Mr. Jones and Me

3 Years

2010-06-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

You are still missed uncle Howard, you are still missed.

Sweat Pants?

2009-09-19T21:32:00.001-07:00

I sat outside the court room this week waiting for a clerk to finish up some work for me. As I sat there I engaged in some people watching. What I noticed was disturbing. As the sheriff came to the court room door and called individuals and families to go in to the court room I studied what they were wearing. This day was a family day at the court house. This means that the cases heard dealt with custody, access, and visitation of children as well as child support, spousal support and the division of property. Now you might think that people appearing at the court in front of a judge would you know dress for the occasion. They. Did. Not. Scruffy jeans, tank tops, t-shirts, baseball caps, sweat pants, yes sweat pants. The judge today decides if you are going to have regular access to your children and you are wearing sweat pants?!?

Obviously these people care about the outcome of their court appearance or they would not be here in the first place. So why are they not dressed in a manner that says, "I am taking this seriously"? It is a puzzle to me. There lawyers are wearing suits (the men) and pant suits (the women), the judge is wearing robes, so is the clerk. For most of these people this is not there first time here. I even recognized a couple from previous trips to the court house (hello guy who had a drunk and disorderly and was asking the clerk about his assault charge).

So as a public service to anyone who reads this blog if you are going to court dress up, in fact funeral dress up. If you do not own a suit or a skirt or a pant suit, go down to your local thrift shop and buy one. There are usually like twenty of them on the rack that you can buy for less than fifteen dollars. Make sure it is clean and does not smell weird and buy it. While you are at it buy a nice shirt or blouse these can also be purchased at your local thrift shop for a nominal price. Of course if you want to splurge and go to Mens Wearhouse that is your business but for goodness sake look good. This matters. If you are at court it is becuase something has gone drastically wrong. If you look like a person who the judge would not mind having over for dinner it can only help. If you look like someone the judge would not let mow his lawn you are probably going to have a very long day.

Nerdvana

2009-09-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

I loved university. The exchange of ideas, being exposed to new ways of looking at the world, absolutely loved it. Since I left I have missed university a good deal. But I have found the solution!!!! (yes that many exclamation points!) It is called Open Course Ware. A number of universities including, MIT, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, Michigan State University and several others have put course materials along with downloadable notes, exam questions, quizes, and youtube videos of lectures for a number of their classes. When I heard about this I was almost giddy. Could it be real? Was this another one of those cruel internet hoaxes?(unlikely) Then I went to the site.

I read in the book Cryptonomicon that the word nirvana could more accurately be pronounced Nerdvana. That is what this is. Nirvana for nerds. Any class or topic that you can imagine. Everything there are classes on Anthropology, Economics, Biological Engineering, Foreign Languages and everything in between. For the past two days I have just been sampling going from one course to another looking at at the online information, reviewing the course notes, checking out the 0nline lectures. It. Is. Amazing. Whoever thought of this should get a Nobel Prize or at least a really nice lapel pin.

Travellin Man

2009-08-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

So thursday afternoon I am sitting in my office and I call uhaul. We are loading up our house on friday and I want to make sure that we have a truck to load. Yes of course you have a truck they say, it is located in Slave Lake. For those of you unfamiliar with the geography of northern Alberta Slave Lake is about 2 1/2 hours north of Whitecourt. I became somewhat irate with the woman from uhaul but I got the sense that I was not the first angry customer she had dealt with that day or even in the last 10 minutes, the truck was in Slave Lake did I want it? Of course I did.

Early friday morning Jen and I set out for Slave Lake. Anyone who is reading this blog know that Jen is smoking hot. What you may not be aware of is that she is also an amazing conversationalist so the trip at least on the way to Slave Lake flew by. We got to Slave Lake we picked up the truck and started driving. Now all of you assume that I drove the truck right? I consider myself a fairly evolved guy. I used to own a pink dress shirt, I try to say firefighter and police officer and I don't call it babysitting when I watch my own kids, so you would think that there would at least be a discussion about who drove the truck but no I just hopped up in to the cab and started driving. Maybe Jenie wanted to drive that 26 foot behemoth down that foul road between Slave Lake and Swan Hills, we will never know because I am the man and apparently that means I drive the gigantic moving truck.

