it's july 31st everybody

Birthdays have proven to be rather depressing for me. Last year I kept silent about my birthday the whole month of July and then was very disappointed when no one remembered (my own fault, I know) I've been trying to have a positive attitude this year.

Yesterday, my family came down to Provo and took me out for dinner. Aside from the food I ordered being less than par (my fault again) I was really grateful that they would come down to say hello and buy my food.

Oh and my mom gave me a new blanket she made. Boy was I glad to throw away the old one. (Amber I love you and your family even though I can't come up to see you. I've appreciated your comments on my blog lately.)

They bought me an ice cream cake and I had a bit with a few friends last night. Can I say that two of my favorites ice cream flavors are Mint Chocolate Chip and Butter Pecan. Oh my! Then later on my good friend Erin stopped by to pick up her wallet and give me MORE ice cream (Cookies & Cream, a classic).

There I thought my birthday wishes were done and that I could then begin to settle into depression for the next day. Nope! At 12:01 am, Lavish, Dimmi, and Krishna stopped by my apartment with a giant cupcake. Seriously, that's what it looked like. They sang a little song and then I kicked them out (it was after curfew mind you).

This morning my roommate said HB and then I ran off to work. My Dad was in Provo so we headed off to lunch at Gurus on Center Street. Oh my that place does not disappoint me ever (I've only been twice).

When I got back to the office, the staff came singing to my desk with a loaf of Bread from the Cougareat, chocolate milk, and a card signed by everyone. It really was a touching card. I appreciate them a lot.

An that's where I am. I don't care if nothing else happens tonight. I'd like to get work off this evening but even if that doesn't happen I'm thankful for the day I've had so far. I'm surrounded by good family, friends, and coworkers.

Happy Birthday to me.

Controversy over my tongue

I've received a couple of harsh emails in reference to my Letter of Complaint to Red Robin. Comments have varied from "#@$!" to "You don't know what you're talking about."

I would just like to say that my complaint letter to Red Robin was fair in my mind. i explained I had very high hopes for their restaurant but just that the two times I have been there I was disappointed.

My experience may not compare with those of anyone who glances at this blog but that's just fine. I was not telling people to NOT go there. In fact, I plainly stated that I planned on returning. Feel free to continue to send me more hate mail if you feel my food and service critique was against your own judgment.

On a happier note. I want to go to Red Robin to give it one more shot (as promised in my complaint letter). Any suggestions on what i should order? Anyone want to come with?

A video without a paper bag

Last week I went hiking in the Subway of Zion National Park. Pretty much a blast. Anyway, I just received an email stating the Zion Backcountry has just been closed due to wildfires and they are not issuing any permits. In the spirit of wanting to make other hikers jealous I decided to post a short video clip of my trip.

Snippet

I just spent the past two hours working on applications to become writers for the Board and I fear I'll be spending another hour on them later on. Thank goodness Yellow occasionally assigns me questions. I haven't taken the time to do much reading lately in the inbox so I'm a bit lacking there. Things are picking up though. It's all about getting organized.

So this past weekend I went down to the Subway hike in Zion National Park. Amazing! Sure my heels are covered in open sores now but it was still a blast for me. Apologies to Smo but props to her as well since she really did do a good job on the hike.

K, time to grab some lunch and then get back to work.

Bad Jokes

A Bb, Db, and an F walk into a bar. Bartender says "Sorry i can't serve you. You're minors."

What do you get when you cross holy water with a laxative? A religious movement.

Knock knock
Who's there?
Dyslexia
Dyslexia hoW?

Are you virtue? Because you've been garnishing my thoughts all day.

A man is feeling poorly so he goes to his Doctor. After numerous tests the doc says "I'm sorry but you have an incurable condition and there is nothing more I can do for you." The man pleads with the Doctor to suggest anything he might do to improve his condition and the Dr. then suggests that he go to the spa and take a daily mud bath. "Is there any hope of a cure?" the man asks. "No" says the Doctor, "but it will help you get used to dirt."

So the dyslexic walked into the bra.

Why does an archaeologist make a good husband? Because the older you get, the more interested he is in you.

