A Bloggy Taste of Economics, Insolence, and Ineptitude

Isaiah and the Book of Mormon

2010-03-15T21:10:00.001-07:00

When I was a sophomore in High School I was reading through the Old Testament of the Bible, having challenged myself to complete it before the year was over. There are some wonderful things, some funny things, and some very strange things in there. I was enjoying myself immensely (except for the lineage lists). When I came to Isaiah though, I felt as if I had been in the desert all day and suddenly was given cool, clean water to drink. It sated something deep inside me I'd never recognized before. I didn't understand everything I was reading there, but it struck a cord with me.

I went on to finish the Old Testament just before the year ended, which made me quite happy. During the summer I decided to again read the Book of Mormon, and I found as I began studying that wonderful book that I had the same feeling that had come over me when I encountered Isaiah months before. All scripture is wonderful and can bless us immensely, but I feel that God was showing me through these experiences that those two books were important for me to seriously consider, deeply and often. What a blessing the scriptures can be if we use them as God intended!

Coming back from the dead

2010-02-15T00:02:00.001-08:00

So I've decided that Resurrection is going to be quite a happy experience. On Wednesday I woke up at 4 am feeling queasy; in the next 18 hours I "blew chunks", to use the refined term, 9 times. Vomité mucho. (Not sure if I need a "yo" with that. I've decided on leaving the gangsta' vocabulary out in this case to avoid triggering a gang war.) Along with that, I had very explosive diarrhea. Since I live on the top bunk of my room (at night anyway) the trips to the bathroom every 5-10 minutes ended poorly with a difficult climb up Mt. Bederest. That got increasingly difficult as the day went on. Somehow Chelsea and Jake (and Mom) learned of my plight (luckily the horrors of that day, especially the morning, are already fading from memory) and they came to the rescue. I was whisked away to Orem, where they dumped me on the street and told me I was too sick, they didn't want me at their house.

Okay, not really. They hauled me to their house and shut me up in the dog pen outside, where they've been throwing me scraps of food once a day. I just barely escaped.

So that isn't true either. I slept in their bed they have downstairs, braced for further explosions with a huge 5 gallon bucket in both the bedroom and the bathroom, and somehow survived the night. (I did clean those buckets chels, but you may want to do them again just to be sure). The Thursday there still seemed to be blocks preventing the valves in my digestive tract from letting things through (part of the reason I puked so much Wednesday - any attempt to hydrate myself failed miserably). I didn't throw up at all Thursday though, so that was a good sign.

Friday I still felt all nasty inside, but I was able to eat a few scrambled eggs and some vegetable soup. I had to take a test that day though, and it was horrible trying to prepare for it (I was going to do all that on Wednesday and Thursday) and even worse to go sit in the Testing Center for 2 hours, but getting out and about was actually good for me I think. Saturday the gross feeling inside remained, but a lot of things felt better, and I had slept a lot better. I was able to eat some more. I had to complete an Accounting lesson that night, and it took 4 hours instead of the usual 1 - 1.5 hours due to my body still being so exhasted. Today, Sunday, I woke up and felt a ton better, which surprised me a lot. I slept great. I've eaten quite a bit, and I'm hoping that I'm well again tomorrow so I can hit the homework I missed during the days I missed (it is our last school holiday). Grrr. That isn't going to be pleasant.

So the real questions we are all left asking are:
1. What is it like for Austin when he tries to sleep while he's really sick?

Answer: It is like doing math problems in your sleep all night. I think that is what Outer Darkness will be like. Even my dreams get very weird when I'm sick. The only comparison I can think of is watching Alice in Wonderland because nothing makes sense. (No freaky cats or mad hatters.) My brain seems to try to find a pattern and cause for everything in the dream, even for the shape of things, and to learn how to alter it in future situations. Blah. Maybe that is why I felt sick for so long. I despise it.

2. How much is Chelsea going to pay me for letting her take care of me and for me gracing her house with my presence?

We'll just have to guess at that one. Please keep it under $20,000 though.

2010-01-14T17:30:00.001-08:00

I find it interesting that we as humans all too often assume that we know what another person is thinking. I have an acquaintance who has been convinced for the last few months that he knows what is going on inside my head; he is under the impression that I "don't date". I find that slightly amusing and also a bit irritating at the same time. When he actually vocalized those words to me I was able to point out that I had gone on a date but 2 days before. Another person I know believes she also has the inner workings of my mind figured out, and tells others what she has deduced as if it was fact.

