You can only hide for so long....

I ducked and dodged for as long as I could, but I finally got caught. I have been called to the calling that I never wanted -- ward missionary. I will be released from my cushy job as an assistant to the high priest group leader, and will actually have to go out and meet people. Inactive and non-member people, at that. Oh my.

Oh well. I used to be the one to preach that people should get out of their comfort zones. Now I am taking my own medicine.

Graffiti as art

These are images I took when Ashley and I went to the "Graffiti Building" and old streetcar out by the Great Salt Lake the last time we went to visit. I boosted the color quite a bit on the shot above, which is I think a paintball hit. It looks pretty modern artsy to me.
This one I really like a lot. I boosted the color on it too. I am thinking of making an enlargement and framing it. Lots of color.
This third shot I like too. It's not as abstract, but I like the colors splashed on the old building. I appreciate good graffiti.

My Toyota is giving me the swine flu!

And it's all George Bush's fault, and it's snowed today because of global warming. We also need an expensive new health care bill that we can't afford because if we don't get it, the economy won't rebound. Businesses won't hire anyone unless they are burdened with more taxes and debt. We must spend ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren into oblivion because if we don't, we won't be able to get out of debt. We can't save money unless we spend it first. (That's not working at my house.) To top it all off, we have more oil underneath the ground in our own country than the whole middle east combined, but it's better to leave it there and get if from overseas because if we get it here, we will cause too much prosperity. And maybe kill some spider or lizard that needs to live or the whole planet will become a living hell.

Am I ready to run for congress yet?

KD0KIT

That's my call sign for my amateur radio license. I passed my test a couple of weeks ago and last Friday I got the call sign. WooHoo! Now I can spend money on radio equipment (I already have) and talk to other amateurs over the airwaves! For what reason, I'm not sure, except that the church is setting up an emergency net for when the big one hits. Other than that, it's mostly on-air gabbing and gossip. I have only transmitted a couple of times, but a start is a start. By this time next year I will probably be up the next step to General class, from Technician, which is what I am now. Hello, World! Or maybe Hello, Grand Valley! Gotta start small.

The Promised Land

Have you ever watched one of those "documentary" shows trying to pinpoint where the Garden of Eden was at the dawn of man's history? It's amazing to me that they are nosing all around the middle east looking for the location of the famous garden, and do it mostly because there is a river in the area named the Euphrates. This happens to be the name of one of the rivers near the Garden of Eden that is mentioned in Genesis. Trouble is, these people forget all about a little thing called The Flood, where Noah and his group of people and animals floated around for a while until the waters receded. They don't know, and most of the world doesn't know, that the Garden of Eden was located in good old Missouri, and when Adam and Eve were cast out, they moved out about 60 miles is all, and there human history began. The river named Euphrates was in North America.

No wonder the Lord calls this the "Promised Land." It was choice enough for God to place the Garden of Eden here, and for the human race to begin here. It is choice enough for the gospel to be restored here, too. We should feel grateful and inspired that we are able to live in such a choice (that word again) location, and we can snigger at the boobs who think that the Garden of Eden was in the dusty old middle east. All they have to do is listen to the modern day prophets, and they would know. Why don't they?

I am hitting my first slump

I have been religiously tracking my calories, proteins, carbs, and weight for the entire month of January, but the last couple of days I have wanted to eat more than I am allowed. I took a couple of days off from working out too. I scraped the skin off the back of my left hand (not all of it, just a patch about an inch square) and I was told by Doc Doyle to stay out of the pool for a few days until it heals over. I have been on the stationary bike instead, but I need some variety. I can't run yet because of my knee. I am beginning to wonder if it will ever get back to normal. I still limp on it, although I consciously try not to. People at work tell me every day that I am still limping. Like I don't know myself.

Ah, well. I don't mind a couple of lazy and overindulgent days. I think it's actually good for the system. Shakes things up a little. I let myself have a free day once a week, usually on Saturday. I guess this week I will have two and they will be on Wednesday and Thursday.

By the way, Jennifer and Rebecca are trying to talk Cathy into applying for The Biggest Loser show. They almost have her convinced.

The training has begun!

One of my goals for this year is to lose 50 pounds, hopefully not by losing my head, and participate in the Highline Hustle Triathlon again, and by extension, the Black Canyon Tri in Montrose. With the knee surgery and all, I have been pretty sedentary, with a few excursions on the stationary bike in the garage as my only exercise.

Last week, though, with the holidays officially over, I began a nutrition plan. I downloaded an app onto my handy dandy IPOD Touch called Tap and Track, that takes personal information like height and weight, and lets you pick out a weight loss plan (mine is 2 pounds per week), then gives you a database to track what you eat and how many calories, grams of fat, carbs, proteins, and all that stuff you consume per day. It keeps a log, and is portable and easy. It also uses your personal info to determine how many calories per day you get. There is an exercise portion that estimates the number of calories burned for the exercise you do, and adds those calories to your allowance. So far in the first week I lost about 3 pounds.

Also, today I began swimming. I had to get up at 0600, which for me is agony and requires the self-discipline of a saint, and go to the Orchard Mesa Pool for lap swim, because it's scheduled from 0630 to 0815 M-F. Once I got there I was glad I went and got tired really fast. Showed me that I needed it.

A couple of months ago I got a $150 gift certificate from the city for 15 years of work, and I used part of it to buy a swim mask and snorkel. I have a problem swimming freestyle because I always breath in water after about a quarter of a lap, and have to change strokes. The upside of the mask and snorkel is that I can swim freestyle and breathe without any water. I tried it today and it worked great. The snorkel takes some getting used to, but with practice it will be fine. The downside is that Rebecca has promised to tease me without mercy if she sees me wearing it. She thinks the little eye cups are all that are stylish enough for someone to be seen wearing in the pool. I don't care. Last year I wore my wet suit in the pool, to get used to it before the race. She never wore hers in the pool.

When I put on the mask, I think I look like Russell Crowe when he puts on the helmet and mask in the movie. MY NAME IS GLADIATOR!