I love my job

So today, I was just working in the Express Zone.

(It's where you just go to buy something quick - no need to meet with a Specialist to learn about the product if you already know what you want)

So, three people came up to me, knowing that they already wanted a MacBook Pro with the 320 GB HDD...

The specs aren't relevant...

Anyways, I am just saying... I didn't spend time helping them pick out a computer, I just helped them pay for it and pick a few add-ons.

Oh, BTW, this MBP was for a boy, who is turning 18 next week, for his birthday/Christmas present. (The two people with him were his parents)

So... After helping him set up his One-to-One membership, we had already developed a relationship/friendship.

When we were finished, they gave me hugs, and he was super excited to come in and start learning how to be a Mac expert.

Basically, this is why I love my job.

We get to develop friendships with our customers. We make people owners. We make them excited to become part of the Apple Family.

I love my job.

I have a new ambition

Call it an awakening.

Call it a mission.

Call it something I love doing. A love. A gift. It's something I'm good at.

After speaking at my ward's summit retreat last month, I realized that I didn't really like what I was doing with my life. Well, it's not that I didn't like being friends with everyone, playing a lot, working even more, and studying EVEN MORE on top of that...

it's just, well... I needed a change.

I wanted to actually do something with my life that I wanted to do. Something that I loved to do. I had first chosen my major of Electrical Engineering because I love electronics. Duh! Everyone knows that, lol.

But I then discovered that loving electronics, and loving the calculus and physics behind designing electronics are two very different traits someone can have.

So, I was trying to do a lot of "soul searching" - trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

And then, as I was standing on the stage, giving my different lectures throughout that hour, pacing back and forth, teaching people...

IT HIT ME.

I wanted to do what I love more than anything else.

I wanted to talk.

(Yes, here come the jokes about how we can never get Nate to stop talking, he he)

But seriously. I realized that A) The number one fear that people have is public speaking.
Should I enjoy speaking in front of a crowd?
B) I also realized (after many people told me) I was good at it.

If I love doing something, and I am good at it... (and most people cannot even stand to do it) isn't that what I should do?

So I've decided to change majors. I haven't yet decided what I should change it to, but I need to find a major that will help me to do what I do.

I really want to become a motivational speaker.

I've thought about it. All the good motivational speakers are good at speaking, good looking, and have overcome something.
I think I fall in that category... (if not, I'm at least batting a .660+ batting average, right?)

So, I write you, my beloved fans (haha) for two reasons. First, is to let you know that this is what I want to do. (which is obviously a way of getting your approval/disapproval)
and second, to ask for your help.

I know that many of you think you're just like me, and you don't really know anyone special, anyone famous, or anyone important... but then again, if you're like me, you can think really hard, and find that one person who you know, who can help.

How can you help me, (including knowing someone, asking a favor, helping a friend, etc) to achieve my goal and become a motivational speaker?

I know that I can help people. I know that I can motivate people to rise above and take life by the (insert object that you grab life by here:____)

I know I cannot do this alone. You have all helped me become the wonderful person I am today. I have already done wonderful things in my life. Now, with even more help, I can now help others.

Please contact me if you have any way you can help me to do this.

Thank you so much.

I know I cannot change the entire world, but I can change some of the people in it. For them, I will try.

P.S. It's late. I didn't remember already writing a post with half of this stuff... Oh well, enjoy. :)

My Flat

Last Thursday (Veteran's Day, for all you people that live based on National Holidays) I moved into an apartment with the famous Jason Brooke.

Ok, maybe he's not famous, but he's now my roommate. And he's pretty cool. By pretty cool I mean he does the dishes, takes out the trash (When Chris Henninger doesn't), he's funny, and he doesn't bother me when I'm doing hw (He actually helps with it).

So... I am officially a REAL MAN!

Happy Hallow's Eve!

Tomorrow is the good ol' Halloween and I am excited!

haha, not really. I had my fun last night. Steffany Chriss and I went out to dinner and to a dance dressed as a cowgirl and cowboy. I won the coin toss, so I got to be the cowboy this year. :)

I am waiting for the picture to be emailed, but once it arrives, I will be sure to post.

I had almost the entire outfit. I had a brown Royal Stetson hat, a brown cowboy-style button down, short-sleeve shirt, jeans with killer (cow-patterned) belt buckle, cowboy belt, and even a Winchester revolver (yes, a real one) on my hip.

All I was lacking were the boots (and spurs).

Maybe next year I can find a pair of boots my size.

apple+wolf=love

I struggled for the title of this post for a wee-bit... hopefully it lured you in. :)

I finished my first 3 days of Apple customer support training today!

All day Friday, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday. (well, not ALL day, but 9-6 with 2 15 minute breaks and an hour for lunch. So 7.5 hours per day)

Good news, I had a

BLAST!
(Oh, and I got paid for training too. :) )

I love my life.

I just wish everyone could love their lives as much as I do. (I'm not sure if this implies that people have more than one life, but I sure hope you understand what I mean.)

Salute! ... a Benefit for Children with Arthritis

Saturday night I had the wonderful opportunity to co-host a fundraiser at Chaparral Suites Hotel in Scottsdale. It is a fundraiser put on by the Arthritis Foundation to raise money for children with arthritis (yeah, that's what I have.) I was asked to do it a couple months ago, and then it all happened that night. It was very successful, with muchos denero's raised! (that's "much money" in Spanish!)

