Thought for the Day

From The BIg Bang Theory.

Sheldon: Leonard is upstairs right now with my archenemy...the Dr. Doom to my Mr. Fantastic, the Dr. Octopus to my Spiderman, the Dr. Sivana to my Captain Marvel...You know, it's amazing how many supervillains have advanced degrees. Graduate schools should do a better job of screening those people out.

I can't tell you why I thought it was funny, but I did.

Taking a Break

I love TV shows that get canceled to soon. Pushing Daisies and Sports Night have to be at the top of that list for me. Sports Night was a little show about sports anchors on a national nightly sports news show, and the production staff around them. It ran for two seasons in the late 90's before it was canceled. In one of my favorite episodes, the two anchors, Dan and Casey, have this little exchange around a moral issue going on with their show:

Casey: Hey, you want to get involved with this?
Dan: I so don’t.
Casey: Didn’t you used to care about these things? And it wasn’t that long ago that you did.
Dan: No.
Casey: I mean, it was like yesterday.
Dan: Right.
Casey: Now, when I say yesterday, I’m not speaking metaphorically. It was yesterday! What happened to your values?
Dan: I find that maintaining them is a lot of work. I take a day off now and then.
Casey: You take a vacation from doing the right thing?
Dan: Yeah. I don’t loot store fronts or anything, but once in a while, when I consider the effort it takes to diligently adhere to a moral compass I take myself out of the line up and I rest for the next game.

There are times, as a therapist, when I feel like that. And, increasingly, there are times as a professor and a supervisor when I feel like that, as well. Doing the right thing takes a lot of work. It does not make you popular. If you are in a position of power over someone, as a parent, a teacher, a therapist, etc., the people in the low power position will question whether or not you are REALLY doing the right thing, which will make you question it yourself. After awhile, that will start to make you crazy. And you will want to go home, curl up on your couch, watch Friday Night Lights (another wonderful underrated show that inexplicably has managed to stay on the air for four seasons) and hide.

But after a few minutes of ranting in a blog, you will take a deep breath, and go back do doing what you are supposed to be doing, which is helping people who don't think they need to be helped with things they think they are already experts on.

This one's for you, parents of small children and teenagers, police officers, CPS workers, elementary school teachers, small claims judges, and junior high assistant principals. Keep doing the right thing.

Tales from September

I miss blogging, but every time I sit down to write, I am reminded that:

a) I don't have much going on in my life beyond work.

b) If I write about some of the stuff that goes on at work, it might not be appreciated.

c) When I do have things going on besides work, I typically forget to bring my camera.

Here are some of the undocumented moments of my life as of late:

Stephanie came to visit. She spent about four days with me. We ate at this restaurant, and she got me to buy several wardrobe items that are too fashionable for me to have considered by myself. We had one of the most bizarre experiences I have ever had as a therapist, which Stephanie described in her blog. We also saw this group live in their only concert appearance of the year. For guys who are in their mid-thirties, and who, as far as I can tell, had to get regular jobs, they put on a pretty good show.

Following Stephanie's visit, I caught a mild cold, which forced me to take it easy for the rest of the week.

A week ago Saturday, Melanee and I completed the Top of Utah Marathon in Logan. I am not going to lie: there were times I thought I might die before I finished. To make a long story short, I was having some physical issues that were standing in the way of running the way I had trained. Also, we were very close to not having a place to stay the night before, but, thanks to some smooth-talking by my brother-in-law, everything turned out okay.

I just returned this afternoon from a visit to Atlanta, Georgia. While most of the week was devoted to professional development, I did manage to do some cool things:

• I spent some time with Tracy, Elliot, and Graham in Decatur. While with them, I visited the Cake Art store that Bakerella loves. I bought a lot of sprinkles. An embarrassing amount, really. Particularly when I add them to my already excessive collection. Something tells me I am going to have to do some more baking in the near future.
• I also visited this donut store, which I also found through Bakerella. I got a dozen. I ate many more than I should have.
• Tracy and I had burgers at this place, which was featured on Man V. Food. Don't judge it by the skull entrance. The burgers were great!
• I had lunch with some colleagues at this place, which rotated around for a panoramic view of Atlanta.

