Temple Work

Today, I worked at the Temple again. It was awesome!! I basically worked as a recorder all my shift at the baptismal font. There was this brother there who was baptizing and I was touched by something he did. He would look at the person he was baptizing in the eyes with such a nice and pleasant face. It was not a stare, it was a look that said: I love you, look at what we're doing, isn't this great, right now someone on the other side of the veil is grateful for u and me for doing this on their behalf... It was amazing to witness this array of feelings in the eyes and facial expressions of this brother without the use of any words just the baptismal prayer. I will do that from now on anytime I baptize.

I also received my name tag. Here is a picture of it:

Come What May and Love It!! Really?????

I'm shivering, I can't concentrate, I'm lost and confused. I'm empty and shallow. I'm physically sick. I'm hollow and shallow. I'm hyperventilating and I can't focus. I'm not myself, I'm missing something. I had it and it's gone. Am I being punished? It hurts so, so much. Why me??

Tragic?? Funny?? You Tell Me...

So... Last Saturday I was at Justin's house working on the front end of his car that he bought and brought from Nampa ID to replace the accident-damaged front end of the Buick that his grandpa wrecked and gave to him. This front end was on top of a trailer and it was in front of his garage that was built on a slight ramp. Justin was on top hammering some aluminum and I was on the side, then out of the blue the whole trailer started to slide down heading towards the side of my car which was parked exactly in front of the trailer. Like we see in the movies both he and I ran around the trailer to stop it before it hit my car. I had mixed emotions in a fraction of seconds... Emotions like... We need to stop this trailer, how can this be happening, and how funny is this? After we stopped the trailer inches way from the car we noticed that Justin who had a sledge hammer on his hand had thrown it on the ground as he ran to stop the trailer. I told him that it would have been hilarious if we had stopped the trailer from damaging the car and if the damage on the car would have been caused from the sledge hammer he threw. I'm glad I was not focused on what could have happened because it could have been bad... Well at least for the car and my pocket that is...

Here is a video of the trailer, the front end, my car and the markings that the trailer made on the pavement as it was sliding down the slope:

Be True to Who You Are!!

On my previous post you may have noticed that I said that I found a video I shot on the day of President Hinckley's funeral. I also found a video of the syndicated radio show host Glenn Beck talking about Pres. Hinckley and how he felt about him.

Here is the Glenn Beck video:

If you listen to AM radio, you most likely would know who Glenn Beck is. Glenn is a radio and television host, conservative political commentator, and writer. He has a nationally-syndicated radio show, The Glenn Beck Program and hosted a TV show on CNN that now will be broadcasted on FOX. But above all he is LDS. He has had a troubled past and found peace in the truth of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. He says that "God stalked me!... He had a giant baptismal rifle, I thwarted him. I led people astray as much I could but he kept putting Mormons in my way."

I had the chance to see the screenwriter of some of the most famous LDS movies (Singles Ward, The RM, etc) perform. His name is John Moyer. John is LDS and a stand up comedian.

Here is a picture of John Moyer:

He is actually not a bad comedian. He is a funny guy... But what struck me as odd was the fact that he being LDS, every so often would throw a few unnecessary distasteful words in his routine. I was just wondering, u know... Do we really have to give up what we believe in to be able to be successful, accepted and fit in? Did he really need to use some of the words he used?

Glenn Beck is a fairly well known public personality, and I believe that although it would be an excuse, in the scheme of popularity, Glenn Beck could have (in comparison) a reason to attempt to behave differently and maybe even a reason to bend his values a little in order to please his fans and listeners, and yet he doesn't... as you can see by he opening up, on national television, to share his feelings about the passing of Pres. Hinckley.

Don't get me wrong, John was not filthy as Chris Rock is, and yet one would expect nothing less than a completely clean performance from a LDS comic. I am not comparing Glenn Beck to John Moyer and I'm not saying that Glenn Beck will be called as the next General Authority... I guess I was just a little disappointed. Not so much with the fact that he used some inappropriate language, but that he used some inappropriate language when he did not have to. I guess I expected more of his performance because he is LDS.

Almost a Year... Can You Believe It??

