Spring Break 2010

Each of us interprets, predicts, identifies with, and likens our own lives to what we know. This doesn’t always mean our expectations will be correct, for example… Being the oldest child in my family, much of what I learned to expect from “The High School Experience” came from a little show that took place at Bayside High… Yes I’m referring to “Saved by the Bell”. Despite the brilliantly written episodes, the life like sets with real lockers and lots of neon, and the outstanding performances by Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez and Dennis Haskin (Oh Mr. Belding, your ability to be an authority figure one minute and a friend on first name basis with each student the next minute is still an example for current and future school administrators everywhere!) I really don’t feel I got a very true vision of what high school would really like. (Or perhaps it was Woods Cross High that had the problem and every other High School followed the “Saved by the Bell” format by having the breaks between classes last longer than the actual classes.)

Needless to say Hollywood is often not a very good standard to use when we are trying to understand what our lives are really going to be like… Even though there are plenty of instances we are grateful don’t play out like television shows or movies depict, there are some moments from movies that would be enjoyable to experience. Becoming the prettiest person in school by simply removing your glasses and losing your bangs, having all the hard work it takes to accomplish a giant goal only take a few minutes via a montage with an epic soundtrack playing in the background, ect. While I think those scenarios are fun, because of my past experiences with Hollywood not necessarily equaling real life, I’m not holding my breath waiting for them to happen…

Much of what the entertainment industry has produced depicting what “College Life is like” I have found to be suspect. Yet during my last year of formal schooling, after MANY years of college I experienced a very classic Hollywood stereotype actually taking place… The stereotype: A group of roommates coming together at the start of the year, each from a different background, each with various goals and aspirations, the friendships grow, then they hit the road for Spring Break, driving across several states, and coming back better friends then before.

Keep in mind it wasn’t totally like Hollywood depicts… I mean… I was involved and the destination was Disneyland, and while we are all from different backgrounds we are still white and LDS… But the trip still included all of the roommates having a great time. So without any further chatter… Enjoy a few photos from Spring Break 2010.

These little guy's get tired after a full day of fun in the Park.

Mickey dancing his heart out.
Belle loves Brett and Mark
I got to Level 7 on Buzz!

Yes Captain EO is back to save the world once again!

So yeah… While I know I will never experience a number of stereotypical situations that play out in movies… I’m glad I got to experience this one.
Much Love, Eric

The Parable of the Fedora

On March 20^th, 2009 I went into American Eagle to take advantage of the “15% Off” deal they give when it’s the week of your Birthday. As I was looking at the new spring selection of stripped and solid color Polo’s a plaid hat caught my eye. I walked over and stared at the hat, not daring to pick it up, for fear of what the sales associates might think. In my mind I imagined the girl working at the checkout counter warning all the other employees (through those ear pieces they all wear) that someone who wasn’t trendy enough to buy a fedora was getting a little too close for comfort. I then decided that there was no way I could “pull off” that hat. It wasn’t my typical sense of style, I would never actually dare wear it in public and if I did dare wear it people would mock me. I went back to looking at more medium sized polo’s until I found myself back with the fedora.

I decided I would try it on, but there was no way I would try it on out in public (even though this was at the Cache Valley Mall and it is always empty). So I grabbed a medium vintage fit polo and the fedora and headed to the dressing room. After trying the hat on I figured I really couldn’t pull it off in any normal public setting, but perhaps during the summer at efy I could wear it for games night (“Games Night” is the one time during the week Counselors are allowed to wear hats). Still unsure of my ability to “pull it off” I took a picture of myself wearing the hat in the dressing room and sent that picture in a text message to Jill Catts asking for her thoughts. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait in the dress room too long before Jill replied back. After receiving a positive response from Jill and taking into account the fact that at efy I would be the Counselors boss, and since most people would want to be on good terms with their supervisors I didn’t feel Counselors or youth would openly mock me if I wore the hat. As I approached the checkout counter I was sure the cashier would question me about the hat… Strangely she rang it up as if it was completely normal for someone like me to buy a hat like that; perhaps she figured I was buying it for some trendy person who could “pull it off”. I tucked the hat away until its big debut at efy, once again I was pleasantly surprised that no one questioned my ability or right to wear the fedora. Since that time I have purchased several more fedoras and even wear them in normal public settings such as going to the library or shopping. Therefore what? So I can wear a “Fashion Hat” in public and not be overly concerned with what people think…

I think one message that can be gained from my experience with the plaid fedora it that you can “pull off” more than you think… And I’m not just talking about style. Often times in different social settings I remain quite or in the background because I often don’t believe I can “pull off” the happy, outgoing, kind and caring person that I would like to be. I worry that people will think I’m just being fake, or that I’m really “trying too hard”, or that it just isn’t me. Yet whenever I have stepped out of my comfort zone to be the kind, caring and outgoing person I desire to be I never regret it… The only regret I have is not doing it more often. So the next time you hesitate to do something good simply because you are worried that you won’t be able to “pull it off” or you get worried about what others might think… Just think of how great I look in my Fedora… And step out of your comfort zone, not worrying what others might think! (And if you don’t think I look good in my Fedora… Step out of your comfort zone anyway.)