I booked a flight home this morning so that I could catch Sammie in her first Primary program. Before we got too far out of Atlanta, the gentleman next to me pressed the flight attendant call button, and informed the flight attendant that he was feeling very sick. I assumed that meant he was about to throw up on me. The flight attendant asked if something was wrong with his heart, but, by that time, he was unresponsive. I found myself standing up and moving to the first vacant seat I could find to make room for the oxygen tank and the medical doctor who happened to be sitting a few rows in front of me.

Fortunately, the man was okay. Unfortunately, they decided to land in Memphis anyway so that he could deplane. It took us an hour to get back in the air, which put me in Salt Lake too late to make it to Sammie's program. I'm told she did a great job.

Last Lubbock Post

The week before I left Lubbock was absolutely insane. I probably should have planned better, so as to avoid quitting work, graduating, and moving out of my apartment in the same week. I didn't.

At the same time, there are so many important people that I was saying goodbye to, that I spent a lot of time with them during that week, rather than saying, "Sorry, I have to go pack." Consequently, it was left to my family to help me with some of that stuff.

One thing I couldn't turn down during the last week was the chance to ride around town with Ryan, saying goodbye to all of our favorite Lubbock sites. Or, in some cases, saying hello to them for the first time, and then goodbye.

Our first stop was a park where Ryan assured me I would see prairie dogs. When planning this outing, we discussed going to Prairie Dog Town (a real place), but Ryan, who has actually been to Prairie Dog Town, said I was more likely to see prairie dogs at here.

In sixth grade, I won my school spelling bee and went onto the next round. Prairie was one of the words I missed.

I swear there was a prairie dog right there, but he ran away before I snapped the picture.

Our next stop was the Buddy Holly Museum.

Buddy Holly grew up in Lubbock, TX. So did Mac Davis, who wrote a memorable song with the line, "Happiness is Lubbock, Texas in the rearview mirror," and Natalie Maines, of the Dixie Chicks, who wrote a song called "Lubbock or Leave It." Lubbock has a rich history of birthing singers who go on to write disparaging songs about their hometown.

The only pictures we could get of the Buddy Holly Museum were of the outside. The museum itself consists of two rooms. One room housed a traveling exhibit, which consisted of Buddy Holly's bedroom furniture from his teenage years. It might have seemed more spectacular had I seen it in a year that hadn't included trips to New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, San Francisco, and about 1,000 LDS Church history sites. It just didn't stack up that well to the giant Seurat.

We had planned to drive to Texas Tech campus next, but Ryan remembered that the radio station managed by our friend Jess was just a few blocks from where we were. A quick phone call later, and we showed up at TrueCountry 105.3 to watch Jess (J.D. as they call him on the radio) perform his D.J. duties.

One of the things I will miss about Lubbock is turning on the radio, hearing Jess's voice, and having the thrill of going, "I know that guy."

We then ventured to Texas Tech Campus, where we got about 100 pictures of various statues around campus, along with some other campus landmarks:

This is a statue of Will Rogers. Legend has it that the rear end of his horse is pointed toward College Station, as it is the home of the Texas A&M Aggies, rivals to Texas Tech. Ryan, ever the engineer, pointed out that it was a very small point from which to derive an angle toward a point 450 miles away.

Here is a shot of the Masked Rider, the TTU mascot.

I have always been a fan of the bizarre benches scattered over campus that are shaped like punctuation.

Or these hands.

We took a short detour to McDonald's to re-hydrate before heading to our final destination:

vvv

The Windmill Museum.

After the Buddy Holly Museum experience, we opted not to pay more money for what we could snap pictures of through the fence.

Across the street was McKenzie Park, where I finally snapped a picture of a prairie dog:

Thanks for a great final tour of Lubbock, Ryan!

* This picture was taken at the party we had the night before graduation. I should probably blog about that. Therefore, this will probably not be my last Lubbock post.

