Vince "The Great"

No Middle Ground

2010-10-08T15:37:00.006-06:00

I've been thinking about this post for several months. Years maybe. I have held back from writing it, mostly because I don't wish to offend anyone. And I assure you, offense is not my intent. But I have felt strongly, for a long time, that I needed to write this, if for no other reason than to make my position known. I most recently felt the need to write it while listening to General Conference this past weekend.

Consider the following quotes:

"With the right of choice comes the responsibility to choose. We cannot be neutral; there is no middle ground. The Lord knows this; Lucifer knows this. As long as we live on this earth, Lucifer and his hosts will never abandon the hope of claiming our souls." (Pres. Thomas S. Monson -- Priesthood Session)

"We will hold to the principles and laws and ordinances of the gospel. If they are misunderstood either innocently or willfully, so be it. We cannot change; we will not change our moral standards. We quickly lose our way when we disobey the laws of God. If we do not protect and foster the family, civilization and our liberties must needs perish." (Pres. Boyd K. Packer -- Sunday Morning Session)

And now, consider the following quotes:

"Prop 8 overturned. It's about time. My religious beliefs shouldn't be concerned with what others are doing. Being LDS doesn't mean being a [jerk]!!" (Jazz Blogger / Person I follow on twitter)

"We believe ALL families matter and we do not believe in discrimination, therefore, our family will vote against Prop. 8."(Barbara Young -- Wife of former BYU quarterback Steve Young)

I am constantly hearing and reading statements like this. "I'm a member of the church, but I don't agree with the Church's position on gay marriage" or "I'm a member of the church, but I don't agree with the Church's position on homosexuality." I have heard these statements made with increasing frequency, both from people I know personally, and from people who I am not acquainted with. President Packer's talk at General Conference on Sunday morning stirred up a whole new wave of this type of statement. And every time I hear something like this, the first thought that enters my mind is "careful, my friend. That is a slippery slope".

How do you suppose the Great Apostasy came about? Do you think that all of a sudden, one day, all of the members of Christ's church just decided that they didn't believe it anymore? Or they all died at the same moment in time, taking the truth with them? I don't think that's how it happened. I think that it was a gradual transition. Little by little, bit by bit, people started to change things about the doctrine in order to make it fit better with their lifestyles. The Apostles of the New Testament spent a great portion of their ministries traveling from city to city trying to correct these deviations from the true doctrine. But one by one, the Apostles either died, or were martyred. And once there was no one left to correct those who were corrupting the doctrine, it quickly deteriorated. The plain and precious truths were lost. All that remained were philosophies of men, mingled with scripture. What followed was known as the "Dark Ages" -- the longest span of time during which Christ's church could not be found on the Earth.

Going on. (If you're still with me, *kudos.)

We have been promised that the Church will never be taken from the Earth again, so we don't have to worry about another Great Apostasy. What we DO need to guard against is personal apostasy. And I believe that those who question, and openly criticize the Church's position on any issue are putting themselves in a very precarious position. There are some people who I love and care about for whom I am actually quite concerned. This is why I say it's a slippery slope. It starts out with, "Well I agree with everything the Church teaches, except this one thing...", but can quickly become, "I agree with a lot of what the Church teaches, except for these few things...". Where does it stop? "...and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them carefully down to hell." (2 Nephi 28:21 -- emphasis added) This is one way that personal apostasy can happen.

President Monson made it clear when he said "there is no middle ground". It's simple. Either you believe he's a prophet, or you don't. Either you believe that the Quorum of the Twelve are chosen servants of our Heavenly Father, or you don't. Either you believe what they teach, or you don't. We don't get to pick which parts of the gospel we believe in. It's all or nothing. We may not see what the harm is. I've heard many comments -- similar to the one I posted above -- to the effect of "the church shouldn't be concerned with what others are doing" or "what harm does it do me if two gay men decide to get married?" I don't have the answer to that. But I don't need one. If you always need to be told "why?", perhaps you need to work on strengthening your testimony. I'm sure people wondered why they shouldn't smoke or drink coffee anymore when the word of wisdom was first given. Science hadn't caught up with revelation yet.

My point is that Heavenly Father sees the big picture, and we don't. He tells his servants what we need to know, and they relay it to us. Do you trust Him? It does not matter whether YOU can see the harm, or whether YOU can understand the reasons. If you have a testimony, then hearing it from a prophet of God should be enough.

And for me, it is.

*Seriously, if you made it all the way through this soapbox, thanks. The first thing I do when I see a blog post this long is scroll through and look for pictures. If there aren't any, the post gets skipped. :)

Naked Church???

2010-09-24T16:58:00.000-06:00

So, indulge me on this little hypothetical...

Suppose I didn't know which church was true. Suppose I didn't have a testimony that the church I belong to is Christ's one true church here on earth. And suppose I was looking for His church. And all of a sudden one day this* shows up hanging on the door to my apartment:

Um... I think I'd keep looking.

*Yes, this is real. That is a man with his pants around his ankles on a flyer for a church. Called "Naked Church". And their slogan is "Taking it all off". I am not making this up.

HAIR POLL!!

2010-07-27T20:12:00.001-06:00

So, I know this is kinda silly, but...

I'm trying to decide whether I want to grow my hair long again, or keep it short. If I'm keeping it short, it's at the point where it needs to be cut. So I've gotta make a decision. I just thought I'd see what everyone else thinks.

Short:

(I'm the one on the right...)

Long:

Frodo, anyone?

Also, when it's long, there's always the possibility of this:

Pure Awesomeness.

LDS Scriptures App!

2010-06-30T13:17:00.000-06:00

Every time I've gotten a new gadget or smartphone, one of the first things I look for is some way to get my scriptures (hereby referred to as "scrips") on it. Its nice because usually said gadget/smartphone is something I have with me wherever I am at, whereas I don't typically pack my quad around with me. So when I got my new Android phone (the HTC Incredible -- and yes, it lives up to it's name), I set out to get the scrips on it right away. In the past, I've used eBook readers with eBook versions of the standard works. But this is not always very convenient. When you're looking for a specific scripture or verse, it can be hard to navigate to it. Usually in Sunday school, by the time I'd get to it, the teacher would have moved on.

This time, my friends, I struck gold (plates...)!

I found an app that is really amazing. It's designed for scripture study -- not just reading. It comes with the standard works, bible dictionary, topical guide, footnotes (complete with hyperlinks that take you right to the verse they reference), the Hymns, Manuals, Conference talks, etc., etc., etc.! Everything you might want or need either comes with the app or is available for free via download! It also includes features like highlighting, adding your own notes, autoscroll, and lots more. I really like it a lot! Screenshots:

The Android app (which is what I use, since Android is totally the best mobile OS!) costs $14.95 and is totally worth the price. The app is also available for iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile. Go get it! (here)

You know what?

2010-01-20T23:04:00.001-07:00

I don't really want to be an accountant.

Now what? Search me.

Pet Peeves

2010-01-14T15:31:00.003-07:00

I just wanna put this out there. Here are some of the things that just really get under my skin:

People talking / texting on their cell phones while driving: Look, there's no way to break this to you gently. You SUCK at driving while you're talking on your phone. Yeah, YOU! Anybody. Whenever I'm out driving and someone does something stupid, 9 times out of 10 they are on their cell phone. Don't kid yourself into saying "Some people can't drive while they are on their phones, but it doesn't affect how I drive." I'm here to tell you it does. And not just a little bit. You might ask, "Well then why haven't I ever noticed any difference?" Well my friend, it is because you are distracted. "Then why don't people honk at me?" Believe it or not, they probably do! Heck, I know I do. When some bozo on his/her cell phone cuts me off, or starts going 50mph on the freeway, or any of the other dumb things they do, I definitely lay on the horn. And you know what? Most of the time the person is so oblivious to what's going on around them that they don't even notice. Therefore, don't do it. It is SO dumb.
The general uncleanliness of public restrooms: Ladies, I don't know what your restrooms are like, but I've gotta imagine they're better than ours. I'm asking my fellow men to help me out on this one. What is it about public bathrooms that make you just say, "Why aim? I think I'll just pee all over the floor." or "Well wouldja look at that? I got poo on the toilet seat. Oh well, not my problem." or "You know, I'm not gonna bother to flush that. I'm just gonna leave that colossal turd here for the next guy." I mean, guys, am I alone here? This situation has gotten out of hand. TP all over the place, paper towels right next to the garbage can. Oh, here's one of my favorites. When the entire counter top is all wet so that when I make incidental contact with it while washing my hands I get a nice soaked spot in a most unfortunate place. Look, I don't know who's doing it -- but if it's you, KNOCK IT OFF!
Teachers who try to make it impossible to get an 'A' in their class: I don't think I will ever understand this. To me, if no one is able to get an A, that is a pretty clear indication that you aren't a very good teacher. Me, I only want A's. So it's pretty frustrating when I feel like I've done everything I can do, and I don't get one. Last semester in my Financial Accounting class, I aced every quiz, aced the midterm, and got high scores on all of the assignments. Then came the cumulative final. I studied my butt off (well, not literally, although that would have been nice...), and I felt SO prepared. We got 2 hours to take the final. I sat down, opened up my test booklet... and my stomach dropped. Right off the bat, question number one, and I had no idea how to do it. It must be a fluke, I thought -- I'll skip it and come back once I'm warmed up. Question two... aw crap. Question three... seriously? And so on and so forth. Nearly every question was a trick question. She threw in little variables that we had never seen before and things that we had no idea how to deal with. Super lame. I ended up with a C+ in the class, so I must have really tanked on the final. And I was not alone. Pretty much everyone I've talked to from my class had a similar experience. Pretty lame.
People who ALWAYS have B.O.: Listen, I'm not trying to be rude. Really. But I mean, come on! At what point did these people just decide, "You know what? Screw hygiene." I don't get it. I feel disgusting when I come home from camping after having gone a couple days without a shower. I think some of these people may have literally gone years!
Cigarette smoke: Hey, speaking of foul smells! Cigarette smoke literally makes me sick to my stomach. It is disgusting. And, I'm not trying to throw out a blanket statement here, but a lot of smokers are pretty inconsiderate. Here in Utah we have a law that states that smoking is prohibited within 25 feet of an entrance to a building. That would be SUCH a great idea if anyone ever actually followed it. Even when there are signs posted reminding people of this law, there's still smokers right outside the door. It makes it so that anyone trying to enter or exit the building has to pass directly through their little cancer cloud. Smokers, do us both a favor and just quit. Yeah? Yeah.
Certain FaceBook-isms: I hate it when someone posts something to the effect of "I love Jesus. If you love Jesus too, you'll post this to your status. Anyone who doesn't post it either doesn't love Jesus, or is ashamed of their faith in Jesus." I recently saw one that said something like, "If you support our troops, post this to your status..." yadda yadda yadda -- you get the idea. If you've ever posted one of these, I apologize. But just so everyone knows, I am NEVER going to copy and paste your status as my own status. And don't tell me that I don't love Jesus, or that I don't support our troops.

There are lots of things that bug me. Those are just a few. Agree? Disagree? What are your pet peeves?

Vindicated!

2009-11-18T11:53:00.003-07:00

Last night, very shortly after Mary and I went to bed, the strangest thing happened. I suppose her eyes were closed, because only I saw it. There is a window in our bedroom, and for about two seconds, it got so bright outside. Like, we're talking noon-day bright. It totally freaked me out! My conversation with Mary went something like this...

Me: WHOA! What the heck was that?!

Mary (sleepy): What was what?

Me: You didn't see that bright light outside?!

Mary: uhh... no.

Me: That was SO bright! What could that have been?!

Mary: Babe, it was probably just someone's headlights.

Me: We're on the 3rd floor! People's headlights don't come through our window! Besides, that was way brighter than headlights...

Mary: I'm sure it was just headlights.

Me: I wanna look out the window... (walks over to the window and peers through the blinds... everything looks normal now.) I don't know what that could've been.

Mary (laughing): Ok babe...

Me: Don't laugh at me... I saw something... that was so weird.

Mary: Ok.

Well, today I saw THIS on KSL.com. A meteor! That's what it was! The story says people reported seeing it from Southern Utah all the way up into Idaho. The video is cool -- several people's surveillance cameras caught it on tape. Just look how bright that is! Headlights... *pshhht*

See, Mary? I'm not crazy.

Wow, you really think so?

2009-09-29T10:25:00.003-06:00

I feel a little gypped by this fortune cookie...

I think someone at the fortune cookie factory is lacking creativity here. I'll be sure and let you guys know if this comes tru... oh... wait... it just happened. And here I thought I'd have to wait until next week.

Too hilarious not to blog...

2009-09-01T20:42:00.002-06:00

So, let me just preface this by saying I know that this blog collects a lot of dust. My last post was sometime in February. Furthermore, I want to make it clear that I have no intention of becoming a post-a-day blogger. But in life, occasionally a situation will arise which simply cannot be left un-blogged. And so, I give you this gem.

My plan was to ride my bike to class today, since $125 for a parking pass is a little steep and I live approximately very few minutes away from campus. My bike, however, has two flat tires. Therefore, I opted for the campus shuttle, which conveniently passes right in front of the University Village, and goes directly to the Social Work building (which, of course, is where my accounting class is). It worked out quite nicely, and I arrived at my class 20 minutes early, which is my custom.

Unfortunately, the higher education world is not known for catering to students who work full-time jobs and try to take all their classes in the evening. Thus, campus shuttles stop running at 6:00PM. I therefore requested that my dear spouse pick me up after class. (So I know this may seem lazy, but gimme a break. I go straight to class after work, my class gets out at 9, so I'm looking at about 8 hours since my last meal. No way am I walking home.)

As I sat on the steps in front of the Social Work building, my mind wandered to the Huevos Rancheros that my BFF had agreed to make for dinner, and so I suppose I was a little distracted. I emerged from my ~~day~~evening dream and looked up the street. There was the familiar white Hyundai Elantra, just coming around the bend. Since there was a car behind her, I motioned for Mary to go around the corner, so as not to block traffic. I guessed she hadn't seen my gesture, because she stopped at the light (even though it was green) and waited for me. Well, I didn't want to annoy people so I ran to the car and got in...

That is to say, I got halfway in. There was an abundance of miscellaneous crap on the passenger seat and on the floor. I was more than a little irritated, because didn't she know someone would be sitting there very soon?! No, actually. She didn't know. Because "she" was not Mary. She was an extremely frightened Chinese young lady who I'm sure was wondering who this strange man was and why he was getting into her car. I uttered a quick apology, and shut the door as she sped off.

My bad... my bad*.

*Then again... why the heck did she stop at that green light?! I mean, she's really not helping dispel the stereotypes, is she?

You just never know...

2009-02-14T16:11:00.002-07:00

So, a lot of you (and by that I mean most of you) don't know this, but I recently lost my job. The company I worked for (and that Mary still works for) was laying off, and I unfortunately didn't make the cut. Basically business is very slow there right now, and particularly slow for my position there. That, coupled with the fact that a new release of the software had basically made my job obsolete, meant that I was expendable.

Needless to say, I was pretty upset. I was also worried and scared. How would we meet our expenses with only one income? How would I find a job in this struggling economy? It was a constant weight on my shoulders, and I have been really stressed for the last few weeks. During this time, however, I have come to realize just how great I have it. I have such a wonderful support system in my friends and family. EVERYONE wanted to help. So many people tipped me off when they would here about a company that was hiring. Someone called me and let me know about a job fair. Someone called me to tell me that they were just watching TV and a commercial came on saying that Comcast was hiring. Mary was very encouraging and truly kept me going. It really helped just knowing I had so many people to lean on.

As it turns out, the job that I ended up getting is going to be higher paying, and a better location than my previous job. It is practically on campus at the U of U which is where Mary and I are planning to live while I attend school there. PLUS, they offer tuition assistance, which relieves yet another source of my stress. So basically, screw you UFirst.

It's just so interesting to me how all of this worked out. At the risk of using an already overused Mormon cliche, it really turned out to be a blessing in disguise. (why do blessings need to wear disguises? I'm quite sure they would receive a warmer reception if they weren't always running around incognito.) So that's why I say, you just never know. But He does.

No one likes a snitch!

2008-10-10T11:18:00.002-06:00

Seriously – NO ONE.

Do employees like the co-worker that they have to walk on egg-shells around, because they know that person is just itching for someone to tattle on? No.

Do managers like employees who are constantly coming to them with, “I just thought you should know that so-and-so [insert something entirely inconsequential here]”? No. We don’t.

There are a couple of people at work who are totally out to get everyone else. They make it their mission to report anything that they feel might be even a little inappropriate. Now, please don’t get me wrong – you can’t have an environment so lax that people feel like they can do whatever they want. If something is serious enough, it should be dealt with. Still, certain things really don’t need to be brought to management’s attention.

Here are a few REAL examples:

Should be reported:
“Lupe came in to work on a Saturday, punched in, then left for a few hours and went to the mall, came back and clocked out. Also, she never punches out for lunch and is usually gone for about 2 hours.”

Should NOT be reported:
“I noticed that Amanda’s 15 minute break actually went about 17 minutes today.”

What are we, 5? Here’s a good philosophy – mind your own dang business and do your work. End of soap-box.

