A Happy-Sad Occasion...Maybe More Happy.

Wow...It is Summer time. Officially. All I can say is thank goodness. Somehow I managed to survive my Junior year. I am now a SENIOR! WHOA! This past year has been pretty eventful...all kinds of things have happened. Like me becoming an uncle to the most awesome little nephew EVER. I also managed to get a job in the rough economy, which helped a lot. Today was the last day at school, and at work at the elementary school. It was happy, but also a sad occasion. First of all I am happy that I do not have to wake up in the wee-hours of the morning, get to school, do school work, drive, vacuum for 3 hours, drive some more, walk in my house, do homework, get to sleep, repeat. THANK GOODNESS. However, I am sad that I won't be seeing lots of my friends everyday anymore. I am happy that I won't have to strap on my vacuum and suck up, sand, paper, etc. However I am sad that I won't get to see all the little kids works of art, mis-spelled words, etc. They gave me a good laugh. I did get another job though so that is good. Over the summer you will be able catch me washing windows at least a couple times a week. Woohoo!

All in all though, this was a good year. I think the 26th is a good day. School ended on the 26th this month. Which also happens to be 11 months after I met a person I am really close to now. Crazy. Anyways, I would just like to say that I hope everyone has a fabulous summer. Whatever you may be doing. Me...well...you know. You will catch me on my Mormon Boy Swag. Life is good!

I'm in love.

Many may know that I, in fact, do have a love for art. I'm in love with the visual art as well as the musical art. However, since I am not so musically inclined, I  have a little more of the visual art talents. Now, I definately am not a Picasso by any means. I do believe that I have been blessed with a little talent though. It is just up to me to work with that talent, and become better. There is just some sort of enjoyment that I get from creating something out of nothing. It helps me relax and get away from a lot of the stress of everyday life. That is probably one of the big reasons I want to become an architect when I grow up. ( I still have a while ago until that happens). Without any further ado, here are some of the things that I have created over the last couple of years. Some good...others not so good. Just take a look.

This is probably my most recent stuff...t-shirt designs. These are just a few that have not been accepted.

This was my first design that I ever tried entering into a t-shirt design contest. It didn't get accepted obviously.

This shirt design is actually a sketch I did. I just scanned it into my computer, and did some editing with photoshop.

Quite possibly one of my favorites. Also a drawing that I did, but then edited a little in photoshop. Sad...it wasn't accepted.

Just another one that did not get accepted. I call it, A Loved Heart.

I currently do have a design that is up for voting. It is called Out Of Place. However, it does need a lot more votes if I want it to actually be printed into a shirt though. You can take a look at it HERE.  All you have to do is create an account on this website. Its free and easy. Then vote. It really would be appreciated.

I'm sorry to say that because of technical difficulties I can't get pictures of some of my paintings and drawings on here...I will in the future if i can. Hopefully once I finish the acrylic painting that me and my friend Breanna are workin on I can put that one up on here. It's gonna be sweet.  Once again I apologize for not being able to upload them...I hope you do like what I was able to put up though. :)

Adam Young

As some of you may know...I am an addict. An addict to the wonderful musical artistic abilities of Adam Young. He is more commonly known as Owl City. I know I may be just another obsessive fan...but this guy really does impress me. Not just with his musicly inclined talents. Although I have never actually met him personally...I have a very high respect for him. Call me crazy. I find him to be very humble...unlike a lot of other celebrities. In fact on the inside of his album covers (most of you probably don't have these, because you bought the album off itunes or somethin) but it says "All Praise & Glory to Jesus Christ, to whom I owe everything." This really impresses me. He is not afraid to share what he believes, and he knows that the abilities he has are from Christ. Now I know that Adam is not a Latter Day Saint (Mormon) like myself. He is however a Christian, and I respect him for that. There is a common misconception that Mormons are not Christian, but just for your awareness, we are. We believe in Jesus Christ, which by definition is a Christian. Sorry...I'm gettin a little off track...all I'm trying to say is that I want to be like Adam Young, and not be afraid to share my beliefs with others. So that is exactly what I am going to do. Here are the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as outlined by Joseph Smith:

"1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."
"2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression."
"3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."
"4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."
"5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof."
"6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth."
"7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth."
"8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God."
"9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God."
"10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory."
(bet you know how the next one starts)
"11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."
(got cha there :)
"12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."
"13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

Well that is that. If you have any questions about what I believe, please don't be afraid to ask. I will be happy to answer as best I can. Remember, life is good :)

I Run Into Walls.

