Dolphins Save Lives

I'm back in the Game For REAL This Time and I LOVE Jerry Sloan.

2009-10-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

My writing skills are going down the crapper at this particular moment, that being said I feel necessary to once again warm up the digits and begin to type away on this lovely keyboard I call my own. After a long absence from the blogging world I now find myself more mature and lot funnier (If you don't believe me ask anyone that I hang out with). So I am here to share my humor for all those who want to listen. I will be honest though, most of my humor is not original nor is it something that you could not find on the internet. I actually just search for funny things to say and when the correct opportunity arises I jump to the occasion and sound like a witty genius.

As I stopped typing for two seconds I thought about my last paragraph and realized I have not become one ounce funnier over the past year, I have just become a hell of a lot smarter and a better researcher. I think I just realized I have a photographic memory or something like that. I only say this because how else would I ever remember so many funny things to say?

Anyway, enough of this rant, I am off with the Big Kat to run the Vegas Ragnar and we are going to win. The only reason for this pitiful 200 words of a blog posting was to really say that I am back and 100 percent committed to making this blog the 1003 best on the web. Tough I know. Love you all.

PS, If you know anyone that doesn't leave there room for reasons such as The World of War Craft series or the are just socially troubled please let me know. I am starting a new project and need them.

I'm Back and With a Vengance!!

2008-11-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

I'm going to do something a little different for my blog now. I am going to feature a video of the day. Some days it will be funny, some days it will be sad, others it will be awesome, and others just plain mad. Please comment and tell me what you think, if you don't you all surely stink.

Final Article

2008-04-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

Utah Valley State College in Orem is making its final preparations in what has been a multiple year process in becoming a University. The new and high tech library is giving the soon to be university a new and sleek look.

For the past three years Utah Valley has been making strides to become a University. With its student enrollment at over 23,000, which is more than most Universities nation wide, it seems to be their time.

Ground was broken in the fall of 2006 as this started the transformation of the new Utah Valley University look. Students and faculty are preparing for a new and high tech library. There will be five floors of computers and research stations, a café, multiple study rooms, and ample area for students to mingle.

“I’m really excited for it to be done. It’s going to give students a lot more areas to study and do research. I think it’s exactly what we needed,” UVSC student Jamie Everson said.

Locals have seen the new building making progress day-after-day. The building which is compiled of what looks to be mostly beautiful red brick and big windows to let in sunlight is planned to be finished no later than July first.

On July first the school will celebrate its first day as Utah Valley University. Along with parties and fun all around campus the library will hold its grand opening.

“We’ve planned lots of events for the night before and that day. I think that all the students and community should come out and celebrate. It’s a big day for the school and the community,” Johny Johnson said.

Johnson is a member of the student board that is planning the events for the opening of the library and the first day of university status.

An over night party will be held the night before at the David O. Mckay Events Center and activities On July First will be held campus wide.

For more information go to www.uvu.edu

331

My Media Interaction

2008-04-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

There are only a couple of topics that an instructor can give to college age students that will pose no problem to write on. This is one of them. Media among college age people is so common. I cold go on forever about the media interaction that takes place in my life.
I use the internet on an extremely regular basis. Without the internet, I would be up a creek. I think the better way to put that is I would be up a very large river. The internet is used for every single one of my classes and without it I would not be able to complete multiple tasks given.
I read the Deseret News and the New Your Times daily. So I am constantly nose deep in a news paper. I do read it for classes, but the feeling of being informed is beginning to be a sensation that I enjoy.
As of late, I’ve cut back in the amount of TV that I consume. That being said, there’s always time to sick back and watch a couple great shows. I find joy in a good commercial or advertisement. I think there’s an art to making someone pay attention to something. So while watching TV I always enjoy a well placed or thought out commercial or advertisement.
I feel like I can go on forever about the ways I consume media. In each category there are multiple sub categories. It could keep going on and on!
Instead of going on forever, I just mentioned a couple of the main ones that I consume on a regular basis. Between internet, news, and TV I don’t know how I fit other forms of media. I guess in the world today, there is never too little time for more media.

Article 4

2008-03-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

A semesters’ reward was paid off in two days for a Provo, Utah student, as he beats Assassins Creed on his Xbox in consecutive days.

