I agree fully. Enough said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-karel-bouley/its-not-maine-its-the-pro_b_345248.html
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Portraits
Nostalgia at it's finest
Recently I was chatting with a friend about how things have changed and stayed the same. Many of my good friends and I met my freshman year of college, and although that is a relatively short time frame for many, it is a long time for me. Generally speaking, I would argue that most people change and come in to themselves the most between ages 18 and 25, thus the time gap we have known each other seems quite significant.
Getting back to the point, there have been a lot of great times. Casandra found a document, or whatever one would call it, describing a party that a Casandra, Bri, and I had gone to freshman year. Although we have been to plenty since, this party has sort of gone down in the books as famous. I don't know if it was because we were so young, if it was the crowd that was throwing it, or if it was purely one of the first parties we had ever attended; but it was a phenomenal party at the time. With that being said, after reading the document about our experience I find it amazing how much can be lost or forgotten if not recorded. Casandra sent me this, and there were so many things on there that I had totally forgotten about, and I remembered anew the utter excitement of attending that party. So, without further adieu I have posted the document. I hope everyone gets as much entertainment from this as I did!
Outline of Party Piracy Mayhem October 25 – 26
I. Casandra’s Horrible Lie (4: 10 am)
II. The “Yelling in the Background” phone call
III. Shopping:
A. Toys ‘R’ Us
B.
C. Shopko
D. Closed DI
E. Pib’s exchange (costume was too expensive, but ended up less expensive than outfits: Casandra = Fashion Diva)
F. Walk back from Pibs.... “ok RUN!!!”
IV. Called Kelly (alcohol v. freeloading)
V. Drove past house and Jesse looked out the window @ our car (
VI. Called Dustin and asked about the 7 ppl who were there/costumes
VII. The Impossible Crush
VIII. Got Dressed (took forever)
IX. Goal to go to car to get boots.
X. Andrew stopped by to ask Bri out on a date.
XI. Call Dustin and find out it’s a big party
XII. Go to party and there’s this peeing guy outside...Casandra threw a fit...and a new wave acid boy who told us our costumes were underdressed.
XIII. Found Dustin, (Casandra got cherries and a coke). Darren had a mind of his own with Bri and the Beer.
XIV. Everything runs together – different stories.
XV. Casandra went outside to get Twister and Robin saw a police car go by...she said it was fine.
XVI. We all met in dance room and somebody said there was a cop. We took off through the back and tried to convince Spencer/John (aka hot blonde boy) not to drive drunk.
XVII. Bri changed in the middle of the sidewalk.
XVIII. Walked home....fought about whether to go up or down on
XIX. Ran into a bunch of guys in ties (Jessica thought they were from the party).
XX. Bri peed in the
XXI. Stole treats from Pyjama Party
XXII. Visited Kelsy and Joshua.
XXIII. Called Dustin & Alex.
XXIV. Alex and friend came to dorms (got a speeding ticket on the way).
XXV. Went back to house to get twister, sword, camera, and keys...Dustin waiting on couch with only twister.
XXVI. Sneaking through naked bodies looking for keys...look for keys at car, but get locked out of house. Call Alex, but no answer.
XXVII. Snuggle up on couch and alex calls us. Jessica doesn’t know what he said...we’ll just wait for everybody to wake up.
XXVIII. Alex took us home. (
Monday, May 11, 2009
Speed Scrabble with a Twist
Friday night Casandra, Natalie, and I attended a mutual friend of ours "non-baby baby shower." One might question what sort of party that is. Too shed light on it, he was having a vasectomy the following day. I won't go into the details surrounding his decision but will state it was/is a positive thing for him. Anyhow, when we arrived they were playing scrabble. It was not the normal scrabble however it was speed scrabble with a twist!
Those of you who are not familiar with speed scrabble it is a version not including the board. All of the scrabble pieces are placed in the middle of the table. Everyone picks five pieces and has to try and create scrabble with the five pieces. When one person has accomplished using all five pieces he/she yells go! Everyone then continues to pick two more until again someone yells go. When all of the pieces are done, rather than count words everyone creates a story using their board.
I thoroughly enjoyed playing this. I generally like normal scrabble, however the time it takes to play makes it a bit taxing at times. This version is quick and the story adds a lot of humor. Following a few glasses of wine the stories become pretty hilarious. I thought I would add this snippet of information on to everyone in case someone wants to give it a try. It is my new favorite game and I could not be more thrilled. I am planning on going home to Colorado tomorrow to visit the family for a bit and fully intend on introducing them to it as well. Cheers!
Those of you who are not familiar with speed scrabble it is a version not including the board. All of the scrabble pieces are placed in the middle of the table. Everyone picks five pieces and has to try and create scrabble with the five pieces. When one person has accomplished using all five pieces he/she yells go! Everyone then continues to pick two more until again someone yells go. When all of the pieces are done, rather than count words everyone creates a story using their board.
