Thursday, April 30, 2009

I found a place!

So I found a place to live this summer while I'm doing my internship in Palo Alto. I'll be living with five other guys in a house in East Palo Alto. I've heard many things about EPA. It's not as bad as it was in the 90's. And the neighborhood I'm in looks pretty nice.


Click to enlarge

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Nathan and Courtney's Wedding

Here are the pictures from the very eventful day. I was way tired by the end, I can't imagine how they felt.

What a good picture

Taking some of our own pictures while waiting for them to come out of the temple.

M28 boys + 1

Here they are! They were so happy!


Jeff take #2. Refer back to Kevin's Wedding.

Past and present M28ers (yes, that includes Courtney. She pretty much lived in our apartment the last year:)

GQ

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Miss Ya Nathan

Nathan's getting married on Tuesday. I'm gonna miss that guy. It's been two wonderful years rooming with him. He's one of the nicest guys you'll meet.

When most guys get engaged their other friendships take a backseat. Obviously it hasn't been exactly the same as before, but ever since Nathan and Courtney have dated--even since they've been engaged--my friendship with him has gotten stronger. He's always made time for his roommates.


Some of my favorite memories with him:

-Water fights in Stover Hall our Freshman year

-Nathan pegged a Jeff look-a-like with a snowball Freshman year in the Helaman Hall quad then realized it wasn't him. He tried to casually walk away even though he was the only one around.

-Driving back from a concert in SLC we accidentally missed the exit for Provo and didn't notice it until Springville because we were just talking.

-The message he left on my phone after my first break-up ever and the famous mandate that followed that weekend.

-For my 23rd birthday he bought me Cranium WOW and created the Jordan M. Hochstrasser trivia game to stick in the box. The cards were laminated with different pictures of me on the front and had trivia questions about me on the back (he researched it through my parents).

-Going to the gym with him multiple times a week Winter Semester 08 and 09.

-Ward talent show act Nathan Sharp's Guide to Dating that we worked on so much.

-For my 24th birthday he stayed up till 2am the night before baking a whole bunch of cakes and cookies.

-The many, many pranks.

-The random nice things he does. The other day he brought me home a Jamba Juice.


I know Nathan's not dying, but we won't see each other nearly as much. I wish him and Courtney the best and am so happy for them. Thanks for being such a good best friend Nathan.

If you have any comments or memories for Nathan I'm sure he will look here eventually.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Looking for a job.

I'll soon be out of work. My on-campus job is ending and I have an internship that starts on June 29th. So if you know of any job openings or have connections to get a a short-term job, let me know. I really don't want to be bored for two months. And I need money for Jerusalem.

I've looked at all the BYU on-campus jobs (grounds, custodial, etc) and have e-mailed the ones that put an e-mail. I will call the others later today. I'm willing to do pretty much anything--although working in food is my last option. Let me know.


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Mandate (Nathan's Bachelor Party)

Mandates started a while ago, usually after one of us in the apartment had broken up with a girl. It was a chance to hang out with the guys and do manly things. There are some legendary mandates coming from M28 (M28 is our apartment for those not familiar). Since Kevin got married they now usually are a bachelor party for those getting married rather than someone breaking up (we hope this trend continues). Last night we had one for Nathan. It was a lot of fun. The evening started with some games.

Jungle Speed - not super manly, but you can get hurt going for the totem

We asked Nathan a bunch of questions about his fiancee Courtney and he had to chew a piece of bubble gum for each one wrong. He didn't know a lot of them (albeit, they were some tough questions--What color is her toothbrush?)

Mike made an amazing ice cream cake for the event. We each ate a sixth (that's pretty manly)






Then we watched the movie Taken (sorry, no pictures). And to finish things off we had a sleepover out in the front room. Very good times. We'll miss Nathan a lot.

Monday, April 13, 2009

My Oh My! Seattle Mariners

I will forever be a Seattle Mariners fan. I was there in '95 when they won an historic game that would send them past the Angels into the playoffs. I was there in '01 when they tied the record for 116 wins in a season. Some great players have passed through Seattle: Ken Griffey, Jr., Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Jamie Moyer, Bret Boone, and of course, Ichiro. The last few seasons haven't been very exciting because the team has just struggled.

There's a glimmer of hope this season that is making me excited once again for my team. They're 5-2 so far this season and haven't had any home games. Ken Griffey, Jr. has returned. Even though he's not in his prime anymore, only Mariners fans know how much it means to have him back. Seattle is where he belongs. Despite horrendous rankings in pre-season polls (CBS sports ranked them dead last out of all MLB teams), they have started out really well. This is without Ichiro--he returns on Wednesday from the disabled list.

Let's go M's!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Visiting Utah

My sister Angela, her husband Keenan, and daughter Daysha came to visit Utah last week. Unfortunately, it was about the busiest week of my life with The Pilgrim's Journey Home concert going on, but I was able to go to my grandma's for dinner in SLC on Tuesday. They also came to Provo for a little bit on Thursday and to my concert on Friday night. Here are some pictures of the trip.
Learning to drive.

Before my concert.

Weston Corduroy Griggs

My newest nephew was born on Tuesday, April 7th. Here is a picture of him with his mommy (my sister). He is their fourth, and my seventh nephew/niece (six nephews and one niece).

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Rapping Flight Attendant

Just something to make you smile. I love Southwest.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Jerusalem!


For those of you that haven't heard, I plan on going to the BYU Jerusalem Center this upcoming fall. I have started the application process and just need to write a few short essays. Here is a quick description of the Jerusalem Center for those that aren't familiar with BYU:

The Center itself is a beautiful building on Mount Scopus overlooking the Mount of Olives, the Kidron Valley, and the Old City. The 125,000 square-foot, eight-level structure is set amid five acres of beautifully landscaped gardens. Students study a core curriculum that focuses on Old and New Testament, ancient and modern Near Eastern studies, and language (Hebrew and Arabic). Classroom study is built around field trips that cover the length and breadth of the Holy Land.

I am very excited. As part of the application process I needed to have a few ecclesiastical interviews. I met with the 2nd Counselor in the Stake Presidency. He has newly been called and I discovered he was one of the main directors at the Jerusalem Center for the past two years--Richard Huntington. So he told me all about it during the interview. I will keep you all updated when I hear back from them.