Further on up the road

It's been about two months since Foodie and I stopped dating. I've been on maybe 5 real real dates since then and a whole lot of "hang out" dates. That's not how it should be. I am a dater. I date for fun. That's how I get my social fix. I'm not embarrassed to say that I've gotten fairly good at it too. But these past two months I've been letting myself fill my time work and hanging out. That's not the way to move on.

I'm hitting myself in the head for writing this post but I really have to get this out.

I haven't really opened my heart to too many people. But this past time I really did. I was more honest with her and myself than I have been in a long time. So it hurt when we ended things.

Generally after a breakup I get out into the dating field, not worried about finding the next love of my life but more concerned about making sure I'm actively dating. I believe strongly that as I date just for fun then Heavenly Father blesses me every so often with a girl that I am completely surprised to meet. I'm thrown off my feet every time. It's only happened a maybe 3 times but it's surprised me every time and each time the girl is more wonderful than the previous ones. Along with that though is always the fear that the girl I just broke up with was the best girl I'm ever going to find. Ugh.

Lately, I haven't been doing my part by dating. I blame it on work, or my calling, or other responsibilities. But if I'm honest with myself I don't know that all of me wants to move on. I can think of so many reasons why I should be glad that relationship was over but none of them really outshine how I felt and how I feel when I look back on it. I'm trying not to look back on it.

I'll get dating again. Let me get through the next few weeks of vacations and I'll be sure to get out there again. It has to be a priority. I know.

85 more days

This morning marks the 5th day of my new life as the ideal of masculinity. Adonis, Fabio, step aside. There's a new temptation for womankind walking out onto the floor and his name is [insert my real name here].

That's right. My sculpted chest, toned arms, and chiseled abs will soon be very dangerous to witness. Women will be unable to control their carnal desires and men will be unable to control their women.

Yes, I have started the new P90X system with my personal trainer Tony Horton (via DVD). Every morning I wake up my neighbors and we sweat up a storm and an hour later are left unable to stand. I seriously wake up almost every morning jumping at the chance to pop in the next DVD and get working. Monday was chest and back. Tuesday - plyometrics. Wednesday - arms and shoulders. Thursday - Yoga. Friday - legs and back. Saturday (tomorrow) - kenpo. I'm really liking these workout DVDs. The recovery drink isn't too shabby either.

Take this as a warning girls of the greater Provo area. In less than 90 days there will be three new guilty pleasures in your lives: me and my two neighbors.

I miss Shakespeare

Anyone want to drive down to the Utah Shakespearean Festival with me to see a show? It doesn't even have to be Shakespeare (though it really ought to be). Tickets would be $32. Throw in gas money and it's an easy 50 bucks we're spending but come on! It's so good!

Hmph...seriously...anyone want to come along?

Tac, tac, tac...

Today I'm playing the role of accountant. It's kind of fun actually. I never realized counting beans could bring such a smile to my face.

I'm very excited for the projects I have lined up for this summer and fall semester.

I'm very tempted to just type and forget I have a secret identity.

My thoughts today

Every time it happens it leaves me with a void,
The space left from my thoughts dedicated to her.
It's a tough thing to fill that.

Every time it happens I've felt a peace,
A confirmation that this was the right choice.
It's a comfort to know I'm on the right path.

This time when it happened I felt the void.
The peaceful confirmation hasn't come yet.
I'm betting it will.

just another note

It looks like as of today my blog has received 2,007 visits this year. Cool.

Today I respect Superman.

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately and have decided the blogs I like to read aren't written to be read. The writers talk about their lives and stories without thinking of who might be reading it. That sounds so freeing to me and I'm honestly thinking about giving up my identity.

I've been Just Another Cassio since August of last year. Me and JAC were all to ourselves until I decided to apply to be a writer for the Board. My roommate knew I was applying and one night we shared our pseudonyms with each other. It was intense I tell you.

I'm not one that likes to keep secrets about myself. When I started this blog I wanted to have an outlet to write about my thoughts and life and even my opinions about what goes on. Admittedly I love to tell stories. This blog seemed like an avenue I could use to develop that interest.