I thoroughly enjoyed playing this. I generally like normal scrabble, however the time it takes to play makes it a bit taxing at times. This version is quick and the story adds a lot of humor. Following a few glasses of wine the stories become pretty hilarious. I thought I would add this snippet of information on to everyone in case someone wants to give it a try. It is my new favorite game and I could not be more thrilled. I am planning on going home to Colorado tomorrow to visit the family for a bit and fully intend on introducing them to it as well. Cheers!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Mexico
I recently went to Mexico with my friend's Juliann and Chelly. Shirin also came for part of the time. I had a fantastic time. Our fun ranged from beach hopping, disco, horseback/donkey rides, fishing, and having a generally good time. Below are some of the photos from the trip.
Surfing
While Casandra and I were in Costa Rica we went surfing. It was one of the highlights of the trip. Casandra had most of the surfing photos on her camera for some reason. She has been a bit of a slacker uploading them and sending them. Although they are difficult to see, the little specks are us! I thought I would share it because I'm not very modest and very proud of the fact I can surf!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Rafting the Nile
I just got back from Mexico and will update my blog about the trip soon. In the meantime I have uploaded a short clip of Shirin and I rafting the Nile from last year. Shirin came to Mexico with me and informed me that her mom uploaded a youtube video on it. Here it is!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Black Listed
Those of you who know me probably know that I am involved in several organizations in support of gay rights. The most recent being Marriage Equality Utah which has been involved in Equality Utah to launch the Common Ground's Initiative in Utah. The goal of the initiative is to give gay couples medical and housing rights. The first leg of the initiative got shot down at the legislature. It would have allowed a gay partner already on the will to sue in wrongful death cases.
What is this diatribe of mine coming down to? The Sutherland Institute (a right wing think tank) and the Eagle Forum have banned together to start their own campaign against the Common Ground Initiative. They claim that it is a ploy to eventually fight for gay marriage to be legalized in Utah or at least will pave a path in which it is possible. The Sutherland Institute was holding a press conference/meeting to launch its campaign. It was set to be open to the public as long as you reserved a seat. Casandra and I did so in hopes of listening to what they had to say. Granted it would not change our minds but we were still interested. We showed up only to be escorted out by security!!! We didn't even make it in the doors. Apparently they connected our names to the organizations we are involved in and black listed us from attending the event. To add to the humorous and slightly offensive action, the person at the door is someone I work with!
I am a little proud that I am involved in a group that is so well known that we can't attend our oppositions events. I am a little annoyed by their tactics. I could understand if we were to be disruptive and rude inside the event, but to not even let us in and claim it is a public event is a bit absurd. It only makes me strengthen my beliefs. It is clear that these people don't want anything to do with civil communication or even understanding where others are coming from. It was my hope to understand them a bit more but I leave with more of a biased opinion against them and their goals.
What is this diatribe of mine coming down to? The Sutherland Institute (a right wing think tank) and the Eagle Forum have banned together to start their own campaign against the Common Ground Initiative. They claim that it is a ploy to eventually fight for gay marriage to be legalized in Utah or at least will pave a path in which it is possible. The Sutherland Institute was holding a press conference/meeting to launch its campaign. It was set to be open to the public as long as you reserved a seat. Casandra and I did so in hopes of listening to what they had to say. Granted it would not change our minds but we were still interested. We showed up only to be escorted out by security!!! We didn't even make it in the doors. Apparently they connected our names to the organizations we are involved in and black listed us from attending the event. To add to the humorous and slightly offensive action, the person at the door is someone I work with!
I am a little proud that I am involved in a group that is so well known that we can't attend our oppositions events. I am a little annoyed by their tactics. I could understand if we were to be disruptive and rude inside the event, but to not even let us in and claim it is a public event is a bit absurd. It only makes me strengthen my beliefs. It is clear that these people don't want anything to do with civil communication or even understanding where others are coming from. It was my hope to understand them a bit more but I leave with more of a biased opinion against them and their goals.
Costa Rica
After having been back from Costa Rica for over a month now, I have decided to post a blog about the trip. I recently realized that I post much less frequently than I used to. The primary reason for this is that now that I am not living abroad I have much less interesting experiences. If I post they are usually rants of mine which likely very few people even care about. For those of you who bug me to update my blog (Casandra) here you go. By the way, Casandra almost died following our trip because she caught a disease. The entire time we were in Costa Rica she kept having medical mishaps (mosquito bites and faulty ankle). 
We joked that she would catch something more serious…and low and behold she did. It was not really funny when it happened though!
Casandra and I started off on our adventure by arriving in San Jose.
San Jose was not that exciting aside from some of the clubbing and people we met. I am not going to go into lots of detail about the trip because people seem to respond better to pictures. I will say that while in San Jose we met Michelle from New York whom ended up backpacking with us for at least half of the trip. I had a random Rasta take a picture of me while I was sleeping on a hammock. I woke up and yelled at him. This was after he had made the rounds of hitting on Casandra, Michelle, and I. Casandra hooked me up with some guy (in a not so conscience state) whom followed me the entire evening we were clubbing. We went to the Arenal Volcano in which we didn’t actually see it because clouds covered the WHOLE things. Casandra was upset because we chose Costa Rica primarily because she has always wanted to see it. 
In that same day I discovered I get car sick, or rather bus sick. We also went on a canopy zip line tour through the jungle in which was a blast! We met a few friends from San Jose as well. 
