Speaking of . . .

New Blog!

2010-01-18T14:48:00.001-07:00

Check out Christina's and my new blog--http://hochstrassers.blogspot.com.

For now we are going to leave it a public blog. If any crazies start looking at our pictures we'll have to make it private. Or when we have kids. According to GoogleAnalytics I've got people from If after four months I don't post anything else on this blog, I probably never will. Only time will tell. I doubt I'll have time to maintain too—or enough cool stuff happening in my life.

Jeff at Weddings

2010-01-08T14:47:00.016-07:00

So far Jeff has been in a similar picture at mine, Nathan's, and Kevin's weddings.

My Wedding.

I wish it had turned out better, but oh well. Won't be able to frame ours like Kevin and Aubrey did.

Nathan's Wedding

Nathan was posing for the camera too in this top one. Christina and Courtney had no idea it had even happened until after the fact.

Kevin's Wedding, the one that started it all

Your turn, Bwood.

I'm sure everyone wants other wedding pictures too. They will soon be up, but on mine and Christina's new blog. You will need a password for this blog that I can send you—http://hochstrassers.blogspot.com. So if you think I don't have your e-mail address, send it to me on facebook or to my e-mail, jordan.hochstrasser@gmail.com.

Wedding Invitation

2009-12-16T14:57:00.007-07:00

Just in case you never got yours in the mail or we didn't have

your address, here's the wedding invitation.

The one we sent out had a little different spacing because we had to make it shorter, but I only have a photoshop version of that right now (so I can't upload it). It's pretty much the same.

Finals

2009-12-14T09:06:00.003-07:00

Click to enlarge.

Thanksgiving Break!

2009-12-04T14:11:00.005-07:00

Christina and I were able to go back to Washington for the break. We spent some time at both of our family's. We actually forgot to take pictures so I got these from my dad and sister.

We arrived Tuesday night and my parent's took us out to dinner to celebrate my recent birthday.

Daysha got to see this Red Robin they had walking around.

I even got some dessert and they surprised me by singing happy birthday

Daysha, Christina, and me playing.

Ready for dinner!

It was a really fun trip!

Health Care—What to Think . . .

2009-12-02T11:16:00.007-07:00

I had to read a lot of articles and write a paper on the current U.S. health care system and plans for reform for my Economics class. I also learned about the health care systems of five other countries--England, Japan, Germany, Tawain, and Switzerland. It was very interesting. I want all of your opinions and thoughts on U.S. health care, so make sure to give me your comments.

I'm still not quite sure what the best solution is for health care reform. I definitely think that President Obama and politicians on both sides are trying to look for quick fixes where the American people don't have to change bad habits--something that looks good, but in the long run will be much worse for us. There are so many inefficiencies in the U.S. health care system it's ridiculous. We spend more than any other country and our care is ranked 37th according to a Frontline video made in 2008. That's horrible!

One of the biggest problems is people don't care how much health care costs because the insurance is paying for it. So the health care providers (hospitals, etc) charge outrageous amounts to make large profits and the insurance companies pay for it. They don't really mind because they'll just raise everyone's premiums for next year. In 2005 health care was 14% of GDP (and rising) compared to about 5% in 1965 (see link). Health Savings Accounts seem like a pretty good way to put the money into consumers hands so that they are more conscientious about where the money is going. But I know that's not a solution to everything--and it doesn't work well for people with medical conditions or the elderly.

I also like the idea of universal health care, but the cost without totally revamping the current system would be tremendous (despite what Obama says). Japan has managed to keep mostly private health providers while supplying universal care, but the hospitals are in a lot of debt because of the government regulations of prices.

I think the government needs to help take care of the vast inefficiencies in health care (but the gov't itself is so ineffiecient I don't know how that will work), put money into consumers hands so they care about costs coming down, and learn from what other countries have done to expand coverage to those that don't have it and cut costs.

Comments please.

That's What I'm Talkin' About!

2009-11-30T08:48:00.005-07:00

Best idea to hit college football.

Some people argue that 16-team playoff is too much (even though basketball has 64 (officially 65) teams). I'd settle for an 8-team playoff over the current system. At least we could find out who the real champions are.

Google Voice is great, but . . .

2009-11-17T10:36:00.017-07:00

Google Voice sends me an e-mail and a text when someone leaves me a voice message. It's a great idea, but the translator they use doesn't work all that well. Here's the message from my roommate Eric this morning while I was in class:

"Hey Jordan here and flusher. It's Dean collect on this, But 3 inches long trying to touch is. Yeah, I just wanna let you know I'm gonna so growing Custer's right now come up and it."

Yeah, I was confused too. My roommate was gonna bring me up my flash drive that I had forgotten at home (I was already on campus). Here's what the voicemail actually said, from my own translation:

"Hey Jordan, I think I got your flash drive. It says Dane Elect. It's 1 gigabyte. About 3 inches long, has rounded edges. Um, I just wanted to let you know I got it. You're probably in class or something right now. Just wanted to let you know. I'll come up at nine and give it to you."

Yes, my roommate had just recently woken up and probably slurred some words together, but still. It's really funny when I get the translations of my voicemail messages.

Wedding Invitations

2009-11-09T11:37:00.004-07:00

Wedding invitations are an interesting thing. Christina knew right away that I'm pretty picky about mine. I don't like too many pictures crowded on to the invitation, weird colors, pictures where you can't see the people, and distracting designs. I also think simple is usually better, not always though. We're in the middle of creating our wedding invitations. It's difficult balancing cost and finding one that we like. We've got an idea we like, we just need to work out getting it created on Photoshop. I tried teaching myself Photoshop, but that was a little frustrating. But I think we might have it under control now and you should be getting your invitations in a few weeks.

Charlie Bit My Finger becomes #1 on Youtube

2009-10-28T09:26:00.006-06:00

For a while now the overrated Evolution of Dance video has had the most views of any video on all of youtube. Well, in the last few days, the much funnier Charlie Bit My Finger surpassed it in total views and become the most watched video on youtube with 129,719,233 views as of 9:25am MST. Obviously, since I'm posting about it being the most watched video, I know most of you have seen it, but here it is if you want to watch it again.

Halloween Date

2009-10-24T13:27:00.006-06:00

Christina and I went on a Halloween themed date last night. It was a lot of fun. We went to the store before dinner to pick up a pumpkin and some ingredients. After dinner, we carved a pumpkin! Even though we didn't have very good knives for it, it turned out really well.

Then we made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for some friends and delivered them.

After we got back we watched a Halloween-ish movie (not a scary movie, cause Christina or I aren't huge fans of those). We watched Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. I thought it was an amusing story, pretty strange though.

Overall, it was a lot of fun!

This is probably the most fame I'll ever get

2009-10-22T13:59:00.009-06:00

I've had a lot of people tell me about seeing my face on posters around campus. They'll probably be gone after tomorrow since Homecoming Spectacular will end.

This one is of me and Jake outside the upper level of the bookstore, the electronics section. This picture might be deceiving, it's not very big.

