well that would go over. Skuffs and Rebekah came over with brownies last night. I was going to save some for Becca, but instead I ate them up.

Days Apart from my Betrothed: 5

Today I set up the TV. It resulted in me getting very little done. I think I invented the most pathetic thing in the world tonight....the act of sitting on the floor alone in a partially furnished apartment watching a chick flick on a Saturday night. I need Becca. Had she been here, I could have done the exact same activity and it would have been perfectly acceptable. A lot more fun too. The best thing of today was having the bed delivered. It'll be nice to have a bed to sleep on tonight. The worst thing of today was finding out that the gas isn't set up and it will take a week to get it set up. That means a week of cold showers, a week of cold nights, and a week of cold food.

You know when you see a panda and then you feel like there are pandas crawling over you all day? Well, the same thing happened to me, only with a bug instead of a panda. I was on the floor watching a chick flick that will remain unnamed. I felt something tickling my neck, reached back, and grabbed one of those Park Place parking lot bugs off of my neck. You know the ones. They're EVERYWHERE! Even here. So now everything feels like one of those disgusting bugs. What I hate about them is that they don't even seem to care how annoying they are. At least spiders will run away and hide. A spider has the motto, "live to annoy another day". A Park Place parking lot bug has the motto, "hmmm....I think I'll crawl on this". Stupid bugs.

Days Apart from my Betrothed: 3

I've been so anxious to move into our new apartment. I woke up early, went to the bank and then wandered around the mall until 2 O'clock when I could finally go to College Park and pick up the key. It was so much fun to open that door and see where Becca and I will be living. I could imagine where we will put the love seat, the TV, the coffee table, the bird cage, the compost heap, the trained walrus. It's going to look great. I moved in some stuff before I left, but there is still a lot to do tonight and tomorrow. Today was really slow at work. It's been hard to get back into the flow of collections. There's another Kyle working here now, so that really throws me off. It messes with my identity. It's so rare that there's another Kyle around. I'm Kyle. I can't wait to fall asleep on our apartment floor. Here's a funny story. I checked our mail and there was a package for Laura DeVore. I thought to myself, "what a coincidence. I know some DeVores." I figured that Brenton's wife must be named Laura or something and DeVore was her maiden name. It turns out that Laura DeVore is the wife of Devin and Darin's brother who lives in a different apartment in our complex. What a small world, eh?

Days Apart from my Betrothed: 2

Last Friday my parents and Becca's parents came to see me dress up in a black robe and a funny hat while I shook hands with people I have never met before. We also ate bread baked onto a stick. Then I sat down in a car with Amanda, Becca, Jared, and Katy. The car took us to Disneyland. That was a pleasant surprise. While at Disneyland, Indiana Jones saved my life three times, I had some delicious chicken on a stick, and someone drew a picture of Becca and Devin DeVore. Then we went to In and Out and went to Uncle David's where I was far too tired and filthy to present myself properly. They were really nice and it was easy to see why Becca likes them so much. Her praises rang true. It would be impossible to write about everything that happened. There were miracles like winning an extra hour at Disneyland and disappointments like standing in line for a broken down Space Mountain. There were joys like sneaking a kiss from Becca when no one was looking on the Peter Pan ride and sadness like saying good-bye to Becca when it was time for her to go home. Now I don't really know what to do myself. I left the apartment where a secret friend is letting me stay, and just wandered around with no place to be and no one to talk to. I'm not a fan of this in between period. I want to get married and start this new chapter of life with Becca. The closest thing I can compare it to is the couple of weeks before my mission. Not knowing what it's going to be like, not knowing really how to prepare for it, just waiting anxiously for it to happen. Marriage is a lot more exciting and a lot longer of a commitment than a mission though.

The Final Final

Tomorrow I will take an exam that will mark the end of an era. No more stress from here on out. I'll be done with school. No more projects, no more exams, no more deciding whether or not I can afford to skip class to go get some Rice King. Now I only have low stress things like moving, getting married, and starting a career to worry about. It's funny, but a homework assignment stresses me out more than getting married and completely changing my way of life forever. I guess one main difference is that I WANT to get married and it's something I'm looking forward to rather than procrastinating and dreading. Also, I know that Becca won't be giving me a grade and judging me. I won't have to check blackboard continually to see if I'm getting a passing grade in Marriage.

