RANDY WOOD, The

Sportin' it up in 2010

2010-07-03T14:45:00.003-04:00

WOW.... it really has been since March since I posted on my blog!? I thought I was busy while I was in school, but since I started full-time employment last year I feel like I never have a waking moment free! I am so glad that I have such great friends that call and invite me to get outdoors, hit the road, and put my feet to the pavement to bike, run, and hike! I am very grateful for great friends and co-workers who motivate me to stay fit and active!!

Sigma Chi bros & me biking Moab -- White Rim 2010

Ivory Homes gents running the Wasatch Back

It has been such a fun year thus far of extreme sports, the Wasatch Back - Ragnar Relay, 100+ mile bike trip down to Moab, and I am looking forward to doing lots more! Other things that I have on deck to do are a fun trip to Bear Lake, a week in Lake Powell, hiking near Yosemite National Park, and who knows what else.

Enjoy some pics of what I have been up to lately below:

Nerd Merit Badges

2010-03-20T15:21:00.000-04:00

Okay I read about this merit badge for nerds is called "Inbox Zero," and requires an empty inbox 71.4% of the time. I would SOOO have this. My biggest electronic pet peeve is to have unread emails in any of my inboxes, so I am constantly reading my work email and 2 gmail address to make sure they are all at zero. I guess the other available badges include Family Tech Support, Being Boinged, Spelling Homonyms, and more. ---> all of which I would have!

1.5″, fully embroidered, Velcro-backed. Attach to your jacket, your backpack, or the lid of your over-clocked, battle-scarred laptop. Start a nerd sash!! WHO IS WITH ME?

Video Magazines -- a near future!

2010-03-20T14:37:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I am really not sure what to think about the up and coming iPad that is to be released April 3rd. One part of me (a large part) screams "I HATE MACs," but then another part of me says, "Randy you need to get something that integrated 3G with a data plan. I have been thinking of getting a small little NetBook with a 3G plan to go beside it, but then I look at the plans are like $50 a month! ARGH.

The more I think about iPad, the more stoked I get with what Apple is doing to change the market. Although I could never and WILL NEVER part with my beloved Windows computing platform, I know that iPad is going to BLOW the Kindle out of the water.

This Vimeo clip that shows what a typical magazine might look like in the very near future.

VIV Mag Motion Cover - iPad Demo from Alexx Henry on Vimeo.

Who else is stoked about iPad or any new gadgets I need to know about?

Texting

2010-03-20T13:15:00.000-04:00

Cartoon from The New Yorker.

The Paradox of Our Age

2010-02-19T12:21:00.001-05:00

By Dr. Bob Moorehead

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; big men and small character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce; fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember to say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember to say "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

I Believe...

2010-01-22T19:06:00.005-05:00

A Birth Certificate shows that we were born
A Death Certificate shows that we died
Pictures show that we lived!
Have a seat. Relax . . .
And read this slowly.

I Believe...
That just because two people argue,
It doesn't mean they don't love each other.
And just because they don't argue,
It doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...
That we don't have to change friends if
We understand that friends change.

I Believe....
That no matter how good a friend is,
they're going to hurt you every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.
I Believe...
That true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.

I Believe...
That you can do something in an instant
That will give you heartache for life.
I Believe....
That it's taking me a long time
To become the person I want to be.

I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones with
Loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
I Believe....
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe....
That we are responsible for what
We do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe...
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs
to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe....
That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I Believe....
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down
will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...
That sometimes when I'm angry
I have the right to be angry,
But that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe....
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had
And what you've learned from them and less to do with how many
birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe....
That it isn't always enough,
to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...
That no matter how bad your heart is broken
the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I Believe....
That our background and circumstances
may have influenced who we are,
But, we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...
That you shouldn't be so eager to find
Out a secret. It could change your life Forever.

I Believe....
Two people can look at the exact same
Thing and see something totally different.

I Believe...
That your life can be changed in a matter of
Hours by people who don't even know you.

I Believe...
That even when you think you have no more to give,
When a friend cries out to you -
you will find the strength to help.

I Believe...
That credentials on the wall
do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe...
That the people you care about most in life
are taken from you too soon.
I Believe...
That you should send this to
all of the people that you believe in, I just did.

The happiest of people don't necessarily
have the best of everything;
They just make the most of everything they have.

What happens daily on the internet will BLOW your mind!

2009-12-12T19:00:00.004-05:00

Christmas Decorations 2009

2009-12-12T16:48:00.001-05:00

OKAY, AFTER READING THIS ACCOUNT, I REALLY
WANT TO DECORATE MY HOUSE LIKE THIS NEXT YEAR

Well, there is good news and bad news about my Christmas decorations.
The good news is that I truly outdid myself this year.
The bad news is that I had to take them down after only two days.
I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by. Second, a 55-year-old lady grabbed the ladder and almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). She was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard. I think I made him too real, this time. But it was fun while it lasted. ;)

Swine Flu..... (almost) everyone hates it!

