2013 Year in Review

2013 wasn't as filled with recreation as 2012. I didn't fly a plane or wake board... or even snowboard!. But it was a good year... 2013 was far more about personal progress and financial stability, traveling, and lots of change.

Got my first elk

Took my truck on some 4x4 trails

caught a fish and ate it
Katie came into my life

Went to the fair

Dressed up for Halloween

Found out I was a direct descendent of Christopher Columbus
Suffered through a whole month of inversion and below freezing temperatures and scarcely saw the sun
Bought a hunting rifle
Flew on what felt like 100 flights.
Visited Atlanta
Visited Denver
Visited New Mexico
Visited Boston
Visited Los Angeles
Visited Iowa

Passed through airports at:

Albuquerque
Atlanta
Boston
Cedar Rapids
Charlotte
Chicago
Columbus
Denver
Detroit
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Minneapolis
New York
Phoenix
Washington D.C.

and of course Salt Lake City.

Visited the Pacific and Atlantic oceans within two weeks

Stepped onboard the U.S.S. Constitution (Old Iron Sides)
Visited Chaco Canyon and the Salinas National Monuments in New Mexico

Went swimming, shooting,camping

Left Diabetes Specialty Center
Started working for Packsize
Bought a house for the first time
Completed the largest structure cabling job I've ever done with Nick and Jess (306 runs)
Worked a 19 hour day and a 90 hour week
Tried to share my testimony of Jesus Christ
Strived to think more about others
Learned to play Bach's Cello Suite Prelude No. 1 all the way through
Visited all of my grandparents
Helped with Rachel's wedding


There were times this year when I was on cloud nine. There were times when I felt so sad I hardly ate or slept for a week. I worked until I was ready to collapse and my body ached, other days I slept until noon. I've been proud of myself, I've been sorely disappointed in myself. I've been praised and honored by coworkers and chewed out by bosses.

The Way I See the Days

Ten years ago I remember the greatest challenge seemed to be the tediousness of life. I despised having to have a job... I hated having to go to school... Paying bills, registering my car, waiting at a stop light. Everything seemed pointless and unnecessarily cumbersome. (So sometimes I just didn't do it.) Night came and I wanted to stay up late to enjoy the embers of free time. There seemed to be no point to all the demands of daily life.

Life was all about relaxing, having fun and not being bothered. Independence meant no one could tell me what to do. Writing, playing and listening to music was all important.


It's funny how things are different now. I care about my job, I pay my bills on time. I try to stay ahead of all these little things before they turn into problems. Life is still a battle, the difference is I now know that it must be fought. I wake up in the morning and set about my duties. The path of least resistance is no longer an option...

I look forward to mowing the lawn, wiring a light in my house, helping someone fix their car or move a couch. I'm learning to value character over physical beauty. I'm learning that events, conversations and accomplishments are only as precious and special as you make them.

2012 Year End Summary

At the end of each year I like to jot down a few of the things that happened. Wow, 2012 went fast. It seems like just yesterday I was thinking about my year's summary for 2011 (that I never finished). Let's see... 2012 contained the last triple matching date (12-12-12.) The world was supposed to come to an end last week on 12-21-2012. Somehow we managed to survive... We did however, see terrible hurricanes, snow storms, drought conditions, unseasonable warmth, earthquakes, solar flares and solar eclipses (I actually got to see that one). There were terrible shooting tragedies in Colorado and Connecticut, the American Embassy was burned in Benghazi we saw the most expensive and perhaps ugliest presidential election race in the history of our country and we're hours from going over the "fiscal cliff."

A few of the things that went on in my life this year:

Accomplishments and Firsts:
Earned my A+ and Network+ certifications
Paid off my student loans and credit cards
First trip to Ohio
Visited the Kirtland Temple with Lindsey and her family
Attended my brother Nick's wedding as best man
MC-ed the reception
Approved a 100,000 dollar  invoice at work
Was promoted to Supervisor
Worked with Jess on cabling projects
Watched my nephew turn two years old
Recorded a music video
Recorded a five song EP with Wicked This Way Comes (still in progress)
Called to serve as Sunday School President
Bought my first silver coins
Bought a .40 caliber pistol and a 12 gauge shotgun
Went Elk Hunting for the first time
Went camping in Canyon Lands National Park
Sold my car and bought a truck
Dined at the Roof Restaurant at Temple Square (tasty but pricey!)
Saw my first High Frame Rate movie



Important things:
Visited Mom and Dad and my grandparents  
Delivered food to a needy family for Christmas
Helped someone on the side of the road
Was helped on the side of the road
Gave change to a homeless person
Voted for president of the United States of America
Attended general and stake conference
Spent lots of good time with my family
Interviewed Nana, Grandpa and Grandma on audio recording
Worked on Genealogy indexing
Coordinated a whole year of Sunday School classes and somehow stayed on schedule



Fun things:
Went snowboarding - but not nearly enough
Went wake-boarding - but not nearly enough
Played some gigs around town
Bought another guitar
Bought two guns
Went rock climbing
Went hunting
Went camping
Went swimming
Went boating and rafting on a lake
Flew a plane for the first time
Won a battle of the bands competition
Spent 20 hours building an Iron Man costume and won a costume contest
Went through a haunted corn maze
Watched Thriller

Not so fun things:
Had an eye infection
Stabbed myself several times with a punch down tool
Had a double gum graft surgery
Worked on a car in the freezing wind
Had my teeth teeth cleaned at the dentist
Had my side mirror busted off
Worked a 17 hour shift
Ran out of gas and pushed my car uphill - (funny story)
Camped in 70 mph wind

Books this Year (not all have been read cover to cover):
Treasure Island
7 Miracles that Saved America
7 Turning Points that Changed the World
7 Habits of Highly Successful People
Count of Monte Cristo
Edgar Allen Poe collected poems and stories
Jesus the Christ
Pompeii: The Hidden City
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Bible and Book of Mormon

At The Movies this Year:
Avengers
The Amazing Spider-man
Hunger Games
Prometheus
Expendables 2
Lawless
This Means War
Bourne Legacy
Dark Knight Rises
Mission Impossible 4
Total Recall
SkyFall
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2
Rise of the Guardians
2016
The Hobbit

Altogether, I'd say 2012 was better than 2011. Especially since the house didn't burn down this time around! As for 2013, any year that's gonna have movies about Superman, Thor, Wolverine and Iron Man all within six months has to be great! Here's to a fantastic 2013 with with bigger goals and another year in the life!