Secret identities have a dark side though. Everytime I start to write something on my blog I end up erasing it because I'm just not sure if it gives too much info regarding myself. For the past 9 months I've been guarding who I am and I'm starting to ask myself "why?." I can't imagine how Clark Kent did it (or does it).

I see only two options to this dilemma:

1. Share my real name with the world.
2. Forget about the reader and write to write.

Not too sure what I'll do yet, but I'm excited for either prospect.

Someone reads my posts

Here's an email I received in response to one of my posts today on the Board:

Dear JAC,

The advertising for your "Mesopotamian Miracle" treatment was convincing. If I had any money, you can be assured that I would wire it to you posthaste.

I would contact you in regards to your stock of snake oils, but I am afraid I have been subjected to a great deal of those recently. I'm just about "snake oiled" out. Maybe later, eh?

I wish you the best of luck in what is no doubt an illustrious and lucrative business.

-"FrankenFinger"

Any other takers? :)

A girl named Foodie Squarp: what not to say for a pickup line

If you haven't guessed from my lack of posts to this blog, I've been a little distracted this past month. From the title of this post you're probably guessing that I've gone a few rounds with true love and it's occupied my time so much that I've forgotten you few that read my blog. That's not entirely true.

I fell prey to the distraction of finals like most students during the month of April. Not an excuse? Oh I think it's a very good excuse. Of course quite a few other writers have been posting to their blogs despite finals. That's where the second part comes in and if my calculations from which of my posts has been read the most then this second part is the more interesting part for you all.

Back in February I received an application for a date. Yes, I have a dating application. It's been online for a while and I'd say all in all I've received 4 apps. This particular application was from a young lady by the pseudonym of Foodie Squarp. When I received Foodie's app I quickly read through it and then looked her up on Facebook. Yes, I admit I'm superficial to a certain extent and wanted to see what she looked like. You would have done the same had you been in my position. Admit it.

She looked like a cute little Asian girl but it just wasn't the time for me to go on a blind date. It turns out that she wasn't Asian in the least bit and that's okay. I'm not particularly attracted nor turned off by the Asian persuasion but it's been a funny anecdote since.

Come March, I was over my last romantic pursuit and in a mood that I thought it might be nice to go on blind date for a little fun. I pulled up my applications and decided I wanted to take Foodie out on a date. I asked her out. She said yes.

(There's more of a story here than I'm letting on but I'm not really in the mood to type a whole lot so maybe if you request the story I'll share it.)


The date was a whole lot of fun and I just felt really comfortable with her. It amazes me how natural everything was. We decided to go out the next weekend but saw each other pretty much everyday until then as well. Our first date was March 23rd. Since then, I'll admit that we've only gone 2 days without seeing each other. There have been a lot of very fun dates and nice moments.

She's a real sweet girl. I'm very happy she's put up with me for these past 5 weeks.


There you go everyone! Happy? It's been a while. I guess the above anecdote wasn't too funny though. For those of you that need a laugh:

Yesterday, Foodie was laying on the couch and I came and sat on the edge of the couch right in front of her. I then laid back so my back was somewhat arched over her till my shoulder blades were in contact with the couch. For some reason, this position made me think it'd be nice to pop my back like this. So in an effort to get more pressure on my back I kindly asked Foodie, "Care to throw your hips in my direction?"


Not something you should use as a pickup line. I didn't and never will.

I'm back

Hello everyone! I do apologize for my league of absence but it seems that I decided to give up my blog for the rest of Lent. It was nice but now I'm back.

What happened in all that time?

• I've taken a couple of exams.
• I've started to stress for finals.
• We hired 3 new writers to the Board.
• I met a great girl.
• I made Japanese food.
• I watched conference.
• I celebrated Easter.

Lot's of stuff I know. Don't worry, I'll think up something interesting to write soon enough. For now just know that I've missed writing but am thankful for the break. :)

Just another fluid approach to Catholocism

I would like to announce that I've gone nearly a whole week following my original Lent vow to be more responsible in my sleep habits.

It's been fantastic! My mind has been clearer and I've started to notice other vices I have. Vices that I really shouldn't have. For that reason I have decided that my Lent is going to be a weekly thing. So cross "Sleeping habits" off my list cause that baby's done!

