FOTNSH

We NEed more SNOW!!

2009-12-23T02:13:00.001-07:00

A splash in the face

2009-11-19T20:53:00.006-07:00

You know how in movies ( I can't think of any specific scene or movie) some person is passed out, panic stricken, or other wise out of touch with reality and with a sudden splash of water in the face- or a slap in the face- they snap out of it and come to?

Well that is what this trip has felt like for me- spiritually.

Holy Cow! It has seriously been more than 15 years since I have been this excited about the gospel.

Last night I watched a bishopric - poor and relatively uneducated- go into the house of a relatively well-to-do educated inactive member and read a scripture, bear testimony, and in a simple unabashed manner invite this man to return to church. And he accepted.

Today I saw a young woman and her YW leader go to the house of two inactive young women of her ward and this 16 yr. old girl bore testimony of the YW values and the truthfulness of the gospel and asked the girls to come to their activity tomorrow and church on Sunday. It was spiritual- there were tears...like the kind when you just know something more loving and grand than a mere person is asking you to do something.

And it's so exciting to see! It just make me want to scream with excitement for God's work like I haven't felt before!

While I'm processing the myriad of details in my mind involving sound, lighting, picture composition, and the like while I capture these events, part of me sits back in wonder at the strange reality and sincerity of what is unrolling before me- As if God were unveiling a long prepared project for my camera to capture and share with others and then, taking notice of the shock on my face, He turns to me and says: "What-? What do you think I do all day here? This is...my work and my glory."

I feel blessed on so many levels to have been able to come on this trip- It's a neat group of guys that I'm working with here.

I'll tell you what I'm going to do when I get home- I'm going to go totally psychopathic and weird and set up the PPI's that I've been intending to do for our Elder's quorum for way to long! And I'll tell you what we're going to ask people to do!

-read scriptures as a family.

-have family home evening.

-say family and personal prayers.

And then I'm going to ask my EQ pres who would be someone we might visit and invite to church.

I'm going to invite someone to come to church with me and not act weird if they say no.

Because DANGIT! you know what? Like it or not, believe it or not, This gospel- this church is real and true and somehow sincerely makes people happy! Way happier than the liberal-don't tell me what to do-way of living! And I think- after seeing it so many times- that people just need someone to get off their pansy rear and simply say "Will you..."

In every instance- all it took was a prayer, a person, and an invitation. And a life changed for the better.

And I know there may not be a 100% success, And I know there exists rejection and free agency. But I'll tell you what else exists- A God who is working non-stop preparing people, working for people, and only needs someone here to listen and work with Him on the final step- a simple invitation. Perhaps a timely sincere testimony. Some love, some help, some support, a friendly face excited to see a friend at church.

I'm seeing it down here- It isn't taking much- And people really are happy .

Ok, I got it all out of my system. Now I can go to sleep. :)

Central America

2009-11-16T23:14:00.005-07:00

So I'm riding in the car making conversation with the couple missionaries who picked us up (they are an older couple) and they tell me that they are "security missionaries". I say: "hmm, I've never heard of that before" They say: "that's probably because there are only two other couples with that assignment in the world."

The wheels in my head start turning and I reply..."That's either a good thing or a bad thing for us- I can see it going both ways" :)

We all laugh and then joke about how many murders there are in Guatemala City every year. (don't worry Claudia- we're in the safe areas!)

But seriously though- I'm really excited about this this project. And I'm really excited about getting to know the members through their stories and testimonies- it's going to be really neat.

I am here (with 3 other guys) as a contract employee for the church to film for a new training video for member and leaders. It's not often that i would actually pray before going on a video shoot for the spirit to be with me- but that will be case on this.

I'm not sure how they ended up with me- they must have gotten desperate in a squeeze.

By the way- there is a Christmas tree in the center of town that is topped not by a star or angel of some sort... but the logo of Gallo beer- the most consumed beer in guatemala. Funny huh :)

(Link to where I got this photo)

A wonderful new discovery

2009-09-28T21:33:00.004-06:00

(link to this photo)

This time of year it gets tough to do a climb in the evenings because it gets dark earlier. Well, a few of my friends and I decided to just meet around 10 o'clock at night and go rock climbing with head lamps- just to see how it would work.

Then... to take it one step further, we roasted some bratwursts as well to complete a lovely evening.

It turns out that it was a wonderful discovery! You basically have the whole mountain to yourself (no one waiting anxiously for you to finish), and, since it is already dark- you don't have to worry about it getting dark!
As far as the climbing goes, you can easily see everything you need to see around you for climbing,. And- you don't get a feel for how high you are, so the vertigo scary high up feeling never sets in and allows you to climb a bit more comfortably. I guess that could be argued as a disadvantage, but for me, it was a benefit.

The bottom line is- bratwursts, chalk dust, and night climbing are a wonderful combination!

Alfred Hitchcock in the Rock

2009-09-10T21:24:00.004-06:00

I snaped this picture with my cell phone up by the Dogwood picnic area in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

It was by a popular rock climbing area where I took my kids to try it out.

And as they were climbing I said to myself- "Hey, that looks like a Hitchcock profile"

What do you think?

Shooting a machine gun!

2009-09-04T08:41:00.004-06:00

So I filmed a demo video for a new automatic rifle that is designed to be cheaper and perform better under harsh conditions. And of course, they let me shoot the gun :)

This was my first time firing a gun like this. I think I shot a .22 when I was a scout and a shot gun some time later.

I'm not a gun expert, but they told me this new system has a lot of people excited about it.
You can get more info about it at www.titandefense.com .

Report on the Cambodia trip

2009-09-01T13:26:00.003-06:00

Here is what I think is an awsome and stunning video concerning the trip my brother did to Cambodia. It concerns the charity aspect of the trip. Of course they did some sight seeing too, but that is for another video.

Jimmy Joe and Joanna's Trip to Cambodia from Davey Orgill on Vimeo.

A little help for the kids in Cambodia

2009-08-01T23:14:00.002-06:00

My brother was a missionary in Cambodia and has now planned a trip to go back to visit.
But- in addition to the visit, he wanted to make the trip be something he couldn't do as a missionary- one where he could give needed food and other items to the poor.

Here is a link to his website that gives a better description of his intentions and has a button where you can do a Paypal or credit card donation.

http://helpwithcambodia.blogspot.com/

I spoke with him on the phone the other day and he told me about how the poorest of the poor there scour the garbage dump for stuff just to keep them alive. He wanted to do something for them, but was not sure how to go about it. But is looks like he found an organization to give a bit of direction:

We have contacted an organization there that will help us distribute the most needed rice and clothing to around 400 children who live in the city garbage dump in Phnom Penh. We will be personally taking it to those children. This is a great opportunity to help those who need it most. Any amount will help. We leave on Wednesday so if you are planning on donating please do it as soon as you can so that we can plan accordingly. Thank you for everything.

So, please pass this around, post it on your blog, or send a few emails and hopefully a bit of good will come of it.

Oh- and in case you missed it. He's leaving this week, So if you plan to spread the word, now would be the best time :)

....

...By the way- as a matter of random unrelated observation:
I was watching an older Chuck Norris movie that I got for $5. He was rescuing some one in some jungle. I guess Cambodia reminded me of jungles and that reminded me of this movie.
But after watching this movie I became convinced that machine guns are not an effective weapon.
Bad guys never hit anything but dirt with them And the Good guys kill more people with a pistol than a machine gun.

The Abolition of Fractional Reserve Banking

2009-06-16T01:24:00.003-06:00

I doubt not your friends here inform you of the distresses of our merchants and banks, who are tumbling one another down like ninepins every day. Nor can its end be foreseen, so great has been the creation of fictitious capital by the abuse of banking institutions. (Jefferson)

Can you believe that this quote is nearly two centuries old? Apparently economic recessions, although wholly unpleasant, have been a common occurrence since the day this country was founded. Consequently I find it very odd that political and economic scholars, news anchors and agencies, bankers, workers, students, parents, talk show and late show hosts- everyone, who is sounding in on the massive issue of our fledgling economy, does little more than rhetorically ramble about their opinions of how to recover from the current recession, and exert very little discussion on what might be done to prevent or soften the severity of the next recession. While the ongoing heated debates arguing the pros and cons of the current bailout plan fill every communication air wave, a discussion is long overdue, of the underlying neglected culprit of this and every economic catastrophe of the past- Fractional Reserve Banking.

The term "fractional banking" is somewhat of a foreign term to most people, therefore a definition and explanation of the term is in order. According to "The Dictionary of Banking", Fractional Reserve Banking is quite simply defined as: "Banking in which only a fraction of the bank's deposits are held in the form of liquid reserves, with the balance lent or invested." (Woelfel) In practice, when a person deposits $1000 into a bank account, the bank is only required to keep a "fraction" of that amount in the form of cash "reserves". The rest can then be lent or invested. Therefore, for every $1000 a bank has of customer deposits in the form of actual cash, it is able to lend out around $9,000, and voilà! - money is created out of thin air and introduced into the economy. Consequently, we have two forms of money floating around in the market- Cash money, and electronic money. That is why if everyone cashed out their checking or savings account, credit cards, bank loans and the like, there would not be enough printed cash to cover it.

So, did fractional banking cause the current financial crisis? Not really, it more or less facilitates it. In order to understand relationship between recessions and fractional reserve banking, it is first necessary to understand how our current financial crisis came about. The best explanation I found on the topic was given by Ira Glass- host of "This American Life" on National Public Radio. He enlisted the help of two of his associates, Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg, to explain the situation in a way that is both relatively brief and easy to understand. In the show titled "The Giant Pool of Money" they begin by explaining something that most people have never heard of. Adam Davidson explains:

"…there's this huge pool of money out there, which is basically all the money the world is saving now. Insurance companies saving for a catastrophe, pension funds saving money for retirement, the central bank of England saving for whatever central banks save for. All the world's savings."

