Salute to General Nonsense

Can we all agree on revising politeness to include telling people they have a certain kind of distraction hanging out of their nose? You may be telling me the secret to life or a legit way to make millions from my couch, but all I can focus on is that bat fluttering around the cave entrance.

Now that we have taken care of that, on to other things. "What is going on with politics these days!?" is something someone who has the patience to pay attention to the current campaigning might say. I tire quickly of this stuff, so lets avoid this subject. So, what is there to talk about? Plenty.

My niece Josi Ann Teaters was born on November 10th! Mother and daughter are both healthy and happy! We are very fortunate to have a new baby girl in our family and I cannot wait to see what her life will bring. Amy and I really wish we could be there, but we will be home for Christmas, which can't get here fast enough.

Salt Lake area is currently in "mud season", the time between mountain biking season and ski season. I am really excited to get to the ski-hill this year as often as possible. In this downtime, I have been very busy studying for my PE exam, which I sat for at the end of October. It had been a while (4 years) since I had touched many of the subjects covered, so studying was quite the chore. Eight hour tests should only be used on enemies of the state... No fun. And eight weeks to get the results!? For a scantron test!? Maybe the robots are out occupying Wall Street.

Work is going great. It challenges me daily, which I have learned is a requirement for me to remain happy. I am now obsessed with mobile equipment. Drilling is a fascinating industry filled with passionate people. It is the perfect environment for someone who likes to learn. I find that truly competent people share easily and are very open to new ideas. I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by competent people.

Amy and I have been married for five years as of August 26th! Five years and two states later, I still cannot imagine my life without her. Thanks for everything Famous, you are amazing and life with you rocks!

Travelling for work: I have had some great experiences on the road and as usual, I have learned a lot from the people I have encountered. BUT: flying really, really sucks. My shoulders are a curse on an airplane, meaning I have to do this awkward sort of lean into the aisle on commuter jets so my neighbor doesn't have to use my shoulder as a chin-rest. And how bad is the feeling of walking down the aisle and waiting to see who you are stuck next to? I swear I could get on a jet 90% full of horse jockeys and get seated next to an NFL lineman.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are very lucky to have guests travelling to SLC to see us. Enjoy your family and friends!

Put the Oki in Okinawa

So, to say a lot has gone on since my last post would be a bigger understatement than saying Asange leaked a little information.

At the end of November 2010, Amy and I went on an adventure to Okinawa to see our good friends, Josh and Jenn. We had been planning on making this trip ever since Josh and Jenn left Klamath for Okinawa. Let me make my best attempt at summarizing the timeline of this crazy-awesome time. Take a breath before reading the following:

Last day at old job, finish packing for move to Salt Lake City, get on airplane bound for Okinawa Japan, fly/layover for 20hrs, arrive in Okinawa, have an absolutely incredible time (see slideshow), fly/layover for 18hrs, arrive in Portland, load Penske truck and clean rental home, start drive to SLC with intent of making it to Boise but only make it to La Grande due to road closures, make it the rest of the way to SLC, Unload Penske truck, start new job in SLC.

In case you were wondering, that covered about 18 days.

As for the new job, it has started out great! I have a large project for this next year and will be doing some travelling. I feel blessed to have a job like this in a down economy.

I had the full week before Christmas off so Amy and I drove from SLC to Merrill and Medford. As always, we had a great time with our family. It was very nice to see everyone and we got SPOILED with gifts!

My best friend got engaged over the holiday, and I will be his best man. I am thrilled for him, his wife-to-be is truly great and I am proud to be his best man. Best man means one major responsibility: The Bachelor Party. Don’t worry buddy, I am on it.

So, in the past each one of these life events would have been an entire post, but as you can see, I have been busy. I hope to get back to posting with something resembling consistency. If only there was a time coming up where it was customary to make resolutions…

Happy New Year!

Cheers to 2011, you have big shoes to fill!

Welcome Nephew

My nephew, Ty, was born July 3^rd in Klamath Falls! He was 8lbs 8oz and mom and baby are perfectly healthy! I am so thankful that he came on a weekend and I was able to drive down with Amy and see everyone, especially Ty! It was so hard to leave on Monday, but we will be back as often as possible…

When a new human comes along, it is a display of great potential and promise. It is a reminder of how beautiful it is to be truly objective, notion-less. Adults are called to think about what he could be. Me, I have one hope for him: That he will always be passionate.

Love will come to Ty easily, being surrounded as he will with caring people. He will be strong, courageous, compassionate, and courteous; a true man, as he will have in his company many true men. He will work, when the time comes, with great diligence as his family always has. All of these things and more will be passed on to him to supplement his built-in character by his parents and family. There is one thing, however, which he must learn on his own: passion!

The only constant element of greatness carried on from past generations is passion. The person’s personality deems their passion compass or rudder. Regardless, it is clear that from passion comes direction. The application of passion varies WILDLY. I am, for instance, passionate about family, engineering, music, and playing ball (to name a few). All are part of my greater passion for learning and living. Whatever his passion turns out to be, I know he will do great things and I am thankful to be a part of his life, wherever it goes!