Back to Iraq and stray thoughts

Shawn left to return to Iraq today. He will be done with his deployment in about three months. We were able to visit for about an hour today before he flew out. This was our private conversation about Apache helicopters. More to come on that? It's nice to see that we were able to pick up where we left off. I will be doing a better job of e-mailing him this time. It's time to do a better job on a lot of things. I've been off work since Tuesday, and it's been a nice break. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to relax because I have to go back to work on Monday and start writing 17 reviews in five days, but I've done pretty well. Hopefully some things will work themselves out over the next 4-5 months. In any case, it should be interesting. That's one of the reasons I keep a daily journal, so I can go back and see how things developed. It could be big, or it could be a non-event. Either way, I have what I need with my family and friends, and things seem to be getting clearer.

Did you get your tickets to the gun show?

We went to the Crossroads of the West gun show in Sandy this morning. We got there early to get a good parking spot. The parking lot was fairly empty, so I was shocked to see how long the line was. I went from the north end of the expo center to the middle, then back around. I bet there were over 250 people in front of us. The ammo flew off the shelves. I guess people are worried about January. We were able to get a butane stove, rescue tape and several other things on our list. It was a successful trip.

100 days

It's been 100 days since I've had an energy drink. I've been going to bed earlier and trying to eat healthier. I am master of my own domain, as it were. I win.

Election 2008

The 2008 Election is finally over. I've got to say that I was sick of seeing a two year campaign. It was nice to see an increase in voter participation. I don't understand how you can live in this country and not cast your vote. People in other countries would kill for that privilege. I remember a picture that I put in my journal when voting was opened in South Africa. It was an aerial shot of thousands of people standing in line. Things didn't go the way I had hoped, but we definitely made history as a country by electing a black President. Having missed the Civil Rights movement, I can't fully appreciate what everyone experienced at that time, but it says a lot for our nation. I remember talking to my dad about the Berlin wall. He said he never thought he would see it come down in his lifetime. Times have definitely changed. I wish it meant that racism had been defeated, but that isn't the case yet. I'm afraid that it will take several more decades to make that change. I hope I can see the day when a Jew or a Mormon can get elected, and that their religion won't be held against them. We gave JFK the benefit of the doubt.

I hope Barak Obama can make the changes that we need as a country, but there is a lot of hard work. As I watched the crowds in Chicago last night, I got the impression that many people expected that things will change immediately. Big problems take big solutions, and that takes time. Many things need to be fixed, but not all of those are the responsibility of the government. I refer you to The Proper Role of Government by Ezra Taft Benson:

http://www.zionsbest.com/proper_role.html

I hope things get better under Obama. He is not the man I wanted for President, but I do not wish him ill will. I hope the econmy will turn around and we will be able to protect ourselves from our enemies. I hope our elected leaders will make choices that bring the most good to the most people. I hope we can find other ways to meet our energy demands. And I hope we can remember that it was a belief in God that created this great contry.

I suck

On October 8th we had a wellness screening at work. My blood pressure was good, but my cholesterol was high. I made an appointment to have a physical today. Blood pressure was still good, but my numbers came back high again.
Total cholesterol was 238. This should be below 200.
Bad cholesterol was 169. This should be below 100.
Triglycerides was 173. This should be below 150.
Good cholesterol was 34. This should be above 40.
I have to decrease the fat in my diet and increase my fiber and Omega 3's. I have to go back to the doctor in 3-4 months. If my numbers don't improve I will probably have to go in medication. Screw that. I will be a diet nazi and bring it down myself. But I still suck.

Summary- Boise and 169 days later

We returned from our Boise trip on Monday. Coming home from vacation always sucks. We were able to help Erick and Tami at their new toy store called Sam's Toy Box. It's exciting to see their progress. We went to Big Jud's for dinner for their one pound hamburger. It was huge. One burger fed most of us. I want to take my brothers up there and watch them put that thing away.We went roller blading in Ann Morrison park, visited Williamson's orchard and Givens Hot Springs for a mineral bath. We also took the kids to Boise Zoo to see the penguins, which are the coolest bird in the world.
Work was much calmer than I expected on Tuesday. I only had to work for two days before my four day weekend. It's rough. I start my Monday to Friday shift next week. I haven't worked a normal shift for 6.5 years.

I had my last follow up appointment for my shoulder. The surgery was 169 days ago. I can mountain bike and play volleyball they way I have been doing it for the last two months. I will be back to normal in May, which means I can spar and grapple in Karate again.

Mike Both and I rode Corner Canyon in Draper this afternoon. We rode up Traverse Ridge, then down to Ghost Falls. It was a great Autumn ride with colored leaves covering the trail. I love to ride, and Corner Canyon is a great discovery.

