The Latest of the Mohicans

Do you ever find yourself constantly checking your cell phone for updates, or your Facebook for new texts? Man, I need to get focused! School time, study time.
Christmas was great, as usual. We ate muffins. With blueberries.
Shortly after Christmas, about two days, I left for Utah. I pulled into to Draper, Utah, where my friend Alex Murray bought me a Whopper. This just began my journey. I slept at Mike Moreno's house, we made some hilarious raps on his computer, and the next morning I got to play a scrimmage game of soccer with BYU's soccer team. They were good, really really good. So good, I was tired! Then it was off to meet with Nick Rich. Oh, good old Nick, that saint. It doesn't stop there though! We drove to St. George that night.
Do I have you anticipating what is going on right now? Are you on the edge of your seat, or are you kind of begrudgingly wondering why I don't I come out and state the destination of our trip? Either way, read on, my captivated or annoyed audience!
We met up with Mitch Anderson (my good friend from accounting class). And Kason Shaw, from the mission. Mitch took me to see his family and it was great! He woke up his mom, his mom woke up his dad, and his little sister even woke up, just to meet me! I felt bad that they all were woken up at 10 pm, just to meet me. But, it feels good that they did it, just to meet me. What's more, is his mom offered to make us ham sandwiches for our trip. Well, 4 ham sandwiches later, 5 oranges, rice crispy treats, crackers, chips, many more snacks in one hefty blue bag later. Oh yeah, she made me all those things for the trip, and later I was on my way. Mitch took me on a hike to see St. George. I wouldn't mind living there for quite a while sometime in my life.
One of the problems with having your phone on silent all the time is sometimes you don't hear the vibration of your phone as you're sleeping. There I was. Sleeping. In a sleeping bag (I like sleeping bags, so easy to make your bed in the morn). Luckily, my brother didn't only text, he also called. He and his FIANCE! Allison were coming up to Salt Lake City, seeking to beat the storm, leaving Arizona at 3 am. Sheesh. I'm glad he called me! Our paths did cross at Denny's that morning at 9 am, were his FIANCE! bought us both breakfast. I know, I should have done the boughting, but she wanted to see if her credit card was working, due to some rumors from the company about a "stolen!" credit card. It was so good to see Matt and Allison (his FIANCE!). It was the first time I'd seen him since August. And the first time I'd seen Allison in about 4 years. Matt and I still keep close though, through Skype. What a program, Skype.
Then, we made a stop in Vegas, to visit the Bass Pro Shop. There was an aquarium there, and a guy was scuba diving in the aquarium, feeding the fish and sting rays. Wow, what a brave man.
We got out of Sin City fast, but not fast enough to not have to buy gas for a stunning $3.30/gallon. Ouch. It was my turn to fill the gas tank too.
A quick stop in Riverside to see one of Nick's friend's wedding reception. Then we finally made it to our destination. Ah yes, good old San Diego. We couldn't wait to get a genuine California Burrito in our gullets. We had plenty of that, plenty of seeing old friends, plenty of everything! It was so great to see everyone again. Xulong and Lin took me out for breakfast: duck porridge! It was great! And then we went to see the Mormon Battalion. I told Xulong I might mention him in my blog and post a picture of him. He said my blog would get overloaded with views. In his own words:

"Xulong, the famous Nobel Laureate from China."

This one's for you, Xulong!

One of the best moments of the trip was sitting in the ward Nick Rich and I served in together: La Mesa. A sister walked over when she saw us, leaned over the pew and says "Elder Rich! It's so good to see you, how are you?" She gave me a one and a half take, and I could tell she almost recognized me. I'll give her some slack though, I was wearing different glasses. I found out that day that when you leave someplace, you don't leave your name. You leave a job well done, and a legacy to be carried on. Go future!

I didn't get to see Anni and her baby Jordyn though. Next time I'm in SD, I will for sure.

Who can forget Tyler, Barabara, and Elliott. We had a delightful afternoon listening to the invention that was made before the cassette player. It's not a compact disc, but it's shaped like one. Bigger, blacker. I'm sure I'll think of what it's called later. We played a riveting game of yahtzee and laughed at old times. Whew. Good times.