This one is right by the restrooms and drinking fountain by Jamba Juice in the WILK. This one is pretty big.

Oh yeah, sadly, I am not doing Men's Chorus this year, so people have been confused that I am on the poster. Last spring term they asked for the most handsome members of Men's Chorus to come to a photo shoot. Okay, they really just asked who is available for two hours and still has their Men's Chorus jacket—even if we weren't gonna be in it again.

A Few Engagement Pictures

2009-10-19T11:25:00.004-06:00

We got our pictures back on Friday night. Here are a few, I'll post more later on Facebook. We've almost made a decision.

Toy Story 3 Trailer!!!

2009-10-13T09:14:00.003-06:00

Christina and I saw this in the theatre the other night when we went to see Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D. I am pretty excited for this next installment after more than 10 years! And for those who say it's just gonna ruin the previous two great films—come on, this is Pixar. Did Toy Story 2 take away from Toy Story? Not at all. I actually like Toy Story 2 a little bit better.

Watch this trailer. Sometimes I am disappointed by Pixar trailers cause they don't do a good job of getting across the humor and STORY of the movie, but his one is great. Here's a look at it, although I highly recommend going to apple.com to see the HD version.

Housing FOUND

2009-10-12T11:25:00.003-06:00

Christina and I have found a place to live this coming Winter! It's around 300 W 100 S. It's a spacious (compared to a lot of married housing in Provo) two bedroom place. We're excited to have this big decision made and out of the way. We're also getting two nice microfiber couches from the current tenants for a good deal. So we don't have to search for those and get them moved in.

We also registered at Bed, Bath, & Beyond on Saturday . . . man, that was a marathon. You can look us up already!

Last semester before graduation + Being engaged = Lack of desire to study

2009-10-05T12:34:00.001-06:00

Usually people mention one of those as being a contributing factor to not doing as well in classes. I get to have both of them at once. Of course, I wouldn't want to postpone either the wedding or graduation.

Engagement Pictures

2009-10-02T22:21:00.004-06:00

Okay, so sorry if you thought by that title that I would have pictures to post. I just wanted to announce that we took them today. It was fun. We took them up at Bridal Veil Falls and the surrounding park and down by the Provo Tabernacle. Christina and I had lots of fun doing them and are excited to get them back and choose our favorites!

P.S. Max Hall needs to quit throwing two interceptions a game. The first one tonight was an understandable mistake, but the second . . . what was he thinking throwing that one?!

100th Wall Post!

2009-09-14T21:17:00.005-06:00

This is a momentous occasion. Here's some random thoughts to celebrate it . . .

-Tennis is amazing. I watched the final U.S. Open match today between del Potro and Federer. What a game! Del Potro won, by the way.

-There's a lot to think about for a wedding.

-I'm excited to see all of my family together when they come to Washington for my wedding.

-I accepted the offer with Ernst & Young in Palo Alto, CA.

-I love Christina!

BYU Football

2009-09-12T12:00:00.005-06:00

Last week's game was a thrill ride! I'm a huge BYU sports fan. They do often disappoint (BYU basketball in the big tourney . . . ). This season will sure be exciting. I don't know if we'll go undefeated, but it'll be good, that's for sure. And I'm glad they're thinking about it one game at a time.

So . . . if anyone has all-sports tickets that they are not going to use because they will be out of town, please let me know! Christina and I decided not to buy all-sports passes this season because of certain other expenses that are coming up. I remember when I was in the Accounting Jr. Core I left two of my tickets with a roommate to use cause I was busy studying for tests (what memories).

Fortunately I get to go home for Thanksgiving, but unfortunately I won't be here for the Utah game (which is probably the most likely game people will be looking to get rid of, but will also be the best). Any other one though!

Engagement Ring

2009-09-04T10:10:00.002-06:00

Here's the ring! And this is the wedding ring too cause Christina doesn't want a wedding band.

Job Search

2009-09-03T09:55:00.003-06:00

At the current moment I am looking for two jobs. One for after Christina and I graduate (I graduate in December and Christina in April). I have an offer with Ernst & Young, but am not sure if I am going to take it.

But I am also looking for a job right now. Once again I am asking for help of any of you reading that know of job openings. It is so much easier to get a job through a referral. I have spent the last 3+ weeks since being back in Provo looking for a job. I would like something that could be part-time right now and maybe turn into more full-time in January. And something that might utilize the fact that I'm six credits away from having a BS in Accounting. But, if you know of ANYTHING (even if it doesn't meet the requirements I mentioned above), let me know. Searching on websites has been very time consuming with very little results. I've also gone around to different places, but they just tell me to fill out on-line applications, not really knowing if something is available right now. And I'm looking off-campus since I graduate so soon and don't want to go through this same process. Thanks in advance!

First Day of School Pictures

2009-09-02T21:36:00.003-06:00

Here we are ready for our first day of school. (These were actually the retakes on the second day of school because I couldn't find my camera the first day).

Apartment Searching

2009-08-31T14:22:00.003-06:00

Now that Christina and I are getting married over Christmas break we need to find an apartment! I hear that this can be hard to do in between semesters. But I figured I could get 50 eyes looking (or however many will read my blog post), rather than just us two. Not actively looking like us, but just let us know if you hear about something. That will help us out a bunch. We would prefer a furnished place, but let us know about everything. I'll have graduated and Christina will be student teaching, so it doesn't need to be right next to campus either. Thanks everyone!

The Proposal

2009-08-24T15:33:00.003-06:00

As most of you already know, I'm engaged! It's pretty exciting! Christina and I have enjoyed all of the wall posts on Facebook. We will be getting married December 22 in the Seattle Temple. So here's how it went down.

If you already know the background story of Christina and I and just want to hear the proposal, skip this and the next paragraph, but it's a good story. Christina and I have known each other for two years. We lived in the same apartment complex until she moved out this last December. I had never taken her out that entire time, but we were good friends. We stayed in contact a little bit the next few months and saw each other at a few get-togethers. I even called her one evening in May, I believe, to see if she wanted go to a dance with a group of us. The whole group thing fell through and it just would've been me and her, so I called to cancel (I know, what was I thinking). After that I started thinking it would be fun to go on a date with her. But since I had already been accepted into the Jerusalem Center for fall and would be leaving for an internship shortly, I didn't expect anything to happen.

I organized a group to go see Up on it's opening night, May 29. That's the night we both decided we liked each other (but didn't say anything, we hadn't even been out on a date). Then that next day I invited her to volunteer at Special Olympics with me, we also went swimming, and then she came over to catch the last bit of a movie (the movie had just ended and we ended up talking for a while). Anyway, she was very clear that she liked me (hint, girls, that makes it so much easier) and we were dating by the next Friday (a week after Up). We didn't need a DTR (define the relationship, for those who don't know), but that's what day we look to because that was our first kiss. After an amazing three weeks, I was off to my internship in California. She came out to visit me the next week over the 4th of July. We video chatted or talked on the phone every day while I was in California. I had a tough decision to make about going to Jerusalem or staying and getting married in December. After talking to some great friends, praying, fasting, and going to the temple, I knew that I wanted to get married. And even though she would've waited for me, it wouldn't be worth it to be away from her for so long. And the fact that I would come back from Jerusalem broke didn't help. So on July 12th I told her I wasn't going on the study abroad and we decided we wanted to get married (I know, we had to keep it a secret a long time). We saw each other one other time when we went to go meet the parents at the end of July. Although I left out the part in that blog entry of me talking to her dad.

