Testing Out

As my college career comes to a close I find that my test taking ability has declined precipitously. I liken it to an ink blot test, where you see black ink on a page and you say the first thing that comes to your mind. On a side note, I think that 40 percent of ink blots look like butterflies. I realized this after taking a test yesterday. There were 70 multiple choice questions and a two page fill in the blank portion. I finished the test in less than 35 minutes. The average test time in my class was bordering on an hour. I do not know if I just do not care how i do on tests anymore or if i have become so trustworthy of my first instincts that I just go with it. I figure that combined with my study methods, this is not the best route to take. Here is my justification, I can study for one hour and get a B on a test, it would take me about 5-6 hours to study hard enough to get an A. I just cannot justify 4 more hours of studying for a marginal increase in my grade. It's the law of diminishing returns, and what I can accomplish in those four hours is of far greater worth than a slight increase in grade. My favorite ink blot, because it is so easy "Giant Panda attacking human kind"

Spring Break

Due to BYU's non-compliance with spring break, Kris and I decided to take a day-cation up the canyon to Park City for a day of shopping, sweets, sun, and swearing. First of all, I don't understand why spring break exists in the first place. For me, the thought of going without school for a week is nice, but 1) I would not do any homework 2) i would get out of my groove and have a hard time getting back into the groove 3) I would probably spend a lot of money on a quick vacation 4) anywhere I went on vacation would be crowded because everyone has the same idea. I feel that spring break is a little overblown and although offers a nice furlough from studies, is not indicative of the real world. I prefer getting out of school two weeks earlier than any other school and being done anyway. So aside from that harangue, Kris and I had our spring break and I broke most of the rules I just talked about. We went up to Park City and I spend $100 on some new kicks, LeBron James shorts, three shirts, and a hoodie. It was one of those days where the stores had everything that I wanted and I could not pass up purchasing, that coupled with the fact that literally two minutes from entering the first store I received a call from my landlady informing me that I did not have to pay rent next month. CHEAAA! I was thus in a more prodigious situation financially and more inclined to spend. After hitting up all the stores, we stopped in Heber at McDonald's. Now, usually I wouldn't write about a fast food eatery in a blog post, but this McDonald's was "the shit." (it's funny how people use that phrase to mean something awesome) It had flat panel tv's all over and even one above the urinal in the bathroom. It was the longest I have ever stood in front of a urinal in my many years of urinal standing, but when you have a tv right in front of you, what is the rush? There was also a McCafe with stools and a bar, an air hockey table, a play station 3, and a basketball hoop. I'm convinced this was the nicest fast food place I have ever been, there was even Internet stations. I was blown away. So, that was basically my spring break with my brother. Not too much to gloat about, but good to forget about school for a day.

Touching down in China Town

Whenever I go to a new country or city I like to listen to a song that gives a shout out to that city or province. These are some songs that I have listened to on arrival to various destinations.

One Night in Bangkok (Murray Head)- As the plane descended into Bangkok dusk was just arriving and this song was pumping me up.

Two different songs were played when I went to Vietnam. The first was neon tiger by the Killers, which says, "far from the rain fall on the trails of old Saigon". Ho Chi Minh, which was formerly called Saigon sure did provide plenty of trails to see, especially along the old tunnels the Vietcong used. The next song that I had going while riding around town was none other than Kanye West's Diamonds from Sierra Leone, "Good Morning, this ain't Vietnam still, people lose hands, legs, arms for real."

The next song is a classic, "Turning Japanese" was playing as I touched down in Nagoya, Japan. I didn't turn Japanese, so the song didn't work, but I still liked it there.

Last summer, Conor Oberst and the mystic valley band wrote a song called Moab, which I had playing as I drove through Moab on a road trip.

Jump Little Children have a song called "Mexico", so this was playing as I crossed the border into Tijuana. Very appropriate for the occasion.

The Recession by Young Jeezy has provided me with lots of good tunes, one in particular is called "My President is Black" and talks about the earthquake in China. Two weeks after that happened I arrived in Hong Kong with this song playing.

Costa Rica is another country that provided me with some songs to listen to. The first song is by T-Pain called "Can't believe it". He says "I put you in the beach house, right on the edge of Costa Rica." I happened to stay in a beach house in Costa Rica, rather a beach hostile, but it's all the same there. The second song is an old one by Saves the Day called "You Vandal", where he says, "last night I dreamt you called from Costa Rica, the place you've been for the last two weeks." I wasn't exactly there for two weeks, but I loved all the time I had.

