The things that I have been wanting to write about, but haven't had the time to refine. I still think they deserve to be said, though, so here it comes, in unprocessed chunks:
President Uchtdorf came down for a conference a couple of weeks ago, and we got to talk with him a bit. He has an iPhone. His wife is so hilarious, and such a bright personality.
We got an article published in the ensign, sort of! They bought the copyrights to a piece we wrote like a year ago, but don't know when they can fit it in the magazine. So keep an eye out!
I had a 32 oz. chocolate shake the other day at Whatabarfer. Never again...
We booked tickets to Panama for our anniversary, woot woot! No matter how many economics courses I take, I don't think I will ever understand airline prices. Cost of flying roundtrip from Houston to Panama on Continental: $800. Cost of flying roundtrip from San Antonio to Panama on continental, connecting through Houston on the same days on the same flight: $380. wth?
Working in the family history center I found names on my dad's line in Spain back to about 1700. Actually, the church did most of the work - it's pretty amazing. I'm planning on making a family history book for when we go down there. Also, a guy came in one day who wasn't a member but his ancestors were. He showed me a family heirloom he had - a ticket to the dedication services at the Salt Lake Temple! It was neat. I helped him find his line back to like 1600 in Sweden. He was so grateful because he had been looking for that info for a long time.
Finally, our garden is growing. We tried square foot gardening this fall, which I would totally recommend if anyone has at least a patio. It's good stuff.
Blog puke
Life's Too Short!
What kind of Ridonculous phrase is that? Have you talked to a lady who just gave birth. She won't tell you that the last 9months have been too short! What is that phrase mean anyway? That I need to worry every second because tomorrow I might get hit by a bus or kick the can in some random-against-all-odds way? OR is it referring to the fact that many people reach the end of their life expectancy and look back over their years only to realize they haven't done what they wanted to or accomplished things they had hoped to? May I state boldly that I disagree with both definitions and I propose that we cease to use this silly phrase and instead remind ourselves that life is LONG and in some occasions feels TOO long.
I look to great examples like Einstein and Socrates. One dedicated his life to studying Pi and the laws of gravity and the other studied philosophy (something not even concrete nor fully attainable in this life). Both are things that require patience and lots of time. I heard on the radio yesterday that one girl has been heading up a 10yr study of Narwales. She and her crew go out to the ice every year and just wait to see if they can catch one of these huge whale type animals with long horns on the front of their foreheads like unicorns. 10 years she's been tracking them! She definitely views life as a long journey with plenty of time to do what interests her most. These people are inspirations to me.
People who believe in the latter definition of the phrase "Life is too short," as listed above, generally are firm believers in bucket lists. A bucket list is a list of items made by a person who is near the threshold of death. The list includes items they SHOULD have been doing their entire life and that they don't want to miss out on before they keel over. I think that Denzel Washington portrays this group of people perfectly in the movie "The Bucket List." In this movie he leaves everything that has been so important to him for almost his entire life so that he can travel the world to see and experience all the wonders it holds. At the end of the movie, he finally realizes how important his family really is to him and he returns to his wife and kids. The movie portrays him as a hero and a completely happy man when he dies. But, they don't really portray how hurt his family must have been when he left without giving an explanation and how irrational it was to leave his life behind for a mere pleasure trip just to appease his own desires.
Now don't get me wrong I have nothing against bucket lists, in fact my now husband and I had a bucket list when we were dating and engaged, and we frequently add to it now. I know how exciting it is to cross something of the list and to look at the progress we've made and feel like life has really meant something to me. And that is the point. The list helps us to accomplish what we want to and we do it together or support one another to reach individual goals. It has become a great way to fill up an otherwise empty hour or Saturday night. Every time that I look at the list I realize how much time has transpired since we first completed our first item. The time has flown by quickly, but I would never say that it has been too short. In contrast, I have realized how much one can do in one month or even in one week. Therefore pointing to how long a life is.
One last example of how long life is. It can be explained in one word, Glenora. She is my step-grandma and as dear to me as any grandma could ever be. She has been on a feeding tube for many years, and despite her elderly age has remained independent and strong. She knows her limits, but she exceeds everyone's expectations who knows her. When I visit Glenora, she reminds me how long life is with her stories that seem to span back to the pre-dinosaur era. But, she also reminds me of how much joy can be felt in one life, how much happiness can be spread, how many things can be done with people that you love, how much service can be rendered and most of all how much one can accomplish when they never give up. In one sense you would say that she has seen it all. She reminds me that when we maintain an attitude that life is long, then we never give up and we have no reason to let life get us down. We not only accomplish what we want to accomplish, but we spend as much time as we need doing it, and we do it cheerfully because we know that nothing else matters. We don't let deadlines and expectations hang over our heads. We live long and prosper.
NPR = awesome
...or something like that. I just thought it was time to pay homage to the best program available on the airwaves. People will say it has a liberal bias, and others will say it has a conservative bias - if both are true, then it is doing a good job of reflecting our diversity. What was relatively unknown to me 5 years ago has become a comfort to me in a lonely America. The stories are interesting and not too overbearing (except for when they ask for money =/) My favorite programs by far are "This American Life" and "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me."
Point of this post: I've been listening to the audiobook of "This I Believe" and heard a guy talk about his 50-percent theory of life. I thought it was very interesting and a good representation of the last two months for me. I've had lots of good and bad and just plain neutral days. However, optimist that I am, I tend to believe in a 60-percent theory of life. Cyclical ups and downs, but in the end leaning toward the good. It's that extra bit that makes every moment of life worth savoring.
Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?
Everybody may have seen this already, but I thought that this representation of the U.S. National Debt in $100 bills was pretty interesting. Scary, maybe, but I tend to be optimistic about our debt ratio. I think the real key is educating our society to become more productive (and probably also to want less). But what do I know. If you're really concerned, you can send checks to pay down the national debts if you want to (no joke). Write in the memo section of the check that it’s a gift to reduce the Debt Held by the Public, and mail it to:
Attn Dept G
Bureau of the Public Debt
P. O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188
Chase sucks. Run away!
Most of you who have been watching bank rates know that savings account yields are pretty terrible right now, due to federal lending rates being so low. Lorie and I have both been pretty disappointed at the rate we have been getting on our accounts for the past year. However, the most laughable rate belongs to our friends at the worst bank ever. On its savings accounts, Chase is offering a paltry 0.01% APY. And, if you don't link it to other accounts or have a $15,000 minimum balance, you will get hit with $15 monthly fees. So, let's see....if I invest $10,000 today, I will have gained $1 in interest by this time next year, and this privilege will only have cost me $180 in fees.
As a company, it has probably the best balance sheet of the megabanks, and has yet to report a quarterly loss in all of this mess (thanks to Washington Mutual). I understand that the overnight lending rate is practically zero, so banks can loan to each other for free. I'm just a little concerned about how much longer the boys at Chase can expect their savings-account holders to be providing them with interest-free loans.
Buy buy buy!
As long as you are going to be staying somewhere for a predictable while, it is getting to the point where there is absolutely no reason not to buy a house these days. $8000 in free money, houses on the cheap, and low mortgage rates make it a buyer's market like never before.
There are possibly perks if you take out your mortgage from a bank as well. We took out our mortgage from Bank of America because it was a good program and good rate, but we also found out that having that mortgage gives us the privilege of higher savings account rates, free paper checks on demand, and a free safe deposit box rental. It all depends on whether those things matter to you, but for me it was pretty sweet...
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