We Want the Funk

2008-09-16T20:07:00.002-06:00

This commercial came out last fall, and I was super happy when I saw that they brought it back again. These kids are hilarious. Also, Mary does the Robot about as well as the first dancing kid. Enjoy!

Try this...

2008-07-01T06:53:00.014-06:00

Done? Good. Now do 89 more problems like that one, and your done! That is what I did from 4:00 PM yesterday to 1:30 AM today doing. Yeah -- 9 hours of calculus... not fun. Then I laid in bed wide awake until about 2:30. Then I got up at 5:15 to go to work. Needless to say, I'm running on fumes today. However, I have to admit, I feel smart when I say, "Yeah, I can do calculus."

I just hope I have enough brain cells left to pass my test today.

In her Humble Way...

2008-06-10T09:44:00.003-06:00

Well, the time has almost come. In just 8 days, Gwen will embark on her mission to Utica, New York. I'm so proud of her, and I know she will be an awesome missionary. We're going to miss her a lot while she's gone -- she is one of the funnest people to hang out with I know. She filled in for me as "the funny one" while I was on my mission, and she continues to make us laugh regularly. Gwen, you're the best!

I had this idea the other day -- in an effort to keep friends and family up-to-date on Gwen's mission, I have created a blog where we will post her letters/emails as well as the photos she sends us. That way all of the many people who love her will be able to keep track of where she's at and what she's doing. You can visit the page here. Obviously there are no posts there yet, but it won't be long now!

We love you Gwen!

Disappointment...

2008-05-27T10:39:00.003-06:00

Imagine a ballon filled with confetti. The balloon is slowly being inflated, getting larger and larger, and you are standing there anticipating a loud bang and an explosion of confetti into the air. Instead, the balloon springs a small leak somewhere near the neck and the air all goes out slowly, making a flatulant noise as it deflates. That's what it's like.

Almost two years ago, I heard that George Lucas was planning a 4th Indiana Jones movie. The excitement has been building up ever since. As a kid, those were some of my FAVORITE movies of all time! I anxiously awaited the day when this movie would hit theaters. We bought our tickets almost two weeks early. Finally the day came.

And it sucked.

Seriously, I even like Temple of Doom more than this show. The whole plot/story line was absolutely stupid. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. If you REALLY want to see it, wait until it's out on DVD and rent it. Don't pay $8 to see it in the theaters. It would be a total waste of money (as would renting it, but at least it's LESS money).

I choose to pretend this movie never happened. What a bummer.

please...

2008-04-14T07:01:00.005-06:00

Mary and I were eating at Arby's the other day, when I noticed something that struck me funny. Here's a picture :

Now, I've seen trash cans that say "Thank You" before, which seems to make more sense to me. the establishment is thanking the customer for "trashing their trash" (as a friend likes to put it). But here, it almost felt like the trash cans were pleading with me. "Please sir... couldn't you spare just a little trash... please?" So I, being the charitable person that I am, donated three-fourths of a nasty chicken sandwich... should have just ordered the roast beef... Just thought it was kind of silly.

Are we Who's?

2008-03-31T11:23:00.002-06:00

So I’m pretty sure that our world might be a spec on a clover that is being carried around by a giant invisible elephant in the sky. Let me explain.

On Saturday night we went to see “Horton Hears a Who” (which by the way was a pretty good show – I liked it). Well, Horton is an elephant who finds a spec which happens to be the home of a vast civilization of tiny people called the Who’s. So he carries it around on a clover until he can find a safe place to put it. Meanwhile, the mayor of Whoville (voiced by Steve Carrell) is the only Who that knows what’s going on. (btw, Microsoft Word thinks I’m making a million grammatical errors for the incorrect use of the word “who”.) He goes to a professor lady and asks her how they would know if their world really was a tiny spec being carried around by a giant elephant. She tells him that they would likely experience radical changes in the weather.

Well, so there you go! Last week Mary and I were wearing shorts and t-shirts, driving around with the windows down, and loving the warm weather. All of a sudden it snows like 6 inches and supposedly it’s supposed to snow twice more this week! So I have a feeling that our giant elephant might be standing too close to the refrigerator.

Or maybe we just live in Utah…

"So easy, even a Caveman can do it!"

2008-02-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

As long as I can remember, I have had my car insurance through Farmers. We had a great agent who always tried to get us the best rates and keep our premiums as low as he could. About 10 months ago, our agent was promoted, and we were assigned to a new agent. He was lame. When Mary and I moved into to my parents house, I called him to cancel the renters policy that we had. He told me that if I cancelled, it would increase the premiums for my auto insurance by about $20per month. He said it would be cheaper for me to just keep the renters policy on there, even though we were no longer renting an apartment. He also told me that my rates would go up by $15 per month because of the area we were moving to... which I was not happy about. THEN, the bill came. My rates had gone up by $18 per month, PER VEHICLE! This brought our total monthly premium to about $180! Well, I decided it was time to shop around. I called Geico, and I got a quote for $83 per month. AND it is actually better coverage (higher limits, lower deductibles). So I bought the policy. I then had the privelege of calling my Farmers agent. Our conversation went as follows.

AGENT: Farmers, this is Kit.

ME: Well hello, Kit. This is Vince Oveson.

AGENT: Oh Hello... how are you?

ME: I'm good! Actually I'm VERY good.

AGENT: Oh... why is that?

ME: Well, I just saved myself a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!

AGENT: Ha ha... *pause* ...really?

ME: Oh yes. I really did. My premiums with them will be less than HALF what they were with Farmers. I'm very excited about it.

From here the conversation turned to techincalities of what I needed to do to officially cancel with Farmers. I must say... that conversation was really fun. Thank you Geico!

the thankfulness continues...

2007-11-12T21:40:00.001-07:00

And now, here's today's list:

I'm thankful that 27 years ago today, my parents were married. I was probably watching from heaven, and pretty excited about it.
I'm thankful for another great Jazz win tonight.
I'm thankful for finding random cash in the pockets of things I haven't worn for a little while!

Catching up...

2007-11-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post yesterday, so here's yesterday's list :

I'm thankful to have a friend to sit with in Elder's quorrum. In the Kimball ward, I was in the nursery right from the start. Once I was able to go to priesthood, I didn't really know anyone.
I'm thankful for Elder's quorrum teachers who actually prepare for class on Sunday and teach a good lesson.
I'm thankful for Sunday afternoons with my family.

Today's Big 3

2007-11-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

Here are my 3 things I'm thankful for today :

Sleeping in! We get up at 5:00 AM Monday through Friday, and we have 9:00 church on Sundays. But on Saturdays, we can sleep as late as we want. (today, I slept until 9:30 -- SO nice.)
We went to the Utah game today with Eliza, Paul, and Peter. What an AWESOME game! 50 to nothing! What made it even sweeter was that Wyoming's head coach had guaranteed a Wyoming win today.
Hanging out with my family -- playing Guitar Hero and watching Ratatouille. Good times.

I'm Grateful Too...

2007-11-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

As I was reading everyone else's list of things they're thankful for, I realized that my list would have a lot of the same things on it. But I would be very ungrateful if I didn't stand here and thank... (oh, wait... this isn't fast and testimony meeting... and incidentally, I HATE when people start off their testimonies like that... It's a TESTImony, not a THANKimony. So TESTIFY!) But I digress... Anyway, I decided to write my list regardless of the fact that many of these things have already been mentioned. This should be interesting, since I am so far behind. In order to catch up, I'll need to list 27 things today... HERE GOES!!

I Am Thankful For :

my wife -- she is my best friend, and we have SO much fun together. She's a nice wife.
a good job where I have great co-workers.
health insurance. We still get excited whenever we remember that we have insurance now!
my iPod. It helps me get through the day.
audiobooks. I may not like to read very much, but I do enjoy a good book!
the Jazz beating the Sonics tonight -- it's embarrassing that it was so close, but it would have been terrible to lose.
nice parents who are letting us live at their house.
milk.
my sisters -- they are some of my best friends.
excedrine.
being able to make my wife laugh.
my dad, who yells at the TV while watching sports just as much as I do, AND understands wanting to watch whatever college football game happens to be on.
The Office -- it's gotta be the funniest show on television.
my other favorite shows: CSI, Shark, Life, and of course, 24.
mary's ability to find the exact spot on my back that itches, and scratch it for me.
weekends.
being back in a good ward.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
my friends -- I couldn't ask for better ones.
music.
my in-laws. Marrying into such a big family was a little intimidating, but I really like everyone.
all of my nieces and nephews.
all of the people who are serving our country in the armed forces.
being able to go to school.
the gospel in my life.
all of the great experiences from my mission.
the temple.

Well, I know the list is pretty random, but those are the first 27 things that came to mind. So now I'm all caught up!

