Mitt Romney and his Faith Speech

First of all, if you haven't heard his speech, you can hear it here:
http://podcast.1010wins.com/wins/788372.mp3
or read it here:
http://www.mittromney.com/News/Speeches/Faith_In_America

I think he gave a good speech, but I am concerned that he may have needed to say more. But then again, I don't know what he could have said. What people say their concerns are with him being a Mormon and what their actual concerns are, are probably not the same. I have read articles with various outspoken people stating that if Romney can believe in Mormonism, then he isn't very bright. I don't know what would bring anyone to say that. Doesn't any religion require an element of "faith" in things that you can't prove, but can accept and believe? Yet saying that someone isn't bright because of their chosen faith makes it sound like religion is purely a logical choice. So, I don't think I can take the hecklers at face value. There is a pure and simple prejudice there. (I'm hearing a big 'well... duh' in my head as I write this.) So what could somebody say to put that behind them?

Years ago, JFK wrote and gave a somewhat similar speech because he was then running for President, and was a Catholic. At that time, no Catholic had ever been elected. I believe his speech was ingenious. He called a spade a spade. You can read it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16920600
What he did, that was brilliant to me, was that he made out any American who voted against him because of his religion as an anti-American. In other words, he made people feel guilty about their concerns. And if they heard his speech and listened to it, it wouldn't surprise me if they had come away from that deciding that they should vote for him just to prove him wrong about their anti-Catholic sentiments.

Romney echoed some of those same ideas, but it didn't come off the same way. He made it clear that religion is important, but that the details of the candidate's beliefs are not. With most of the Republican candidates touting to be religious and one of them a former minister, what he said did not make Romney stand out at all. It allowed him to blend into the background with all the others. I don't think the speech will score him many points, although I thought it was a good speech, and enjoyed it.

I don't know what I would have done if I were in his shoes. I can think of only two things. Do what JFK did, or get up there and really defend your faith. I think he may have done better if he gave the reasons why he believes in Mormonism. Show people what you are all about, and then tell them that faith is important in the Presidency and that he would rely on it to know how to handle the day to day situations that he would face. But that's probably why he is running for president and not me. But still... he did take the safe road. But will the safe road get him the presidency? Some how, I don't think so. I think he needs to do more than that. But I am probably not the person to say what.

The Golden Compass

First of all, I know my family most likely already knows about this, but there are other readers here that may not know about this. The Golden Compass in my opinion is not worthy of our money. For reasons why, you may read this website, and you can see for yourself what I'm talking about: http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

Snopes.com is not really anything but a rumor validator. When somebody rails on a movie and the email gets passed around (for example), eventually somebody submits it to snopes which then tries to separate the fact from the fiction. In this case the originator of the email was validated. The movie is based on an anti-religious book. It is meant to be the antithesis of "The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe". Instead of encourage faith in Christ with a fun children's story, the author of these books state "My books are about killing God."

I realize the author of the books will likely care very little whether or not you or I see the movie. He probably make nothing more than a few pennies off of what we spend at the theater. All the same, I have no interest in supporting him, or the movie industry in a production like this.

The movie (being a realist here) is likely safe enough. The books are the concern. And I wish to make a statement to Hollywood that I don't approve of anti-religious themes in their movies. They have more than enough of that already. And I'm tempted to go purchase "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" just to make my statement all the stronger.

Anyways, that's my thought on the subject. Thanks to Dani for sending me that email. The movie opened today, and I most likely would have seen it sooner or later.

Lights at Temple Square

Rochelle and I took Dhananjay up to see the lights at Temple Square. My, it was pretty. We had long talks about religion too. It was a lot of fun. Here are a few photos that I took. Nothing too fancy, but not having a tripod with me, I was happy any of them turned out ok. I just love being up there when the lights are on though... it is so pretty. I love listening to the narrator tell the Christmas story, and looking at the displays. I love seeing all the lights. It's one of the many times I feel like no matter how good I ever get with my camera, I'll never be able to convey the feelings that are there through the lens.

Baby Makes Three

The time has come! We are officially going to be parents! I am just over 2 months pregnant, and we expect the baby to come sometime in July. We are very excited to finally be starting our family! I have had some morning sickness, but I am doing ok. The semester is almost done for me, and all I have left is my capstone semester. I have been tentatively assigned to work in Labor and Delivery at a smaller local hospital- the same hospital, in fact, that I have chosen to use for myself! So I'm feeling good about that.

~~BJ'S TURN~~
So... I guess I don't have a whole lot to add except that I'm going to be a daddy! Yea! And now it is my goal to sleep as much as possible now, because I won't have another chance to until I'm 64. Aside from that, we are really very pleased. Rochelle is looking forward to buying maternity clothes. She has already named our first 6 children (in order, and let's just hope the genders match up)... and if any of you steal our names... well, you will have to take it up with her. Rochelle is currently going through the lovely morning sickness stages, and is enjoying that very much. ;-) We told our families in the past week or two. And now we tell the world! So what more do I have to say? Not much I guess. Just looking forward to all the fun times ahead (and preparing to go gray).

This picture represents the physical proof we currently
possess of our good news!

Sue's Library

Mom's got a library! Click here: Sue's Library

There's a list of libraries on the right that I will add to. But I'd like to see everyone that reads this blog have a library. And I'll post it there. You can also see the most recent additions to Rochelle's and my libraries below that.

Happy Thanksgiving

A photo I took while shooting photos with Rhonda and Dad. We were over by Utah Lake. Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

BJ

Congratulations, Marissa!

I am proud to say that Marissa competed in Bronze level Country Two-Step and Swing in Dancesport last week, and not only did she make it to the final round, she and her partner won 5th place! Yay! Whahoo!
We were sad that we couldn't see her compete, but happy that we got to see her dance during practice. Here are some short videos I took of them dancing right before they went to go perform. Please excuse the videography- it's just a point and shoot camera that doesn't let you zoom once you start recording! (Plus, I was just figuring out how to use it... haha) If you want a more high quality version of the recording, let me know, and we will figure out how to do that... We will add some of the pictures BJ took of them dancing too.

Marissa Dancesport

Washington D.C.

I am finally getting around to posting what I wrote a week ago!
Well, as you know I have been preparing to present some research at the American Public Health Association conference in D.C. I have been here in D.C. since Saturday, and am leaving in just a few hours to return home. This trip has been a fantastic, educational, and interesting opportunity. I arrived Saturday afternoon, and after resolving a minor hotel problem (!) I saw some of the city with Erin, the professor I work for. She showed me how the Metro works here, and we went to a mall/subway station with a hall of restaurants, and we had dinner at a cute 1950's style diner. The next morning we found a church meeting fairly close that we could ride the metro to, and interestingly enough, it was probably the only ward in the whole area that I would have recognized someone in! My parents of my friend and roommate my freshman year were in that ward. So ironic- what a small world. We also attended the opening session for the conference, and heard from a couple of fairly high profile people in public health. I will write more about those later. We went to Arlington National Cemetery, which was an amazing experience. I had no idea how large it was, how many graves and memorials. It was incredibly reverent, and everyone was very respectful. I was really impacted by all the graves, representing lives given in service of our country. I had really never thought of it in terms like that. That same spirit was prevalent at the Tomb of the Unknowns, where I saw the changing of the guard, and was really touched by the guards' dedication and respect for the Tomb. I was thinking that if every person in the U.S. had a chance as a kid or at some point to go see some of the places like this, we would have a stronger sense of national pride and patriotism, and gratitude as a people. Of course I know that won't happen, so I think those things are important to teach in other ways.
On Monday morning, bright and early, we presented one of our research project findings in a round table format. The way a round table presentation works is a room has 9 or 10 tables with presenters, and people come in and rotate around. We gave three 30-minute presentations. Our table was always one of the most crowded! Although we felt strongly about what we were researching, it was somewhat gratifying to hear from listeners that they thought our research was important.
Tuesday we did our poster presentation, talking about the results of the other part of our study. This was in an exhibit hall with people walking around to see the posters they are interested in. Again, we had a lot of interest in and questions about our study. I think it went well. I will post a little later on some of the things I learned at the conference and what our study was about etc.
One of the last things we did before the trip was over was we went to the Visitor's Center at the Washington D.C. Temple. They close early, so we weren't able to go inside, but we saw the outside and had a nice visit with the sister missionaries at the visitor's center. I thought that was a good way to end the trip.