Why do we make these kinds of judgments? I know that I am just as guilty as anyone, but it does irk me that someone will take it upon themselves to declare in words of finality how I feel, especially when that person has never actually found out what I do feel. We all, myself included, need to be careful that we don't make announcements about things we don't understand or have all the information about. Otherwise we plant false ideas in peoples' minds and hearts that may not be met, and in such cases relationships can be damaged.

For example, an experience I had once left me angry almost to the point of physical shaking. I had a conversation with an individual, who shared it with another individual (jumping to a conclusion about me in the telling I suppose), who discussed it with another, who then told a huge group of people. The individual who told many then came and talked to me about what i "supposedly" had said, and to my horror the conclusion that had been reached, totally behind my back, was that I was racist. Things were cleared up (as far as I've ever been able to learn) with the offended individual, and they straightened things out with the other people. Perhaps in that initial conversation I said something that wasn't quite right, I don't remember, but I know I did not say what I was being accused of. I still have difficulty not feeling upset at the two individuals who passed this gossip along without talking to me about it first, particularly because of the magnitude of their accusation. My thanks continue to go to the courageous person who spoke to me about this perceived injustice, for it literally saved my reputation amongst this group of people.

So, to conclude, don't try to tell another person's story. It is their's to tell.

As the snow falls, so let the Semester!

2009-12-09T16:14:00.000-08:00

Grrrr. It's cold and snowy, and that's when the Beast comes out! (The full moon is simply a lie. These things always happen in the cold and snow.) People were turning into monsters all day. Coats were being ripped off and people were turning green and getting huge everywhere.

2009-12-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. Just not feeling any inspiration for this blog. I think they call that writer's blockhead right? Perhaps if I just ask one of my roommates to take a chisel to the huge chuck of stuff encasing my noggin things will get rolling here again.

What do you get when you cross a rhinoceros, a cow, and a dinosaur? You've got me.

I got to go to the temple today. What a great place. I just feel a lot better for having been. When I feel *blah* that is one answer that makes a big difference.

Well, once again the Programming is calling, and I feel it is high time I get to it. This is our last lab, and it is a doozy. Rather than giving us 3-5 days we're getting 2 weeks. Yikes! I think I'm about 1/4 done.

Well, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good light. Or might. Or fight. Whatever it is.

The vineyard 2

2009-11-12T14:57:00.000-08:00

So, among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is quite well known that missionary work is difficult. You are in a new environment, the apron strings have been cut, and you are supposed to help real people with real problems come to know Christ. At first it seems a bit of a daunting task, but as experience is gained things seem to get easier. Why? I firmly believe that God is the reason. Jacob chapter 5:72 says "the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them;" Those who are serving the King of Heaven are not forsaken by Him.

I recently spoke with someone who's close friend has decided to leave the church. Is this friend lost? No. Just as Jesus Christ taught that He would leave the 99 to go after the 1, we should seek out those who are falling from the light, and if we look closely we may find that such things are occurring closer to ourselves than we would have thought. A friend, neighbor, roommate, hometeaching companion, etc is in need of our help every day! Truly, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" and he that has a heart to serve will serve. Such individuals will "not be content with blessing their own families only, they will range about the whole world," becoming a powerful influence for good, right, truth, and happiness.

If we are striving to be righteous that we may be the tool in the Lord's hand, and if we are waiting for the promptings that will come from the Spirit, we WILL be told when to act. For those who are struggling, continue to love them, and make sure they know it. When the time is right, they will come to you or you will be told to go to them.

Be a force for good in the world.

Hmmm... Peanut Butter on playing cards.... My favorite!

2009-10-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

So.

My roommate went wild the other day and purchased an Xbox 360. Needless to say, we roomies all have had little "Halo's" around our heads quite a bit recently. To make matters worse, on Saturday he got a free account to Xbox live since he works for Microsoft. Oh dear. Luckily BYU has a pretty good library I can go to to buckle down and do work. Unfortunately, I don't go there all the time. Hehe. It's great.

So.

I turned on an Indie Rock station on iTunes as I got online to write this, and I kind of like it. I have never known what Indie Rock was, but so far so good.

So.

My dear cousin Kirsten just announced her forthcoming marriage on January 2nd and, being the very cool, observant, knowledgeable person she is, she told me first. Hehe. What makes this funny is I told my sister Chelsea just a week before this that I had called Kirsten right after she had had a serious marriage discussion with her dearly beloved and she said I was the first to know that she was probably going to be engaged soon. Chelsea didn't believe me. Well, after she became betrothed, she tried calling her sister Crystal to share the wonderful news, and my sister Chelsea happened to be there. Events unfolded as they were destined to, so Kirsten called me, making me, as Crystal now admits, the Chosen One.