The last and final song is probably my favorite from Alt. country star Ryan Adams called "New York". You can of course guess where this destination is. Ryan really gives the New York feel in this song and I listened to it about fifteen times during the three times I went to NY last summer. Kanye also gives some "NY summertime" shout outs.

So there are a few of the songs that I have listened to while going to various places. Comment on some of the songs that you have resonated with while going to various countries, they don't even have to have the name of the place in the song. Maybe just a song that meant a lot to you when you went somewhere. I wish I could go to England because there are tons of songs I would listen to, American Boy, Jude Law and a semester abroad, and English Girls Approximately. Holla to all you London town goers.

Buzzed

During this time of year it is common for kids from colleges around the United States to go on Spring breaks and indulge in various buzzes. These range from drug buzzes to alcohol buzzes or whatever form of buzz to alleviate the pressures of college studies. I however, have taken a different route concerning spring buzzes, an actual shaved head. This was not my desire but due to some fortuitous circumstances I now look fifteen years old. Here's how it played out . . . I went home last Sunday and asked my Dad for a haircut. I felt like my hair was a little too long on front and with the advent of spring I wanted something a little shorter. My Dad would not shave my head when I first made the request, but he was willing to trim up my hair. So, he cut my hair and it looked pretty good, but once again there was a part in the front that appeared a little longer. I asked my dad if he could go over that part again, he paused and then grabbed the clippers. Unknown to us at the time was that he had left the shorter clip on the shears that he had used to trim the sides. He went right over the front of my head and gave me a reverse Mohawk, with a short line right down the middle of the head. The only remaining option was for him to shave the rest of my head. I guess I got what I originally wanted, even though I took four years off my looks. To make it worse I laid out in this warm 50 degree and am now sunburned. So, my looks have suffered this week, but I don't care because spring is on the way!

America's best dance crew

I seldom tune into dance shows, but last night was the finale of America's best dance crew and it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. My friend Val invited me over to witness the culmination of this season's efforts and I was astonished. An Asian crew won, which is even more exciting for me. I have trying to dance all day long!!! They won 100,000 dollars and I think I am going to try and win next season with my own crew. I could use the money. I am going to name my group the classy cloggers, because that is the name of a group of older women in my ward who formed a clogging group with that same name. We're not going to clog though, just jazz dance, because I love the Jazz and I don't know how to clog, but I like the name. I obviously have a dilemma, my name doesn't fit and oh yeah, I don't know how to dance. I think I'll just stick to watching the show.

Dan's in my crew

Gun Guy

I have never desired to possess a weapon, except when I saw Lord of the Rings and looked in the really big sword market for a while. However, recently I really want a gun. Talk on the political circuit is that they are trying to outlaw any gun with a detachable magazine, which would limit the types of sweet guns that people can purchase. I think that with the threat of guns being banned, I am more inclined to get one now. It's like when a movie you kind of wanted to see is at the dollar theater and it's your last chance to see it on the big screen. You go and see it even though it was never really a priority before. The one exception being when they put the Start Wars movies on the big screen in the late 90's, but that won't happen for all cinema attractions. Anyway, I think a gun would make me look more manly, telling people that I own a gun would sure to be a great subject topic, guns bring safety. So those are a few of my reasons why I want a gun, that coupled with them possibly leaving are huge motivation. Concealed weapon's permits are cheap and I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning than learning about guns. I have been talking to many of my colleagues lately and they have been extremely informative as well. One man even saved a families life because he had his gun on him. This all leads me to wonder why guns are being prohibited. If you limit the number of guns available, then criminals are more likely to commit crimes, because there is no deterrent. In other words, people aren't likely to break into a house where there is the possibility of the owner owning a gun and using it on an intruder. The introduction of fear deters people. In a town in Georgia it is strongly encouraged for every male 18 years old and older to have a concealed weapon. Guess what the homicide rate is for that town. One in the last 100 years. That's a pretty effective mechanism for dropping crime rates. So, while I don't want a gun to use I do think it would be effective in convincing girls that I am tough, just by saying I have a gun. This is probably the biggest reason why (tongue in cheek here). Not really for that reason, but events are taking place that are moving me in the direction of owning a gun.