I never learned to color inside the lines

Red Rocks Rendezvous

2008-02-26T17:51:00.000-08:00

Red rocks was awesome! Thank you everyone for making it a memorable experience.
Sunday was a LONG drive for us Idaho-goers! I felt like I woke up, drove the whole day, then went to sleep. We did break it up a little bit by eating dinner in provo with Laura and seeing Doug. In retrospect, the next time I go to Red Rocks I think I like the whole flying thing a lot more. It is only an additional $20 and then you aren't stuck in a car for 22 hours.
The more I go on these trips, the more I realize that the social experience is 60% of the reason to go on the trip (40% the actual activities). With that ginormous group of 14 people, pretty much anything you did together as a group would be fun. It is surprising how much fun chillin in a park for 6 hours can be!
Thanks Jo, for making my weekend "magical"! The kiss was amazing and our secret conversations about how we are going to hook-up after you get back from Texas was just icing on the cake! I love you XOXOXOXOXO!

Nonconforming to Nonconformity

2008-02-15T02:10:00.000-08:00

I have learned to run against the grain;

or across, or with.

I'm not in a single file line

with friends in front,

some in back.

I'm creating my own path

Robert Frost took the path less travelled.

I'm not taking a path at all.

Plowing through the weeds and rocks

I am taking the path

that I created for myself

I make the son my light

then let my shoes be guided by

passion, priority, priesthood

As I am paving the definition

of who I am,

I know my path is not always right.

But as I climb to the summit,

if I follow the son,

I know I will eventually reach the top.

I will make the journey an adventure.

I will make it my OWN journey

and I will not look down.

2008-02-13T23:14:00.000-08:00

MUST READ!!! A friend of mine from BYU (Dennis Wendt) posted this on his blog and I feel like everyone should read it:

With Mitt Romney out of the presidential race, who might the Mormon faithful back?
Of course, the Church is officially neutral on political candidates and parties (thank goodness). But let's be honest, Romney's failed attempt at the presidency has got to upset a lot of Latter-day Saints, who overwhelming backed Romney (at least in Utah), and who seem to not be very fond of John McCain or Mike Huckabee, not to mention Hillary Clinton.
But Latter-day Saints I have talked to have a fairly favorable view of another presidential candidate: Barack Obama.
Is it possible for a good number of Latter-day Saints to turn to this inspiring new face as their preferred presidential candidate?I realize that I am facing incredible odds in this question of mine -- 1964 was the last time a Democrat (Lyndon B. Johnson) took the state of Utah. But still, I think that if Latter-day Saints will take seriously the counsel of the late Gordon B. Hinckley, and vote for the best person, regardless of party (as he did throughout his life, voting for both Republicans and Democrats), then maybe, just maybe, Obama will gain support among the LDS faithful.Let me be upfront.
I am not a Democrat. I consider myself to be historically conservative and currently moderate. I have grown to be disenchanted by the Bush administration, as I'm sure many of my fellow Latter-day Saints have been. I was in support of the Iraq war at first, but now I realize that it was a major mistake and an abuse of power, and that it is not in the best interest of America or Iraq for us to stay there. Whatever good is being done there is negated three times over -- by its costs in American and Iraqi lives, American dollars, and the continually neglected threat of terrorists in Afghanistan.In regards to Iraq, we can't simply say, "Well, what will happen if we pull out?" We need to also say, "What is happening, right here and right now, by our continuing to stay in?" I know that some Mormons are in total support of the war for various reasons. But can we really continue to let our troops -- fathers and mothers -- go back time after time after time to fight a war that is questionable? Our wonderful troops have sacrificed so much, and unless we have a draft or enlist many more individuals (your sons and daughters), we cannot continue to fight this war. It simply must end. I daresay that even some of my reddest fellow Saints are frightened by McCain's assertion that we could be in Iraq for 100 years. A vote for John McCain is a vote for George Bush's war. It's a vote for the continued loss of American and Iraqi lives. It's a vote for billions and billions of dollars to be spent -- who will pay for it? It's a vote for neglecting more serious needs -- Afghanistan, Darfur and other genocides, our children's educations, our own economy, and so on.Conservatives worry about how liberals will raise taxes, but it is unrealistic to think that we can continue in this war, as we are, without either raising taxes or seriously depriving our children and others of crucial resources. It is not honest. It is not responsible. Either we hike taxes and stay in the war, or we get out. There's no other honest way about it. (Remember the LDS principles of buying what you can pay for.) We need to be careful and measured about how we leave, which Obama wants to do, but let us be honest -- we cannot keep fighting. The Iraqi government needs to take responsibility, and we need to move on. It is not unpatriotic, nor is it neglectful of our troops, to suggest that we need to move on if it really is true.
Mitt Romney's father George Romney, along with the rest of the nation, realized this about Vietnam. We need to follow his lead and realize it about Iraq.Regarding the economy, I used to be in support of conservative principles, but I have grown to be fed up with the philosophy of giving tax breaks to the rich and not taking seriously the health care crisis in our country. (Obama, by the way, is not interested in raising taxes, but repealing the Bush tax cuts for those who make over $250,000. This group never asked for these tax cuts, nor do they need them, and the past several years have shown our economy to be worse off, not better, since their inception. Moreover, that these tax cuts have coincided with an ultra-expensive war is unbelievably dishonest.)I have grown to realize that my religious beliefs require me to take the plight of struggling working families seriously, to no longer hide their faces behind an economic trickle-down curtain that allows me to ignore the growing poverty in our country. Like my fellow Latter-day Saints, I am sure, I am afraid that economic classes are being more polarized, that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The middle class is shrinking. Selfishness is rampant. We have great need to worry, and the gospel of Jesus Christ is our only hope.It is because of my belief in Jesus Christ that I believe we need a new political direction in our country. No, it won't solve all our problems, and the Church will continue to grow to be independent and shine as a source of light and hope for all to see. But a new political direction can help us to better serve those who are need, and to better interface with the world around us. I envision a new type of political involvement among Latter-day Saints, in which Republicans, Democrats, and Independents work together in tackling the problems of our day. I am tired of political division. I am tired of political campaigns and platforms being bought by lobbyists, many of which do not really care about you or me.President Hinckley would never have voted for someone simply because of his or her political party. What about you? Are you willing to entertain voting for a Democrat because it is for the good for the country? Are you willing to consider anew your political commitments and obligations? President Hinckley voted for individuals (Republicans and Democratics), not parties, as he has said in media interviews. So I ask, who is the best PERSON?May I suggest that, in my opinion, the best person currently in the race is Barack Obama. If we can look past partisan politics, I think more will start seeing this. More and more Mormons are seeing it everyday. He is the friendliest candidate to taking faith seriously in the public square. He wants to unite the country, not divide us. He is a deeply religious man who takes his Christian faith seriously. He is one of the most "fair-minded" public figures that I have ever known of. He prays every day that he will be fair to others, that he will give them the benefit of the doubt. I encourage you to listen to his speech on the role of faith and politics, located on his web site.I don't agree with him on everything. I am very much pro-life and he is pro-choice, for example. I wish he would consider more of a pro-life position. But he is more concerned with fighting for sexual responsibility and decreasing abortions than he is about fighting about ideologies, which never gets us anywhere anyway. He is also very willing to continue to have a fair-minded conversation with pro-life Americans about the abortion issue, and what we can best do as a nation right now. Perhaps we should consider entering this conversation, rather than merely fighting about legal issues. Perhaps, just perhaps, such an approach will help us get the values of responsible sexuality into the hearts of American men and women. It really is a problem of the heart, isn't it?Consistent with our concern for innocent human lives, let us not forget that a war has and is continuing to claim thousands of lives, both soldiers and civilians. That a genocide in Darfur is claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and has displaced millions. That there are hard working families in our country who have a father or mother die because they don't have adequate health care. Let us not allow an ideological fight (such as abortion) to keep us from taking seriously the pressing needs of our society. We have a responsibility to our citizens and to the world. This responsibility transcends political bickering. We have a responsibility to a troubled world to set an example as walkers of peace, as solvers of problems.Obama also has compassion for our brothers and sisters from other nations, including those who have come into this country undocumented, often working long hours with little wages to support their families. Let us never forget, as our Church leaders have cautioned Utah legislators recently, that "illegal" immigrants are our brothers and sisters. Many are our fellow Saints. Obama is taking the immigration issue seriously, but he is also opposed to the radical and dehumanizing plans of some, such as punishing ordinary citizens who help out illegal immigrants or busing law-abiding immigrants back over the border. I have found that most of my fellow Latter-day Saints are much more compassionate regarding immigration than many other Americans are, while at the same time realizing that we need to work hard at solving the problem. Obama feels the same way, and he also realizes that much of the problem is due to NAFTA, signed into law by President Clinton, and other problematic American trade policies.In addition to being the most faith-friendly candidate, I think he is also the most family-friendly candidate. One of his biggest concerns is fatherless homes. He is concerned about parents not taking responsibility for their children's media watching. He is concerned with hard working families who don't make enough to even begin to make ends meet. I encourage you to take a look at his issues in this regard on his website.Obama is also the candidate who best approaches the LDS communitarian ethic. Politically speaking, he is not unlike Joseph Smith. His approach revolves around "we," not "me." His movement is completely invested by average Americans working together, many of whom have never been involved politically before. He has a charisma that inspires people to realize that they really can make a difference in this world. He desires to reach beyond petty bickering and divisions, realizing, as did Joseph Smith, that we can move beyond our differences and work together for positive change in the world.Moreover, I think that he is the candidate who is the friendliest to the Mormon faith. He doesn't demean LDS beliefs as Mike Huckabee did. He has strong family values and has been faithfully committed to one wife, unlike John McCain. In fact, his wife Michelle Obama recently visited with Elders Ballard and Cook about how we can better help American families. Take a look on the Church's website.I envision that an Obama presidential administration would be a very friendly place for LDS leaders to work with in order to tackle our common goals. I'm unsure if I can say the same thing about John McCain or Hillary Clinton.In conclusion, I ask:Is backing Obama in line with our political obligations?Yes it is.Should we consider rallying behind such a leader?Yes we should.Can we?Yes we can.