Yesterday we had our interview with the stake president. Now all we need is a marriage license and we can get married. We could get one now and elope if we wanted to. We won't....but we could. If we wanted a civil marriage, we could have been married a long time ago. Alan could have gone online to become a minister and we could have performed the ceremony at Del Taco. I'd wear one of those T-shirts that looks like a tuxedo, and Becca would wear an old prom dress. Then we would feed each other tacos and playfully smash them into the other's face. Then everyone would take pictures as the taco grease dripped down our cheeks and chins. Hmmm...of course that sounds nice, but I like how we're doing things better. The reception is going to be awesome. Becca's going to wear a beautiful wedding dress and I'll have a kicking tuxedo complete with ivory suspenders (you won't see them, but I'll have them). I'm grateful that Becca's family is putting everything together and giving us such an awesome wedding. They're working really hard and doing so much to put it all together.

Anyone want to get married?

I've been really entertained with wikihow lately. Yesterday I was checking it out and saw, "how to become an ordained minister online". I thought about it for a tenth of a second and then did it. Now I'm Reverend K. Robert Vaughn. Just bring your marriage license and I can marry you! I offered my services to some people last night, but no one is ready to tie the knot right now. I just married "Ms Jenny" and my ventriloquist dummy Mortimer. I think they'll be happy together. Any ideas on who or what I should marry next?

Schadenfreude

Do we wish to be known as the one generation that never rose to a revolutionary battle cry? Shall we be doomed to never ending complacency? Will we allow everything we love to be stripped from us and desecrated in the streets of capitalism? Now is our chance to define ourselves and restore common sense and morals to this wayward world of Hillary Clintons and writer's strikes. 5 Buck Pizza is no longer the home of free toppings. It's the home of deceit! It's the home of fraud! It's the home of broken dreams! The American Dream! Shattered at the feet of bloated corporate America. We must make an example of 5 Buck Pizza. I'm calling for a boycott. I want everyone to call in or enter the lair of one of these hack shacks to order a pizza. Then as a protest you must cancel your order upon hearing the audacious price of 6.99! We won't stand for this oppression. Soon the taste of overpriced pizza will be replaced with the taste of Schadenfreude; the taste of the downfall of 5 Buck Pizza.

Please leave a comment in support of the boycott. Thank you.

College Park

This may not be exactly what our new apartment looks like, but it's pretty close if you ask me. It's so nice to know where we're going to live, although it would have been fun to get married, come back to Provo, and live in our car for a semester. I'm a little nervous since this guy hasn't emailed me the instructions for taking over his contract. Right now all we have is a verbal agreement that isn't worth the verbs it's printed on.

I think I'm going to copy Becca who copied Kayla. I only have time to tell you how I know one person right now though.

Becca- The first time I remember speaking to Becca was at a ward prayer when I was introduced to her and about 20 people named "Katy". We didn't really get to talk much at that opportunity. The turning point in our getting-to-know-each otherness was at another ward prayer some time later when we twisted underneath the twizzler toe and talked about the Hudsucker Proxy. Our relationship didn't flourish then because I was dating Chelsea and soon she was dating Adam (Chelsea and Adam later dated each other. Life is funny that way.) After a few months I was single and began to admire Becca from afar, but didn't dare take action since she belonged to another. I would hang out with her and Adam, but I remember one specific time when Adam left the room and it was just us two. I didn't trust myself to be alone with her, so I had to excuse myself and return to my apartment. I did, however, have hopes for the summer. Relationships rarely last a summer break, so maybe...just maybe the fall semester could host the birth of our love. The last day of the semester, I was in the BYU bookstore buying a blue book for my history final exam (I got a B on the exam), when I saw Becca with a handsome young man. Oh no! How can I compete with him? Luckily he turned out to be her dad. She introduced me as Kyle Vaughn and said that I was a "really big deal." Wow! Me? a really big deal? We had a short little conversation in line where Greg, her dad, offered me a loan of 38 cents to buy my blue book. If only I had known that at that very moment in the basement of the BYU bookstore Becca and I were both...simultaneously.....single. Becca left for the summer and as far as I knew she and Adam were still dating. I went to Chicago and when I came back, Becca's facebook status had changed to SINGLE! She had posted a comment on facebook asking me how Chicago was, so I responded. I wanted clarification on her relationship status, but couldn't ask it in a facebook comment, and I was too chicken to send her an email, so I told her a bit about Chicago and said, "how's life." I know. I'm really smooth. Her response was, "life could be better, but DANG that bean is shiny". Yes, Rebecca Kay Anderson, life could be better and I want to be the one to make it better. May 14th she sent me a facebook message and I called her the next day while I was doing laundry in the Wash Hut. We spoke for a little bit. I called again the next week. I went to Texas and we spoke some more. Soon we were talking every other night, and that turned into every single night for the rest of the summer. When it was time for her to come back to Provo we were both nervous? What if we don't know how to talk to each other in person? What if we're doomed to only know happiness in a long distance phone relationship? What if we have different expectations of how our relationship should progress? Luckily there was nothing to worry about. There were some awkward times, but we moved past them and got to know each other better. We opened up, confessed our thoughts, and fell in love. I discovered later that I didn't ever want to live without her and asked her to be my wife. Now we're waiting for the time we can go to the temple and "seal" the deal. Get it? Seal? Seriously. We're going to share covenants. Baptism was just between me and God. Getting the priesthood was also just between me and God. The temple ordinances I've received were also between me and God. But this time it will be between us and God. We'll be making covenants with God and each other. I'm excited for it. Rebecca K. Vaughn. Becca & Kyle. rVk. "Schmec" and "I'm Kyle". I like the sound of it.

