desgraciados

for those of you who do not speak spanish, a desgrasiada is basically a person who i happened to take out on memorial day. i kinda met her through a friend on the internet.... and yesterday was the first time i actually met her in person. she and i were supposed to go on a hike up spanish fork canyon, then to the nutty putty caves but it was raining super hard yesterday morning.... also, she decided to bring a friend with a date last minute, which i thought was fine seeing as we had never officially met and i wouldn't want her to feel uncomfortable spending the day with a guy she didn't really know yet...
anyway... because of the rain i decided to change plans to hike timpanogas caves instead... they thought it'd be fun, none of us had gone before... because i was expecting a fairly difficult (or at least long) hike, i thought it'd be important to make sure everyone had a good breakfast first since it was pretty early in the morning and they had driven down from salt lake. no one had eaten yet, so i made everyone biscuits and gravy w/ scrambled eggs... the food was great, and i'm a pretty harsh critic of my food... but, nary a thank you from anyone!!! i thought, oh, well... none of really know each other still, and conversation was pretty sparse, especially since i was in the kitchen most of the time... well... after eating we headed up to timp caves. it was still raining so i bought us all panchos ($2 bucks a pop)... plus i paid to get in the park, ($3 bucks) plus I paid for all 4 of us to do the hike/tour ($7 bucks each)... again... nary a thank you... the hike was good considering everyone complained about everything the entire way up!! but, i didn't let it get to me, and i had a blast... in fact, after we got back to the visitor's center, one of the rangers suggested i apply to be a tour guide/ranger for next season and started giving me all this info on how to apply... it pays $11.50/hr, they're VERY flexible with scheduling, i'd get to give tours, AND i'd get to explore other areas of the cave that regular visitors never get to go in!!!.... so, i dunno... i guess it's a possibility...
anyway... back to the "desgraciada".... basically, i just wanted to say (mostly to Kathy and Tommy I guess)... (but also to those of you with spouses too)... don't forget to say thank you when your date or anyone does something nice for you... it can go a long way, or it can leave a bad impression of your poor character!!! needless to say... i don't see a 2nd date in the future for this girl.

Alias and JJ

Okay, so I know that most, if not all of you do not watch alias or Lost. But let me just tell you how much you are missing out on! OH MYLANTA!!!!!! The last two weeks have been absolutely phenomenal!!!!!!!!! JJ Abrams is such a genius. Well, the first part of this season for Alias wasn't all that great, and I actually missed a few episodes, but they really got things going once they introduced yet another Darevco sister. (sorry bret if this ruins anything for you. I won't give too much away) And as you all can probably tell, I like these women because they are powerful, mean and somewhat redeemable, for the most part. Anyhow, I was thrilled with the season finale of Alias because it went right back to its roots by ending with a heart-pounding cliff hanger, which I love and hate!!! It would take a long time to give an overview of everything, so I won't , mostly because none of you are fans, but it made me feel reaffirmed in my choice of screen name on this here blog!

As far as Lost, I haven't had a chance to watch the finale, but last weeks was so good. JJ has done a fantastic job on his shows.

In other TV news, it looks like the creators of X-Files are putting something pretty creepy out this summer called Night Stalker. It looks pretty scary, so I am sure I will watch the first one at least.

Sorry if I sound like a TV head. I don't really watch all that much, and I watch it when my kids are in bed. So THERE!!! :) Hope you all have a fun weekend.

Memorial Day weekend

You really couldn't ask for better weather than what we've been getting here in Utah this past week or so. Now that the rains have let up, the temperatures are in the mid 70s to mid 80s, and a soft cool breeze tops it all off. My Precious finally got a much needed bath and BB-Q weekend is upon us!! It really puts me in a dilemma... I already have SO much junk I've accumulated over the years I've lived here in the FoxHood apartments, but I'm seriously considering investing in a small to large gas grill. Last summer (around this same time) my work had a summer party and my bosses gave out really nice BB-Q sets (everything but the grill). So I have a Trophy Homes apron and cooking utensil set that have gone unused for much too long.
Anyway... my point is, although I may not be doing the traditional BB-Q or camp out this weekend... I'll be not doing it in perfect weather! Hope ya'll's Weekends are great too!!!

