Day 11 of Penny

I hope that you read "Day 11 of Penny" and realize that the dramatic pronunciation and jazz hands are implied.

Anyway, I do have someplace I like to visit and would live in a heartbeat. Couer D'Alene, Idaho. I'd love to have lake front property there, and a serious fishing boat. We visit there pretty regularly, as it is a favorite of my Padre's also. I like the laid back feel of Idaho, and Couer D'Alene is kind of off beat and fun. Not to mention beautiful. Raym would probably live there too, even though he thinks its actually "Quarter Lane."

I'm pretty happy where I'm at, although I think we will eventually end up in Cache Valley. I love it there too, especially Clarkston and Weston. I've always wanted what I refer to as "A Homestead" somewhere that you actually plan on staying. A few acres to farm and a really neat farm house. I love the Frank Lloyd Wright Craftsman style, and if I could afford to replicate it, that would be what I would have. All hardwood floors, and antique or replica fixtures. I'd love for it to feel like a Norman Rockwell painting when you walked in.

So few homes actually have style anymore. There is a neighborhood in North Logan that does, but I have a feeling I wouldn't want the people who live there as neighbors. They probably wouldn't appreciate our collection of crappy pick-ups anyway.

Day 10 of Penny

This is the first thing that came to mind when the list says "Bullet Your Day." The list of "People To Kill" from Billy Madison. I can hear ELO's "Telephone Line" playing in the background as I write this.

• sometime before I'm ready for it to be morning Raym comes in as says "Bye, I'm off to work"
• (much later) I get out of bed
• let in the cats
• make my bed
• brush my teeth
• vacuum
• day dream about Aston Martins and BMWs
• sweep and mop the kitchen
• day dream about hot rockers
• clean the bathrooms
• day dream about hot rockers who clean bathrooms
• do a couple loads of laundry
• practice the guitar
• day dream about being a hot rocker
• put together lesson plans for music theory
• do the dishes
• day dream about Audis
• eat some lunch
• run errands to the post office, bank, and grocery store
• day dream about a new house
• make cookies and listen to bluegrass
• Raym comes home
• make pancakes and bacon for dinner
• work on more music theory lesson plans
• day dream about hot rockers
• order method books for students
• play with the cats
• kick the cats out because they were fighting (there was actual fur flying)
• take a bath
• day dream about how perfect life would be if I had a disgusting amount of money at my disposal
• personal study time
• read my book time
• sleep
• repeat

As you can see, there is a lot of day dreaming. The quality of work around here suffers for that.

Frustration!

Okay, this is going to be controversial and probably to some offensive today. My topic today has been weighing heavily on me for a couple of years now, and I'm going to address it in a proactive manner. I don't like to beat around the bush, but I will try to remain as unoffensive as possible. The views expressed here are completely my own, I'm not borrowing from anyone else.

What is my frustration? I don't even know what to call it, but it begins and ends with a select group of people living on the Wasatch Front with what appears to be a strong out posts in South Eastern Idaho and South West Wyoming. They are not just Mormons, or BYU fans, but usually they are. It's the women that sat at home with their Cricket making anti-Proposition 8 materials to ship to California. It's BYU fans that pat themselves on the back for kicking star players off their basketball team (they are the only ones who care btw). It's cheerleaders that call the news to let them know that they chose to quit their squad because there were two events scheduled for Sundays this year. It's people who make a big deal about going to the edited versions of R rated movies. Mostly, it's the people who need to be in the spot light for doing things that are not necessarily part of the LDS Religion at all, but oh my, they are making a stand.

It's generally the worst part of any group that gets the spot light, mostly because they are interesting I guess. Nobody cares that there are millions of members of the LDS Church who are not attention craving basket cases. Plenty of us who are doing our best to live our religion in the best way that we as individuals can. There are those among us who struggle with addiction, and mental illness, and all kinds of heavy things; and we are able to work on it without turning it into a circus. The actual Gospel part of our church is a beautiful message, and a wonderful way to choose to live. The pop culture that has popped up around it is a big ugly mess. No wonder outsiders to the our church think we are a raving mad cult.