He goes on to explain that this pool of money is about 70 trillion dollars- that's more than "all the money spent and earned in every country on earth in a year". This pool of money is managed by an army of men and women whose job it is to make that money grow. This army of smart investors has, for most of its' existence, been satisfied with investing in safe and boring investments- like treasuries and municipal bonds- that securely yield a modest 1%.

Then, around the year 2000 this pool of money began to grow dramatically- It doubled in six years. This growth occurred somewhat as a result of the fact that many of the poorer countries on earth started to get rich by making electronics or selling oil around this time. So, suddenly there was twice as much money in this "giant pool" that needed to be invested and, lamentably, there were not enough safe investments available to accommodate this need. As a result, the army of investors began to get quite anxious under the pressure to find more good investments for the giant pool. Then, to add to the lack of available treasuries and bonds, Alan Greenspan made a little announcement that essentially made US treasury bonds, which have typically been the favorite investment of the giant pool of money, worthless for them to invest in.

The situation was stressful and bleak for the investors caring for the giant pool of money, Then one day a creative banker came up with this idea called a "Mortgage Backed Security"- which is essentially taking a whole bunch of residential home mortgage loans, grouping them all together so that you have this thing that is bringing in a lot of money every month over a 30 year term, and then selling shares of this thing to investors in the form of stocks. These stocks are the Mortgage Backed Securities that were being purchased by the investors of the global pool of money. The investors for the global pool of money fell in love with this product. It shoveled out a return of 5% or more- which is a big deal when compared to 1% they usually got.

The global pool of money quickly bought every available stock and eventually, the guys who were selling mortgages to the brokers selling the securities, began running out of loans to sell. So, the only thing they could do was to start approving people that normally would not be approved for a home loan. Since the chance to make money almost always trumps principle, the guidelines got looser and looser. Soon, everyone and their dog began receiving approval for home and bank loans, housing demand and prices skyrocketed, and every traditional conservative banking principle was thrown out the window to accommodate the insatiable demand for these mortgage backed securities that were being sold to the investors for this global pool of money. (Davidson, Blumberg and Glass)

This isn't the entire story, but is enough to understand basically what happened. Eventually the house of cards fell when large numbers of home owners started to default on their loans, home values started declining, banks realized they had made a huge mistake, and before long, the army of investors for the global pool of money realized that they had lost more than a trillion dollars that would never come back. From there, the housing crisis turned into a credit crisis as the army of investors turned their back on anything to do with credit. Well, most of us are aware of what has since happened- It has a lot of people scared.

I want to point out one very important part of this same report that doesn't get the attention it needs. Alex Blumberg is talking this time.

" The way it worked was that a small bank, like Silver State mortgage, where Mike Garner worked, would borrow money from a big bank, say Citibank, or Washington Mutual. Silver State would use this borrowed money to buy up a bunch of loans, and then pay back the big bank once it sold the pools to Wall Street. Now these smaller banks were highly leveraged, in most cases 20 to 1. Meaning, in Silver state's case, even though it only had 5 million of its own dollars, it could borrow 20 times that, 100 million, to buy loans with. (Davidson, Blumberg and Glass)

This is fractional reserve banking in practice, and it was the engine that kept the housing bubble expanding. Do you think that if Citibank or Washington Mutual was digging into its' cash reserves for this speculative venture that it would have been a bit more conservative? Do you think that if the small banks like Silver State mortgage were restricted on the amount they could borrow that any of this would have gotten as far as it did? Or even got off the ground at all? No! There was a hot product to be packaged and sold and it was fractional reserve banking that powered it. Fractional Reserve Banking is massively elastic and expandable to greatest bubble greedy markets have the imagination to create!

Beyond the mortgage backed securities, there were also "house flippers" who were making money by buying and selling houses, and it was fractional reserve banking that allowed that as well. And even the poorest of homeowners were able to qualify for loans far above their means, and that too was funded under the principles of fractional reserve banking. Thus we see that under a fractional reserve banking system, when times are good, the acquisition of money does not stand in the way of making more money.

But unfortunately, times are not always good, especially when the "fictitious capital" that Jefferson referred to in the opening paragraph- the money that is created by fractional banking- begets those good times. Recovering from recessions is a major burden on the government. A recent documentary movie by I.O.U.S.A., a bipartisan group concerned for the financial welfare of the United States, pointed out how dangerous the mounting government debt is- especially when that debt skyrockets during an economic relief act like we have just seen. The movie opens with the following phrase:

In late 2008, and extended period of financial irresponsibility and weak oversight lead to the largest government bailout in U.S. history. In a single piece of legislation, the federal government committed $700 billion to address the resulting credit crisis, plus more than $100 billion in tax cuts and spending increases to ensure passage.

The movie goes on to claim that in spite of the fact that we have paid down debts in the past, we appear to be addicted to debt, no longer making efforts to pay it down, and engaging in habits that are simply unsustainable. (I.O.U.S.A.)

The movie lays out a pretty grim picture for the financial future of our country, but the basic premise of the movie is the simple fact that the government has obligations that it most likely will not be able to meet. Adding repeated and increasingly severe recessions drastically compounds the problem. According to Recession.org, there have been 21 identified recessions since the founding of this country (Recession.org), and while not all of them have added significantly to the national debt, the relief effort of the current recession was a drastic and almost devastating blow to the national debt.

Foreboding outlooks aside though, what is it that our founders wanted for this nation? According to Cleon Skousen in his book "The 5000 Year Leap", which is a comprehensive study of the principles and theories behind the constitution, fractional banking was not to be allowed and the issuing of money was to be in the charge of congress. (Skousen) Thomas Jefferson was vehemently opposed to the idea of fractional banking. He said that it would only create booms as the "fictitious money" (Jefferson) flooded the market with no actual assets to back it up. An economy that is funded in this method tends to grow abnormally quick with economic imbalance widening until a bust blows in toppling the un-rooted economy like a tree in shallow soil. Said Thomas Jefferson concerning these busts: "This fictitious capital…is now to be lost, and to fall on somebody…We have been truly sowing the wind, and are now reaping the whirlwind." Right now, our country is truly reaping the whirlwind of fictitious capital.

But, Thomas Jefferson stood essentially alone in his opposition to the fractional reserve banking system. Of all the brilliant men assembled to form this nation, no one else raised much of an issue on the topic, and so it must be derived that a sensible person cannot simply eradicate what might also be considered a life blood of economies, businesses and nations. Debt is admittedly a part of every large company and nation. It is part of every sound and accepted form of accounting. Going back to the founders- this country we live in may have never risen up through the financed war for independence without the lending that took place under the practice of fractional reserve banking. And, although Jefferson could never have envisioned a situation worse than the one we are currently facing, that might come as a result of allowing fractional reserve banking, the remaining founding fathers considered the benefits of fractional reserve banking to be greater than consequences of its initial abolition. They had no choice but to hand the money over to banks and allow fractional banking for the good of a growing nation.

That being said, and in spite of the idea that some see our nation as a fledgling debt ridden wasteland, we are and appear economically poised to remain the most powerful economy in the world. (I do say that with some reservation, however.) So, even though this nation may not have survived without fractional reserve banking in the beginning, what I would like to suggest is that as a developed mature nation (with a slight addiction to debt), we could possibly be strong enough to do something that no other nation in the world has ever done before- survive the voluntary recession it would take to abolish fractional reserve banking. And then go on to build on the back of wealth instead of the burden of debt.

But do the speculative ends justify the means of taking such a chance?
In a time when nations were built upon the backs of slaves instead of the back of debt, there existed similar complacency even toward the atrocities of slavery. The movie "Amazing Grace" exposes the attitudes of the British parliament when they were confronted with a bill proposed by William Wilberforce that intended to abolish slavery. A very shallow, but entirely logical, argument continued in this way:

A. If you stop the slave trade you will ruin businesses and put thousands of people out of work. Think of all the people who make goods to trade such as cloth, guns and iron bars and all those who make equipment used in the trade such as ropers, chains and manacles.

B. Ending the trade would be disastrous for Britain as a trading nation. You would simply be giving the trade to our rivals, the French, who would benefit from it…

(Church Mission Society and Citizenship Foundation)

Parallel arguments can easily be constructed in favor of continuing with fractional banking. In fact, the removal of fractional reserve banking from a functioning economy now could easily be far more detrimental in its abolition than any proponent of slavery could have surmised in the wake of the former abolition of slavery.

Slavery was a sickening abhorrent sin that almost every nation of the burgeoning modern world saw justifiable to build upon. Simple economics blinded the world to the atrocities of those times, and so it would be great to say that humanity one day "saw the light" and cheerfully gave up their sinful ways to embrace the abolition of slavery. But it was not quite so simple, and slave trade, at least in Britain, did not end based on William Wilberforce's efforts alone. According to Paulos Gregorios, author of "A Light Too Bright" economic conditions contributed to Wilberforce's efforts to end slave trade.

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, economic conditions in the imperial system were ripe for abolition. Sugar and cotton were among the major products of the slaves, but machines took over in cotton production and the sugar markets were glutted. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, slave demand was low and the slave trade soon became unprofitable. (Gregorios)

Slave trade became unprofitable...It infuriates me to no end to consider what mankind embraces so long as it is profitable! The lesson, therefore, to be learned from this is that detrimental practices must first become unprofitable before the critics of that particular practice can be heard.

The point in sharing all of this about the slavery and what made its abolition possible, is that, although far less abhorrent, fractional reserve banking is in more ways economically detrimental to nations and economies- but it is embraced in chains and relied upon much like slavery was in generations past. And if fractional reserve banking is going to go away, two things are needed: People who push for abolition, and economic conditions that make it unprofitable.