Washington, D.C. pictures

I Voted!

Did you?

I'd just like to say, that I'm proud to be an American. We are very blessed to be able to vote, and feel that the vote is fair, and that our vote counts, as opposed to some places like Pakistan. We are truly lucky to have the freedom we have.

Referendum 1 revisited

Alright... we haven't had a lot of people vote yet, but everyone who has voted (all three of you) said that you are for it. And the rest of you are welcome to continue voting. But I'm going to express to you the conversation that went on in my head after I finished reading about this referendum.

Pro:
Well... what do you think?
Con:
Don't like it.
Pro:
Why not? What's there not to like?
Con:
Umm... Several things. I don't think it really does enough. I think $3000 probably won't pay the cost of tuition for most schools, and that's the maximum that anyone will receive. There's a good chance that most people won't receive that much.
Pro:
Yeah, but it sure helps to pay the costs. Think about it. 3 grand off of tuition at a private school. That's a big chunk. Surely people could afford the rest.
Con:
You are probably right... except for the people who need it the most. It really won't help them at all.
Pro:
But it isn't like it is going to hurt them at all. And at least it gives some people a choice.
Con:
I'm not so sure about that... I mean the part about not hurting the poor.
Pro:
How could it hurt the poor?
Con:
By decreasing the amount of middle and upper class kids in public schools. Let's face it... Wealthy parents want their kids to have a nice school, and will donate to this and that so it can be nice. Poor kids benefit from that.
Pro:
Yeah... but it isn't like all the kids are going to just up and leave. Besides parents don't donate that much.
Con:
Well... I don't know how many parents would leave. That's the problem. Nobody does. And the other thing is that after 5 years, public schools will receive less money because they have less students. (Why 5 years... I have no idea.) So public schools will be poorer. And the poorer they get, the more the middle and upper classes will leave.
Pro:
Well, by that time, I'm sure there will be private schools a plenty that offer prices that the working class can afford.
Con:
Do you think they will be as good as the schools the middle and upper classes take their kids to?
Pro:
Well, I don't know, but certainly they will be better than the public schools.
Con:
But that's just it... do you see what we are describing here. Class segregation. The working class has their schools, the middle has theirs, and the upper class I'm sure will have its own too. I don't like the direction this is moving.
Pro:
But shouldn't I worry about my family first? And then worry about the rest? This would certainly help my family. And I don't think the damage to the rest will be as bad as you think.
Con:
Yes, my kids would certainly get a better education in some respects. But not all. They would grow up in a world were everybody has money, and poverty is something you read about in books. The teachers would be great, and if we didn't like how the school looked we would find another one. It definitely has its advantages. But there are things they wouldn't have.
Pro:
Whatever they don't have, they could get at a different school right?
Con:
Yeah... I suppose. But the things I'm thinking about I don't know that I would want to change their school for. For example, they wouldn't have much experience with poverty. And therefore, they wouldn't understand what it really means to be poor. And also, let's face it. The bureaucracy of public schools and the slow pace of learning does have some advantages. It prepares them for the bureaucracy of life, and having to be patient. And often, though going to a public school can be hard on a kid, it teaches them how to deal with bullies, and punks, and all the other types. I remember when I left private schools... there was a culture shock for me. I'd hate for that to happen to a kid when he gets into the real world. I think private schools tend to shelter the kids too much.
Pro:
So, you are saying, that you would want your kids to go to public schools so they could be bullied?!?!
Con:
Not so that they can be bullied, but so they can learn to deal with bullies. There are always bullies... but people need to deal with them. We can't just run away from them and pretend they don't exist.
Pro:
Oh brother. Every school has bullies.
Con:
Maybe, but private schools tend to watch for that more. They don't want the kids to leave, and so they kinda shelter them, to keep the parents happy.
Pro:
Ok, well, think what you want on that... but all of this would make the public schools better. They would become more like private schools... they'd have to, to keep students enrolled.
Con:
You know... I think the biggest problem that public schools have is one they can't fix. And that's all the legal stuff they go through... they have to do this, they can't do that. They need to watch for this, and they can't teach that. There is an endless series of laws that prevent them from being very effective. I think that's the biggest reason they struggle, and they can't get out from under that. And what's more, is that this referendum is going to put some of that burden on the private schools too. Maybe not very much at first, but little by little they will have as much of a legal yoke as the public schools do. And the only way they will be able to shake it off is by not taking the vouchers.
Pro:
But I went to a private school. It was good for me. Don't you want that for your own kids?
Con:
Sigh... yes. I do. And if there was more help for the poor than a maximum of $3000, I would be all for this. But as long as it segregates, I don't think I can be for it. Sure it would help my family. But I can't agree to kicking those who are already down.

Well... that's where my conversation ends. I really do want to vote for this... but I don't think it is good enough. I think it will hurt the state more than it will help. Of course, you are all entitled to your own opinions. I don't think I would ever be able to change mom's opinion on this. ;-) And that's fine. But this is how I feel about it.

Referendum 1?

Hey all, so voting day for all you Utahns out there is Tuesday. And what are we to vote on? Referendum 1. What's it about?

Private school vouchers.

If you don't know much about it, you can read up on it here:
http://elections.utah.gov/Voter%20Information%20Pamphlet_2007.pdf


I would give you my opinion, but I will wait until you all have had a chance to voice your opinions on my poll! ------------> :-)

Happy Halloween!

So Rochelle and I are in the activities committee in our ward, and we were responsible for mainly two things in our ward Halloween party: photos, and music. Both of which had us pretty well occupied. We set up a photo booth where people could come and take pictures with their Halloween costumes on. And when they didn't come to us, we went around the room and took candids. The music went alright. We wanted to use the speakers that were built into the room, but the only way to put input into them was using a big hookup that is typically used by old microphones. Well... I didn't have one of those. So we couldn't hook it up. So I went to Radioshack to see if they had one. Nope. By this time, it was about 20 minutes until the party started and I didn't have anything ready. So I went home and got the surround sound system that mom and dad gave us when they got their new system. That stuff is heavy and it meant a lot of trips back and forth between my apartment and the car, and then from the car to the church. And then setting all those wires up takes time, and by the time the sound system was playing its first notes, people were asking for their photo to be taken. Rochelle in the mean time had been setting up the backdrop for the photo. Thank goodness for her. Otherwise the photos would have been with a plain brown church wall in the background. So I started taking photos. And I enjoyed it. But the lighting wasn't great. So I got out my brand new super-duper flash, and attached it... and the pictures turned out worse. Dang! I haven't had a lot of practice with my flash, so I wasn't sure what I was doing wrong. I didn't have the luxury of messing with it too much because every photo I messed up, was a photo somebody wouldn't get. So I took it off, and used my camera's built in flash, and made sure to keep the subjects close enough to allow it to work. Well... after the line died down enough for me to mess with it... I discovered that the batteries were dead in the flash. It was flashing, just not very brightly. But once I got those new batteries in there... wow. It got bright. And what's better is that it could shoot clear across the room as long as I didn't have anything in the foreground. I didn't get to mess with the settings too much, but I discovered a couple of ways to alter the brightness of the flash while still in "auto" or "semi-auto" mode. But all and all I learned a good deal about my new toy, and didn't mess up more than a handful of photos, and those I took again later. It was fun. And you all can see the photos here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/taylors2004/wardhalloweenparty

Now, I have to say that not all of these photo's are mine. About half of the candid photos are photos Rochelle took with a little point and shoot. She was worried that her photos wouldn't turn out very well... but honestly, I think she does great. She doesn't care too much for the nitty gritty details of photography, but she enjoys it all the same. And she is getting quite good at it too. When we take portraits of people, she is an indispensable part of the process. She fixes the hair, gives me angle ideas, and suggestions on just about everything. And the photos always turn out much better when she is around. :-D

Happy Halloween all!