So.

Contemplation

2009-10-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

How vital it is to be lead on by the Lord! He's the one who can help us in every situation in life, whether we feel lonely, depressed, anxious, trapped, and any other multitude of things. Why do I know that? To quote Elder Neil A. Maxwell, "The more I learn and experience the more stunning and encompassing His Atonement becomes." Trials come, it is true, and we should do all we can to be prepared for them, but I believe it to be even more important to look to be happy. We must choose who we want to be.

There is a God, He is our Father, and His Son Jesus Christ has opened the doors that we may return to Heaven if we but choose to do things His way instead of our own. Priesthood power is real, and it can have a huge impact on our lives.

That is my testimony I wanted to share today, and I do so in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Oddities

2009-10-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

I am amazed at how weird life it. So many strange experiences, so little time...

For example, there I was in the Testing Center trying to succeed in a math test, and I encountered 3 problems I have no idea how to do and another that I know half of. On the half problem I felt about 70 % sure that I could guess how the teacher would have been thinking while he wrote the question, so I wasn't too concerned about that. The other 3 problems give me a lot more trouble however, so on one I kept playing with them over and over trying new ways to attack them. I did end up with some sort of answer on one of them, but I got there in a very unorthodox way so it probably is wrong. The next one I know what I have to prove but can't remember how to do it in the specific instance they gave me, so I use the little bit I know and use logic (which may give me a couple points, but maybe not.) The last one I have no clue what to do. It is way out there, so much so that I don't remember ever doing a problem like that before. This one happens to be a multiple choice though, so I think to myself, "Self, usually the answer to multiple choice problems is either b or c, but these go all the way to g. Hmmm. I guess b." I turned in my test and went to view my multiple choice score on the ol' TV and find to my delight that I got 100%. That made me feel good, though I still have some trepidation about the rest of the exam....

Another odd thing happened today too, but I'll have to tell that another time. Time to go to the temple!

Flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep...

2009-10-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

This is me with a bunch of flowers I'm about to go deliver to the Relief Society sisters in my ward during winter semester. We made them out of crate paper. Cool eh?

Speaking of flowers, it is getting cold so all beauty and sweetness is being sucked out of the world, but I guess in order for spring to be enjoyable winter has to be not? Oh well.

General Conference is the bomb! I'm lovin' it.

Who was Charles Darwin?

2009-09-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

At first glance at this post you may think it is all about Natural Selection and the Origin of Man. In truth, however, it is not.

Cowboy Up!

2009-08-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm currently playing through a video game called "Halo 2", a famous little game on the Xbox console. Basically humankind is attempting to protect itself from aliens who are blastedly determined to blow up the entire galaxy, including themselves, without knowing it. I was trying to defeat a guy named Regret who was one of the instigators of this insanity, but to do so I had to crawl up on his little floating seat and punch him to knock him out. Basically, each time I did so I imagined my character (a 7 ft human weighing half a ton in his armor) sporting a cowboy hat and boots as he settled things the old fashioned way by punching the living daylights out of this freaky alien dude. This was amusing to me since Master Chief (my character) is not the least bit like a cowboy, or anything with the word "boy" in it. He looks more like a guy you'd never want to meet in a dark alley, a lighted alley, or even in an open field at noonday; he's that tough. Yeehaa!

In other pertinent news, I got BYU football tickets with my family. Yay! That will be really fun.

We've been pouring concrete like mad in these here parts, but more is soon to come. Harvest is just around the corner as well, and it rained today a bit. Things are good, especially since irrigation is nearing an end. Finally!

Well, here's where I must leave you and go to bed, but not before I give some timely advice no matter what's going on in your life: Cowboy Up!

"Your public needs you"

2009-06-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

So my sister Chelsea told me that I was a loser-slacker-bum because I hadn't blogged for a few weeks. Sheesh. Leave it to a slug to ruin my plot...

I'm not sure what that plot was anyway.

So. Life here in Idaho is full of wetness. It has rained a lot for the last 3 weeks, which is quite beautiful. This amazing coincidence coincided quite well with my being sick for 2.5 weeks. Yes, you heard me, 2.5 weeks with 0% APR financing for the first 6 months. Buy now!