General Conference

General Conference is almost over. I don't know how it's possible, but every six months it seems to get better. The highlight for me was yesterday when President Thomas S. Monson announced there would be five new Temples, and one would be in Rome, Italy. I couldn't believe it. Neither could the audience at the Conference Center. When I served my mission in Italy someone told me that the Italian police could enter any building at any time. I didn't think Italy would ever see a Temple. I can't wait to see what it looks like. Progress.

Meltdown

The U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass the bailout plan, giving the Dow it's biggest one day point loss in history.
Dow: 10,365 -778
NASDAQ: 1984 -200
Citigroup bought Wachovia Bank as it collapsed. I've seen reports that 75% of Americans oppose the bailout plan because they don't think Wallstreet should be saved. What they fail to realize is that if we allow Wallstreet to fail, Mainstreet will be right behind it. We don't get to watch big financial firms fail and then go about our business like nothing happened. The credit market has been nearly frozen for two weeks. If these companies are allowed to go bankrupt, the money supply will dry up. Companies like General Motors, Ford, Caterpillar and Boeing won't be able to borrow money to continue to operate their businesses. Companies won't be able to make their payrolls. As this happens these companies will have to lay people off, which will seriously increase the likelihood of more foreclosures. People will no longer be able to borrow money to buy houses, cars, or send their kids to school. The entire US economy will collapse in to a depression. We are beyond talking about a recession at this point. We are back to 1929, when the government stood by and watched it happen. You can call it a bailout of Wallstreet, but it's really a bailout of our economy and way of life. Now is not the time to point fingers and talk about what should have happened. It is time to take action to protect ourselves. We are at a point in time that most of us have never experienced. Hopefully our government can diffuse this nuclear bomb before it's too late.

Ricordi

It amazes me how certain tastes and smells can take me back to specific times and places. Tonight I mixed mozzarella, basil, tomatoes from our garden, olive oil, salt and pepper. It tasted just like it did when I spent the summer in Bologna with some of my closest mission friends in 1991. I made the same dish several times a week during that summer, and it will always hold fond memories for me. It makes me wish even more that I could return to Italy. Chissa'......

CPR certified

Things haven't worked out as I had hoped lately, but today I was able to become CPR and AED certified at work. It was something that I've wanted to do for a long time, so I jumped at the chance. I am part of our emergency response team, which is right up my alley. Some things were different from when I was certified as a kid, but the process is easy and straight forward. I had never used AED, but the machine tells you what to do at every step. This is something that I will try to keep current every two years.

Catching up

I've been a slacker when it comes to my blog, so I need to catch up. I haven't had an energy drink for over three weeks. The Beijing Olympics are over. It was cool to see Michael Phelps tear it up in the pool. Especially when the men beat France in the relay. It was a great performance to get the gold in all eight events in such a short time. Great prediction Ian Thorpe. Men's and Women's Beach Volleyball was exciting, as well as the Men's Indoor Volleyball beating Russia and Brazil to bring it home after a 20 year hiatus. Mountain biking and BMX was exciting, especially since I couldn't ride this Summer. Here is the medal count for the top five countries:
2008 Medals

Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
USA	36	38	36	110
CHN	51	21	28	100
RUS	23	21	28	72
GBR	19	13	15	47
AUS	14	15	17	46

Mike Both and I have been riding the new singletrack trails in Eagle Mountain over the last two weeks. It's great to see new trails out here. We are constantly plotting where to build the next one. I'm glad I can do some riding and hope to pull off a St. George bike trip in November.

I've also played volleyball twice in the last two weeks, and I'm better than I expected when it comes to serving with my left hand. Blocking is difficult when I only have one arm above the net, but I don't want to risk a hard shop that would injure my shoulder. I'm just glad I can play.

Chuck Liddell fought Rashad Evans in UFC 88 last night. I fully expected Liddell to win the fight, so I was shocked when Evans knocked Liddell out cold. They exchanged at the same time, but Rashad landed first and hit Chuck on the button. I've seen too many fights where Chuck keeps his hands down, and he's paid for it twice in 18 months. Quinton Jackson knocked out Chuck on Memorial Day weekend in 2007 and took the UFC Light Heavyweight title. Chuck's next fight was against Keith Jardine, and he looked like he was afraid of being knocked out. Jardine took control, pressed the fight and got the decision. Chuck bounced back and manhandled Wanderlei Silva, and it appeared The Iceman was back. Chuck looked focused and ready last night, but he made the fatal error of leaving his hands down again. I would expect a fighter at that level to master the basic skill of protecting your head and face. I really hope he can bounce back from this defeat.