2009-11-09T16:30:00.000-05:00

Why do dogs hate Halloween???

2009-10-28T17:35:00.007-04:00

I got this email with all these funny pictures from my friend Annelise and I just HAD to post them.... so funny! Thanks Ross Family :-).

50 Random Thoughts of People My Age

2009-09-11T15:37:00.002-04:00

I noticed this online on a blog I read (link) and I still can't stop laughing at some of these things.... hahaha. Seriously, number 3, 5, 11, and 38 are so true! ENJOY!

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.
Do you remember when you were a kid playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
There is a great need for sarcasm font.
Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.
Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
How in the the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)...ummm...Goonies"
What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
Bad decisions make good stories
Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to fall after leaning your chair back a little too far.
I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. I think things like, “I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?”
I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.
Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and/or Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fatty before I enjoy my normal dinner.

Would you or a friend like a BRAND NEW HOME? Buy now when rates are 4.9%

2009-09-10T19:01:00.005-04:00

I know that you might not be in the market for a new home, to sell your home, or refinance your home, but you might know someone who is! If you or someone you know is looking for a home, thinking of moving, wanting to sell, refinance, or build on their own lot please let me know! I have a lot of resources available to me in my job and would to help out. I know we have all received emails like this one, announcing our friends’ and relatives’ new business venture and I never really understood them until now. I wanted to throw my hat in the ring, because networking is everything!!

After graduating this last May from the University of Utah, I acquired my Utah Real Estate License and started working full-time as a Project Manager to the CEO of Ivory Homes. I absolutely love my new job, working closely with our CEO Clark Ivory. I work on specialty projects like build on your own lot jobs, innovative branding and marketing initiatives, online advertising, and I also perform my own sales on the side, among many other things.

SANDY $490's - DRAPER $360's - DAYBREAK $200's - TOWNHOMES $150's

* OWN IN ST. GEORGE: Homes from $220’s | Townhomes from $180’s *
$12,000 in available govt. grants expiring this year! All-time low of 4.99% fixed

If you or someone you know is looking for a Utah home builder in Salt Lake, Utah County, Wasatch, Davis, Weber, Tooele, or Washington County (St. George), then Ivory Homes is the homebuilder of choice. Contact me today!

THANKS,
Randy Wood
Ivory Homes - Project Manager
801.747.7062 office
801.520.9125 cell
randyw@ivoryhomes.com

Ask me about Ivory’s 4.9% fixed interest rates!

My dream machine -- Old school NES arcade built from a PC

2009-09-02T22:47:00.000-04:00

Yet again.... another great Gizmodo find! I currently have my old NES with 20 or so games in my room and I think that it would be SO SICK to build something like this!!! Ahhhh.... This was built from a PC emulator and paddles. Maybe after work in my free time I could start building this..... anyone down?

Build Your Own Bartop NES Cabinet [DIY]: "

If you've got a spare PC and 17-inch monitor, why not fashion your own NES bartop cabinet slash arcade machine?

Step-by-step instructions are available over at Instructables, but the end product is a tabletop Nintendo emulator with both USB ports and authentic NES plugs. Plus, since it's PC-based as opposed to NES-based, the whole thing can function as a standard computer as well.

But what would you prefer—a sleekly integrated screen with a tiny emulator PC, or a chunky, nostalgic cabinet like this one? For some reason (probably that I'm old enough to have thrown more than one birthday party in an arcade), I'd take the chunky cabinet. Then I'd kick myself as I remembered that my apartment has no space for the thing. [Instructables via gearfuse]

All-Edges Brownie Pan Makes My Inner Child Rejoice!

2009-09-02T22:43:00.001-04:00

Okay.... I am very much obsessed with the crispy corners of brownies.... THIS LOOKS AWESOME!!!!! I might just have to buy it! Here is a post from the blog Gizmodo. The author bags on it, but I know that is BOMB TRACK!
--Randy

All-Edges Brownie Pan Makes My Inner Child Want to Die [Taste Test]: "

Attention, gross chewy-edge brownie people: You're wrong. You always have been, and you always will be. But that hasn't stopped you from getting your very own brownie pan, to help you indulge your vice in the purest way possible.

Here's the pitch:

The serpentine wall shape of the All Edges Brownie Pan conducts heat better than your average baking pan resulting in more even cooking. The crazy shape also gives each piece two yummy edges,and that's where the concentrated brownie love is!

Granted, I can get behind that operative term—"even cooking"—as long as it can be twisted to mean that my brownies will be uniformly gooey, not chewy, or crunchy, or whatever wrongheaded adjective you choose to cling to.