Everything's a blur

2008-01-27T22:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry i havent posted forever. School started and 10 minutes later it somehow became Jan 27th. Hmmmm..... where do i start? I guess I will just explain my weird hockey trip I just went on this past weekend:
So the plan was to leave I.F. at 5am THursday morning and play 3 hockey games against 3 different colleges. So we are driving towards Colorado Springs on Thursday, and at about 1:30pm our bus breaks down on the Interstate! Fortunately (for me) we were only 10 miles out of Laramie, so I had Onika come and pick me up so I could escape being trapped in a hot, broken down bus on the side of the highway. She dropped me back when the next bus arrived to bail us out. But then- what do you know- the NEXT bus broke down FIFTEEN MINUTES later! THey told us 4 hours till the next bus would arrive. I absolutely hate being in that type of situation, so once again, called Onika and had her pick me up. At this point, we were going to miss our first hockey game, so I decided to ditch my team till the following night when our next game was.
Because of all that undue stress the whole thing had caused, I decided to spend a day skiing with Onika. She provided the free ski pass and the tele setup and we went skiing. Then I got a Rent-a-car and drove it to Boulder and visited all my Jackson buddies (Rusty, Kyle, John, and Krissy) and took them to my hockey game.
I guess you could say we pretty much got slaughtered. But I scored! Yipperooo.
From the time we left till the time we got back our team had experienced 6 BUSSES BREAKING DOWN ON THEM!! It was such a joke. I was pretty glad that I got a rent-a-car and was able to ski and visit long lost friends (even though it was expensive).