The Proposal

This last Saturday, August 22, Christina went wedding dress shopping (haha) so she could get an idea of what she was looking for when her mom comes to town this week. That gave me plenty of time to finish up my plans for that evening. She thought it might happen soon, but wasn't sure if I had the ring yet. (I had tried to make it seem like it would take a week or two to be ready.) Around 4pm we went to a favorite park of ours in Orem and played some card games (Lost Cities and Ligretto). Then we went out to dinner at Carrabba's. Afterwards we went looking for a dessert to take with us for a walk along the Provo River. She was getting suspicious, because she had suggested going there earlier, but I told her I'd rather go to the other park. We couldn't find any dessert, so we went over to the Provo River trail by Bon Losee off of University Parkway. She had worked nearby during Spring Term, so we had taken a lot of walks there during her work breaks. We talked for a little while on the bridge we usually go to. I thought about doing it there, but the fear of losing the ring to the river by accidentally dropping it was too great. So we walked about 20 feet to a bench. I told her I made her something and pulled out a book I had been working on. In it are all the journal entries I've written about her and the things we've done the last few months, along with pictures of many things we've done.
The last page I wrote a letter to her expressing my feelings for her and read that to her. Then I pulled out the ring. She said yes (or I probably wouldn't be writing this). We're both extremely happy and excited. We haven't been able to take a good picture of the ring yet, but hopefully we will soon. Oh, and the book has a lot of blank pages for the future. (Yes, the book idea does come from the movie Up.)

Education Week

2009-08-18T15:24:00.001-06:00

I'm back in Provo and Christina and I decided to go to some Education Week classes. She got a morning pass, and I got a school day special (morning plus a few more hours). Last year was my first experience with Education Week. My mom had been in town and paid for me to go to some classes. It was a great experience. I still remember a few of the classes and what was taught, especially from one teacher--Randall A. Wright.

This year I've been to four classes (all today), and all the classes are at least okay, but there are some really good ones. I'm excited as the week continues to attend some more great classes.

Disney World!

2009-08-11T20:11:00.000-06:00

My Florida trip got much better after the first day of traveling (see my last post). After that ordeal was over I went swimming and played beach volleyball at this cool looking place inside the resort. It was misty the morning I took this picture.

At night we had to sit for four hours to hear speakers and have dinner. I was tired! The next day after breakfast and a big meeting with everyone we had something called "team challenge." Some people I talked to loved it, others hated it. Imagine EFY for grown-ups, that was pretty much it. They even had us create cheers. I thought it was the longest six hours of my life.

That afternoon/evening we went to Disney World. The group I was with decided to go to Magic Kingdom since it was open the latest (for those who don't know, there are many parks within Disney World). Magic Kingdom is almost exactly like the original Disney Land.

Here's the group I was with. Yes, that is indeed the one and only, Kevin G. Brinkherhoff.

Monsters, Inc!!!

We went to the Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor. It was pretty funny. Mike Wazowski was the host. It was cool because they involved the audience in it. Highly recommend it.

We of course went on the Tea Cups.

I wasn't scared.

The fireworks show was really cool.

Getting ready to go on Splash Mountain!

Saturday there were some seminars that were pretty good. At night they had this mind reader/illusionist perform for us. It was crazy some of the stuff that he did. Then afterwards they had games for us to play--pool, foosball, darts, Wii tennis, Rock Band, and fake gambling. Here we are having fun!

It was a fun trip overall! Although Florida is so humid! And I don't know if I could ever afford Disney World, especially for a family.

Flying to Orlando, aka - Worst Day Ever

2009-08-10T08:21:00.001-06:00

Here is an excerpt from my journal:

Wednesday just may have been the worst day of my life. I traveled to Orlando, Florida for the Ernst & Young International Intern Leadership Conference. This was my first time ever really on the East Coast (other than airports). In the morning I went to pick up a friend. Going to get him made my ride to the airport twice as long as it should have been. And it took him several minutes to get outside once I arrived. Then the long-term parking was at least a mile away. I was so worried we weren’t going to make our flight. We got the shuttle from long-term parking (which took forever) and I was able to check my bags 27 minutes before my flight. They told me it wouldn’t be guarenteed on the flight because it was less than a half hour before but they would try to get it on. The plane ended up being about ten minutes late, so I wasn’t too worried.

At the layover in Pheonix I got some California Pizza Kitchen despite not having liked it much before. I decided to give it another chance. Halfway through the four and a half hour flight to Orlando I started feeling a little ill. Mostly just a headache. I got some Advil from someone and tried to rest. My headache started to go away but I felt a little nauseous. This continued as we descended. But we were almost there—I could make it. I located the barf bag just in case. Right after we touched down I uncontrollably vomitted all over myself. I didn’t have enough time to react with the bag. It was disgusting! Everything I had eaten that day was now on my clothing. I went back to the bathroom (I was in the third row from the back) and a nice flight attendant name Kelly helped me out. I tried cleaning it off as well as I could with the little paper towels they had. Vomit does not come out very well. I couldn’t believe this had happened. The next flight was delayed because of me a few minutes (which I thought was a little funny). Southwest gave me this extra large bright orange t-shirt to wear and offered me a wheelchair, but I was feeling better. I honestly think it was the food at Pheonix since I have never thrown-up on a commercial jet. My jeans were still kind of dirty, so I tried covering that with my bag as I walked. I wasn’t too worried about what people thought though.

I got to baggage claim and waited for my suitcase, very anxious to change. I waited until there were only three bags still going around—the same ones over and over. I couldn’t believe it. Now more than ever I NEEDED clothes to change into! But nope, my luggage didn’t show up. They told me they would deliver it to the hotel as it was probably on one of the flights to come in later that night. I asked the same friend who I had taken to the airport that morning if I could borrow a pair of shorts. They were big on me so good thing I had a belt. So I was wearing these big shorts and the bright orange Southwest shirt. I got to the hotel and talked to the workers for awhile about the whole situation (I don't know why it took so long). Then I walked like fifteen minutes to my room (I'm not joking, this resort was huge!). I opened the door and turned on the light only to wake up my German roommate, Uwe. A little after midnight I checked at the bell desk to find out my luggage had arrived at the airport and should be there within 2 hours. I decided to go to bed at 1am and get it in the morning. The morning came and still no bag! And all the hotel staff had changed so they didn’t know the situation, and I couldn’t get a hold of the airline at the airport. Well, eventually I found out my bag was with the Disney Magical Express, and they had shut down the night before at 10pm and didn't start delivering until 9am. But at least it was good to know my luggage was safe and coming. I got my bag around 11am.