XXIV

I feel so loved. It's great. All these years of pretending it wasn't my birthday. What was I thinking? Becca and Katy introduced me to birthday week and it was awesome! Now I know what it means to be showered in gifts. Katy gave me some awesome new threads that have added some much needed variety to my wardrobe. Until a few days ago I never realized that I don't own a single green T-shirt. I do now! And it has a slogan that makes you think. Greg and Karen got me a hip cool cardigan. Alan got me the super magnets I've been playing with. Hannah got me some candy, go-fish cards, etc. . Becca went all out. She's amazing. She got me new scriptures so that I can be spiritual enough for her :) , and a bathrobe that isn't too short for me. My favorite gift this year was the book that Becca made for me. It's the coolest thing this side of Jupiter. It tells the story of how we met and fell in love; complete with pictures, blogs, journal entries, emails, g-chats, and facebook messages. It's so cool to have a hard copy of these memories. That's a problem with this digital age. You have to pull out a computer and plug it into a wall just to relive some cherished memories. Thank you everyone for all the awesome gifts. There is a lot more I could say about five buck pizza, a cake party, delicious frosting and many other birthday treats, but I should be packing and getting ready to go to California. Oh... and if I've forgotten to mention a gift, I'm sorry. I'm just in a hurry. Peace.

Kids Again

We were kids with a car. Alan, Amanda, Becca, and I had an evening of playing video games, eating frosting, eating happy meals, and eating 20lbs of candy. It was great fun until it was time to go to bed and my childhood came back to bite me. So much sugar. So..much...sugar. The frosting turned out great. I'm excited for my birthday this year. That's rare. I'm excited to see what Becca got me. I want so many things right now! I want to see Becca's dress, I want to wear my ring, I want to go to California and register, I want get married, I want to know what Becca and Katy got me for my birthday, I want to graduate! The anticipation is killing me, but I'm glad to say that in a week I'll have three of the above and in less than three months I'll have the rest.

Did I swallow acid?

What is up with my throat? It's on fire. I had a chemistry lab today where I was supposed to identify an unknown chemical. How do you identify an unknown chemical? You taste if of course! How was I supposed to know any better. Seriously, I'm getting sick. I felt a little feverish today and my throat just gets worse and worse. At least tomorrow is Friday. No work. Oh yeah. Feels good. Sometime I should take a picture of our lamp that is magnet-ed to the ceiling. It is a work of art. Oh yeah, and I want to dedicate this post to Brooklyn. I've never been there, but I feel like I should go someday. Any ideas of cool things to do in Brooklyn? Places to go? Things to see? Alright, it's time for some more throat spray.



A thought from Thaddeus.

If I'm ever a professor, I'm going to put a stack of papers on my desk and I'm going to say, "okay class, I want everyone to come to the front of the room and take a sheet" every day.