Recent events such as the current freezing of the credit market, the collapsing of major banks, and government bailouts of banks and automakers are a few indicators, among others, that we may be heading toward economic conditions that might facilitate the brave move we need toward the abolition of fractional banking.

A move to the side of wealth rather than debt would command a respect and fear from the hearts of every nation on earth in a way far more positive and effective than the strength of armies, military, and weapons ever could. Cleon Skousen, in his same book "The 500 Year Leap" quoted an editorial from the London Times that expressed the fear of what might become of the United States in their relation to the world economies, if it were to successfully implement a debt-free, asset-based financial system, free of fractional reserve banking. The article stated:

"If that mischievous financial policy… should become indurated down to a fixture, then that Government will furnish its own money without cost. It will pay off its debts and be without debt. It will have all the money necessary to carry on its commerce. It will become prosperous beyond precedent in the history of the civilized governments of the world. The brains and the wealth of all countries will go to North America. That government must be destroyed or it will destroy every monarchy on the globe." (Skousen. pp 190, italics added)

It was called "mischievous" likely because no one does nor did practice an economy free of fractional banking. The induration of the policy implies that it would not come about except by great effort and cost, but that in the end it would yield a reward worth the wealth of the world. And although short term, manageable debt can still be seen as necessary and ok, the absence of long term, fiscally irresponsible, and unmanageable debt is the magic touch that grants the unprecedented prosperity still unachieved by any nation of this world.

If economic climate invites the abolition of fractional reserve banking it will still likely come only under the leadership and tireless efforts of one equal to the likes of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and even William Wilberforce. Cleon Skousen commented on the immensity of the task:

" All of this should demonstrate that somewhere up the trail, the leadership of the United States has an opportunity to add one more burst of momentum to the upward thrust of the 5,000-year leap. It will be a monumental monetary reform based on the principles which the Founders understood but were never able to implement." (Skousen)

It surely will be a monumental and unprecedented reform. It is as if this move were the final link to fulfill the destiny and potential of a nation and economy that was designed by the culmination and compilation of the greatest thinkers through all of recorded history.

The thought of this paper sitting on the desk of a banking CEO makes it feel quite wicked and immature- that it should be shut up, ridiculed and ignored as its own atrocious thought, or, at the very least, apathetically patronized as silly delusions that don't apply to current events.

Only two things are needed to change the tide of detrimental practices: People who oppose the practice, and conditions that make the practice unprofitable. And I think both are coming.

Works Cited

Church Mission Society and Citizenship Foundation. "Amazing Grace." 2006. Amazing Grace the Movie. 21 April 2009

<http://www.amazinggracemovie.com/_pdf/ending_slavery.pdf>.

Davidson, Adam, Alex Blumberg and Ira Glass. This American Life. 9 May 2008. 10 April 2009 <http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=355>.

Gregorios, Paulos. A Light Too Bright: The Enlightenment Today: an Assessment of the Values of the European Enlightenment and Search for New Foundations. Albany: University of New York Press, 1992.

I.O.U.S.A. the movie- 30 minute version. Dir. I.O.U.S.A. I.O.U.S.A. PBS, 2009.

Jefferson, Thomas. Letters to and from Jefferson, 1819. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Library, 1996.

Recession.org. History of Economic Recessions. 1999. 1 April 2009 <http://recession.org/history>.

Skousen, Cleon. The 5000 Year Leap. Malta: National Center for Constitutional Studies, 2007.

U.S. Government. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan: The Impact for Utah. 3 March 2009 <www.whitehouse.gov>.

Woelfel, Charles J. The Dictionary of Banking : Over 5,000 Terms Defined and Explained. Burr Ridge, Ill.: Probus Publishing, 1994.

The Bailout Concern

2009-05-20T23:25:00.002-06:00

Although our current economic recession is similar to recessions and depressions of past generations, almost every person in the world right now is feeling the pain of an economic downturn in a way that is quite unique from generations before us. In addition, the powerful economies of the world have become so intertwined with the U.S. economy that our action and behavior now affects the world. Therefore a sound understanding of the differing facets of the Presidential stimulus plan is essential as we strive to understand why some oppose the recent presidential bailout plan, why some want and support a bailout plan, and what can be done to avoid an economic downturn in the future.

To begin, an analogy comparing recessions to fevers will be used. People who are familiar with basic natural healing have always known that a fever is part of the natural healing process and is helpful in purging the body of sickness. Therefore, taking medicine that suppresses a fever can only prolong the sickness. On the other hand, there are others who feel that this holistic approach only causes unnecessary suffering. At a very basic level, one facet of the Presidential stimulus package is debated under much of the same premise: There are those who believe that recessions are part of the natural process of a free market economy and that this type of economy flourishes best when left alone, and then on the other side, there are others who see stimulus plan, like the one being implemented today, as a standard and necessary treatment for the situation.

For example, NPR radio hosted somewhat of a debate between two notable economists that hold these same opposing views. David Kestenbaum, the reporter for NPR, introduced the first economist, Dr. Russell Roberts, economist at George Mason University, as an “Austrian-school, Chicago supply-sider. Basically he's a free-market guy, believes the economy works best when the government doesn't go messing around with it.” The second economist, Dr. Steven Fazzari, is professor of economics at Washington University, who describes himself “as a Keynesian macro-economist”. Fazzari began the economic debate on the Presidential stimulus plan with the following reasoning:

“…we need a big stimulus package now. Millions of very talented people are out of work, just sitting idle, not helping the economy; it's a total waste. In order to get people working again and get the economy going again, someone somewhere has to step in and spend.”

That is to say, spend money on big projects, big companies that make jobs, and right now, the only “someone-somewhere” able to do that is the U.S. Government. In other words: Get people working again and the economy will turn around. This idea also insinuates that working people help the economy and idle people hurt the economy. Although concrete evidence of this cannot be quantified, it is an idea shared by many economists.

Dr. Roberts, on the other hand, sees that attitude as the worst possible solution. “I find it horrifying, personally. The idea that the government is going to decide where a trillion dollars of our economy is spent rather than the rest of us deciding it is not, to me, a good sign.” And the way that the “rest of us” decide on where the money is spent is not by voting, but by actually spending the money that we earn personally. This macro-economic decision making process is the holistic mentality behind this type of economic mentality.

It is important to see at this point, that both of these opposing points of view came from credible, educated, experienced, and practicing economists. And in spite of their differing beliefs, by the end of their discussion, they both concurred that it is difficult to positively state which road is best. Let me say that again- both of the credible, practicing, trained economists agreed that it is difficult to state which road is best. (FAZZARI and ROBERTS)

That being said, a consideration of popular conservative talk show opinion should be evaluated. Talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, sides vaguely with Dr. Robert’s position- that the economy should be left alone. Although he is not a credible economist, Limbaugh attracted a lot of attention when he publicly declared that he wanted the stimulus package to fail. It gained national recognition because of its apparent insensitivity to those affected by the recession, and the seemingly anti-Obama sentiment it portrays.

“I want the stimulus package to fail. 'Cause if this thing for the first time ever does what it never has done before, we're in even worse trouble. If it becomes established that the federal government and the federal government alone can manage the economy and take over the private sector, then forget it, folks…I do not want this to succeed, and nobody who has any respect for the founding of this country and for the capitalist system, who is honest and who has looked at it, would want it to succeed either.” (Limbaugh)

Even though this is somewhat of a wild and not at all credible economic position to state, it touches on a deeper principle based idea concerning part of this country’s foundation. The United States of America was founded on principles based in economics as much as it was based in principles of liberty. Therefore, if this country is a result of adherence to these principles, then Limbaugh may have hit an important and valid point: that this stimulus package is in direct violation of those principles and is going against the flow of what made us a world economic superpower. So, wanting the stimulus package to fail does not translate to “I hate America”, or “I hate Obama”, or “I don’t care if you are suffering” as some people may interpret this statement to say- it is simply acknowledging that Adam Smith’s idea of a free market being guided as if by an “invisible hand” really did work, and that it still does work far better than any other existing market system. It is saying that the natural process of supply and demand is about to be ousted and replaced with government programming. In this frame of mind, it is kind of like ousting the natural process of childbirth and forever replacing it with government controlled lab cloning to manage population and families.

Whatever the economic inclination of the public happens to be at the time of a recession, whether it be for or against government intervention, there must be, however, a limit to the severity of a recession that an economy can withstand before it dies out completely. Going back to the fever analogy- Brain damage, blindness, or death can occur if an untreated fever is severe enough. Likewise, the leaders of this country must be ever vigilant to the severity of a recession in order to prevent the effectual death of our economy. When reports begin to surface of “…2.6 million jobs disappearing in the last 4 months…” (HEALY) the government must begin monitoring the ailing economy just as a parent would monitor the fever of a child. And when articles like the following from the New York Times begin to surface repeatedly about unemployed autoworkers from Detroit, the idealism of holistic economics like what Dr. Roberts and Rush Limbaugh support begin to take a back seat (especially when political careers are at stake). The article in the New York Times highlights Kim Allgeyer, and autoworker from Detroit, who is currently unemployed.

“The people who do what I do in the Detroit area are a dime a dozen,” said Kim Allgeyer, 46, a machine toolmaker in Westland, Mich., who was laid off in January from a company that makes assembly lines for the automakers. Unable to find another full-time job, he is subsisting on day labor and one-week stints for contractors. “Who’s going to put me to work?” he asked. “Where’s the work at? It’s just a great big black hole.” (HEALY)

Millions of people, just like Kim, are hurting, wondering where the work is. It seems that they literally can’t wait for the chance that idealistic principles will make life better for them in the long run. Right now, their families are hungry and right now, food banks are drying up, and right now there is a nation in fear of something they have not seen before. They seem to be standing like a feverish suffering child before their parent waiting for something to make it all better. “Just give me the medicine! Make it go away…” they seem to say.

