Looks Like I'm in Good Shape

I keep telling Megan that I want to get a gun. I guess according to this test, as long as I have my lucky machete, I should be in good shape. I learned a lot of these survivor skills on my mission. It was like 2 years of scout camp (good old Campinas - that always makes Megan laugh). One time I got attacked by a big hairy German Shepard and I kicked it real hard as it bit me. It was awesome! It bit me on my belt so I didn't even feel it. Missionaries really are protected. After that, I teased a few dogs (small ones only) and got bit like 3 more times, and then I stopped because I could already say that I got bit by a dog. Don't get me wrong, I didn't provoke the German Shepard, it hastily came at me, which always made us laugh because my companion was just as tall as me but about 80 pounds lighter. The dog had an appetite for fleshy meat.

The funny thing about this survival test is that it asks questions about physical prowess, fitness and abilities, but it never asks about intelligence, or quick-thinking except for your reaction time. I think when it comes down to it, size really does matter, but you also need to know how to use your size. I have seen real animal attack books in places, I'm thinking of one with a yellow cover... I can't find it. There are different tricks to fighting different animals and you have to think quick without panic to know what to do to beat them.

Last year at scout camp I chased a badger out of our campsite. I wanted to fight it, but it ran away without giving me a chance. We also saw some moose. I don't think I would ever want to pick a fight with a moose.

When I was 18 I went on a road trip to Yellowstone with a few friends. One of them brought along a book that documented all the known deaths at Yellowstone since its inception as a National Park. That was a cool book.

Anyway, I should be working on my thesis. Good luck to the rest of you.

Shelving

Back in the day I worked for a supplier/dealer/installer of commercial kitchen equipment called CKS (Commercial Kitchen Supply- that was redundant). One of the owners was my young mens leader throughout the years named Layne Walker, and the other owner was his brother in law, Keith Eubank (yes son and brother of the infamous weather guys, although Keith is like twice the size of squeaky).

I started doing odd things off and on for CKS when I was still in high school. Later I worked for them for a few months before my mission and then started up again with them 4 days after I got home from my mission. That was kind of awkward because I spoke really bad English with a HEAVY Brazilian accent. Sometimes I would talk to other people and accidentally drop a few Portuguese words mid sentence. I never understood why they looked at me weird. It was especially hard to talk to girls. I'm better now, I think. Anyway Seester (Nacho), I then worked for them up to my marriage except for a 5-month intern stint over to the Layton City Engineering Department. I had to quit CKS because I had to leave home to cleave to Megan in Provo. They wanted me to stay, but couldn't offer me the health insurance and stuff that I felt was necessary for my new family. Keith sent me off with his 1989 Magnavox TV (you may have seen this before) and then the CKS crew gave us our barbeque grill for our wedding present. If you haven't seen that yet, then we owe you a bbq. The grill cooks like a champ.

I went back to their office this week looking to buy some heavy duty shelving from them to use in our storage room of the new house. Keith greeted me with a big smile and was glad I had swung by to visit. He said that since I was such a great employee that I could just have some of their surplus shelving. I was overjoyed, what a blessing. The free shelving was not the exact size of what I had come up with in my original request; I actually ended up with more bigger and better shelving than I had anticipated. I just ran the numbers through a website that sells similar stuff and I actually ended up with over $1,100 of free shelving!

One thing that I always did when I worked for CKS was compare the price of the equipment to my car back then, the blessed Toyota Tercel Blue Dart station wagon. That only worked because my parents don't know what a real blue dart is. Nobody better blow that, ya hear?!?!! So, for example, the shelving that I got was the price of 1 Blue Dart (after installation and setup)!! We used to work with some ovens and stuff that cost 25 Blue Darts. We had to be real careful with that stuff.Those pictures aren't my Blue Dart, my mom kind of stole it from me and then sold it for $500. Best $500 car that somebody could have ever bought. I hope to get another one someday and then restore it and really make it ultimate.