The Compulsive Commenter

2007-11-02T15:56:00.000-06:00

So, there's this guy we work with at United First named Jason. He is kind of the obnoxious type, to put it mildly. He's what you would call a drama queen. The kind of person who thrives on crisis. Also, he loves to hear the sound his own voice. Also, he seems to think he's the awesomest person alive, bless his heart. (i've found that you can say whatever you want about a person, as long as you bless their heart afterwards)

So that's just a little background information on our co-worker.

The thing that really cracks me up about this guy, is that he is obsessive compulsive about saying something EVERY time he walks past either myself or Mary. We mostly see him when we're in the break room (he passes through on his way outside for a cigarette), so most of his comments have to do with whatever it is we happen to be eating. For example :

"Oatmeal time!"

"Mac and Cheese, huh?"

"What's in there, carrots?" (in reference to peaches 'n' cream oatmeal)

"Breakfast time, huh?"

And so on, and so on. The thing of it is, he HAS to say something. It has really gotten old. Have you ever dealt with a compulsive commenter like this guy?

The Sky is Falling!!

2007-10-10T18:10:00.000-06:00

The last couple of weeks have been pretty eventful for us...

On September 23rd, we were watching TV in the bedroom, when Mary noticed a slight bubble in the ceiling that was leaking water into our apartment. Yet another advantage to living on the top floor. So we put a bucket under it, and called the maintenance man the next morning.

As you can see, I was not happy. The maintenance man came out the next day and "fixed" the leak on the roof. Our cieing, however, now had a bald patch where the paint had pretty much disolved.

Whatever he did, it didn't work. The next day it rained again, and the ceiling kept on dripping. Then leak number two. This one was more of a constant stream than a periodic drip. So that was fun trying to sleep when it sounds like someone is taking an eternal leak right next to your bed (please excuse the analogy...).

Well, as the days went on, new leaks kept springing up, and it was getting pretty frustrating. The maintenance man came out twice more, and "fixed" the problem...

No. He didn't. As you can see, by this time, an entire piece of sheet rock was starting to droop under the weight of all that water still in our ceiling.

Well, that was when we knew that we had to get out. We didn't want to still be in that apartment when the ceiling caved in on us. However, we didn't want to go back to paying rent. So, we were left with only one other option. Thus, for now, we are living with my parents. We got everything out of our bedroom first -- we just didn't want any of our stuff ruined. We have been moving the rest of our stuff over here and there (since we have until the end of the month anyway). Each time we go, the ceiling is a little worse. Here are some pics taken over the last few days.

Wow, that's looking pretty bad, huh? Oh you think so, do you? Well take a look at this!

Yeah, I was pretty much cracking up. You can't really tell from the pictures, but the carpet on that side of the bedroom is totally soaked. What a mess!! I'm sure glad we got out when we did!

Tagged ... a while ago...

2007-10-02T16:36:00.000-06:00

1- what I was doing 10 years ago :

Ten years ago, I was 13 years old. I had just started going to Encore Academy, which was a great experience for me. Before that, I was quiet and shy, and not at all outgoing. It gave me a huge boost in my self confidence. Some of my all-time best friends are those I met during the several years I spent in Encore.

2- Five years ago :

I had just graduated from high school. My senior year was a blast -- I watched most of my friends stress about A.P. tests and concurrent enrollment and honors classes. Meanwhile, I coasted through Choir, Seminary, Foods, Teacher Aid, Student Government, and my one "real" class -- Humanities. Sure, I regret not working harder in high school. But on the other hand, I can honestly say that I really had a good time.

Also, I was working at Video II with Guy Watts. And I had also just started dating Kellie Tye.

3- One year ago :

I was anxiously ripping link after link off the countdown chain that hung in my bedroom keeping track of the days until my wedding. I pretty much let her make all the decisions, as I only had an opinion on a couple of things. Those were exciting times. I'm sure glad I found Mary!

4- Yesterday :

Yesterday was Mary's birthday so we took the day off. We woke up around 8:00, and Mary opened her presents. Then we went out to eat at IHOP. One of her presents from me was Season 3 of "The Office" on DVD (which BTW is just about the funniest show ever!), so after breakfast, we came home and watched a few (I think 7...) episodes. Then we got ready for the day and went Mini-Golfing at Boondocks, at Mary's request. We finished off the day with dinner at Restaurante Morelia (some of the best Mexican food out there.)

5- Five Snacks I Enjoy :

7-Layer Dip

Pringles (loaded baked potato...mmm....)

Moosetracks ice cream

Training Table cheese fries

Oreo shakes

6- Five things I would do if I suddenly had $100,000,000 :

Pay off my credit card

Get rid of my old crappy cars and buy an Escalade. (and one for pat...)

Quit my job (not that I don't like it, but...why work?)

Buy a huge house

Travel lots

7- Five Locations I Would Like To Run Away To :

Europe (esp. England and Spain)

Guatemala

The Caribbean

Peru (Machu Picchu)

Hawaii

8- Five Bad Habits I Have :

Bothering my wife to try and get a rise out of her, and then feeling bad when she finally gets mad... (although this one is pretty funny... :D)

Forgetting important things

Speeding

Day dreaming (usually about having super powers... or being rich... or BOTH!)

Using sarcasm

9- Five Things I Like Doing :

Traveling

Watching sports

Hanging out with people I like

Singing

Eating good food

10- Five TV Shows I Like :

24
CSI
Seinfeld
The Office
Shark

11- Five Things I Hate Doing :

Reading (although, I do enjoy audiobooks...)
Dishes
pretending to laugh at my lame supervisor's jokes... lately I just listen to my iPod at work and just pretend I can't hear her talking to me. So far it's working out pretty well.
Managing apartments
Paying bills

12- Five Biggest Joys of the Moment :

Finally getting out of our terrible apartment! (more on this later...)
Utah won a game (and let's face it... if they hadn't beat USU, well that would have just been rock bottom...)
Cooler weather -- I'm a fall/winter person.
Sonic jumbo popcorn chicken

Colors Concert!

2007-09-16T00:15:00.000-06:00

After almost 5 years, one of my favorite bands put on a reunion concert tonight. In high school, my friends and I were kind of Colors groupies. We went to just about every concert, had all the CD's, sweatshirts, bumper stickers -- you name it. They came and did several concerts at Murray High and the Murray Amphitheater. Going to the reunion concert was lots of fun, and it brought back some great memories. Here's some pictures of the concert :

P.S.

2007-09-09T10:04:00.000-06:00

At the rate the Utes are going, they'll likely be playing with their entire second string by about mid season...

These injuries are killing us!

Friendly Letters...

2007-09-09T09:46:00.000-06:00

Dear Tommy Grady,

I just want to say thank you for a wonderful game. 20/39 passing, 2 interceptions, and an average run of -1.8 yards. You really stepped it up for the Utes. They clearly reflected your leadership and confidence on the field. Thanks again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Officials of yesterday's Utah/Air Force Game,

I really appreciate how dedicated you were to making sure that Utah didn't get any calls their way. Thank you for slapping us with 7 penalties totaling 160 yards, compared to Air Force's 5 penalties for 45 yards. That really helped us out.

All my love,

A disappointed fan

New Computer!

2007-09-04T22:48:00.000-06:00

This post is coming to you live from our brand new computer!

We decided we needed a second computer (as up until now, all we had was my laptop), so once we had some extra money, we set out shopping. We decided to go to Costco first, since they usually have the best prices on electronics.

I wasn't really sure what to buy, but luckily I ran into a friend from high school who happens to know quite a lot about computers. He recommended the wonderful machine you see pictured here:

We also can finally afford to have cable TV and internet (thanks to managing the apartments), and those were installed this afternoon. This means that, as much as I despise The Mountain, I won't have to miss out on the college football action this season. Speaking of which... Grady is about the sorriest thing I've ever seen.

Bye.

The last straw!

2007-08-23T21:01:00.000-06:00

So I've decided that I'm pretty much fed up with restaurants that use the styrofoam cups. I always seem to have trouble with them. Once we were at Fazoli's and when I inserted my straw, I stabbed a hole right through the cup. It instantly sprang a leak, squirting lemonade all over the table.

Today, we ate at Sonic between classes. You know those tables that they put outside that are a kind of metal mesh? I don't know how else to describe them (see image)...

Anyways... They use the kind of ice that is like a bunch of little pellets. So, I was having a hard time getting my straw to the bottom of the cup so that I could enjoy the last few swallows of Dr. Pepper. I guess I pushed a little too hard, and my straw punctured the bottom of my cup. Thanks to the wonderful meshy design of the table, the last bit of my drink leaked through the table, and right INTO my shoe... So you can imagine how comfortable that was.