Front and Center. Does that little boy look like Ian?

2007-12-30T22:32:00.000-08:00

Viva la RED ROCKS

2007-12-29T18:46:00.000-08:00

I think it has been snowing ever since the 24th. The powder is even building up at Kelly's Canyon. We went there when they had 18 inches of new snow!
Plans are well underway for our vacation to Red Rocks. Right now it is Keith, me, Jo, Kori, Mary, and maybe Angela and Brian that should all be there. YAY! A reunion! I stumbled upon some round trip flights to Vegas from Idaho Falls for only $50, so I changed my arrival date to Jan 2nd (to get the rate). So I will arrive at 12:10 on the 2nd and leave the morning of the 7th. If y'all can stay that long, we are planning on camping the night of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th in Red Rocks.
I forgot to talk about my Christmas: It was a pretty chill and fun couple days with the family. On Christmas eve, we went over to Blaine's house and had a big dinner and, since it was snowing so hard, decided to have a surprise sleepover at his house. On Christmas morning, everyone slept in pretty late and we didn't even get things going till around noon. I was totally blown away with my main present: a super nice Sony mini-DVD camcorder! I guess all of my sisters and my parents all chipped in and bought it for me! That explains why nobody even ASKED me what I wanted this year...... I was a little concerned about that........

Neg's Urban Sports: Urban Sprinting

2007-12-22T01:24:00.001-08:00

This looks like so much fun
WARNING: Plug your ears whenever he walks into Burger King. He likes to swear

no friends, no job (bad news, good news)

2007-12-22T00:27:00.000-08:00

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." C. S. Lewis
Jo is gone. Kori graduated. My friends are all disappearing! My survival is losing value (especially my survival in southeastern idaho).
On a different note: Getting fired has been good to me. I landed a couple odd jobs throughout the week. The days I had nothing to do I went to Targhee. Today I helped a DJ for a DARE graduation in Rigby. Miss USA spoke at the graduation. She is hot.
Onika and her boyfriend came from Laramie, Wyoming, to ski at targhee with me on Wednesday. It was a blast to ski with other Tele skiiers! We would all get tired and stop at the same times. We all needed to stop more frequently as the day progressed.

Picture to go with my last post

2007-12-15T19:32:00.000-08:00

A Kiss from Heaven

2007-12-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

Freedom seemed inconceivable. The chains tightly wrapped around my ankles and wrists were too strong. The metal prison bars too thick. The stench of being locked in that horrible dungeon reeked of death. The scourge I was flogged with had shards of metal and glass on the end of each string of the whip. Sometimes it was hard to postulate any degree of hope. I just didn't have what it took to break the chains. Sometimes, during hallucinations, the prison bars would morph into Satan's teeth and he would guffaw and snort at my helpless condition. But then, like a kiss from heaven, the prison walls shook! The walls started tumbling and cracking and the prison guards fled. My chains came loose and suddenly I was FRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Outside the prison walls there were rolling hills of daisies. I could have just ran away, but I chose to frolic! Freedom at last!!!
If you are still wondering, I got fired from Idaho Mountain Trading. I kept making mistakes on the work tickets in the shop. I was also late to work 2 times. Nothing significant I would have thought would result in me being fired, but I was. On Friday evening, 15 minutes before we closed, my boss called me to his office. Confusion and wonderment filled me as I was walking behind him. My wildest imaginations prodded me with, "What if I get fired!!! That would be amazing!" But my dreams usually just remain as dreams. He sat me down and explained, "Sven, I have bad news........ (I start to get a little giddy)...... I am going to let you go."
I said, "Well, that makes sense! I have a horrible memory, and that doesn't work in a job you have to remember a million things! Also, I wasn't really hurting for a job. Also, it will work out with me going on vacation over the break!"
That probably wasn't quite the response he was expecting.
The last 15 minutes of work I was more chipper then I had ever been. Saying goodbye to everyone, already dreaming of what adventure I might go on because of this surprise vacation.
Goodbye IMT, I am going to Targhee!

