A Dustland Fairytale

A Dustland Fairytale beginning
With just another white trash county kiss in '61.
Long brown hair, and foolish eyes.
He'd look just like you'd want him to
Some kind of slick chrome American prince.

Blue Jean serenade
Moon river what you do to me.
I don't believe you.

Saw Cinderella in a party dress, she was looking for a nightgown.
I saw the devil wrapping up his hands, he's getting ready for the showdown.
I saw the minute that I turned away, I got my money on a pawn tonight.

Change came in disguise of revelation, set his soul on fire.
She said she always knew he'd come around.
And the decades disappear
Like sinking ships but we persevere.
God gives us hope but we still fear, what we don't know.

Your mind is poisoned.
Castles in the sky, sit stranded, vandalized.
The drawbridge is closing.

Saw Cinderella in a party dress, she was looking for a nightgown.
I saw the devil wrapping up his hands, he's getting ready for the showdown.
I saw the ending where they turned the page, I threw my money and I ran away.
Sent to the valley of the great divide,
Out where the dreams all hide.
Out where the wind don't blow,
Out here the good girls die.
And the sky wont snow.
Out here the bird don't sing.
Out here the field don't blow.
Out here the bell don't ring.
Out hear the bell don't ring.
Out here the good girls die.

Now Cinderella don't you go to sleep, it's such a bitter form of refuge.
Why don't you know the kingdoms under siege and everyone needs you
Is there still magic in the midnight sun, or did you leave it back in '61?
In the cadence of a young man's eyes.
Out where the dreams all hide.

Audience Of One

Well, this week is almost over. I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by already! It seems like it was just barely August, and Morgan Haylee and myself were moving down to Cedar City. Does time ever slow down?!

Last Thursday I was offered a job at the Utah State Hospital as a Psych Tech. I accepted the job. But knew that I would be needing some time to really consider the options that are before me. Let me example you:

I am currently enrolled in two different schools. Southern Utah University in Cedar City, and Ameritech College in Provo. I am doing all my Pre-Dental studies at SUU, and I studied Surgical Technology at Ameritech. I am all finished with the schooling there at Ameritech, and am waiting to get started on my internship. I am still unsure where my internship will be, but I should be starting around the end of March or beginning of April.

I took a leave-of-absence from Ameritech in October. Because I did that, I am on a very tight time frame of when I can get it all finished. When I do start up, I will be working either 10 or 12 hour shifts. Starting around 6:00 am, and finishing in the late afternoon. I will have to be absolutely perfect when I start. No messing around. No showing up late. No leaving early. Nothing.

There are three shifts a Psych Tech at the State Hospital could work. The day shift from 6:30-3:00. Swing shift from 2:30-11:00. And the graveyard shift from 10:30-7:00. The only shift that I would be able to work would be the graveyard shift...if they would allow me to leave an hour early. So, I called and spoke with my soon-to-be supervisor and asked her what my options would be. We had a very good conversation. She told me that she would look into it, and get back with me. So about an hour later she called me back, and told me that she was sorry, but the State Hospital would not be able to accommodate my schedule.

I also had to take into consideration the effect of the job and me leaving SUU. I have some classes online, but a few on-campus too. After speaking with my on-campus instructors I was basically told that if I took the job in Provo, that I would either fail their course or get withdraw from school. Which would mean that my tuition money would've gone to waste.

This was not an easy decision for me. I am basically desperate for a job. I need one very badly. But after many prayers, many conversations with family, friends, instructors, Morgan, and on and on, I have decided not to take the job. Lets hope that I made the right decision. I feel like I did.

Stand Inside Your Love

Today is Valentine's Day. It is a day that we are supposed to show the people that we love, that we DO love them. And they in return do the same for you. It is a day (forgive the pun), that is full of love. Or so it should be.

Personally, I think that Valentine's Day is stupid. STUPID! Why is that you ask? Well, let me explain my reasons.

I feel that if you really do love someone. Be it your significant other, your parents, siblings, friends, pets, or whatever, that you shouldn't need a specific day to remind you of letting that person know how you feel for them. You should be letting that person see how much you love and care for them...the whole year round! Not just one day. I do not think that buying chocolates and roses for a person once a year, truly shows that you love them. You should want to do wonderful things for that person always. Be sporadic about it. Throw them off-guard! Never let them wonder what your feelings for them are, because you always make it apparent to them.

I understand that not everyone thinks like me. There are probably only a few who do. And that makes me sad. Love should be the strongest emotion anyone can feel. True love. It should make someone do anything and everything they can for the person that they love. Not just when it is convenient. Not just when the calendar says so. And not just when they forget to put the milk away and have to sleep out on the couch. Love should compel a person to do amazing things.