Phew, what an ordeal. But honestly it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. It’s kind of funny and a good story. I was surprised how positive of an attitude I was able to keep throughout it. It’s almost as if I was able to look back and tell myself, this won’t be such a big deal, but while it was happening.

Palm Pre vs Blackberry Curve 8330

2009-08-04T00:44:00.000-06:00

I need to get a new phone. My current Samsung m500
has served me well, but I've had it for 2 1/2 years. For the last year I've had to set something heavy on top of the charger where it hooks into the phone so that it would stay in at the right angle, otherwise it wouldn't charge. That's been a little bit of a hassle.

I have Sprint, and I have a really good deal with them--$35 a month and I get internet, unlimited texting, 500 anytime minutes, etc. So don't try and convince me to get an iPhone, cause I'm not switching. I went to the Sprint store on Saturday so I could handle both of them. Here are the pros and cons of both that I see.

Palm Pre

Pros

Very user-friendly. I love the touch screen. You can have multiple applications open and just sort through them like cards. Want to check something out on the internet or your calendar without losing an e-mail you were writing? No problem.
Sleek. And the colors are really vibrant.
Pretty small--smaller than the iPhone when the keyboard isn't out.
Universal Search--just start typing and it will search everything on your phone that starts with the letters you type.
webOS, the operating system, is very fast and intuitive.

Cons

$199
It doesn't have an expansion slot to add memory. So you only get the built in 8GB I believe it is.
Battery life isn't that great.

Blackberry Curve 8330

Pros

$49
A slightly bigger keyboard
Does have expandable memory
I've heard it works really well for business-oriented people

Cons

The keyboard makes clicking noises that I don't like
When compared to the sleekness of the Pre, it doesn't look very cool and feels kind of outdated. I want to touch the screen!
I also don't like the rollerball very much. I got tired of it after just a few minutes of messing around with it.

Obviously you can probably tell I like the Pre better. But is it worth the extra $150? Let me know your opinion--especially if you've had either one of these phones (or if you've had another similar type of Blackberry).

Giants Win

2009-08-01T17:35:00.000-06:00

My internship paid for all of the interns to go to a San Francisco Giants game on Thursday. My Brazilian friend, Leo, pointed out to me that hardly anyone was watching the game. It was true. I was socializing more than watching. I'm not really a Giants' fan. And baseball isn't the most exciting sport (although I had arguments about this with co-workers the next day). Here are some pictures from the game.

AT&T Park

Tyler, Leo, and me

People talking to each other while the game is going on.

Me, Leo, Damaris

Oh, the Giants were playing the Phillies and won. I got to see a homerun or two, so that was cool.

Sweet Home Washington

2009-07-28T00:38:00.000-06:00

This last weekend I made a trip up to Washington. Christina came too! This was a weekend to not only see each other, but meet each others parents since we are both from Washington. She picked me up Thursday night from the airport and we went down to my house. Most of the pictures in this blog will feature my adorable niece--cause she's really cute (well, so is Christina, but she gets tired of me trying to take pictures of just her). Friday we went to a small water park. That was fun and the weather turned out nice, but the water was still super cold.

That afternoon Christina and I went out to the Chambers Bay park overlooking the water in my city (University Place). That evening we had pizza with the family and played some games.

In the morning we went over to my sister's to play with my niece for what we thought would be the last time and to say goodbye. She was soooo hyper and excited to see us. She would run up her slide and come down over and over, stomp all around, and squeal as I chased her around.

On Saturday we went up to Poulsbo, where Christina is from. I always tease her cause she says she doesn't live on a farm--but she does. There's a barn, cows, and five acres. But it's a nice farm. I met her whole family (her oldest brother wasn't there, but I'd already met him). We went to a ward activity, walked around downtown Poulsbo, watched some old home videos, went mini-golfing. Then the young couples (her sister and husband and us) went to her sister's house to watch a movie. Here's the one picture I took in Poulsbo.

Sunday was relaxing and we went to church. Because I forgot my sandals at my place that gave us a reason to go back there (I didn't do it on purpose!) on our way to the airport and I got to see Daysha once more. A very eventful and great trip.

Why Giving Matters

2009-07-22T20:11:00.000-06:00

This article was probably the most memorable speech I have heard while at BYU (I've heard a lot!) I actually watched it again (on the BYU TV website) afterwards. I'm really glad BYU Magazine decided to publish it.

It talks about how giving makes us happier (and more successful) people. He doesn't talk about it from a religious perspective (he's not LDS, but he is Roman Catholic), but from a scientific perspective. He has seen data that shows that the more people give, the more they make and the happier they are. Not because they are making more, but because giving makes us happier.

I suggest everyone take a moment to read this and think about the importance of making giving a priority in our lives--not only of money, but time and talents.

Accidental Text Message

2009-07-22T00:11:00.000-06:00

We've all done it (except for those few that don't have text messaging)--accidentally sent a text to the wrong person. Sometimes this isn't a very big deal, while other times . . . it's very embarrassing. Here's an example of one today which turned out funny.

Jordan --> Nathan

(supposed to go to Christina)

"Okay . . . If you're already thinking of birthday gifts, I'm not sure if flowery lotions would be my first choice . . ."

Then this is how I realized I had sent the text to the wrong person.

Nathan --> Jordan

"That my dear friend was a very random yet funny comment. I was in fact not considering sending lotion in any form."

Now the context of that is Christina was asking me which lotion scents I prefer, vanilla or flowery ones. That's what I get for having Nathan and Christina's speed dials so close to each other.

I seem to be doing this a lot. Twice in the last few days I texted someone I home teach named Jackie, only I still had this other Jackie in my phone (who ironically enough I home taught two years ago). That's right, I texted the wrong Jackie. Oh well, no harm done, usually.

Coldplay Concert

2009-07-14T22:25:00.000-06:00

Last night I went to the Coldplay concert. It was a very enjoyable night. They played almost all of the songs from their latest album (also my favorite), Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. There's nothing like huddling really close together at the front of the lawn for two hours. I do have to say the two opening bands were very . . . different. Here we are waiting for it to start.

They also sang their first big hit--Yellow. Coldplay had some awesome visuals along with their concert. During Yellow they released a bunch of big yellow balloons with confetti in them. Even us on the lawn got to bounce them around to each other.

So there was NO zoom being used on this next picture. They really came that close to us. I was standing at the front of the lawn seating and they had this little stage they came up to and performed three songs on! It was awesome! I was five feet away!

Here's a bunch of butterflies being released during Lovers in Japan.

My favorite song was the one I waited till just about the end for them to play--Death and All His Friends. That was a moment that I really got into it. All in all it was a great show.

Here's a ranking of my favorite concerts from the ones that I've been to:
1) John Mayer (simply AMAZING! he didn't put on as much of a show, but incredible musician, and he did have a lot of personality)
2) Coldplay
3) Dave Matthews Band (it was right after their release of their worst album, Everyday)
4) Third-eye Blind (I'm pretty sure the main singer was in a dress for part of it)
5) Alabama (I didn't see them on purpose, I was forced to as part of EFY watching Stadium of Fire when I was a participant)

Random thoughts on Palo Alto

2009-07-12T11:55:00.000-06:00

-The grocery store has about half an aisle of cereal and about an aisle and a half of wine-like beverages. Definitely not Provo

-Two good jazz stations on the radio! In Washington they only have one during certain times of the day (other times it's NPR), and the Utah one is hard to get reception.