As the commercial for Assassins Creed would grace the TV screen Steven “Beaver” Winder would tell everyone around to “shush” as he would zone in. Nothing else would matter while he was concentrating on the screen. The game appealed to him more than any other had since he was 12 years old.

You could see the pain in his face when it was released that the game would only be released on Microsoft’s Xbox, a system that Winder unfortunately didn’t own. But there are solutions to every problem thought Winder.

“I’m going to buy and Xbox and Assassins Creed, I’ll then beat the game as fast as I can and take the two right back,” Winder Said.

Though in his mind he had just come up with the most brilliant idea that had ever been thought there were still things that took the front seat over Nintendo.

Winder made the game a reward for finishing the semester. With one month left he cracked down and got to work. The semester could not have gone slower from the time he made the decision.

“It seemed like time stood still and it was killing me,” said Winder emphatically.

Finally the time came to buy the system and game. A short trip to Best Buy and a little over 300 dollars later he walked out of the store a new man. With a big smile on his face he and roommates began the drive to their apartment to begin the long waited game.

Upon arrival roommate and older brother Jordan Winder was waiting with a camera in hopes of documenting the joy of purchase.

“I’ve never seen a man so excited for a game. It was like Christmas had come a little early for him,” Jordan said.

The time had come to play. The system was hooked up and the game was running. Little did Winder know of the rough two days that were about to take place.

As the days went by all the roommates went on with normal life, but Winder never left his seat in front of the TV. He never seemed to eat, drink and most of all never slept.

After a day and a half Winder looked terrible. He had bags under his eyes, greasy hair, and a scent that couldn’t be missed.

“It was out of control. He became addicted faster than anyone or anything I’ve ever seen,” said roommate Jordan Edwards.

The hard work and becoming an addict didn’t last long. He beat the game in a little over two and a half days. During those two days Winder ate once and slept for a total of four hours.

He returned the system and sold the game to a friend for full price. When asked if he regretted the decision Winder stated that he didn’t at all.

“Regret it? Not for one second. Due to deteriorated health and sore thumbs I can say I don’t think I’d ever do it again though, that’s for sure,” said Winder.

“Whatever it takes for him to motivate himself through school I’m okay with,” said Arliss Winder, Stevens Mom.

Motivate him through school is exactly what it did. Winder got his grades back a week later. The motivation paid off as he got a 4.0.

My day...

2008-03-20T18:09:00.001-07:00

The last time the Utah Jazz and the BYU Cougars played a basketball game in the same night very nearly became the worst night of all time.

The day started and I’ve never felt better. That only lasted for about thirty seconds. After I woke up and realized that my roommate had clogged the toilet the night before and still had yet to do anything about it my day began to take a slide for the worst.

I went to school and quickly realized that my class had been canceled. Therefore I made the trek to the beautiful campus of Utah Valley University. I then got back to my car and fired it up to head back home. No more than 20 seconds later as I was pulling into the street a small puppy ran in the road and made a car swerve in my direction. Not only did the car hit the puppy, bet me as well.

So a puppy’s life had just been taken and my car got hit by another vehicle trying to hit a puppy, which didn’t even happen. I then came to the realization that I drove there for nothing due to a canceled class, and then got in a wreck.

With all of the rage in the world I got out of my car. The first thing I saw when I got out of the car was a small stone on the road. I picked it up and threw it in anger. Not thinking straight I threw it in the direction of multiple parked cars. The stone cut through the air like a knife as it approached the window of a Range Rover. Do you think I had the luck of it missing the window? Surprisingly yes…. But it hit the door solid enough to make on hell of a dent. Which I still have not said anything to anyone about. If that was your black Range Rover with Nevada plates.. My apologies.

After everything there was cleared up I drove home to get ready for my intramural basketball game. We were undefeated to this point so I thought my day would get a little better. Boy was I wrong. We got beat by four and I almost punched some little pansy in the face. The man had the Napoleon Complex. You know.. When a small guy thinks he’s the greatest person to walk the earth. Ya, one of those.

After the game we came home to partake in a Jazz basketball game on TV. They were well on their way to losing. Being my favorite team I fell into a deeper depression than I’ve felt in years. As the final buzzer sounded I felt like I need not one Prozac, but an entire bottle.

I had one more hope and it was in the hands of the BYU Cougars. They were behind the entire game, but tied it up at the buzzer to go to overtime. The Cougars pulled it out and saved me from falling into a depression that I would never have been able to climb out of.