I am grateful for having had the experiences to work and for the things I have learned therein. I have been blessed with developing talents that have enabled me to do a lot of different things and I feel grateful for those who have been patient with me and taught me so much. I remember that while I was on my mission CKS had their first million dollar year (grossed business). I have learned that this year they will do around $13M in business. I am happy for them. Keith and Layne are some of the best, most honest and smartest guys I have ever worked for. If I hadn't been so infatuated with dirt, maybe I could have stuck around and had a piece of the $13M pie. I guess I should visit more often, we could really use a new toaster.

Belated Spring Cleaning

As we were packing boxes to move to Lehi, father of Nephi, we realized that we have a lot of really cool stuff!!! In fact so much cool stuff that we need to dispose of some of it. So like any other resourceful techno-savvy nice guy, I stayed up late last night after the kid was in bed, and I posted it all for super cheap on KSL. Dr. Lawton always said that Ziploc baggies were the best invention for geotechnical engineering, and I say that KSL classifieds is the best invention for us Utahns.

Anyway, here are some links to cool stuff that we are selling. Let me know if you want this stuff. If you are our family or friends we will totally just give it to you because what the heck are we going to do with it?

Vintage 1989 20-inch Color Magnavox TV with Remote!!

6-ft Decorative Hanging Shelf with Pegs! ~50+ ft of 4-ft Chain Link Fencing + Extras! Dog Run Vintage New in Box Fill-A-Bowl

Webwave Pacific Wireless Rootenna + Extras!!


guess which one of these listings has had the most hits! Who'd a known it's the chain link fence?

What in the world makes chain link fence so popular? Next most popular was the wooden shelf (probably because I used the word "pegs" in the title, LUCKY!). The funny thing is, is that both those things were things that we inherited when we left the land bountiful and came to Lehi's Deseret.

Totally just let us know if you want some of this stuff. We all know how super sweet it is.

things what life's done taught me

For the last few years I have developed a complex related to bearing my testimony or giving sacrament meeting talks because it seemed like all I could think of were mission experiences. I felt like I was missing out on something about life because I had no other cool experiences besides my mission. Not that it’s bad to share mission stories, but in sacrament meeting and Deacon’s Quorum not everyone has served a mission and the stories at times seem really far away (our house to Campinas is nearly five years and 6,025 miles).

When I’ve had time to ponder, I’ve thought a lot about this complex. A while ago I realized that I just haven’t had enough pondering time to observe the lessons that have actually been amply dished out to me. During Elders Quorum today the phrase “life happens fast” from those credit card commercials kept coming to mind. I suddenly realized that I have been learning a lot and that I do have some amazing experiences to share. They may not be on the same par for spirituality or significance as some of the mission experiences, but they have helped to mold me into who I am today.

The Elders Quorum lesson was adapted from President Eyring’s Priesthood Session talk this past April. He was speaking of the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. He mentioned what a daunting challenge it is to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. President Eyring continued to explain some of the blessings associated with being a priesthood holder.

It was the word “daunting” that got the wheels in my mind turning in a blur. Megan and I have faced and will continue to face some VERY daunting challenges in our lives. For example, the very week that we jumped into committing to homeownership, we discovered that we were pregnant with twins. On top of that we have a lovely and BUSY 20-month old and I have a thesis project that needs completion.

Even with all this, as I take a step back to think of what events transpired to get us here, all the priesthood-holding blessings mentioned by President Eyring seem to relate to our lives. For example, the fact that we’re having twins and that I have a really good job and that I have finished school just in time to get the boys, shows that Heavenly Fathers loves us and is fully aware of our situation. Megan and I know that as we work to raise our family in righteousness that we will receive help from others, especially our dear extended family members whom we love and appreciate so much. President Eyring said: “Second, as you will try to keep your covenants, the Savior has promised His personal help. He has said that as you go forward in honoring the priesthood: “There I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”² We know that the Lord’s help will be manifested through others that will be by our side.

If anyone else out there feels like me, like they have been running through life at a million miles an hour and have not had the opportunity to stop and partake of the rose-like scents of living, find sometime to relax, recount thoughts and write them down. I’m glad that I can. I will continue to share some experiences on this blog. Who knows? Maybe some of the high school experiences that I can remember will end up in updated Aaronic Priesthood manuals. But then again, they might still be outdated because I didn’t have a cell phone or an iPod back then (but we did have the internet!).