Mid Term

Well, as the title implies, we are nearly halfway through the semester! Woohoo! I just started my second round of midterms (3-4 rounds in a semester) and came out better than I expected- quite a pleasant surprise. I have been doing clinical at Utah State Hospital (the mental health hospital), which has been very interesting. The people who live there have been committed by the court because they have been through every other mental health program available, and they have been deemed a danger to themselves or others. Some have been there for many years, others stay only a few months. My heart truly goes out to those people. I would say that most of them know that they have a mental illness, although there are a few who really think that they don't have a problem. Some of them want to stay there, because they have no where else to go, but the majority are not happy to be there. There is a wide variety of different diagnoses. There are some interesting treatment groups that patients attend. I have been attending the Sunrise Program- a DR (dual recovery) group. This is a group for people with mental illness who also abuse substances (all types- prescription pills, alcohol, illegal drugs etc.). It is kind of like AA but less formal. Next week I am running a group with another student. It is a reality- based group (for all the patients, but especially those suffering from delusions) where we talk about concrete things in a reality shared by everyone. We are going to focus on "nice" things- nice things we have done for others, nice things that have been done for us, and positive memories etc. Clinical there is very interesting, but I don't think that I would choose to work there as an RN.
Today I attended the baby shower for my friend Laura whose baby was born 5 weeks early. I was pleased to learn that the baby girl (Ryan Rebekah) is doing just fine and she is at home now! I think most of the girls that attended the shower were pregnant or had babies/ toddlers. I was quite the minority! I enjoyed it though.
I don't really have anything else going on that I can think of other than getting ready to present in Washington D.C. in 2 weeks. We are mostly finished with one project- our poster presentation- and we are working on the other one- our round table discussion. I have a ton of work to do to get ready! That is probably what I will be doing in most of my spare time until I go(besides studying of course).

Happy Day

So, I have been intending on blogging again ever since my last blog, but just haven't got around to it until today.

So, I had another birthday. It happened nearly a week ago now. I am now 28 years old. I'm an old man. But my beautiful wife did her best to help me to enjoy the day anyways along with my parents, and in fact they made it a very nice day. We went to lunch at a nice place and had delicious food. Of course I still had to work and all, but a nice little lunch doesn't hurt. And then after work, Rochelle made shish-kabobs, and potatoes at my parents house. We also invited Marissa and Charles. We all had a good time. I got a bunch of new clothes and a nice flash for my camera. I have been very excited about the flash. I spent the next day taking pictures of random things. With every new attachment and every new photography gadget I get, I feel like I'm one step closer to my dream of having a bona fide photography studio. Taking photos in dark areas will no longer be such a challenge. It will be nice to have.

Charles got me a racquetball glove, one which helped me compete a little better against him today. Having a glove really does make a difference. It's nice. My old one had holes in it, and just didn't grip like it used to. Today we played four games, finishing up around 8:15 am. Charles took two games and I took two. They were pretty even games. It was fun, but I have been super tired today as a result. I am seriously out of shape, and am doing what I can to get back in shape. This seems to be a constant battle with me, to be getting in shape.

I finished a very strange book this week. I got it on Heidi's suggestion. It's called The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, by Douglas Adams. He's the same author who wrote Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, which I also read. Of the two, I thought Hitch-Hikers was better. But this was also very amusing. Adams has a very unique style that really does entertain. He writes things with a tinge (or a ton) of sarcasm. I have given up trying to figure out what he actually thinks about anything, because he tends to make fun of everything. Let me quote the first two paragraphs:

"It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produce the expression "As pretty as an airport.
"Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort. This ugliness arises because airports are full of people who are tired, cross, and have just discovered that their luggage has landed in Murmansk (Murmansk airport is the only known exception to this otherwise infallible rule), and architects have on the whole tried to reflect this in their designs."

I read this aloud to Rochelle and we were both laughing about it. The heroes in his books tend to be misfits with a fair amount of luck. They typically go from one scene to the next confused about where they are and what is going on around them. Many books have comic relief characters, but Adams uses those characters as the main characters. It's a good laugh. I like it. Heidi, thanks for the suggestion!

I don't think I can read too many of his books at once, but I imagine I will eventually get through most of them. I'm currently reading The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. While the book is certainly unique, and interesting, I'm not sure how much I like it yet. I'll let you know. There are so many books that I'd like to read. There are two more in the Alvin series by Card that I haven't read yet. The last one I just found out about. I didn't even know it existed. The next one is sitting next to me waiting for me to get to it. All of this, and I keep thinking... I need to start working on my gmat! Eek. Well, if nothing else, all this reading will help my reading speed during the gmat. I think that's the section I'm the most worried about. The math section will be difficult for sure. I'll definitely need to freshen up in that area, and learn some tricks for solving things quickly, but there is only so much I can do to increase my reading speed. Really, I just need to read a lot.

So, I started my own library today! Yup. And I expect each of you to do the same too. I'd like to see what books everyone else has read, and likes. You can see my library at: http://books.google.com/books?as_list=BDTmy-PEQueTij7_p09a-ARoU_DiA1rNo0Zl2-7Mw8G06_sb4ec8&hl=en

I have tried to put in many of the books that I have read recently in there and rate them and organize them a bit with tags, but I haven't written any reviews yet, nor have I put in all of the books I have read in... but I'm working on it. I believe the "My Library" part of Google Books is a new feature. It doesn't seem to be wholly refined yet. But I've actually looked for other things like this before and am glad to see that google is working on it. I've always wanted to have a family and friend book club, and I think this is a good way to go about it. What do you say? Are you interested in doing a book club everyone? All you need is a google account. And then you do a google book (http://books.google.com -- not a normal google search) search for books you have read, and click "add to my library". That starts your library. And then to get to your library, find the link on the top right that says "My Library". Go there, copy the address and give it to everyone you know, and invite them to do the same. Put the link on your blog! Once you are in "My Library" you can add tags like "Alvin Series" or "Not read yet" or whatever else you fancy. You can rate the books on a 5-star scale, and give them a review too. When you are all done, I'll make a web page with all of your libraries (unless you don't want to be on it) and I'll let you all see it. But you do need to make your library and share it with me! Consider it a late birthday present for me! Ok, that's all for my rant today.

Have a good day ya'all and I'll look forward to reading your reviews!

BJ's:
http://books.google.com/books?as_list=BDTmy-PEQueTij7_p09a-ARoU_DiA1rNo0Zl2-7Mw8G06_sb4ec8&hl=en

Rochelle's:
http://books.google.com/books?as_list=BDfuiR1cQ-8WeusXKt_6DARoU0TBaTquVjgRt9pN79r6f0bjBScs&lr=&sa=N&start=10

Work in progress...

Pardon the dust... this entry is currently under construction. Please check back when it is completed.

Thank you.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

So what shall I talk about today? Any suggestions? I am out of controversial topics to cover right now. I would love to go on a rant, and drag you all through it, but I think I have none that I haven't already covered. Dang.

What about my life you say? You want to hear about that? I can sum that up in one word: "Boooooooriiiiiiiing!" It really is. I'm doing work like normal, and am happy to come home every day. (It's not that I AM bored, just that the story itself is lacking... no plot, resolution, etc.)

So now what? I started looking around online to see if there was anything interesting that I could use to supplement this blog. Nope. Haven't read anything that has incited me talk about it here recently.

So.... I'll say this and be done with it:

I love you all, and enjoy reading your blogs, and am sorry that you have to put up with mine. But I'll work on it. I will go out this week and find stories to talk about so I can entertain you all! (Or at least those of you who are the most bored...) ;-D May the force be with you.