-The city is beautiful and green.

-There are lots of public tennis courts--lit even! Of course, they are normally filled even though there are a lot. But I can wait a little bit.

-California drivers--the stories are true. And the roads here don't help. I think I'm gonna get hit each time I use one of the on or off ramps, they're so short.

Wonderful Weekend!

2009-07-07T20:21:00.000-06:00

So I finally get a chance to post about my weekend. Christina came to visit! It almost didn't happen, but she bought a plane ticket out here on Thursday and after a lot of plane problems arrived at 8pm Thursday evening. On Friday we headed up to San Francisco. The first stop was Golden Gate Bridge (further away from the main part of the city than I thought).

Next stop was parking the car in the city. There were some steep hills! And this is coming from a quasi Seattle-ite. This one was like a roller coaster, especially with the trolley tracks there.

We stopped by Pier 39 and walked around the water.

Here's a view of Alcatraz. We didn't have time to go out there.

We then walked about 40 minutes to the theatre where Wicked is playing. We entered a raffle to get 2 tickets for $25 each. I really wanted them! With the amount of people there we probably had about a 1 in 3 chance of getting them. After about ten or so people they ran out of seats next to each other. Christina's name was called out for seats on opposite sides of the theatre. We turned them down--she's only here for the weekend! We didn't want to be apart. She's already seen Wicked and I'll go with some friends to see it sometime this summer.

We decided to go back to Palo Alto, walk around the fun (and much cleaner than San Fran) downtown. We looked at several places and decided to eat at Bella Luna, a nice little Italian place with live piano music.

On Saturday we went to a barbecue/pool party with some ward members. Then we went to a place called Half Moon Bay.

Because of the clouds we decided to go to Foster City for fireworks--a pretty good show. (And yes, I did find these last two pictures on the internet to liven up the last bit of my blog where no pictures were taken. But these fireworks are from the Foster City Firework Show.)

Sunday we walked around Stanford campus in the afternoon after church. Very nice place!

You are a true Jordan Hochstrasser blog follower if you have read through this whole thing. The next day I took Christina to the airport bright and early--4:50am. It was a wonderful trip for both of us. I'm really glad that she came out to visit.

Oakland California Temple

2009-07-02T16:19:00.001-06:00

Last night my ward went to the Oakland Temple. I am now 11% done with my life goal to visit 100 different temples.

Adventures in Palo Alto - Day One

2009-06-28T10:09:00.000-06:00

My first day in Palo Alto (I officially live in East Palo Alto, generally a more run-down area, but my neighborhood is pretty nice and I will often just refer to it as Palo Alto) was great! I drove around a lot exploring. I stopped at this small, hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, Taqueria El Jarocho. It was good, and they gave me the tacos to go on a plate, with foil over it, haha. My taco had cilantro, onions, and the meat, with carrots, lime, and a pepper on top of all three of them. The pork was the best.

After that I was looking for a grocery store. I saw this little market near my place and decided to go in since I couldn't find anything else. I was the only white person in the store (the rest were Mexicans). I don't know how they afford stuff there, it was pricey. So I left, but not before the cashier asked me if I needed anything (she thought I was lost). I went back home and found out where Safeway is. I swear it took 30 minutes to get there. It was more expensive than Provo, that's for sure. And I have nothing, so I had to buy a lot.

That evening I called the Bishop (I found his phone number online through the maps.lds.org) and found out there was a talent show. It was fun to meet some people. Two guys from my freshman ward, Anders Taylor and Anthony Hardy are in the ward too. Crazy. Anyway, here are some pictures of my awesome house.

My car is in front as proof that I actually live here.

My bedroom. The ceiling is like 11 feet high. There are three of us in there, but it's still spacious.

That's right! A baby grand piano! And it sounds good.

Who needs a dinner table when you've got a pool table!

And the best part, a trampoline!

Salt Flats

2009-06-27T11:10:00.000-06:00

As I was leaving for California and driving through northern Utah I thought to myself, where are the salt flats I've heard about? I've been to most parts of Utah, but I still haven't seen them. It makes sense that they would be close to the Great Salt Lake. So I kept looking out my window hoping to see a sign of them, but not really knowing. I am happy to say I stopped at a Rest Area right before crossing over into Nevada, and there they were--no more than 50 feet away. I, of course, took pictures.

I really liked this table and tree combo, so I wanted to make it a part of the picture.

There was a little water on part of the flats. I walked out onto them (they have a hose to wash your feet off afterwards). It was fun. I woudn't necessarily recommend driving a few hours for it, but if you're passing by them, take a look. I hear you can drive your car on parts of them.

Oh, and a side note. Reno is a very weird city--don't stop there. I just wanted to eat at a normal place and was looking all over until I found a Carl's Jr. Plus, the Quizno's closed at 7pm--what the heck?

Angels Landing

2009-06-23T13:41:00.007-06:00

Sunday afternoon Christina and I drove down to St. George and stayed with my Great Aunt and Uncle. It was a lot of fun and they are a very nice older couple. The next morning we drove an hour over to Zion National Park. One of my life goals is to hike Angels Landing (another is to hike the Narrows from top to bottom). Mission accomplished for the first one. It was a beautiful day with some breath-taking views. Here are a few pictures.

Near the beginning of the hike.

A beautiful view from the top.

Another view.

Resting after getting to the top.

On our way back down.

As you can see, chains help you through the last half mile as there are cliffs on one, or both sides, at times. The hike was a lot of fun. Not as difficult as some may say, but would be scary if you are really afraid of heights. Christina didn't like it when I got close to the edge to look over. The pathway is very well kept--much of it paved. We were able to take our time getting up there, spend some time at the top, and make it back down in a little under four hours (not including the shuttle to the start of the hike from where we parked). Though we were tired afterwards. Leave in the morning so you can be in the shade for a good 45 minutes of the hike (Refrigerator Canyon), including some switchbacks. I highly recommend the hike!

Oquirrh (Oak-er) Mountain Temple

2009-06-19T09:35:00.002-06:00

Yesterday Christina and I went to the open house for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was awesome. I hadn't been to an open house since the Portland Temple when I was three and Christina had never been. There were many volunteers there to show us where to go. And I think a ward all showed up together for the same time we went, so there were a lot of people. The inside was very beautiful. I recommend everyone go see it--it's not even that far from Provo. It's in South Jordan (closer than Salt Lake).

Trip Home for Brian and Meaghan's Wedding

2009-06-14T16:00:00.001-06:00

One of my best friends (Brian) just got married to another really good friend (Meaghan). I've actually been friends with Meaghan since at least 7th grade and good friends with Brian since Senior year of High School. It was a fun, but short, trip. I was also able to spend some time with my family.