Yes, along with sucking floors I manage to do this too. Literally and figuratively. This probably needs a little bit of an explanation, right? Well...here it goes. (Don't laugh too hard).

It happened at work today, May 9, 2011. I was driving to work. Drove down the US60, got off on Gilbert Road, everything is normal. I make my way down Gilbert and turn left at Warner. Everything is fine-n-dandy. My excitement for work is absolutely through the roof at this point, let me tell ya. I pull into the school parking lot and make my way around searching for an open spot. I find one. I make my way towards it and proceed to park my party van. It is a rather large van, so it results in difficulty to park especially for a fairly new driver such as myself. Well as I was parking my beastly van decided it wanted to go up over the curb and then....SMASH into the wall/ fence in front of me. The fence was a little dented and my van got a nice dent in the hood. The bumper kinda broke and the guard for the headlight cracked. On top of that, something (undetermined) underneath the van is preventing me from backing up off the curb. So as of tonight I do not have a vehicle. In the morning (I am going to miss my a-hour and maybe more school) I get to wake up and meet a tow truck down there with my mom in order to get the van off the stupid curb at 6:30 in the morning. YAY!

Needless to say, I feel like the stupidest person in the world. I understand that accidents happen. I can tell you that this feeling feels worse than locking your keys in your car. I've also done that. The good thing is that I am learning...even if it is the hard way. Hopefully, you can learn from my mistakes though. This mistake is teaching me how to take responsibility for my mistakes. I can honestly tempted not to tell any of the school administration and just act like nothing happened. But sometimes, you just need to man up and take a hit. It may knock you down, but you just get stronger when you pick yourself back up.

Sometimes, we run into figurative walls in life. They can be a lot of different things, they are our trials. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. It isn't because they are doing something wrong. It is just because our Heavenly Father or God. Whatever you know him as, he gives us trials to make us stronger and better people.

My favorite scripture is 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
"9) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

What this is saying is that we become strong through our weaknesses. We just to learn from our mistakes, and do better the next time. When we hit that wall, realize what you have done, and correct it. Even get a little laugh out of it if you can. It will get better.

p.s. The offer for a book of Mormon is still there. Don't be afraid to ask, I will be happy to give you one. Then you can have some Mormon boy/girl swag :)

Who Am I To Judge?

One Hundred years from now

it will not matter what kind of car I drove,

what kind of house I lived in,

how much was in my bank account,

nor what my clothes looked like

BUT it may be a little better

because

I was important in the life

of a child

While working, I found this little saying/ poem thing. It kind of stuck out to me. I think we all should try to be important in at least one person's life. It doesn't even have to be in a child's life. It could even just be some random guy on the street. On Thursday on my way to work, I was pulling off the US 60 onto Gilbert Road. On the off ramp, there was a man sitting on the corner with a cardboard sign...I wasn't able to catch exactly what it said. I was sitting at the stop light and he was sitting on the ground next to my van (aka. the party van). I grabbed my wallet and pulled out a little money. I then proceeded to roll down my window. That man popped up off the ground so fast. As I handed him that little bit of cash, he thanked me. I could tell that he was really grateful. As I looked back, people in cars behind me started doing the same thing.

Now, I may never see that man ever again, but I feel that I had some importance in his life. Even if it was just a little. I know people usually say that people like that brought their situation upon themselves. Maybe that is the case...but who am I to judge? With the economy the way it is right now, anything is possible. So, when I see those kind of people, I try my best to help them out...because even if they are lying, or do not do good things with what is given to them, those choices are their own. I know that I will be blessed either way, because I was willing and able to help. That is all that matters. So whenever you see people like that, if you are able to, help them out. It gives you a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that you may have just helped someone in need. I know if I was ever in a situation like that, I would love all the help I could get, and I am sure you wouldn't mind the help either. That is all for now, Life is good and you are important in at least one person's life. Remember that.