I was organizing some files on my computer and I found this video I shot almost a year ago and I thought it would be interesting to comment about it. I remember I was on somebody's house waiting for the time to arrive so we could go to ward prayer, when we received the news that President Gordon B. Hinckley had passed away. It was on January 27th, 2008... Can you believe it has been almost a year of his passing? His funeral was a few days later on the next Saturday February 2nd. I was on the street when the motorcade passed by towards the cemetery.

Here is a video of it:

We still miss ya Pres. Hinkcley. Be in peace next to your Marjorie.

It's Here!! Yay!!

It's Winter!! It has finally arrived. I had my first snow last week on November 4th. I don't know why I remember my first snows... My first snow on 2007 was on October 17th... Weird that I remember huh?

Winter is my favorite season, followed by Fall, then Spring and Summer. I'm so glad I live where I live and that I can experience the Winter. It is so beautiful, so peaceful!! We had a small storm that Tuesday (11-04). From the 7th floor from where I work we couldn't even see the mountains.

Here is a picture during the storm:

Here is another picture (in which u can see the mountains) after the storm:





Here is a picture of my car that morning:




And here is a video I took from inside my car as I drive closer to work and when the storm picked up:

Californians Voted YES For Proposition 8!!

Californians, despite their democratic majority and flexible way of life, have taken a decision yesterday that helped preserve some of the family integrity we still have left in this country. They voted YES, in favor for the Proposition 8. Yay!!

Along with voting for President, 52% of Californians voted YES for Proposition 8. Proposition 8 was an initiative that proposes the elimination of the right of same-sex couples to marry, granted by the California Supreme Court in May.

This proposition will change the California Constitution by adding a new section that will state that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in the state of California.

Election Day

Thank goodness it is over!!! Barack Obama is the new President-Elect of the United States of America. I'm glad we're done with the election and we can now move on with our lives. Just so we can be on the same page: I am a republican and my support and candidate for the 2008 presidential election goes to Mr. Mitt Romney.

Here is a picture of Mitt Romney I like:

Everybody is saying that today is a historic day. I have to agree. Today is a historic day. A day where America has elected a black man to preside over this blessed and magnificent country. My concern is that we're mainly (at least at this time) focusing on the fact that we have elected a black President and not if we have elected a good President. Don't get me wrong. This is darn great feat!! Not too long ago (in the scheme of time), blacks were clearly and openly discriminated, had no voice, no opinion, no rights and in no way, one would ever think that a black man would ever be elected President.

I also have to say that I don't dislike Obama or that he will not be a good President, but here is why I could not support his candidacy for President: 1-My hope is that no candidates would be obligated to defend all its party beliefs and with that I'd have to say the Democratic Party has some basic values and beliefs that I don't believe in (abortion, gay marriage, etc...) and seeing that he is a Democrat... you get the idea... 2-I think that he may not have the experience necessary to be the President of the United States.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the most important thing is that the people has decided that Obama will be our President and I hope he does a great job. Barack Obama is an inspiration in the sense that he is a live proof that in America the sky is your limit. If u dream, and if u work towards ur dreams, you will reach them. I believe in dreams and in that sense Barack Obama is an inspiration for me. He will lead us for at least the next four years and I pray for his well being. I pray that he may lead by example and have the people's needs in mind.

Here are a couple of pictures of his acknowledgement of victory:

I pray that he can be true to God and a positive influence to all of us and I can only hope that his presidency is not a facade and that his "real face" will not be any different than we expect it to be.

Here is a picture that exemplifies my thoughts seeing that has happened with both Democrats and Republicans:

I really hope he can be the super president that we expect our Presidents to be.

Here is a picture to exemplify this wish:

May God bless America.

Why??

Why does the things that happens to us happen? Is it becasue we deserve them? Did the people who died at World Trade Center deserved to die? Is it because we're good people? Is it becasue we're bad people? I know that Father loves us... but why does He let us suffer with some of the things that happens to us? I know, I know there is all the cliche answers... It is because we can grown from them... It is because we can learn from them... whatever... Is that really it? Will we ever get to know in this mortal life the answer to that question?

I was driving to work this morning and I couldn't help but notice the sunrise by the mountains on the East. I also noticed that it was obscured but a fairly thick layer of clouds. It was really beautiful and the photo below does not make justice, especially becasue I was driving... lol, but u get the idea.

Here is the picture of the sun covered by the clouds:


I couldn't help but think about my challanges and why do I have to go thru them... The things I want and why I don't get them or why I haven't got them yet... I had this impression after spotting the sun and the clouds... The sun was Father, and all that I need... but I could not clearly see the sun. The clouds were in the way...