I know it is my turn to write, but I have no idea what I am going to type yet. Your guess is almost as good as mine!
So, update on the bow: we watched another Robin Hood movie last week. I wish I could say that something exciting about the bow had happened on that night, but instead, we got a note from the mysterious person the night before! In response to the note we put on our door, it said, "Regarding the bow: with great power comes great responsibility. Signed, the BOWMASTER." That's it. We enjoyed a good confused laugh over it. We thought we had the mystery solved when BJ was sure he recognized the handwriting as Charles'. So I IM'd Charles to ask if he had misplaced a piece of medieval weaponry lately, and he said yes! But he was just kidding... :(
School is going fine for me. I am taking 2 nursing classes- Critical Care and Psych nursing. One is fairly easy, one is pretty dang hard. You can guess which is which. I have a ton of reading and assignments and prep work to do for those classes. I am also taking a religion class (Mission Prep from Brother Bott) which I think is going to be my favorite class this semester. He is having the married people in the class read an alternate text called Divorceless Marriage. It uses the same principles from the Mission Prep manual, and applies them to a different companionship. BJ and I have been reading it together, and it is really good.
Right now I doing clinical at LDS Hospital. I am working in different ICUs. I have worked in the Respiratory ICU so far. I don't really know what to say about that. It was good, I learned a lot, it wasn't boring, I was really busy, and I don't think that is where my future lies. I could be wrong of course, but I doubt it!
At the moment I can't think of anything else to say that is interesting, so I will get back to my studying and prep work for tomorrow's lectures!

Of windows, bows, and geekiness

So today I am going to write about a smattering of things. Why? Because.

Windows:
Today we got new windows put in our apartment! Yea! They look great. In fact, they look so great that I am hesitant to put our old grimy blinds back on them. They look like they need to have new blinds put on them to go with their shiny white paint. But I doubt the apartment complex is going to put blinds in too. Sigh... oh well.

Bows:
Rochelle already told some of you this, but we recently had a bow (as in a bow and arrow) left on our door. Huh. Weird. It isn't a normal thing to walk out of your house in the morning, and discover a bow standing in your way. Normal people don't have that experience. We do. Not only do we have bow placed on our door step, but they are placed there the morning after we watch Robin Hood. Yeah... go figure. I don't know. So we have left a note on our door saying that if somebody out there is missing their bow, and would like to have it back, we have it. I have to admit though... I kinda hope I get to keep it. Wouldn't it be cool to have a bow? Why? Because.

Geekiness:
How nerdy are you? I found this great test that you all need to take and tell me how nerdy your are! http://www.nerdtests.com/ft_nq.php



I think I am actually probably more nerdy that this thing suggests, but then again, maybe not. Being married changes some of my answers, but I guess Rochelle does make me less of a nerd. And I think it is likely that this web site gets a lot of nerdy people on there... so if I'm more nerdy than 84% of them... then I think I rank pretty high! ;-)

Now so I can continue to prove my nerdiness, I'm going to tell you about some of the nerdy things I use.

So I expect this will be the part that you all can tune out on. Just skip to the next paragraph please. The following is a list of geeky tools that I found recently that have come in handy to me, and that I like. By the way... all of these tools are handy, but depending on your nerdiness, downloading them and installing them will likely do you very little good.
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com -- A boot CD for all occasions. It come in very handy in case of emergency with your computer. What can it do? All sorts of things. In general, it has like 10 mini operating systems that it allows you to boot from that can help you to fix things on your computer. Do I use it often? No. But there were times where I couldn't fix a computer without it!
http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm -- rip ISOs, burn ISOs, copy disks. So if you download the ultimate boot cd above in the format of an ISO, you can use this great little tool to burn it to a disk. You can also make back up copies of all of your disks with this thing.
microsoft iso virtual cd --So... if you use the above link, you can have CDs saved on to your computer. So with this link, you can use those saved CDs like they were real CDs. I know, I'm strange. But imagine instead of having to search for that software CD that you bought a year ago, simply opening up the folder on your computer where you save all of your CDs, and clicking on one of them, and ta-da! Your computer thinks it has that CD in the CD rom!
http://globs.org/articles.php?lng=en&pg=2 -- edit the html of your thunderbird email in your favorite text editor. So if you know html, and are ever frustrated that you can't use html in your emails, now you can.

Well... Rochelle is telling me it is time to go to bed, and so I probably should. And I'm sure that if I wrote anything more here, that it would only continue to show the world how entirely nerdy I am. Not because that's really what I want to talk about, but because that's what I do all day, and it is hard to think of other stuff to talk about some times. So... next time I write, I'll have to come up with something profound.

Happy Anniversary

BJ and I celebrated our third anniversary this weekend. Our anniversary was actually yesterday, but BJ surprised me with an overnight trip to Midway, UT on Friday. We stayed in a very cute bed and breakfast called Johnson Mill B&B, and BJ took me out to dinner at the Snake Creek Grill, which had very good food. I loved it all! I will post pictures of the place we stayed. On Saturday we headed up to Park City. It rained in the morning, but by afternoon the sky cleared and it was warm. We walked around downtown and saw a Mustang car show, and looked at the little shops on Main Street. We drove around some, admiring the scenery, and headed to the factory stores to do some shopping. We had dinner at Sweet Tomatoes in SLC- one of our favorite restaurants. I loved the fact that BJ planned all of this as a surprise for me- I knew we were doing something, but I had no idea what! We really enjoyed being together and getting out of the valley.
My family drove to Utah and arrived Sunday night (bringing Marissa back to BYU) and we saw them on Monday. We took my parents out for lunch at Tucanos, and watched a movie with my siblings. Then they went to visit some family in Salt Lake, and BJ had to go to work. BJ and I went and saw the Nancy Drew movie at the dollar theater. Did you read Nancy Drew when you were a kid? I loved that series. I think I liked the older ones best. It was a series that started several decades ago, and I think more mysteries are still being published- Of course, Nancy never ages. We thought the movie was very funny, and enjoyed it. Not exactly what I pictured, but good nonetheless- very family friendly, although the movie, like the books, has that element of (clean) suspense and danger.
I have been reading a lot lately. I recently read O Pioneers (Willa Cather, great book, sad though), the Alvin Maker series (Orson Scott Card- I liked most of the books, but had a few mixed feelings), Eclipse (not exactly "substance", but some light reading is nice sometimes), Harry Potter (of course- who didn't? By the way, I loved the ending. I am such a sucker for happy endings. I knew she wouldn't let us down.), Pope Joan (wow. I learned a lot and I can't imagine a time when women were treated this way- a story of courage, but also a very sad-to-me book.), Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom, good story, clever, a lot of wisdom, sad without really being sad- you feel good at the end.), The Scarlet Pimpernel (Baroness Orczy- can I just say, this is one of my favorite books of all time- so clever, so suspenseful, and satisfying for even the most romantic at heart. Also clean, which is important, at least to me...) and a few other books that will probably never make my top 10. or 50.

Check back soon... the pictures are coming.

Starry Starry Night

So, Dad and I tried to take pictures of the meteor shower last night while Rochelle stayed wrapped up in a blanket in my parent's convertible, watching the stars go by. While we were out there Rochelle saw two shooting starts, my dad saw one, and I saw none. It was fun though. It has been something I have long wanted to do-- to take pictures of the night sky. Now I have done it! ;-) I still need to take pictures of the moon sometime too. That will be its own challenge. I haven't seen my dad's pictures yet. I don't know if he caught any falling stars, but I caught two. I didn't see a one, buy my pictures caught two. Well, one and a half really. And they were both quite small. Also an airplane or two are in there. You can tell the airplanes because they have little dots evenly spaced along the line they draw through the picture. So here are my pictures, and in them are my one and a half shooting stars. See if you can find them. (You may need to download them to get a very good view of them.) And for all of you photographers out there, I used the following settings on these photos: ISO 200, F4, 30".