Really Tired

It occurs to me that if I say too much about my job on the worldwide web, it might not be appreciated. If everyone on Facebook could learn that principle, fewer people would get fired.

This has been my first week functioning as a faculty member. It has meant waking up at 6:30, being on campus by 8:00, and wanting to be in bed by about 7 p.m. but needing to work on things like syllabi and research ideas.

I'm enjoying it a lot, thus far.

However, school doesn't start till Monday.

We'll see how I feel after that.

I'm alive

It occurred to me that, since I left Lubbock a week ago, I have had zero contact with anyone from Lubbock. This is not intentional. I have also had minimal contact with most of the people I know in Utah, as well as my family in California. Again, not intentional. Here's how my week went:

Sunday: The day after graduation, I left Lubbock at about 7:30 a.m. with my parents and Melanee. We were extremely pleased to make it all the way to Moab (Utah) by nightfall. We were also pleased that we were able to stay in a pretty nice hotel. However, if you are traveling to Moab any time soon, I would advise you to plan ahead, as hotels fill up fast. We had to try several before we found one with vacancies.

Monday: We were out of the hotel by about 8 a.m., and back on the road, which put us in Pleasant Grove, where my new home is, by 11:45 a.m. My brother-in-law showed up with my niece and nephew, who were very excited to see their mom, and, to a lesser extent, pleased to see me and their grandparents. The movers were supposed to come at 1 to unload my truck, but did not show up until about 3:30. However, they worked quickly, and we were able to get to Salt Lake in time to have dinner at Sweet Tomatoes before we had to drop my dad off at the airport.

Moving Tips for today:

• It is worth the price to have professional movers get your stuff up three flights of stairs.
• I like to throw away things the following things when I leave an apartment and replace them when I get to the new place: toilet brush, shower curtain, garbage can, broom, dustpan. However, replacing them has to be a fairly high priority when I get to a new place.

Tuesday: I spent most of the day unpacking my stuff and deciding some of it should have been left in a dumpster in Lubbock. This included my bed, which had an unfortunate incident on Monday night, and must be replaced now.

Moving Tips for today:

• If it is junk, and you know it is junk, you are not doing it any favors by moving it to a new location before throwing it away.

Wednesday: I decided that the best time to start replacing things was before I had to return my rental truck (Thursday morning). So, after dinner, my mom and I raced to IKEA, where I bought two chests of drawers, a futon, and an entertainment center. I am proud to say that, before we returned the truck the next morning, my mom and I were able to get 7 heavy boxes of stuff up three flights of stairs.

Moving tips for today:

• see moving tips from Monday.
• Have some tools handy for putting together furniture. Essentials include a screwdriver (Phillips and flathead) and a hammer. Allan wrenches are also helpful, but, often, the manufacturer includes them with the hardware.

Thursday: Spent most of the day putting together furniture. Discovered that my entertainment center is too shallow for my TV, which means I must buy a new TV. Sigh.

Moving tip for today:

• Decide in advance of purchasing an entertainment center whether or not you are willing to upgrade your TV.

Friday: Sammie spent the night at my house. This was a bold move, and one I do not know if I will be repeating anytime soon. It went something like this:

8:45 p.m.-Sammie's mother leaves with her brother.

9:00 p.m.-Sammie and I are ready for bed. We lay down, and, after less than 30 seconds, she announces that she is not sleepy, and that she is scared of the shadows in the room. I suggest we sleep in the living room.

9:15 p.m.-Sammie announces she still cannot sleep, and I suggest we start a movie, believing that she, like me, will get sleepy watching a children's movie and conk out after about 10 minutes. Sammie informs me that this is exactly what she wanted to do, she just didn't know it until I suggested it. We select Elmo in Grouchland.

9:45 p.m.-Sammie gets scared of something in the movie, presumably Mandy Patinkin as the villain, with obnoxiously bushy eyebrows. She pulls her blanket over her head until the movie is no longer scary. She repeats this several times.