While I was on the the road I had the pleasure of listening to several rural radio stations. Those of you who have not had this pleasure are probably unaware of the sheer variety played on these stations. In an urban setting you have your top 40, rock, classic rock, dance etc. In Slave Lake you have all of those in one. As an example they played Neil Young and then the new one by Miley Cyrus. No. Joke. It was like they sat around at the station with everyone in the break room and said okay what is the most unlikely combination of songs that we can play next to each other. One guy says the beattles and britney spears ( a couple of laughs) the next dude says Nirvana and In Sync (booing mostly for In Sync) then the intern at the back with the faux hawk and the soul tip says Neil Young and Miley Cyrus (everyone leaves the room because it is perfect and seriously a faux hawk?).

Then we loaded the truck up at this point I have to stop and say Jason, Renee, Pierre thanks so much for the lifting and the working and thank you Monique for sitting on the front stoop and directing traffic with that gigantic belly. Without you Gary and I would have been loading that truck for hours. Leaving Whitecourt was much harder than I thought it would be. I mean its Whitecourt I never wanted to go there in the first place. But now I am leaving and I realize that I made some really good friends. That is not something I do a lot. I don't have a tonne (metric) of friends mostly becuase I have a pretty high standard for what I consider friendship. As an example, If I was being held in a Mexican prison on trumped up heroin smuggling charges who would I call? Could I call you? If you are my friend I could. You would come down see if you could bribe a guard, break open a window or at least get me a good lawyer and some decent american food, they are killing me with all these tacos, just killing me. That my friend is friendship and I made some real friends in Whitecourt, I am sad to leave them.

Also thanks to my mom she spent 12 hours on a bus to help pack up my house and clean it. If it was not for her I would be going back to the pig sty I deserve rather than the vision of cleanliness that she has created. You are the best mom. and Dawn you took three of my kids for the past week (the loudest and whiniest three at that) and are letting me live in your house, thank you. I take back all of the terrible things I said to you as teenagers and also the things I just thought and didn't say, you are none of the things that I said or thought, you are a great sister and possibly a saint (but only if you go Catholic, we don't do that.)

Finally to Gary. You are the rain man of packing moving vans, If you had told me we would have fit all of that crap (ya most of its crap but its our crap and its mostly paid for) into that van I would not have believed you. Then you kept me company all the way down south from about 30 feet behind my truck, helped me unload it and now I am currently living in your house. Above and beyond man, above and beyond.

So here we are in Raymond living in my sisters basement. This should be interesting. I probably will not keep you posted.

Belated Blog Post

2009-03-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

When Terina was baptized she asked me to give a talk on baptism. I gave the talk and afterwards my mom asked me to write it out for her and for my grandma and grandpa Bowlby. Well mom better, late than never. Please be aware mom that I don't write out my talks before I give them. This is not word for word what I said. It is simply the closest that I can remember.

Also my mom asked me how I came up with the idea for the talk. When I was considering what I was going to say I was thinking about this scripture in Mosiah. It is one of my favorite descriptions of the covenant we make when we are baptised. I love the idea of standing together and helping each other. When I was thinking of that I started to think of how that would apply to a child of eight. That is when the idea for the talk started to take shape.