The Cougars play tonight in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and the Jazz play the Los Angeles Lakers. Tomorrow we play our first post season game in intramurals. This is the chance to redeem the worst day of my life and climb back on top. Though the puppy can’t be saved I’ve written the Utah Jazz and the BYU Cougars and asked them to dedicate tonight’s games to our long lost little friend.

Everything is this story was made up besides the basketball games. Anything that has to do with a sport is true. Anything that has to do with a puppy or car wrecks or missing class was a lie. Sorry.

Mo Freakin Rocca

2008-03-06T23:19:00.000-08:00

I had expected it to be funny, but I never expected it to be that funny! Holy hell the man was off the chain! I know that term is typically used by rappers and hip-hop artists, but I couldn’t think of anything else I could say to get my point through.

He started out by talking about his career and what he had done to get where he is now. The whole time he did this he was throwing in amazing puns and great wit.

After sharing his credentials he admitted to the fact that he’s an expert at sounding like an expert. At first I decided that he could be right. Maybe he was just up to date and could BS through the rest to make it sound like he knew what he was talking about. As he went on I quickly retracted that thought.

The man is honestly one of the smartest men I have ever seen or heard in my life. He quickly showed that he was a legit analyst. He had the audience shout out countries and he would quickly reply with the capitol. He didn’t miss a single one of them.

He later had people ask him questions about former presidents. This is the part that I was most impressed with. He would ramble on and on with details of the chosen president. He would hit on details that no one should know without being the biggest stalker of creep in the entire world. Things like shoe size, pets names, favorite fruits, choices of gum, and the list could go on.

Another thing that impressed me is the ability he had to dodge questions and transition right into something that he wanted to talk about. That takes an extreme amount of talent. He is very well educated the art of public speaking.

I’d see him speak again any day of the week. I enjoyed being there and have to give him credit for putting so much effort into gaining the knowledge that he now has.

Article for class..

2008-03-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

As a runner I notice quite often the quality of the air in the Utah Valley. It’s at this time of year that it’s the worst.

I didn’t think that it affected me that much until I started training for my next marathon.

I was on my normal daily run and for some reason I wasn’t able to run like I usually could. I couldn’t figure out why. I went over all of the options in my head. I had eaten well that day, I hadn’t been sick, it wasn’t that I was out of shape, and I wasn’t tired from a prior run.

So what could it have been? As I thought more of what it might be I realized that the Wasatch Mountains to the east were almost not even visible. I then started thinking about how bad the air is in the valley when there’s inversion.

It then hit me the reason that I felt I wasn’t running well. The air quality is terrible! I don’t know why I hadn’t thought if it before. What do I need to run well? Good air and lots of it. I wasn’t getting that. I was getting polluted air that was no good for me as a runner or anyone else breathing it no matter what they’re doing.

According to Time magazine in an article written on September 12, 2007 titled, Pollution: Dangerous to Joggers, “A recent U.S. study reported that exposure to polluted air boosts the risk of death from heart disease by 76%.”

This same thing has been a worry for athletes training for the upcoming Olympics in China. Athletes have been wondering if they should train in cities that the pollution is bad to get the upper hand. One athlete even joked as he asked his trainer if he should train while running behind a bus in the city.

A fellow runner from Utah Valley named Jake Summerson said that he’s experiencing the same problems and lack of energy that I’ve felt.

“I feel so great on clear days, it’s like I could go forever.” He later said, ”When I go to run and see the quality of the air or see it’s terribly smoggy outside I dread the run because I know I’m going to be short on energy.”

This is a common problem that people are experiencing. Studies have given us an insight on why that is.

While athletes are training they build up what’s called lactic acid. This is something that happens when athletes hit a certain threshold where the body doesn’t have enough oxygen. Lactic acid caused pain and burning in muscles and makes it hard to continue.

When the air is saturated with pollutants it makes it much harder to get oxygen, therefore the lactic acid begins to build much faster. This is where the feeling of no energy comes from.

I need peoples input...

2008-02-21T12:17:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to start a specialty blog. One that's not for school and is more focused on one thing. If there is anything anyone wants to hear about or thinks I should start to write my input on please let me know by leaving a comment.

Girls are nothing but pain... Pure pain.