What I'm looking forward in 2013
Iron Man 3
The Wolverine
Man of Steel
Thor: The Dark World
Star Trek: Into Darkness
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Crossing off one more year of Obamanomics
Buying a house
Camping!
Completing my Microsoft cert
Completing the Wicked EP
Developing my piano ability

Core Sample

Today was a slice of my life. I worked, I played, I ate, I sang, I got frustrated in traffic and I enjoyed being with my baby.

The neat thing about today however was the fact that we played and won a state-wide talent competition called "Best of the Best". It was held at the Depot downtown at the Gateway. Tons of fun. We played with another band called "The Samuel Smith Band" who were also very talented and tight sounding together. We had to suffer through a lot of rap, some hip-hop, piano pop, and terrible comedy, but in the end somehow we were decided the winners. We played "Mirrors" and "Tears Don't Fall". It was a ton of fun and I feel very grateful and overwhelmed to say we won another battle of the bands competition. I feel that we are lucky to have such a good group of talent and dedication in our band members and want to further develop as a band.

We also played a show on Wednesday. This show was very low-key in comparison. It was held at a place called the Underground, which couldn't have been a more fitting name. It was really just a converted garage with graffiti on all the walls and a PA set up. Whitney and David came to the show and we played pretty late, never the less it was a ton of fun! We've had a really fun week of playing shows!

Night of the Wicked

Night of the Wicked at Club Vegas.Wicked This Way Comes is hosting an All-Ages Halloween, in-costume concert. Night of the Wicked is an all-ages event so no alcohol, weapons, etc.  8 dollars pre-sale or 10 bucks at the door.

BTT!


https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=263180387046668&ref=ts

Battle of the Bands

And so it was that Wicked This Way Comes did continue to progress through upheaval.

Monday night we had the cops called on us while practicing in Jess' garage. To be fair, we were playing way too loud. Louder than usual in fact. Around 8:30 pm we had a police officer show up and shut us down. He thought I was giving him attitude when he asked us to turn down and I played a few riffs (after turning the volume down to test). All in all we had to play quiter with the door closed and all of our acoustic insulation strewn about to absorb some of the sound.

Tuesday evening we all packed up and went to Heber City - our first gig outside of Salt Lake! We played the Heber City Battle of the Bands and won! We played with four other bands. In all fairness, we had the most professional gear and undoubtedly the most stage experience. I suppose we were just the bigger fish in a smaller pond. After we played our two songs (Forged from Beauty and Like Sheep) we sat on the grass out in front of the stage watching the other acts. At the end they pulled us all up on stage for an American Idol style critique. The three judges voted us the winners! We won $350 bucks and a recording session in Heber. Afterwards we went to Beto's for a late dinner and had a blast hanging out as a band. It was seriously one of the most fun nights I've had all year! The only thing that would have made it better would be if Lindsey and the rest of my family had been there. At least Adrian came with me.

Running Against the Wind

Went for a nice long run tonight through the streets of Kearns and West Valley. My running shoes felt snug and light weight on my feet as I set out. I must have been feeling my oats because it never felt better to run uphill. Jason Call's music and the hymns we recorded in the mission office were my music selection for the evening. As I ran, the rain began to drizzle.  The rain never turned into a downpour but never slowed down either. After a while I wasn't sure if I was more damp from sweat or rain. I don't sweat much so it was probably rain. I passed over 5600 W on the catwalk and ran around the elementary school a few times. From there I headed up to the Usana Amphitheater and around the fire station. I crossed 54th south and headed down to our old band house.

Running through suburbia gives one an interesting impression of modern life. The smells: sometimes it's water from a sprinkler that smells like the rubber hose it came out of. Sometimes it's pungent odors of trash sitting in a barrel waiting to get picked up in the morning, sometimes it's the fragrance of flowers and trees in people's yards. House after house, street after street. What a strange grid we live in. No one around, no one making noise. It is after all, nearly 11 p.m. - my favorite time to go running. The air was thick with humidity, the ground seemed warm beneath me, the sky overcast and reflecting a dull orange from the rest of the valley below. So much on my mind, yet it all seems far away when I run.

My worries seem to burn off like calories. I seem to stay at least a few paces ahead of them, and as long as I don't stop running I know I'll stay content. I ran around the LDS chapel on 62nd south a few times. The grounds were as pristine and beautiful as they should ever be. I stopped in front of the doors just to look at my own reflection for a moment. Reality hits me once and a while and when I look in the mirror I see a grown man. I wonder who I'd think he was to see that guy for the first time. I ran through the sprinklers, and kept circling. My legs begin to burn after a while, but that was somewhere in the background. I thought perhaps I'd figure something out if I just ran around that building enough times. Finally I turned toward home, feeling a blister beginning to form and having escaped for 6 miles of solitude. The night -  quiet, dark, peaceful, all mine... I came home, but in truth felt like I could have ran all night. I'm starting to really enjoy this night running.