President Obama believes he has the medicine that will not only soothe the pains of the recession, but heal it as well. The Obama administration issued a basic outline of their “Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan” (i.e. Stimulus Plan) on the Whitehouse.gov website for each state. Here is President Obama’s prescription for the state of Utah. Although much of it is directed toward future improvements, it does have basically what most people need: jobs.

· Creating or saving 33,300 jobs over the next two years.

· Providing a making work pay tax cut of up to $1,000 for 890,000 workers and their families.

· Making 24,000 families eligible for a new American Opportunity Tax Credit to make college affordable.

· Offering an additional $100 per month in unemployment insurance benefits to 74,000 workers in Utah who have lost their jobs in this recession, and providing extended unemployment benefits to an additional 14,000 laid-off workers.

· Providing funding sufficient to modernize at least 43 schools in Utah so our children have the labs, classrooms and libraries they need to compete in the 21st century economy.

· Doubling renewable energy generating capacity over three years, creating enough renewable energy to power 6 million American homes.

· Computerizing every American’s health record in five years, reducing medical errors and saving billions of dollars in health care costs.

· Launching the most ambitious school modernization program on record, sufficient to upgrade 10,000 schools.

(U.S Govererment)

To sum up- it is supposed to give people jobs, make better schools better for our children, and improve America’s future. If it does what it was sold as and designed to do, America may pull out of this better off than it was before.

This stimulus package is not designed, however, to prevent a recession from happening again in the future. Much has been spoken on the subject of pulling out of this recession, but few have been the voices that have spoken on the topic of avoiding a recession. According to economists on the website Recession.org, we have been through crisis’ similar to our current one at least 18-20 times since this country was founded! (Recession.org) After having this many recessions and recoveries, it seems strange that we don’t have an established, working economic recovery plan yet! Consequently it seems quite curious indeed to praise the founder’s hand for creating a government and economy that continually verges on collapse -regardless of how well it does in the up cycle!

But, oddly enough, there was one tiny part of founder’s original plan that never saw implementation- and it had to do with how money was issued to the public. In the original plan, the framers of this country intended money to be distributed and controlled by congress- not by banks. But due to an economic depression that was occurring at the very founding of this country, and due to pressure from European interests, the issuing of money was turned over to private banking institutions. (Skousen)

Banks are allowed to practice what is called “Fractional Reserve Banking” –which means they can issue 3-4 times more paper notes (money) than they have in assets to back it up. Thomas Jefferson, the foremost critic of this practice, foresaw that this would only create “booms” with the “fictitious money” flooding and inflating the economy with no actual assets to back it up. The economy can grow abnormally quick with economic imbalance following, until a “bust” blows in toppling the un-rooted economy like a tree in shallow soil.

Said Thomas Jefferson concerning the bust: “This fictitious capital…is now to be lost, and to fall on somebody…We have been truly sowing the wind, and are now reaping the whirlwind.” (Skousen) The whirlwind he speaks of is the chaos that follows when an economy suddenly reaches the peak of what fractional banking allows consumers to spend (which is apparently far above what they are able to repay) and the consumer is no longer able to buy. Therefore it seems that when consumers no long buy, manufacturers can no longer produce. When manufacturers no longer produce, they can no longer supply jobs. When jobs are lost on a massive scale, consumer purchasing screeches to a halt right along side of the economy, and the Bust, or recession, or depression, has a firm grip on the neck of the economy.

Thus we see that the final consideration of the stimulus package is why recessions happen over and over. If the problem lies in fractional banking, as Thomas Jefferson claimed it does, then we don’t need a president to only demand a stimulus package from congress, nor do we don’t need a president to convince the American people to ‘ride out’ the recession like a mild fever, but it seems that we need a president who can tear the soul out of the banking industry by restoring the issuing of money to congress and forcing banks to lend based on existing assets, while convincing the American people that this is a good thing.

None of the three presidents, however, who tried to restore the issuing of money to congress succeeded in doing this. Wanting to rid the country of the boom and bust cycle, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln all tried to switch it back. And although they were unsuccessful, they did get close. And apparently they were close to something big. In the book, “The 5000 Year Leap”, Cleon Skousen quoted an editorial from the London Times that expressed the fear of what might become of the United States in their relation to the world economies, if it were to successfully implement a debt-free, asset-based financial system. The article stated:

“If that mischievous financial policy… should become indurated down to a fixture, then that Government will furnish its own money without cost. It will pay off its debts and be without debt. It will have all the money necessary to carry on its commerce. It will become prosperous beyond precedent in the history of the civilized governments of the world. The brains and the wealth of all countries will go to North America. That government must be destroyed or it will destroy every monarchy on the globe.” (Skousen. pp 190)

“To be without debt” seems to be the catalyst that sparks a fear and threat greater than that of nuclear weapons. “To be without debt” seems to be precedence for dominion in any civilization in the history of the world. “To be without debt” seems to be the magnet that attracts the best the world has to offer to the nation that can wield it!

-----------------

Works Cited

FAZZARI, Dr. STEVEN and Dr. RUSSELL ROBERTS. Economists Duke It Out Over Stimulus Plan David Kastenbaum. NPR, 2 January 2009.

HEALY, PETER S. GOODMAN and JACK. Job Losses Hint at Vast Remaking of Economy . 6 March 2009. 15 March 2009 .

Limbaugh, Rush. I Hope the Stimuslus Package Fails. 13 February 2009. 3 March 2009 .

Recession.org. History of US Economic Recessions . 2009. 1 April 2009 .

Skousen, Cleon. The 5000 Year Leap. Malta, ID: National Center for Constitutional Studies, 2007.

U.S Govererment. "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan: The Impact for Utah." 2009. whitehouse.gov. 3 March 2009 .

New layout on the blog and upcoming posts

2009-05-20T16:04:00.002-06:00

There are now 47 photos that will randomly rotate at the top of this page each time the page is refreshed. These are simply photos that make me smile or remind me of happy times.

There are two blog posts coming up that are modified versions of papers I wrote last semester.
So, I am just issuing a warning that there will be an unusually long blog post soon.

It's kind of silly, isn't it. I'm still working on something that was just a little assignment.

The first post will be about the bailout plan. And will contain a balanced argument for all sides. I chose the topic simply because I wanted to understand it better.

The second post will be what I personally think needs to be done to fix our economy.

School's out!!

2009-05-01T04:07:00.006-06:00

How does the song go?
♫♫ No more teachers dirty looks, no more ... somethin' ...books. ??♫♫

Either way, please enjoy Alice Cooper's "Schools out for summer" song by clicking play on the player to the right. I thought it was appropriate because I got a bit sick or school this semester in spite of the fact that I am still quite excited about learning the things that I am persuing. This semester just had a bit more the the menial and maniacal hoop jumping that I hate about some methods of teaching.

Last night good ol' SLCC had a end of school year bash. They had a barbeque (that was reduced to hot dogs in about 1.5 hours), face painting, jumpaleens, cotton candy, concert, firespinners and fireworks.

The firespinners were kind of neat. Mostly, for me, they came off as a bunch of overly aged goths playing with fire. There was one part, however, that was very impressive- A very talented hula hooper spinning with fire on it:

(Hula-hoop fire spinner)

I have always though really good hula hooping is neat to watch, but with fire on it it is awesome.

Anyhow, I just have one more test on Monday.
And then I can switch modes to working mode.

You know you're loved when...

2009-04-27T10:19:00.002-06:00

...someone makes you a Nutella, Lemon pepper, & chocolate bunny sandwich, and a strawberry jam, margarine, and Nutella sprinkled with cinimon sandwich to take with you to school.

My kids are the best ever! No really, they are.

The days that make you smile big

2009-04-01T19:16:00.002-06:00

My little princess got baptised this last weekend. What can I say, but- what a special day! :)

Spring Break Moab Trip

2009-03-25T22:17:00.009-06:00

So as part of spring break I went to Moab this last weekend.

We climbed the first day (at a place called "Ice Cream Parlor). It looked like an easy climb because the rock face was not vertical. But it was so slick and void of of handholds that it was actually quite a challenge.

You can kind of imagine how hard it was to get started.

And, it couldn't be "top roped".

My favorite part about climbing is the "hanging out" aspect with occasional bursts of effort while you enjoy good company, entertainment (the other people climbing), and the fact that you can soak in all of the scenery.

I absolutely love the feeling.

Here are some solid rock cave houses (that people actually live in!) that we passed on the way to the climb. We thought it quite interesting.

The next day we biked the Porcupine Rim trail. That trail is still my all time favorite trail.

Unreal scenery, technical climbs and descents, jumps and drops, and almost all down hill!

Taking our lunch break on the trail.

There were some decent injuries on this ride, but I just didn't include them in this post.

Things worth saving

2009-03-18T23:52:00.006-06:00

Some time ago my wife was into those books that speak of near death experiences. She read a few of them. I listened here and there. And although I quite enjoyed what I read...
They troubled me.

For me, these books changed how I looked upon people I once saw as heros. I questioned the cause that burned in the hearts of my scripture heroes. I didn't see those stories as a special testimony of the reality of a place many doubt exists- which is what I believe was the purpose of this particular book. That's not what hit me at all- what hit me was this: book after book and story after story full of reasons to be OK with dying. If heaven is so unbelievably wonderful for a man of almost any standing... And the world around me is...
I began an internal philisophical debate over the degree to which one should hold onto life. Then, I had to answer that for myself when a piercing thought entered into my mind, as if some person had whispered tauntingly: ....if that moment ever comes to you... If the choice of fighting or letting go sits in either hand... If a life- whether it be your own or that of another person- lies before you in mercy of your action or inaction...
What will you do?