2008-02-21T11:11:00.000-08:00

As a second grader, there’s nothing better than being chased by someone of the opposite sex. When saying chased, I literally mean, run after. The story begins with exactly that, a low-speed pursuit of a second grade boy.

I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was running away from two of the cutest girls that West Grade Elementary in Stanfield Oregon had to offer (not that there were many options for the small Podunk town I lived in).

All through the play ground they were chasing me. I would often alter my speed so that they would get the feeling that they were keeping up with me. I felt if I were to use all of my speed I would pull away and the pursuit would come to a sudden halt.

Not feeling any fatigue at all the chase went on. Some teasing and egging on by me to guarantee a continuing scamper through the field.

I can vividly remember looking north and seeing a group of my friends playing school yard football. Being young and thinking I was cool I wanted to take the girls on a run past my friends, to show them who was getting chased by girls. I ran by making as much noise as I could to ensure that I wouldn’t be missed. As my friends yelled, “RUN!!!! RUN!!!!” I continued on with more energy than ever.

After feeling the extra boost of energy from the support of my great second grade classmates, I decided to take the goose chase to the next level.

After I had lead them in and around any obstacle I could see. To my surprise they were hanging with me better than I ever thought they would! After a minute or two of a little extra fun, I then decided to stick the dagger in and get rid of them.

I saw in the distance the perfect way to lose them. A row of tractor tires sticking out of the ground. The bottom third was buried leaving the top two thirds sticking straight up out of the ground. I’ll never forget, the tires were painted orange and were bright and vivid.

A couple of weeks earlier I had found that I could hurdle them. That was the way I was going to get rid of them. There was no way they could be able to do the same.

With the tires in sight I went for it. I jumped in the air and felt higher than I’d ever been. Time seemed to be standing still as I was floating through the air. Until… A foot of a friend of the girls chasing me decided to reach out and sweep my legs out from under me. When your legs get kicked in mid-air, in naturally propels your face forward. And I was no exception.

I slammed into the tire nose first, fracturing it like it was a twig in the hands of a giant! Being the pansy that I was, I began to shed a couple of tears. The tears were mixed with an extreme amount of blood.

The nurse called my mother to come and get me. She took me to the hospital were I received treatment for my broken nose.

The time finally came for me to head home and begin my long and rigorous recovery. It was at that time that I spotted something on my doorstep. It looked to be a little book. As I walked closer, I realized it was a hand made book titled, “The Broken Nosed Apple.” Made and written by none other than the cutest girl in school. And one of the culprits that had been hot on my trail the whole recess.

Clap on Clap off.. I Now Have the Clapper...

2008-02-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

Clap on Clap off.. The Clapper. What a well known phrase that we have grown used to and laughed at for the past generation. The clapper had never come across to me as something that would shock me. I never thought of it as something that could catch me off guard. But one special day in the normally boring corridors at West Jordan High School changed what I went through every time that word was mentioned, regardless of context.

I can picture the situation perfectly in my head. I was walking down a main hall way. There were blue lockers on my left as the band and choir rooms were to my right. Everything seemed normal to this point, but never underestimate the power of a high school hallway full of adolescent horn-dogs between classes.

As I did quite often I was eavesdropping on conversations all around me. On this particular day the dialogue in front of me between two young ladies that looked as if they could have come out of the movie, High School High, were having a riveting chat. As I listened closer they were speaking of former guys they have pleasured and how great it was. Usually my abdomen at this point would be churning due to the thick smell of school cafeterias mac and cheese, but not this time. It felt as if there was a Keebler Elf brewing up something real bad due to the vile words coming out of these girls’ mouths.

I listened on. It wasn't thirty seconds later when a ghetto-superstar was walking our way. I was sure that the man hadn't showered in 97 days. The girls gasped as they saw him approaching. There was nothing that could prepare a man like myself for the words that would come out of one of the girls mouth after he passes. Ghetto-baller continued and walked by the girls without a second look. As he passed one of the girls said, and I quote, "That ass-hole gave me the clap!"

I'll never forget it. In the middle of the hall my bottom jaw fell to the floor. As I scraped it off the grimy un-swept floor I put both hands on my head in disbelief. I couldn’t fathom what I had just heard. Did this girl really just say that out loud so I could hear it?

