Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Year 2007 in Review

As the year 2007 comes to a close, I feel a little nostalgic and desire to go through this year and tell of the highlights;

  • January - My first month home from the Mission and still had the part in the hair. Speaking Chinese whenever I could. Took institute, "Preparing for an eternal marriage" (YIKES!!) Met a girl there, Morgan. I've never asked a girl out before, or even asked for a phone number. So I spent a week trying to build up my courage, then I got the guts to talk to her. She asked to talk to me after class. I was thinking AWESOME! She then said, "My friend has the biggest crush on you. (After only meeting me once?) Would it be alright if she asked you out?" (CRAP!) I gave her my number, but finally feeling respondent, I told her the truth of my intention of asking her out for her phone number! She said yes! I started taking classes @ USU and started working the night shift at Tooele Macey's. Got my first cell phone
  • February - Still dating Morgan, nervous every step of the way. Classes going great, and meeting new friends at the Institue. Also meeting a lot of weirdos. I also met the love of my life - my iPod. Morgan and I had our first kiss..... I was way out of practice.
  • March - Dating life going good, but started to hit the rocks when I realized we didn't have much depth to our relationship. I always tried to have DTR's (Determine the Relationship) but she never wanted to participate. But we still had a lot of fun. We got into our pranking phase, e.g. covering each other's cars in gummi worms, she peanut buttered my bed, a picnic turned into a food fight. Also, Avery, the cutest niece in history was born into our family.
  • April - After trying to get Morgan to talk about her feelings unsuccessfully, she got frustrated and told me she didn't have time for this, so I ended it. It hurt. She then Finally she started talking about her feelings and opening up in an email, but when I asked her about it, she told me to ignore it. *Ouch* So we broke up. I also signed on to take a job working for Living Scriptures in the summer. I also bought an Xbox 360.
  • May - The semester ended and I left with a 4.0. And ended my job with Macey's and went to Living Scriptures training, where I met Ashlie Baker. I was instantly smitten and I realized I suck at talking to girls. She was filling up glasses of water at the training and I got the courage to talk to her and asked, "Gee, you must be thirsty!" (Dork) She politely laughed. Later while we were in the hall on break, I asked her, (no joke) "Gee, you probably have to go to the bathroom after drinking all of that water!" (Dork)
  • June - Started my 60 hour a week job selling Living Scriptures. It was fun at the beginning, but I realized I was just too nice to be a salesman. I bought a Nintendo Wii for my birthday. I tried to call Ashlie who was selling in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We would talk and flirt, but she never really called me back, or reciprocated.
  • July - Starting to hate my job now. I was selling ok, but I just didn't enjoy it. One of my old mission companions Elder Kelley called me up seeing if I wanted to hang out. We had always joked that his sister and I should date, so he set up a blind date. So there I met Sarah. I didn't have high hopes for this date, but it turned out to be one of the funnest dates I had ever been on. We went to this LDS activity, a "barnival."
    We instantly hit it off and had such a good time. We stayed up talking until 3:30 in the morning. See my problem is that I fall too hard too fast.* My old friend Jesse Holt also called me asking me if I wanted to serve in student government at SUU. I agreed.
  • August - Okay, really hating my job now. I tried to go on more dates with Sarah, but she didn't seem to want to as much. Granted, I probably should have been more tactful. I remember it was her birthday and for her present I made her a cookbook. She used to blog alot of her recipes and I compiled them for her in a book. She liked it I think, and told me I was "a nice kid" (Translated means = I like you, but not like that) I gave her the gift and I drove home. Now Provo is an hour and a half away from Tooele. So, I drove 3 hours to see her for 5 minutes, but the sad thing was....it was worth it. I also went on a Student Government retreat and fell in love with Cedar City. I decided to quit Living Scriptures 3 weeks early, and move to Cedar City. On the drive down I decided I had to tell Sarah of my feeling for her, but she wasn't home so I wrote a letter, and left it under her door. And I haven't heard from her since... Cedar City was nice. I was dirt poor with no job, and still heartbroken over Sarah. It was a humbling experience.
  • September - I met up with my old high school crush, Stephanie Wilden. I had a crush on this girl for 2 years! She moved away my senior year, so nothing ever happened. But she lived in Enoch, and without realizing it I asked her out on a date. We were quiet for most of the night but afterwards we talked till 4:30 and all it all came out. I told her of my crush for her, then we decided to start dating. We decided everything! We even started talking about marriage. (YIKES!) It was all exciting at first, but it turned out that we took all the fun out of our relationship. We dated for 6 weeks, after I felt I was forcing my feelings to like her. So we broke up. I learned so much from this experience. I matured beyond what I was. I learned not to fall fast, but to not think so much and just take love as it comes. And not to over-think but just enjoy their presence. I learned to take things slow, and that DTR's are only needed for those who are confused. My dream to find my true love was kindled. (I know I'm a hopeless romantic) I got a great job working for Verizon Wireless, and school started. I made so many new friends. I also started "The Dunder-Heads: The Office Fan Club."
  • October - I started healthy dating. And just to take it one date at a time. I tried for a school play and I made it. My love for the visual arts was re-ignited. I met a really nice girl named Britannia Bahr. We went out on a few dates. I also dated around. My roommates started to make the pact to be more open to dating. I realized I liked Britannia so, we started dating seriously, and we had a ball. But after a while she mentioned she had a missionary coming home in December...
  • November - So, school was going good, dating was going good. But knowing how it feels to still want to date around, Britannia and I decided to slow down, and eventually broke up. Life was going good, even after breaking up. I was so proud of myself I didn't fall fast, no DTR's, and I just took it one day at a time. I also discovered dance skills that had been hidden within me. I gained a good taste for music. I also bought ROCK BAND, which has provided hours of fun at apartment 327.
  • December - This month has been great. I've been so happy! I love my friends and they are so great. After a potent fireside from our stake president about idle time, I resolved to use my time more wisely. I started volunteering and it feels great. I've also changed my major to medicine! The more I think about it, the more it feels right. I've also been more wise in my finances. I got moved to a new ward and they gave me a calling. Sunday School. (CHA-CHING)
Well that's my year. School, work, and dating. The things your mission president tells you to do. I'm excited to see what 2008 has on the horizon.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