I pondered for a long time on that question- that hopefully hypothetical moment.
And eventually, although it did not come at a specific moment, I came to a conclusion. And it is this: I don't understand it completely, but I'll do it anyway- I would...I will fight. I would hold on. Something told me that that is the right thing to do.

So take from that what you will- it sounds trite, but one might say I chose to live. But how will I live?

I have a love for learning. I once told myself that if I had an endless supply of money and time, I would continue to go to college and learn everything concerning everything. I love languages. I speak Spanish, I have studied and can get along in Portuguese, I am studying German (my in-laws are German), and I am taking classes in Chinese.

Well one day, kind of in the beginning of my return to college, I had another thought that had grown out of the aforementioned idea as it linked to something else I had read many years ago concerning the idea that in heaven, all will speak the same language. (and by "heaven" I am generically referring to life after this)
This also began to trouble me a great deal. What's the point in learning here on Earth if in heaven we learn faster? And what's the point of going through the utter strenuous effort of learning language if it won't be used in heaven? (And for the atheist- I suppose there would be even less of a reason to go on learning)
Other than for the purpose of making a decent living and all those typical altruistic reasons educators spew out at students to keep them in school, what's the point of learning anything? - let alone anything difficult!?

I pondered a lot about this as well. I prayed often for understanding- this new reasoning had sapped my love of learning and it didn't feel right- and, it went against principles I beleive in.
Yet, all I had read and learned about concerning the next life led me to understand that learning in this life is rather pitiful when compared to the rapid expansion of the mind free from this world's clutter and quickened by God's spirit and light.

Not learning, and living life at bare minimum effort does not seem like what God would plan for his children, yet every logical evidence seemed to discourge this extracurricular effort. And although I do love to learn, education for me, right now, comes at a significant cost and sacrifice.

One day God gave me and answer...but not an explanation. Well, actually, I think He was trying to explain, but I didn't quite understand it. It had something to do with the timing of learning, and a spirit's progression from one existence to the next.
I can't explain it all really, partly because this was my answer and I don't intend to impose it on anyone else, and partly because it is difficult to put into words.
But the bottom line was...It is worth it.
Learning is somehow a daily struggle that holds unseen lives and destinies at the mercy of action or inaction.

I don't understand it completely, but I'll do it anyway.

All my learning, college, and teachers, however, have failed me...in a way. Tonight I saw something that made me realize that I have never learned something, if at all, very well. Something that most claim to have, but when viewed in heaven's light, they find that it was incorrectly identified.
Love.

Some time ago, yet another troubling thought settled on my mind like some sort of bulging tumor. From all I had observed in human relations around me, couples who have lasted a long time together and draw admiration for that "success"- at best- have merely learned to tolerate each other- they simply got used to each other. So is that what love is? That's all it seemed to be.

Patient people last long together ... probably out sheer apathy, or stubbornness. Hot headed and short tempered people just get divorced.

Now, I know that there are some couples who, although they appear to effortlessly enjoy genuine marital happiness, have had their struggles. There are other couples who let their inevitable struggles quickly drive them apart. Some chose to wear the silly little "my life is so perfect" mask while stubbornly living in misery. And then there are those who face this veritable struggle of marriage and in spite of every reason under heaven to give it the finger and walk away bitterly, they chose to find a way to make it work with the hope that one day- hopefully sooner than later- it will all be worth it. They somehow hear God's whisper trying to explain that this tormentor will one day be the one person you could never be without.

The world around me looks so different right now.

I don't know what to say about it except...I don't completely understand it, but...I wholeheartedly, unconditionally, and faithfully will do it anyway. And assuredly do it better than I have in the past.

This movie left me with many thoughts stirring in my mind. It felt natural to be still and ponder for a time. I found myself staring out my upstairs window at an equally still night as if we were feeding thoughts to each other. After some time my mind resolve on the saving of four things that I saw: My church, my flag, my life, and my wife. These...These are things worth saving.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

To be like Him...To be pure as He is pure...To have this hope. What a wonderful thought.
Tonight finds me on my knees praying... for real this time. :)

I think that if this love- this "charity" is in us, "saving" these things- saving anything, will come quite naturally.
After all, didn't Christ save us with the same power?

------
By the way, if you can't tell- I HIGHLY recommend the movie that I was referring to:"Fireproof". I picked it up at the Redbox tonight. It had kind of cheesy acting...but at some point the movie's story takes over and the subpar acting matters very little. Honestly- really- make a point to go rent it and watch it. Really.

Claudia says...

2009-02-18T12:15:00.010-07:00

...That I should not write blog posts that make me look "like a lunatic that needs counseling".

It seems I have caused some discomfort by allowing my "lunacy" to slip out like a fart at the in-laws' house.

So, I will now rephrase recent posts to freshen up our little blog-o-sphere:

Recently I went to Orlando to work on the windows in the temple there! I messed up the last time I was down there, and had to go again. My father in law was pretty upset with me- but the trip ended up being way cool!!! I got to sit on top of the temple to watch the fireworks, and eat some good food! (but watch out for the shrimp from Chili's- they made me hurl:) When it was all done, I was kind of sad to leave- I made a lot of good friends down there.

Before that trip, I tested for my black sash in Kung Fu. (in kung fu, we call them sashes, and not belts- because it is a satin sash that you wear around your waist).
That was kind of scary and hard, but I did all right and didn't get my butt kicked too bad!!

In other news- Right now is my yearly financial crisis. My work is seasonal, and every winter money gets tight, my wife gets mad at me, I feel like a loser, and I go crazy trying to make ends meet. But hey! everyone has tough times right?! My mom gave me this awesome looking book from Deseret Book that talks about managing finances and being prudent! Looks like now is a good time to read it!

A few nights ago I had this way crazy dream that freaked me out! I think the stress was getting to me or something.
School is still going good- I took a lighter load this semester so I can get caught up on my videos (I'm kind of behind). I'm in my second semester of Chinese, and I'm taking a computer literacy class (I didn't pass the challenge exam- I was so upset about that!), and I have a 2010 English writing class.

As a family, we have generally avoided getting sick, but recently we all got blasted with something. Poor Claudia is doing wonders caring for everyone- Running noses, coughing, and puking is not a pleasant task to deal with on a daily basis. Keep it up Claudia! You're a blessing to us all!
As for me, I have only been a teeny bit sick- nothing to complain about.

... in my writing class we have been practicing writing with different tones by changing the words we use. How'd I do? Did I successfully change "the tone" enough to make it sound more "blog-ish"?

Personally, I think the soul-less masquerade of most blogs are rather boring.

Blogs are written superficially and without much depth- and that's what we are accustomed to.

And of course! - why would we actually want to expose every thought, detail every calamity, brag of every pride, and so on when no one really wants to read that? It takes something from us to read genuinely emotional literature.

Aside from the discomfort of it, most of the time, I can only spare enough care and brainpower to find out what someone is doing- let alone what someone else is feeling!

But...but, but, but, but... Even though feelings require this uncomfortable energy to deal with...occasionally... it sure is refreshing to join in what some one else is feeling rather than what someone else is doing- to go to that second layer with them.

Everyone was looking around the room. They were avoiding eye contact. "Did he really...", "Maybe his kid has a poopy diaper."

Well, while I'm deciding whether to own up to it or blame it on someone else, re-read the former entries and see if there is something beyond the surface of it.

"Reality isn't lunacy, but they both make us uncomfortable."

Dreams- the language of Gods?

2009-02-10T09:06:00.009-07:00

I heard once that dreams were the language of the gods- If that is the case, then the gods must be crazy :)

Here is a dream I dreamed the other night.
Most dreams fade fairly quick, but my dreams from early this morning were unusually vivid.

There was this jungle guy with face paint in a druid-like robe who was doing the "Matt dance" (click on this link and watch the video for proper visualization- if, you are not familiar with it) to smash down garbage in a large commercial trash bin. I thought to myself: "that's an interesting way to compact garbage".

I went in for a closer look. Suddenly, I was behind the garbage can laying on the ground between the trash bin and a wooden fence looking up at the crazed "Matt- dancin' druid" performing some foreign ritual over me. (Fortunately, what was beneath the robe was obscured from my view)

At the climax of the ritual, I was shocked and afraid to see the lunatic tear the sticky web of a very large black widow spider from a corner of the trash bin. I saw the large spider rushing aggressively toward the druids' shaking hands when, as he shouted some ritualistic words, just as the spider seemed to be sinking this teeth into the hand, he flailed the furious venomous fangs right at my face! I panicked and somehow flicked the tiny beast away. That seemed to upset balance of the "matt dancin' druid".
That was the end of that, but, I guess my mind was not satisfied with that ending and it proceeded to replay that intense moment over and over with slightly different endings.

As my mind tired of alternate endings, my brother Davey and my brother-in-law, Doug approached me, right there in the jungle, telling me that they were organizing a conference in which they were holding an election for who would be the next President and CEO of their wedding video company. Me and all of my family were going to be paid $800 each for the 8 hours of work that would be required to watch videos and go through the election process to select one of them or their wives as the new President and CEO. I was excited to get the money and did not question the oddness of the request.

Somehow during this process an Allosaurous got into the house. I was naively teasing it. I was surprised at how large the teeth were as I kicked his head away repeatedly. Again, I was laying on the floor kicking up at it's bowing head. (I don't even want to know what I might I have looked like as I slept) It's teeth were easily the size of one of my feet. (dinsaurboy can correct me on the actual size of an allosaur tooth, but that's how it was in my dream) Eventually I ticked the dumb lizard off- an I was in over my head. (These dinosaurs are not to be trifled with!)