Here I am with Daysha, my niece. She kept saying JoJo (my nickname) whenever I would leave the room. It was so cute!

Having fun at the Children's Museum in Seattle

Right after the wedding ceremony. It was beautiful and I was so happy for them (they were ecstatic!). I'm glad I got to be there.

Brian and me.

All of Brian's cute nieces and nephews. Brian actually stayed at my house the night before the wedding because he wanted to get some sleep and wouldn't be able to with all these guys in his house. That was cool to be able to spend some time with him.

Brian singing to Meaghan.

Spring Chorale

2009-06-12T23:23:00.004-06:00

I'm singing in the University (Spring) Chorale for the spring term. Our one and only concert is tomorrow night in the Provo Tabernacle at 7:30. It's gonna be a short concert of under an hour, but it'll be really good. So come, and oh, it's free!

We're singing two really good hymns, Arise, O God, and Shine and Nearer, My God, To Thee. Also in the program is an amazing setting to the tune of Holst's Jupiter. This features the wonderful organ of the Tabernacle. We're also singing some love songs among other things. Come and enjoy!

Randomness

2009-06-11T10:10:00.004-06:00

Random musings on some things:

-I've received more compliments (around 10) on a $15 pair of shoes from Payless than any other pair I've ever owned. People always ask what brand they are . . . Dub. Anyone heard of it? I didn't think so. But hey, I'm not complaining. I hope my next pair of cool shoes is just as cheap.

-The BYU Financial Center website is the worst website I know of. You would think they would pay someone to improve it, and maybe create, ya know, home and back buttons that work.

-3D isn't really worth the extra money. I went to go see Up again yesterday cause my mom hadn't seen it yet (and she was paying). Up was still amazingly good, but the 3D didn't really add much. I kind of get tired of wearing the glasses too. (My mom loved it, by the way--cried three times. How many cartoons can do that? And make you laugh the rest of the time.)

-Happiness is NOT a warm gun, although it's a good song. And the Across the Universe soundtrack is very good (but I've heard the movie is pretty bad).

-Things happen in life at the exact moment you don't expect them to. Almost two years without seriously dating someone, then right before I leave Utah for close to six months I start dating an amazing girl.

In Fasting We Approach Thee

2009-06-07T12:53:00.001-06:00

I haven't written about spiritual matters for a little while, so I felt like doing that today. I have a very strong testimony of fasting and prayer. The Lord has worked miracles in my life because of the combination of these two.

What has stuck out to me lately is how taking the time to fast helps me to reflect on what the Lord wants of me. As I sincerely think about what I should fast for, I become more in tune with Heavenly Father. He is better able to guide me--not only with the thing I am fasting for--but with all things in my life. It's amazing how that works. We learn in Helaman 3:35 that the Lord taught the people to "fast and pray oft." This helps them to become pure and sanctified because they are learning to "[yield] their hearts unto God." Learning to put the will of the Lord before our own desires.

Joshua Kian Hochstrasser

2009-05-31T17:36:00.006-06:00

I have another new nephew! His middle name is pronounced Key-an. He looks like he will be a real cutie. Now I have seven nephews and one niece. Here is a picture of him and then him with my other nephew, Jared.

Special Olympics

2009-05-30T15:39:00.012-06:00

I was able to volunteer at the Special Olympics the last few days. We are lucky that it is held right here at BYU for all of Utah. It has been a wonderful experience. On Thursday I worked at the awards booth with Suzy. She did the necessary tasks of organizing who got what medals and I got to hand out the awards. On Friday, Michael T, Amy, and I went. We cheered, organized a tug-o-war, and a watermelon eating contest.

After doing two contests there was still watermelon left, so Mike, Amy and I had our own contest.

Amy won!

Today I cheered some of the people racing on for awhile. Then Christina and I went over to the awards to help hand those out again.

It has been a joy the last few days being a part of this. Some of the athletes were so happy and would cheer everyone on. Even if they got third or fourth, they would be cheering really loudly for the second and first place people. I recommend everyone takes the time to go help out when it comes around to their state. You won't forget it.

I Saw Pixar's Up!

2009-05-30T00:04:00.006-06:00

Pixar amazes me. It kind of worries me that my expectations are so high. That means they can easily be disappointed. Up did not disappoint.

I didn't see it in 3D, so I can't tell you about that. It was still a wonderful hour and a half. The first ten minutes of the film shows little Carl Fredrickson (the grumpy old man) as a child. Then within minutes you are emotionally connected to him and his wife as it plays through their life without talking--only well orchestrated music. After that montage, I knew that this would be a great movie.

The rest of the movie is filled with adventure, a lot of humor, odd characters, and an evil villain. I, and those around me, laughed a lot. After seeing the previews, I was afraid that Russell, the little kid, would get tiresome shortly into the movie. But he didn't. I'm not quite sure where this fits in my list of best Pixar movies. I'll have to wait and let it sink in.

One of the reasons Pixar succeeds is they are willing to take risks. There were several times during the movie that there was complete silence on screen and in the audience--as Carl flips through the Adventure book his wife had made and thinks about her, for example. And just the idea of doing a story with an old man as the main character was thought absurd by many because it's not marketable. But, Pixar doesn't follow conventional wisdom. And I am so glad they don't.

Hiking Adventure!

2009-05-26T13:32:00.010-06:00

On Memorial Day a group from my ward hiked up a huge mountain! We didn't know the name of it, but I have now discovered it is called Maple Mountain (before we knew the name Brandon called it Monticello Ridge, which I like). It is directly south of Y Mountain. We hiked to the TOP (9088 ft). All in all it was quite an adventure and pretty amazing. Here are some pictures.

Here is the view from the Y. We hiked up to the Y and then kept going south. Remember this view, it's puny compared to the top of the mountain we climbed.

About an hour after the top of the Y we arrived at this meadow. This is where the trail ended and we started bushwacking straight up the mountain. I really like this picture.

A cool view along the way.

A little snow on the way to the top.

Beautiful view from the top.

The whole group!

Michael T and I got in a fight atop the mountain.

On the way back down it was sometimes more fun not to use your feet.

Eventually we made our way back onto the trail and down the mountain. All in all it was quite a bit of fun. There were cuts and scrapes, people falling in snow caves, wet shoes and bums. But we emerged victorious. My love for nature continuous to grow. It felt like such an accomplishment making it to the top and looking around us to all sides--down to Utah Valley or behind us at the other beautiful mountains. I hope for many more adventures like this.

Come see Pixar's "Up"

2009-05-25T17:50:00.002-06:00

This Friday night I am getting a group together to go see the new Pixar film, Up. If you would like to join us let me know by 5pm on Wednesday. That is when I will be going to get the tickets. We will either see the 8:50pm showing at Cinemark University Mall, or the 9:55pm showing at Carmike at the Riverwoods. So let me know which time works best if you would like to come. Keep in mind we will leave AT LEAST an hour before it starts to be able to get there and get good seats (it will be sold out).