Lost Premiere Party

So I promise to have a more meaningful and thought provoking post in a couple of days… But until then I thought ya’ll might enjoy some pictures of my apartments “Lost Premiere Party”:

Sawyers Fish Biscuits (Also in this picture is one of our cans of Dharma Root Beer... And yes it does say "Root" on the can...)

Sun’s Garden Salad with Hurley's Ranch Dressing

Claire’s “Welcome Back” Peanut Butter Cookies

Juliet’s the Bomb Chocolate Cake

We also had “Locke’s Pulled Boar” and the neighbors brought over some delicious fresh fruit.

We had some special guests make the drive up from Provo and Salt Lake City.
The dinner wasn’t only brilliantly themed but it was really delicious… At least I thought. And the new season of Lost was mind blowing! All in all it was a great night! As far as the food goes "Claire's Welcome Back Peanut Butter Cookies" were a huge hit... You can the recipe here. (And yes... The name we gave to the cookies is better than the name that site lists.)

Democrats and Republicans Unite

I don’t really want to make it a habit of diving into politics on this blog. As I read other blogs that discuss current political topics and read the responses and comments individuals leave it is clear that when hiding behind a computers screen some of us are prone to say things that we would never dare utter to someone in a face-to-face conversation or debate.

Even with a desire to avoid politics the fact of the matter is there is one current political topic that I MUST discuss. President Obama has made a number of tough decisions over the past year. Conservatives complain that he is being far too liberal in his agenda. Liberals may feel that he is not being liberal enough. With unrest on both sides President Obama was recently faced with a choice that would negatively affect Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, every race and religion.

I now quote an article from the January 7th edition of the “Daily News”:

“TV viewers want President Obama to get “Lost” after reports that the State of the Union address may be moved to Feb. 2.

No one seems to have told the White House that the highly anticipated premiere of "Lost’s" last season (according to ABC) is set for the same date.”

(Also check out

this article in the Washington Post)

No matter what your politics may be I think we can agree that having the “State of the Union” air instead of the Lost season premier is “Change” that no one wants to believes in. Upon hearing this news I began writing letters to Congress and buying large amounts of poster board and paint for the rally’s and protests that would surely ensue.

Thankfully before things got out of hand the White House came out with this statement:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs: "I don't foresee a scenario in which millions people who hope to finally get some conclusion with Lost are preempted by the president… You can quote a senior administration official."

So I for one want to thank the Obama Administration for making this bold and brave bipartisan move! Now I can worry about more important things… Like the whereabouts of Charlie and Boone.

Unnecessary Stress…

A number of television programs, newspaper articles and websites have been devoting time and space to discuss what has changed over the past decade. Yet I haven’t seen any coverage of one change that has caused me to have nightmares… No joke. Years ago basic cable introduced me to “The Learning Channel”. At that time the purpose of “The Learning Channel” was pretty self explanatory, it was to help you learn different things. A number of shows were “How to” shows in which hosts would show viewers how to do home repairs, gardening techniques, craft projects, etc. If you know me AT ALL you realize that I’m not a “Handyman”… Yet even I loved watching how in just a few episodes an entire house could be built or a yard completely landscaped with waterfalls, trees and flowers.

Over the last decade however “The Learning Channel” has chosen to distance itself from the “How to” programming niche, they have even distanced themselves from their original name by only referring to the channel as “TLC”. So why would this cause me to lose sleep? Two words…

The Duggar’s

(This picture was taken several years ago...)

If you aren’t familiar with the Duggar Family, they are the family featured on “18 Kids and Counting” (formally know as “17 Kids and Counting”… That is until they had the 18th kid). In this post I’m not mocking or belittling the Duggar’s for any reason. I feel fine about their very conservative values, their desire to have as many children as they can, etc. Of course I may have a slight issue with giving each child a “J” name (Josh, Jana, John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn, Josie… It’s now 19 kids since 12/10/09) but that’s just me. In my mind I tend to put myself in whatever situation I’m watching or reading about. And as I watch this show I feel stressed out about constantly being around that many people, the noise, the laundry, food preparation and keeping track of everyone. One would think I could just stop watching this show to relieve this unnecessary stress. Sadly the Duggar’s have begun making appearances in my dreams… And usually our interactions with each other aren’t pleasant (in one recent dream all 18 kids, 2 parents and 1 daughter-in-law cut in front of me as I was waiting in a line).

This isn’t the only TLC program that is causing me to stress out; some of their health specials which focus on individuals with rare or extreme health problems are much more intense. I never even watched the “special” about “The Tree Man” (a man with a rare skin condition that makes it look like he is turning into a tree), but the commercials terrified me so much that on a regular basis I have to sing a song in my head to get rid of the mental images that have been burned into my head. Don’t even get me started about the night I watched the primetime lineup of “Half-Ton Man, followed by Half-Ton Mom, followed by Half-Ton Teen”.