Episode III

I agree with Bret. Although I haven't been waiting as anxiously for it or as long... I really enjoyed it. I think Lucas did an excelent job at bringing the 6 series movies together with this one... and it kinda makes the first two not suck so bad... sorry Bret, I still think so much of the magic of Star Wars was lost in the digital effects of Ep. I&II... oh, well.. like I said, this was definitely a redeeming movie for the series. I also agree with mom when she says it moves a bit slow in parts, and my only other tift is how Lucas just throws Chewy in there as if he's to be a great friend of Yoda... I know I don't have all the knowlege of the Empire series or anything, but it seems there was no indication that the wookies (Chewy) even knew or cared much about the Jedi in episode 4,5,&6.

Although my heartstrings were not pulled as it sounds many of yours were... the more I think on the concept of the series as a whole, (and after reading Bret's insight on all of it) everything becomes more emotional and yeah, I get choked up at the thought of it all... a bit. I think one of the reasons I don't too much is because I have some sort of internal mechanism to protect me from getting too emotionally attached to fantasy anymore... heck, it even effects real life sometimes... it's just that it can get a bit embarassing for a 25 year old guy to get teary over movies, and that used to happen a lot more before... anyway...

I'm really glad I went and visited Bret N Tevs for my cousin Heidi's wedding... I was able to see the Clone Wars (was it?)... the animated series and get introduced to General Grevious a bit... so when I saw him in the movie, I was really impressed... I think they did an excelent job with him! 4 sabers at once.. pretty cool... even though it seemed Kanobi chopped his arms a bit too easily when he had such a difficult time to defeate him... I think the fight scenes were still great!

So yeah, overall... a great movie... especially for the price... $0. I love my job and all the perks I get here!

Revenge of the Sith

I haven't posted in a while, due mostly in part to the fact that my brother and his fiancee were here - so I didn't have much time to spend on the computer. The other reason is we were busy watching Revenge of the Sith and shoveling rock. Thanks for the help Jake.

Regarding the movie - here is my review:

I have waited literally decades for this moment. Star Wars has been a huge part of my life. Some of my first memories involve seeing Empire Strikes Back with my aunt Kathy. I remember seeing Return of the Jedi with my father while most of downtown SLC had rivers in place of streets. I recall getting into the books written by Timothy Zahn that carry on the story of Luke, Han, and Leia. Then the dozens of other books I read as part of what fans call the "Expanded Universe" of Star Wars.

I remember waiting to see Episode I with my family in NY - even though the theater wasn't that great. I think I saw it multiple times and loved it - though it received a lot of negative criticism. Three years later Attack of the Clones made me fall in love again. And here years later, the last of the films was released. I have been anxiously awaiting this day for years. How could it possibly live up to expectations? I purchased opening midnight tickets to the digital theater and restlessly awaited that moment. Wednesday I did little at work except think about that night. When time came to go, we loaded up with Tevia, Jake, and Cari (sp?). Tevia and I had digital tickets. Jake and his girl did not. But as we entered the line, the people in front of us had two tickets to sell. I ran to get Jake and they were able to see it with us in the digital theater. Even nicer, they let us into the theater 3 hours early, so we could wait indoors in nice seats instead of outside in the heat. Kip eventually joined us and we enjoyed speaking with the many fans around us. Our theater had some people dressed up, but the crazy fans seem to have missed out on the digital format, and were in the mile-long line outside having lightsaber duels, etc.