The normal cost is $8.50. And it's in 3-D, so there could be an extra charge for that. So be ready to pay about $10 (I don't want anyone getting mad at me when they have to pay me back if I didn't tell them). If there is no extra cost, then yay.

Later Alligator (A Tribute to Jeff Ward)

2009-05-24T12:47:00.008-06:00

My former roommate and good friend Jeffrey Scott Ward is leaving tomorrow. He's shaking off the dust of this little town and heading out into the real world--Houston Texas, where he has a job with Teach for America. I wish him the best on his new adventure and will miss him. I'll miss the tennis games, the randomness, his humor (one of the funniest guys I know, even if half of it is because you can't believe he actually said that), and his hugs. Come back and visit sometime Jeffy, and good luck.

Taking a little nap on the couch after a long, unexpectedly rainy day of BYU football.

At Nathan's wedding. (Yeah, I know everyone's seen this picture cause I posted it recently, but it's a good one!)

Go Nuggets!

2009-05-22T15:07:00.003-06:00

I'm not a huge NBA fan. Give me the NCAA tournament any day. But yesterday I watched the Denver Nuggets and LA Lakers go at it. I was very happy to see the Nuggets pull it out. Mainly cause I don't like the Lakers (they're like the Yankees of basketball to me, although they haven't won as much).

But also, the Nuggets have the former Sonics head coach (from their glory days in the mid 90's), George Karl, it's pretty close to Utah, and Chauncey Billups seems like a cool guy.

Did I mention I really can't stand the Lakers.

Guitar Skills

2009-05-20T21:35:00.005-06:00

This kid has some amazing skills. This one was pretty impressive.

Some of the other ones I like that he does is Moon River, l Will, Billie Jean, and a few others. Check 'em out.

City Museum

2009-05-18T21:03:00.007-06:00

This is definitely not a normal museum. It's a giant play-place. The toys are old recycled junk (at least it looks like it). There are long metal slides, all sorts of dark spaces and caves to crawl through (many places I couldn't fit in to), ball pits, all kinds of windy things to climb on, and a hamster wheel. A lot of the places to climb on and in and out of looked like modern art. Here are some pictures to give you a better idea--but you have to be there to really get a feel for it.

Walking into the mouth of a giant whale (which leads to all sorts of places).

Danny looking at us from a little nook up above.

Jared comes down the slide, then me. I go a lot faster then him. It's like some kind of weird bum massage.

Craziness

Looking out from some cave.

The little kids giant ball pit. My brother Ryan is about to bonk his son on the head.

The little hamsters in their wheel.

My favorite part of this is the bus coming off the top of the building.

I don't know how this place passes safety regulations, but it was definitely a fun place--especially for the kids.

St. Louis Visit

2009-05-16T22:14:00.022-06:00

My nephew, Jared, learning to ride a motorcycle.

The Arch (as wide as it is tall and taller than the Space Needle)

Sitting on a giant turtle. This place is known as Turtle Park. We almost didn't want to leave to go to the zoo.

Danny on a turtle or snake. I'm not sure.

Welcome to the St. Louis Zoo. A very large, free zoo.

Jared with his dad's sunglasses.

Me with cutie patootie. My mom bought the same pair of sunglasses for her three sons this last Christmas.

Here is the actual reason we all got together. My brother Jason can now be called Dr. Hochstrasser. The second in the family (although my mom's is a Ph.D, not MD).

Other fun things I got to do.

-Go swimming in a pool that was part indoor and part outdoor. I've always wanted to do that!

-Eat as much popcorn as I wanted provided in the hotel lobby.

-Play tennis in super windy weather.

-Ride the metro to the airport.

More pictures to come of this place we went to on Friday morning called City Museum. It's nothing like what the name says. In fact, it's nothing like anything I've seen.

Off to St. Louis

2009-05-12T22:11:00.004-06:00

I'll be gone tomorrow through Saturday to St. Louis for my brother's graduation from medical school (St. Louis University). Yay for seeing my nephews and niece!

Jerusalem

2009-05-09T16:59:00.004-06:00

Elder Hochstrasser,

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary--oh wait, scratch that. start again.

Dear Jordan,

Congratulations! You have been given initial placement on the 2009 Fall Semester Program at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. Dates of this program are from September 1 to December 17

Your official acceptance, however, is pending until you have a Final Admission Interview with a member of the Jerusalem Center staff. Applicants who have received initial placement will be admitted for study at the Jerusalem Center based on their preparation for and ability to benefit from study at the Jerusalem Center, as well as their ability to contribute to the success of the experience for others in the unique Jerusalem Center setting.

etc.

My friend (Suzy) tells me that the interview is just a formality and that you most likely won't fail that. (I sure hope I don't now, or I'd look pretty dumb.) So this is pretty exciting news.

Nicknames

2009-05-04T11:10:00.003-06:00

Nicknames are a funny thing. People can become known solely by their nicknames. I never called my old roommate Brian, only Bwood. I've had many nicknames over the last few years. Some of these nicknames were widespread, but usually it was a certain group of people that called me it and others outside the group would be confused if they heard it. Here are the ones I can remember from most recent to earliest:

Jor Jor (my current ward, started by Nathan)

Jordan Bjorgason (pretty much just Jeff Ward calls me this)

Hawktrowsers (an elder on my mission called me this)

Das Lichtenstein, Das Licht, or The Licht (I think it was Kevin my freshman year that made this up because it was long and sounded German, like my last name)

Uncle Buster (my brother-in-law Christian came up with this for my nephews to call me, and it's stuck)

jho (12th grade choir)

hogtrotter (11th grade choir)

Jo Jo (only my oldest sister ever uses this anymore)

Anyone else have any interesting nicknames? My personal favorite of my friends is Michael T. Barney (all I did was add a T because he doesn't have a middle name. But we often refer to him as just Michael T.) Then there's B-Master Flex for Bryan Tanner. Our EFY kids came up with that when we were co-counselors.

I found a place!

2009-04-30T13:11:00.007-06:00

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

Nathan and Courtney's Wedding

2009-04-29T10:10:00.004-06:00

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:)

Miss Ya Nathan

2009-04-26T22:18:00.014-06:00

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.

Looking for a job.

2009-04-20T11:01:00.006-06:00

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.

Mandate (Nathan's Bachelor Party)

2009-04-15T17:10:00.011-06:00

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.

My Oh My! Seattle Mariners

2009-04-13T19:10:00.001-06:00

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!

Visiting Utah

2009-04-12T21:29:00.001-06:00

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

2009-04-12T20:16:00.001-06:00

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).

Rapping Flight Attendant

2009-04-08T08:16:00.002-06:00

Just something to make you smile. I love Southwest.

Jerusalem!

2009-04-05T08:19:00.002-06:00

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.

The Pilgrim's Journey Home

2009-03-29T20:05:00.002-06:00

Many people have asked me recently about the upcoming concert being put on by the BYU Choirs and Philharmonic Orchestra. So I'll tell you a little bit about it and why I'm excited.

