Sabbath Day Bandits

True to tradition, Jon and I kept the Sabbath Day Bandits alive over the break (we started the SBD's in high school with Kevin, giving out cookies to the old, the needy, and the beautiful).

Today we teamed up with Kyler and Austin and finished up a 12 days of Christmas that they have been giving to two families (ladies "of age" were in these families, of course). Tonight was day 10, 11, and 12 of the extravaganza, so we topped the night off with a musical performance. The gifts that we gave and then sang about were:

On the First day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
One bag of frozen green peas
Two Tootsie Rolls
Three Snow balls
Four paper plates
5 Short bread cookies
6 Can't remember
7 String of licorice
8 String of licorice
9 String of licorice
10 Legs a' dancin
11 home made cookies
12 Hot tamales.

The song was better than it sounds. The gifts...uh...not so much.

Seicho suru kesshin

shinnen no mokuhyo o tateru mae ni, sono mokuhyou o kanarazu hatasu yo to kesshin shite iru.

出来る限り頑張れ。２００８は一番年になるでしょう！

All deer go to heaven...

Mom, now that I know that you check this blog probably daily, I can tell you Happy Birthday! again from here.

Hope you had fun sledding, talking with your friends, and eating part of Bethany's burrito, Ryan's ribs, Dad's Chile Rellano, and my carne asada burrito. Oh...and you did put a slight dent in your tamales, too.

Another cold night. Snowy. We went to paintball some deer again on the Kohler farm (we're trying to scare them from the property...they're eating the cows hay and grain), but this time the deer scared a little earlier than usual, bounded across the road, and a white SUV with 'not from Heber' written on the driver's face, nailed one of the deer. We heard a highway patrol officer come along fifteen minutes later and empty his magazine to send the deer back to Bambi heaven.

A few quotes from a book I read today:
Youk'n hide de fier, but w'at you gwine do wid de smoke?
Watch out w'en youer gittin' all you want. Fattenin' hogs ain't in luck.

The owl, for all its feathers, was a-cold

Where to begin?
Took a lunch break from work and went with my Dad to a small Thai restaurant around 72000 south called MeKong. The green curry chicken and sticky rice with the me kai kong soup is amazing. One of the best meals I've had at a restaurant that I can remember. Reminds me of my half-Thai roommate in Japan.

After work, I went to the Fit Stop and swam. In the pool, I saw Ron, a somewhat crazy guy around 30-35 with blonde hair, surfer speak, and a bit of a twitch. I asked him what he did today. Listen in on the conversation.

Ron: Well, man, just, you know, did my stuff. I came here to go to Yoga class but I ended up at the hot tub because, man, well I don't really know why... but I love Yoga. Yoga is greatness. Yoga is like the temple, only the temple is forever. Yoga can be forever, too, I guess. That reminds me of a story. Man, you want to hear a story?
Me: Uh...
Ron: My friend asked me to go fishing with him, but I said, "Dude, it's yoga night. I can't miss yoga." He kept asking me, but I didn't want to miss yoga. Man, I went fishing anyways, because friendship is golden, you know? Well, the next week at Yoga class someone asked where I'd been. I told them fishing. They said that's too bad, because I missed the meditation of a lifetime. Meditation, man! Of a lifetime! Meditation is forever, you know? Some people go to the temple for meditation, but I go to yoga. On thursdays. But, there are more classes. For meditation greatness, you can't miss it! You wanna come this week?

And, after a few more stories from Ron, I politely excused myself. Tonight reminds me of one of the funniest pick up lines i've heard. Not coincidentally, it's from Ron. He was in the singles ward when I lived in Heber, and he would prey on new girls that came in. Here are a few of the lines I've heard him say:

Hey, do you wanna get together, me and you, you know, like the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve? We could eat some fruit and wear fig leaves and stuff.

Hey, were you in a Colgate commercial? You know, the toothpaste? They need good actresses for those commercials. Pearly white teeth. Beautiful smile.

Walking back from the pool to my car might have been the coldest experience of my life. I think it was 6 degrees and windy. I was wet. And, I always park my car the farthest away I can when I go to the gym, because I figure, why should I park close? I'm exercising anyways?

Freezing. I felt like Sanka in Cool Runnings when he breaks off his hair after sitting in the ice cream truck. I'm afraid to ever watch Titanic. I can relate too well. Especially later on tonight, after a crew of us were driving around in the back of a pickup at the Kohler farm shooting deer with paintball guns. Now THAT was cold. But I did beat Whitney in a shooting contest. And, we almost got stuck in a field of snow. I made a wish at 11:11. Reminded me of a girl.

Fun night.

PC wasn't Free

After another basketball game of blisters this morning, I resolved to go to Park City to buy new basketball shoes. Ryan and Buffy wanted to come too, so we made a day out of it.

A lot of money and some new clothes later (there goes my Christmas bonus from TRG), we're a little more stylish.

And, we got to eat at a fun restaurant on Park City main street.

A Quiet Christmas

"But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that -- as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!'"

Charles Dickens
A Christmas Carol

Our Senkyoshi Brother

Christmas Eve Breakdown



7:45-woke up Ryan, got ready, went and played basketball at stake center

10:45-back home, shower, get ready for day

11:20-read book about REIT's for thesis, fall asleep

12:20-wake up, read more about REIT's

1:00-help clean kitchen, go to Smith's to get salt to melt ice

2-4:00-spend time with ryan, bethany, jamie, shane

5;00-family dinner

6:00-talked to Jake in Japan! He is doing really good. His Japanese is sounding great (a few mistakes with nomonalizing verbs here and there, but I was impressed)! He bore his testimony in Japanese. I felt the spirit of christmas as we were gathered around the speaker phone as a family listening to him talk about his dendo no keiken.

7:30-went over to the Grant's to sing Christmas songs with their families. Mostly, Shane and i just listened to the amazing talent of everyone around us.

8:30-now--watched some of Pirates 3, played guitar (made up half a song), read, thought, wrap presents



Snowed again today. Bethany was feeling glum because she wasn't in Arizona with her cousins. She was "bored with just our family."

A word about present wrapping. If the economy of the U.S. collapsed, and the job market shifted to our nation becoming the world's sole skilled provider of gift-wrapping, I would be in desperate trouble. I don't think I could support a family. I'd feel lucky if I made enough to pay for cabbage and water soup (and in most places, water is free!). Origami...gift wrapping...paper airplanes. If it involves paper and folding, put me on the bench, Coach. I'll sit this one out.