There was talk of the movie starting early - and we were all excited. But they changed their mind and we had to wait until midnight. When the movie began the theater erupted. We were in the third or fourth row from the front, so our seats weren't awesome, but they weren't bad. The opening scene (and I have now seen it twice) is perhaps the most amazing battle scene I have ever scene. It was beautiful and amazing. This film will change the way films are made in the future.

I was aware of many of the spoilers, though I tried to avoid them. I therefore knew much of what would happen. But I was pleasantly surprised by a few things. I found the acting some of the best in the series, and it moved very fast. It certainly was the darkest, and felt it merited the PG-13 it received. My biggest surprise was how well Mr. Lucas was able to help the viewer sympathize with Anakin and his decisions. It was a great metaphore on how good people can be lead slowly down the wrong path until they have become something they never would have set out to be. It is even easy to say that he made correct decisions. It is very true that passion and love, though great gifts from God, can blind us. The Emperor did a fantastic job of showing how manipulative he is. He is pure evil - and like the devil can ensnare us with lies and manipulation. He manipulates everybody in this film: from his apprentice Count Dooku to the Jedi Council to Anakin himself. He plays a great evil character that meshes beautifully with his acting in Return of the Jedi.

I also saw how many times Anakin could have been saved had somebody just reached out to him. Mace makes a fatal mistake of not letting Anakin go with him to arrest Palpatine (due to his nontrust in Anakin). Had he brought him Anakin would have seen Palpatine's evil. Instead he arrives late, according to the Emperor's plan, and witnesses Mace about to kill the Emperor. He hadn't seen Palpatine murder three other Jedi. Instead he sees a man being bullied by a power-hungry Jedi. Obi-Wan later does nothing to convince Anakin that Padme did not lead Obi-Wan to Mustafar. Instead, Anakin continues to believe that Padme has betrayed him. Even wise Yoda does little to interfere with Anakin's path. Instead, all of these people slowly watch him lose control until it is too late. How often do we do the same with those around us?

The fight scenes were spectacular and some of the effects amazing. The end was pure sadness, as I couldn't help but cry during the exchange of Anakin and Padme, and eventually between a mutilated Anakin and Obi-Wan. "You were the chosen one!" The actors do an awesome job of showing the emotion, and as a viewer I can not help but feel their pain and suffering. You can not help but believe that Anakin is a good man deep down inside of an evil one. Like Lucifer of old, his good intentions can not justify the means. This film, unlike any other, ends on such a sad note that you almost leave the theater in pain - though this also could be juxtaposed with the feeling that this is the last of the films.

I loved this movie and understand why the critics did, too. I did not find it the best of the six (I think I still like Empire more), but it is a classic addition to the series. Fortunately for us we know the ultimate outcome - and this helps the movie to not be even darker. Especially the second time I saw it, I felt myself reaching out to Anakin - to help him see the other side. (I admit also that in almost every scene with Padme she looks JUST LIKE Tevia! This makes the movie even more dramatic and real to me, as I certainly would do anything for Tevia). I feel for Yoda as he fails. I feel for them all! It is an emotional film.

It ends with some great ties to the original trilogy - and throughout the film we get answers to questions left unanswered in other films: like why Obi-Wan tells Vader if he is killed he will become more powerful, or even an explanation of the virgin birth of Anakin. All in all, Lucas is a genius that has brought imagination - and even morals - to at least two generations. I thank him for that.