Starry Starry Night

Catch Up

We have had a good couple of weeks. About two weeks ago, we attended BJ's work party up in Provo Canyon, went home, went straight to sleep (early in the evening) and got up at 4am to drive to Oregon to see my family. The drive went well; we read the last Harry Potter book and listened to books on CD to keep awake. It was actually pretty enjoyable. We got to Oregon with plenty of time to spare and enjoyed the weekend with my family. Monday morning we got up early and drove out to the Sisters Wilderness (The Sisters are a group of mountains in Oregon) and we put our backpacks on and hiked up to Moraine Lake on the South Sister. We stayed two nights. There were LOTS of mosquitoes and mosquito bites, despite the best efforts of repellents, badges, and other mosquito deterrents. We were all quite sore too. Part of our group hiked to the summit of the mountain (the 3rd highest in the state) on the second day, and on the third day we hiked down the mountain. What nice things showers are! We all couldn't wait to get home and get clean.
During our week in Oregon, we went to see the Body Worlds III exhibit at OMSI. Wow. It was really interesting and amazing. They exhibited bodies preserved in a new way (called plastination)- they won't decay or anything- they become fairly sturdy, while preserving very closely the way things actually look. It sounds a little morbid, but I felt that it was very tastefully and respectfully done. By walking through the exhibit (which took us several hours, much more than the 90 minutes they estimated) it was possible to see and learn about every system of the body. I don't know where it will be exhibited next, but it's worth seeing.
On Saturday night, we helped my siblings throw a country western party/ dance. We used fun decorations and props, set up a chuck wagon, hitchin' post, and dance floor. We set up hay bales in the grass, and had everyone dress up. BJ and I taught a partner circle dance and some line dances, we had a watermelon eating contest, and costume judging. There were some pretty good ones.

Country Dance Party

The next morning BJ and I drove home and finally got in pretty late. We miss everyone, but it is good to be home. Since being home, I have been trying to get things put away and back to normal, and I have also been trying to finish interviews for the research I am working on so that we can start analyzing data soon. (If any of you have aspirations toward being interviewed and having your ideas about public health benefit society, let me know! lol) I will mainly be working on that this week. The idea is that we will have all the data analyzed in a couple of months, and the professor I work for and I will be going to the American Public Health Association conference in Washington D.C. to present our research, and hopefully be published. We know we have been accepted to present at the public health conference, and I have my ticket already, but there is a lot of work to be done before that.
Other than that, there's not a ton going on, but we will sure keep you posted.

We are home from our trip

And really it is Rochelle's turn to blog, and so I'll let her tell you about our trip, but let me just say, that we had fun, and I am once again without facial hair. I believe I can hear my mom cheering from North Carolina. Rochelle's family is always a blast to be around. I am as they call me "a brother from another mother". We really are family. Rochelle and I are so blessed to have families that adopt our other halves so readily. We are at home in both Utah and Oregon. Rochelle gets to experience what it feels like to be the youngest child in my family and I get to experience what it feels like to be the oldest child. Although, I dare say that neither of us get the full experience, it is certainly fun to walk a mile in each others shoes. And here's my non sequitur: I don't know whether I liked how I looked better or worse after shaving.

Happy Birthday Rochelle

Well, I know this is a few days late, but we have been pretty busy lately, and haven't had much time to blog. I got off work early on Thursday to be with Rochelle, take her to lunch, go see the Potter movie, and then have dinner with mom and dad. It was certainly a good day. On Friday, after I got home from work, we spent the evening with a couple who are good friends of ours (Scott and Danielle) who are leaving Utah for grad school. (We will miss you guys!!!) On Saturday, I went to work to make up the hours I took of on Thursday, and afterwards met Charles and his date and ate out and went ice skating.
All and all, today has been my first chance to say to Rochelle HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! on this blog. So... having said that... may I just add to that, that it has now been 3 years since we got engaged (that is our unofficial engagement). I believe our unofficial engagement started with these words: "I want to marry you someday." Well that 'someday' happened to be a month and a day away. Much sooner than we expected when we first contemplated marriage. But since that time, I have been happier than ever. Rochelle has been a great blessing in my life, and I am very grateful for her.

I love you Rochelle!

Birthdays and other sundry events

It has been a good week for us, not too busy though. Of course the highlight for me was my birthday, which BJ was able to take half a day off work for. We had lunch together at a restaurant called Guru's, and it was good. Then BJ took me to go see the Harry Potter movie, which we enjoyed, although like most people, we felt that things had been rushed and changed a bit. However, it was done well, and we are now looking forward to the book (should be arriving today, but we can't open it until our road trip next week). After the movie, BJ's parents took us to one of my favorite restaurants- P.F. Chang's! Yum! One thing that BJ got for me which was a complete surprise was a car iPod adapter thingy which transmits your music to a previously-static-y radio station of your choice. Pretty fun stuff. I got some other things for my birthday which I really like and I got to talk to my family. Marissa called me on her lunch break, I talked to my mom on the phone, and my dad called me from the mountains on his camping/ kayaking trip.
On Friday, I did some more painting outside- actually I finished up the job! And in the evening we had dinner with our friends the Kershaws, who are moving to Nebraska this week for school. We will miss them.
Well, the Harry Potter book just arrived! Um, I am having major temptation! What if someone spoils it for me before I have the chance to read it?! Ahhh! Maybe we will have to start reading it before then... I don't know! The mailman said he had a truckload of books for people just in our complex! Hah! But I was the only one home so far. Interesting.
Tonight we are going on a double date with Charles and... someone. I think the consensus is that we are going ice skating. Fine with me- sooooooooo hot outside!
Many of BJ's family are en route to Hawaii right now... too bad we couldn't go, but fun for them! We expect pictures, ok? soon? :)
There is plenty of other stuff coming up this week, but I will tell about that later, when we know for sure what we are doing!

Skool Daze

So, it is Sunday and I should probably be getting ready for Church, but I decided that I'd rather blog, just so long as I don't spend to much time. I have been reading more lately, than I believe I have ever read. I have never been a fast reader, and have continuously had homework and such to worry about, and therefore never did much reading for enjoyment. There were times of course where I read all of The Lord of the Rings and other such things here and there, but never a time before when I simply wanted to find a book to read simply for the sake of reading. This is something that I always wondered if it would happen when homework went away. And lo, and behold, it did. I guess I can add this to my reasons why school stinks. ;-) Of course I'm an advocate for education and always will be. But I always felt like very little of my education made a desirable effect on me. Usually, it was simply a game to see what the best grade I could get was with the least amount of work. Terrible, I know. But I feel many teachers design the class in such a way as to make it nearly impossible to approach it in any other way. So, I think to my self, what could be done to better our educational system. This is a very complex question... a question that I know many readers of this will have strong opinions on. First of all, I realize that not all schools suffer from the same problems. Problems in downtown LA are not felt in the farming lands of Idaho. And the problems for education for elementary age students are vastly different than high school students. And of course, college is a world of its own. So, since I don't have much time, and I could spend hours laboring through the problems of each level of education and in each region, making opinions that are all prejudice to one degree or another and short-sighted, at this point, I don't think I will offer an opinion at all. But I simply want to ask each of you to please comment and answer the following question.

If you had a magic wand, and could make one change to the schooling systems that your children have/are/will go through, what would the change be.

Please submit a 2 page double spaced paper in Time New Roman 12 point font. Your papers are due this Friday at start of class. All late papers will be marked off 10% per day. This paper will be worth 100 points, or 1/10th your final grade. Hee hee!

Have fun, and I can't wait to hear what you all have to say.

Happy 7-11 Everyone!

View Album

Get your own

So... I really don't have much to say today. I am home right now because I am going back to work later tonight. We are pushing a release, and Dave my boss said he wants me around as it happens... just in case. What that case might be, I don't know, but I'll be around I guess. (It's better than being a square!) So I came home early, gave Rochelle a kiss, and she fell asleep within 15 minutes. She spent the morning painting stuff for my parents outside. While she was happy for the opportunity to be outside and earn a little extra money, I don't think she was used to the heat. It wore her right out. So she is now sleeping peacefully. I'll wake her up in a bit if she wants to be woken up... otherwise she can sleep just as long as she wants. Her birthday is coming up, and we need to go shopping for her. I'm excited to do so. I sometimes struggle to get through the hours of shopping for clothes, but I always enjoy the smiles and cheeriness that come later.

Charles came over last night, and we had a good 2 hour discussion about girls, life, and work. We had strawberry shortcake, and enjoyed his company. Charles is one of those guys who keeps you laughing. Whenever I am around him, and no matter what our conversation, there is always humor scattered through the talk. I really appreciate that. It is good to enjoy life, and to laugh a lot.