106 days later

I saw Dr. Ritchie again today. I was surprised when he cleared me for easy mountain biking and Karate. He said I can ride on easy trails that are smooth and relatively flat. Nothing that is technical or too steep downhill where I would be leaning heavily on the handlebars. I can go back to Karate and do katas and weapons, but still no grappling or sparring until next year. It's more than I expected, so I'm happy to be able to start those things again.

Success update

It's been one week since I stopped drinking energy drinks and soda. I haven't had any withdrawal symptoms, but I am more tired. Part of it has to do with the fact that my back hurts so much that I don't sleep well. It definitely affects everything I do. It sure didn't help today. Days like this really make me evaluate what I'm doing. Still waiting to find my place in the universe....

No more

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. A few days ago I decided to stop drinking energy drinks and soda, so yesterday I finished the two I had left at work- Rockstar No Carb and Monster Lo-Carb. I have to live differently instead of relying on an energy drink to get through the day. I big part is also the taste, and I will miss that, but I have to live cleaner.

Things you need to know about Chuck Norris

Ben and Susan Byerly just gave me a T-shirt for my birthday- Things you need to know about Chuck Norris:
Chuck Norris can slam revolving doors.
Chuck Norris counted to infinity twice.
Chuck Norris refers to himself in fourth person.
Chuck Norris does not leave messages. He leaves warnings.
When the bogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.
Chuck Norris can split the atom with his bare hands.
Chuck Norris doesn't use scuba diving equipment. He just holds his breath.

Cheesecake Factory

We went to Cheesecake Factory for my birthday. We were joined by Agent and Lisa Peck, Pesh and Liz Patel, and Paul and Liz Chavez. Paul Chavez is my Team Lead at work. His wife Liz is in our Training department. Liz Patel is another Team Lead at work. Agent Peck used to live in Eagle Mountain with us before he moved to American Fork like a Nancy Boy. He also used to work with me until he became an Infidel. The food and company were both great. Not a bad way to spend the day after a birthday.

37ish

Today I turned 37ish. It was my first day back to work after our Boise trip so that sucked. And it took most of the day to catch up on my work. Brian Peterson gave me a Lehi Physical Therapy T-shirt after he tortured me. I taught two Karate classes, then rode my Micargi Falcon GT cruiser and drove my Corvette. Mom and Dad called me and Melissa Dearden got me Baja Tacos and Key Lime cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. Shawn Clark called me from Baghdad yesterday, but I missed his call. His excuse was that it was the 29th in Iraq even though it was only the 28th here. I will hold on to that voice mail message. Not a bad birthday. At least DeLana will always be older than me. ;)

Boise

We got home from Boise yesterday. It was the first time I've done more than pass through. We camped at Givens Hot Springs and took a mineral bath. It was about 112' F. I've been looking for a hot tub that temperature my whole life. We bought fruit at an orchard on the way back to Boise. Erick gave me a tour of Meridian, Eagle, and the local Harley-Davidson shop. Someday. Erick and I watched The Dark Knight on the IMAX screen. That was cool. We took our kids to Ann Morrison and Kathryn Albertson parks. It was strange to see two deer in a park in the middle of the city. The kids loved the water fountain and playground in this picture. Utah should have parks like that. We had a great time and enjoyed our time with Erick, Tami and their funny kids. I wouldn't mind living there at all. Chissa'.

Independence Day

I got to take my girls to Stadium of Fire in Provo last night. They were very excited to see Miley Cyrus perform. I was excited to see the Blue Man Group. I've wanted to see them for a long time, so it worked out well for me. Glenn Beck was the MC, and though I haven't seen or heard any of his programs, I was very impressed with him. He gets it. He understands what this country is about. Six stunt sky divers landed on the field, followed by four jets overhead. The fireworks were impressive, and we were close enough to get hit by the debris. It was a great chance to reflect on what the Independence Day means to me. I thought about Shawn and Darin, and how thankful I am for what they are doing. I don't understand what they are going through, but I know it is hard on them, and they still do it. I'm proud of both of them, and I can't wait until they get to come home. This is the greatest country in the world, and I hope we can live up to our destiny.

Micargi Falcon GT

My Micargi Falcon GT cruiser bike arrived today while I was at work. I wanted to make myself throw up so I could come home, but Paul was gone and I had to stick it out. DeLana put it together and left me to tighten the seat and handlebars. I didn't get much of a ride in yet, but enough to know that I like how it feels. I won't be able to mountain bike until late October or November, so I'm glad to have something to ride for the rest of the summer.