In Mosiah chapter 18 verses 8-10 it reads:

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are a willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

You might ask Terina, How can a small girl like me do these things how can I comfort those that stand in need of comfort. That seems like a very big responsibility for a small child. Well Terina you should know that in a town not far from here lived a little girl right about your age. She had brothers and sisters and every sunday she would go to church. One sunday when she went to church there was a new girl there. The new girl was not dressed in the nicest of clothes and she was a little bit shy but the little girl did not worry about any of that. The two little girls became friends.The new girl would sit with her and her family in church, The new girl would come over to her house, she would play with her brothers and sisters. As the two little girls became better friends it became easier for both of them to make good choices. The new girls family did not come to church. The new girl was the only one in her family who ever came. But she kept coming to church because she had a friend. She had a family that supported and loved her.

You should know Terina that because of that little girl you are here today, because of that little girl many of the people in this room are here today. The little girl who was the friend was your aunt Wendy. The new girl was your Grandma Char. The friendship of your aunt Wendy made it easier for your grandma to come to church. The influence of your aunt Wendy and the rest of the Bowlby's made it easier for your grandma to make good decisions.

Because of the kindness and friendship of that one little girl there have been temple marriages, children born in the covenant and children baptised. There have been missionaries out on missions and people taught and baptised all over the world. All because of the friendship of one little girl.

Never underestimate the power of one little girl to change lives. When we keep our covenants and love those around us there is no limit to the good that we can do.

My Favorite Apostle(s)

2008-04-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

I am not completely sure that you are allowed to have a favorite apostle. It seems somewhat off, like wearing white after labor day or calling the bishop by his first name when he is sitting on the stand. But I have to be honest with you dear reader, I have a favorite apostle or three actually Jefferey R. Holland, David A. Bednar, Henry B. Eyring. I think the reason I like these three so much is because when they speak it is in a style that is understandable to me. I was talking to my dad a couple of years ago and he said that his favorite apostle (see so if its wrong at least I'm in good company) was Elder Monson because of the way that he used analogies and stories in his talks. For my Dad this really brought home the point that Elder Monson was trying to make in a way that made sense to him. (I really hope my dad saw priesthood session on Saturday. Elder Monson wiggling his ears to cap off his story about the young boy is a perfect example of using a story and humor to make a very effective point.)

When I look at the three apostles that I enjoy listening to what strikes me is that all three have an academic background. All of them taught at university, Elder Eyring Associate Professor of Business at Stanford, Elder Bednar Associate Professor of Management at the University of Arkansas, Elder Holland Dean of Religious Education at BYU. Interestingly both Elder Ering and Elder Bednar were presidents of Ricks College (now BYU Idaho) and Elder Holland was the president of BYU (Utah version). As has been noted in the past I love school particularly university thre is something about learning and discussing ideas that is deeply satisfying to me. Therefore it would stand to reason that the three apostles that have spent their lives in front of a classroom would be particularly enjoyable to me.

I actually just finished watching the last session of conference and listening to Elder Holland and Elder Bednar was deeply satisfying. Eler Holland lovingly and effectively answered critics who attack us for our use of the Book of Mormon as scripture and our clear stand that the canon is open. What he said was incredibly bold but at the same time he was clear and wise in the way he stated our position. His use of outside sources, particularly the words of protestant intellectuals and scholars was a masterstroke. It was a passionate and intelligent defense of our position and I thought it was marvelous.

Elder Bednar spoke on how to make prayer more effective through uniting faith, prayer and action. It was one of those talks that I am glad that I have on the internet. I can listen to it over and over again, stopping to think about what he has said and read the scriptures that he sites. It would be impossible to take it all in at once. It was a humbling and moving experience to listen to his counsel. The way that he approached prayer reminded me of many of his other conference addresses. It is a topic that you and I have both heard numerous sermons on but when Elder Bednar approaches the topic I realize that there is a whole level of meaning that I am only scratching the surface of.

Too sum up, very good conference. All of my favorites spoke and they were all powerful and articulate and they all had that particular something that apostles have. That assurance and knowledge that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ and that they are his apostles.

About Me

2008-03-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? Ten years ago I I was footloose and fancy free. A bachelor going to school at LCC attending institute and dating girls who had just graduated or in I think one case was just about to graduate from high school.