We are going to be going up to Oregon in just over two weeks. We have pre-purchased the latest and greatest (we hope) Harry Potter, and Rochelle plans to read it to me while we drive. We'll see how long that lasts. Rochelle and I enjoy reading together, but we struggle to finish books together. So what typically happens is that we start the book together and finish separately. When the plot gets intense, usually one of us can't help but to just read a little bit more, and a little becomes a lot and soon the book is finished. But it is fun to try all the same. We are looking forward to our hike and camp-out in Oregon with Rochelle's family. We will be camping for several days, and making friends with the bears. (Hopefully they aren't having the same problem Utah is with bears.)

Well... I don't have much more to say, but I hope you enjoyed the 4th of July pictures. Sorry I'm so late in posting. I really haven't been on the computer outside of work for... over a week. I check my email at work, but that's about it. But I have caught up with everybody's blogs and now am finally posting another entry in my own. I'll let you know more when I have something new to report.

Have a happy 7-11 day everybody!

My turn

It is my turn to blog, and I am afraid I don't have much to report this week... I guess I will catch you up to the workings of my recent life...
I spent my last day in Buenos Aires touring the U.S. Embassy, meeting the Church Area Presidency, and going to the Buenos Aires Temple before hopping on our plane to come home. It was very good to be back, although I miss the many friends we made. There are a few things that I have really come to appreciate, which I know I took largely for granted. Those things are:
-Five star bathrooms (flushing toilet with a seat, has toilet paper, has running water, soap and something to dry hands with... none of those things could be taken for granted... you might be lucky enough to find a bathroom with TP, but you can bet you had to pay if you wanted some!)
-Carpet (you never realize how lovely carpet is until you don't see it for a while. I was so excited to see our industrial grade carpet when I got home!)
-Heating/ cooling systems (We experienced the coldest week on record for the last 40 years or so in Argentina- freezing temperatures, and of course we didn't think it would be so cold, so we had brought no coats... needless to say, it was sort of.. well.. cold in the unheated hostels we lived in.)
-Fruits and vegetables (we ate mostly meat and pasta and it was very good, but... I have been loving all the summer fruit since being home! YUUUUUUUUUUM!)
-Peanut butter! (Many of our wonderful friends in Argentina had never tried it... they really don't have it there...)
-Earplugs (really, my salvation and the only way I could get any sleep those 6 weeks)
-The ability and total confidence to be able to communicate completely any thought, desire, need, or idea to anyone as needed or wanted. (I will NEVER again think badly of anyone living in the U.S. who is having a hard time communicating in English (as their second language). I experienced quite a lot of anxiety, stress, etc. etc. when I first arrived in Argentina and hadn't gotten in my Spanish speaking mode yet. I was afraid I guess, and I even knew that I would be able to go home in 6 weeks! Imagine what it would be like to move to a completely new place where no one can understand you and you can't communicate- either adequately, or at all. You can't talk to the people at the grocery store, doctor's office, hospital, restaurant, your neighbors, schoolmates, coworkers etc. How terrifying! And you know that this place is your new "home"- you may never again go back to the place you grew up. I have a new appreciation for people who take a leap like that, who struggle to be able to communicate, and who must at times despair that no one understands them, and some people even hate them- people say things like "You're not welcome in this country if you can't speak English." While I realize that can be a frustration for all involved, I also know what it is like to be yelled at for not speaking or understanding clearly, and I know how wonderful it is when someone is sympathetic and rephrases or patiently explains what they mean. Smiles and soft tones (rather than loud exaggerated pronunciation) make understanding so much easier! OK, maybe that's enough on that subject for the moment...)
-Clean air (We lived downtown, and all the smog, car exhaust, and cigarette smoke (Young, young girls smoking everywhere- to lose weight they said) were hard on the lungs when we were walking several miles each day.)
-Clean water (we drank bottled water out of necessity, which wasn't so hard, only inconvenient, and expensive, at restaurants, when you can't get tap water or free refills!)
-My health (I got sick twice in 6 weeks... incidentally, I am fairly sick now, and have been since Tuesday, the difference being that I have access to all the comfort and familiar medicines etc. I could want.)
-Easy communication (this refers to more than just language- We relied on email and methods as unreliable as Skype and other internet methods. We couldn't use our cell phones to make the long distance calls home. Nice to be able to call people up now- just to say "Hi!" if I want.
-I appreciate the way the gospel is the same everywhere you go. (Even when I couldn't completely understand the lesson or talk given, I could feel the Spirit and the kindness of the members at church.)
I actually made a whole list of things I appreciated. I don't have that list with me now, but these are the things that stuck out the most to me. I may add more things at a later time!

I'm back!

So for those of you who haven't seen me yet, I've grown some facial hair. (I assure you, I grew it all on the 40 hour trip I had on the way home.) So what do you think? Should I keep it? Please comment and tell me what you think. :-D

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

Grandpa Cook, Grandpa Taylor, Dad, Quin, James, Ryan, Andy, and Kirk, happy Father's Day!  I have many great examples for me for the lucky day when I get to join your ranks!  ;-)  You all do a wonderful job, and I hope that this day will be (or has been, since I am writing this near midnight your time~~sorry its late!) a great one.  I am excited to be home this week and to see you all (or most of you) again soon!  And for those who I won't be able to see right away, I look forward to our next visit.
Love you all!
BJ

Iguazu and Buenos Aires

Hello family and friends! Lots has happened since I last posted (by the way, the last post went underneath BJ's last one I think). We finished up our clinicals in Tucuman- in the hospital and in the community. On our last day of community clinical, we all went to one comedor, and did a garbage clean up that we involved the children in. It was actually a lot of fun! We were so sad to leave, and they were sad too. All the little girls were kissing and hugging us, and we got a bunch of pictures, which I don't have yet. They followed us for quite a ways too, when we had to leave! On Tuesday we left for Iguazu. We had a very difficult time saying goodbye to our friends in Tucuman. We had the privilege of meeting some really wonderful people- those who worked at the hostel, and some people from the ward we attended. We loved all the hostel employees- a truly great experience to stay there and get to know them- Martin, the owner of the hostel, my good friend Virginia, her sister Romina, who came a lot even though she didn't work there, Carolina, and Pedro. It was great to share the experience with them and make friendships. We were all very emotional when we left- I was surprised, because I thought I would be fine, and then it was time to go, and with all of us gathered together, we said our goodbyes. They told us they hoped that we would consider the hostel our other home. It was so hard to leave! They walked us out and waved us off as we drove away. So hard!
The busride was supposed to be a 16 hours... it turned out to be 21 hours! Ugh! I learned what it means to have swollen ankles... bummer. Iguazu was amazing! I have never seen anything like it in my life. Talk about a piece of paradise! I have some fun pictures, which I can't upload right now because the internet connection is pretty slow here. I will post them when I can. We visited the falls on the Argentina side the first day. We walked a bunch of trails along the falls (there are actually many many falls, but Devil's Throat is the most famous) and we also did a raft ride, a jeep ride through the jungle, and a speedboat ride which took us really close to some of the falls. We got completely soaked! It was a blast though. Iguazu, unlike the rest of Argentina right now, was quite warm- in the 70s and 80s, and quite humid. We went to the Brazil side of Iguazu falls on Friday. The falls are mainly on the Argentina side, but the most gorgeous, panoramic views are from the Brazil side. We rode a bus to get to some trails which we walked and took pictures from. Then we had to pretty much head back and get back on our bus to drive to Buenos Aires- another 16 hour bus ride. We got to Buenos Aires Saturday afternoon. We are staying at a hotel here- two stars- and I must say, we are thrilled! Only two to three per room, we have real bathrooms, with toilet paper, hot showers, mirrors, and soap, and they bring you new towels everyday! We have all been using travel towels so long, we forgot what regular towels felt like! We are staying downtown, about three blocks from Florida street, which is a famous pedestrian street with tons of vendors, musicians, artists, and magicians, besides the stores and restaurants. Very fun. Today we attended church here in Buenos Aires. This is a beautiful city- the biggest I have ever been in, though. There are 14 million people living in the inner city, almost 40 thousand in the province. We will be spending about two more days here, and then we return home! I can't believe how fast and slow this trip has gone! I am sad to leave, happy to return home. I will write more soon about what we do here in Buenos Aires in the next few days, post pictures, etc. I love you all, miss you, and hope to see you soon!