.......making up for lost time

2007-12-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my day off, and I feel it was well spent. In one day, I played hockey, tele skiied at Targhee, climbed, and slacklined.
When I work almost all day every day I start getting pent up anxiety to do something fun, especially since I know that my boss will not give me ANY days off (except for the one he decides for me each week). Also, last week's day off was spent driving to Sun Valley with Jo, looking at the piss-poor snow conditions at their resort, and driving home. So that gave me even more motivation to get it right on my next day off.
Thats about it

Work Ethic

2007-11-30T23:58:00.000-08:00

To be completely honest: I don't like my job at Idaho Mountain Trading. Today was especially bad and it took me a long time after work to wind down and stop being pissed off at everything. I try to think back on other jobs I have hated........ it is hard, because most of the jobs I hated I either quit or got fired very early on. Lets see, what jobs have I absolutely hated?
1. roofing- FIRED! after 3 weeks (my entire crew was fired, too)
2. selling vacuums- QUIT after 1.5 weeks
3. putting caps on lotion bottles at Northwestern Cosmetics- QUIT after 4 hours (didn't come back from lunch)
4. telemarketing- QUIT after 4 hours (also didn't come back from lunch)
5. managing a pumpkin patch- FIRED after 3 weeks (I don't know why)
6. working the night audit at a hotel- FIRED! for sleeping on the job (after being a night auditor for 2 weeks)

It starts to make me question my work ethic. Would I consider myself to have a good work ethic? Hmmm.... well, wikipedia defines work ethic as this:
Work ethic is a set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character. A work ethic may include being reliable, having initiative or maintaining social skills.
My answer is this: I CONDITIONALLY have a good work ethic. The jobs I have excelled at are the jobs that I LIKED. But with the jobs I have hated, 'being reliable' hasnt really been a strong attribute for me. Looks like I will always have to work at a job I like.

Whatev...... it is 2 in the morning and I have to work at 9 (at a crappy job).

Thailand beer commercials

2007-11-25T00:21:00.001-08:00

Rollerblades and fanny packs

2007-11-24T23:51:00.000-08:00

At Idaho Mountain Trading I work pretty closely with the other shop guys. We are trapped in our cage at the back of the store from 9am till 6 or 7pm. To keep our sanity, we do a lot of joking around and playing loud music. One thing my manager LOVES doing is making it sound like there was a serious accident in the shop and getting customers to rush in and see what happened. He will scream, "GET AWAY FROM THE-" then will pound his hammer on the shop table and say, "oh my gosh are you all right?!"
Recently, one of the big jokes has been making fun of rollerblades and those who pursue the activity of rollerblading. They associate rollerblades with fanny packs and tight spandex.
On Friday, a punk rocker wearing a patched leather jacket with spikes coming 3 inches out of the shoulders walked in and asked about getting some rollerblade wheels. Danny, the shop manager, told him that he might look out by the fanny packs! When he left, everyone busted up laughing.
This gave me the great idea of employing John to make a scene in our shop the next day.
So at about 1 or 2pm today (in the shop), from the corner of my eye I see John skate in with neon rollerblades on! He had a hot pink pullover, glitter in his hair, and was wearing a fanny pack! I had to immediately look away or else I would have busted up laughing. He opened his fanny pack and pulled out a folded piece of office paper. He unfolded a drawn picture of a specific type of rollerblading elbow pads. He asked Danny if we happened to carry the "Extreme Helix Elbow Pad". All the shop guys were in awe. Jake, one of the shop guys, whispered to me, "Dude I think he has glitter in his hair!!!!" Quinn, the other shop guy, snuck around to the rental bench and was taking pictures of John with his phone. Danny explained to John that IMT is getting away from selling rollerblades and told him that he might take a look at our fanny packs in the front of the store. John left and everyone busted up laughing. It was perfect!

Kinder Surprise!