Back to Elementary

Well once again, I went back to elementary school this past week. Sorry to say that I did not come up with very many funny photographs this time. I apologize. However, it still was a pretty eventful week. On Monday, Chris, the full time janitor quit. Just out of the blue as far as I know. I was not told the reason. The school then wanted to make me the full time janitor, but because I am still in school, I am not able to do that. Oh well. So someone named Tammy was hired. She is nice, but not as cool as Chris. Oh well I suppose. I have gotten a lot faster at my job too, so that is good. One of the posters in the classroom says, "Effort....work hard to get good. Then work harder to get better" I feel as if I am doing a good job at that when it comes to vacuuming. Another thing that happened this week was that on Thursday I blew the motor out in my vacuum when I was about half way done. Luckily, there was a backup vacuum so I was able to finish. It was still kinda crazy though. Friday was a halfday for both me and the school that I work at, so I was able to go in early, so that was nice. I also got my first paycheck yesterday, 50% goes to mission fund, 10% to tithing so I am left with about...$50. That is better than nothin. :) Also, for those of you who do not know. I consider myself an artist. That is probably why I am going into AP art next year. Anyways, I am going to be in the district art show this year. Found that out on Thursday and I am super excited. Also I have been making designs and submitting them to a company called Threadless. I have had quite a few rejected, but on Friday my first design was accepted! You can check it out and vote on it HERE..Now I am just waiting for one other event, the birth of my first niece/nephew. Hopefully he/she will be here soon. (my sister and her husband didn't find out what gender the baby is) It's a SURPRISE!

So as I pace through the classrooms of elementary school I have quite a lot of time to just think. As I was thinkin this week, we all need to take a step back to elementary school and learn something. I think all the basic things we need to know to survive in the crazy world can be found behind these very walls. In kindergarten we learn how to count, how to read, we learn the value of money, etc. I mean...what else do we really need? The world is kinda spinning out of control, but we just need to be like little kids. Simplify our lives just a bit. Maybe it would even help straighten out some of the conflicts that we have in the world today.
Mosiah 3:19 "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." (For those of you who don't know, that is from the Book of Mormon. I suggest you read it. If you don't have one, I can get you one. Just ask. And if you have any questions, I don't mind trying to answer those :)

One last thing before I end...You know how I showed you the picture of the name tag for the kid with the coolest name in the whole school? Well I also really like this one :)

I Suck Floors.

Well to start off, I'm sure that the title of this post needs a bit of an explanation. Some of you may know, but for those of you who don't, I got a job earlier this week. I now suck floors for a living at an elementary school. Benjamin Franklin Charter School Gilbert Campus to be exact. I am the new vacuumer, or as my father would say, I am a Sanitational Engineer. I was lucky enough to land this job, because I have some amazing young men leaders that hooked me up. Thank you Brother DeWitt and Brother Robison. So Monday through Friday, from about 3:30pm to about 6:30pm you can catch me walking about this school, jamming out to my tunes, and vacuuming up the little messes (occasionally big) that these youngins like to leave for me.

It isn't a very social job. 99% of the time I am all by my lonesome. There is Chris (the school janitor who does everything except vacuum). He is pretty cool, but I only run into him (not literally) and talk to him on occasion. So while I am all by myself...I need to find some sort of entertainment. Sometimes I sing along to my music...but let me tell ya...there are a lot of little funny things that can be found in elementary classrooms. So I have decided to share a few photos of what I have found during my first week of work.

I found this little reminder on the desk. However, the poor little guy's desk was pulled away from all the others. I felt kinda bad for him. I mean the teacher tried to be nice by putting a smiley at the end of the note...but really...come on now. He is just trying to make new friends.

 This was the handwriting technique of the day. And for all of you who think my handwriting is good, here is the secret. ;)

 I loved the Magic Tree House. Good Memories :)

 Box of tooth picks in the desk? This kid must get food stuck in his teeth a lot.

 I still haven't found the chihuahua.

 Dirty sock on a desk? Disgusting.

 Oooo...I found its missing dirty sock buddy. But in a different classroom? Weird.

 This kid has the coolest name by far in the entire school.


Well that wraps up the photos from this week. It was a very adventurous first week of work. I am glad I was blessed with this opportunity. Now I can start saving up for my mission that I will be leaving on in about two years. I am way excited. Remember to take notice of the little things. Especially the ones that make you laugh.