A Quick Monday Morning Vent

So, I was almost run over twice this morning walking to campus.

Alabama state law requires drivers to yield the right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks. As I walked across the MARKED crosswalk on Campus Drive West which CLEARLY states that it is the law to yield to pedestrians, an idiot girl in her car on her cell phone proceeds to nearly plow through me. I had already walked through half the crosswalk - she had plenty of time to see me, not to mention the huge clear yellow sign. But still, she nearly hit me at 30 mph. I then almost got hit by a truck while walking through the crosswalk in the parking lot.

I happened to see the woman who nearly hit me, and in a moment of frustration, as I passed by I said, "It's the law to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks." She told me to watch where I was walking and flipped me off.

Looks like today is going to be another I hate everyone but Lindsay day...

A Wonderful Week...

So, I've had a pretty awesome week and a half...

1. I did (relatively) well on a biochemistry exam even though I slept through the time I had allotted to studying. Despite ending up without any time to study, I made a C!
2. I was able to go up to the temple twice, which gave me a boost to help me prepare for the rest of this semester. I also got some inspiration from the Spirit and from a friend as a result.
3. I was able to visit Demopolis and speak, which meant that I got to see my aunt and uncle for the first time in quite a while. Evidently the primary has grown a lot since I was there last.
4. I did well on two tests I had to take on Thursday for my American Foreign Policy and International Relations classes. I don't have scores yet, but I went out feeling very confident with both. :)
5. Alabama beat LSU last Saturday in overtime, overcoming a deficit and horrible officiating to remain among the thinning ranks of the unbeaten. The YSA watched the game using a projector hooked up to cable, which was totally awesome!!!
6. Alabama beat Mississippi State for the first time since 2005 in a dominating performance, using big plays from special teams to pull away in the second half.

So all in all, I've had a great week. Wait, am I missing something? Oh, yeah. This:

Coughing In an MRI Tube

Well, Wednesday, I got to spend a day with my wonderful doctors taking part in what I kindly term as the most boring day ever my yearly checkup.

First, a little background. I had a paper due Monday (it was originally due the week before, but the professor was nice enough to allow extra days for those who either had other classes with tests/papers, or had brothers who had taken the laptop). As I worked on it, I became sick. The dreaded cold had attacked! The problem with college is that when one student gets sick, the other 28,600 can't be far behind. Such was my predicament. I had to deal with the cold all weekend and into this week - in fact, I missed both Family Home Evening and Institute in the same week for quite possibly the first time ever. So, I was a bit apprehensive visiting my surgeons on Wednesday. But, I had postponed the appointments twice already and had them moved by the doctors once, so I decided I'd better get this over with before I was due for my next yearly checkup.

So, I arrived at UAB early Wednesday morning, after fighting with the frost on my car (yes, Alabama does get cold). I had taken some Robitussin, so I thought I'd be fine for the wonderful 30-45 minutes inside the tube of death the MRI tube, where I would undergo an MRI of the head. I went in, was fitted with my IV tube in order to fill my body with radioactive fluid meant to turn me into a ninja turtle gadolinium halfway through the scan for the contrast portion, and placed inside the tube. About halfway through the first half of the scan, I noticed that I had an itch in my throat. I knew exactly where this was going and became worried. Sure enough, I had to cough. One problem - if I coughed and moved my head, the scan would be worthless and I'd have to sit through this again! I got in three coughs without so much as a flinch, and then as the machine paused between scans (you can tell this when the incredibly annoying beeping and other noises that drive you insane stop), I pushed the panic button and asked the radiology tech to let me cough. She got me some water, and while still lying down on the table, I drank, coughed, and felt much improved. I was able to survive the remainder of the scan without so much as a throat tickle.

I then visited with my neurosurgeon, who told me that the one small portion of the tumor that he wasn't able to remove has not grown, which means it likely won't. I then went to my otolaryngologist and had a hearing test done, where they were shocked to learn that I couldn't hear in my left ear where everything came up normal. All in all, a successful day. I finally came home late that afternoon, knowing that I wouldn't have to go back for another year that I was doing well.

BSC 450 - Biochemistry

Disclaimer: This is the last in a series of posts discussing my classes this semester. They will all be under the label "Fall Courses" if you want to look at them.

zzzzz... zzzzz... zzzzz... Huh? What? I have to get ready for class? It's not even 7 a.m. yet?!?! What class is it anyway? BIOCHEMISTRY?!?!? What the ****? No way am I going!

That sums it up. Why anyone would schedule biochemistry at 8 a.m. is beyond me.

Not only that, but the professor is dry. I mean, if you're going to have a class at 8 a.m., especially as dry as biochemistry, you need an exciting teacher. But no. The teacher is dry, the information is dry, everything just makes you want to pull your eyes out.