Just as I was about to perish by decapitation or loss of some other limb, my dad, who, during all of this, was sitting comfortably on a plush black couch watching TV and focusing on his voting process as if all of this commotion was the usual background noise, valiantly leaped from his seat to save me from my dilemma. He comforted me and the others and then sacrificed himself to the allosaurous as a distraction while we escaped.
We (everyone in the house) all ran outside, like you would to escape a fire, and stood on the front lawn staring blankly at the house pondering.

I looked over at my alarm clock. I had awaken without the alarm. I was going to be late if I didn't hurry.

You know... Pharoah's dreams were pretty wierd- scary skinny cows and the like. Would this dream have any meaning? Should I email Barack Obama and tell him of my dream?

Reflections on Good People- of narcissism and a nobody

2009-01-21T00:20:00.006-07:00

The Alchemist picked up a book that someone in the
caravan had brought. Leafing through the pages,
he found a story about
Narcissus.
The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a youth
who daily
knelt beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty.
He was so fascinated by
himself that, one morning, he fell
into the lake and drowned. At the spot
where he fell, a flower
was born, which was called the narcissus.
But this was not how the author of the book ended the
story.
He said that
when Narcissus died, the Goddesses of the
Forest appeared and found the
lake, which had been fresh
water, transformed into a lake of salty tears.
"Why do you weep?" the Goddesses asked.
"I weep for Narcissus," the lake
replied.
"Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus," they
said,
"for though we always pursued him in the forest, you
alone could contemplate
his beauty close at hand."
"But..... was Narcissus beautiful?" the lake
asked.
"Who better than you to know that?" the Goddesses said
in wonder,
"After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each
day to contemplate
himself!!"
The lake was silent for some time.
Finally it said:
"I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus
was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my
banks, I could see, in the depths of
his eyes, my own beauty
reflected."

"What a lovely story," the alchemist
thought.

(follow this link for more info on this quotation)

This was taken from my favorite book: The Alchemist. I read this prologue the other day, I had forgotten about this interesting story. The infamous Narcissus has forever had a bad reputation and consequently I have never attached much importance to this prologue, but this time the phrase "I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected." caught me quite off guard.

I guess I'm still trying to figure out this phenomenon I experienced in Orlando.
See, I was feeling so down, so discouraged, so tired of trying, so upset at life and that I ever even dared to dream. And sometimes, I admit, it feels good to abandon yourself! - it is easier to loathe than to love yourself, it is easier to lose than to succeed.
In high school I was somewhat of a track athlete. I brought a degree of pride to a sport that had none. I was the best that school had ever seen...but I slowly became out classed by better athletes from other schools (a sophomore, no less)... In comes my senior year- one that should be the pinnacle of my success as an athlete and...I roll my ankle, quit the track team, and...I played water polo. I sucked at water polo. When the coach realized I wasn't going to quit, he took a moment to teach me how to swim. ( I must have been flailing around in the water in some ridiculous way) But you know why I loved it? I was a no body. No body cared if I messed up, because no body expected me to do well in the first place! And that felt so good!
And that's all I wanted at that time in my life in Orlando, I guess...just to be free from the pressure.

I'm not even a good person...I suck at getting wedding videos done...I don't provide well for my family...If somebody likes me, they just don't know me well enough...I'm not really a very smart person either...

And on and on the checklist goes, systematically relieving duty after duty. I don't have to be good, because I'm not good; I don't have to be nice, because I'm not nice; etc.

Then comes Narcissus...They ruined it all. Damn those angels that go around ignorant of their beauty ruining worlds of pity. It only took a moment, looking into their eyes, being in their presence. They never cared who I was and what I was trying to relieve myself of! They just saw me...just me as I am. And I saw in the depths of those eyes a sight I had not expected to see...my own beauty reflected.

...my own beauty reflected. What an interesting thought.

So, a person shown himself in such a way can no longer genuinely believe in his worthlessness.

Kung Fu Johnny

2009-01-13T23:26:00.010-07:00

It had been a long time since I had the wind knocked out of me. That feeling of slight panic when you first try to breath after the blow is priceless.

I was starting to wear down, and my opponent was fresh when I took a strong ball kick to the solar plex and found myself stumbling to the ground. When I caught my breath and could speak again I shouted over to Ian saying: "that's for you Ian!" That was because 2 years ago (the last time I fought) I had ended a fight with him with the exact same kick. We had reminisced about it only moments previous and found it somewhat ironic.

I thought for a moment, that I might be granted some grace or time to recover, but that was not the case because this was my Black Sash test and I had made the mental reservation to give my very best effort and any cost.

Today was the first day that I have actually worn my black sash. I actually tested for it on December 6th last year. My dad had asked me to share some details from the test on my blog (we share a bit of martial art fanaticism) but I have been somewhat hesitant to share because I have noticed over the years that people get a bit uncomfortable when I discuss martial arts.

But now that I know most of my acquaintances have an overall disapproval of me anyway, I don't need to worry about disappointing any one!

I have been practicing Hung Gar Kung Fu for about 10 years. So you might think It took me 10 years to earn my black sash- but many have done it in far less time than that. I have not been a fanatic or dedicated student. And for the last 4 years or so, I have not trained much at all.

I love the art, I love the culture, I love kung fu movies, I love watching fights as much as I love watching basketball (Claudia doesn't like me watching Ultimate Fighting though)...but I have been a little slow getting through the ranks because The whole rank idea never inspired me very much. I never really cared to progress through the ranks to black. So...I was a bit surprised when I received my black sash...I felt a proud of the accomplishment. ( I know Claudia is shaking her head at me right now) But it felt kind of good to accomplish this.

Black sash tests are the most feared and fabled of all tests in this school. All the good stories we remember generally come from a black sash test.

Let me preface this by saying that I was rather intimidated by the idea of testing. I felt quite unprepared since I had only recently started training after essentially 4 years of inactivity. I knew my knowledge was under par, and I hoped that my instincts were still sharp enough to avoid too much of a beating ;)

See, this school is a full contact school with no pads whatsoever. When you get hit, you feel it. (as I was driving to the test, I actually thought of the Kung Fu Panda movie- envisioning me taking a beating as well as Poe did in the movie and coming back for more!)

The Sifu (head teacher) at this school doesn't care much to test student's skills when they are at 100%, he likes to drive them to exhaustion, and then see how they perform at that point.

So, the test begins with a workout that last about 1 1/2 hours. Push ups and isometric pressure till your arms collapse, sit ups until you can scarcely lift yourself from the ground, and stance training until your legs shake uncontrollably and give out. By the end I was drenched in sweat in a way quite uncommon to my usual workouts.

For the next hour or so after the workout, we were tested on grappling, forms, combinations and punch and kick techniques. At the end of this, the lower ranks were awarded their new rank as this was the end of their test. In light of their own exhaustion, it was obvious that they felt a degree of pity for those of us who were not yet finished.

After the beginning ranks leave, we begin what we affectionately call the "Circle of Death". This would be the first round of fighting. We form a circle while the instructor calls out 2 people to spar in the center of the circle. The main purpose at this point is to allow intermediate students that chance to get used to full contact sparring. And generally, advanced students do not spar with intermediate students. So, I was surprised when I was called upon to spar with a beginning student who was kept for this portion because he was testing for an intermediate rank. He had some karate experience and so was allowed to skip ranks due to his prior training.

He was younger and stronger, and yelled really loud when he struck. (Karate tournament training) He had been training intensely for a while now, and I had not even fought or played church basketball in more than two years!

I must have looked like a trembling fool because after a minute of battle the instructor shouted out to me, "John! Remember your training." For some reason, that instilled a bit of confidence in me. With my confidence starting to come back, the next thing I noticed was him cowering away from me in pain each time I blocked his attack until he finally gave out completely.

"wow" I thought, "he bruised easily".

There were a few more fights at the intermediate level, but eventually they were dismissed with their new awarded rank and now found themselves looking on the remaining two of us in pity- wondering what horror and punishment awaited us.

Two poor souls awaiting the harrowing torment of the black sash test, and about 10 black sashes there to test us. We were exhausted, they were fresh for the fight.

We would have to fight all of them (or, depending on how you look at it...each of them would have to fight me :)

It was back to the circle of death, and at this level, you don't hold back any punches.

But the funny thing is...at this level you have all become pretty good friends. The element of fear has pretty much dissolved and our little circle of death becomes a circle of entertainment with front row seats for a fight! There's laughter, cheering, encouragement, and advice going on at all moments.

We all got way too excited when Wesley (our 16 yr old TaeKwando expert) executed a perfect spinning crescent kick to the head.

I tried to avoid hitting the head in one of my fights with Kurtis, and I was excited when I kind of disabled his lead arm by hitting it on a nerve. My black sash testing comrade almost got knocked out a couple of times, and I remember taking one hit to the head where I was really glad I had a mouthpiece- the room almost went all the way blue. And, everyone laughed (I don't know why it was funny, but for some reason it was) when I got a hold of Steve's shoe during the fight and tore it off and tossed it away before going after him again. If was thinking faster I should have beat him with it! (that's what "the crowd" wanted :)

After all of that there was one final test called the "Gauntlet". 2 rows were formed by all of the testing party. I now had to go down the row and fight each person consecutively for at least 10-15 seconds. I know it doesn't sound like much, but anyone who has fought or wrestled knows how much 10 seconds of intense fighting can do to you.

It was at this point when I took the blow to the solar plex and was not left with much time to recover. And it was at the end of this section when I knew I had nothing left to give. My energy supply level fortunately corresponded with the end of the test.

It was around 6 hours of testing total.

So...

This is a long post. I hate reading long posts. I apologize for the long post.

Beaten like a rented mule

2009-01-02T15:36:00.002-07:00

So I was sitting here in the airport and the man sitting next to me was talking on the phone and he used the phrase "Beaten like a rented mule" and I thought "that is my new favorite phrase!!"