After leaving San Jose we met up with another backpacker Charlie. He traveled with us to Manuel Antonio Park. We stayed at a hostel with a spectacular view.
We went on a hike through the park and saw a whole slew of wild life.
Casandra had a run in with two coconut guys. We went white water rafting and hiked through a spice garden in the jungle. The river rafting was fun, but nothing compared to the Nile. I found myself a little nervous every time I went through the rapids because of my experience on the Nile. 
We had a bonfire and party on the beach in which we went night swimming. Casandra lost her first pair of flip flops there. Her second pair of shoes (along with mine and Charlie’s) mysteriously disappeared from the balcony of our hostel. We hypothesis it was monkey’s because who would want soaking wet shoes? 
Casandra and I split up for a couple of days. She went to Mal Pais while I stayed with Michelle and lounged on the beach.
The next day Charlie, Babtist (another hostel friend) Michelle and I took two buses, a taxi, a speedboat, and two more buses to Mal Pais.
When we arrived it was a little surfing town and no one seemed to know where the hostel in which Casandra was staying was.
We spent at least an hour wandering on the dirt road looking for it. 
When we saw her she and this Austrian guy were walking bear foot up from the beach. This is where she had her third pair of shoes stolen!!! 
Oh yea, we also met a couple of Swedish guys that traveled with us there. Michelle and I left Charlie and Babtist in another town. Mal Pais was great. We spent most of our time surfing. I really love surfing now!! Casandra and I rented bikes one day and rode a couple of miles to find a hidden beach.
We almost got stuck on it because the tide came in. 
The guy whom owned the hostel we stayed on was a German Rasta. He was very cool and had a pit bull named Lilly whom did not like Michelle. 
Mal Pais is where we hypothesize Casandra caught her disease that hospitalized her for several days. 
When we flew home we almost missed our last leg of the flight in Vegas because we were drinking in the airport.
We were both very depressed to be coming home to snow. Plus, I only had my flip flops because my other pair of shoes got stolen! Over all it was a great trip and I would love to go live in Mal Pais for a summer and surf!
We joked that she would catch something more serious…and low and behold she did. It was not really funny when it happened though!
Casandra and I started off on our adventure by arriving in San Jose.
San Jose was not that exciting aside from some of the clubbing and people we met. I am not going to go into lots of detail about the trip because people seem to respond better to pictures. I will say that while in San Jose we met Michelle from New York whom ended up backpacking with us for at least half of the trip. I had a random Rasta take a picture of me while I was sleeping on a hammock. I woke up and yelled at him. This was after he had made the rounds of hitting on Casandra, Michelle, and I. Casandra hooked me up with some guy (in a not so conscience state) whom followed me the entire evening we were clubbing. We went to the Arenal Volcano in which we didn’t actually see it because clouds covered the WHOLE things. Casandra was upset because we chose Costa Rica primarily because she has always wanted to see it. 
In that same day I discovered I get car sick, or rather bus sick. We also went on a canopy zip line tour through the jungle in which was a blast! We met a few friends from San Jose as well. 
After leaving San Jose we met up with another backpacker Charlie. He traveled with us to Manuel Antonio Park. We stayed at a hostel with a spectacular view.
We went on a hike through the park and saw a whole slew of wild life.
Casandra had a run in with two coconut guys. We went white water rafting and hiked through a spice garden in the jungle. The river rafting was fun, but nothing compared to the Nile. I found myself a little nervous every time I went through the rapids because of my experience on the Nile. 
We had a bonfire and party on the beach in which we went night swimming. Casandra lost her first pair of flip flops there. Her second pair of shoes (along with mine and Charlie’s) mysteriously disappeared from the balcony of our hostel. We hypothesis it was monkey’s because who would want soaking wet shoes? 
Casandra and I split up for a couple of days. She went to Mal Pais while I stayed with Michelle and lounged on the beach.The next day Charlie, Babtist (another hostel friend) Michelle and I took two buses, a taxi, a speedboat, and two more buses to Mal Pais.
When we arrived it was a little surfing town and no one seemed to know where the hostel in which Casandra was staying was.
We spent at least an hour wandering on the dirt road looking for it. 
When we saw her she and this Austrian guy were walking bear foot up from the beach. This is where she had her third pair of shoes stolen!!! 
Oh yea, we also met a couple of Swedish guys that traveled with us there. Michelle and I left Charlie and Babtist in another town. Mal Pais was great. We spent most of our time surfing. I really love surfing now!! Casandra and I rented bikes one day and rode a couple of miles to find a hidden beach.
We almost got stuck on it because the tide came in. 
The guy whom owned the hostel we stayed on was a German Rasta. He was very cool and had a pit bull named Lilly whom did not like Michelle. 
Mal Pais is where we hypothesize Casandra caught her disease that hospitalized her for several days. 
When we flew home we almost missed our last leg of the flight in Vegas because we were drinking in the airport.
We were both very depressed to be coming home to snow. Plus, I only had my flip flops because my other pair of shoes got stolen! Over all it was a great trip and I would love to go live in Mal Pais for a summer and surf!
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