There are so many things that are wrong with this picture. First and foremost the clap is nothing anyone wants to mess with if there's anyone out there that doesn't know exactly what this nastiness of a woman was dealing with I can help. The clap is more formally know as Chlamydia it is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium, Chlamydia Trachomatis, which can damage a woman's reproductive organs. Even though symptoms of Chlamydia are usually mild or absent, serious complications that cause irreversible damage, including infertility, can occur "silently" before a woman ever recognizes a problem. Chlamydia also can cause discharge from the penis of an infected man." (Definition from CDC.com)

Now that we've got that out of the way we can really get a feel of the connotation of the mind cauterizing words that previously came out of her foul and most likely plague-ridden mouth. It has been burned into the depths of my brain and will regrettably never find its way out.

I would like to send my condolences to this young lady. I would also like to send my commiseration to her future boyfriend or husband. I would also like to say to him, don’t clap on... Definitely clap off.

Rolling... The New Walking

2008-02-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

As I look around our great world, I see so many different beautiful things that we have. I count my blessings every day for things that make our lives easier. I'm so indebted to modern technology that makes me able to get so much more done in such less time than our ancestors from the past.

I love the verity that I have a car so it doesn't take me 17 hours to get from my apartment to school. I’m grateful for the fact that I have a microwave at my fingertips that will brew me up a palatable Cup of Noodles.

I often find myself cursing the microwave in my apartment due to the simple fact that it sucks! I could in all probability heat up a Cup of Noodles faster over an open flame. I then step back and count my blessings that I have one. Let’s be honest, I heard of this place in Africa that has never heard of a microwave. So I guess we can feel good about that.

Now that I've prefaced this with blessings of technology I would now like to cut to the chase. All of this technology is having a first hand affect on the corpulence of our wonderful country.

I would like to hit on one thing in general. Are America’s kids not portly enough as it is? Now we have to add shoes with wheels on them! Are you kidding me?

With so many gaming systems, TV, internet, computer games, and the vast amount of nudie magazines, America’s youth are taking less steps than ever. Now we can add shoes with wheels to the mix of step-depleting factors that the children are partaking in.

Kids seem to be taking fewer steps than ever and now we can minus more steps from the youngins of America. Now they're rolling. They're rolling through halls in school, rolling from store-to-store in the mall, and rolling hearts of members of the opposite sex.

If I were a fourteen year old young lady and saw a boy rolling down the hall at an hasty rate of speed, I admit, I would find myself feeling engrossed by this to cool to walk teen. Don't let it fool you ladies. These trim at purchase boys, are now burning 7000 less calories a day. Give them two months max and they'll be tipping the scales at a slothful 450 lbs.

All I am saying young ones of this country and world, is please consider your purchase of shoes with wheels. I will tell you now that 147 lbs later and a torn ACL you're going to experience a little buyer’s remorse.

Look into some other things to get from point A to point B. You could look into a Segway. You know those things you stand on? They have the two big wheels and stand upright. I know I'm being a charlatan about this one, but at least you look like a BAD A on one of those.

Heaven forbid someone lace up the shoes and stride from one place to another. I avow it won't harm you. It may even aid you. If you don't feel comfortable with this, tape your ankles, wrap your knees and get to steppin.

Life Updates and Pizza=Life.

2008-02-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Let me let you in on what's been going on in the life of Mike. I haven’t had anything going on at all in the last couple of weeks, so I feel like I have had nothing to write about. Since it seems like there hasn't been much change, I've had to humor my blog with some of the worst posting ever!

I will start by updating everyone on the toilet issue. My good friend, and roommate has really made a stride to better flush and plunge our toilet. I feel I should offer him the award as best comeback of the year. I think he has only plugged the toilet twice since the last time I wrote, which is good considering he used to plug it twice a day on average.

Other than poop being left in my toilet things are going good. I read something online today that tickled my fancy. The headline read,” Hostage Released for Pizza." What in world!?! What are people thinking?

Seriously dude, I've been pretty dang hungry in my day, but I've never felt the need to hold a hostage for a piece of double cheese with extra pepperoni.

Let me throw this out there.... At this point in life, I'm living the most cliché' life of a college student. I've been using pump hand-soap in the shower due to no bar soap. The only food I have in my cupboards is canned food, but we don't have a can opener. I've been using public restrooms whenever I get the chance due to the mere fact that my apartment hasn't bought TP in the last week.