The saving grace: the exams are multiple choice. Yay!

PSC 413 - American Foreign Policy

Disclaimer: This is another in a series of posts discussing my classes this semester. They will all be under the label "Fall Courses" if you want to look at them.

Well, now that I'm working on the theory, it's time to put it into practice!

This class focuses on the US foreign policy from World War II to the present. Our book is written from a realist perspective, which focuses on power and security as the main objectives of foreign policy. We went through the textbook writer's perspective on why the Cold War occurred, and two weeks later, went through a study that disproved the main hypothesis of the textbook. Quite fun!

The point that I've gathered from this class so far is that no one theory of international relations truly explains everything. A combination of theories are needed to accurately explain what happens, and prediction is almost impossible.

This class is much smaller than Dr. Gibler's other class, so we're able to interact much more. He asks questions in class and allows us to debate some, within reason. We have a good spread of ideologies in the class, which adds fuel to the fire at times. In fact, we have one student who is a Republican lobbyist and works on the McCain campaign. Sometimes, I wish I could bring popcorn.

PSC 204 - International Relations

Disclaimer: This is another in a series of posts discussing my classes this semester. They will all be under the label "Fall Courses" if you want to look at them.

Well, you have to learn the theory before you can understand the practice. That's the main reason for taking this class.

International relations isn't a current events class; it's actually quite far from it. This class teaches the principles and theories that shape international relations and politics. Of course, modern-day examples are used to explain, examine, or disprove theories, but the focus is on the theories.

My professor, Dr. Gibler, also teaches my PSC 413 class. He has a blog for his classes where he also puts interesting topics he finds online about politics and whatever else. Pretty good stuff, and I'd recommend the occasional glance.

Being a 200-level course, we're in an auditorium, and there are tons of students. Many are young... very young. Man, I feel so old when I'm in these classes! The sheer number of students also means multiple choice exams, which are nice. So, so far, so good.

PSC 334 - Latin American Political Systems

Disclaimer: This is another in a series of posts discussing my classes this semester. They will all be under the label "Fall Courses" if you want to look at them.

First, I had no plans on taking this course. I had to add this at the last minute because of a work conflict, so I took what upper-level political science class was available.

The professor, Dr. Kline, is very knowledgeable about Latin America, having lived there several times in several countries. The textbook we use was edited by him. Needless to say, he's the right teacher for the job.

However, it just doesn't hold my interest. I've never been to Latin America, and it's never been an area in which I've been interested.

Dr. Kline also has the tendency to go off on tangents, which almost never have anything to do with the topic of the day. We tend to end up skipping over five or six slides to get to where he wants to be, and we don't get any of the slides to look at ourselves.

The one main positive is the fact that he emphasizes analysis rather than rote facts. He wants us to learn how to analyze situations and judge whether democracy really exists in these countries. So, I'll muddle through and get by in this class, and look forward to what's available in the spring.

UH 300 - Defining Marriage

Disclaimer: This is the first in a series of posts discussing my classes this semester. They will all be under the label "Fall Courses" if you want to look at them.

So, since this class is the one that has elicited the most questions, I figured I'd blog about it first.

It's definitely interesting to have a class on marriage that isn't an institute class. My teacher has two young children, a JD and PhD, and has worked in family law and church law for the Catholic Church, so her views are definitely affected by that. However, she is always encouraging of discussion. The class, being a University Honors course, is limited to 15 students, and honestly, I don't think there are more than eleven in the class there are 14 of us who have decided to stay in there. Men, of course, are underrepresented. There are three of us in there.

The views are varied - besides the token LDS, there are evangelicals, a few catholics, and a few that are either atheists or agnostics. I definitely like that about the class. It leads to more discussion and to more ideas. We're going to go through legal definitions, cultural definitions, religious definitions, and then at the end of the semester, we'll talk about the future of marriage. One class will be devoted to the LDS view of marriage, and the teacher wants to have a guest speaker, which is a good sign. I'm helping her get that.

With all of these classes, I'm being purposely vague. If you have any questions, ask in the comments, and I'll try to answer them.

Jack Johnson @ Lakewood Amphitheater, 8/13/08

So, last Wednesday, as a sort of last hurrah to the summer, I went  with a few friends - Kellee, Rachel, and Will -  to see Jack Johnson in Atlanta. Here's a photo gallery from the AJC - I forgot my camera. I did not know until Monday that I would be going, so this was a pleasant surprise. We left T-town at 1 PM in order to arrive around the time when doors opened, hoping that we would be able to get a good spot on the lawn, which we did, but more on that later.

