Places I Want to Travel to... soon

USA

EUROPE

Picasa

Google, the company, is pretty amazing, I must say. I wish I would have known about Picasa earlier. I'm so glad I found it! Look at what I can do...

Soo much more too.. it's brilliant.

What I've been doing lately...

Someone asked for a blog update, so I thought today would be as good as any ;)
Still getting used to 2010. In reality, life continues as normal. But new adventures do await me this year (I hope). Here are a few things I've been up to lately:

Playing in the snow. Usually we might get 2 big winter storms across Oklahoma during the season. We are expecting our 3rd tomorrow. I took some free time to go ice skate in the streets.
I've also been forecasting for a field project at work. No I don't get to go up in the airplane to sample clouds. But I enjoy weather forecasting, even if it is just for cirrus clouds at the moment. I typically give a weather briefing in the morning to the lead scientists and pilots to determine where and when they want to fly.
I've also been enjoying watching (or listening to or game-casting) my brother #34 Noah play basketball for BYU. It's so fun to see him play and see how proud my family is of him. I would really like to attend a few games in the Marriott Center to watch him play and watch the crowd cheer for the cougars and watch Noah enjoy himself out on the floor.
Continuing on the basketball theme, I also went to another OKC Thunder game! This was the most fun game I've been to at the Ford Center. The atmosphere was electric most of the game and the Thunder are getting really good now! It's fun to watch, even if we were up in the back row of the upper deck. I picked this game so I could see Dwyane Wade play. One of my favorite current players. And it was also cool to have some of my friends coincidently end up in the same row as us! I also attended my first Big12 basketball conference game at OSU. It is a pretty good atmosphere, I must admit.

Other big news. I did it. I booked a plane ticket to Europe for May! Taking the trains through France, Italy, Switzerland and Spain for a few weeks with my friend Blake. It will be 10 years to the month I returned home from my mission to France/Geneva. I'm pretty excited.

Yesterday I coached again the OSU girls' club team at a tournament at TCU in Fort Worth, TX. They did great in pool play. It was awesome to see them having so much fun. And on another note, Texas is beginning to grow on me. I'm kind of torn now between wanting to live in the mountain west area and the land of Texas.

January 2010

It's an icy, sleety, snowy kind of day... which means time to catch up on a few things. The weather has been on a roller-coaster this month. I enjoyed playing some tennis during a few days of warmth (60-70s)! As January started with sub-freezing temperatures, it ends with more snow. Also continuing to coach the OSU volleyball club team. Looks like things are picking up with commitment and more players coming out :) They played in a tournament last weekend at Baylor University in Waco, TX. In the past year I've driven down through Texas more than my whole life probably. Austin/San Antonio to see friends, Dallas for Coldplay, Denton and Waco for volleyball. More still to come.

Christmas '09 and the End of a Decade

I can't believe Christmas is next week. Things seem too normal for it to be that time of year, but it is here. It's also a time of year when I begin to feel guilty for not being as selfless as I should or for not accomplishing all of my goals I set out at the beginning of the new year. With the end of a decade soon approaching I could reminisce over the past 10 years of my life, an interesting time for sure. I could also set goals for the future new year and decade. All of which is fine, but I am often reminded of a lesson which President Monson taught:

'learn from the past, prepare for the future, live in the present'.

Today is the day to change.

What does the Spirit of Christmas mean to me? Simply, it is the Spirit of Christ. Though it is an all encompassing question which I cannot explain to its full capacity. But a few aspects of personal significance I could share, with recent quotes by general authorities reminding me of what is of true importance.

"Often our efforts at Christmas-time result in feeling stressed out, wrung out, and worn out during a time when instead we should feel the simple joys of commemorating the birth of the Babe in Bethlehem. Usually, however, the special spirit of the season somehow finds its way into our hearts and into our lives despite the difficulties and distractions which may occupy our time and energy."

"Finding the real joy of the season comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done or in the purchasing of obligatory gifts. Real joy comes as we show the love and compassion inspired by the Savior of the World, who said, 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ... ye have done it unto me'."

"As we contemplate how we’re going to spend our money to buy gifts this holiday season, let us plan also for how we will spend our time in order to help bring the true spirit of Christmas into the lives of others."

Thomas S. Monson, Christmas Devotional 2009

"I promise that if we unclutter our lives a little bit and in sincerity and humility seek the pure and gentle Christ with our hearts, we will see Him, we will find Him—on Christmas and throughout the year."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Christmas Devotional 2009

The young single adult GEM for this week quotes President Monson's latest General Conference talk and reminds me that I need to overcome my selfish desires, especially during this season, in order to find true joy and happiness in my life and brighten those lives around me.