All this being said, I have yet to hold someone hostage, and don't plan to anytime soon. I do understand that Mr. Pizza Lover for sure has some more issue than hunger alone. But I couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation. I just thought it was a great headline.

Lets change directions, what was the hostage thinking? "Please don't kill me man, I have so much to live for!!!" "Please, I have a family, friends and a cute baby rabbit at home!" Or maybe this one, "What can I do to get out this? Do you want some sausage, maybe some bacon.. ANYTHING... PLEASE!!!"

The weapon wielding man comes back with this response, "You shut your mouth or you've said your last words!!" After a few moments of silence the criminal comes out with this, "I've been thinking lots about your bacon and sausage offer..." At this point the hostage feels a little gleam of hope. "If you can get me some pizza you're free to go."

"Get the man some pizza!!" Screams the hostage.

To me that's a pretty entertaining situation. There are so many ways of taking that story, and each of them put a smile on my face. I'll leave the rest of the twists you could put on that story to you. Good luck with that, and I hope you're all well. If you think of any good twists that you think you must share, let me know.

Just a Yellow Light...?

2008-01-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

There are things in this world called a stop lights. These stop lights are here to keep us safe and organized on the roads. Through the years, we have transferred the names of these lights to terms. One in any given situation could use, green light, yellow light, or red light.

If someone has the okay to do something, they are said to have a green light. Often someone will come by a situation that will require that caution should be used, this is what we call a yellow light. If someone were in a bad situation or find something that they just need to get away from, this is what we call a red light.

For instance, for most people, a wedding ring on the finger of a woman would classify as a red light. For some people in this awesome society we live in, it may just pose as a yellow light.

But, lets be honest, there are some things in our local culture that pose as a yellow light to many. I think that most college students, mainly males, have dealt with this phenomena at least once, if not multiple times.

The scenario is this, you meet a nice young lady. You enjoy her presence and could for sure see yourself spending some time with her. For one reason or another, you go over to her apt/house to hang out,maybe get some dinner. So you're sitting there eating bacon, sausage, or whatever you like to eat, and you look on the wall.... And what's there? Nothing but framed picture of this girl you like and some other dude!

There are multiple possibilities that this dreaded picture could signify. One of the most common around here is the often run into problem of a missionary. The thing about a Mormon girl, though they are a very good looking group of gals, they could have a boyfriend in any one of the worlds million countries... Excluding China, The Middle East, and Multiple African countries.

Another possibility is that she's got a boyfriend in her respected part of this beautiful country that we call the U.S. This is most likely the worst situation that a man could run into. And let me tell you why...

If this girl has a missionary, they are only talking maybe twice a year. There are most likely letters being written back and fourth, but a girl needs something a little more tangible sometimes. In the case of a boyfriend somewhere else in the country that's not serving a mission, they can talk whenever they want, they can in reality see each other whenever they want.

I do know some girls that are dealing with this missionary or long distance boyfriend. These young ladies still date, and have fun, but in the end won't go anywhere with it.

Ladies, this is tough on us. As the male race, we're not very good at recognizing lights and their color unless we're sitting in front of a traffic light. So please make things a little more clear for us men that are more-or-less color blind in this aspect.

A green light would be great, but if there is some shady area... Make it clear to us guys whether the situation poses a yellow light, or a green light. Thanks.

Still Awake.. What The?

2008-01-18T00:49:00.000-08:00

Nearly two in the morning and here I am... Still awake. For some reason I am still awake and feeling good. Though I'm the only one in my apartment awake. I'm sitting here on my couch watching Roger Lodge (the host of the most amazing TV show blind date) live the American Dream! I mean lets be honest... Does it get any better than commentating on the worst dates in the history of the world? NO!!! In all honesty I can't take the show, but it's late and the pro-active infomercials all long played out in my eyes.

Besides terrible TV or infomercials, I do have something weighing heavily on my mind. I have this roommate. I love him to death. He's 18 and a freshman at BYU. He's a super smart young man, and I totally understand that he's in a different situation in the sense that he's the only one in the apartment that hasn't served an LDS mission and is younger than 22. Among other things, he's pretty different than the rest of us.

I get along with the man very very well. We sleep in the same room and he's great, we have tons of fun! But... There's one thing that I've been having a hard time with.