I had a wonderful time, and was privileged to be accompanied by the wonderfully beautiful Steffany Chriss, Ericka Tucker, and Robin Tucker. All three of my ladies looked wonderful! (Sorry guys, they're taken)

I only captured one thing that night (with my camera... other pictures will be uploaded soon).

Busy, Busy, Busybusybusy week

My life has been major-busy this past week (ish... it's probably been busy since the start of school, but busy is as busy does, as my momma always says.)

So... Story-time. Gather round your chairs, little-ones. I've got a great story to tell you. (This is a long story. It will take a few minutes to read. It's very detailed. If you don't have the time, but would like to hear the good news, skip down to the bottom. (under the picture) It'll say it as the caption for the picture)

A couple months ago, my wonderful friend Anyha, who works at the Apple Store (in Chandler) told me to come into the store, because Apple is hiring. I jumped right on that. C'mon, who wouldn't want to work at Apple, right?
So I made my way down there, and she introduced me to her managers, and I was all friendly and such. They told me how to submit an application online.

So I did.

This was probably back in the beginning of July.

Imagine for a minute a fish

I found a Word file in My Documents with this title

"Imagine for a minute a fish"

it was "last modified" aka created, 4/14/2010 at 3:00AM.

So, curious, and not remembering what I wrote about at 3 in the morning requiring the preface of fish imagery...

I opened it.

This is what I found:

Imagine a fish.

This fish, called Sal, is the fastest fish in the ocean. He is renown across every sea—The Atlantic, The Pacific, The Indian, and even The Arctic. Many fish wish they could swim like Sal. Now imagine another fish. This fish is called Marlin. He is a young fish, ready to take on the world. Growing up, he spent every day training. On non-training days, other fish would challenge him, and lose drastically. This eventually would  

Just in time for the Holidays!

Don't you just love the Holidays?

I wasn't going to post anything tonight.

Today was long. Thank you Steffany for being a great friend.

Here is a wonderful deal for anyone looking for Christmas photos:

These guys are great. Most people only get one photographer. This deal comes with two, who work together like peas and carrots, babies and diapers, calculus and stress, and, oh yeah, husband and wife ;)

Check em out at their site here.

And with that quick shout out, I bid adieu.

-TRNT

Day of Labor! (or lack thereof?)

Today being a national holiday, my family decided we would start out this wonderful day by heading to the clubhouse, and relaxing at the lagoon. (hooray for artificial beaches!)

We then had some yummy tuna fish rolls/sandwiches (we ran out of rolls) while we played Super Smash Brothers Brawl! I didn't do too bad (except on the levels that were trying to kill me the entire time. I'm looking at you, Donkey Kong Waterfall Level!)

After a few hours of homework, (mostly physics and calculus, with a sprinkle of C++) we went over to Jimmy and Ericka's apartment for FHE! We had a wonderful lesson about geneology taught by my wonderful mother, and we then played Dirt 2 on Jimmy's PS3 with his steering wheel, while we ate a delicious cheesecake made by Ericka.
I usually don't like cheesecake, but I thought this was de-lish!

Here is Jake, running over the other trophy trucks in the race.

Take a good look at his face. Only 8 more years before this crazy guy is on the roads!

After I arrived home, and started on even more homework, I got a surprise text from a girl in my physics class. Not sure how she got my phone number... (Probably from posting it on Heather Rittenhouse's wall)

She needed help with physics, and boy, was I glad to help!

We ended up chatting for about an hour, just getting to know each other better. :)

boy, do I love helping cute girls with physics!

Well, that was pretty much my day. Oh, if any of you are looking for new music that doesn't suck, check out the playlist on Willi Nixon's blog. That girl has awesome taste. I've been listening to her blog all day. Thanks Willi, you have introduced me to so much good music over the years. (Not sure if you should be creeped out or not... take it as you'd like)

Speaking of music, I forgot to mention that on Saturday night, my awesome older brother Jimmy helped me install my subwoofer and amplifier in my car. I am on my way to my ideal sound system! (I use the word "ideal", because it's in no way the best, or perfect, but great for me, on my budget, and for my needs. In essence, "Perfect for Nate")

So, there are only a few more things to make this a PfN system, including replacing the factory speakers with some that I already have, and powering them with an amplifier... After that, I will be completely done with my system. :)

So... I might be fired...

In my church, I have three different callings (positions).
One of them includes typing up, printing, and folding the programs to be passed out before Sacrament Meeting starts.

It's only been a couple weeks since I've been doing this, and the last two weeks the printer/copier was broken at the church, which left us with no programs. (I still got to type them up though C= )

Today, I decided to make the program a bit more exciting. After forgetting to put some of the important announcements on it (including two activities this Saturday) I came up with this program. Before you click on this, understand that I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to online blogging, and so I don't know how to just insert a PDF file into this blog. Instead, I uploaded the PDF as a Google Docs file, and then gave you the file. :) So, Ignore the translated part by Google, but look at what the original was. (and what we're concerned about is the back side)

Ok, now you may click. :)


So, do you think I will be fired? Yeah, I'm not sure either. I heard a lot of people enjoyed it. (I didn't hear any complaints coming toward me, but they might just not have known it was me who did it..)