“The Savior taught His disciples, ‘For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.’ I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives.”

I keep a picture of Christ in my room of him washing the feet of the twelve apostles, which helps me to remember we are here to serve others as the Master did.



Returning to the first thought, President Monson provided three pieces of our treasure map to guide us to our personal 'treasure'. The treasure the Lord taught of is the great Joy here on earth and eternal happiness hereafter. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." What treasure will I invest in today this Christmas season?

OKLAHOMA STATE Volleyball

The OSU Volleyball Club team asked me to come back and coach them again this year. And since my 'move' back to Stillwater, I've been helping them out two nights a week. We're trying to help the club program grow and participate at a national level. And it's extra special here at Oklahoma State since they are one of only two (Vanderbilt) D1 schools (out of 332) in the nation that do not have a women's volleyball program! (Latest Division 1 RPI rankings) Of course we are not close to adding an NCAA women's program in Stillwater any time soon (unless someone has connections with Boone Pickens?? ...and really? the Cowgirl Equestrian team needs 63 girls? I'll talk more about that later...), but the club program is a respectable entity which has existed for 25+ years. On the men's side it has produced some great beach volleyball players such as Jake Gibb (Utah) and Phil Dalhausser. And after winning three straight national club volleyball titles in the mid-1980's, the BYU men's volleyball club was added to the athletic program and became an NCAA team. They have since won 3 NCAA national titles ('99, '01, '04). Although there exists close to a thousand NCAA/NAIA/NJCAA women's volleyball teams, the women's volleyball club program around the nation also continues to grow. The OSU girls joined the SIVA conference this year, participating in tournaments in Texas. They placed 3rd in their first tournament at UNT! You can check out more info on the OState Volleyball blog.


A little more ranting, then I'll stop. I know the NCAA only allows 15 scholarships to be given for the equestrian team so the number of team members may be irrevelant. But lets compare OSU's athletic program to one very similar: Texas A&M. Both schools have an equestrian program and if we continue to check teams against each other, they match almost one-to-one. One difference is A&M has a men's swim team, while OSU has men's wrestling. Those basically cancel each other. And what we are left with is Texas A&M still has enough room to provide for a women's swim team and volleyball program! And if we compare another school which has an equestrian team (Georgia) we see the exact same thing, plus Georgia is able to field a women's gymnastics team. Now I'm not an expert on NCAA rules nor do I know how the OSU athletics department divides up its' scholarships, but it seems to me they are missing out by not having a women's volleyball team. Plus the Big 12 conference is only 11 without them :`( ..So what's the problem?
----> $Money$ (Plain and simple, just not enough resources to add a new sport)

Colorado and Utah

I went to Boulder Colorado for work meetings in September. I love being able to travel for work and explore new cities, especially those in the mountains near a university town! Besides the usual meetings to attend during the day, I found some fun activities to do in the evenings. FHE at the CU institute. Walking along the Boulder Creek pathway up to the mouth of the canyon. Visiting with a good friend from BYU and her children. Walking downtown Pearl Street and eating out along the strip. Exploring the beautiful campus of CU.



Afterwards, I took a side trip to Utah to visit my brothers, old friends and everything great about Utah. It's nice when Southwest is having their special deals on airfare and things worked out perfectly. I spent about 5 days there:
Friday after flying in I went up to Jake's house in Kaysville (a former SLC roomate). We had a blast roasting hotdogs and marshmellows outside over a fire with his family and then playing glow in the dark croquet with techno music in the background.
Saturday we drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon up past the Alta Ski resort and hiked up to Cecret Lake. Perfect hiking weather for our nice little hike. I do miss the mountains. Then he dropped me off in Provo where I got together with Ben, Noah, and Jeremiah, along with Lindsay, Carter, and Kendalyn. Fun times in Provo.
Sunday I went to church with a friend. It is an amazing ward.. the BYU 41st.
Monday I went up to SLC to work on a few things at the U of U meteorology department. Also got me some Cafe Rio for lunch. Yum. Walked around Temple Square a bit. Took the TRAX and bus system. Got back for another fun FHE activity where we watched 'Forever Strong', the Utah Rugby movie.
Tuesday I spent some time on campus at BYU, seeing the new additions and reviewing past memories. We all went to Kendalyn's intramural volleyball game in the RB. Fun times. Wish I could go back to school at the Y, although I don't want to deal with all the homework or tests.
Wednesday I went on a fun date :)

I was sad to leave. But work and coaching were calling. Oklahoma is a familiar place, which is nice. But where do I belong?