He and I share the the downstairs bathroom. Everything had been great except for the last month! I don't know if it's been the mans diet of only double stuffed peanut butter Oreos and chocolate fudge Pop Tarts or just the mere fact that he's struggling from a case of the plugs, but he's been plugging the freakin toilet everyday for the last month! I didn't think it was physically possible!

One incident pushed me over the edge. I went to pee on night and the toilet was full of black nasty water that he just let sit and for one reason or another didn't take care of it. I left it thinking he would plunge it in the morning.... Nope, guess who had to do it! You guessed right, ME!!!!

I've been being the nice guy that I think I am and plunging the toilet for him. But after about three and a half weeks of plunging another mans feces, I decided I've had enough.

I went to use the bathroom once again, surprise, surprise, the toilet's plugged! AHHHHHH!! I went and hunted the man down and told him what he had done. The man then had the audacity to claim to me that it wasn't him! He's the only other one that uses the bathroom! I then proceeded to plunge the toilet, feeling like vomiting the entirety of the time!

I have been wanting to catch him in the act SO bad. I then heard the toilet flush after he had dropped the cosbys off at the pool, I went back and acted like I had to use the bathroom. What do ya know, the toilet had been flushed and was flowing to the top!!! I cornered the man and told him what he had done. He then went on saying, "It was already like that, I just added to it..." Are you freaking kidding me!?! I don't care if you plug the toilet up a thousand times a day as long as you claim it and take care of it yourself! It's more embarrassing to lie about it than to do the act itself!

I had had enough, so I nicely told him to go plunge his shiz (no pun intended). I went upstairs to pee and heard him plunging the down stairs toilet. All I know is it sounded super messy and I was hoping there wasn't water spraying everywhere. That would be terrible!!

I then go down to check the work of the bandit clogger... What do you know, I walk in the bathroom to dirty poop water EVERYWHERE!! Where does the man get off? Then to top it off, I flush the crapper and the toilet's not even un-plugged! He just splashed the entirety of the toilet bowl of water all over the floor and surrounding porcelain!

I proceeded to plunge the remainder of the toilet and make it a sanitary place to live and use the bathroom. I won't lie, I was beside myself the whole entire time and still am brewing over this.

I am putting of going back to my bathroom because I'm afraid I'm going to come across a dirty and clogged toilet bowl. That's something that I wouldn't be able to handle at this time of night. I would for sure leave a nice little hate note sitting on the toilet or maybe stapled to his nose for him when he wakes up!

I am vowing to never plunge a poop-filled toilet of a roommates ever again! The only thing that would constitute me doing that for someone else is if they are paralyzed and can't do it themselves, or I am madly in love with someone that has recently been injured and doesn't have the capability to do it herself! And that's for sure not going to happen with my roommate!

Wish me luck on this matter.... Or wish him luck on this manner because if it keeps happening, there's going to be some major plunging lessons going on!

The Future of the Music Industry

2008-01-12T14:07:00.000-08:00

As an avid listener to a plethora of musics one can't help but sit back and wonder where the music industry is going. Is this digital age that we're living in good or bad for artist? Is it as easy for an artist to make it big in this day in age? Is it as easy for a artist or band that has already found "fame" to keep making money? These are all things that I am in the midst of learning and would like to write a little on.

After given an assignment to read some amazing articles out of Wired Magazine, my views on music in this digital era changed erratically.

No more than a day ago I found myself siding with those who said that artist and bands are being hurt due to technology that has swept the music and digital world. It's nothing to go over to a friends house and have them burn a CD for me. It takes a matter of minutes to get on to Napster or Limewire and leave 100 songs richer, for free.

After reading more on the subject, I realized, that bands may be losing a song download here and there, but there are so many other aspects to our digital age that we're living in that are helping artist to make more money.

In no other age has there been so many ways to get a name somewhere that the general public has access to it at any given time. An artist or band can have there name all over the Internet where they can be seen and heard by anyone who searches them out, or even stumbles across them.

Almost 30 years ago there was an epidemic that swept world. That epidemic was in the form of a round plastic disc that we can play music on. We all know this as a CD. People went from dubbing music onto tapes to putting their tracks onto Cd's. And that's the form of music we've known for the last three decades. We've always had something tangible that we can hold in our hands. The slowing of this, may not be bad for the artists or bands.