Sacrament Meeting

So, it has been a while since I have posted, and I think it might be time to post again. This week has been much like the week before, with a few small exceptions. I got to go shopping this week. I went shopping for souvenirs twice and have finished my shopping I think. If I find something else that catches my attention, I might still buy it, but I could go home tomorrow and be satisfied with what I've got.

Also, we finally got to church. It was smaller than any of the branches I have been to before... including the many tiny ones I was assigned to in Korea. There was a family, one family, that was active and regular, and the rest of us were foreigners or Indians here for a visit. The group of us amounted to about 10 people... and I think that was larger than normal. I was please with their efforts though. It made me very happy to see how strong they were in the gospel when they had so little support. They day we went was district conference, which meant that the leadership (Branch President, and 1st Councilor) were off to district meetings. The rest of the branch didn't go, but rather stayed to have their own branch meeting. The 2nd councilor seemed a little shy. He didn't conduct anything, but he did sit up front. Instead the Elders Quorum President conducted sacrament meeting. He was an American who is there on company assignment. Thank goodness for his strength!

So, we sung the opening prayer, prayed, sung the sacrament prayer, prayed, sung the closing hymn, and prayed. That had to be the shortest sacrament meeting I have ever attended by far! No talks. No announcements. Just song and prayer. I guess normally they do have a talk in there, but this time they didn't. But it did make me think... isn't that the real reason for sacrament meeting anyways? To have sacrament? To pray and sing to our God? Of course, instructing each other is important too. And we did do that in Sunday School.

The same brother who conducted Sacrament Meeting, also conducted Sunday School, and taught it. They used the gospel principles handbook for their material. It was a good lesson. Very simple and too the point. But one brother there who was Indian, and is there for only a month or two, spoke of his conversion during the lesson. He said that he was converted while he was in Texas, and that shortly after his conversion, 9-11 happened. During that time, I guess Texas had a "Share your neighbors faith" program in which once a month, some religion would speak about their beliefs in some public meeting. I guess the first meeting was about Hinduism, which was his former religion. He said that as he listed to the speaker, that things sounded very familiar, and good to him. He said he wondered if he had given his religion from birth the chance it deserved. But not long after, he went to a general conference meeting to listen to the general authorities speak. He said he heard the testimony of one of the speakers and felt an overwhelming spirit of peace and confirmation about the prophets and the truthfulness of the church. I was really impressed by it. He seems like a very nice guy, and very sincere. He seemed very devout, and strong in the church. I'm sure his strength will be appreciated wherever he goes.

After Sunday School, the services were over. There was no Elders Quorum, no Relief Society or Primary. But we did stick around for a while and chat with the people who were there. It was a good experience... and I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to be there. By the way... here are some pictures that I have taken, but have not posted anywhere. They aren't that beautiful, or great or anything, but they are here:

(If you don't have flash, or for some reason, can't see the images below, or if you'd simply prefer to see them a bit larger, please click on the links below!)

Rainy Day




The Kids




The House

Sorry for the delay...

I wrote this over a week ago, forgot to publish it, and have been traveling, and without internet access for several days! Sorry...
It has been one crazy week (or two)!
Last week I went to Salta and Jujuy for two days. We saw several cute indigenous pueblos, and the famous Mountain of 7 Colors- amazing! Gorgeous! We also saw the ruins (named Tilcara) of an ancient civilization which was conquered by the Incas, and later by the Spanish. Part of the ruins were restored. It was interesting to see, and the area was very beautiful. At the bottom I posted a link to some pictures from the trip with explanations of what they are. Sorry- I have to warn you, the pictures did not upload in any particular order, so they kind of jump from place to place.

I have had some good experiences in clinical in the past week. We have been able to do some labor coaching and support in "La sala de parto" (delivery room). Postpartum and the NICU have been good too. I am not going to write all of those experiences here, but my favorite experience was in labor and delivery, supporting a woman who had no one with her at all. Maybe because I felt like I was making a difference to her, maybe because it was the coolest birth I have ever seen! Like all the other women here, she received no anesthetic- it was all natural. She labored mostly standing, bending at the knees (up and down) during her contractions. I am always so proud of the women after giving birth- they are so exhausted afterwards, but they really work hard to get that baby out (naturally!). When she was close to delivering, the doctor helped pull her up so that she was sort of squatting on the edge of the bed. This helped the baby descend quickly, and she was able to deliver right after that, with no episiotomy or anything. (I can't stand episiotomys, but don't worry, I won't get on my soapbox about that right now. I will just say that the research shows that they are almost always unnecessary.) They let her nurse right away, and cleaned her up quickly. It was the best birth I have seen the whole time I have been here.

*I had better publish this now, before I forget again, and I will publish a more recent update as soon as I can. By the way, I will be coming home this week! See many of you soon!

Salta, Jujuy trip

4 down, 2 to go

So hello again friends family and all,
Well 4 down 2 to go. I'm 2/3s the way home. This week has been alright. Again nothing too exciting has happened, but all the same it hasn't been bad. On Saturday, Sri, the owner of Ecotech Outsourcing, the company we go through to hire our employees down here, took me to see a Jain temple here not too far away. The temple itself wasn't anything too spectacular. It was fun to go to, but nothing like some of the temples I know India has in the South. But all the same, it was an experience. We got to the temple and were about to go in when I was told that I would have to leave my camera behind. From the entrance I really couldn't see much. However the guard was kind enough to point a way around back where we go to see a little temple and be close enough to take pictures without disturbing anybody. So I got a few pictures of that. But the little temple was not much like the rest, but interesting all the same. So Jainism, it seems, is quite similar to Buddhaism but much stricter. Those who live it have a very limited diet. They do not eat meat (which isn't that uncommon around here) but they likewise do not eat anything that grows underground (carrots, potatoes, etc.) The foods they eat are limited to the fruits and vegetables that can be eaten without killing the plant. They literally do not believe in killing anything. They also feel (like many other religions do) that simplicity is the best way to live. That riches and wealth are corrupting agents and should be given away. However, while some live in such a fashion, they are the monks of the religion, though I don't know whether or not monks is the right name for them. The rest of the Jains seem to live fairly normal lives, with the exception of their diet, I believe. Some of the more religious people will wear a robe with nothing else on to display their simplicity of life (the men in particularly). They seem to be very friendly people, though I believe they felt a bit odd having a foreigner come and take pictures of them, and their temple. I believe Jain himself was at one point a wealthy prince or king who, after looking at the poor of his country, gave up all he had, and looked for a new way of life (not unlike the story of Buddha). And while he sat under a tree, he received inspiration on how he should live. And thus started a new religion.

The people here in India are a very peaceful people. Their culture, their beliefs all center around not hurting one another or even the animals and plants that surround them. India is a country that has been conquered over and over again (not unlike Korea) because they are a country that does not study war, and weapons, although they have been highly influential in world thought and beliefs. I understand that much of the culture of thought that Plato and Aristotle studied from came originally from India, and those philosophers have effected our thought much as well. The religions of India do seem to be idol worshiping religions for sure, but I do not believe that they would fall under the same condemnation that the idol worshiping religions of the old testament did. The idol worshiping religions of the old testament were condemned partially because of the sin and corruption that came with those idols. Their groves and high places were centers for sin, and excuses to commit sin, and they did it in the name of their fake god. But things are different here. While they do not seem to have all the same commandments that we have, in many ways they live more strict lives than we do. Dave (my boss) speculates that there is a lot of “playing around” outside of marriage here, but that is his opinion, and while I would agree that it likely does happen, I don't believe it happens here more than it happens in the US, in fact, I'd dare say it happens far less. The culture in the US is obsessed with sex and violence. It is uncommon to find a TV show that doesn't elude to sex or depict a violent scene. We have much we could learn from India. Unfortunately, it seems that we are influencing India more than they are us. Traditional shops that frequently have religious figurines and paintings in one corner are being replaced with malls that have great big pictures of women with little on. Materialism is slowly replacing living a life of simplicity. When I first got here I spoke of how my just being here is helping them rise out of poverty. And while that is still true, I guess I'm realizing that what we are doing isn't all good either.