2007-11-15T23:38:00.001-08:00

mainstream music ROCKS!! (i was paid to say that)

2007-11-15T21:23:00.000-08:00

I'm Fergalicious (so delicious)

My body stay vicious

I be up in the gym just working on my fitness

He's my witness (oooh, wee)

I put yo' boy on rock, rock

And he be lining down the block just to watch what I got (four, tres, two, uno)

So I have a new job helping out a D.J. when he needs extra help. He wants to train me up so I can be an independent D.J. for his company when I move back to Jackson next summer. The hardest part of the job, says he, is reading the crowds and playing what they want to hear. So he wants me to take a clip board to every event I help out at and take notes of how the crowd responds to each and every song. I also need to listen to the latest and greatest and become a mainstream music guru. Listening to Z103 and what he played at the last dance makes me realize how ridiculous mainstream music is today. Yeah, its bad, with frequent reference to sex and drugs, but that's not what i think is so ludicrous about it. It is the lyrics that kill me! It basically doesn't matter anymore what the rappers or pop stars say anymore. Just add lots of layering, some synth, some catchy licks, turn on the base drum to 128 BPM, and rap about sex, and VABOOM!!! you have yourself a record selling 1 million copies!

I read this blurb on mainstream music that is very interesting: popular music is the product of the modern business enterprise disseminated for the purpose of earning a profit. Executives and employees of popular music businesses try to select and cultivate the music that will have the greatest success with the public, and thus maximize the profits of their firm. In this respect, popular music differs from traditional folk music, which was created by ordinary people for their own enjoyment.

WOW! Isn't it great to know that the businessmen at capital records are so good at deciding what we want to hear! "No, no, they don't want a complete meal. Let's throw candy at them!" And that is what mainstream music is today. It holds no intrinsic value. It is no longer a creative work of art. It is just candy that satisfies for immediate pleasure but reverberates nothing but emptiness. Do you think that in 30-40 years from now the "Classic Rock" station is going to be playing Justin Timberlakes 'Sexy Back'?! "I’m bringing sexy back Them other boys donno know how to act I think your special whats behind your back So turn around and ill pick up the slack."

So my deep question for the day is this: In 35 years from now, what will be considered "Classic Rock"? What bands will be the early 21st century greats?

2007-11-14T22:32:00.000-08:00

my new blog

2007-11-14T21:34:00.000-08:00

OK, so i haven't been good about blogging in the past. But this time i promise i will pull through and will update it whenever i can.
Today Kori and I went out to Blackfoot to do some climbing in the Crank Caves. We got to see Dean out there putting up a new route. It was coming out of a cave and was almost completely horizontal for 20 feet! Dean is the man!
Also, Kori got on a 5.11a and was able to onsite it. It was another new climb in the Caves that Dean put up last week...... that makes Kori probably the 3rd person to EVER climb the route! Then i attempted climbing Crankenstein, a 12b that i led earlier this year............ and it SHOT ME DOWN. I went home a little frustrated about that. Is it because I am running and my legs are getting bigger (and are weighing me down)? I know that is a stupid conclusion, but I subconciously worry about that sometimes.
So I have picked up running again. Why would I do such a pointless thing?! Why are there magazines dedicated specifically to this phenomenon of walking so briskly that you have to trot? Why do some people let society define them as 'runners' and fit the mold, accordingly? What is it about this running problem that causes people to want to keep doing it? These are questions I had plenty of time to think about after my climbing accident. I couldn't really think of a good answer, so I almost wrote off running as something I would no longer do (when I got better). But then I started running and realized, once again, why I ever did it in the first place= because it makes me feel good. It is probably for a lot of reasons. Here are some of them........
1. beta endorphins (?)
2. I like structure in my life, and running is an easy way to structure 'being fit' into my life
3. I like challenging myself physically and being able to gauge my improvement
4. Sometimes, it just 'makes my day'. It makes me feel better about myself. It makes me feel productive.
I pushed myself today and realized how much slower I am then I used to be. Oh well. I don't care, as long as in a month from now I am faster then I am now.