I also noticed that shortly after I took the picture above, the clouds went away and I could see the bright radiant sun... The obsticles were gone...

Here is the picture I took just a few moments after the first one:

What does that mean?

Halloween Day

Today is Halloween. I love Halloween! Yay! I was reading about someone who did not see the point for Halloween and because of that she did not like Halloween. I guess in a way she is right, Halloween on itself has no point... But I can see why to commemorate it seeing that Halloween serves as an excuse for us to be with friends and enjoy one another throughout the many activities that go on Halloween day.

Halloween gives us the chance to go to Haunted Houses. I doubt that I will go to a haunted house this Halloween season, but I did do to the Castle of Chaos last year, and although the Haunted House as an attraction was not good I had a blast from watching all those around me getting scared by the many traps the Haunted House had.

Halloween gives u the chance to play around and interact with others by dressing up as our favorite character. how funny is that? It allow us to go shake ur booty on the many parties going on and also to make the kids happy and hyper by providing a long deserved break from mommy's no-candy rule.

This year I dressed up as: (drum roll)...

Waldo from "Where is Waldo?"

Check out the comparison pictures below:

My costume was "stitched up" with the help of a few people. I went to DI (Deseret Industries) and bought the camera, the cup, the sweats, the swimming googles, the beanie and the backpack. I made the binoculars out of the inner tube of two toilet paper rolls and the shovel out of cardboard and the wooden rod from a plunger. Justin landed me the sleeping bag and the snorkel. I bought the "hammer" (meat tenderizer) at Smith's and the teapot and cane at Walmart. I initially thought about painting the white stripes on the sweat shirt but it did not work out, so I had the idea of asking Morgan Crawford to sew the white stripes on the sweat shirt. She kindly accepted the task and dedicated a good 3 to 4 hours of solid work to it. Thanks Morgan!!

Here is a picture of Morgan working on my Waldo striped sweat shirt:

We had a costume contest at work and I won second place. Yay! I lost by one vote, can u believe that? Especially considering that the winner works on this huge department where most likely everybody would vote for him. Well... somebody had to win right? Like I said I won second place and the prize was a Megaplex gift card worth $15.

Here is a picture of my prize:



Later I went to our Annual Ward Trunk or Treat carnival. It was awesome! Our ward has made Trunk or Treat a tradition in the family community in the Avenues. The ward members from my ward are really involved in decorating their cars and being there for the kids who live in the Avenues and surrounding vicinities. Chris Breedon brought Indiana Jones to life with "Indy's" theme song playing and all, Lacie and Becca frightened us with her body bag again but this time as vampiresses and Chery Terry was hilarious dressed as a chicken in the chicken coop. Chery won the best costume prize and Lacie and Becca won the best decorated trunk prize. My prize was that for some reason Chery Terry had a gazillion bizillion banana Laffy Taffys and I love them, so she gave me them all.

After the Trunk or Treat we had a dance. It was nice. I was able to help make it happen seeing that Jackie was fairly overwhelmed with the Trunk or Treat and carnival that she ended up not dedicating time to get things arranged for the dance. I contacted the stake and one of the wards and I was able to get sound going and I DJed for almost all the Dance when finally Spencer Gibbs got there and he offered to help DJing with his laptop. I'm glad I was able to help and allow everybody to have a good time.

I guess I'm even happier because Christa arrived safely in Orlando and has started enjoying the Special Olympics... I think this one of the many awesome things that she does. Her servitude serves as an example for all of us because I think we all should be involved and engaged in something like this, something that will benefit other people rather than ourselves. We're here to serve others and this is a selfless opportunity to accomplish that. So u know, the Special Olympics World Winter Games will be held in Idaho in February of 2009. Here is the link if u'd like to volunteer:

http://www.2009worldgames.org/volunteer/volunteer-process

Frustration... >:-\

I was finally able to finish this project at work that I have been working on. To accommodate our forecasted end-of-the-year demand, we have purchased all the hardware we need to help us accomplish that. The project was to get all the computers, print servers, plotters and everything else set up, configured and tested.

