Not your regularly scheduled program…

Most days after work I do some type of workout… And during those workouts I usually watch a number of different news programs that are on. One good thing about this schedule is that often the news stories that I watch for the hour or so are frequently “bad”… Now that is not the good part, the good part is those reports get my adrenaline going. Thus because I’m not happy with the news I put that energy into the workout. And for a brief period of time I feel like a tough guy.

But yesterday during my one hour workout I watched as three of the miners in Chile were rescued. I was honestly smiling during the entire workout.



I loved how each of the three guys that were rescued during that hour approach the President of Chile in the same way. After hugging family and other random rescue workers they each put out their hand to formally and respectfully greet the President. But with each of those three the President threw his arms around them and hugged them for an extended period of time. So good!

While I didn’t get my usual adrenaline rush from negative news reports throughout the workout I got something much more motivating… Watching good people being reunited with friends and loved ones. News like that not only makes you feel good inside, but it also makes you want to be a little bit better!

Much Love,
Eric

Sweet Home...

So a week or so ago I attended a reunion for the Alabama Birmingham Mission and I feel like I’ve been smiling ever since. You might wonder why going to a reunion would make me so happy… Often reunions (whether we are talking about missions, high school, or family reunions) can remind us of our shortcomings more than remind us of what the reunion is really about. Whether it is comparing ourselves to a seemingly perfect relative, or worrying about getting to our ideal weight in hopes of proving something to our graduating class, or still being single after you have been home from the mission for years. Whatever the case, reunions can be twisted into a form of self torture.

Thankfully that wasn’t the case with this reunion… It wasn’t huge and a number of people I love dearly weren’t there… Nevertheless getting to interact with a few of my friends from the mission, and seeing President and Sister Peterson again made me think about so many great memories…








I’m sure those pictures don’t make you feel the same way they make me feel… (and that is probably a good thing.)

Attending the reunion reminded me how grateful I am that I was able to serve a mission for two years… And even today the memories, people and experiences from the mission make me want to try a little harder to be a little better.

I find it crazy that even after all these years I’m still being blessed by serving a mission.

Much Love,
Eric D.

10/10/10

I felt like I should give at least a little shout out for today's date...
So there ya go!

-Eric

The past 5 months…

So I have been ever so slothful in keeping this blog up-to-date and for that I apologize. I have numerous “Lessons Learned”, thoughts, humorous stories, etc. all written out… But I always find myself being overly wordy and I really like to refine things before I post them. So every so often you will still be seeing one of those fatty posts pop up on my blog. But hopefully you will see many more little random thoughts here and there… Today’s little post will simply be an update on what I’ve been up to the past few months.

-I graduated from school (again) and this time got a “hood” with my diploma. That’s right I received a Masters Degree in “Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences”.

-Moved back to Bountiful.

-I began to check the internet daily for more than peoples status updates and sales on American Eagle… Yes I was searching for a job.

-I watched LOST come to an end. And LOVED it! (Yes it did take me some time to understand, but it was way good!)

-Began to attend a University ward in Salt Lake City.

-Went on a family trip to Disneyland.

-I applied at Southwest Research Institute (Swri), got a call for an interview, went to the interview, was offered a job, accepted the job, flew down to Texas for training, flew back to Utah to start working, currently working up at Hill Air Force Base and loving it.

And those are the “big” things that have happened over the past few months… I’ve been very blessed and things have turned out even better than I would have guessed as my time at USU was coming to a close. Makes me excited for what is still ahead!

Much Love,

Eric D.