2. 5 things on my to do list.
Change the muffler on my car, figure out how the conference call feature on my phone at work works, finish, or at least start the articles of incorporation for Lorne's Blanket, teach the kids to roll over and play dead, clean out my storage room is is an absolute disaster in there.

3. What would you do if you were instantly a billionaire?
I would go back to university, someplace good with great scenery like Harvard or the University of Miami. I loved university the whole process of learning and discussing ideas is amazing, I would sell our crappy house here in Whitecourt and buy three or four really nice ones in places like the south of france, new zealand and malibu. I would help out my family get everyones debts paid off then set aside enough for my family to live off of for the rest of my life and for the kids to go to school and then the rest would go to the perpetual education fund. This fund is the most revolutionary idea and provides such amazing opportunities for people in difficult circumstances. I would love to know that because of me thousands of individuals and families would be able to become financially stable.

5. 3 bad Habits
Procrastination
Reading on the Toilet
tardiness

6. 6 places I have lived.

Bangalore, India
Grande Prairie, Alberta
Singapore
Las Vegas, Nevada
Whitecourt, Alberta
Magrath, Alberta

7. 5 Jobs I've had
Feed Lot Hand
menial labourer (cleaning out chicken barns)
Insurance Salesman
Lawyer
Gas Jockey

8. 5 things people don't know about me
-I need glasses, badly
-I love celebrity gossip
-As a teenager me and some friends developed plans (never used) for a hovercar
-I am a little OCD there are particular things that I need to do the same way every time (ie there is a desk I pass before I go in my office, I touch it every time I go by.)
-I am a compulsive reader of alernative history novels.

Have a great day

King Benjamin

2008-03-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

I am just starting to read king Benjamin's address again and after reading through Chapter 2 of Mosiah a couple of things really struck me. The first is how King Benjamin seems to view his mortal body and mortality itself with, if not disdain then at least with a sense of remoteness. It is as if because of his age and infirmity he is more than ready to cast off this mortal life. Throughout the chapter he speaks of his life, work and ministry in the past tense as if he is already gone and done and finished.

This seems to be important because of the way that he approaches our mortality, as a gift given by a benevolent father to, at times recalcitrant, children. King Benjamins age and infirmity have given him a clearer understanding of who we are and the relative value that we should place on obedience and sacrifice. This perspective on mortality also reinforces the importance of subliminating our will to our Father in Heaven.

The second and somewhat related point is that I wish we had more from King Benjamin. More of his sermons. He is a wonderful teacher.

After All This Time

2008-03-07T08:10:00.001-08:00

I went in to the city yesterday and did a discovery on Affidavit. It was about as boring as it sounds. Luckily the office where I did the discovery at was like right down the street from a Red Lobster SCORE!!! That was a good lunch nothing fancy just some lobster and shrimp pasta very good. Unfortunately you cannot get good (or really any) seafood in Whitecourt other than fish sticks which, I am sorry mom, but are not sea food.

When I got back to the office I found that the overhead fan in my office had not dripped water on my desk. You might think that is was a given that the overhead fan in my office would not drip on my desk, you would be mistaken. Over the past four or five days the overhead fan that sits over the left corner of my desk has occasionally dripped and occassionally gushed out water. This is not good, to give you an idea of why consider this, all that I do all day is look at paper. Some of it is stuff that I wrote some of it is stuff that somebody else wrote and wants me to read. Much of it is not copied anywhere. the stuff on my desk is the only copy of this paper in the whole world. So if it gets soaked through with water that is bad, very bad. So far nothing vital has been dripped on, cross your fingers. Interestingly this is not the only place in my office that leaks water I have a skylight? like thing behind my desk in an alcove and it will occasionally for no discerible reason begin to leak. This is not so serious because it is not over my desk and I can put a bucket under it to catch the dripping but if it drips and I do not notice it it can quickly become a big wet spot on my tile floor likely to cause me to trip and injure myself at which point I would be forced to sue my employer, the builder of the house and any safety inspectors who signed off on this weird travesty of a skylight? or whatever that thing is.