After church, I had the wonderful opportunity to play games with my family. On Sundays, Jimmy, Erika, and Metarie come over, and eat dinner and play with us.
Two things I learned tonight to prove that my family loves me. (they can make fun of me, and we can all laugh about it)

First, if you have ever played the game Imagine if...
you have to guess what the person is going to guess (I don't know exactly how it works, just that I always lose)
The round went something like this: Imagine if Nate were a cliche phrase. Would he be? ...
My loving mother voted for "Pedal to the Metal"
but the rest of my "caring" family, and I mean everyone...
(and you have to realize that there are usually 5-6 phrases)
they all voted for "An eye for an eye"

So yeah, my family thinks I am great at getting revenge. Is that good or bad? I don't know yet. But I do know, is that they know me enough to all vote for that. :) (and they better be careful when messing with me, I'll get them back)

The next thing, Jimmy and Erika told us about a "Nate Duck" that lives in the pond next to their apartment. because ducks sound like laughing, when they quack, they say that whenever all the ducks are quacking, they can't hear any one duck louder than another. But there is the "Nate Duck" who always quacks, and then keeps on quacking, as if laughing at his own joke. (I think they are just jealous that I am that funny.) So they always hear this duck quacking on it's own, while all the other ducks remain silent.
This time, I think it's not as much of a compliment as the "eye for an eye" (which wasn't really a compliment). This time, they are just plain rude. :P. haha, jk. I know they love me. I am glad my secret agent duck has gone undercover, and is doing what I spent $10,000 on this summer training to do... Annoy my brother and his wife, while I am not around.

SUCCESS!

That was basically my Sunday. I also had the wonderful experience of making cute little miniature blueberry muffins with my younger brothers.

(They didn't just help make, but also helped eat)

I should have taken a picture of the experience.

I have recently discovered that I am good at cooking. Well, I think I am. I have only tried a few things, but that which I've tried, I am great at. You can ask anyone who's been lucky enough to enjoy them, but eggs are my specialty. I love eggs, and I love trying new things with eggs everyday. Whether it be Breakfast Burritos, Scrambled Eggs, Fried Eggs, Eggs in meals that you get in a box (Such as Rice-a-Roni and Raman Noodles), or eggs just used in anything, really. (as long as you can taste the eggs... muffins don't count as an egg specialty, just yummy)

So, if any of you out there in blogger world enjoy eggs, or if you have enjoyed my eggs in the past, please leave a comment, and I will make you (more) eggs.

I love you all, and I love that hardly anyone posts comments on my blog, so I have no idea if anyone actually reads these things, or if it's more of an online journal for Yours Truly.

Love ya,

Yours Truly,

(I don't think I've ever signed my name, "Yours Truly", but since I just used that phrase, I thought it would be funny)

-Nate

Is Summer Over Yet?

Not even close.

It is still really hot outside. I don't really mind it. Walking between my classes isn't too bad, as long as remember my water. My car is always toasty for the first few minutes, but it's a Toyota, so it cools down fast.
The problem though, is that I can't go on any sort of dates that are outside. :/
Tonight we went bowling.
The wonderful Yamina, Lauryn, and Kim. I came in second the first game, and then got hosed the second game.

Thug Nasty lost his game.


Although we weren't able to have a wonderful date outside, we were still able to have a great time, making memories that we shall never forget.

Question of the Day:

What is this emoticon even meanmean?

:/

even mean

We were discussing it over dinner, and my wonderful sister, Ericka made a wonderful face to describe it, and although it was a great face, I'm not sure that it was entirely accurate. 

So... I am starting another contest. (and it's too bad that nobody ever participates in these contests, because I have GREAT prizes!)

Anyone who submits a photo of themselves making this face, will win a prize. (and you just have to trust that they are good, and if you don't trust me, then you automatically lose)


So, Summer may not be over, but according to my cousin, Somer is just the beginning.

Have a great night, and I can't wait to see all the pictures that get posted!

Physics Homework

I am sure most of the people who actually read my blogs where scared away by the title of this post.


I am not requesting help, or tuturing, but I thought I would share with you my easy, yet time consuming (not sure why ;), lol), online homework.


Problem 1:
Write a short description of the motion of a real object for which the figure would be a realistic position-versus-time graph.

My Answer:
A man walks 300 meters in 300 seconds, takes a break to drink some well-needed water, which takes 100 seconds, and then walks back to where he started, but since he is now hydrated, he is able to walk to full distance back in only 200 seconds. 1 point for team water!










Problem 2:

Write a short description of the motion of a real object for which the figure would be a realistic position-versus-time 

graph. 

Alright, so this is where I started to get bored, and a little annoyed by my teacher. So, I decided I would write an interesting story to brighten her day. (I thought it would be best to ignore the part in the instructions about writing a "short description". This is what I wrote:

A student who attends Mesa Community college is ready to leave from home, which is in Sun City. He tells his friend at MCC that he is on his way, so while his friend is bored, he decided to make a motion diagram for the trip his friend is about to take. The student begins his trip by going and getting in his car. To his dismay, it won't start, so he pops the hood, and realizes the carburetor isn't working properly, so he starts to fix it. Luckily, he is a mechanic, so it only takes him an hour before he is on the road. Unfortunately, he can't go straight to school from there, because he has promised his girl friend that he'll pick her up in gilbert, before going to school. After an hour driving from Sun City, he arrives at her house, but they get "distracted" for another hour, before heading back in the direction of school. They decide that it would be more of an adventure if they ride their bikes to school, so it takes them 2 hours to travel the 20 miles back to the campus. They both arrive at campus safely, where he is able to tell his friend about his entire adventure, so he could make a motion diagram about the whole thing for his physics class. Hopefully his teacher enjoys it. :) 

So, you do think my teacher is annoyed yet? I hope not, we're just getting started!