The first guy on stage was Neil Halstead, and the best way I could describe his music was an acoustic Death Cab-like sound - aka really good! I was pleasantly surprised, and may have to find some of his music.

Then, after his set, came the worst part of the concert - continual ads telling us how to combat "climate change" - the new, vogue way of talking about global warming. One day, I may post my feelings on the subject or link to a meteorologist whose feelings I share, but I won't today. It was an unnecessary and pointless set of ads meant to brainwash rather than educate.

The next set was from Rogue Wave. They may have been okay, but I was unable to listen because their music was WAY TOO LOUD!!!! I actually had to walk outside in order to save whatever hearing I still have. Shame that it happened, but I don't feel like I missed much from what little I was able to hear.

Then, after another mind-numbing period of ads during which I almost was convinced that climate change is real, and that I should go and do whatever the voice in the ad told me to do, Jack Johnson finally came on stage. He was great, but there was a problem during the set. Actually, there were five problems - two guys, three girls, and a lot of alcohol.

They decided just before Jack Johnson got on stage that the small space in between our blanket and the people in front of us was the perfect spot for them to stand (or attempt to stand). They immediately began to irritate us and cause problems, but we (read: Kellee and Rachel) were the bigger people and didn't do anything other than mutter insults under our breath.

Then, one of the girls falls onto the blanket we're sitting/standing on, and starts to blame us (or we think she did) - all she could get out of her mouth was "Really?" repeated over and over again, and her friends decided to blame us too. Well, Will stepped in to try to diffuse the situation, and me and Rachel went to get a cop. We came back with three cops, who wandered around us and kept watch for a while, forcing the drunken idiots to calm down.

By now, we were into the fourth or fifth song of the set, but the rest of the show, including the encore, was incredible! Here's a picture of the set list for those of you who are crazy about Jack. He, of course, came out and did an encore, bringing out Zach Rogue and Neil Halstead to join him for a bit.

Overall, the concert was an A, which is also the grade I give the cops. The beer vendors, however, get an F for selling so much beer to the group in front of us (just during Jack Johnson, they had 2-3 beers each, and they were already wasted when they got to us). Limits, people, limits!!!

I finally have a radio station to listen to again!

First things first: I'll post later on the Jack Johnson concert I attended Wednesday. But first...

Ever since 107.7 the X moved down the radio dial (aka just after I got home from my mission), I have struggled to listen to music on the radio. When The X @ 100.5 disappeared in favor of sports-talk, it became even tougher. Lots of this is attributable to Dave Rossi, the program director for WRAX who left in 2003. He was the one who discovered artists like Matchbox Twenty, Train, and John Mayer. Here's a good blog post talking about this, and here's a story talking about how the last program director of WRAX ran the station into the ground.

But now for the good news: there's a new station in town! Live 100.5, a AAA station, debuted this morning. Here's some of the details from al.com's Nightlife blog. Dave Rossi, the mastermind of the X, is back, too. The man who helped bring great bands to City Stages, the Crawfish Boil, and various other venues and festivals in the area is back, and I'm excited.

Black Sheep

No, this isn't a review of the Chris Farley movie (B+ if you're asking).

It's about how different I am from the rest of my family. And it's yet another post with a bunch of points.

This all started with my new responsibility at my job. During the summer, I'm cold-calling businesses and setting up appointments for my boss to visit and attempt to sell employment/recruitment advertising. So, what in the world does this have to do with my family? To the list, Batman (A+++++++ for The Dark Knight, if you really want to know)!

• I am not a salesman. This may not be something that deals with my immediate family, but on my mother's side, there is a long history of being good salesmen. From my grandfather to my relatives who created R.C. Willey and the Willey Automotive Group in Utah, the Tunnell and Willey families have been born to sell. Oops...


• I am (about to be) a college grad. In fact, I may be graduating this spring! I will be the first in my direct-line ancestry on either side to be a college grad, and there are several on my mother's side that didn't graduate high school.


• I have not left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for any period of my life and have been in the church since age 8. Now, this has the caveat that there are many of my relatives, including my maternal grandfather's family, who never were LDS, and with how my brothers are, I'll likely have company on this one, but it has been a pattern in the past for my ancestors, and an improvement from my parents' generation.


• I am a gospel scholar. My parents have strong testimonies, but they leave the obscure facts and random references from the scriptures to me.

I'm sure I'll come back and add several more points as I go along, but it strikes me how, in this instance, it is pretty good to be the black sheep.

Releases

When I was called as Institute Council President, I was told that there were two ways to get released: get married, or get out of the stake boundaries. Who knew I would find a third: get back to my old calling. It's true. I'm finance clerk again, and ecstatic about it. And now, I even get to spend time with my dad, the new second counselor in the bishopric.