star wars stuff

ok, so we expected to see something here about the movie, even though my other Jacob isn't seeing it til this morning. we all saw it last night. of course, I will start with too much fighting for me. but that was a given. I like the bad guy-good guy theme stuff all the way through all of the trilogy. it got slow in a few places, and I would have added some side plots to keep people like me interested. I had a little kid next to me, about 9 or 10, who was with his 'big' brother, who was 12 or 13. they had cans of silly string, which they used every once and awhile to decorate the chairs in front of them. ( a bit distracting) what did I get out of it? courage. I will be praying for courage for me. I hardly ever pray for anything for me, and I know I could be more courageous. Yoda goes into a room, by himself, and confronts this huge universal bad guy. I loved that. why did he do it? cause he knew the force was with him. I know Heavenly Father is with us when we need Him, but do we always really feel that when we have to face daunting situations? I want a little yoda, so where is that little keychain one, jacob? what do I have to face that I need courage for? oh, I could give you a great list..... I ended up standing outside in my pj's this week, as you may recall. I have to face a stake president today, and find out if I am in YW or not, and I was tempted all week, even as skywalker was, that I am not good enough, or I am too rebellious to be the YW president. and so I get these rebellios feelings and feel like........ oh, better not tell my kids. so I pray for jacob and Cari to have the courage to move forward and only get married in the temple. and for Tev to be a great influence in Primary, and For Jarek to see his good and recognize his talents, and for my other Jacob to overcome whatever he has in his life, and Bret, you are pretty courageous, but do your home teaching!
yes, I liked the movie, and would see it again. Kathy and Tom loved it! dad is already at the temple with the missionaries and 2 new members he baptized. he will get home at 3, and then go right to stake conference. I think he liked it. love ya all, mom

jealous

Hi, I can write this cause no one else here hardly ever reads the blogs. I am glad you will all be together this week, and jealous that I am not there. yes, we are seeing StarWars and even already have our tickets for friday night at 7. it is sunny and I cleaned carpets, painted 2 walls in the kitchen, washed the windows inside and out in the green room, and still have energy. Tom is done with tennis. his back was really hurting him the last 2 weeks. we took Daisy to Quiet Acres last night for FHE. it was fun remembering all of our walks there. still no news on the YW presidency thing. it is driving me crazy. have fun together, and don't spoil the movie for us! love ya, mom

Dreams

Yeah Cari, I don't think you're a spaz for letting dreams effect you... I think Tevs will back me up on this one... I know she and I have similar dreams sometimes... the best ones are when you've been beating someone up all night, or fighting like in a war, or like you're a secret agent like Alias or Austin Powers... k, maybe not Austin... but you know...
It's kinda funny you mention the dream thing though... I've been reading the Harry Potter books lately. I want to get through them all again before the 6th comes out. Anyway, I'm on the 4th, still my favorite, and the other night I had a dream I was in the Triwizard Tournament.... it's not that I was Harry Potter or anything like that, but I was in the Tourney and it was way wierd... But I wasn't doing too bad... ya know, for not having any wizarding experience myself and for being a muggle and all. Anyway... there was one point that I woke up in a sweat, but I can't remember what was happening... oh well...
As for the running out at 6am to check the car... Yeah, I've done that one becuase of a dream too... us Honda owners are really the only ones who can know what it's like to worry about their cars like that... but at least the Precious has an alarm, so I'd hear her if something was wrong. :)

Vader's Blog

Ever want to read Darth Vader's blog? Well, you can. I found this very creative. It is also quite accurate, as this guy really has a good knowledge of the Star Wars universe. There are some things in here that made me crack up - but I warn you - if you don't know a lot of the Star Wars universe, it won't be as funny or impressive. One of my favorites is his day he has lunch with Boba Fett. It made me laugh. I also like his blog on mother's day about Padme. Check it out.

http://darthside.blogspot.com/

egos, emperors, and wookies

Congratulations on your achievments Darth Sith Jedi Master Bret!! I know just what you mean, it is nice to get even a simple "thank you" now and again from management/presidents/CFOs/big wigs. I know my efforts are appreciated around here... well... it's either my efforts or the way I keep everyone laughing around here.
Tevia... yes, you are very... well, in your own words, "persuasive." But I've yet to see lightning fly from your fingertips.. YET! But the jury is still out on you being the emperor or not.
Poor wookie. I'm with Tevs on this one... with gas prices where they are... I couldn't justify keepin him around... Not only does he seem to guzzle it up on the road, but apparently, if he's huffing now, that's just that much more down the drain... even if it is just fumes.