This week I'm going to focus on Text Messaging. I've been doing it far too often. I blame it on my new phone. Why am I giving up txt messaging? I think I've been using it so much it is interfering with my communication with others instead of helping it.

So there you go. One week without sending one text message. I can do it I swear!

Tonight I hate Lent

Very few people are aware of my resolution for Lent this year. I tend to stay up until the wee hours of the morning and wake up with the minimum time necessary for me ot arrive to class on time. I decided I would use Lent to better my sleeping stragies.

Sunday thru Thursday I have to be in bed by 11 p.m.
Monday thru Friday I have to be up by 7 a.m.


I know there are plenty of you that wake up much earlier than I do. I'm not comparing myself to you though. I'm just trying to show a little more discipline in my life.

Tonight I hate discipline.

At 11 o'clock I went to bed. I went in my room and got underneath the covers and waited for sleep to come. I waited, and waited, and waited...

Two hours later I gave up on bed and came out to complain to you all. I lay in my bed for two hours feeling resentment towards Lent just as a little child feels resentment towards his parents when told to go to bed before the summer sun goes down.

I don't think I broke my vow for Lent though. I gave it the good ole college try tonight. We can just say I got up extremely early this morning and went to bed again. I'll be up at 7 though. Don't worry.

Just another favorite sin

I have a parking ticket I need to pay.

I'm banned from parking or driving on BYU property for a whole year, no wait...11 1/2 months.

My favorite sin is parking illegally.

Repentance is hard.

(more on this later)

Some cars just can't rock

After my Technical Writing class I got into my car and the sweet tunes of Boston's Smokin' were sounding from my speakers. Good song, good song.

So I pulled around the corner and was stopped at a light behind some white car. I didn't pay much attention to the make and model. I apologize. Both of us had our blinkers on to turn left.

Two cars stopped at a light, both waiting to go the same direction. One difference: the white car's blinker was synced with Boston. Mine wasn't.

Sad day, sad day.

A missionary story...Board-style

Last night I received word that Chrissy (Google Video Girl in Green) found my post advertising my intent to meet her rather...creepy.

I felt bad. Very bad. This morning I decided to give up my identity to her and apologize. I don't think she would mind me sharing her reply:

Hey [revealed identity of JAC],

Please don't apologize... [your informant] must've gotten the wrong idea from when I was telling him the story at [some place] yesterday. I asked him if he knew who JAC was, (I saw you two were friends on facebook) But he said he knew you only through the 100 hour board. So I proceeded to tell him how we came to find out about your blog,

(Basically a girl in our ward told Chaela that "some guy wrote a blog about how he wants to go on a date with Chrissy")

When Chaela told me this, before either of us had read the blog, I'm sure you can imagine we were both a little "creeped out."

But after reading it, and corresponding with you (on Chaela's end), we think you're a really nice guy, and we're amazed at how fast [your blog post] got back to us!

We know we're no professional film-makers, but it's very flattering to have people we don't even know singing praises about our movies, and us!

So thanks, and please don't erase your blogs. Because A: They're really good, B: It's a really cool story, and C: They're probably boosting our movies' popularity.

So... I'm sorry if you heard wrong, but basically we thought the whole thing was really cool, and didn't find it creepy because we knew if you were a member of the 100 Hour Board, and had your own blog, then you must be pretty internet savvy, and could've easily looked me up on facebook, myspace, or BYU's directory, and contacted me in any of those ways. But the fact that you didn't told us you weren't creepy at all. And from that point on we considered it flattering.

Well I hope this all made sense. Basically you're not creepy and we think you're really cool. (And now we've discovered the 100 Hour board.) I'm sure I'll meet you eventually, and there's no point in us avoiding each other until then. Talk to you later!
-Chrissy

There you have it. I'm not creepy, in fact, I'm really cool. What a roller coaster this day has been. Even more important than that though, two more people have been introduced to the Board. This is the kind of story you write home about.

Thanks Chrissy and Chaela for the good words and welcome to Board culture.

For all of you that are still in the dark as to who these two girls are then check out this video.