The All-Edges pan is $35 from ThinkGeek, no matter which side of the fence you ~~fall~~ bake on. [ThinkGeek]

Utah’s 4-day Work Week

2009-09-01T13:56:00.003-04:00

Last year, the state of Utah mandated a four-day work week for state employees. The salaries and number of hours each worker put in remained the same as the workday became longer, but offices were closed on Fridays.

After 12 months, Utah’s experiment has been deemed so successful that a new acronym could catch on: TGIT (thank God it’s Thursday). The state found that its compressed workweek resulted in a 13% reduction in energy use and estimated that employees saved as much as $6 million in gasoline costs. Altogether, the initiative will cut the state’s greenhouse-gas emissions by more than 12,000 metric tons a year. And perhaps not surprisingly, 82% of state workers say they want to keep the new schedule.

Even those who do not work for the state have benefitted since offices are open later Monday through Thursday. Other states and businesses are looking at the results and may possibly try the schedule out. Link -via Digg

Ancient photo found of my house!

2009-08-21T19:42:00.004-04:00

Did you know that you can look up ancient city records from the County Assessor's website? No.... Well you can! I had to look up some information at work today and I thought, "I wonder what results it would query if I looked up my house?" Well.... I found out some pretty cool facts!

My parent's home is a cape-cod building style
It was built in 1938
It would cost $9,720 to replace my garage
....and I also found the archival photo after building our site!

SUPER COOL! You should see what you can find out about your home!

Ever googled your name?? = discover your online persona

2009-08-21T19:34:00.004-04:00

Go here and put your name in the box. Just do it. It’s awesome.

The project, called Personas, comes from the MIT Media Lab. Basically, it takes your name and searches the web for some context around it. It then takes the words and sites it finds to build a profile of your presence on the web. Or in MIT-speak using words like “corpus”:

Enter your name, and Personas scours the web for information and attempts to characterize the person - to fit them to a predetermined set of categories that an algorithmic process created from a massive corpus of data. The computational process is visualized with each stage of the analysis, finally resulting in the presentation of a seemingly authoritative personal profile.

Simply put, Personas represents the way the web sees you (or more specifically, your name). Of course, if someone has the same name as you, the results will vary, but for someone with a name like mine, it works very well. Basically, it says that “online” dominates my life, while I’m also associated with sports and books. Not really sure about the books part, but I am really into movies, perhaps it mistook some of my talk about a certain movie for me talking about the corresponding book (but there is a movies section as well).

from one of my favorite blogs: TechCrunch

Addy isn't much better than Lola

2009-08-18T21:05:00.005-04:00

Lola bugs Addy all the time by biting her legs, wanting to wrestle all the time, and running circles around her. But after a while, she gets so crazy.... Look at this video to see what I'm talking about. Haha... Addy goes nuts and bites me!!

-- Post From My iPhone

Lola is a wild, but HUGE puppy

2009-08-18T20:30:00.002-04:00

Okay seriously, what is wrong with my new dog?? She is supremely crazy. I guess I was too little to remember how my other dog was as a 6 month old, but no matter what we do, Lola seems to get into everything. And having Addy (my German short hair) being an old grandma dog who doesn't really want to play that much make her more rambunctious doesn't help either. Hahaha. Well, even though she's been in the yard for months now, she decided it was too boring and to do something fun. SHAME ON YOU LOLA. haha. It actually was kind of funny.

UPDATE: Later that day!!!
Well just moments after I posted this blog post from my phone, I heard a loud, long shrill from the backyard and found that my mom was YELLING at Lola telling her "Bad dog, bad dog." My mom and I are in this constant battle of whose dog is better. Whenever Lola does something, I will be like "Mom, look what your dog did!!" and when Addy does something (like digging holes and biting as of late) my mom goes "Randy, get your dog away from mine!!" hahaha. Look what the little tyrant did now though!

She took the bigger of the lawn furniture cushions and CHOMPED them up!

Mom looking baffled and Randy saying "Look what your dog did!!!" hahaha

Video Footage = proof of the event!

Baby brother departs to the MTC

2009-07-28T18:33:00.004-04:00

My little brother Max just departed the MTC for his two-year LDS proselyting mission to Taichung, Taiwan. He will be speaking Mandarin Chinese and living it up with all the Taiwanese peeps. I am so proud of his decision to serve alongside our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to spread the gospel of Christ to those who are seeking it. I wish you well Max.... I will miss all the laughs, drives, sig house memories, and your spirit, but I know that you are in the right place, doing the right thing. I know you'll make me proud!