I wanted to anounce, the sun is out today in Provo, and I will be going golfing after work... I'd like to bring my clubs to play in AZ when I come in July... Don't know how feasible that'd be though... let me know what you think Darth Jedi Wall.

Ego Tripping

This week has been crazy. I apologize to Tevia for having to stay late and work on things, which is abnormal (luckilly). This week a few things that have happened that continue to show me in a good light in the company. We had a client come in this week (Tyco), and at the last minute I was asked to replace the director assigned to the client and present to them that day. I don't mind doing presentations, even sales ones, so I was able to pull off a great presentation with the five client visitors as well as some very high level Prudential people. I have been involved in many of these the past few months - including Bayer which we won their business and will be a well over million dollar client. Remember, I am not in sales. I received a lot of compliments from many people for my work with Tyco. Word also got around that I had replaced the other director and so many people in the department see me as the new superman - or the new Sofia (my old boss/mentor who was the greatest thing since sliced bread). The next day I was in a client presentation when the account executive on the account (which happens to be Prudential Financial - or own parent company) went on and on about how me and my team have changed our relationship with the client contact since it came to my team a year ago. At one point in the presentation the President of our company - Margery Marshall - just turned to me and started clapping - and everyone else stared at me and clapped. It was a strange feeling.

So I have felt very blessed this week to know that my company values me and that they feel I am good at what I do. Not that I haven't felt that before, but it is nice to receive recognition. I know that even a simple thank you can be heartfelt and make somebody's day. So I am trying not to get a big head - as I already suffer from enough cockiness - and keep doing my job. I love what I do. It has been busy, but I still don't work as much as many managers at my level.

On a separate note - the Wookie (my Jeep) started smelling like gasoline yesterday - very strongly. We let it sit and in the morning it still was very stong smelling, so I decided to take a better look. The Wookie then decided not to start! Crazy walking carpet! So I had him towed to the shop down the street (thanks AAA). They replaced the battery but found no leaks and smelled no gas. So I picked him up and wonder if he was just huffing yesterday or something. We'll see if he smells again. Tevia was ready to trade him in this morning. She must be like the Emperor - he hates Wookies - as you'll see in Episode III.

Use the Force Bret

Okay, so it has rained pretty much non-stop for the past 2 months it seems!!! Bret, I know you have control over the weather in the region you live... but do you think you could maybe extend that power, use the Force, or whatever it is you do and make it stop raining here?? I know Utah has been in like a 6 year drought or whatever, but come on, this is supposed to be a desert, droughts are expected... besides, I could care less if the entire state burned, cause in the mean time my new golf clubs are just gathering dust!
Speaking of golf, and the Force (two very different things come to mind)... first, the Force... my work rented out a movie theater to see Star Wars III on the 21st at 8am!!! we can bring whoever we want for free... just like they did for us for LOTR III and Harry Potter III... I'm SO excited... cause the only thing better than getting to see BIG movies that are coming out, is seeing them for FREE!!!!
As for the golf thing... although I haven't been able to hit the real links for some time, I met a girl who has Tiger Woods Golf on X-box... so we play that every now and then... and that's almost as fun... but not quite. :) I have to say though, I am better at the real deal than on X-box... yup, the last time I went golfing I hit a 10 over par... and that was after doing a 4 over on the first hole... so every other hole was either par or boggie golf!!
Anyway... Bret, please use the Force to give us some clear weather for the Real SL game this weekend... cause I can't seem to get these dang Mormons to stop praying for rain!!

construction, what I know...