So that's it, I've had it! No more styrofoam cups for me. Can't handle it.

In the blink of an eye

2007-08-19T20:02:00.000-06:00

It's amazing how your life can change so drastically from one minute to the next...

I got a phone call on Wednesday morning from the wife of one of my life-long friends. She told me that Patrick's dad had suffered a heart attack that morning while at work, and he passed away.

Patrick's mom died the year we graduated high school after having suffered for years with cancer.

I just can't even imagine what it must be like. The past couple of days, every time it comes to my mind, I just feel so sad for my friend. I don't think anyone plans on burying both of their parents before the age of 24. Patrick, if you're reading this, I just want you to know how much you impress me. Heavenly Father must really think you're strong -- He wouldn't give you such trials otherwise.

But I guess this just really has me thinking. We never know how much time we, or any of our loved ones, has left. No one thought Jim would be leaving us this soon. I'm very grateful for the knowledge we have of what is to come. What a tremendous help and comfort it is to us at times like these.

Free Rent!!

2007-08-06T12:51:00.000-06:00

So we are now officially managing the Rose Anne Apartments where we live. In exchange for our services we are living rent-free, which is awesome. It's going to help us out in a huge way. We'll be able to get out of debt and build up our savings. We only plan on doing it for a year or so. By then we should be in great shape financially, and ready to move on.

We had our first training meeting on Saturday morning (which took OVER 3 hours). We're both feeling a little bit overwhelmed with our responsibilites, which include :

Collecting rent from the other tenants
Issuing "3-Days to Pay or Vacate" notices to tenants who's rent is later than the 5th (we'll be issuing three of those tonight... aparently it's kind of a big problem at the R.A. apts.)
Taking calls for maintenance requests and scheduling the maintenance man to come fix things.
Keeping the property grounds looking nice.
Listing and filling vacancies
Preparing vacant apartments to be rented
Going to the main office at least once a week to pay bills and enter rent checks into their computer system (which happens to be ANCIENT... it's a DOS program if that tells you anything...)

We have other miscellaneous responsibilities as well. I know it sounds like a lot, and truth be told, I had no idea how much would be involved in managing. I just keep telling myself, "It's only 1 year. Free rent! It'll be worth it!!"

We really are counting this as a huge blessing for us. Hopefully we'll be able to handle everything!

My Awesome Platinum Birthday

2007-07-08T22:00:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a fun birthday! I sure am lucky to have such a nice wife!

I know everybody already knows everything that Mary did to make my birthday great, so I just want to say that it was absolutely perfect. It was so much fun getting a present every day leading up to my birthday -- as Claudia said, it was like Haunuka :D

Thanks again for everyone who wrote a message for the scrapbook Mary made for me. All of the things you wrote really made me feel good and it will be fun to go back and read through it again and again.

07-07-07 was the best! Thanks everyone!

Sometimes, my head hurts...

2007-04-20T21:46:00.000-06:00

So I had to go to the Emergency Room the other day...

I started getting bad headaches on Wednesday the 4th. I've had migraines before, but they've never been this bad. Nothing I took helped. I still had some prescription pain meds left from my car accident, and those at least took the edge off the pain. The headaches kept getting worse and worse, and I was getting them about every day. They were always accompanied by nausea, too. I asked Mary to please cut my head off, but she wouldn't do it.

The thing that had me worried was that something weird happened every time I was about to get a headache. First, wherever I was looking directly would be blurry. I couldn't focus my eyes on anything. Then, in my periferal vision, it almost seemed like a strobe light. That's about the best way I can describe it. It was really strange.

On Wednesday, I got the worse headache so far. The strobe sensation in my periferal vision was so intense that it hurt to keep my eyes open. I was extremely dizzy and nauseous, and I felt like I might throw up. We decided that I better go to the E.R.

I desribed the strange things that had been happening with my headaches, and the doctor told me that it's called "Migraine with Ora". I was just relieve that he didn't say, "Hmm... Yeah, that's really weird. I don't know what that could be...". They gave me a shot in my stomach which helped a lot. They gave me a prescription for the same medication in injection form.

The doctor wants me to schedule a CT scan, just to be sure that there's nothing else wrong. So for the time being, I am doing MUCH better. Thank heavens for drugs!

Out with the old, in with the new!!

2007-02-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

I am happy to say that after months of perseverance in the job search, I am finally done with Clean Machine, Inc. for good!!

I got a phone call from a good friend of mine who let me know about a job opening with a financial corporation. The catch was that they needed someone who could start IMMEDIATELY. I thought it over, talked with Mary, and decided that I should take it. Of course this meant that I would have to leave Clean Machine without giving them 2 weeks notice. I originally felt bad about this, however, once I thought about it, I decided that all the mistreatment that I had received from management there certainly justified my decision. I gave my 8 hours notice, and started my new job on Thursday February 22.

I now work for United First Financial in Draper. This job is MUCH better for me, as I am going into accounting (not to mention that it's a considerable pay raise!). Mary and I really feel like this is a blessing. We've been praying for something to come along for quite a while now.

In conclusion, the Church is true! Yay for my new job!

Christmas Shopping

2006-12-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! So, Christmas is coming up pretty fast. Last night Mary and I went our seperate ways to tackle some shopping. I was a man on a mission -- I knew exactly where I was going and I had lots of really great ideas for Mary. My determination wained after spending nearly 15 minutes driving around a parking lot which was definitely full to capacity, and another 30 minutes in line at a store that will remain nameless. The next place I went to was another parking nightmare, where one of the gift ideas I was most excited about proved impossible. A few more trips were made, but overall, several of my GREAT ideas were shot down. I did manage to pick up a couple of really awesome gifts that I am super excited about, but for the most part, I came home pretty discouraged and frustrated.

Mary got home about a half hour later. She apparently had a much more successful evening. She was so excited that she wanted to wrap all of my presents. I went to bed around 1:00 and she was up for another hour and a half. This morning there was a small mountain of gifts with my name on them under our small Christmas tree. I didn't get an exact count, but there were approximately 3 billion. Now don't get me wrong, because I am extremely excited about all those presents. It does, however, put the pressure on me to come up with some new ideas to replace the ones that aren't going to work out. Therefore, if anyone has some good ideas for me, please e-mail me seperately at vloveson@hotmail.com . I'd appreciate ANY ideas you guys might come up with. Thanks family, and Happy Holidays everyone!!

I blog when I want, ok?!

2006-07-26T00:11:00.000-06:00

Ok, so whatever... I'm not a consistent blogger. And you know what? I'm fine with it... :D

I proposed to Mary!! It was a really exciting day -- and a TON of work! I wanted everything to be perfect. I planned a big elaborate treasure hunt. I sent her around to 12 different places where she and I have been together. I tried to pick places where we have special memories together. At each place there was someone waiting for her with a clue to lead her to the next place. BUT, before she could get her clue, she had to perform a small task. The whole thing took almost 4 hours, and it ended up at the institute building, in the choir room where we had our Encore rehearsals. That's where I was waiting for her. When she came in, I started to play the piano and sing her the song, "She's got a way" by Billy Joel. She was pretty much crying through the whole thing. I knew she would ;) After the song, I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. When she saw the ring, I think she nearly fell over... She loves it! YES! Go me! :D

I had Mike Oveson following her around and video taping for almost the whole thing, including the end. That will be really fun to watch -- I was thinking that it will be really cool to be able to show it to our kids someday.

It was really stressful planning everything and making the necessary arrangements, but it was all worth it. Mary loved it. I can't wait to marry her -- she really is the most wonderful girl I've ever known. I'm really excited to spend the rest of my life with my very best friend in the whole world.

Another big long post... Enjoy!

2006-05-20T14:09:00.000-06:00

It's time again for one of my updates...

I had a pretty stressful week right before tour. On Monday I had my math final, which I already wrote about. Then I had to do my final project for English. Have I ever expressed how much I HATE group work? Once again I got stuck doing the ENTIRE project myself. This was worth 40% of our grade. So basically, my whole group would be taking English 2010 again this semester if it weren't for me. INGRATOS! So, knowing that none of them would do any work, I volunteered to build our group's website. Well, if that weren't stressful enough, I CRASHED MY COMPUTER!!! (Moral of the story : Don't download free music or software!) So I had to borrow Sammi's laptop in order to do it. I was up until 3:00 AM for three nights in a row. I spent hours and hours on it. BUT the good news is, I got 100% and therefore an 'A' in English. AND, I never have to take another English class for the rest of my life!!! That's the happy ending to this story.