In Wired David Byrne stated that CD sales are on the smallest forms of incomes that an artist encounters. He also interviewed the singer for the band Radiohead. He stated that most of their money has come from licensing. In other words, they get most of their money from people using there songs in commercials, movies, TV shows, ect. He went on to say, there newest CD has had more Internet sales than all of their other Cd's combined.

This is not a trend only seen by Radiohead. More and more artist and bands are selling crazy amounts of music over digital download sites. I think it will be a growing trend in the indusrty untill the next epidemic of music listening comes along.

Though I haven't proved much in this entry due to lack of time and not really wanted to write a research paper online, I for sure have seen myself become more interested and educated in the past day. The future of the music industry is strong and will continue to get stronger in the digital era that we're constantly surrounded by. I believe that we'll continue to see artists and bands grow and make money. We will most likely see the day that Cd's are an irrelevant part of our society and we solely rely on the digital music to feed our social needs and our music taste.

Livin La Vida Loca

2008-01-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

Here I am continuing my endeavours on writing a successful blog. I've come to a conclusion, and it is this. It's going to be hard to write in a blog multiple times a week. I realize that I'll have to start getting a little creative on things to write about.

Being creative is such a huge part of writing anything. And if you're going to be good at writing, it's something that you have to be. So lets start now, shall we?

Sometimes after I do something, I look back and say, "Why in the world did I just do that?" This could go many ways. For instance, about two weeks ago, I bought a pair of fairly expensive pants. I have been deciding if I like them or not since the time of the purchase. I recently decided that I am going to return them. I feel when spending that kind of money on something, I should love them with all my heart. But I don't, so they will go back.

The pants thing is something small in comparison to other choices that we make that we might question. I've learned a little something about myself lately, and it is that any decision I make, I learn something from it. Whether it be big or small, important or trivial, if I pay attention to the outcome and the results of the decision I've made there is always something to be learned.

I can't speak for everyone, but I think there's so much to be learned from everyday choices in life. We don't make so called BIG decisions everyday of our life, but we for sure make lots of decisions everyday. It's kind of neat to sit back and see the outcome or results of little decisions made. Who knows, little decisions may turn into a big outcome.

I've seen it with me recently. Making a little decision that you or someone else may think is trivial and doesn't matter much, could turn out to be an amazing thing! On the other hand, it could give you all kinds of grief.

I guess the point of this entry is, try not to let good lessons pass by without being used to better who you are as person. There are so many ways to learn and become better, if we open our eyes and use all we can learn. Looking back at choices we make, big or small, is just one way to learn more about ourselves and maybe in the long run, be a little happier.

On a lighter note, the mustache I have in this picture was a bad choice! I wanted to meet some girls on Halloween, and that for sure detoured me from accomplishing my goal! Ron Burgundy doesn't get as many chicks as they portray on the movie!

Am I really doing this?

2008-01-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

Hello.. My name is Michael Carl Hawker. I'm 22 years old. I was born in Oregon, later I moved to Utah. I did most of my growing up in the great state of the Beehive.

I like to think of myself as an open book. Not an encyclopedia or anything like that though, those are to complicated to represent me. I'm more like an open children's book, pretty simple. I enjoy the small things in life. For example, ants, nerds (the candy), peanuts, thumb tacks, small people. You get it, the small things in life? Everything I mentioned is small. As you might be able to tell, I enjoy to joke and have fun. I am quite sarcastic and often find myself in trouble due to it.

The reason I titled this entry, "Am I Really Doing This," is because I've always thought that blogging was a somewhat gay epidemic that has recently swept the world of mass communication. But here I am now, writing an entry for my own blog. The reason behind this madness is explainable. I've recently begun a new semester. In one of my classes we were informed that if we keep a regular blog, we can earn 5% extra credit. That being said, the only reason I'm doing this is to get 105% in the class. We all know that I'll for sure have 100%. Then if you do the math and add 5% it becomes 105%.

I'm not a very good writer at the moment, but the blog is supposed to be used to show how my writing is improving over the time in the class. I love to write, I just need to somehow join the love with skill and acquired talent.

Wish me luck and and let me know if you have any suggestions on how I can better my skills as a writer.

PS, I'm a PR major and when I got into the major I thought it meant relations such as kissing, hugging, and making out in public. Boy was I wrong! There's so much more to it than that! My bad!!