So, I worked in a construction company for four years and learned a few things about the way a schedule is set up. And here is how it goes, the person who calls and complains the most and the loudest gets service first. Now, generally I am not the type of person who is a big wave maker. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and think that they are all nice and good and fair. So we have had our pool under construction since the middle of April and now we are in the second week of May and we are still waiting on this company to get a move on finishing up. The last thing they have to do is come out and start the pump and put in chemicals. The pool was finished being plastered on Saturday, and they said they would be out the next day (yeah right) to get everything going. Now mind you, they had already taken the last installment of our money, so in my mind I am expecting things to get done. Well, it is Tuesday and I have already called two times since yesterday morning with them reassuring me that someone will call me this afternoon. Well, as you can imagine, no call, so I call again, and this time I am quite irritated. The girl gets back on the phone after "checking" what the schedule is, and tells me that I am two more days out. I was mad. I interrupted her and said no way. I told her that I had paid in full and that I didn't want to be kept getting put off and put off because they had my money and didn't think it a priority to finish out the job until they felt like it. So I explained that I wanted them out here and that if they couldn't get someone out here, I wanted my service fee back for the part of the job they promised me would be done in a certain time frame and wasn't. Well she said "Hold on Mrs. Wall". So I did, and she came back and said I must be "lucky" because someone would be out today before five.
Moral of the story: Sometimes you really have to be the squeaky wheel to get things done, even if it isn't exactly your normal way of doing things.
I knew this from working construction, but didn't think that I would ever be the annoying woman on the other end that you just wanted to go away!!!!!
That is all.

The Dark Side Shrouds Everything

This week has been a week of sithspawn! It is funny how some weeks, like Tevia noted some days, just seem to go bad. Work has been crazy this week with so many typical big corporation bureaucratic mishaps, unaccountable employees and mishaps. Luckily for me, I am an optimist and can get through the days without too much strife - and then come home to a wonderful family that can make me forget the woes of the day. This week for the third month in a row our accounting group messed up the invoice to one of my clients. The third month in a row! The client called me fuming because so many of the mistakes were the same as the last two months. He knows the errors are not my fault, but I am the one who gets the calls and hears the complaints. I am the one who has to elevate the issue to senior management only to have the issue thrown about as no one wants to take responsibility. So what is the solution? I will audit all invoices from now on. No, I am not an accountant, I do not work in billing, I do not get paid for it, but if I want the client to be satisfied the only person that can do it is me. And this is just a small example. Now, I know this attitude is one of the reasons I have been very successful in my career, but sometimes you just get tired of taking everything on. My job responsibilities become blurred and it gets more difficult to focus on things that are truly important.

I still like my job, and I understand that these things go on everywhere, but it is good to vent from time to time. When you deal with things like this and then have to deal with two employees who start an email war telling the other one how much they don't like them and makes one of them cry, you just start to wonder. I think I was able to handle that one pretty well, though, as the one guy agreed he was in the wrong and apologized today. He came to me afterwards and said it must be tough to be a manager and have to deal with such dumb things. I agreed. But I know none of us are perfect and some days some people just really tick us off. Even me, believe it or not. There is this one guy that we play basketball with and for some reason he just bugs me. He is rude, cocky, annoying...just like most of us. I don't know what it is that just puts him in a league of his own. I told this to Kipp, and he agreed. For some reason this guy just bugs. Maybe he has a really bad spirit or something. So I try to be nice to him - but it is hard. (Not that I am mean to him, I'm not really that type of person).

Two weeks until Episode III. I am reading the book Labyrinth of Evil, which is the novel that leads up to the start of the movie - a PREQUEL to the prequel you could say. It is getting me psyched, like I wasn't already. I've heard from some good sources that this movie will make you cry. So be prepared.

Luck

It seems strange that one person would have such bad luck the whole day doing errands. I got in every line where the person in front of me had a problem and had to call the manager, and every time I got on the road to go to my next stop, someone cut me off, and two of the stores I went to didn't have what I wanted even though the same store in a different location had the stuff just two days before. I guess I am just glad that I got home safe and didn't fare worse. I will try to keep my luck just so and stay home the rest of the afternoon, Oh yeah, after I pick Jarek up from school. Have a lovely day.