Now that the responsibilities I had for the YSA are behind me, it seems appropriate to say a few things I wish I had done differently. In honor of Peter King's weekly dispatch "Ten Things I Think I Think", I now present "Five Things I Wish I Did":

1. I wish I had been more assertive the first few weeks I was called.
2. I wish I had been more violent vocal when I saw others try to do my job and the jobs of those who served with me.
3. I wish I had delegated more.
4. I wish I had told those who needed to know that certain things being presented as submitted by myself were not - it would've helped me and saved another some grief.
5. I wish I had been able to serve another few months, because by the time I figured things out, I was a week from my release.

But, that's the nice thing about serving in the church. I learned a ton of lessons, and will now be better in my future callings - although, from my point of view, there's nowhere to go but up from here.

Life's A Beach

So, it took a few days weeks, but I have some reminiscences of the beach.

1. I drove down from T-town on the 4th - yes, Independence Day. And, it being a popular drinking holiday, I had a Miller Light can thrown out of a car just ahead of me as I approached Linden.
2. I got to Foley around 8 p.m., but didn't reach the house we stayed in until just after the fireworks started at 9. Traffic was insane!!!
3. During the fireworks show, some morons illegally shot off a firework that started a fire in Gulf State Park that eventually came within 1000 yards of the house.
   
   The fire flared up again a few days later, after we had left.
4. I got to meet up with a friend whose birthday was on the 4th, which involved a 1.5 mile walk down Beach Blvd. and a 45-minute ride back just to get to Hwy. 59. Now that's an effort.
5. I didn't actually make it to the beach until Sunday, and even then, I only got to spend 2-3 hours out there.
6. Ever been to a fast and testimony meeting where only the member of the bishopric/branch presidency and two others bore their testimonies - and not because no one wanted to go up? I have.
7. Lulu's is a great place to eat.
8. Rafa Nadal is an incredible tennis player, and the All-England Club needs to install lights at their tennis complex.
9. I prefer going a different way to the beach than the rest of my family, and even though their way is faster, my way is better. Why? I never once lost cell reception on my way, and was without it for 30 minutes going their way.
10. I need to go to the beach more. Or at least, I need to be able to spend more time there when I do go.
11. Being in a house just off the beach is much better than being in a condo on the beach. Why? No crazy people to deal with - just your crazy family.

Dismissed.

Reality Strikes

It's very easy for me to get caught up in emotion during March. Basketball, Spring Break... heck, there's a lot of stuff that distracts me. But in the past two days, I've seen two things that have made me take a step back for a moment.

First, my brother got his mission call yesterday. He's going to the California Ventura Mission, and he reports to the MTC on May 14th. I'm excited, and it made me realize that basketball is less important than spending time with my family.

Second, as I was watching the Alabama-MSU game tonight during overtime, an apparent tornado hit the Georgia Dome. The game finished, and Alabama lost. But somehow, I didn't care. I cared that everyone was okay. I even called a friend who lives in Atlanta to make sure he was okay.

Sure, March Madness is important, but maybe I'll take a step back and not be quite so crazy this year. Don't worry, I'll still be the one to talk to if you want to know what's happening! But maybe I'll relax a bit and appreciate the wonderful things I have in life.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

Well, it's that time of year again. The time of the year when office productivity hits the fan, and everyone watches but one channel. It's that time when fans become rabid, underdogs become top dawgs, and all can watch without having to hear Dick Vitale's voice grate like fingernails on a chalkboard.

That's right... It's MARCH MADNESS!!!!

And the madness has already begun. I watched Saturday as the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs and their 7'-7" center Kenny George were upset by Winthrop in the Big South Conference Championship at home. Poor Asheville will be dancing, but in the NIT instead of the Big Dance.

I logged on this morning and found more madness. In the "It's not our fault all our games tip off at 2AM Eastern" West Coast Conference, St. Mary's, a team that had a higher ranking for most of the year than the original Cinderella, Gonzaga, lost to San Diego, whose Spanish translation we won't get into, by a score of 75-69. San Diego, who happens to be hosting the tournament for some unknown reason, now has the chance tonight to upset Gonzaga, take the WCC's auto berth into the Big Dance, and surely screw some poor unsuspecting bubble team's chance to earn a spot in the tournament. Thanks to some dominant wins, both St. Mary's and Gonzaga are almost assured of spots in the tournament, so Florida, Kentucky, South Alabama, and Western Kentucky, you'd better start praying that Gonzaga doesn't get upset tonight.

And a quick last plug - go to ncaasports.com/mmod and sign up for March Madness on Demand. You'll be able to watch every game of the NCAA Tournament online (except for the play-in game next Tuesday), and you'll be able to switch from game to game. It's a great workplace diversion!