It was a very frustrating experience... It also was not a one-day task neither. I had to be at the warehouse for a few days in order to finish this project. Although I could have had it done on my own, in order to be more effective I requested some assistance... I guess I need to be more grateful I was able to obtain assistance because otherwise this project would have taken much longer than I wanted. The things I asked them to help me with were not hard things at all. I promise I did not ask them to build a space shuttle with duck tape, straws and a 9 volt battery. They were really simple things like: move this from point A to point B. Yet things got messed up, hardware and cables got placed all over the place, items ended up missing... It was chaos. I needed to be focused in order to have all working properly, because there are a lot of things than can go wrong and they make the whole set not work, but it was hard to get concentrated when I also had to focus on finding things and getting things organized.

I needed to be an example for my co-workers rather than lose it completely and be unprofessional and rude. I needed to constantly be reminding myself that although I was upset with all the disorganization... that I needed to be patient and treat all around me with all the professionalism and respect I expect to be treated with.

I had to remember a quote by Elder Neal. A. Maxwell I have in my cubicle that reads: "Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best - better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His."

Here is a picture of the quote on my cube:

After all the headaches and stepping stones, it was gratifying to look back on my way out at all that was done and to obtain this feeling of accomplishment despite all the roadblocks I had to deal with. I guess this is an example on how Father have this plan developed for us. He only poses a challenge we can handle, we face the obstacles (opposition) and ultimately if we endure till the end we can taste the sweet flavor of victory.

Here is a panoramic photo of our warehouse's mezzanine where we have our plotting pods:

Wall-E (Robotic Voice Impersonation)

When I was heading back home Justin wanted to go watch a movie, so I met with him, Cindy, John and Jules and we went to watch Wall-E. I really wanted to watch that movie because I liked the preview and because I've heard so many good reviews about it despite the fact they say that there are no dialog in the first half hour of the movie (which I found to be incorrect... at least if ur paying attention). So there I went to watch Wall-E... but I was so tired... I had such a long day... One of them days... Wall-E seemed to be sweet, touching and funny and I was enjoying it a lot, but I was so tired that I was not being able to appreciate how good the movie was so I left the theater in the middle of the movie. My friends understood. :)

Here is a photo of one of the scenes of the movie when Wall-E tries to hold Eve's "hand":

Pumpkin Carving Night

Today I went to a dinner party at Jann Nishimoto's house. There I was able to meet some nice people and I was also able to have some awesome food too. :) I had some BBQ chicken, potato salad and a delicious chilly that Cindy Conlin cooked. Yummy! After dinner we all started carving our pumpkins. It was a very nice, relaxing and entertaining activity and each one of us carved a design on our pumpkins. After we all finished, we placed all pumpkins in Jann's new porch, and as it was very dark outside, it was really cool to just see the light from the candles radiating thru each one of the designs.

Here is a video of all the designs:

I carved a winkle emoticon design on my pumpkin and it has a beautiful meaning behind, but that meaning I will keep it private ;) Here is a picture of the pumpkin I carved:

Jazz vs. Trailblazers

I went to the last pre-season home game for the Utah Jazz. We stunk up the place on the first three quarters. I don't know what happened, but whatever it was, the Jazz returned for the fourth quarter with a vengeance!!

The come back started with Korver getting all them 3 pointers in. It was awesome. Below is the video of how it all started:

We won 100-89. Yay!! After all the frustration of the first three quarters it was all worthy for me to have stuck around to witness the end of the game.

Here is an overview pic of the game from Section 105 row 9 seat 1:

Ok... Do you want to hear a funny and embarrassing fact? The black dude on the pic bellow: He is a local tv game analyst... His name is Thurl Bailey, but until tonight I thought he was Karl Malone. :/

My Blog

Hello there!! Well... I always wanted to have a blog... I guess the reason why I never really got one is two-fold... First, I'm planning to get me a web site and and have it in a way that I would write my own blog inside my web site, and second, I don't know how good I will be in entering new posts, photos and videos (which means that I will have to make use of my camera more often). I will give this a try because this may be a way for me to develop new skills and form new habits. I'm excited about it. I don't know if blogs must serve a purpose... if they do I'm one step behind because I don't know the purpose of mine. I guess it will be One Heck of a Ride discovering my blog's purpose. If at least you can learn something from it, then it would already make me happy. I'm not yet familiar with all the features of Blogger but I think it allow you to leave comments, so feel free to comment on whatever... lol. I hope you enjoy the ride (whomever you may be!). :D