Problem 3:

Write a short description of a real object for which the figure would be a realistic position-versus-time graph.

I actually wasn't planning on being to original, or too descriptive here, but toward the end, I got bored... as you will see:

A jogger is walking past your house at a steady rate of 1 m/s. after 10 seconds, your dog sees this jogger, and chases after them. Because of the fear of being eaten, the jogger sprints until the dog hits the invisible electric fence, in which it is bound, after a distance of 30 meters. the dog stops, and so does the jogger, who yells at you for 20 seconds, telling you that you should have told him the dog couldn't eat him, because of this invisible border, but after these 20 seconds, you get sick of him complaining, so you turn off the fence, and the dog reacts instantly, and eats the jogger, making him disappear off the face of the earth, and off the particle diagram. (I hope the gore doesn't dock points. If you need to give extra credit based on originality, you have my permission to do so.)

Problem 3:

Write a short description of a real object for which the figure would be a realistic position-versus-time graph.

You tell a person standing 30 yards away to bring you your physics book. It takes him 4 seconds to understand what physics is, and if you need the textbook or the workbook, before he starts toward you with the textbook. He walks halfway towards you, which takes 4 seconds, but then he gets confused from all this math and physics, so he stands puzzled for 8 seconds, where you tell him to close the physics book (this is a good reason why to not try and read a physics book and walk at the same time) and come to you, and he does, which takes him another 4 seconds. If only he had not been confused by physics, the entire distance would have only taken 8 seconds.

These are all the open-answer questions, and I hope the moral of all these stories is to never, ever, ask Engineering Majors to write essays. We know how to do calculus, computer programming, build stuff, and physics... NOT write essays!

I hope you had as much fun as I did today. I will see you all soon. If anyone can come up with better answers to these questions, you win a prize.

Lots of Love! (not to be confused with LOL)

-Nate =)

Likes and Dislikes

Like: School
Dislike: Calculus.
Like: Girls
Dislike: Dating Games.
Like: wolframalpha helps me with Calculus
Dislike: Calculus.
Like: Blogging
Dislike: Taking the time to blog.
Like: Blue Gummy Sharks
Dislike: That I can only buy Blue Gummy Sharks in AZ.
Like: Friends who buy me multicolored Gummy Sharks (see fig.1)
Dislike: I ate them all.
Like: All my wonderful friends, no matter if they buy me food or not
Dislike: I can't seem to find any of my friends.
Like: I'm not married
Dislike: I'm not married.
Like: I'm not married
Dislike: All my friends are married.
Like: Electronics that help me
Dislike: Electronics that don't work.
Like: My XBOX 360
Dislike: My XBOX 360 doesn't work.
Like: My wonderfully, comfortable bed (If you've never sat or laid in my bed, you are missing out)
Dislike: I don't have enough time to sleep in it.
Like: I don't have to worry about a job, just friends and school
Dislike: I have minimal income.
Like: I have very minimal expenses
Dislike: I have very minimal financial responsibilities.
Like: The weather is finally cooling off
Dislike: I still am procrastinating installing my sub/amp in my car because it's too hot.
Like: I'm not married
Dislike: I'm not in any relationship.
Like: The Tightrope (see fig.2)
Dislike: That I can't yet do the Tightrope.
Like: Embedding YouTube videos
Dislike: "Embedding disabled by request."
Like: Outsmarting YouTube
Dislike: Right clicking a YouTube Video, and selecting, "copy embed html"
Like: Friends like Matthew Quayle, who can cheer me up
Dislike: Being not so cheery in the first place.
Like: Cute girl(s) in my Physics Class
Dislike: Physics Class/Everyone else in Physics class.
Like: Writing in blogs, surfing the web, lurking on Facebook, etc.
Dislike: loosing sleep.
Like: Like + Dislike Lists
Dislike: Figuring out a way to stop writing.

Love: People who read on my blogs. :)
Love: People who comment on my blogs. :)
Love: People who subscribe to my blogs. :)

fig.1

fig.2

Wow, really? Over a month with no post? What have I been up to?!

My life is great. Because my name is NATE!

I guess I have been really lazy/busy in my life lately, and haven't had the time to blog. What the hayyk?

Considering that I just finished my first week of full-time college, I think a blog is well deserved/required.

I went onto my blogger page today, after have been neglecting it, as mentioned above, and I see that I have had 262 new people visit my page! Wow, I didn't even know that many people even liked talking to me in person, let alone reading about my boring life. Better news, at least 90 of them have returned (or one person, potentially a stalker, has returned 90 times) So, nevertheless me being absent from the blogger world, I have felt missed. :)

So, my first week of school has been as follows:

Monday:

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

I'm not sure what I was so excited about...