Now, for those of you who know me, know that I don't like to dance. Or shop. But, here's the deal. I was dropped off in Las Angeles for 3 hours. I was dropped off by a mall. And a Ross. One hundred dollars per hour! Dang! That's a lot for me. I didn't even need much, just a couple pair of pants. So, I'm going to try to go for a full 30 days and not wear the same shirt twice. See if I can do it. The shirts that don't get worn in the 30 day period just might get the axe.

It took us 2 days to drive back from SD. I got tb right around the Idaho border (tb is tired butt), which isn't bad, considering how far we drove. Back to school now.

Chemistry and Biology are my heavy hitters.

That is all! A rather abbreviated time period of my life.

May 18th- I remember what its called! Its a record player! That's what Tyler and Barbara had, and I remembered we listened to Sufjan and Vampire Weekend. Someday, I'ma have a record player, and when my friends come over for dinner, I'll pop a record on and pour them some juice.

Photoless, yet jam packed.

Alright, so I might have a couple of photos to include.
I was doing pretty good at writing in this once a month. And I don't want to say anything foolish like: "oh boy, I need to update my blog more" because I might not do it. I want to do it, but I might not do it.
The latest and greatest: Craigo's (wonderful job, cool peeps), hikes with Daniel (waterfall canyon with the giant rope swing, and the next week Mt. Borah: the tallest mount in Idaho), schoolwork (aka homeworks), Elders Quorum, soccer, longboarding! La Fondita (best Mexican restaurant in Rexburg. I'm always plugging for them! $1 tacos, amazing burritos, etc). Ear plugs (for when the band practices. We learned about the ears in anatomy. Amazing! Just want to keep these pretty boys the way they are because hearing aids, although amazing, can't replicate the natural sounds we here righ nah). Three new books (read zero so far, but just wait till Thanksgiving break!), Skype! (that's how I keep in touch with Matt). Custom orthotics (it's an IBC business Jason is doing for school. I bought a pair of these and they seem to be doing just fine. I also bought a five dollar punch card for cookies and milk for another IBC business). Guitars unplugged (with my room-mates/bandmates. I love those guys. We're still debating band names. We're debating between Fancy Bread [bringing back that awesome old band name from yesteryears], Jupiter Volta, Co-ed, Badminton, Co-ed Badminton, and Seth Neehring...wait, I've got it. I need to suggest Firebirds!). Free Aggie ice-cream (at a grad school fair at the school. Aggie mint baby. Wow). Joel, Ben, Spencer, Daniel, Dexter, Mike, Marshall, Matt, Shawn, and Ryan (my 10 room-mates). A friendly game of raquetball with Dan Mahler (which he twisted his ankle at, but he bought an ankle brace I believe and is doing much better.). I got to work at Badger Creek again! There was a girls soccer team up there, and I got to do initiatives (teambuilding) with their group. We did this thing called silent opera where one person is blind-folded, another person can only face the "silent opera," and all the members of the opera watch me, the facilitator, act something out. After I finish acting it all out, then they all simultaneously, silently, and chaotically convey what I have done to the speaker, who directs the blindfolded individual to act out exactly what I acted out. Confusion and hysteria ensue. The speaker always gets confused at what's going on, like such as, "Turn left...no, right! Wait...Nine...Zero. Oh! Turn 90 degrees to your left...no, turn around! STOP! Reach down and pick up a backpack? Yeah, a backpack. But wait...you know how at school you put a bookbag on your back? Well, you need to wear it on your front like you have a big belly..." Oh man, it was great.
That's a shotgun look at what's been going on. Blog, I'll see you when I see you, sooner or later.