So, BYE to all my friends in Orlando! You made my trip a fun memorable time in spite of being beaten and cussed at like a rented rented mule.

Hopefully I'll be able to come back some time when I'm not a rented mule

Lunch

2009-01-01T20:26:00.002-07:00

In spite of the awkward reason for being here. I have really enjoyed this trip so far.

I wouldn't mind living in Orlando.

Jeremy (one of the guys helping us here) taught us how to catch gators yesterday. We had a great time doing that...we'll, he only told us how to do it. We didn't actually catch one.

Farewell Lunch today. I love eating lunch with friends.

Chris bought sandwiches for everyone.

(Beautiful Orlando sunset this evening)

We worked till 7 tonight. We've been working 11 and 12 hour days every day since we've been here, and we have to be done by tomorrow. It's going to be close.

hurlin' Chili's, backwoods bbq, & New Year's Party on the Temple

2008-12-31T23:30:00.002-07:00

I finished 5 windows today by myself (the last two days I had someone helping me)-10 hours

For lunch today we ate at Chili's. It was my suggestion.

I was excited to eat ribs.

But, toward the end of the day I started feeling really crappy.

On the way home I felt close to puking. And I was upset about that because we were going over to Chris Rienhart's house for dinner, And I was excited about that.

So, on the way there I threw up, and man it felt good! I don't remember the last time I actually enjoyed hurling this much. I felt better after that.

Dang that Chili's -that's two strikes.

I puked next to an orange orchard, just in case you were wondering.

Chris' wife Lorna has the biggest heart and the strongest southern accent I've ever heard. They have a large plot of land with a cozy little mobile home tucked away behind a few trees. One crazy dog and one loveable dog run out to greet you when you drive up. (so one is growling and the other is looking to be pet) Chris had bbq'ed some meat, and his wife had cooked some rice and a special cake for the evening. There were some other guys from salt lake there who were replacing the wallpaper in the temple, so there was 5 of us there.

After dinner we talked for for 3 hours. I enjoy the flow of unstructured conversation.

11'oclock came, Lorna handed out some blow horns for our little rooftop party. And we (not Lorna and Chris) all drove to the temple to watch the fireworks at Disneyworld from the roof of the temple.

It's not a spectacular event- but more just a fun little thing for the "insiders" to do simple for the uniqueness of the opportunity.

(I'll post some video later)

another 5 done and an interesting phenomenon

2008-12-30T21:48:00.003-07:00

We finished only 5 windows today. I had to spend too much time running around trying to solve some problems. (not my fault, but it may as well be)

So, this is my 3rd time down here. Last time I was here, it was for a couple of weeks. Needless to say, I've come to know the staff here at the temple fairly well. (the engineering and security staff)

And I noticed something funny overcoming me last night and in to today. It was something strange and different like biting into a fruit you have never tasted before and loving it.

...I wanted to be good.

I guess just being around and talking with some of the people here this time had some strange effect on me and I can only describe it as wanting to be good.

Now I see that as a funny thing to say for a few reasons. First, it indirectly demeans those people I see on a regular basis. Second, It indirectly implies that previously I had only entertained bad or apathetic thoughts and actions. And third, I hear Jack Nicholson's voice in the back of my head saying "You make me want to be a better man..." (and that's just weird in as it applies to this situation)

But, it was at that moment, and remains in me still, a very clear and specific, yet foreign feeling, that was an unmistakably simple feeling that altered my thoughts, actions, and choices from that inception until now.

It was just so sudden. I really don't recall having willingly altered my thoughts and actions before in such a brief moment.

I should also add, even thought it feels kind of "Deseret Book-ish" to point it out, that it probably also had to do with the fact that I was in the temple when I had this feeling.

But for what ever reason it may be, a feeling that was currently foreign to my being, struck my heart and made me want to be good.

No body preached to me, no body "bore testimony", no body said anything with any intentional wisdom after sensing some secret inner turmoil to help me out.

It was nothing more than average conversation with regular people dressed in blue denim "over-alls" saying "dad-gummit" and telling stories in a slight southern drawl in a building basement. And that's it.

But I guess... there was "tender mercy" somehow involved, and a few folks that had a goodness sufficiently strong that it involuntarily reached beyond themselves unknowingly, and a basement that was still within the walls of a temple that the Lord Jesus had walked.

I felt a feeling similar to this some years ago in a very dark time of my life. He was my stake president at the time and I was standing in a crowded chapel following some meeting that I was supposed to attend. And at some point as he was talking to another person in complete ignorance of any special occurrence, I felt "love" shoot from him right at me- it seemed as if his talking face had temporarily gone on auto-pilot while his spirit turned and singled me out of the crowd and shouted "you are loved!"- not in words so simple as that, but in feelings that actually mean something- It's that strange spirit language that we all recognize but are typically unable to voluntarily use.

These feelings feel as if they were shooting out from these people like light from a torch in every direction. But at the same time it must single some out as if it were intelligently directed light.

This is kind of a self exposing post, but I'm not much in the mood to care or speculate on other's opinions about me right now.

And considering my "cockroach theory" (remind me to tell you about that later) someone may benefit from this exposure.

I'm probably still a moron, but...I feel like being good now :)

Although I just don't have it in me right now, I really want to be someone who is able to give that gift to others.

forbidden fruit?

2008-12-29T22:05:00.006-07:00

So I worked around 12 hours today. We spent a lot of time figuring things out and in the end we finished 5 of the 16 windows we need to complete.

At some point during the day today, I noticed that there were some small orange trees growing on the temple grounds. Chris-the head engineer guy here told me that the were knew this year, that they were planted in July, and that he was surprised they already were growing some fruit.

He suspected that they wouldn't be much good, but said I was welcomed to one. And so, at the end of the 12 hour day I went to the tree and picked an orange and I did eat it.

And it was good. (it could be that I was starving, or it could be that it was temple fruit)

I went and tried to get the others to eat, but they would not.

...my hands were a bit dirty.

Oranges growing on the temple grounds. How neat is that!

A Moron Named Mudd

2008-12-29T00:09:00.006-07:00

So, I'm in Orlando now. Another fun trip!

Well...this one isn't quite as fun as the last. This job has a lot of awkward "baggage" attached to it.

(this is the 3rd time we've come down here, and this trip is, in part, due to a kind of big mistake I made 3 or 4 years ago. Now that "the boss" has forked out the money for this last trip, he has officially named me "Mudd" and written me off as a moron. But that's ok-that's sums me up nicely, and "a moron named Mudd" has a nice ring to it. )

But all the baggage aside, the warm weather sure is nice to enjoy.

Ruben (the other glazier with me) and I drove with the windows down on the way to the hotel :)

Brazil Video

2008-11-26T15:31:00.005-07:00

So here it is- I finally edited the video from my trip.

I think the video makes it look like I didn't do any work down there. So, just in the way of a reminder, I did actually work really hard when I was there ;)

1 week in Curitiba from John Orgill on Vimeo.

Back Home

2008-11-19T21:42:00.002-07:00

I got home on Sunday.
And I have not had a moment to tell about the last little bit of the adventure since I've been back-
because I spent every last second of my time there seeing the city.
In fact I barely made my flight home.

To sum up the last day-
I slept in.
I went to the temple to make a final walk through.
There was a member there from another city visiting the temple. He asked if I wanted to see Curitiba with him and his wife and daughter. I said "sure"!
We saw visited two beautiful parks, we got a bit lost, and I barely made it back in time to pack, and get to the airport.

And- I have a new favorite drink- the best I have ever tasted! Fresh squeezed sugar cane with fresh squeezed lime. Oh- it's exquisite.

I will be posting a highlight video of the trip soon.

The Secret is Rock Salt

2008-11-14T17:26:00.003-07:00

My work here is finished :)

And today I had a choice: Hang around in the comfort zone, or lean out over the fence and see what's out there.

Last night I asked for a map of the city, plotted out a few places I wanted to see, and this morning I set out just to explore a city foreign to me. (sorry Claudia)

I got off of the bus in a busy park with all sorts of people. I found a man playing the accordion.

I love the accordion...

So I gave him a "Real" (the unit of money here) and stood listening to him play for a while. I have a few memories of my grandma playing the accordion when I was a child. I don't know if that somehow planted a partiality for the instrument, but I sure love to listen to it- and this man played the type of music that resonates somewhere other than my ears- the kind that creates feeling more than sound.
Behind the vagabond was a small flower shop. A man squatted over a pile of flowers with two small children at his side. They were cutting stems and preparing the flowers for a day in the park.

Lovers on a bench, homeless man-face covered against a tree, dogs sleeping by the food stand, memorize the buildings so I can find my way back, And then I wandered for a bit.

I found some cool shopping areas. I finally found something I think i think Claudia might like.
I asked the lady at that shop how to get to the Botanical Gardens, but she wasn't really sure. they kept saying a word I didn't know. I looked it up in my dictionary- oh! Red isn't rojo, it's vermelho! Take the red bus!
I got on and told the driver to tell me when we get to the gardens. He was a younger guy that was far more helpful than I expected.
This garden was large, well kept, and beautiful.

The crown jewel of the park is a large aquarium

I left the park around noon and boarded the bus back to the offices by the temple. We were all getting together for a bar-b-que today. The man in charge was supposed to be especially skilled in the fine art of Brazilian BBQ. I was excited to see this art in action.

The offices for the Temple right now are just east of the front of the building. There are 3 small buildings constructed of plywood and white paint. In the back is the essential brick BBQ stand.

A secret of Life:

When time with friends is short, eat together.

