So a couple weeks ago I went to Baltimore for a conference. My sister lives in Washington, D.C., a mere 45 minutes from Baltimore, so of course I went a few days early to go sightseeing. I went to D.C. once when I was thirteen, so I was excited for another opportunity.
My older brother also went, and together the three of us had two days of sightseeing.
So, first on our stop was the Washington, D.C. temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have never seen a more majestic building. I’d seen it in photos, but nothing compares to seeing it firsthand.
Breathtaking…
Beautiful and powerful…
I was trying to think of the word that best describes this edifice, and I decided that MAJESTIC was the best word. If you ever get a chance to see this building in person, take it. It is well worth it.
After our trip to the Washinton, D.C. temple, we headed over to the Marine Corp Museum. As you can see from the image below, my older brother was in the Marines (as well as the Army and Air Force).
Inside I got to wear a sample 120 pound backpack (what our soldiers wear, without a weapon or body armor… it was heavy). Sorry the image is blurry – my sister doesn’t know how to take pictures with my camera lol
At the end of the tour, I found the part that hit me the most… I was in the Dominican Republic when it happened, but I still felt the shock of it.
I almost cried as I stood there looking at the memorabilia from that day: photographs, items found in the debris, and newspaper clippings telling the story of my nation’s dark day.
Part of me is sad I was not here in America to feel what everyone else felt; to see the patriotism; to feel the unity of the nation I love. I hope a day like this never happens again.
After the Marine Corp Museum we went to the Capitol Mall (where all of the monuments are). We saw the Washington Monument and then the Capitol building (I couldn’t help it… I had to take the next photo. It’s me holding up the Capitol Building!).
Then we drove by the Supreme Court and visited the Lincoln Memorial.
After that we went to the Vietnam Memorial (it was cool seeing it at night, but unfortunately none of my photos turned out). And our final stop on our 1st Day was the Jefferson Memorial. We were dead tired by the time we got there, but it was my favorite site of the day, with the exception of the Washington, D.C. temple. It stood all alone away from the other monuments, yet the structure itself was beautiful. I didn’t get a good picture of Jefferson or the outside of the building, but I did manage to sneak in the following picture of myself…
My next post will conclude my photographic trip through Washington D.C. We got to see one of my favorite monuments, and I had no idea it was so huge. Tune in tomorrow (or possibly the next day…) for Day 2 of my trip
So yesterday was indeed my birthday. Thank you to everyone who helped make it special by sending me birthday wishes on Facebook, via text, over the phone, in person, or in your heart. I could feel it all and it helped me have a wonderful day.
Also, special thanks to Julie for putting together the dinner and movie plans: California Pizza Kitchen (yum) and Inception (great movie).
Overall, it was an awesome day.
This was me in the morning… (sorry I look so sad and/or mean lol… I didn’t feel that way).
My 2010 Birthday Morning
And as a birthday bonus to you… this is a funny spoof on the Old Spice commercials from my Alma Mater. Thanks to Lyle for sending it my way…
Well, I finally realized something about myself. I don’t think working out is fun.
In fact, I’ve found that keeping a consistent workout schedule is hard, especially if I don’t change it up a lot. (I get bored) In the last 10 months I’ve changed my workout schedule almost once a month.
Most recently it was P90X… super good workouts, but super boring, especially when done by myself.
So, I’m trying to find something that’s fun and a workout. My newest idea: Kung Fu.
Y0u may have noticed that I changed the look and feel of my website… I may still change some things, but I would love to know what you think about the new look… Thanks!
I’m not sure… I know it happened sometime in the last four months. I know this because I just realized it was gone, and I can remember a time a few months back when it was here.
The strange thing is that I don’t remember how it left. But I know that it did.
This may take some of you by surprise. If you know me at all, you know that I am generally very upbeat and happy. I love life. I love being alive. I love sharing who I am with the people around me. I love making them see the beauty that is life and the strength that is within them.
You see, I have always believed in the divine nature of man. I know that we have the potential to be so much more than we are. And I know that getting there is within our power. It’s within us.
I have always told people this. I have always tried to instill in others knowledge of the strength they have inside, the power that is their vision of themselves, and the ability they have within themselves to positively affect their lives and the world around them.
Somehow lately, I stopped actively believing this for myself. I forgot that my happiness and joy was a choice I make. I forgot that I have a reason to be happy—many reasons.
A few months ago I came face to face with a realization that shocked and hurt me. And it wasn’t so much that I had never thought of it before. The shocking part was that I didn’t realize the depth of the matter or understand how deeply it would affect me.
If I had to pick a moment when the joy began to leave my life, I would say it was that moment. From then on, this realization began its strangle hold on my life. As I allowed it to strangle me, I did my best to hide it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hide it—not from everyone. Some very close friends had to deal with the affects too.