Check out some of the action with all the pics below:

Percentage of chart which looks like Pac-man

2009-07-28T15:37:00.006-04:00

Cool Down a Scorching Car as Quickly as Possible [Beat The Heat]

2009-07-17T17:41:00.003-04:00

I recently bought a new car and I LOVE IT!!!! (2009 Hyundai Sonata SE) but with leather comes a really hot hot summer everytime I get in the car. Here are some tips I found on how to cool down your car super fast from one of my FAVORITE blogs LifeHacker.com. Thought I might share my tips, because they have helped!!

--Randy

Cool Down a Scorching Car as Quickly as Possible [Beat The Heat]
from Lifehacker by Jason Fitzpatrick

Decrease the amount of time it takes to cool your car off after it's been sitting in the summer sun by using this simple six-step process. Photo by jam343.

Even with fancy reflecting shades and window tint, leaving a car parked in the sun inevitably turns it into a blast furnace. How-to compendium wikiHow offers a simple guide to getting the hot air out as quickly as possible:

1. Roll down the windows.
2. Turn on the A/C on the fresh air setting, do not recirculate.
3. Crank the fan up all the way and make sure the thermostat is on the coldest setting.
4. Drive for a minute or two with the windows down, to force out the superheated air.
5. Once the air in the car begins to feel cooler than the outside temperature, then switch from fresh air to recirculate.
6. Adjust temperature using lower thermostat and fan settings.

We would add one more tip to their guide. Your car, with the windows rolled down, is essentially a bucket. If you adjust the airflow so the air is also blowing down into the foot wells, you're more effectively displacing the air from the area of the car with the least air circulation and pushing it up and out the windows.

This trick works, albeit less effectively, even if your air conditioner is broken because the ambient air outside is usually a good 15+ degrees cooler than the roasting air trapped in the car. Have your own car-cooling hacks? Let's hear them in the comments below.

Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks with the fam!!!

2009-06-29T15:13:00.006-04:00

I had a really great weekend vacation the other week with the family, as we traveled to Yellowstone National Park, Colter Bay, Grand Teton National Park, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was our last trip together as a family before Max heads off to Taiwan for his mission on July 8th. We had so many laughs and here is some of the action caught on camera below. Check it out!!

FUN FAMILY PICTURES FROM THE TRIP

MAX BEING A CRAZY LOG-WALKER

MAX BEING A CRAZY LOG-WALKER .... TARA JOINS IN

University of Utah Graduation 2009

2009-06-28T21:49:00.003-04:00

Well, it is official.... I am a college graduate! It all with down a few months ago at the Huntsman Center at the University of Utah after 5 years of long study hours, pointless papers, Sigma Chi, Student Government (ASUU), Union Board, College of Republicans, fun, laughs, all-nighters, and everything in between. I am so lucky to have attended an institution of Higher Education and to graduate with three different Bachelors degrees (Economics BS, German BA, International Studies BS). ON TO ADULTHOOD!! Here are some pics from the days events... Check 'em out!

Journaling, Blogging, Networking, OH MY

2009-06-23T19:27:00.004-04:00

You all might know how that feeling is when you have sudden, random, spurts of excitement about journaling or blogging. There have been multiple occasions where I went to Deseret Book and bought a fresh, new journal to START OVER recording my life for my prosperity, so that they might have a glimpse into my life and my legacy moves on. I know the value in keeping a journal for spiritual thoughts, funny stories, etc. but have always felt a little hesitant to dive right into to writing so much. I have to admit, my hand gets really sick of writing and because of my (self-diagnosed) OCD with details, sometimes journaling can be a real trouble.

Some of crazy OCD-ness include hating to write in anything but a G2 pen, because pencil fades and pens make it easier to read. The problem is that when I make a mistake, I get really frustrated. I have also been super bummed when I leave a spot to glue in a picture or something and never get around to printing it out, or my journal gets all lumpy and stuff because I have too much crap glued in. What about you guys? Do you ever get annoyed by stupid, small details like wanting to use colored Sharpies to make it more aesthetically appealing and then BOOM, it bleed through 3 pages?? Okay, maybe it is just me.

I have a friend from High School (shout out to Dana Robinson) who is THE ultimate blogger. She blogs a lot about her kids and told me last time we talked she was going to use a site like blurb.com (or something similar) to have her blogs published into books, so that her kids will be able to remember each year and all that went on! I think that is the coolest idea, but I only problem is that blogs are blogs and I only really use my blog to share updates to my (married) friends. [Seriously, what is it with married people and blogs? hahaha.]

Anyways, I stumbled across a cool new journalling website www.LDSJournal.com. I know, I know. Cheezy and cliche, but it is actually pretty cool. You can attach pictures, web links, videos, etc. to journal posts and can pay to have it bound in a full-color book for pretty cheap. I think is pretty neat and I might start to journal digitally in the future.

What other ways do you all journal? Is there a way to get over my journaling woes?
Comment and let me know.

--Randy