(I was going to include a picture of the half-ton mom and the tree man... But I don't want ya'll to go through what I have been going through)

Yes, as TLC has evolved over the past 10 years there have been some additions that don’t stress me out… “What Not to Wear”, “Little People Big World”, and “Jon and Kate Plus Eight” come to mind... On second thought the Dad on “Little People Big World” often stresses me out with all of his big ideas and plans and the Jon and Kate divorce also made me feel sad. So I’m guessing well over 90% of the things aired on TLC causes me to shake my head or increases my stress at least a little. So what is the point of this post? I’m not really sure… But hopefully getting this off my chest will cause the dream versions of the Duggar family and the Tree Man to leave me alone for a bit.

Thanks for a good time ’09… You have a lot to live up to Twenty Ten

Without a new “High School Musical” movie debuting on the Disney channel or in theaters one may think 2009 would have been a year doomed to mediocrity. Thankfully for me ’09 was a very good year… I want to list just a few “Lessons Learned” in 2009:

The first few months of the year I spent a good amount of time planning and preparing for my last summer with efy. As with every year efy was a blast. This summer was special for many reasons, the team, the counselors, the youth, the numerous miracles and so many other things made me feel very good about how my career with efy ended. It’s slightly weird to no longer be an active part of efy. Over the last five years I have put a large amount of my time and effort in hopes of helping to improve the program and those who would be a part of that program. Now I’m left with a lot of brightly colored polo’s that I will never have the desire to wear in public and that I don’t have the heart to throw away… So what is one of the lessons I learned from efy this summer? Oft times I’ve questioned if I can be the type of person that can throw his whole heart into things such as relationships, friendships, a career, etc. My time with efy has clearly illustrated that I can throw my whole heart into those things… It’s just a matter of finding the right fit.


With the passing of Michael Jackson this summer I heard and read many individuals on news programs, the internet and radio stations explain that Michaels passing is a reminder of how fragile life really is, and what really matters most in our lives. In my mind his passing more clearly depicted how fickle people can be. For the past 10 years or so I remember Michael being less talked about for his music career and more for his changing appearance, legal and financial trouble. He had been often mocked by people who would later be singing his praises after his passing. So what’s the lesson? Even if you are the butt of every joke and constantly being mocked today… it’s possible that one day people will be going crazy for you, even crying over you. (And if you are like Michael you might have a seemingly disproportionately large number of Asian individuals crying over you.)

Getting ready for my final year at Utah State Dru Brown and I decided to live in the same apartment… We found a place that already had two other guys in there; we signed the paper work and planned to move in at the start of the school year. On the day we were moving in we found out that our apartment manager had moved Dru and me to a totally different apartment with two individuals we had never met. Understandably I was a little ticked at the situation… it wasn’t what I had agreed to or prepared for, and certainly the manager had to be breaking some law by changing our contract without any forewarning. Yet as the semester progressed I began to have fun and enjoy this group of roommates just as much, if not more than any I have had. (And if you know how old I am you understand that I have had a lot of roommates.) Therefore what? Even when you have every right to be ticked that things didn’t play out as the contract you signed said they would… It might be for the best.

So those are three little lessons from ’09… And what lessons does 2010 hold? I’m not sure but I’m excited to find out…

Oh good... Another Blog

Why a Blog? Why Now? Two good questions… Am I starting the blog because I feel I have an unnatural amount of wisdom to share with the world at large? Or have I just grown tired of waiting to start a blog with my future wife (who is currently M.I.A.) so we can share every detail of our proposal, reception and Honeymoon vacation and then abandon the blog once the reality of day-to-day married life sets in? Or maybe the real reason for me blogging is a hybrid of the first two scenarios. Maybe, just maybe, my future wife is out there, somewhere, creeping online and will be totally smitten by my 26 years of life experience and wisdom that will be divulged on this very blog!

In all truth I was blogging long before “blogging” was even a popular term. In high school I had a website that I regularly updated and filled with random rumblings about my life. Sadly… And perhaps thankfully… Those posts have been deleted by the webhost I was using at the time and that site was rather time consuming to maintain. I’ve decided to restart my blogging for several reasons, some of the more note worthy reasons are because I’ve enjoyed silently stocking other friends blogs and I think it will be a good outlet for some of my obsessive compulsive thoughts.

At times I feel as a society we are WAY to open with our personal lives. When I know every aspect of a couple’s breakup or I know specific details of an acquaintances inner battles simply by reading their status updates of facebook I cringe. Yet at the same time some of that openness has made it possible for me to read posts on friend’s blogs that can be funny, heartfelt, and faith promoting.

So that’s the background of this blog… And as is usual with me, I used a lot of words to get across some rather basic thoughts… (If I was talking to you in person it would have seemed much shorter, in that I talk fast… or so I have been told.) So if you happen to stumble across this blog again hopefully you won’t have to cringe because of what I’ve posted… And if you are my future wife reading this… Stop creeping around and email me!