Valentine's Day Week

Valentine's Day was awesome. I've always wanted to dip an Olive Garden breadstick in Chili's salsa, and Thursday I got the chance. Becca surprised me with all of my favorites. They are listed below.
1. Olive Garden Baked Ziti, Salad, and Breadsticks
2. Chili's Chips and Salsa
3. Arby's Curly Fries and Dr. Pepper
4. Outback Cheesecake
Yesterday was also really cool. I love to shop. One day I'll go shopping and actually buy something. Today we rearranged the furniture. Not everyone is happy with it. It's not ideal, but it's the best idea we can come up with. It's hard to fit two full size couches, a loveseat, entertainment center, drums, two end tables, a coffee table, and a piano in a college apartment. I can't wait to know where me and Becca are going to live. Then we can set up the floor plan and figure out what furniture we can have and how we can decorate. I was so close to getting an apartment in Wymount, but it slipped through my fingers and went the way of all the Earth. I'll keep checking. Wymount seems a little cliche, but it is the cheapest and closest thing around.

I'm blogging on location in the kitchen right now. Everyone is playing Werewolves in the living room. There are too many people for me. At least more people are paying attention this round.

Tomorrow there isn't any school and I get paid time and a half. I love presidents.

Why must I vote for McCain?
It fills my very soul with pain
I'd rather drown in acid rain
Or floss my teeth with a rusty chain

How could I vote for Obama?
It's scary that he rhymes with Osama
But cool that he rhymes with llama
And neutral that he rhymes with comma

How could I vote for Hillary Clinton?
She's dumb.
And stupid.
and related to Bill Clinton

Weekend of Wedding Planning

Becca's family came into town for a weekend jam packed with wedding preparation. I missed most of it due to work, but I was there for the wedding invitations. Wow. I had no idea it was so complicated. I imagined going to the local Halmark store and picking some cards that play Bon Jovi when you open them. That's how I get cards for anything else. But with wedding invitations there's so much etiquette involved. I had no idea what I was looking at most of the time, but I'm happy with the final product. The next exciting things for me are finding a place to live, and taking engagement photos. That's gonna be fun. I'm glad Becca's family is so awesome. I really lucked out. I'll never have to worry about a stressful visit by in-laws that I don't get along with. I imagine that it's going to make my life so much easier.

Now it's back to school and back to work. My boss was fired and now there's some new guy in charge. My best guess is that work will be more stressful, but there will be better benefits and possibly even better pay. I have to work Saturdays now too. It was really nice when saturdays were optional, but at least I'll have a night off during the week now.

Goodbye Ruby January

I'm so glad it's February, but so sad it's not April or May. I'm very sleep deprived. I've been doing homework the past several hours. I need sleep, but the weekend is over. So busy. No time. Work at Platinum Protection has been going pretty good actually. I don't feel like I'm any good at what I'm doing, but I just hope that's only because I'm new and am not used to it. I figured out that I'll be getting back a good solid 970 dollars back from the federal government. With the elections coming up, I'll vote for the guy who can get me a full 1000 back next year. I need to do my state taxes now, but I have no idea how to. It's a lot more confusing. Maybe I'll go to the free tax help on campus. Okay. That's enough for tonight. Back to work.

"You've Made a Difference"

The last Sunday of the month, is a very dangerous day of the month. It's easy to lose your identity amidst the confusion of trying to home teach and be home taught while your fiancee is visiting teaching, being visit taught, and being home taught. If you add church, a meeting with the bishop, homework, and an evening missionary farewell, you've got yourself a busy day. Who am I? Am I receiving or sharing the lesson? When's my next appointment? When will there be time to read my Spanish assignment? Am I Spanish? What's my name? Juan? No, that doesn't sound right. Well....maybe...no! that's my last name. Kyle Juan. Okay, I'm from Spain, but what am I doing here? What's my agenda? Who is the king of Spain? Does Spain have a king? Am I the king of Spain? I must return to the father land! Mi pueblo me necesita!

Yesterday I got a scam email allegedly from PayPal. It said I was randomly selected to verify my account information so they can see that I'm the only person using my account. What? That makes no sense. So, I went to the PayPal site and forwarded the email to them. They sent me back an email thanking me for reporting the scam, and then said "you've made a difference". I don't think anyone has ever said that to me before. It was such an unusual thing to say, but it felt good. I've made a difference.