I arrive at MCC a half hour early - after finding a parking spot.

My goal this year is to never be late to a class. Can I do it?

9:00 AM: Macroeconomic Principals with Greg Pratt. Easy class, psychotic teacher. I believe I am going to love him.
10:00 AM: Calculus II with Adam Avilez. Insanely difficult class. Nice teacher though; someone willing to help you out. I left this class with the conclusion that I am in the wrong math class, that I am insane, and I should maybe switch my major?
11:00 AM: University Physics I. This is the tougher Physics class, the one that requires Calc I as a pre-requisite. I meet two guys in this class who were both in my math class. Yay for nerd buddies!
1:00 PM: I get out of school, and head to work. :/


Tuesday: 
10:00 AM: Calc II again. I am seriously scared that I will fail this class. (I end up doing 4 hours of hw that night, and 6 on Wed night) I was CONVINCED that Calculus was created by the Devil himself, and that it couldn't actually be done, it's just a way to make smart people feel dumb. :( (yes, that is my first ever real sad face ever posted in my blogs)
11:00 AM: Institute. So, I have never officially taken institute before. I've gone to a few classes, to try and impress the ladies, which didn't work... But I am enrolled in New Testament with Brother Richardson. And he's awesome! Really, you should sign up if you haven't yet. :)
12:00 PM: Free lunch at Institute! Yay! Who loves Chili?

Nothing better than chili on a 110* Arizona August Day! (and yes, it was FREE!)

1:00PM Intro to Computer Science (CSC100AB) It's basically a C++ programming class. Seemed simple enough.

Wednesday:

Only Econ and Physics. I was LUCKY enough to sit by a cute girl in BOTH of those classes! How do we Tucker's do it? I'm still trying to figure it out. ;)

Thursday:

Same as Tuesday, but no free lunch provided by the Institute (but my packed sandwich was eaten at the institute building. Does that count?)

I actually understood what was going on in my calc class! I left feeling on top of the world! Hoorah! Calc must not be a spawn of the devil! (Or I must be turning into the devil.)

Friday: (Today! hehe =D )

Same as Monday! With even MORE cute girls, and LESS stress about Calculus!

I survived my

FIRST WEEK OF *SCHOOL!

*My first week ever as a full-time college student. :)

I love school!

YAY!

On a side note, I love Lauren Pulsipher Whiting (as a friend, you sicko!)

On another side note, I have some funny friends.

You should watch their video.

Jet Arnett

My Wife is the best woman alive!

Yes, I know that I capitalized the "W" in Wife, as if it were a title... She is just that amazing.

For those of you wondering... Yes, I am indeed married. Don't believe me? Look at my relationship status on Facebook.

Here is a wonderful picture of my lovely wifey.

I didn't take this wonderful pic of her; this would be the amazing work of Kate Mower, Jet's sister.

Seriously go check out her work. She's amazing. I'll have her shoot my engagement pics. (err.. I mean, yeah, I'm already married... we totally used her stuff...)

Alright, so maybe I'm not married (yet).

But Jet and I went on a wonderful date tonight. It started by spending time with her family, trying to make her father feel better. (I hope it worked. He mentioned kissing me... hmmm....)

We then went to go see the fabulous Lauren do some crazy synchronized swimming stuff. It was awesome. 

after that, we went to my house and watched this fantastic movie.

This movie is indeed Fantastic!

If you have not yet seen it. GO WATCH IT NOW!

We Skyped with Heather, and then made macaroni necklaces frames. (not really... this is just code for something else)

All in all . . . This was a FANTASTIC evening spent with a FANTASTIC woman!

YouTube

I don't think I have ever done a YouTube tribute post.

Don't worry, you don't have to watch stupid YouTube videos that I think are funny. (You are allowed to close out of this window)

Just two of my favorite YouTube videos that I've watched in the past two days. (And yes, they are the ONLY two videos I've watched)

This first one, is one of some of my friends, just being goofy. You might not even think it's funny. I think they have some great potential to be successful someday soon.



Hahaha, I laughed just now, did you?

Here is another one, I found just a few days ago (yesterday).
I want to show you the commercial it is based upon first, which you may have seen before. (first video = also funny)



Yes, he is indeed on a horse.

Here is the one that I discovered. How many of you have actually been there? I have... (Or have I?)

These were pretty funny, aye?

Also, today, July 23rd, is my best friend's birthday. He is currently serving a mission for the Lord in Fort Worth, Texas.

(Technically, it's July 24th)

Guess What! July 24th (Technically today, and not tomorrow) is my other best friend's(') birthday!

Candace Stevenson! and her amazing twin brother Craig! (last name also Stevenson)

If they had blogs, I would give you their links. (If they have blogs, but I don't know about them, they're probably not worth reading. jk, luvs!)

All of you guys are amazing. Especially anyone who actually reads these blogs. Thank you to anyone who actually has. If you have laughed at all, ever, or even smiled, please, let me know.

This is why I write.

12 days!

Yeah, I have committed an UBER Fail!

It has been 12 long days since my last post. Have I been too busy, or just too lazy?

My wonderful cousin, Hillary was in town for a week, maybe it's her fault.

I worked 5 days last week, maybe it's work's fault?

I have had a boring life, with nothing to blog about, that might be it.