We went to a mall yesterday so Dave and Amanda could buy some things for their house keeper and her daughter as a favor. I watched as all of this progressed, Reja (I'm not sure if that is how it is spelled or not) tied her scarf around her face while she was in the car. She said she couldn't stand the smells. The smell of the AC, the smell of the tar on the road, the smell of the exhaust... things that we hardly think about unless they are particularly bad she could hardly stand. When we got to the mall Reja looked lost. I think that was her first trip to a mall, but I'm not certain. She was taken to the children's clothing area and she looked around and she simply didn't know what to do. Amanda started pulling things out, and helped her choose an outfit for her daughter Wonshu. They also took her into the women's clothing area and picked her an outfit out too. I wonder what she thought of all the images that were around her. It was pretty much the same as what you would see in a mall in the US, lingerie, bright lights, models with plastic faces; she must have been somewhat overwhelmed with what she saw. I think Dave and Amanda were well intentioned and all, but I think after watching all of this that next time I'd take her to the places that she shops and not to the places they shop. She was certainly grateful for all the stuff she and her daughter was given, but I think she felt quite uneasy the entire night.

More pics

My devotional thought for Wednesday

I was assigned to give the devotional yesterday, and I chose to tell a story I heard a while ago, and then relate some of my feelings about it pertaining to the gospel.
So here is what I prepared; Hopefully you enjoy the story as much as I did.

"In 1989 there was a terrible earthquake in Armenia that killed over 30,000 people in four minutes. A distraught father went in frantic search of his son. He reached his son's school only to find that it had been reduced to a pile of rubble. But he was driven by his promise to his son, 'No matter what, I'll always be there for you!' He visualized the corner where his son's classroom would be, rushed there, and started to dig through the debris, brick by brick.
Others came on the scene--the fire chief, then the police--warning him of fires and explosions, and urging him to leave the search to the emergency crews. But he tenaciously carried on digging. Night came and went, and then, in the 38th hour of digging, he thought he heard his son's voice. 'Armand!' he called out. Then he heard, 'Dad!?! It's me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told 'em that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. . .
'There are 14 of us left out of 33. . . . When the building collapsed, it made a wedge, like a triangle, and it saved us.'
'Come on out, boy!'
'No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, 'cause I know you'll get me! No matter what, I know you'll be there for me!'
(Mark V. Hansen, "Are You Going to Help Me?" in Chicken Soup for the Soul, ed. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen [1993], 273-74)."

I read this story several months ago, but it has stuck with me, and I feel the Spirit every time I read it, testifying to me that we all have not only an earthly father who loves us, but a Father in Heaven who also loves us, more than we can ever imagine, and who will never leave us. No matter what, he will be there for us whenever we need him, and we will never be abandoned. Like the son in the story, we have to wait patiently, and we may have to exercise faith before we receive help, or the thing that we want or need. But in always having faith that our Father will take care of us, we are allowing the Lord to direct our lives, and we can then feel peace and confidence about the future. I know this is true, and looking back on my life, the times that I have felt the most peace and comfort are when I have trusted the Lord to take care of things. Interestingly enough, those are the times when I have been doing my best to pray, read the scriptures, and have faith that things will work out, and remembering the answers I have received to prayers. You probably have some experiences similar to mine. Hopefully this story/thought brings a good feeling to your heart, or reminds you of your own experiences. I am glad I ran across it again.

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to all those who have served, and to the families of those who have not returned. We love and appreciate you, and are grateful for all that you do and have done.
Rochelle and BJ
(Photo is from the internet)

A perplexing question

Hello all,
How are you all doing? I hope well. I'm afraid not much is happening here. I spend my time at work or at home, and I don't get out too much. This coming week though, I'm going to try to get out more and take my camera with me so I can say I actually did something interesting while I was in India. Today Dave wanted to watch the final episodes of American Idol and so we watch those. I think Jordan was the better of the two, and am glad she won. I did enjoy Blake's performance with the other beat-boxer guy, and thought that was cool, but that's not the type of music I would listen to on a regular basis. But enough about that. Monsoon season seems to be rolling in. Last week it rained a couple of times, which was nice. It seems to have broken the heat a bit. Things that way have been more bearable. But the real monsoon season won't start for another week or two. I'm told that monsoon seasons aren't that bad here. It is rarely dangerous here... it just drizzles all the time. You Oregonians should know what that is like. Only here it is in the summer so it warmer rain. The first day it rained we were at a restaurant and we looked out and it was just pouring. It did get windy at times, but nothing like I remember Korea being like. In Korea the wind would blow signs down, and windows out of buildings. I hope to get some good pictures of some storms here. I tried the other day... but I was in the second floor of the building we work in, and you can barely tell it is raining from my pictures. I haven't tried to take pictures of rain before. It seems to be a bit of a challenge. ;-) I also felt a little sheepish pulling out my camera to take pictures while everybody watched me. I kinda stand out of the crowd here anyways, but whenever my camera comes out, I feel like such a tourist. Cest la vie! I have to say though, I will be glad to come home again and have some home cooked food. We went to the nicest restaurant in the entire city the other day (or so Dave says), and I truly enjoyed my first meal since I came here. It was an Italian restaurant and I had a chicken and mushroom dish. The meal came to $50 for the 3 of us. One interesting thing about this place is that every sit down restaurant here gives service like a 5 star restaurant in the US. They put your napkin on your lap, push in your chair, do the 5 course meal thing (which I still don't quite understand). And a 5% tip is good here. The restaurants that we frequent here seem to always have the same people working. Lunch, dinner, Monday through Friday, they are always there. If these people were in the US, we would call them workaholics. But here, it is normal. The brethren teach us to embrace the parts of our culture that are good, but that we are to shun the bad parts. I don't know what to think about their work habits here. Are they a good part or a bad part? Their work habits are what is bringing their country up, but at what price? Is this something that is good for them? I know the US went through a phase like this too... and it made our country what it is today (for good and bad). But you can't work in excess of 12 hours a day, and be close to your family in my opinion. At least I know Rochelle wouldn't like it if I did that, and worked ever other Saturday too. But many workers here do that. And they are rewarded for it. By doing it they get their promotions. I have been doing it right along side of them since I have been here. And honestly, I'm not bothered by it. But I would be if I were in the US. Part of the reason I'm ok with it here, is that by being at work, Rochelle can have more opportunities to talk to me. So working the long hours here actually gets me closer to my wife. But in the US working even 10 hours a day on a regular basis would be hard for me. Not being home in time for dinner would be hard for me. And so here is my philosophical question for the day. Lets say you and your family lived in the 1920, where times were hard. Few were very rich, but most were part of the working class. And for the working class to get by they had to work hard. (I'm picturing the conditions shown in “Cinderella Man”.) You have a job at a local factory, where hard work is rewarded. One person recently was promoted for working extra hard. He worked 70 hour weeks. Should you do the same? Now, the obvious answer would be 'No'. Who would openly state that they would rather have the money than time with their family. But again, think about what life must have been like in the 1920s. Feeding your family is a struggle, adequate housing means any place that can keep the rain out, and the only schooling your kids will have a chance at is that which is free, and life all around is hard. So what do you do? From my comfortable position, I have a hard time understanding how they do it, or why they do it. I don't think that I ever want to work the hours that these people work to “get ahead” but then again, I have more now than most of these people will ever have. A legacy give to me by my parents, country, ethnicity, culture and class. Oh certainly I worked to get to where I am, but it was easy compared to what type of work these people do to obtain much less. And so I am torn. Some of these people really want to work hard to get ahead, and I can understand that, but at the same time wish that they would spend a little more time at home. Some of these programmers that I work with I think will be very good husbands and fathers (one of which just got engaged), but they may not be home very much because of their eagerness to provide. I just hope that they do the right thing... whatever that is.