Instead of learning the lesson and moving on, I let the wound fester. I focused on it. I tried to make it go away by constantly dwelling on it. I started to blame my circumstances and those around me for my unhappiness. I also started to expect that the people around me would give me the happiness I couldn’t find myself.
Along this journey, I negatively affected one of the best friendships I have ever had. I became a drag. I lost the life in me, and I expected this friend to follow me through my despair and pull me out.
I realize now how wrong I was. And how unfair. I wish I could go back and undo these last months to keep the wounds I caused from being inflicted. Unfortunately, all I can do now is learn and grow.
I am very sorry to any of you that have had to carry me these last few months. I am so indebted to you for your patience and love, and I am so sorry for any pain, frustration, or annoyance I have caused you.
To my friends who put up with me despite my recent depression, I am very sorry. I am working now to revive the life and joy that you used to associate with me.
I may be down, but I am far from done. If there’s one thing I have always believed, it’s that I can do anything I put my mind to. And so can you.
I hope you all had a great time on New Year’s Eve, and I hope you all have a great year. I will continue to work on my goals, and I hope you continue to work on yours as well.
I am still working on my new album. I have finished six songs and have been working on many others as well. I will hopefully have this second album completed this year.
Even though my six pack abs didn’t completely emerge by January 1st, I have continued to work towards them as well. Since I started my journey, I’ve gained a lot of muscle and dropped from 189 to 175 pounds.
Anyway, I hope you guys remember that life is to be lived and enjoyed. If you’re not enjoying life, then figure out why not and fix it. Have a nice day
I know this is coming a little late, but I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I hope you had a great time and got to see your loved ones. I hope we all can remember why we celebrate Christmas and take that message to heart.
Wow these last few months have been rather excruciating for me… and I mean that in the most positive way imaginable.
Does your life ever sometimes just feel like too much to handle? Mine does. And recently it’s been overwhelming me a lot. Luckily this week I think I hit rock bottom and have begun to claw my way out. Thursday night I got a blessing and yesterday I had a few realizations, as well as some needed conversations, status checks, and heart to hearts. Sorry to anyone my blueness has affected.
I felt devoid of life… like I was slipping away into blackness. So, to commemorate the occasion, I got creative. This is what I came up with: a visual representation of how I’ve been feeling lately, especially this last week. I hope you enjoy, and I hope you don’t feel this way. If you do, listen to some good music and make a decision to knock it off, turn around, and start clawing your way out.
I know it’s a few days late for Halloween well-wishing, but I wanted to show you all of my costumes. Yes, I had more than one. This year I dressed up three times in two days.
At work on Friday the 30th, my sister (who also works with me) wanted to dress up like cheerleaders. So, I was the stunt partner and she was the cheerleader I dropped. As you can see from the following pictures, I dropped her multiple times…
Halloween 2009: How to dress like a cheerleader
Halloween 2009: Dressed in a cheerleader costume
And in case you were wondering, those were both of our original high school cheerleading uniforms. (Hers from her freshman year and mine from my sophomore year–yes we still both fit into them ). This is not something I normally broadcast, but I was a stunt guy for three months that year (until I dropped the same girl three times and decided it wasn’t for me).
On Friday night I went to a huge dance called Midnightmare. It was pretty awesome and a ton of fun. This time I decided to dress up like a skater. It wasn’t that glamorous but it was fun. I wore a friends clothes; he is a skater and helped me dress exactly the way a skater would.
I didn’t realize all that went into dressing like a skater. I had to do the following: the shoes had to be tied exactly right, not all the way to the top so the tongue of the shoe is exposed; the pants have to be behind the tongue of the shoe (so it can be seen) but can’t drag on the floor; you have to be able to see the back of the shoe, and if the pants are too long you can roll them up one small time; you have to sag your pants so your boxers can be seen; you have to tie a shoelace around your waste for a belt and let the two loose ends hang so they can be seen beneath your x-large shirt with the tall tee underneath it. On my head I wore a Dirty Ghetto Kids hat with cool new white headphones that had to cross the hat perfectly above the button on the top. Here is what I looked like as a skater:
Halloween 2009: Ty is the INnOut guy, Aaron is the Injun, I am the Skater
How to dress like a skater
And of course I have to include a picture of me tearing up the dance floor at Midnightmare…
Halloween 2009: How to dress and dance like a skater
On Saturday the 31st I dressed up as a goth. For this one my friend Jenny helped me out. I basically just did what she told me: I wore all black with a black studded belt, painted my fingernails black, and put on light foundation on my face, some type of powder, and then eyeliner around my eyes… Boy was the eyeliner hard to remove at the end of the night. Anyway, here are the pictures…
Halloween 2009: Me as a goth
with the trenchcoat
At the Pandemonium Circus Barn Party I went to Halloween
So these were my three costumes this year. Pretty exciting…