It's not like I ever forget that I'm engaged, but sometimes, like a couple of nights ago, I'll see the ring on Becca's finger and I feel like Charlie felt when he found the golden ticket. I'm just so excited and pleasantly surprised. We went to Barnes and Noble last night to look at a cake book. It made me hungry for cake and even made me want to try and make a wedding cake of my own. Not for the wedding though. Maybe it could be a graduation cake, or a Valentines day cake, or a February 4th cake.

Congratulations! You've unlocked the mall.

Looking for places to live is really exciting. All the affordable apartments are pretty small, but what do we need a big apartment for? We just need room for a card table so that Thursday nights we can invite the Johnsons over for bridge. That's what married people do, right? So far I like Skuffs's apartment and Councilina's apartment. They both have their pluses. Tuesday I'll call and see if we could get in to either of those complexes. Tonight we just had a great dinner with my roommates and Becca's roommates. I was worried that it would be ruined due to lack of preparation on my end, but Becca and her apartment really pulled through. Now Becca is here, so I'm going to watch 30 Rock with her now. Peace.

Fee-on-say

I had an unprecedented experience today. I had an interview with the bishop while Becca was getting an interview with the same bishop. It was sooooo cool, and it saves a ton of time. Why did we have an interview with the bishop? Well, in case you haven't heard, WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!!!! I've known that I wanted to marry her for a quite a while, and lately we've been discussing marriage so much that I felt comfortable that she would say yes if I were to propose. And then when we picked out a ring I was even more certain she would say yes. Then, when we started trying to find a place for us to live I was 99.9% sure she would say yes. It got to the point where if I didn't hurry up we would be married with three kids before I even proposed. A while ago I was thinking a proposal in February and a wedding at the end of the summer would be perfect, but why wait?!? I proposed yesterday, and we're getting married May 17th in the Oakland Temple (if anyone out there is stalking me, this is some juicy information for you). All last week I was a little stressed about how to propose. I was aware that when people found out that Becca is engaged the first thing they would want to see is the ring, and then they'll ask how I proposed. Then they'll get around to asking who she's marrying some time later. I knew the ring was great because 1. she helped me pick it out and 2. she has great taste. The proposal however scared me. It seems like the perfect proposal is planned for weeks and involves trained doves and a field of roses, but I just want to get engaged, not set a Guiness World Record. So I proposed to her in my car, in a church parking lot in American Fork. It may not sound like much, but it was amazing because Becca was with me and she said yes, and she cried, and we're so happy. I even got a little teary eyed when I thought of the fact that I know who I'm going to marry. It's no longer an abstract concept. I can now envision the rest of my life and eternity and know who will be by my side. I'm going to marry Becca Anderson. I'm even getting teary eyed right now. Maybe Becca is rubbing off on me a little bit, or maybe I just haven't ever been this happy before. It's hard to get back into the routine of school now. It would be nice if me and Becca could just spend every second having fun and planning the wedding. I should be doing homework right now, but I wanted to record a little about this big event in my life.

Now that we're engaged I feel entitled to be a little sappy. If sappy things make you sick, I suggest you go to http://www.whiteninjacomics.com/ instead of reading this.

I love Becca. Sometimes she'll look at me with a really cute smile that melts my heart. I'm so lucky. I was sure that no one would ever love me, but Becca came along and proved me wrong. Not only does someone love me, but it's her. It's Becca. Beautiful Becca. Blissful Becca. Bright-eyed Becca, Bodacious Becca. She makes me happy, and makes me want to be a better person. I know I'll be happy with her.

My Fate is Sealed

I don't have to worry about anything anymore. Everything is out of my hands. I'm out of the frying pan and into the fire. Catch 22. Ipso facto. So many wonderful things are happening that to enumerate them would leave you out of breath and out of numbers. I'll do my best to hit a few of the highlights.

Christmas was great. Becca and I managed to get a time machine off of ebay for 20 bucks. We used it to go back in time to November 21, 1963 to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but it was no use because the next day some guy named Lee Harvey Oswald shot him anyway. How lame. We decided that changing history wasn't for us, and we weren't even all that good at it. Since we were anxious for Christmas to come and we had a time machine, we made it Christmas! It was really nice and I got a really cool watch from Becca, the most beautirific girl this side of pluto, and the other side of pluto as a matter of fact. The watch is comfortable, cool, and the colors go well with everything I own. As for the time machine, I sent it to myself 20 years from now. Since I haven't come back to give myself warnigs of what is to come, I assume I'm severly overweight, bald, and ill-tempered. I'm just too ashamed to see myself, so instead, I'm in the future eating a sphere of pringles and watching episodes of Seinfeld on my XDTV.