I am a very lucky man. I have a wonderful, loving family who will do anything they can for me. I love them very much. They mean so much to me. I am who I am, because of their love and influence. I have great friends. Some that I have had since first grade. Some since high school. Some since my mission. And some since moving down here to Cedar City. I love them all. Each of you have played an important part in my life. And I am grateful for that. Sometimes, I know that I am not as good as a friend as I could be. And I apologize for that. I have a very special person in my life. Someone who shows me her love daily. Someone who helps me, and cares for me. Someone who I truly love. I am a very lucky man to have her in my life. She is my Love. She means the world to me. I love being with her. I love her.

I have learned quite a few things in my 25 years of existence. One of those being that love isn't easy. That you have to work, and fight to keep it. Maybe that is why Valentine's Day is on the calendar. To remind people to fight for those they love. If so, then good for it.

Losing Patience

Goodness! Let me tell you a story.

Morgan and I are on our way to San Francisco for URTA Auditions. We leave our house in Cedar City at 5:30 to allow for plenty of time for us to get to Las Vegas for our 8:20 flight. The car is all packed, and we're on our way when we remember we forgot cold medicine. So I call my brother Garrett (who is kindly watching the dog), and have him meet us at the gas station with the meds. While there we fill up with gas, and ensure that we actually do have everything else. Garrett comes, he makes the delivery, and we finally leave.

I'm driving down the freeway with my cruise control set at 82. I figure thats a good speed. Not too fast that I'm gonna get a ticket, but not too slow that we aren't gonna get to the airport in time. All the sudden some car speeds up behind me. So, being the courteous driver I am (sometimes...) I move over so this dude can pass me. He doesn't. He slows down too. And so I start to wonder. Morgan asks if it is a highway patrol, and I tell her no. I didn't think it was...but I was wrong. Lights start flashing, so I pull over.

I start to worry. Currently, thanks to Iron Counties terrible justice system, I still have a warrant out for my arrest for ridiculous reasons. I decide to just play it cool. You know, what I do best. The highway patrol comes up to Morgan's window. He asks for my license, and the registration for the car. He then says the reason why he pulled us over was because he couldn't find the registration on the car. Morgan hands him the stuffs, he takes a look, and asks me to step outta the car. He points out the fact that the plate on the car, and the plate number on the registration is different. So all he did was ask us to find the correct plate, and fix it. Lucky. Apparently we never switched the license plates over from when Morgan purchased the car. Whoops. So I took the next exit, and did a little switch-a-roo.

So we proceed from that point to Vegas just fine. We find good parking, and head into the terminal. I take a quick glance at the map, and see where our flight will depart out of. So we head out of the terminal we were in, so we could board a bus that will take us to the correct terminal. We wait a few minutes, and then bus comes. We are the only ones on it, so I start talking to the driver. Good thing too. Apparently I read the map wrong. So, he takes us back to the correct terminal (where we were to begin with), and we run through security, and finally make it to our gate.

We get there, and the guy at the desk asks us if we had just ran to get there on time. I guess it was pretty obvious. He then tells us we had no reason to, the flight has been delayed two hours. So, we take a seat and wait.

Well, its been two hours already. They just made an announcement it will be delayed two more hours. We may never get there....

Greed

Wow. I started doing my taxes for the year 2009 today. I was hoping that I would get a fairly nice tax return...but so far I am wrong.

Last year (2008) I ended up having to pay back the state of Utah over $600.00, but I got quite a bit back from federal. The way it looks so far this year I am getting nothing from the state, and a "little" from federal. Now, I still am missing two W-2's from other jobs. So lets hope that boosts my returns!

You're Gonna Go Far, Kid

I find that I seem to go through phases in my life. For example, this blog. I started it up, and was pretty diligent about keeping it up. And then time goes by and I just seem to forget about certain things. Which is probably why I haven't been updating that often lately. Well, since November...

With that said, I would like to do better about it. I am not sure if anyone really reads this, but at least I know that I am documenting my life. And thats all that really matters, right?

So maybe I should set a goal to blog better...you know, like once a week or so. I think that would help me.

We'll see how long I can keep that up....

Advances In Modern Technology

My goodness!

So, yesterday I was pulled over by an Iron County Sheriff for a burned out tail light. I wasn't surprised by it. I have been having battery problems for a while now. But I wasn't quite prepared for what happened next.

The sheriff told me to step out of my truck, he said there were some other problems that needed to be addressed. At this point, I kinda assumed what was going to happen...

You see, in September I received a speeding ticket. It took me a while to pay it all off. But I did. However, for whatever reason this sheriff said that I hadn't. I had no proof with me that I had paid it, and he obviously wasn't going to take my word for it. So, away we went to the county jail.