So, enough with the excuses, I'm back, and I'm black. Not really, I just wanted to rhyme, and that was the easiest that came to mind.

You're* wondering, what has happened in Nate's life since his last post?

*If anyone actually reads my blog

I went to a fun Diamondbacks' game with Dala, Greg, and Hillary. I finally pulled through on a date auction that happened back in March.

I worked at a Juvenile Arthritis Conference in Phoenix. 

I saw the best movie of all time... well, not sure if it is the best, I need to go see it again, hopefully in IMAX.

(Words on the picture are not actually in the movie)

This movie defines EPIC. (And I may, or may not have just entered Inception as a definition of Epic on UrbanDictionary)

I've also spent hours mixing music for Lovely Lauren and her wonderful little Synchronized Swimmers. She won because of me. Basically. Honestly. Probably not. She could have done it with any music, mine was just cooler. :)

This past week, Lauren taught me how to add links to my posts, hence my two links above. I will add a third link, just to show you the number one site where I spend my time online.

I don't think I've done anything else exciting. If I remember anything, I'll be sure to update, kk?

Until then, you should leave a comment telling me if you've done anything more exciting than me in the past 12 days. The person with the best response wins a night out with me. (we'll probably go see another Epic movie)

Also, ftw, can anybody teach me how to reformat my blog page to make sure that pictures, such as the one above, don't look lame when they overlap the sides? thnx!


Okay, so I just found a better picture to describe how amazing Inception was is.

Thanks to Amber Olds for the pic. :)

Oh, Duh... I almost forgot!
One of my best friends, Calleen Brown, got married this last weekend! Hooray for weddings!
(I liked the part where there was the free ice cream)
the moment I arrived at the wedding, I was swarmed by loving fans. jk, just friends that I hadn't seen in too long.
Savannah Thomas, my first wife (now my ex-wife, still love her though) greeted me by taking a bite out of a candy bracelet I was wearing on my wrist.

Just like the one on the left.

I'm not sure what was better about the situation, that she didn't say anything other than my name, her feelings about me, and then eating the bracelet (with conversation taking place after these more important things), or that she struggled to get a piece of the bracelet into her mouth, so it looked as though she was gnawing at my wrist.

SURPRISE!!!

Don't you just love a good surprise party?
The thing I like most about it is when I get to say "SURPRISE!"

It was Jason Brooke's Surprise Party tonight, hosted by Camaron Stevenson (Jason's cousin) at their apartment. Also hosted by the wonderful Cassandra Kagiyama (Jason's gal), who basically did all the work.

I really should have taken photos, not because Jason was indeed shocked by the surprise, but because the theme of the birthday party was Pokemon.

He turned 22.

I'm pretty positive everyone that was there was over 20.

Pokemon is just that amazing.

• Food was delicious. Thank you Sanford Kagiyama.
• Games were brilliant. Thank you to John Patterson for providing the Wii and games (I sincerely apologize if you were not the one who brought it, and I gave credit to you for something you didn't earn. If so, next time earn it!)
• SURPRISE! I love that word.
• Girls - there were plenty. (Not really... two were taken. the third one might have been. she came alone.)
• Balloons! Who knew 5+ adults could have so much fun having a conversation while amidst flying balloons, smacked around the room, without allowing them to touch the ground.
• SURPRISE!! I had a fun time with my favorite word tonight. #1 reason for loving surprise parties.
• Jason Brooke! I LOVE that you laugh at almost all my jokes. When I mean laugh, I mean laugh hysterically. When I mean hysterically, I mean you'd think it's the funniest thing you've heard all day. Jason, I love your laugh. It always makes me smile and laugh too.
• FREE ZONE! - This means ANYTHING goes.

I had such a great time tonight. I met new friends. Great people, who enjoy my presence (or are good at faking, or don't care, lol)

• First thing asked to me by a return missionary since he's been home: "Are you married?"
• Number of times "SURPRISE" was yelled: 48 give or take
• Amount of people who had fun tonight: 14-15 ... I think?
• Number of people who got lost, made me wait outside until they arrived so they could find the place, realized they were in the wrong apartment complex while I was waiting outside in the humid heat, and then gave up and informed me with text reading "Frozen yogurt craving": 2 ... that I know of.
• Number of times "FREE ZONE!" was yelled: 35 give or take
• Number of hours I spent having an AMAZING time tonight: 6.75

SURPRISE!

Adrenaline Pumping. Heart Throbbing. Engines Roaring.

24 Heures de Mans

Today I watched a classic, Le Mans, Starring Steve McQueen - the man behind the wheel. It is almost a documentary of the 1970 Le Mans race. I would recommend anyone who hasn't seen it to go to their local library and borrow it. (If your library is the one near me, they have it - I just returned it today)

Although it was filmed 40 years ago, it needs to be watched in Hi-Def and Surround Sound in order to appreciate the beauty, the thrill, the energy that surges through your veins.

Anyone who has ever raced before knows this feeling. Anyone who has ever pulled 3 G's back into your seat, and 2 G's rounding corners. Anyone who has ever been worn out by the raw energy that racing drains from your body, used to fuel the speed, which urges you to keep going, not wanting to stop, even when you are out of the energy, you can still go on. One more meter. One more turn. One more lap.

I was debating whether I should embed a video from Youtube, guessing that most people would not watch it in Hi-Def with surround before watching the clip, but I finally found the original trailer from 1971.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

Here is a fun fact for you. Some of you may have known this. (I knew half of it)

Previous to 1969, before the race started, the cars would all be lined up on one side of the track (in the pits, essentially) and when the flag would wave, signalling the start of the race, the drivers would then run across the track, jump in their cars, start their cars (unassisted) and speed off, trying to get out of the pits before anyone else, so they can win!

(The above, is what I already knew...)

Then, in 1969, Le Mans rookie Jacky Ickx was against the method by walking across the track while his competitors ran. He almost got hit by another car while walking, but once he got to his car, Ickx took the time to fasten his safety belts before pulling away.
During the very first lap, there was a fatal accident, which neither of the two drivers involved had taken the time to strap in securely.
Guess what. Jacky Ickx ended up winning the race.


So yeah, that's an awesome part of history. Don't worry, it gets better.


Because of the time that Ickx spent to walk across the track, and safely buckled himself in, the next year, in 1970 (the year that this movie was filmed) Le Mans officials allowed drivers to start the race already properly secured inside their vehicles, with the engines off, before the flag was waved.


So yeah, flag is waved, people aren't ran over, or killed from lack of seat belts (now, it's just the fire after the car explodes). So what? What's the point?


In 1971, Le Mans introduced the Rolling Start, sometimes known as the Indianapolis Start (btw, the initial way of racing is known as the Le Mans start) which is what they have used ever since. Yeah, they still start that way today.


So... My point is....
Isn't it awesome that...

1. Jacky Ickx stood up to all the un-safe stupidity of rituals, and then won! BooYah!
2. The officials changed the way, and decided to have a non-running start, and then a rolling start?
3. The year that this wonderful movie was filmed, the fabulous year of 1970, was the ONLY year that Le Mans ever started a race that way? Also, It was the first year for Porsche to have a double finish, also captured by this fantastic film.

Isn't this an amazing film? I'm sure you are agreeing with me as you are reading this, and you probably haven't even seen the film. Go watch it. Turn up your surround. Strap in your seat belts, and get ready for the *time of your life.

Trust me. It's a wonderful movie. Amazing Cinematography. Excellent Race Cars. Nothing like you would find in Hollywood today.

Do it.

*For most people. If you actually raced, participated, or attended the 1970 24 Heures de Mans, that was probably better than this film.

I'm Just Sitting, Waiting, Wishing...

...that I knew what I am doing.

Why am I still awake?

What am I listening to?

Why do I hear colors?

Does anyone else feel this way?

How do I fix it?

Can I stop it?

The world is spinning. She tells me her secrets. I tell her mine. We exchange stories. I love her. She loves me. We can make this last forever. This is a different LOVE than what people talk about in stories. It is the love a father must have for a daughter. What an older brother must feel for his younger sister. She IS my younger sister. I don't want her to be sad. She won't be happy. I want her to be happy. She lights up my world when she sings. When she smiles, I smile. When she dances, I almost want to dance. I do dance. I want to make her happy.

Why can't I be a better brother? What can I do to change this?

I hope I make you happy.

I hope I protect you from getting hurt.

I hope I will never let you down.

I hope I will always be there for you.

Because

You have always been there for me.

You have never, ever let me down.

You have never hurt me.

You make me happy.

Je t'aime

Dragon's Breath

It might be the fact that I've been listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) or that it really does catch your breath on fire. I call this drink Dragon's Breath. This drink, created by my wonderfully loving nurse of a mother, is the remedy for any sinus stuffiness and sore throats anywhere.

This is the magic potion that will kill anything living inside of you

It was horribly disgusting, as always, but it relieved me... or so I thought. later, after being drained of energy (not sure why, I didn't do anything today) I started coughing. :( oh no!

So I am going to try to take it easy the next couple of days. Unfortunately, I have to work tomorrow. Hopefully I can get through the day, and not have to leave early.

Pray for me.

The Grandest of Them All!

Today, as we left Kanab for our 6 hour drive home, we took a nice little democratic vote, and decided to go and visit the Grand Canyon! Jake, being the only one who hasn't been there, didn't want to go, but everyone else did. (Once we got there, and went to the lookout point, he didn't want to leave)

Here are a few pictures of the lovely occasion.

Grand Canyon - North Rim

Me, Jake, and Archie at the overlook point

(I didn't get the memo about wearing a blue shirt)

Archie, Me, and Jake up at the top of the hike

I even found a Butterfly on the front of the truck when we stopped for ice cream outside of the canyon.

(It was stuck... and when I mean stuck, I mean splattered=stuck. Too bad, it was such a beauty)

Oh, I almost forgot. We actually got lost while at the Grand Canyon. We were walking around in circles at the visitor's center and the lodge, just trying to find bathrooms and ice cream. (We only found one. No ice cream :( sad day)

Other than the lovely detour, we had an uneventful trip, which is usually a good thing. We made it home safe and sound. We also listened to more Harry Potter 7. Such an awesome story!

When we arrived at our door at 10:30 PM, it was still 105 outside, as well as inside our house. It took about 20 minutes to cool it down, but I'm good now.

I have decided that I love Kanab, and hopefully I can have a summer home there someday. With only an hour's drive to Powell, and the wonderful country/cowboy feeling of the town, who wouldn't want to call it home?

97 Years Young

Each time we come to visit my grandparents in Kanab, we try to go and see my great grandmother who stays in an assisted living home. (An "old-folks home") She is actually not sick, or too dependent, it's just that she is dependent, and my grandparents are almost to the point of being dependent themselves. We joke that Grandma Black is going to outlive us all. She is 97, and her husband passed away 8 years ago. That must be hard, to miss your spouse, and want to reunite, but don't want to upset your posterity and be depressed and want to die. She's a trooper, that's for sure.

Today, we decided to go and pay a visit to her, and the other lovely young women who live with her in the home. My brothers and I took turns playing songs for them on the piano. They loved it. After each song, they would all clap, and say things like, oh, "isn't he wonderful?" I have recently learned an arrangement of God Speed The Right, by Aaron Waite. I wasn't planning on playing it at first, I just wanted to play some slower songs, like a few Bach songs I know, and The Luckiest, to keep it simple for them. (I didn't want to rock out Sweet Child of Mine.) While I was playing, I was inspired to play that song. (God Speed The Right, not Guns and Roses) I still don't know the whole thing, but I have down the first part. I also didn't have my music with me, so it was just off memory. As I played, the wonderful sound filled the room. Right when I finished, everyone's faces were lit up, and they were full of excitement. One of the ladies, who was sitting closest to the piano (Whom hadn't said a single word previous), smiled and said, almost like a little child that knows the answer to a question, "That's God Speed the Right." And then she said, "thank you."

We visited for a while longer, and then as we were saying goodbye to Grandma, and getting ready to leave back to my grandparents' house, the lady touched my arm, motioned for me to lean down to her, and she said, "You played wonderfully. Thank you for the music. I used to play the piano." I looked at her face, and she was full of light and peace. 

The camera used to take pictures was my grandparents', and I'm not sure where it is located right now. I'll be sure to either get the pictures up tomorrow (Monday, before we leave back home), or I'll have my grandpa email them to me.

3 = 4

Here in Kanab, Utah, whenever Independence Day falls on a Sunday, it is celebrated on Saturday.
So first, we went to the parade, on main street. Here are a few pictures.
Oh, I almost forgot. We met a lovely brother and sister from Chicago who were travelling through Kanab for the day. She was moving to Las Vegas, and he was on the Police force back in Chicago, just coming to help his sister move. He gave myself, and my two brothers, CPD hats. (as seen on my head below)

I got hosed down by the firetruck.

I usually don't opt in for that part of the parade, but it was warm hot outside.

We also saw our friend, the manicop, who is a famous dummy who sits in a parked police car to slow down traffic. This time, he was driving through the parade. The officer in the passenger seat is one brave man. (My brothers were baffled at how the dummy was driving)

We also went to the public pool, which was pretty fun. There was a lazy river, which after glorious hours of my brothers begging me to come in with them and ride in the river, I decided to be a good older brother, and I joined them. It wasn't too bad. Maybe I'll buy one for myself.

Then, we went to the park for a barbecue and to watch the fireworks. While we waited for the fireworks, we had some live "entertainment". Unfortunately, we were only entertained by the second act, which only lasted about 15 minutes (The whole show was 3 hours).

We had good seats though. :) A little too good.

(Grandma and Grandpa are now 100% deaf)

No, I did not take pictures of the fireworks. I don't believe in photographing fireworks. Photographs are for art and preserving memories. If its not art, what would you say when you are reminiscing about that night.

"Remember that burst? We all said Ooooh."

"Oh, and look at this one, I loved that one. We all went Aaaaah."

I love watching fireworks. Live. In Person. Real-Time.

I have a few more pictures, but I left my cable upstairs. I'll try to get some uploaded onto this post tomorrow.

I want to end by saying how grateful I am to have the freedom I do. We all have free agency. I am working on teaching Jake and Archie something important this trip. (It's kind of working...) It's ALWAYS our choice to be happy OR sad. Nobody else matters in that decision, however, our happiness or sadness, can affect others happiness. I learned years ago that when I'm happy, my mother is happy. And she always makes me happy, especially when she is happy. Thanks Mom, I love you. Thank you America, I love you too.

P.S. Typing my last sentence, I was reminded of this. Enjoy.

Harry Potter and Monopoly

This afternoon, I jumped in the truck with my family to go visit my grandparents in Kanab, Utah.

I was able to burn half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows onto 8 cds, and we got through 4 of them. So far, it's pretty exciting. :)

Once I got here, I discovered treasure! My wonderful aunt, Joni Lang had recently taken a trip here to help my grandparents clean out their storage and throw away trash, and keep treasures.

Sitting on the table, right when I entered the basement, were these.

A 1946 and a 1961 version. I call dibs.

So I told my grandma that I no longer want her leather jacket from the 1950's, but I want these. I don't care how much they are worth, I'm not going to sell them. I want these for myself. These are top-notch B.A.

Other than this treasure at the end of the dark tunnel (or highway?) and listening to Harry Potter, and laughing and having a great time with my family, nothing much really happened.

Oh, we had a few great quotes... Several from Jake.

After Archie farted, in the direction of my mother, Jake says, "You could have farted on me, I wouldn't have minded." We all burst into laughter. He then said, "What? It's not nice to fart on women."