Finals ate my whole head as usual. I fully expect to fail at least one class. That means another year at BYU. Oh well, at least Becca will be going to school with me. I'll need the moral support to keep from dropping out of school and going door to door selling knife sharpener sharpeners. 'Cause when you think about it, what are you supposed to do when your knife sharpener gets dull? Speaking of Becca, she's the best. I can't believe we've been dating 4 months in a row! That's a huge deal for me. I am very pleased with the way things are going.

I'm doing laundry now, then I'll pack, but first I'll go to five buck pizza, and last I'll read some Harry Potter and go to bed. Then, tomorrow I'll fight my way through the holiday traffic to Amarillo. The trick is to pick the biggest guy in line and tell him that his government is a less than pleasant drawer of used tissues. Then when he takes a swing at you, duck. He'll hit the old lady in line behind you and then the skateboard punks will jump in. During the chaos you make your move to the front of the line where you take off your coat and put on sunglasses so that no one is the wiser.

Update to the Third Degree

First Degree
Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I want is to not be awake. The second thing I want is to be asleep. The third thing I want is for the first two wants to be realized. Usually the debate can last along time, resulting in skipping my morning shower and breakfast in exchange for an early afternoon shower and brunch. Today I had to break my routine a bit due to the impatient knocking on the front door. Low and behold, it was the manager requesting my assistance in the removal of our old couches. I was in a good mood for some odd reason, so I helped him. Usually I would be in a horrible foul mood because I had to do something that required spending more than 12 seconds with the manager. After 1 second with the manager my eye starts to twitch. After 2 seconds I explode. After 5 seconds my anger begins to condense. After 10 seconds my anger forms a super condensed black hole from which not even light can escape. After 12 seconds, oddly enough, dinosaurs somewhere in another solar system go extinct. Today was different though. It wasn't that bad. My irrational anger has begun to subside a bit. And hey, we got two new couches, two new end tables, a new coffee table, and two new lamps.

Second Degree
I'm stressed out about school and stuff, but that's just the status quo. Nothing new. I can't wait for my fate to be sealed. If I fail my classes, at least THIS semester will be over and I can relax over the Christmas break. For Christmas I'm flying to Texas where I'll see my family, and friends like Braxton and Mary! Then after Christmas I'll drive up to Phoenix with my Mom and Dad. Then Bright-eyed Becca will be flying to Phoenix! We'll probably go to Tucson for Alan's birthday, and then sometime we'll drive back with Alan to Provo. Maybe we can even fit in a round of miniature golf or go-carts in there somewhere. So many things to look forward to!

Third Degree
I can feel myself getting sick. My throat is tender and I'm getting the achy feeling I have whenever I get a fever. I'm taking a class on infection and immunity, so I should be able to diagnose/cure myself. Maybe that's what the final exam will be. Maybe yesterday they infected us with a malignant virus and the final will be one question....
1. Are you Sick?
a. Yes, and it sucks.
b. No, I cured myself a couple of days ago.
c. No, I cured all disease and was never even infected.
d. Yes, but it's due to a new disease I invented for the Government.

I left my "will to live" in San Francisco

I don't have much time to post right now, but I fear that if I wait until I have enough time, I'll never post at all. The big news was that this Thanksgiving break was awesome. For a more detailed account you can go to Becca's blog. She did a great job. I had a lot of fun with Becca's family. They treated me like I was just one of the family, and made me feel really comfortable. Actually, they probably treated me better than a member of the family. Had I been a member of the family they probably would have been more comfortable taunting me relentlessly about my inability to break the single digits in Squeak. I held a baby for the first time also. It wasn't all that scary because Lucy is a little older and doesn't look as fragile as other babies I've seen. California is really cool. I'm glad to finally know what all the fuss is about. Is it appropriate for my generation to say "fuss"? I'd better rephrase that. Hmmmm......okay...."I be gettin' all the hype now....dawg." That's better. Much better. I have to go take an exam that will surely suck all the life out of me now. Why can't I just drop out of school and be a bum in downtown San Fran? Would that be so wrong? I could even study molecular biology on the streets. Not many scientists are street smart. I could start a new fad.