What's Going On

2007-11-24T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hey that last post was almost completely painless so I thought I would do another one. As I think I mentioned to most of the people who wil read this post, I am now the elders quorum president here in whitecourt but that title is somewhat misleading. This is because there is no high priests quorum here and very few active men. I have one counselor who I called last week. Thanks John for saying yes! I feel really good about the counselor that I have he is a good man with a great testimony but honestly there are not a tonne of options for a second counselor or a secretary. There are some great faithful men but for one reason or another they just don't fit the bill. So I am struggling with what to do, leave it empty? Hard to say at this point. Unfortunately because of the new calling I will not be teaching my teenage class anymore. That is kind of a bummer I really enjoyed that. Fortunately? for me my teacher for this week called me this evening and told me that he would not be there this week so I get a chance to teach, just the elders quorum. Guess thats all for now.

The List

2007-11-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

Here you go Krista I hope you are happy.

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Jenie, Kris, Scott Young
C- Cake or Pie: Grandma Jones's apple pie
D- Day of choice: my birthday, its all about me
E- Essential Item: Books, lots of books
F- Favorite Color: Blue
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Neither, that is like pure sugar I honestly cannot even touch them without cringing.
H- Hometown: I am a citizen of the world. Also my parents liked to move a lot.
I- Indulgence(s): Indian food
J- January or July: July (see answer for D)
K- Kids: Hanna (8), Olivia (7-tomorrow), Emma (5), Lincoln (4), Lily (1)
L- Life is Incomplete Without: laughter
M- Marriage Date: October 10, 1998
N- Number of Siblings: 2 sisters
O- Oranges or Apples: Madarin Oranges
P- Phobias or Fears:
Q- Quote(s): "look someone's gone and thrown away a perfeclty good white boy" (better off dead)
R- Reason To Smile: My kids
S- Season: Summer
T- Tag Three: Anyone who wants to fill it out
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I am much taller than I seem.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: If we weren't meant to eat animals they wouldn't be made out of meat.
W- Worst Habit: other than the crack pipe?
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: ultrasound I like the feeling of the Jelly and the woo, woo, woo sound the machine makes, very soothing.
Y- Your Favorite Food: Paneer butter masala, steak, lobster.
Z- Zodiac" Cancer (possbily the weirdest and most forbiding of the zodiac signs.)

Seriously, Whitecourt?

2007-05-12T10:35:00.000-07:00

Well its been a while since I wrote on this thing and I suspect that noone is reading it. That is okay by me. As I am sure you are now aware we have decided to stay in Whitecourt. I know this decision must have surprised those of you who have heard my rants about snow, winter, and other closely related subjects. To be honest this was a very difficult decision, in the long run I think that it will benefit my family and be the best thing for us. In the short run all I am sure of is that this is where we are supposed to be.

To switch to a more interesting topic, I was reading Gary's new blog this morning, I really enjoyed what he wrote about light, and about resetting ourselves with the savior. The class that I teach is a little different. It is made up of all of the teenagers in the branch, class size ranges from 2-8 depending on which families are there that week. The theme that I seem to keep coming back to is personal choice. We are studying the New Testament and it is instructive to consider how many people heard the Saviors words, in person, and still chose not to follow. It is a rich mine for me in attempting to present to the class how while we may hear, we have to choose to recieve. From the class discussion it is difficult to tell if anything is actually penetrating the surface but from what I have found most classes are that way.

Give a Man a Fish

2007-03-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

The environment is much in the news these days. How do we protect it, how do we halt global warming, how to we make sure that we have clean air and clean water. I think that these are the questions that are going to control and direct the Canadian political scene.... at least until there is a recession. What is troubling about the current political climate is a pervasive belief that the only worthwhile solution to environmental problems is government largesse. This big government approach to environmentalism is accepted essentially without question across the Canadian political spectrum. This is wrong.