Badger Creek

They said it would pop my socks off. It did. It really did.
To explain, I must start at the beginning of the story. I don't know why you'd start anywhere else. The beginning is a great place to start a story because without the context the meaning gets jumbled and distorted, the content is left up to the audience to decipher and guess about. It's quite a mess really. So, here's the beginning. You ready? I love Badger Creek. I was skeptical about the job because the pay didn't seem so great. I have those friends that are living the dream, making the big bucks with selling security or pest control. Turns out that nothing could have been a better experience for me this summer. It's amazing to be part of an organization where there is no shirking of responsibilty, where everyone digs in deep and they are all willing to help the mission of Badger Creek be accomplished.
Elder Gene R. Cook was up here to Badger Creek for his family reunion. I was able to help facilitate the family reunion with my good friend Kyle Roeser. Elder Cook is an emeritus seventy now, but long ago was my mission president's mission president. He was also very influential in the conversion of one of my favorite families on my mission, the Williamsons. It was so great to meet him and speak just a little bit with him about our mutual friends. He had a great impact on people that many years later had a great impact on me. Interesting how that all works out.
I just finished my 3rd week of OYA (Outdoor Youth Adventure). Groups in number of 12-14, with the ages of participants anywhere from 14-18 swarm the ranch. It was an older group this week, which made our discussions a little more deep and meaningful. We applied all the ropes courses (giant swing, Jungle Jim, incline log, power pole, etc...) and all the initiatives (teambuilding exercises) to life and to the gospel--the kids were sharp as electric pencils.
Just a snippet into my life having to do with my glasses. On Wednesdays we take our OYA groups to the Snake River to hit Big Kahuna etc. I was wearing my spectacles this Wednesday because my contacts had been fogging up randomly and were being a nuisance.As we waited for Lewis and Clark raft guides to show up, we were playing a friendly and joyful game of Ninja Destruction. My good friend Hannah (Hannah is bomb, down to earth, cool as snow--not cold as snow, but cool. Hannah is not a cold person) had her hands placed in a susceptible position. It would be a stretch but I decided to jump and go for it. I lunged and swung for her right hand at her right shoulder; she pulled it in front of her chest and my left hand went soaring past and was in the place that her right hand once was. My starboard hand was now close to my cheek from the jump (it just seemed like a natural place to put it). Without skipping a beat she begins her turn. She takes her right hand and starts to swing it like a hammer towards my right hand. Luckily I shot my right hand straight up in the air and absorbed her backhand with my face and my glasses. The only problem was my glasses ended up getting broken and after my best taping, they still fit loosely on my face. (Hannah, if you end up reading this, know that I'm not bitter. I love this experience and I want to thank you for letting me elaborate on it. I like to take stories and run with them sometimes by providing a very detailed scenario for a story that could have been very simply told like this: "Before river rafting, Hannah broke my glasses as we were playing Ninja Destruction.") We jumped on the river rafts shortly thereafter and had a pretty smooth trip. We got 3/4 of the way down and came to a place that our river guide said was good to jump in at. John, a young buckaroo from Omaha, decided to have a test in man strength with me. I didn't enjoy this test as he was on top of me and wouldn't let go of my life vest. Eventually, yes, with some resentment and defeat, I jumped in clinging onto his life jacket. He came right in with. The only problem was the impact jarred my glasses clean off my nose. Murky, deep, and shifting water makes for a hard place to find a pair of glasses before they sink to the bottom of the river. That's exactly what they did. So it ended up that I only had to wear broken glasses for about an hour. Now I haven't a pair of glasses in the world to wear. Looking online, I can get a good deal, but the problem is I don't know my perscription. Things'll work out just fine I'm sure. I get to sport a new pair of glasses come purty soon.
I love working with youth right now. They teach me a ton about the gospel and about life. They are strong and funny and smart and loveable and teachable and friendly and straight up amazing. I'm not for sure about this next part yet, but come this time next year if I'm not married, I reckon I'll work here again. Love it, love it.
The summer has been tremendous and is cooking by. I'll be back in Rexy before too long, living with Daniel, and the band buddies, and some other cool cats.
Oh yeah, that bit about the socks being popped off. There's a saying/legend/tradition at Badger Creek that all started with a horse named Arnold. This adventuresome horse one day found himself stuck in the water trough. It took all the staff members at the time to pull him out and they all got soaked. They enjoyed the experience so much that every time someone would yell "Arnold's in the trough!" the entire staff would make for the nearest submergable body of water and jump in. This afternoon, right before the kids left I made an announcement to the staff. I was holding my blue wool socks in one hand and said "I'm not wearing socks..." Some lunged forward pointing at me and scolding me to "Sit down! Sit down!" Some staff were confused. Others shook their heads. Some love random things and laughed. Then I yelled "Arnold's in the trough!" It's exhilirating to know that you have the power at the tip of your tongue to get 15-20 people to jump into a body of water. We all sprinted to the pond, some shedding shoes, others emptying pockets, and still other's forgetting important items and papers in their pockets. One by one we hit the water and began to frolic...except Jake. He b-lined it straight to me and dunked me in the water a couple of times. I think it was his way of saying "thank you, it's a warm day and I needed to cool off."
Over and out. KRD triple nine clear.