Anticipation Proclomation

I'm ready to get out of Provo. San Francisco, here I come! Go Lincoln!

"That on the twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand and seven, all persons held as students within any University or designated part of a University, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom."

Last night was unprecedented. All five of my roommates and I went on a group date. Even when there were only four of us in Moon Apartments, we never did that. It was fun. Oh and just in case you've seen Becca's blog, I'm not abusive. I just lose my temper sometimes. :). Becca and I made some Kitchen Chaciatore (chicken cacciatore) and polenta. It was absolutely divine. I'm impressed with the success we've been having in the kitchen lately. It must be the new oven.

Today in church I saw that we would be ending a little early, so I told Becca she would have to give her testimony to use up the extra time. I kept telling her the bishop would ask her to do it, but she didn't believe me. Sure enough, her name was called to go to the pulpit and give her testimony. She did a really good job. In that situation I probably would have just said something quick and impersonal to get it over with, but Becca actually shared her thoughts and feelings. It was cool. I should have gotten up right after her to say, "hands off brethren, she's already taken." Then I gave my lesson. I didn't do a very good job in my opinion, but at least I was more prepared than usual. Now it's time for a day of home teaching and studying for my evolution exam. Peace.

A Pound of Flesh

Boy did we get fancy last night. I'm pretty sure it was even fancier than the Olive Garden- Italian Restaurant. Becca was craving steak, so we did a quick run to Smiths and with the help of her mom, she picked out a beautiful New York Strip Tenderloin and some seasoning. Then we came home and cooked the steak and Becca made some of her world renowned couscous. It was really good. Another item that complemented the steak very nicely (other than the couscous, Martinelli's, candle, and company) was the cleanliness. We could have easily made a huge mess out of the kitchen with liquified beef fat covering every dish and utensil, but instead we cleaned as we went and had no problem leaving the kitchen cleaner than we found it.

Relaxation

I'm done with work! No more Dillards! My room is clean, I've done some studying and now I have time to take a seat and jot down a few of my thoughts. Saturday morning I took the GRE subject test for Biochemistry. I think I would have done just as well had I not even read the questions, but I'm still glad I took it. The rest of the weekend was great. Becca and I got to hang out and spend some good quality time together. Now we're back in school mode, but at least I don't have to work.

I am developing the habit of walking behind people on campus and listening to their phone conversations*. Sometimes what people say makes me want to quit the human race and join some other species that isn't so obnoxious and lame, but other times my faith in humanity is restored. Today I overheard a girl talking about her volunteer experience with autistic children. You could tell her concern and love for them was sincere. She had ideas about changes that could help them. For example, there was a kid in the class that didn't speak English. When a teacher was reading a story, he would perk up and get excited whenever he understood a word. "Elephante! Elephante!" he would say. No one there spoke Spanish, so there was no way he could get the same help as the other children.

*I am a creepy person, but at least I'm not menacing.

Not Angry!

I cooled off pretty soon after posting last time. I knew I would. Our manager came back, passed us, and had a change of heart and didn't charge us any money. For a while now I've been meaning to post about our trip to the Olive Garden-Italian Restaurant. That's right an Italian RESTAURANT. Not an Italian diner, or hot dog stand, but a restaurant. That's high class. Becca, Katy, and I were in the mood for something fancy so we pulled all the stops and went straight for the the big time. I felt really under dressed and didn't know if they would even let us in. Well, we got there and got a high tech flashing/vibrating device to tell us when our table would be ready. We took the flasher and went to visit some of the charming shops in the area (an LDS bookstore and a dollar store). Then, after some confusion over the availability of our table, we were seated and ordered some delicious food. I had baked ziti, Becca had spaghetti with meat sauce, and Katy had the chicken alfredo. One thing I love about the Olive Garden-Italian Restaurant is that the waitresses are so eager to put freshly grated Parmesan cheese on everything that is on or near the table. "Would you like some freshly grated Parmesan on your salad? On your ziti? In your water? Straight into your mouth? In your lap? In your girlfriend's hair?" MMMM....I loooooove Parmesan. I also like Soda a la italiana. Becca let me try some of hers. We all had a wonderful evening and hope to be lucky enough to return to the Olive Garden-Italian Restaurant some time in the future.