"The Game"

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For those of you who know me, you know that I love talking about other people's relationships. Much of my interest in relationships has stemmed from my psychology major. It just interests me so!

Women! Women Women! Am I right fellas?

The whole process of dating/flirting is commonly referred to as, "The Game."

When mentioned, it usually results in the exclamation, "I hate the game!" This is due mainly because of our lack of success with it.

As I have debated this subject (very often I might add. Just ask Stacey Phillips & Tracey Farnsworth for verification) my roommates and I have drawn certain conclusions:

  • We all want what we can't have and once we have it we don't want it. - Face it. It's true. Case in point, Hilary. I met this girl who I instantly had a thing for. We went on a date, and it went well, but I still wanted to date more girls. Hilary saw me on a date with another girl and was hurt. She really seemed kind of mad. It felt like I had lost my chance with her. This made me want to date her more. Why? I don't know. But she did give me a second chance, and we went on a date, but then I realized that she wasn't my type. Once again, why?
  • Girls want bipolar men - Girls want guys that are sensitive, but not too sensitive. Men who are confident, but not too confident. Guys that communicate, but not over communicate. Wow, good luck with that one fellas.
  • Girls want guys that are nice, kind, cute, funny, spiritual, good-looking, healthy, active, priesthood worthy, gentle, who will pay attention, outgoing, fun loving, spontaneous, forgiving, willing to try new things, thrifty, clean, financially responsible, have good career aspirations, a good father, hard worker, sensitive, creative, active, imaginative, not overly active, and smart. Not too hard right?
So why do we subject our self guy after guy, girl after girl? Because, if it is to find true love isn't it worth it? This man says that it is.

1 Year Mark

As of December 21st, I have been home from my mission for one year. Lets take a look back at this momentous year ...

  • Jobs - I have had 3 jobs since I've been back. Night Stocker @ Macey's, Living Scriptures Sales Representative, and Verizon Wireless Sales Representative.
  • Schooling - I took a semester at Utah State and One at Southern Utah University
  • Dating - 3 girls, Morgan Gates (3 Months), Stephanie Wilden (6 Weeks), and Britannia Bahr (3 Weeks). They keep getting shorter!
Those are my stats.

"...therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days."

Okay, I started reading the Book of Mormon again, and on the very first verse I felt I needed to keep a journal again. The last time I did so was on my mission. I kept a journal everyday for 2 years and I consider it to be one of my greatest possesions.
But since then, I haven't been so good, and although this in nowise constitues as a journal I figure it's a start. In this blog I intend to share, "... proceedings in my days."