I personally am not out to convert all my friends through my shining star example--I'm not a shiny example of happiness and piety. I won't be handing out church materials with my cookie trays during Christmas, and I won't be giving disapproving looks to people who make different life choices than I did. What you can expect from me is this: I love the actual message of my church and that is why I participate. I think its just fine that you don't. I keep an eye on people I care about; and if I think you need help, I will serve you in the best way that I can with no strings attached. What I ask of you is this, when you see Crazy Mormons on the street, or on TV, please don't include me in that group. Realize that like any other group, it's the crazies that get the most attention. There are plenty of us out there that aren't letting our BYU freak flag fly (because we don't have one), in fact we are the majority.

Day 8 & 9 of Penny

I don't have anything that I miss particularly. I kinda wish my dad still had his shop and all his hot rods, but someday I'll have my own and they'll be just as fun. Everybody should get to exceed the speed limit by at least double what it legally is at least once in their life. Do I think everyone should drive as fast as they possibly can all the time? No, there just aren't very many people who can drive well at normal speeds. I do wish would would adopt Autobahn Rules for the interstate. I have a whole spiel about this, it would increase revenues generated by out interstate highway system, create more jobs, and make driving much better. I'll save it for another day.

The songs on my Ipod set to shuffle:

1. Your Cheatin Heart, Hank Williams Sr.

2. Bust A Move, Young MC

3. Amazed, My Morning Jacket

4. Polar Opposites, Modest Mouse Cover by Iron Horse (much better than the original)

5. Poprocks & Coke, Green Day

6. Selfish Man, Flogging Molly

7. Creep, Radiohead

8. Metal Now, Say Anything

9. Fashion is Danger, Flight of the Conchords

10. The Kids Aren't Alright, The Offspring

I suppose if there were a unifying theme to this music it could be summed up with a lyric from Polar Opposites "I'm trying, I'm trying, to drink away the part of the day that I cannot sleep away." I don't drink anymore, so I listen to music and when its good enough it's better than tequila.

Day 7 or Penny

When I was about 14 I picked this bible verse as my mantra. It is still good.

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

Proverbs 4:23

Day 6 of Penny

Someplace I've been...

Well, I don't go places that sound great on paper. I travel a lot, but not around the world. In the last year I've been to Portland, Seattle, Santa Barbara, Boise, and all over Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. I've been to Zion and Yellowstone. I'm not saying it wasn't great fun, I'm just saying that most people don't dream of the places I've been to. Most people don't get to see the things that I do either.

I'm kind of a loner, and that doesn't in any way make me sad. When I go on vacation I like to connect to nature in whatever environment I'm in. I find there is a surprising amount of solitude in large crowds and even though I rode a lot of public transit and was traveling with my family in the Northwest, I quite enjoyed the time to myself.

When I took the picture above of the Pacific Ocean, everyone else was in the car whining because it was cold and boring. All I could think of is how fresh the air is when you are standing on the beach with the breakers rolling in, and even though I was taking a picture of it I would never describe the sherbet color the sky turns to another person accurately.

There are lots of other places I'd like to see, and I probably will. I'm not driven by a need to travel the world, but I do enjoy a good road trip.

Day 5 of Penny

I'm a happy person in general. Sure I'm a little melancholy sometimes, but when you get right down to it I'm happy. I don't require a lot of things or people to make me happy. A sunny day with my favorite horse, the ocean, a bowl of ripe strawberries, just the little stuff. This morning the sun was shining through my living room window and it was enough. Baking bread the other day made me happy enough to last for weeks.

They say that through small and simple things, great works are brought to pass. I think this is how joy works. Small moments of happiness bring about a lifetime of joy, I learned that from my mom's family.