ANGRY!

Nothing makes me more outraged than cleaning checks. Last night I called in at work and put off some much needed studying so that I could clean. Then, this morning the idiotic manager came and FAILED us! She's even trying to charge us 20 bucks for a recheck! That uninteresting concoction of moldy diapers isn't getting any of my money! Alan just made the point that she'll just take it out of my deposit, but we can just do more damage to this place than the deposit is worth! One hundred dollars is well worth the satisfaction of breaking all the windows and tearing up the carpet only to replace it with cottage cheese and strips of raw bacon. I can feel the rancor overtaking me. I should be studying for the quiz I have today, but I can't. I'm too mad. I want revenge. A cleaning check is a cleaning check, not an exam. We aren't professional cleaners in custodial school. The check should be- "Was this cleaned?" It shouldn't be, "was this cleaned perfectly so that it looks like no one has actually ever lived here?" I want out of here. I'm sick of BYU approved housing. I'll take living in an apartment complex filled with prostitutes and drug dealers over Park Place management any day.

Hopefully I'll cool off soon. All my ideas for revenge will only make things worse. If I make their life more difficult, they'll get mad and be even bigger jerks. It just sucks that they are by nature bigger jerks than I am and no matter how evil I try to be they will always be one step ahead. I just need to forget about it. In less than a year I'll be done with this stage of my life and I'll have a fun new set of problems to deal with. I can't wait.

I just want to post my Comic

I went to a seminar hosted by the College of Life Sciences in the morning. A number of happenings at the seminar caused me to reflect.

1. It was crowded.
2. Freshman were obnoxious.
3. The speaker and I were on the same wavelength.
4. I sat by an acquaintance who became a friend.
   

I've been craving the real world. I want to get back into real research that has an impact. I'm sick of getting an assignment done just so that some TA can skim through it and slap on a grade. But why can't I do meaningful things now? How can I make my assignments meaningful? What is it I want to accomplish and how can each class bring me closer to that goal? Am I currently focusing too much or too little on my grades? What's going to matter in the long run? Will my GPA come back to haunt me? What contributions to my field can I make now? These are just a few of the thousands of questions that run around in my head all day. One day I need to set aside some time to talk myself through them and come up with ideas and solutions.

El Jorobado de BYU

I think Becca may have supernatural powers that allow her written fantasies to become reality. Last night she wrote a story about a hunchback whose hump was really a sack of treasure. Then, this morning as I was walking to the library, a hideous creature passed on my left side. He was wearing a brown hooded cloak that covered a large deformed hump. I quickened my pace to get a better look and upon closer examination I saw that the hump was actually a backpack. I can only assume that it was filled with gold and saffron.

Becca just called me! She's coming home from class! I shall ask her to pen a story about me getting all A's this semester and gaining 20 pounds of muscle. And then she can write one about me winning the lottery!

The Naive T-Cell of Bel-Air

Immunology was great today! Our skit went well, and the room broke out into enthusiastic applause after I performed my song. I'm pleased that it went well, and that it's over so I don't have to think about it anymore. Working 20 hours a week and taking 18 credits is killing me. What keeps me kickin' is always having something to look forward to. For example, Becca's birthday and the opera, quitting my job, and maybe going to California. And what am I going to be for Halloween? I know Becca liked my costume last year, but I've gotta be original. Hmmm... the TV is giving me some good ideas. I could be a diabetic, a mermaid, Whoopie Goldberg, a nun, Tom Hanks, or an orange. Nahh, those don't sound so great. I'll have to keep brainstorming. I wish I had more time to write, but I just plain don't. Maybe next month will be better.

Too hot, Too cold

My chili is too hot and my milk is frozen, so that means I have some time to write in my blog as my food cools/thaws. Quite a bit has happened since I last wrote. The most magnificent event is that me and Becca started dating almost three weeks ago. Talking to her on the phone all summer was great, but having her close by is even better. An added bonus is that she has an awesome family. I also quit my job at the Field house and started school. I have a feeling that all my classes this semester are going to eat my whole head. It's going to take a lot of work if I hope to graduate this April. Our apartment looks awful, but it's apparently not bad enough for us to do anything about it. Too many other things take precedence. Ok, times up. That chili is looking PRETTY good.