The day before this all happened I had deposited two checks into my checking account. Now there isn't an America First Credit Union in Cedar City, so I have to use a credit union that is on the "COOP" network. This usually isn't a problem at all, but it doubles (sometimes triples) the time that it takes for a check to clear. Tonight this became a problem.

After I had left my truck in the hands of three SUU freshmen to drive it home, and I had found my terribly uncomfortable seat in the sheriffs vehicle I asked the sheriff if we could just stop at the bank and I could take the money out again. He said that wouldn't be a problem. So away we went. The bank however hadn't cleared any of the checks that I had deposited. So although I had plenty of money in the account, I couldn't withdraw any of it. I then prepared myself for a new experience.

The sheriff said he had no choice but to take me to jail. So instead of fighting, I decided to be cooperative. He handcuffed me, and they took me to booking. I was there for about four hours, then they finally decided to move me into holding. The guard that took me in was probably the most unfriendly person I have ever encountered. He didn't bother to explain anything to me. And every question that I asked seemed to kill him to answer.

Around 1:30 am I finally made it to my cell. I quickly learned how uncomfortable jail is. They never gave me any bedding. And my cell mate never quit talking till around 6:30 am. It was a very, very long night.

Morning came. And so did Morgan. She came and bailed me out. I was very very grateful. It was an experience that I never want to relive again.

Time Is The Distance

Ohk...here is my December post....since I kinda spaced blogging last month. Whoops.

School ended. I didn't get as good of grades as I would have liked. I failed 2 classes. One by pure procrastination on my part. The other because I had no idea I had missed the mid-term exam. The rest of my classes I did fairly well on. Not the best, but I passed. This next semester will be much better.

Work was been busy. Ohk...that was an understatement. Work was been CRAZY! Goodness! I would start about 7:00 am, and then end around 8:00 or 9:00 pm. They were some super long days! But it was good to work again.

Grimm Tales progressed a lot during December. We have put together an amazing show! I am very excited for the finished product!

So, about 9 years ago my family and I went night skiing to Brian Head. I remembered the whole mountain being open, and it being loads of fun. Me and Morgan headed up there one saturday night. And it turned out to be quite different than it was 9 years ago. They had one lift open, the bunny-hill. It was fun, but not enough. We skiied for a while, and then decided to call it a night. I think next time we will just do a full day!

Morgan and I had our own Christmas at our house before she left to go to her parents. I LOVED it! It was so much fun! We slept in, then ate some breakfast, then started to open gifts. Morgan themed her gifts to me. It was a camping theme! She got me all the things that I needed! It was a very wonderful day! I love her so much!

Christmas with my family followed up next. It was very good to be with them. I love my family. They always do so much to make me feel loved. I love Christmas. I love the Christmas spirit, and how it seems to make everyone happy.

My birthday was a good day. It was a day full of excitement. Mainly cause my clutch died in my truck, and I had to spend $950.00 to replace it. I'd say it was the most expensive birthday that I have ever had.

We went on the traditional New Years trip with my parents to Capitol Reef National Park. It was a lot of fun! We hiked Calf Creek Falls. I think that was about the 15th time that I have done it! I love it so. We weren't able to stay too long since we had to finish Grimm Tales stuffs.

Altogether December was a good month! I am sure that had I blogged it, it would have been far more interesting. I hope that this was good enough.

Long Nights

Wow! Yep, thats about all that I can say. I somehow missed blogging the entire month of December. I am not really sure how that happened...but it did.

I was debating about doing a quick summary about the past month on this blog, but now that I think about it, I think that I will just do another blog for that.

School has started again. I am not sure how I feel about that. I suppose that it will be good. I have 2 on-campus classes; Swimming, and Photography. And then I have 2 online classes; Chemistry, Biology and some University required class for people on Academic Suspension like me.

I am still working for FedEx, however my hours have dropped significantly. I am in need of another job again.

Grimm Tales is looking AMAZING! I can't believe that the show opens in a little more than a week...wow! We have put so much work into this show! It really is amazing. I insist that you come and see it!

I think that is about all that is going on. I will be better about posting, and updating things. I will write an honorary December post soon.

Deadbolt

So...today is Friday. Its not just any friday. Today is Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. It is a special day. Today is the Thrice concert. A concert that I am not able to attend anymore.

Thrice is one of my favorite bands. I have had a ticket since July, and I just found out yesterday that I am going to have to work Saturday morning. The show is in Salt Lake, and I've decided that it wouldn't be worth it to drive up there, and then have to drive right back. So, like a fool I am not able to go to the show.

I guess it is ohk though...I have seen them twice before. But you know, there can never be too much of a good thing, right?

Here is a video of one of my favorite Thrice songs, Deadbolt. This is the acoustic version of the song. It is a delightful song, sure to bring much pleasure!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXlzAtwOtGI