Racquetball

I enjoy racquetball. I'm not the best but I can hold my own. I enjoy a sport where being small and weaselly is to a persons advantage. I get a lot of satisfaction from beating huge guys. Sometimes I like to make them run around. I enjoy watching them smash the ball but then just returning the ball of the back wall. I enjoy dodging and weaving on the court.

I've developed a few serves that keep people guessing. Still, I'm worried about playing my dad. Sure it might look like he wouldn't be too competitive. However, he can usually knock me out of the game fairly quickly. I think, however, I'm going to destroy him the next time we play. That's right, I'm calling you out on the web. You will play me and you will lose. I'm not even going to accept your loss because of your knee.

Now that that is over. I'd just like to say there was some sun in Logan today. It was awesome. I hope you all enjoy the weekend.

The thing about that.

I've had a job for the past 3 weeks. It pays surprisingly well, for a part-time-campus job, $10/hour. I have, however, encountered a draw back, it's on call. In these past 3 weeks I have worked a total of 2 hours. Yep, that's right 2 hours. Needless to say I'm reevaluating a few things in my job prerequisite search. I guess actually getting hours is important, as well as the wage you're paid.

I figured in an attempt to fit in, I'd do one of those 25 things thing.  I'm too lazy to do 25, so I'll maybe do 20.

1: I made this freaking short and stole the idea from my roommate because I'm a slacker.

2: My insides have been outside.

3: I could speak when I was really young, it kind of creeped people out.

4: I'm the oldest out of 4 siblings and the only boy.

5: In high school many people thought I'd turn out to be a mad scientist.

6: I have epic life stories.

7: A snickers bar is a primary food group for me.

8: I still watch cartoons.

9: I someday want to write a book.

10: I'm scared of most dogs.

11: I sometimes eat full meals in the shower.

12: I sleep on a slanted bed.

13: I speak Spanish and Portuguese, and can get by in English.

14: One of my friends tried to shoot me and some of my other friends with a arrow.

15: I got hit by a car. My other friend got pushed out of the way by an angel. I, however, wasn't.

16: Even though I have 3 sisters I have no idea what women are thinking.

17: At some point in my life I want to go to an Ivy League university, even if it's just to cut the grass or be a janitor there.

18: When I go to BYU it angries up my blood.

19: I can find the good in just about anybody.

20: I really like the ocean.

My Pink Bed

There's nothing in life quite as exciting as keeping people guessing. I usually do this unintentionally. It's fun to see people squirm a little bit.

It just hit me. I have an awful lot of pink for my bedding. Usually, this wouldn't be a concern for me, but my roommate has stopped sleeping in our room. He does have a girlfriend so I guess that could be the reason. I hope so. It might also be that my setup is giving him the willies. If it is my bed time getup, I've found a fool-proof way to get a private room when it should actually be a shared room. I guess if I really wanted to make sure he didn't sleep in the room I could look over at him every night, smile, wink, turn over, mutter something and then fall asleep. I'm pretty sure the effect would be the roommate deal breaker and my own room.

I don't think I'll do this. However, the card is definitely in my hand. I mean, a private room for the price of a shared room. The pink sheets might just be worth it. I'll have to post some pictures so you know what I mean.

Funny Stuff!

Dating is funny stuff! Seriously, I'm about done. With the amount of time I've put into dating I would expect a little bit more...success, let's call it. I am your typical "nice guy". Unfortunately, I'm finding the old axiom, nice guys finish last, to be true.

I've noticed a few categories that most people fit into. The first group are the ones that snub you right up front. These are the cold cruel she/he-devils. The attraction you have for them is purely physical, and in reality, it's a good thing these relationships never actually work out. Luckily I haven't had to deal with many of them. When I do, I wish I hadn't. This people will give curt one word answers to any question you ask. These are also the ones that walk on the opposite side of the hall, change class schedules, or get plastic surgery, all to avoid you. How do these people know right of that it isn't going to work out?!

The second group are the ones that: when you leave the country for a couple months, the next thing you know, when you get back, they are "dating" and no longer want to date you. This group can also be enlarged to included those that you date a couple time and then decide they can do better...after 2 dates. I don't even know if I like a pair of shoes after I try them on twice. I think people should get a little bit more wear as well.

The third group are the people that you yourself can't decide to date or not. You see the good in that person but think you can do better. I'm convinced that at some point there is nobody better. The longer I last the more I've convinced that marriage is nothing more than two people settling for the best they can get. Sometimes this works out great. Other times, not so much. A lot of the whole process comes from timing. I, however, have never been very good at timing. I'm the guy that bolted from a front porch.

I guess love exist but sometimes I wonder.

Time

Yesterday it hit me. I need to leave this place! I was getting all of my stuff together and I noticed my roommate's class ring, 2005. Yep, I graduated in 2001. I am also sharing a room, something I haven't done since my mission. I've lived in a house for the past 4 years and had a private room sometimes the entire house. Usually, most students work in reverse. Not me baby; I like to mix things up.

I also realized that if I had not gone to Brazil I would be graduating this spring, maddening. At this point it's hard to see how my foray into international finance will benefit me, things being the way they are. I, however, remain optimistic. The experience was great and I picked up some Portuguese. This semester should be entertaining none the less, and I expect a few adventures/drama to come my way.

Going Home

I'll be honest, I've got mixed feelings about coming home. I'm excited to see my family and to start school again, but I'll miss the adventure of being in another country. This week I flew to Buenos Aires. It was amazing! (I even used and explanation point, so obviously it was pretty cool.) If I had a chance to live there, I wouldn't have to think about it for too long. The city kind of reminded me of Chicago.

I've had some crazy experiences here in Brazil and in Argentina. They make great stories. Odd things usually end up happening to me, and being here was no exception. I think they make me a more interesting and diverse person.

During this internship I've also come to the conclusion that I'd prefer to work for a company that isn't extremely large or when I have my own business don't let it become a giant corporation. I think there are a lot of flaws with that type of organization. Finance isn't so bad, but I think I'd really like to work in a different type of area; say, deciding strategy for the bank or who money should be lent to. I think that would be really awesome.

I'm really grateful I had the opportunity to learn some Portuguese. I think knowing languages will be come increasingly important. I think the next language I'm going to try to tackle will be Indonesian or German. We shall see. Anyway, thanks everyone for reading the blog and hopefully I'll keep writing once I start school again.

Winding Down

Things are slowing down. I have 2 work days left. This internship experience has been great, overall. Somethings didn't exactly go as planned. Being a trailblazer is never easy. In this particular event of my life, I was a trailblazer.

Myself and the other intern spoke with our main boss yesterday and, it was, memorable. There are many analogies of how the internship went. Most involve a football, doorknob, or some other strange object. Perhaps the one I liked best was the one our boss got me thinking about. 

The gist of it was, how many astronauts ended up exploding before they made it to the moon? Guess what, I think the overwhelming consensus is, we didn't make it to the moon. They'll send in the clean up crew to scrape our remains out of the instrument panel. However, we did contribute to a noble cause. The next group they'll be sure to tell not to press the red-skull button or maybe give them more training on how put on the flame retardant booties. It'd be a shame if they canceled the space program just because a few astronauts got fried. It'd be a shame if this internship program never reaches its full potential.

I'm going to miss some people here a lot, but with the miracle of our digital age they won't really be too far away. Overall, I've benefitted a lot from this internship. Having an international work experience has been great. Learning some Portuguese has also been extremely beneficial. I plan to keep up the Portuguese. You can't really go wrong learning another language.