What was I sick with you may ask? I'm not telling. It did involve a lot of Kleenex, a few garbage cans, a fight with a dragon, and some cough drops. Happily I am feeling better now, though the same can't be said of the dragon.

Chelslug, what kind of public would ASK for this torture?

What else... oh yes, I bought some new shoes a few weeks ago. This is causing me to realize that my old shoes are pretty trashed. The new ones actually make my feet feel better when I wear them, though they don't make anyone happy the moment I take them off. Somehow something crawls into them and dies while my feet are wearing them, so upon taking them off the smell of death hangs in the air. It is somewhat disturbing.

That was a lot of "some's" in the last sentence.

Well, thank you for being such a good "public." Adieu for now.

Dirt, Dust, Rocks, and Star Wars.

2009-05-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

The last few days most of my time has been spent sitting in a tractor driving across a wind blown dusty field, finding a specified pile of rocks, parking the tractor, exiting it, and piling rock after rock into the bucket of the loader. After it is full, I start the tractor, drive to another place to dump it, and then drive to another pile of rocks to repeat the process.
Times like these cause me to reflect on, among other things, the purpose of life, why fingers get smashed, and how Star Wars is so cool.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

Well, my Dad was busy farming yesterday so he sent my brother and I on a quest to find the Mother's Day present. Bad idea. We came back with a nice CD of Jenny Oaks Baker, and... a toilet seat. Yes, I said a toilet seat. It's a nice maroon color and squishy. No, we didn't need a new one, I just saw it on sale and could not help myself. After all, who's ever been given a toilet seat for Mother's Day?

The importance of gratitude

2009-04-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

Pride is a large problem. It could be largely eliminated if we simply would show gratitude to each other more often.

The warm river

2009-04-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

There is a point where all of us get really lazy, and, with finals over, I'm currently floundering in that deep pool right now. Luckily, I'm a good lazy river swimmer, so I can last almost indefinitely. How late did I sleep in yesterday morning? 11:30 am. How late did I go to bed? 4:30 am. Wahoo for summer!

Which brings me to my next point, even that of a sharp pencil. Yeah, I know.

Warm weather with whispering wind will wash weariness away. It's true. Sitting in the sun makes you tired, which is also true.

Finals week, hula-hoops, and termite behavior

2009-04-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

Finals week is so bitter sweet... bitter because lots of paper and graphite doesn't taste good, but sweet because it means you'll have a little respite from having to consume said products for a brief time.

I think it must be good for your heart, though, [unlike running a marathon where hitting the final stretch before the finish line can lead to a sprint, causing for your legs to give out, resulting in some bovine behavior (you eat some grass)] it is more like hula-hooping. Eventually, unless you are Jeni Tutwiler, your hips just can't keep going in that kind of motion anymore but you do it anyway, at pain of a leg out of socket, since time's almost up. It reminds me of attempting to do a hula-hoop game on a Wii video game system. That too ended up disastrously.

I can't think of anymore to say, so the end. Remember, sign up to become a henchman or henchwoman. (How's that for politically correct?) By the way, there are a bunch of squiggly lines underneath henchwoman, and the computer wants me to say Frenchwoman, Frenchwomen, churchwoman, or Dutchwoman. Sister Tutwiler, your name says Twiddler, Rottweiler, and Twirler. I like this game.

So I've figured out how to make myself invisible

2009-04-16T21:52:00.001-07:00

I also can make myself invisible now! Yay for me.

So I've figured out how to follow myself

2009-04-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

I'm currently enrolled in a Calculus class, and a TA substituted for my regular teacher a few weeks ago. That particular day was a lab, so we usually just ask questions on the homework throughout the hour. Well this man, Brian, is a very happy person who loves math: a dangerous combination. He energetically conducted the class, pausing part way through to explain some of his graduate work about the shape of the universe. He then went into greater detail about some various possible shapes, ending by explaining that in one universe you can reach up and grab your own ankle. (Maybe I'll explain it some other time.)

So, figuring out how to follow myself seems a similar feat.

Watching Les Miserables...

2009-04-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

Cozette is an airhead and Marius is a love-drunk revolutionary. I guess that is how life goes.

Only a shilling my dear man?

2009-04-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

So today I went to the Testing Center, plopped my seat down in a seat, and took a HEPE 105 test (it is about health, but general health, not what you are thinking). A half hour and 50 questions later, I emerged from the bottom of the stairs to find I had somehow scored a 92%, meaning I had missed one and a half questions. This gets really perplexing when you realize these questions were multiple choice. I'm not sure how I managed that.