Or let me put it another way there is nothing wrong with the NDP and the Liberals proposing huge government spending projects to solve environmental problems. The idea that government is the best venue for solving societies ills is the core ideology of these two parties. Unfortunately this tendency to assume that government can solve the problems of the country has spread to the Conservative party or rather migrated with Joe Clark and Peter McKay from the Progressive Conservative Party to the current Conservative Party.

This is my basic problem with the current Conservative Party they absolutely refuse to actually act like conservatives. Rather than handing out government money to technologies of dubious merit (see my last post) why not let the market decide what new green technology should fuel tommorows automobiles.

Why not place emmissions standards on automobile companies similar to the emmissions standards under the US clean air act, covering all of the models imported into Canada in a fiscal year. The allowable emmissions would shrink every year but the emmissions amounts allowed could be transfered from one model to another. This would allow auto companies to sell there SUV's but would force them if they wanted to continue to sell SUV's to find ways to lower emmissions in the SUV's drastically or find a way to make marketable vehicles with zero or minimal emmissions. This type of program places all of the cost where it should be, on the shoulders of those who wish to sell vehicles that pollute the environment. Conversely it provides benefits to everyone in society through better air quality and better access to vehicles that are cheap on gas. Please explain to me why this would not work? Please explain to me why I sitting at my computer before I start my workday can come up with market based solutions to environmental issues but the ENTIRE CONSERVATIVE PARTY BRAINTRUST cannot think of one worthwhile program that would use market forces to protect the environment. Or maybe its just me.

Harper a Conservative?

2007-03-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

If you do not enjoy politics please be warned this post is well, almost exclusively about politics.

I read today in the Edmonton Journal that we may be in for a long season of Conservative success at the federal level. The journalist in question pointed out the strength of the Consverative parties current polls and the weakness of opposition leadership. The journalist quoted from a book written by Chantal Hebert the central thesis of which is this Conservative resergence. The difficulty that I have with talk of a Conservative resurgence is the sneeking suspicion that while it might be a resurgence for the Conservative party it is not a resurgence for conservative ideas or ideals. If you look at the policies of the Harper government there is precious little that seperates them from the Martin or Chretien Liberals. A few examples:

1) The Harper government forced Boeing to provide regional offsets and investment in order to win a contract to build military aircraft.
http://andrewcoyne.com/2007/01/senator-porkier.php

2) The Harper government recently announced billions of dollars in subsidies to Canadian farmers. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070309/harper_farmers_070308/20070309?hub=TopStories

3) The Harper government first cut the funding then returned funding to feminist lobby groups. http://shaidle.blogmatrix.com/:entry:shaidle-2007-03-09-0000/

4) The Harper government has announced millions of dollars in subsidies to "green" inititatives in British Columbia. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070313/harper_ecotrust_070313/20070313?hub=Canada

Is that enough examples? I sure hope it is. By definition conservatives believe society functions best with less government and lower taxes. They believe that government programs are a detriment to the free market and in the end not beneficial to the citizenry. They believe that even the environment can benefit from market forces. The problem is that people who vote for the Conservative party are just as fond of government largesse as everyone else. From farmers to small business people from vetrans to the oil companies we are all conservatives when it comes to cutting other peoples programs and lowering our own taxes.

Conservatives cannot champion smaller welfare rolls while at the same time providing billions of dollars in program funding to farmers, it is hypocrisy. If we want to make government smaller we have to be willing to start with programs that help people that vote for the Conservative party. If we are not willing to do that then any Conservative government will always only be conservative in name only.