And enjoy the moment.
I remember 2 meals I had with Claudia's family in Germany when were there 8 years ago. I can see there faces, I can feel their beings. I don't recall what we ate, but I remember how much I enjoyed their company in spite of not understanding a word they said.
(I apologize for "name or place dropping") I remember meals with a family in Tahiti when I was there for that temple, I remember a last meal with some investigators the night before i was transferred. And of course, I look fondly on the meals I have at home with my own family- because we sit together, eat together, and talk together. I love that.

I love getting to know people when I travel somewhere. Today was one of those days I will remember.

Be together, talk together, Eat together- that is a secret of life.
And if you choose Brazilian BBQ to facilitate the bond (which I highly recommend), then you must know of one more thing:

The secret of Brazilian BBQ is rock salt. Simply rock salt.

Chicken Hearts

2008-11-13T17:14:00.003-07:00

So, I ate chicken hearts today at the rodizio for lunch. They're kind of good. It's just a nice bite size piece of meat that's not hard to chew. mmmm!

I think I have eaten the amount of meat that I normally eat in 3 month in the last 3 days.
But, man they sure know how to cook meat down here.

(Chicken Hearts already eaten in this photo)

Our daily lunch crew. We've had some good times- and they know all of the best places to eat. Lunch has been one of the highlights of trip!

(in the photo from Right to left is Vanessa, Marcote, Andre, Rodrigo, Seargent, Rusty, and ?- can't remember his name right now)
Seargent and Rusty are also here from Utah working on the HVAC system in the Temple. Rodrigo is here from Sao Paulo assisting them. The rest work in the offices here and live in Curitiba. Vanessa is the one I referred to in a recent speech in my speech class-she speaks Portuguese, English, and Japanese.

I need your opinion- which is worse?

2008-11-12T15:57:00.006-07:00

...Drinking the water in South America, or wiping out while water skiing in Utah Lake and getting a mouthful of the Utah Lake water?

I was brushing my teeth the other night and habitually took a big swig of water from the faucet after finishing. "That might come back to bite me" I thought to myself as I raised my head from the sink looking into the bathroom mirror as I swallowed .
The next day I was pondering life and parasitic water while tearing apart windows and suddenly the thought appeared like a vision in my mind- Me crashing in Utah lake while water skiing and involuntarily swallowing a good amount of water.

Clean faucet water from Brazil,

or stinky fish dirty water from Utah Lake

What think ye? Does anyone have educated advice or input?

As for myself, I'm leaning toward faucet water from Brazil.

Getting By

2008-11-11T19:09:00.001-07:00

My dad speaks a number of different languages. When I brag about it to others I categorize them into those that he speaks fluently, and ones he can "get by" in.
I have often imagined how cool it would be to be in a foreign land and actually be able to get around on my own and "get by". Order food in a restaurant, get most of what people are saying, find your way around, etch. To me, I would love to speak a language so well that I can hardly be detected as a foreigner, but how fun it is to begin the adventure now by 'getting by'!
Anyhow, I feel kind of proud of myself. For the last 4 months of so, i have been working hard to convert my spanish to Portuguese- And, to learn to understand it when it is spoken to me. Well, today, I trained two guys down here on how to do the work on the windows that I needed them to do (I had two guys from Curitiba helping me). I ordered my food by myself (and specified that I wanted mineral water 'with gas'- meaning seltzer water), and when the waiter forgot to bring my ice with lime in it, I reminded him that he forgot it, and- in the grocery store two boys about 13 came up to me and asked me to buy their groceries for them.
I stumbled a bit on that one, because, this isn't the sort of town that has beggars, and people don't normally ask for money inside a store with a cart of groceries, and they were offering to give me the money to buy it with. I was understanding them, but I didn't get why they were asking.
So, I was a little slow and stupid about it until I actually looked in their cart and saw some wine coolers and beer- then, the light came on and I figured it out. Duh- they were too young to buy the booze, and wanted me to do it for them.

Anyhow, I'm far from fluency (and apparently common sense), but I'm getting by and loving it.

And, I had a really good lunch yesterday and today. Oh, how I love good food.

Pictures

2008-11-11T17:38:00.010-07:00

So, I am fixing a section of windows in this temple

On the sections that gets the most sun, I am taking out all of the windows (leaded stained glass insulated by two clear pieces of glass), taking them apart, replacing the outside piece of clear glass with "Low-E" glass, putting them back together, sealing them up with silicone, and putting them back in the building.

There are 46 windows I need to complete by Friday.
Yesterday, we took out about half of them. And today I fixed and re-insulated 24 of them.
We worked about 12 hours today.
Picture #2 shows some of the completed windows that will sit for about a day while the silicone drys.

And here is my table where I take the windows apart and put em back together.

The temple with the proud Brazil flag.

Buildings being built in Curitiba.

Wow, my hands are hurting after today. I've been taping up my hands to keep the blisters at bay. The black on my hands is silicone.

And, I finish with a beautiful night shot of this temple. I took this as I was leaving tonight.

You know, I really like this temple. Everything in this temple is unusually striking- the architecture, the colors, the windows (of course I'm a bit partial to them, but, my father in law, who designed them, really did an incredible job on them)- everything is just breathtaking.

You Know...

2008-11-10T19:45:00.003-07:00

...I would like it if things would go like they are supposed to on one of these trips! Just once!

(But...that's ok. Because I still ate some really good food today)

First day- Curitiba, Brazil

2008-11-09T19:55:00.006-07:00

So, I had this plan to make a cool first day video to post. I was filming lots of interesting things but.... I didn't bring my firewire cable. So you'll have to close your eyes as you read and imagine the wonderous land of Brazil as I describe it to you.

Traveling Alone
It's been a while since I did a trip this long by myself (It took a day and a half to get here). Part of me says it's boring with no one to talk to. Part of me gets a little scared in the big world- what if I get lost? And another part of me feels like some sort of secret agent on a mission into the untamed land of the world outside of home. The further from home I get, the more the language around me changes and what is familiar slowly disappears, as if a decorator were systematically swapping out wall photos, decorations, and people around me every time I turn my back. I then must begin to rely on wits and intuition rather than routine. I must focus on the language and tonal meanings rather than my usual subconscious understanding of native babbling. The world around me suddenly becomes alive in a wondrous sensation, like paintings leaping from their frames, stories of foreign lands and people materializing before me eyes and the dance of humanity blooms into life around me.
The pressure to adapt to new surroundings takes hold of all my care and attention and before I know it, realities have switched places. Home has become foreign, and the once foreign land becomes anesthetized into familiarity.
But the nice thing about all of this is: I never forget those I love. And the re-materializing of home and loved ones is always far sweeter than the materializing of stories and foreigners.

I switch realities now and then, -I think it is helpful to do so. It keeps home and loved ones alive, preventing them from fading unnoticed into gray background paintings, mindless mumblings, and ghostly touches.

Honestly, there is nothing I enjoy more than experiencing foreign lands, culture, people, food, and language. But I recognize that none of it could ever be as sweet as, nor exist in such intensity with out, the fact that I have a family and home that I love to return to.

What I did today:
I didn't sleep at all on the long flight. So I went without sleep for about 30 hours or more. I didn't feel too "sleepy" tired because of the excitement and commotion. But, when I looked in the mirror into my own bloodshot eyes, I could see the toll of travel and lack of sleep.
BUT- before rest was to come, we had to take care of some very important business (by "we" I mean the member from Curitiba who pick me up and two other contract workers here from the states to fix the HVAC system in the temple). After dropping our bags off at the hotel, we immediately searched for a "churrascaria" - a brazilian grill (like Tucanos). We drove around for a while searching for one with less than a two hour wait and finally found one- and the food was exquisite.
After that we drove to the temple just to have a look at it (I had not seen it completed yet). I checked out what I was going to be working on.
- For those of you who don't know- the reason I am here is to do work on the windows of one section of the Temple. One side of the temple gets a lot of sun, and I guess the Celestial room gets unbearably hot- with the cooling system not being able to keep it cool. So, what I am doing is taking out all of the windows, and replacing the outside panel of clear glass with "low-e" glass. This will reduce the amount of penetrating UV rays by about 70% or so.
I'll have 2 guys from around here helping me.

After that, we bought a few supplies from the grocery store, and then I came home, took a very invigorating shower (showers always feel so good after travel and germ infested airplanes), and I slept for a few hours.

The Sabbath Day-
It's kind of easy to forget about the Sabbath while traveling. But I left the TV off, and when things settled down here, I played General conference on my laptop, and turned my thoughts towards remembrance of the Lord's day.

So, as of right now, it is 9pm at the time I am used to, but 2am here. So I need to get some sleep before I start tomorrow's adventures.

By the way, this is where I am at

That hurricane wasn't so bad

2008-11-09T18:40:00.002-07:00

in fact, the ride wasn't even that bumpy.

But, I guess we flew over a hurricane.
Anyone know what the name of this one is?

Hmmm they just told us

2008-11-08T17:41:00.003-07:00

Hmmm they just told us that There's a hurricane we have to fly over :) don't worry Claudia ;-)

( I posted this by text message while I was sitting on the plane before takeoff)

2008-11-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

I'm almost ready to start my nine hour flight to brazil

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2008-11-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

I was downtown the other day and the reflection pond was about as still as i've ever seen it.

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Chinese Name

2008-11-05T22:05:00.007-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I went back to school to persue a business degree.
Currently I am taking Chinese, Micreconomics, Public Speech, and Business Calculus.
I am surprised by how much I am loving my classes.

I have something to say to you in Chinese.

我叫欧勇。我说一点中文。

- Advice

2008-11-05T22:05:00.006-07:00

My advice for the day is this:

Don't eat your pomegranate like an apple. It won't taste as good and you'll probably stain your shirt.

First Post

2008-11-05T22:00:00.001-07:00

Next week I am going to Brazil. So I wanted to get my blog active so that I can post progress on the job that I am doing there.
I am making a few entries so that I can see how my new blog template looks.