On a slightly quirkier note, I managed yesterday to buy a mango.

Snow, rain, sun, repeat. That is the current weather forecast for the foreseeable future, which I think will last till the Millennium. Luckily, I'm actually happy that it is only snowing skiffs here in April; last winter in Maine we were experiencing severe storms in May, with the snow not all the way gone by June if I recall correctly.

Speaking of Maine, I'm having a flashback to a particular sight there.... I'll have to post on the Basilica later.

On a serious note

2009-03-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

I feel the desire to bear my testimony. I have come to know myself that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I have a knowledge of the power of the infinite atonement, and its capability to heal my wounded soul. There is nothing so hard, nothing so dark, nothing so painful that He cannot help us with. I testify that because of His suffering and death, reconciliation and eternal life are made available to us.

There are few places left in the world where we can find refuge from the storms of iniquity, but if we stand in holy places, with the gift and power of the Holy Ghost in our lives, we will not be moved. The Book of Mormon and the Bible are both scripture sent from God. I know this from my own spiritual search, in which I had to climb my own spiritual Sinai, and in which God communicated to me the validity of these things. Because of that I have an anchor in my life the protect me from the storms of life. My testimony is the cornerstone from which I can build and grow.

God be thanked for His Plan of Salvation and for His Beloved Son. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

2009-03-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Whew! Destruction is a lot easier than construction. For example, you can be innocently driving down the road and accidentally not see a shopping mall in front of you, happening to go crashing through the big glass doors, and proceed to barrel through the mall on accident, scattering people left and right while knocking over things like Santa's Throne (or whatever its called), winding up upside down in the luggage portion of Sears.

I went running today, and my body has deconstructed its fitness a bit.

When the wind blows

2009-03-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

So I went golfing today. It was somewhat of a frightening experience. Yes, I had fun, but because of the "wind" I didn't do so well. No that isn't an excuse, since I don't make excuses except when I need to.

The point of golf is to smack a little round white thing until it submits to your desires and flees down a shallow little hole. You could say that it is training minds, young and old alike, to resort to violence to get their way. The trick is being persistent enough to outsmart the ball, which hereafter shall be referred to as the "little devil" using maneuvers like saying outloud "I didn't want you to go in there anyway" and "What's that over there? *SMACK*" Such tactics are useful. For example reverse psychology, though seemingly has no effect on the ball, sure makes me feel better. Trickery is also amusing because the second the little devil sees which way you are trying to aim (prior to beating it with a huge metal club) it positions itself to raise havoc with your shot. I haven't figured out why it likes to do this since it means it is only going to have to get smacked that many more times. (Perhaps that's why golf rounds end at all. The ball decides its had enough fun and is getting a bit sore. This makes all the more sense in the PGA, since the people there can club the thing so stinken hard. The little devil gives up faster.)

To make the situation somewhat more encouraging I was washing my clothes at my brother's house before we went (so my short were all wet), so he let me borrow his plaid Irish golfing shorts since it was quite warm out. They were quite stylin'.

Well, now I have 6 little devils sitting in my house. A few minutes ago I caught one trying to get down the garbage disposal (no doubt to inflict more misery on me when I turned it on next time), so I'm contemplating locking them in microwave. All of this leaves me thinking, "Why do I inflict myself with such problems?" The reason: it's fun.

2009-03-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

I have a blister on my thumb from my golf class. Over and over throughout the day I notice it rubbing against my finger, and I ask myself, "Why are there penguins in Antarctica but not the North Pole?" Clearly such questions are not easily answered. I have to go to class right now, but we all could use pondering the implications of such things a little bit more.

So it begins...

2009-03-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

So many stories begin with the classic phrase, "Once Upon a Time," so many journeys start with the first step, so many works of art are created one stroke at a time. What does that have to do with this blog? I haven't the slightest clue. It just seemed like a good thing to point out.

The truth is my desire in shaping this blog is to say what I think and what I feel at any given moment, which should cause you due alarm. My Brain is a tricky little guy, and often it spouts off random things at interesting times. (Look at the title of the Blog for an example of this. It is likely to change from time to time.)

As you read, feel free to laugh, cry, weep, howl, growl, oink, or do any other thing you are so inclined toward. I won't have any idea, and if you're taking time to read this you probably are by yourself needing some respite from some other even more insulting experience, like homework or changing diapers, so other won't be harmed and you'll retain your dignity. In any case, sit back, relax, (make sure you buckle your seatbelt!) and enjoy the ride!