So this month can fit into a week...Whew, there's a long week if I'm going to fit a month into it. Let's do seven main points of the month, like days of a week!
1. I've been working at the pizza place a bunch. They've been really accommodating to me and my situation. They hired me on for a month and some change and I have a job when I return for the fall semester. How nice of them. They're peaches in pizza's clothing.
2. Scott took me rock climbing again. Today was for the last time :( He's moving out to Iowa to go to med-school, and I'm going up to Badger Creek come Friday.
3. Which brings me to my next subject: Badger Creek. Back in December I turned in my application (the deadline was January 12th). I got the last letter of recommendation in on January 13th...the interview went great and we had training meetings for the rest of the semester on Wednesdays. Badger Creek is an OYA camp (Outdoor Youth Adventure--it's similar to EFY), starts June 4th, ends August 14th, is a Monday through Friday job, and is up near Tetonia, ID. I'm stoked to go. I got my list of things I needed to buy and have. The smartest thing I ever did was print out that list in front of my mom because she has taken care of me. She found me a mattress pad and got me some sweet rain gear while she was in Oregon. Well, the jacket is a Women's medium...but we're getting things worked out. The pants are Men's and I have to say look pretty-a good!
4. The thought came and was circulated to three persons of an alive bloggers society. ABS. Not anti-lock brakes, mind you. I do realize the acronym is already taken, but what acronym isn't taken these days? Anyways, the Alive Blogger's Society is a coalition of bloggers who update their blogs frequently and check other's blogs in the society. The entries are supposed to be vivid, moving, and full of color (figuratively). These were supposed to be vibrant! The idea has diminished and has never been talked about again. I decided just to write down what's going on in my life and let other people read it if they like. Dead Poets Society was a good movie, but I don't think they'd actually make a movie for ABS. Oh wait, they already have. Car salesman have to watch it during their training. You still with me?
3. Badger Creek! That was the subject before my tangental mind wandered and typed. I sleep under a hand cart Monday through Thursday, and I can go home Friday, or sleep in the lodge at Badger. New groups will come up every week. We do ropes courses, river rafting, and a lot of team building.
5. I went to the dentist for the first time in 2 and a half years and I'm good! No cavities! He was so stinkin' impressed. He even invited me back to shadow him. So, I did. I spent an afternoon in Mark Tall's office; watching, waiting, commiserating...for the people who got their braces off. I felt a little out of place, but what the heck. They said I can come back anytime and watch again. Everything was great, except the lady that got the tooth canal thing. She winced in pain, but Dr. Tall kept her laughing. Yeah, that could be me. Providing a good painful experience.
6. Summer also brings the grand birthday of mine. What a great thing to have a birthday. We exist! My birthday isn't just yet though.
7. I know everyone's wondering so I'll just let you know. Not dating anyone right now. There. I said it.
8. I'm gonna miss Matt to bits. It's been so good spending time with him the past 8 months. We're best friends and I've followed in his footsteps in a lot of ways. He's got good things coming his way though. He'll do great in Arizona at Pod School.
An 8 day week.
I'll let you know about Badger Creek in a month. It's going to be my life for the next 75 days or so. That's a lot of days. That's a lot of mosquitoes. That's a lot of sleeping under a handcart.

Venturing into the world of blogging.

Never had a blog before. It looks fun! It's sort of a journal I keep that others can keep tabs on me, and I look at their cyber journals too. It's a fair transaction. I mostly know of just Tyler, Brett, Tyson, Matt....yup. You guys are the only ones I know that keep a blog. But depending on the extent of my expenditures I might just become one of the top ten bloggers of all time.
Right now I'm in Rexburg living with Matt and working at Craigo's again. Pizza is great. I really enjoy working there...again. Things are simpler now; it's just a buffet with a minimum amount of side orders. I even meet nice people there like Scott, who took me rock climbing. Thanks Scott. Great Scott.

I start working at an OYA camp called Badger Creek come June 4th. I'm really excited for this. I'm not excited for allergies, mosquitoes, and other such enjoyabilities.
You wanna know what I'm gonna be? That guy you like, but it's weird when you see him out in public. Yup, a dentist. So get those teeth flossed and ready to come see me...if you will live anywhere in the vicinity of me. It'll be a few years. It's a long road ahead, but one I'm willing to learn how not to set off people's gag reflexes for.