Ok, so also, we went on tour. It was really great, but at times it was super stressful also. I guess the hardest part was this... Mary was really stressed and having a hard time because she had worked so hard on the housing assignments so that everyone would have a chance to room with different people. Then in almost every city we stayed in, the housing coordinator had ALSO put together a list of who would room with who. The problem was, it ended up being the same people EVERY night. She felt really bad about it, and was really bummed out a lot of the time. It was tough, because I would try my best to cheer her up with my dumb jokes, but I couldn't do it. And for me, that was REALLY hard. I just feel like I'm SUPPOSED to be able to make her happy, and a lot of the time, I can. So I just felt like I needed to do something, and yet I felt like there was nothing I could do. It sucked. I hate it when she's unhappy.

We had some really cool experiences on tour. The people who allowed us do stay in their homes were SO awesome. I think the most spiritual experience for me was at Martin's Cove. All day I was just thinking about the pioneers and their struggles and their faith and courage. They truly were remarkable. I'm not gonna lie, I did my fair share of crying. I will always be grateful for the sacrifices they made so that the church could prosper and grow and become what it is today. I feel like this show really helped me connect with them, and at least have a greater appreciation for what they did.

I'm so glad that I could be in Encore. It was tough sometimes, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it. Of course, the main reason I'm so glad I did Encore was because that's how I met my Mary girl, who I love with all my heart. I was hesitant at first when Gwen wanted me to join, but clearly Heavenly Father knew better than I did. It was His plan all along.

I love my girlfriend!!!

2006-05-02T15:58:00.000-06:00

So, Mary is my favorite person in the world. I was really stressed out yesterday, because I was looking over my review packet for my math final, and I couldn't remember how to do ANYTHING! I was so frustrated, and I thought I was going to do really bad on my test. Finally it was time for me to leave for school. When I went to get in my car, there was a really sweet note on my windshield from Mary. She was so encouraging. It was just what I needed. I feel like I did REALLY well on my math final. (That means I got A's in at least 2 of my classes! YES!)

My cute girlfriend was not done surprising me -- she came and wrote on my windows while I was in class! Then she brought me dinner! She's pretty much the nicest girl I've ever known... and I love her ... lots. Okay, that's all. Thank you for your time. :D

Boo to sickness... BOO!

2006-04-16T21:45:00.000-06:00

So I got sick again. But not quite as bad -- it's not strep, so I'm grateful for that. It only lasted a couple of days and I'm pretty much feeling better now. Being sick is definitely no fun, so I think I've had my fair share for this year, yeah? Ok. thanks.

The worst part is that Mary got sick. I figure she must have gotten it from me because she has all my same symptoms. I feel super bad about it. She's just sweet and comes and keeps me company and still hangs out with me even when I'm sick. So eventually, I guess she had to get sick too. I remember that one time, back when I was getting sick ALL the time, she said that it made her heart hurt to see me like that. So now, I really understand how she felt. I just wish that I could somehow make her better so she wouldn't have to feel crappy anymore. I don't even really care that I still feel lousy, I just want her to feel better. I guess that's how you know you really love someone -- when you care more about them then you do about yourself. Hopefully, she'll start to feel better soon.

Playing Catch Up ...

2006-03-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

Okay ... I'm pretty much the worst blogger in the world... so it's been a little while.

Vince's Top 10 Events since March 2nd (the date of my last blog...) :
--Please note that these events are not listed in chronological order--
--Please also note that these are not all necessarily GOOD events... just TOP events--

10- I got a new job!! I am going to start work at Clean Machine on Monday the 27th! Hooray! Although the hourly pay is a little bit less than what I make at Sorenson, I will actually be making more money when you factor in the money I'll save on gas, food, plus monthly bonus checks. So, YAY! To celebrate, I've been doing whatever the crap I feel like doing at Sorenson. Some of my favorite activities are hanging up on scammers and people that tick me off, talking trash to the scammers and prank callers, and even pretending to BE a scammer when I get a scammer ... if that confused you, just imagine how THEY must feel! :D

9- I went to see Aida with my cute girlfriend Mary. It was SO good! I was impressed that Hale Theater could pull it off, because when I saw it at the Capital Theater, it was such a huge production. The choreography was scaled down quite a bit, but I really enjoyed how they did it. It was really fun to see it with Mary because she hadn't ever seen it before. Oh ... and I saw my math teacher there.

8- I got 100% on my math test!! YES!! I do admit that I was a little nervous about this one... When I got home from taking it, there were 3 problems that I was really unsure about. But YAY because I got 100%!

7- I cut my hair short again ... not WAY exciting I guess, but it's something. I kind of like it better short. But then I have to gel it, which means that Mary can't play with it as much ... which is NOT a good thing ...

6- I went snowboarding for the first time in about 3 years (4th time overall...). I had kind of a rough start, but then I started remembering stuff, and I started doing pretty well! I even took some of the little side-trails through the trees, where there's little jumps and stuff to go on. But THEN, I got a little TOO confident. I saw a guy go off a jump, and it looked like it was about 4 feet high or so. So I decided to try it. Well, first off, I was going TOO fast. And second, it was more like 6 or 7 feet. The thing is, I didn't realize that until I was in the air! So I freaked out, and I over rotated, and I ended up landing mostly on my wrist and shoulder. It hurt pretty bad... but I'm not broken. Overall, it was really fun - I hope I get a chance to go again this season!!

5- Spring Break!! Wow, it was super fun! We went up to Park City and stayed at Dani's time-share condo. There was a pretty good sized group there each night, but the only ones that were there the WHOLE time were me, Mary, Spenser, and Dani. It was so nice to just have a break from work and school. So Mary and I decided that they should make spring break a month long.

4- I got some BAD pain ... umm ... manly pain to put it mildly... so I had to go to the doctor which was about my worst trip to the doctor EVER!! Because I hate it when I have to drop my pants at the doctor... and also ... I hate having the doctor poking around down there... But the worst part was, they gave me a shot. I really really hate shots, and I always get a little uneasy. So the nurse told me to go out and sit with my dad in the waiting room for a few minutes to make sure I didn't have a reaction to the shot. So I went and sat by my dad, and I don't remember much after that. I totally passed out. I woke up on some table with 2 nurses and the doctor hovering over me... It was about the worst feeling of my life. I was quite embarassed.

3- I spoke in church. I really really like speaking! I don't know why. But I just think it's pretty fun. It was really nice-- Mary came to hear me, and she stayed for the rest of church with me. I was really glad to have her there.

2- Two of my BEST friends died!! My friend Edgar Styles was killed by Sintox Nerve Gas from a terrorist attack at CTU. And then my friend Tony Almeida was murdered by an ex-CTU agent who was helping the terrorists! It's been pretty rough on me... I'm still in the mourning process. Those were brave men. God rest their souls.

1- umm ... I ... uh.... I love my girlfriend!!

So there it is everyone! And now I believe I am back on track! So now I will probably let another month go by ... I just can't seem to make a habbit out of this. But I try. I just found out yesterday that uh ... I don't have a left arm.... Def Leopard.

Job Drama

2006-03-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

I am so sick of working at Sorenson IP Relay!!! BAAHH!!!

This used to be a pretty good job -- good pay, management was cool to me, I had time to do my homework... well things have changed.

They made me an OJT (on the job trainer) and now I have NO time to do homework at all! I am actually getting a little behind in my classes, which is scary, because I have been trying SO hard! I don't want to slip back now. I am really struggling to find time to get stuff done.

Aside from that, the management here has turned into NAZIS!! They have given me 3 verbal warnings for various nit-picky things over the past 2 weeks. I am getting so fed up with their ridiculous antics. Patrick has also had 3 outrageous verbal warnings recently ... we are both done.

And another thing -- I HATE taking fraudulant calls! I hate that I have to just let these crooks scam other people over the phone. I HATE taking prank calls! I am tired of having to say gross stuff so that some sick immature perverts can get a kick out of it. So needless to say, I've had it!

I am out of here as soon as I can find a job that pays enough for me to keep up my car payments and my laptop payments. Mom is optimistic about getting me a job at Clean Machine where she works. Those guys (her bosses) would be a BLOY to work for -- especially compared to the status quo.

I am hoping and praying that it works out. I don't know how much more of this I can take before I snap!

Hurray for Valentine's Day!!

2006-02-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

Man, yesterday was the BEST Valentine's Day of my life! :D

I've been SO excited about it for a couple of weeks now, and it couldn't have been better. Well ... maybe if there had been some STARS ... er ... I mean ... visible stars.

Mary really enjoyed the "heart attack". I'm glad she did, because that was a lot of work! And her neighbors wanted to beat me up! But it made her happy, so of course, it was worth it. She actually surprised me, too! When I came out from work, she had written on my car windows with dry-erase markers! I thought it was really cute of her to do that. I was so surprised, because I had only semi-told her where Sorenson is, and somehow she managed to find it. Mary never ceases to amaze.