11:00 p.m.-The movie ends and Sammie is still wide awake. However, she is convinced that if she eats something, she will get sleepy. She suggests a bowl of Reese's Puffs she has seen in my pantry.

11:15 p.m.-After eating our cereal and re-brushing our teeth, we get into bed again. Sammie insists that, once again, she is not sleepy. I tell her she does not have to sleep, but she does have to lay still for ten minutes with her eyes closed without talking, and that if she can do that and she is still not sleepy, we will do something else. She agrees.

11:15:15 p.m.-Sammie insists that she cannot lay down or close her eyes, and that the only thing she can do is play. In desperation, I explain to her that I am sleepy, and that I am going to sleep.

11:16 p.m.-Sammie is asleep and snoring softly. Soon, she spreads out on the bed, forcing me into a tiny corner. I eventually migrate to the couch.

Saturday

6:30 a.m.-I show up at Melanee's house for a long run, and explain the story to her. She laughs, calls me a chump, and says she hopes Sammie and I have sleepovers out of our systems for awhile.

Moving tip for today:

• If you follow up a sleepless night with your niece with a nine-mile run with her mother, it is perfectly acceptable to postpone all moving activities to take a nap on your niece's mother's couch.

Sunday: We have dinner together as a family, and, before leaving for home, Sammie asks me if she can spend the night. I tell her she has to sleep many more nights at her house before she can spend another one at my house. And Kevin is not allowed to even think about spending the night until he is potty-trained.

Day 18: Kirtland

Not to be confused with Kirkland, the Costco brand.

This was our last day. In fact, we cut some of the sites short because we had to get to the airport.

Our first stop was the Kirtland Temple. Like many of the prominent sites in my church's history, it is owned by another church, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Community of Christ Church (as it is now called).

The Kirtland Temple was the first temple built after the church was restored. It was dedicated in 1836. Shortly after it was dedicated, the members of the church had to leave it behind. At that time, in Ohio, a church could not own vast amounts of property, and the deed was in Joseph Smith's name. When he died, it went to his children, who eventually sold it or gave it to the RLDS church. Despite this, it is still a very important temple, as it was here where Joseph Smith received the keys to be able to do temple work. These keys have been passed down to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who continue to hold them today. They wouldn't let us take any pictures inside, so this was the best we could do.

We then drove to the Newel K. Whitney store, which is owned by our church. A delightful old missionary gave us a tour of it, the Whitney home, a saw mill, and an ashery before our tour guide found us and sent us back to the bus.

This is the Whitney home. You can see a man working on the garden in the back.

Newel K. Whitney was the first bishop in Kirtland. He owned this store, which had living quarters where Joseph and Emma lived briefly.

It also had an upper room where people would meet, and where men would come to be taught by Joseph. It was here in this upper room where Joseph received the revelation on the Word of Wisdom, which I tried to picture filled with cigar smoke and tobacco spit.

We then made a brief stop at the John Johnson farm, where we got out long enough to go the the bathroom, walk through the house taking pictures, and get back on the bus. The Smith Family also lived here for a time.

They were living here when Joseph was dragged out of the house in the middle of the night and tarred and feathered. The purpose of the tar was to kill the person. The purpose of the feathers was to mock what the person stood for. Joseph lived. However, they had adopted twins, a girl named Julia Murdock, and a boy named Joseph Smith Murdock. Joseph Smith Murdock died as a result of exposure from that night.

And that concluded our church history tour.

We made it to the airport just in time to get those with earlier flights to their gates before their planes took off. And a few short hours later, we were back in Las Vegas.

Some last thoughts:

• It's a long time to be on a bus with the same people.
• We think we got bit by bedbugs when we were in New York. Thanks, New York.
• It was an incredibly efficient way to see a lot of stuff in a short amount of time.
• It was the perfect trip to end my student career.
• Some of my favorite moments were just hanging out with my parents, which I could have done for a lot cheaper had we just stayed in Vegas.
• It was great to be back in upstate New York.

If you are reading this and you are interested in taking a similar tour, here is a link to the Latter Day Tours website. I would recommend it to anyone.