101 Continued again

2007-03-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

Just thought of some more

26. I really like watching highschool basketball, particularly in southern Alberta, those boys can play.
27. Growing up I spent a lot of weekends out at my uncle howards, he cowboyed in the porcupine hills and I would go out and ride and work with him. Those are some of my best childhood memories.
28. When I was little instead of reading a standard bed time story I would insist that my parents read to me from the encyclopedia of mammals. Like I said I am a nerd.
29. I need glasses but I refuse to wear them, I just find them way to uncomfortable.
30. I know nothing about cars other than how to drive them.
31. Whenever we travel as a family I drive, I would rather do that than fetch and carry for the kids.
32. I never pictured myself getting my masters in environmental and natural resource law, but the more I think about the more excited I get.
33. I sold insurance for a living, I liked it.
34. I have worked in the basement in almost all of the places that I have been employed.
35. Working for the Yellowhead Tribal Council was the best job I ever had, but it only lasted for a summer.
36. I have always been a bit of a loner, but the friends that I have I would do anything for.
37. My extended family is very important to me.
38. I would rather travel to a great city than to a resort, Paris over Cabo San Lucas every time.
39. I think it is unwise to trust people too easily.
40. I am much less coordinated than I seem.
41. When I was a kid I kept a book in my desk at school to read when I finished my work, a particular favorite was Asterix and Obelix (preffereably translated from the original French).
42. I hope my kids work harder in school than I did.I am going to take a break from this and maybe do some acutal posts.

101 Continued

2007-03-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

9. I am addicted to political blogs there are 4 or 5 that I check at least twice a day.
10. I love my kids, they are all really cool people, in all likelyhood cooler than their dad.
11. In junior high me and a couple of friends made plans to build a hovercraft, in case you haven't guessed I was a HUGE nerd.
12. I would love to live in New Zealand and almost convinced Jenie to move there when Kris and Tandy were living there.
13. As far as I can tell winter has no redeeming features other than snow skiing. Other than that the whole season is crap.
14. I am a political junkie, I am a card carrying member of a political party and love nothing more than to argue politics with people who are similarly inclined.
15. When I was a teenager I wanted to be a cowboy, my mom told me I had too much potential to be a cowboy, she is now married to a cowboy.
16. Law school was probably the most rewarding, interesting and enjoyable three years of my life. Actually practicing law, not so much.
17. My favorite prophet in the Book of Mormon is Abinadi, incredibly powerful, teaching King Noah and his priests as they build the fire around him, amazing.
18. I love my calling as sunday school teacher, I get to spend an hour a week talking about the gospel with teenagers who have good questions and interesting comments that is a great way to spend an hour.
19. My parents divorce is probably the worst thing that has ever happened to me.
20. I enjoy reading historical fiction, and science fiction I am also on a bit of a kick where I read political non-fiction.
21. I met my wife when she was on a date, she denies it to this day but it was a date.
22. The first time I met my inlaws her dad and I immediately clicked, we have a very similar sense of humor.
23. My best friend from the time I was in grade six until I got married was Trevor Zuba.
24. I will go to my grave believing that The Princess Bride, Better off Dead, Willow and Ferris Buellers Day Off are classics, I will not discuss this.
25. My oldest daughter was born on my 23rd birthday. She is easily the biggest present I have ever received.

Well a quarter of the way there, this is harder than it looks.

101 Things

2007-03-10T12:19:00.000-08:00

I like peoples list of 100 things so I am going to start with that.

1. My wife is my soul mate and my best friend also she is hot.
2. when I was little I got really sick once a year like oxygen tent over christmas sick.
3. I like steaks medium rare I will not eat them any more cooked than that.
4. We moved a lot when I was little, I attended five elementary schools.
5. I hate amusement park rides that spin they make me sick.
6. I spent the first four months of my mission in India and Singapore the day I returned to India from Singapore (renewing my Visa) I found out they were closing the India mission to foreign missionaries.
7. I love celebrity gossip the juicier the better.
8. I promised my best friend I would wait eight months after meeting a girl before asked her to marry me, Jenie and I were married 10 weeks after we met.

Off to the park I will take this up later