So ... I felt like a bum (and I have a bum-chin...and I looked like a bum until I went home and shaved... and I have a bum...what a bummer!) because I forgot to make a dinner reservation!! BAAAHH! I just got too wrapped up in the other things and spaced it. But Mary was really sweet about it, and it worked out good because we actually only waited maybe 25 minutes at Applebee's. AND we had the best photographer/waitress ever!

So, our star gazing adventure was thwarted, as the stars were un...gaze...able... BUT it was still a pretty view of the city, and it was just really nice being up there with Mary. REALLY nice :)

I really loved Mary's gift. She gave me a copy of a book that her mom gave her when she was little. It's a super good book! And what she wrote to me was very sweet. Those are really the best kinds of gifts -- the kind where someone gives you something that's special to them, and then it becomes special to you too!

So, despite the lack of a dinner reservation, and visible stars, it was one of the best nights of my life, and there's no one in the world I would have rather spend it with. Mary really is the greatest girl ever -- which, logically, makes me the luckiest guy in the world! Wow -- I love that girl :)

Venting is healthy ... right?

2006-02-02T07:11:00.000-07:00

*Deep Breath*

I am super frustrated and stressed right now!! I am so fed up with being sick! I can't stand it anymore. I started feeling much better on Tuesday, but it was just a trick. Yesterday, I guess I caught something new, because now I am totally congested in my chest and nose, and my head hurts, and I'm coughing, and pretty much feeling miserable again. Will I ever get better?

Aside from feeling like poo, I am really stressed about school. I did my portion of the group project for English, and I must say, it's great work. But, can I just say, I HATE GROUP WORK!! I just have some super lazy people in my group. And that's why group work sucks. I worked hard, someone else slacked off, and my grade goes down. BAAH!! So, in order to avoid that, I being the glutton for punishment that I am, volunteered to put together the final presentation. The plan is that everyone is going to send me an outline of their slides, and I will create the final Power Point... yeah right. I'm going to end up doing other people's work for them -- let's face it. I have to turn in the final by friday night at midnight.

I have to take my history test tomorrow. I am not really ready. I'm trying to finish up the dvd's today at work, and then I'll have to find some time to study the text book. I just can't concentrate right now. I'm afraid I'm going to do bad, and I have been trying so hard to take good notes and do my best.

Okay well, for someone who can't stand whining, I seem to be doing a lot of it. But I figure, my blog probably won't get irritated by it.

*Double Sigh*

Dang Strep! What did I do to YOU?!

2006-01-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I have strep again. Pretty much, I'd like to know what the evil strep virus has against me! Can't it just leave me alone? I'm trying to make it obvious that it's NOT welcome in my body. You'd think that it would take a hint -- I mean, every time it shows up, I try and kill it with antibiotics. Let's suppose it were me. If every time I showed up at a person's house, they tried to kill me, I probably would quit going there. But then, I'm no virus.

The doctor, who by the way was hilarious, said that if I get strep again this year, then I will definitely need to get my tonsils out. So that sounds like loads of fun. Sammi had hers out when she was little, and said it felt like she was swallowing razor blades for about a week. The doctor said that a tonsilectomy is particularly rough on adults. How encouraging. On the other hand, basically all your tonsils are good for is to make you sick. They just sit and collect bacteria and get infected. So I'd probably be much better off without them anyway. The problem is finding a time to do it. I'd have to miss work. And school. We'll see what happens.

The good news is, I have awesome people who take care of me. Shannon massaged my back for me yesterday, mom went to the doctor with me, and she and dad made me food. Mary came over and kept me company last night, too. I feel really lucky to have a girlfriend that truly cares about me so much. It makes me feel good, even if I feel like poo physically.

Crazy girl!!

2006-01-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

So, back in like September, I met a girl at work named Emily Florence. Well, I was a little interested in her, so I took her our a couple of times. I treated her as nice as I could -- as I would any other girl, but after our second date, I had pretty much decided I wasn't going to take her out again. Honestly, our second date may have been the lamest date I've been on. Well, there was also this guy from work named Trevor Nancollas, who happens to be in my stake. And he was also interested in Emily. And as it happened, apparently she was interested in him, too. So the Monday following our second date, she was really strange with me. She barely acknowledged me at work, and acted like I had done something wrong. I thought it was strange behavior, but I wasn't too upset, since I wasn't interested in her anymore. A couple days later, I was at my stake center for the ward Halloween party, and I saw her there with Trevor holding hands. So, yeah, I felt a little awkward, but I was fine with it. And that was the end of that .... or so I thought.

The strange thing is, she still acts like I did something offensive, or mistreated her in some way. At work, she is a team lead, and no less than 3 times a week, she tries to get me in trouble for something. I have wracked my brain trying to figure out what I might have done to make such an enemy, but I can't come up with anything. One of her favorite things to get after me for is having an IM window up behind my call screen while I'm on a call. Well, I asked MY team lead about it, and she said that it's fine, as long as I'm not sending instant messages while I'm on a call.

So yesterday, like always, Emily came up and told me to minimize it. So I did, but when I got off the call, I sent her an instant message explaining that I had talked to my own TL about it and she said that it wasn't a problem. And I asked her to please quit telling me that now. Well, she didn't write back, but a few minutes later, I got called into Richie's (the call center manager) office. He told me that she had come to him and said that I was giving her attitude about it, and he said that I should just minimize it from now on to avoid problems. So I said that I would, but I also told him that Emily doesn't like me and that's probably why she made such a big deal out of this. He asked if I would like him to talk to her about it, but I told him no. Why add more fuel to the fire? So I went back to my station. A couple minutes later, Gwen (who sits right by his office) sent me an IM saying that Emily just went into Richies office and they were talking about me in there. I'm guessing he talked to her about what I said even though I asked him not to. Because a couple minutes later, she sent me an IM in which she said, "Vince, I'm sorry I hurt your pride. You can b**ch at me all you want out side of work. But try and curb your attitude here in the work place." Well, I was already fuming, but that just put me over the top. Where did she come off talking to me like that?! I probably should have just let it go, but I asked Richie to come over and I showed him what she wrote to me. A couple minutes later we were both called to the conference room. She was faker than a 3 dollar bill in there. She acted like, "I don't know why he's got a problem with me. I feel bad that there's hard feelings. etc." I just pretty much kept my mouth shut because I was afraid I'd only make things worse for myself.

So anyway, I don't know what's wrong with Emily. If you ask me, she's not altogether. I hope that she doesn't cause any more problems for me at work. I've worked so hard to get on managment's good side.

One thing is for sure -- I really dodged the bullet on this one. I'm so glad that nothing worked out with Emily. Who knows but what I might not even be dating Mary right now if things had worked out with Emily. And that would be unfortunate. As Gwen put it, "Mary is LEAGUES above Emily." So true. I couldn't ask for a better girlfriend than Mary Cleverly.

Probably me and Pat will do something to Emily's car . . . maybe . . .

Getting up to speed ...

2006-01-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

I've never been good at writing in a journal .... why should now be any different?

Well lots has happened since I gave myself that pep-talk :

A> I kissed Mary! (several times actually ...) But the first time was the night we had our double date with Patrick and Kristie. I was super nervous, but I guess my self pep talk did the trick.

2> Mary gave me a GREAT surprise -- she told me that she had something for me, but that she wouldn't tell me what it was until the next day when she got off work. So, of course, I was going crazy ALL day with anticipation. She was loving every minute of it. When 4:00 finally came, i was waiting patiently for my phone to ring ... 4:01 ... 4:09 ... 4:13 ... 4:18 ... Finally I couldn't take it any more, so I texted her and asked what was up. She wrote back saying that she was at the doctor and she would call me soon. BAAHH! I was dying. Maybe around 4:45-ish she called me to finally tell me what my surprise was ... She bought me seasons 1 and 2 of my favorite show EVER : Seinfeld!! I was REALLY surprised. I thought that was so nice of her to do that -- totally unexpected. So we watched the first disc that night (since then I've finished all of them :) ). But Mary is definitely the sweetest, most thoughful girl I know.

D> I told Mary that I had been reading her blogs!! I couldn't take it anymore ... whenever she would tell me stuff that I'd already read about ... having to pretend it was news to me ... I felt like I was being deceitful. Luckily, she wasn't upset really. I still feel a little bad about it, but she says that it's fine. I also showed her my blog. So it's possible she's reading this right now. ;)

3> School starts TODAY!! So I'm a little nervous ... kind of excited ... I'm just determined to work really hard. I could just kick myself in the teeth for not working hard in high school. So now, I want to make up for it. That, and if I get all A's, mom and dad will pay my tuition. So that's motivation right there.

