Segundo

Date #2

The girl: E (I've decided, for the safety and well-being of those I date to just go with an initial here from this point forward. Sorry Sara!)
The setting: Foothill Library
The connection: Friend of Felicity
The plot: I picked E up from her apartment in the south end of the valley and we proceeded to the north end of the valley for some hot beverages and an art-ish exhibit. I couldn't find a Starbucks, so unfortunately we weren't able to enjoy a pumpkin steamer, but we did get some hot chocolate and added pumpkin spice flavored coffee creamer - completely delightful. We enjoyed an art exhibit at the Foothill Library consisting of blown-up Polaroid pictures that the guy had altered with toothpicks and needles and the like before they were completely developed (actually pretty cool). Then we wandered upstairs to read a couple of children's books (Trouble Gum; and The Magical, Mystical, Marelous Coat - both completely delightful) before heading home for the evening.
The commonalities: teaching, reading youth fiction, high school band/orchestra
Funny: When we got to the library, the room where the exhibit was housed was closed and looked dark. But the door wasn't locked, so we just sort of let ourselves in and turned on the lights. Nobody stopped us.
Second date: cute girl, we had a nice time, but probably not.

It begins

The girl - Sara








The setting - Downtown Farmer's Market at Pioneer Park
The connection - Hello Dolly at Hale Theatre. My first really solid memory of Sara involves her putting her entire arm in the billowing, lacy sleeve of her costume - which only came down to her elbow (the sleeve, not the costume) - and then us discussing the effect of a lost arm on the show's choreography. She's pretty much just fantastic. I've actually been meaning to take her out for a while, but I'm kind of lazy, so it just never happened.
The plot - We took pictures, listened to the stomping ukulele player, had amazing pesto sandwiches (incidentally we were disappointed that the place making the sandwiches didn't offer their fantastic-sounding almond shake today) - which we ate with her parents who happened to also be lunching at the market. Farmer's markets are some of the most prime people-watching experiences you'll ever have. I highly recommend them. After that we roamed on up to Hatch Family Chocolates for a pumpkin milkshake, a short walk, and an amazing conversation. I can't speak for Sara, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Funny - The muttering man we kept running into, dread-lock mullet, bottle-cap magnet sayings. "Sarcasm, now offered all day"
Second date - plausible.

It also happened that a friend of mine, Carrie Scott, was singing with her band at the Market this morning. I bought her CD, because she's kind of amazing. What's really cool about Carrie, though, is that she has a blog - Flirty and Thirty - documenting her own dating adventure: Thirty first dates in honor of her 30th birthday. Good times.

27 dates by 27

There are exactly 27 weeks until my 27th birthday. In honor of this oh-so-numerical occasion, I've decided to get in 27 dates by my 27th birthday (technically by the 27th birthday week - my birthday's on Monday, and that might be cutting it a bit close), and I need your help. I know my fair share of women, but the majority of them don't fall into the "date" category. So it's time for all of you to pull out your little black books and help a brother out.

Here are the rules:

1 - I guarantee a first date, but nothing beyond that. That doesn't mean it won't happen, I just don't guarantee it.

2 - She needs to be single (obviously), a natural-born female (you laugh, but I have stories), active LDS (the time for recreational dating has passed), and legal (more stories...)

3 - I'd prefer you use a measuring stick beyond "Hey, she's single!" - i.e. she enjoys MST3K, she speaks Spanish, she's interested in the finer points of brownie baking - but I won't be picky.

4 - A date might consist of anything from the standard dinner and a show, to a walk through the park. I have a pretty full schedule, so an hour here or there may be all I can get in.

And that's about it. I'll be blogging about my experiences on these dates, and I may end up being brutally honest. Don't take it personally, just know that she wasn't the one for me - nor I for her. That's how dating works. However I'll try to be tactful and only include relevant, and hilarious information.

If you have someone, shoot me an email, and we'll work it out.

Let the games begin.

*addendum: I believe in the guy taking initiative and planning and paying and all that - perfect, I'm down with that; however, I also know that dating involves two people (dating is a verb - action word, something you do, not something done to you), so I am of the strong opinion that girls should have some input, and should be involved in the date, not simply show up, so on the date I might show up with a couple of options and let her help decide what we do. Just don't want anyone to be caught off guard.

Aspiring Artists

I love seeing children that have supportive, encouraging parents. Whenever I'm at Barnes & Noble and I see parents buying their kids books, or reading with their kids, my heart warms and I know that somehow, the world is going to be ok.

Case in point. I stumbled across this - four kids who have a blog! Their dad helps out. Seriously? Awesome. I most enjoyed this post. The blog is mostly about the kid's artwork - of which they apparently do a lot, and at which are kind of ridiculously talented - and this particular post is an anniversary celebration where they invited people to pick a favorite picture from over the years and do their interpretation. They got feedback from some amazing artists. It was fun to see what people did with the kid's work.

Hooray for involved parents!

And a special shout-out to my own parents. They were always amazingly and selflessly supportive of their children. Thanks for letting us explore and become the people we are!

Ch-ch-chastity

An inspirational message from a friend of a friend:

A long-running inside joke emerged within my district in the MTC the day we started practicing to teach about the law of chastity.

Under normal circumstances, of course, chastity is no laughing matter. But when a blushing elder bears his testimony of the sacred law of self-denial by blurting out, for lack of a more, ahem, voluptuous Japanese vocabulary, “Chastity is my favorite!” I think we can all be forgiven for finding the whole thing a little funny.

Particularly because I don’t think many people would list a chaste and celibate life among their favorite things in the history of ever and, speaking from long-suffering personal experience, I can tell you that chastity gets harder and harder to like the longer it sticks around.

Now, before I am misunderstood, let me say that I am fully aware of, and grateful for, the blessings that come from saving myself for The One and Only. (Or George Clooney. Whoever comes knocking first.) The spiritual and emotional toll of illicit intimacy is certainly a higher price than I am willing to pay. But still. I can’t help feeling that I am suffering in virtuous virginity without the recognition that such a feat deserves.

Think about it.

We get certificates for memorizing the Articles of Faith, sew-on patches for learning how to tie knots and pendants, statues and courts of honor for accomplishing every goal on a predetermined list. But the honor of chastity? Not even a commemorative wooden craft or a pat on the back.

Or, think about this.

We go to great lengths to celebrate the simple act of turning one year older, which requires significantly less willpower (as in none) than decades of physical restraint. And yet, when is the last time you baked someone a chastity cake? I don’t think it’s totally unreasonable to suggest that a 30-year-old virgin get at least that.

We celebrate all kinds of milestones and accomplishments, both in and out of the church, and yet that high covenant of chastity, the violation of which is second only in gravity to murder (murder!) gets nothing. So instead of rejoicing together in the blessings of obedience and discipline, chastity often becomes a source of embarrassment, no matter how in but not of the world you are trying to be.

I never feel this more acutely than on my annual visit to the lady doctor. The conversation usually goes something like this.

Her: Are you married or in a relationship?
Me: Nope.
Her: Are you sexually active?
Me: No.
Her: Have you ever been?
Me: No.
Her: Do you drink?
Me: No.
Her: Smoke?
Me: No.
Her: Drugs?
Me: No.
Her: Do you wear your seatbelt?
Me: Yes.

And just like that, I feel like the lamest dud ever. Can a person be any more boring on paper? No sex and I wear a seatbelt? Brother. I can’t even see the edge I’m so far away.

But then in the same moment I think to myself, Now wait just a second here. I shouldn’t be embarrassed, I should be celebrated. Given my current life circumstances, I couldn’t have given better answers to any of those questions. Balloons should be falling from the ceiling. George Clooney himself should be sending me a congratulatory card. At the very least, I should be getting a cookie. Because true chastity is not what I could call my favorite. It is hard work and, let’s be honest here, sort of a bummer. But it is what God has asked me to do, and so I am doing it.

Is there anything more worth celebrating than that?

No?

In that case, I’ll take that slice of cake now.

Inspirational because the first annual Chastity Celebration is now in the works. Stay tuned for more details.

My Alphabet

A is for audition. Next one - Oct. 24th.
B is for bargains. Downeast clearance center. 3500 S. 3500ish W. 1 shirt, 1 sweater, 1 sweater vest. Total cost - $6.50.
C is for cheesecake. I went to the cheesecake factory and remembered how much I love cheesecake. Feel free to bring me some whenever you want. I promise I won't say no.
D is for downtime. I've got some right now. I think it's just the right amount. But I think everyone out there knows it won't last long. I'm a go-getter.
E is for education. I sure like learning and improving myself. Things I'm currently learning or working on: Master's degree in reading education, handwriting, shorthand, French, film acting.
F is for fall. I wish we got one of a decent length. But I'll enjoy it while it's here - mostly with the help of pumpkin steamers from Starbucks - thanks Kasi for turning me onto them.
G is for General Conference. Park City. Comfy couch. Delicious food. Hot tub. Good people. Amazing messages.
H is for humanitarian work. I would like to help here.
I is for investigative TV shows. I'm kind of addicted.
J is for jogging. I don't jog because it hurts my knees, but I wish I could. Instead I read on the stationary bike. Not as refreshing, but it sure helps me get through my to-read book list.
K is for kanoodling. I'm pretty sure I made up that spelling just to fit this letter. Nonetheless, I could use some.
L is for love. Spread it around.
M is for magic bullet. I use mine - All. The. Time.
N is for news. Thanks to the surprise of a friend, I've started reading the news on a more regular basis. I guess it's about time I got caught up on what's happening in the world.
O is for observation. I was observed in my classroom. This can be quite a harrowing experience, but it went of like a dream. Everyone was beaming.
P is for porch. They stripped mine to the bare cement on Saturday, thus enabling them to install new generic astroturf. I'm guessing that means it'll be done...sometime in March? P is also for prepositions. Just because.
Q is for quiet. My crazy neighbors have calmed down...at least for now.
R is for restraint. I'm gaining more as I try to cut down on sugars and unhealthy foods and eat more whole foods and other things that do my body good.
S is for "strict" parents. Notice their children are all normal.
T is for tables. I bought 4 at IKEA then spiced them up with wall vinyl. Fruity you say? Perhaps, but my tables look awesome.
U is for Utes. Yay for football season!
V is for vacation. I need one outside of Utah.
W is for wishful thinking.
X is for Xavier. I just like the name.
Y is for yeti. Thoughts as to his existence?
Z is for Zooey Deschanel. I'm pretty much in love.

Evolution of Beauty