Alrighty, well that's my update for now ... I think those are the highlights of the past few days. I'll try and get better at writing ... right ...

My "Self Pep Talk"

2005-12-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

The more I think about Mary, and spend time with her, the more I have come to realize that I really really do want to kiss her. And the more that I'm getting the feeling that she wants me to. Which is a good feeling. However ...

I AM REALLY REALLY NERVOUS!!

I mean, I haven't kissed a girl in more than two years. And what Mary and I have going on right now is pretty great. I would hate to read this wrong and screw everything up ... At the same time, I know that you have to take risks. The very act of admitting to yourself that you like someone is a risk. Getting into a relationship is an even bigger risk. But I think that in order to obtain something really great, you have to be willing to risk a lot. (This has been an excerpt from the battle which has been going on inside my head for the last several days...)

So I'm pretty sure that I've talked myself into it. I still feel it necessary to wait for the oportune moment, but I have to make that moment happen. So I'm going to do it! And everything will be fine! Yeah.... I'm just nervous .... that's all ...

My new girlfriend

2005-12-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Wow -- Mary is great!!

We've spent a lot of time together recently, and I have enjoyed it SO much. The more I get to know Mary, the more I am falling for her. It's pretty awesome. My favorite thing is how we can just sit and talk forever and not get bored of each other. I don't even feel the time go by.

She actually showed me the first 2 blogs that she wrote about me! I had to act surprised ... although someday I know I'll have to tell her how sneaky I am. There is now a total of 3 blogs about me, and I have to say, things are looking good. Could Mary be the one to pull me out of "The Mire" for good? Only time will tell.

We went to see King Kong on Monday with Sammi and Brad. It was an ok movie. I wasn't way into it - but spending the evening with Mary made it worth. However, I was feeling pretty sick-- I had a headache, body aches, sore throat, slight fever -- just all around crappy. She was SO nice to me ... she is such a sweet girl. Yesterday (Tuesday), I hadn't improved at all, so i called in sick to work. She texted me a couple of times during the day, to check on me and see how I was feeling. Then around 8:00 ish, I got a text that said, "Hey, do me a favor ... will you come look on your front porch?" So I went and opened the front door, and there she was!! She put together a "Get-Well-Soon-Kit" (a basket with a bunch of stuff in it : tissues, vitamin C, ecinacea, Sprite, ect., and of course NYQUIL!! lol) So pretty much Mary is the sweetest nicest girl in the world - she drove all the way down from Bountiful to come see me and bring me that because I was sick. What an amazing girl. Too bad I pretty much looked like POO -- I hadn't showered or anything, and I'd been laying around all day. But all is well.

We talked on MSN last night, and she asked me if I consider us boyfriend/girlfriend ... Well I put my neck out on the line and said that I did. To my relief, I believe that's what she was hoping I'd say. So we are officially a couple now. That's a big step.

I haven't kissed Mary yet -- NOT because I haven't wanted to. It's simply because, when I look back, I have had sort of a bad habbit of rushing things. And in retrospect, that could be the reason I've been dumped several times ... I really really like Mary, and I don't want to mess things up with her. So as Captain Jack Sparrow would say, I have to "...wait for the oportune moment".

A low profile ... BAH!

2005-12-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Things are going great with Mary. She called me yesterday afternoon to see if I wanted to go to Temple Square and see the lights -- so we got a decent sized group of people together and went and did that. So I guess I'm going back to the drawing board for a date idea! But it was great.

As far as keeping a low profile within Encore, we've failed miserably. Just about everyone knows that we like each other, and that we're starting to hook up. It was bound to come out sooner or later -- Maybe the holding hands is what tipped them off ... lol Oh well -- as long as we can manage to keep Bro. Keaton from finding out, we should be okay.

Last night, she and I talked on MSN for a while after I got home from Temple Square. It was nice, because we kind of broke the ice. Up until then, we hadn't talked about us liking each other. We just both knew it. Once you get it in the open, it makes things much easier. Mary said that this came at the perfect time in her life -- that she really needed it right now. That makes me feel pretty good. This has got real potential to be something great for both of us.

Mary Elizabeth Cleverly

2005-12-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I am pleased to announce that I checked Mary's blog this morning, only to find a new post entitled "Vincent LeGrande Oveson" !! Although my middle name is in fact spelled wrong (it's LeGrand) I'm pretty much stoked about it. It confirmed my suspicions about Mary, and left me without doubts . . .

SHE LIKES ME!!

So this is great news. It's a little tough because serious dating is "Strongly Discouraged" within Encore. However, Bro. K has occasionally joked about that rule. I think of it as more of a guide line ;) . But even so, I can't be overly obvious with Mary -- especially when Tasia is around. That might be a little tough on her - at least for a little while ...

So my next plan of action is to take Mary out. Part of my plans for our big encore Christmas activity was to go to Temple Square and see the lights. But we were delayed at skating, so we didn't end up doing that. So I thought that would be a good date. And I also thought about doing the whole carriage ride thing down town that takes you up through City Creek Canyon. I don't know though ... I'm still deciding. We'll see what I can come up with.

So anyways, I am really excited. I mean, i was excited when Tasia and I liked each other, but even from the beginning, I knew that it wasn't going to turn into anything meaningful. I had my reserves about her all along. But with Mary it's different. Our personalities just go really well together. She's probably the first girl that I would feel comfortable being 100% myself with. And that's a big deal.

Hail Mary!! :D

My life is a Chick Flick!

2005-12-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

Well, pretty much I have figured out where they get the plots for chick flicks. They get them from my life!! Oh sure, they modify them a bit ... and make them cutesier ... but it's all the same.

Classic chick flick plot -- The guy likes this girl, and whenever he's around her, he tries to impress her, or get her to notice him, but he always ends up making an idiot out of himself. Well, THAT'S ME!! They stole that right out of my life! The difference is, that the girl somehow thinks that he's cute for making a fool of himself, and she ends up in love with him ...

OH! Here's another one! The girl and the guy like each other ... then there's some kind of misunderstanding -- the girl gets some false information about the guy. So then she doesn't want anything to do with him ... ALSO from my life!! But, once again, they tweeked the story a little bit. In the movies, she ends up finding out that she was wrong, and everything resolves ...

How about this one : The girl has to pick between two guys. The viewer is rooting for one of them the whole time, because they know that the other one is secretly a jerk. YEP! I've lived it! But in this situation, the difference was that in the movies, she picks the nice guy that treats her like a princess instead of the jerk guy who treats her like crap ... in my life, such was not the case.

SO, now here's the most recent one -- it's almost like the last one. The girl is picking between two guys, and they are BOTH good guys. Well, they changed this one, too. In my life, I was choosing between two great girls. Wow! It sure weighed down on me ... I liked Mary first, but Mary was taken ... Then I liked Tasia ... And I knew that Tasia liked me back. I took her out a couple of times. But the more I got to know her, the more I kind of lost interest. I just didn't really realize that. But then I found out that Mary was not really taken anymore. And Mary is awesome :) But then I had the tough situation. Because I do still care about Tasia (even though my feelings for her have changed ...) and so I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Luckily, this one has a happy ending .... well .... so far anyways. Because I was able to work things through, and Tasia didn't get hurt. So we'll see what happens with Mary now.

But I'll tell you what -- those hollywood screenplay writers owe me something.

And so it begins . . .

2005-12-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, have you ever seen "Hitch"? It's kind of a chick-flick-ish movie with Wil Smith. Anyways, that is where this whole thing started. In that movie, Wil Smith plays the "Date Doctor" - he helps hopeless guys get the ladies that they have a crush on. One of his techniques is that he "google"s people. Or in other words, he types in their first and last name on a Google search, with a few other key words, in order to do his research on the girl, and find out the best approach. Well, when I saw that, I wondered if it would really work. So I tried it out . . .

There's this girl I have a crush on-- Mary. So, a while back, I decided to "google" mary and see what I could find. And ... I hit the Jackpot! Mary has a blog, which she has used almost like an online-diary. So . . . at first I felt like a stalker a little bit. I felt like I was being invasive . . . but then I thought to myself, "Hey! SHE'S the one who posted this stuff on the internet for anyone to see!" However, I was not at all encouraged by what I found out initially. It just confirmed what Gwen had told me... Mary was dating a guy named Spencer. So, I didn't really feel like I could ask her out knowing that. I didn't check her blog for a while ... but recently, when I checked it, I found a blog where she wrote about a DTR that they had, in which they decided to put things off for a while. So I am still figuring out how to approach this -- as you will read, it is a lot more complicated than just that.

Anyways, that's how I found out about Blogger. And so now, if anyone ever decides to "google" me, maybe they'll find this! But actually, I think I covered my tracks a little bit better than Mary.

And so it be written, and so it be done.