Sometimes BYU films our concerts and runs them over and over on BYUTV. This is not one of those concerts. Over eight years ago they did one called A Thanksgiving of American Folk Hymns (the one with the girl crying at the end of an amazing arrangement of Come, Thou Fount) and before that was Celebration of Christmas in the early 90's. It is hoped and expected that PBS will pick this up and show it nationally as they did with the two I just mentioned.

The songs are all about journeying home. Here are five reasons to go:

1) The arrangement of Come, Come, Ye Saints is one of the most powerful and inspiring pieces I have sung in all my four years in the choir. And I haven't even heard it together with the orchestra yet.

2) This is a once every eight or nine years opportunity. And most of you won't be here in another eight years.

3) This may sound weird, but we're singing an arrangement of When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again/Keep the Home Fires Burning (you've probably never heard of the latter) that makes me tear up almost every time we practice it--it's amazing. I've always heard When Johnny Comes Marching Home again growing up, but never thought about what it meant. It was written during the Civil War and speaks of the longing for those that have gone off to war to return back safely and the joy that will be had when they do. Keep the Home Fires Burning is a British tune written during WWI. It contrasts to the march with a sweet and beautiful chorus about not losing hope. It's incredible how relevant this song is in our day. I feel more grateful for the men and women that serve our country each time that I sing/hear this song. And the arrangement is INCREDIBLE. I can't wait till we put it together with the orchestra.

4) You'll have a chance to see something live that will be televised nationwide (not on BYUTV). If you're thinking you'll just wait till it comes on TV then, believe me, it will be much better in person.

5) You'll enjoy an evening of high-caliber music and be uplifted.

For tickets go to the ticket office in the HFAC on BYU or online at www.byuarts.com

Love at Last? - It's our new FHE Film!

2009-03-24T19:31:00.001-06:00

The long awaited moment has arrived. Our FHE movie premiered last night at the Ward Oscar Night and now it's available for everyone to see! So watch and enjoy. Make sure you click on the HQ (high quality) button on the bottom right corner for a better experience.

It's gonna be hard to pay attention

2009-03-16T12:31:00.001-06:00

The brackets are out. This is the hardest time of year for me to pay attention in class. I love the NCAA tournament! It's the most exciting sports event of the year for me. Better than the Superbowl, than college football bowls, even anything tennis has to offer. Last year Nathan started an Elder's Quorum bracket and it was pretty much our apartment and two other guys in the quorum. What's wrong with the others? Don't they find this fun?

Anyway, I haven't made my predictions yet. Someone guessing will probably do better than me, but it's still exciting. Memphis let me down at the last second last year, so I don't know how far I'll be putting them. And BYU . . . (sigh) . . . please get past the first round this year!

More excited than ever!

2009-03-14T01:31:00.001-06:00

So the next Pixar movie to come out is simply titled Up. I haven't been too excited about it other than the fact that it is made by Pixar--so it has to be good. But after seeing the newest trailer I can't wait to see it! It looks like it will be pretty funny. Take a look at the trailer.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/up/hd

Validation

2009-02-21T14:46:00.002-07:00

Here's a great short film I just came across. It's 16 minutes long but it's really good. Take a minute to watch it and it will make you smile.

A look back

2009-02-16T08:59:00.001-07:00

Last year our apartment created this video for Ward Oscar Night. We're trying to come up with a new idea this year. It's gonna be hard to top 3 Days to Eternity, but we've gotta try. Most people that know me have already seen it. But in case you haven't or you want to see it again, take a look.

More tennis courts please

2009-02-10T11:43:00.001-07:00

Winter time is the worst for an avid tennis player like me. I like the snow and all, but it's so hard to find a place to play. The only courts I can go to are the BYU courts or get a membership at the Gold's Gym in Orem (and pay $15 each time I want to reserve a court). Sorry, but that's not in my budget.

The only solution is for BYU to build more indoor courts. Right now there are four indoor courts for 30,000 students! Sure, not all of them play tennis, but let's say 10% do. That leaves four courts for 3,000 students. And don't forget Tues, Wed, and Thurs nights are reserved for intramurals and Saturday mornings for the team (among other times). Demand is high. I called yesterday to reserve a court (you can call a week in advance), and there wasn't a single opening! Not even for next Monday! Does anyone have any other solutions? Eventually I'll be living in Palo Alto, CA where I can play outdoors just about all year long.

On another note. This court is pretty sweet. That would be awesome to play there. It's real, it's in Dubai.

Things I've Done

2009-02-02T21:52:00.000-07:00

I found this list on someone else's blog. The highlighted ones are the things that I HAVE done. I think the person that created it really likes France. I would like to do a few more of these that I haven't done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (school band)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (from Italy to France)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (in Brazil)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (maybe I exaggerated a sickness when I was little)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (I had plenty of help)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (my Ninja Turtles are still at home)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem (not yet!)
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (not every word of the Old Testament, ok! it’s a lifetime goal)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox (I hope I never do)
89. Saved someone’s life (I assume so)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (who goes swimming in it?)
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

An economic stimulus that won't stimulate

2009-01-29T22:23:00.001-07:00

So it really confuses me why we are spending $825 billion on a bill that doesn't stimulate. I've been hearing all about these extra expenditures stuck into the bill. Do the Democrats really believe this is the time to be spending money on little side projects--especially billions of dollars? The first priority should be to cut excess government spending--not increase it drastically.

Rahm Emmanuel, the new White House Chief of Staff, said the following back in November, "Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before."

I cannot see how the majority of these things will stimulate the economy, because they probably won't. I really do want Obama to succeed--I do. But if him and the Democrats continue down this road at least the Republicans won't be a minority for too long.

Read the following article from The Wall Street Journal for details the bill.

Snoeshowing

2009-01-15T22:30:00.001-07:00

This last weekend I went snoeshowing. I had never been before. It was a lot of fun. We went up past Aspen Grove. Hiking through 2-3 feet of snow, untouched in most places. Some fun things to do while snoeshowing:
--Run through the untouched snow as fast as you can. Make it a race with someone else (very tiring)
--Jump off of small cliffs into the snow or run down steep hills (the snow is very cushiony).
--Freestyle snowshoeing. This includes running and jumping off little hills and stumps and doing tricks. It's pretty funny too if your friend biffs it cause he didn't see the fallen tree becaus it's covered with snow. (Everythings funnier in the snow cause it doesn't really hurt.)

My Family

2009-01-04T21:39:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture of my whole family. We took this July 2008. Below that is the picture of the original Hochstrasser family.

Congratulation Utes

2009-01-03T13:57:00.001-07:00

I for one want to congratulate the Utah Utes football team. The game last night was an amazing show of speed, teamwork, great coaching, and talent. They showed the whole world that they are not just a good team, but one of the very best in the country. Unfortunately, with the biased system we currently have they won't have a chance to prove that they are the best in the country.

Their win not only showed the great program that they have, but helps the Mountain West Conference look better (as if the 6-1 regular season record against the Pac-10 didn't say anything). So if you're a BYU fan and are upset about their win, get over yourself. Fortunately most BYU students I've talked to were very happy about the win. They were the better team this year.
That defense was awesome.

Daysha!

2008-12-29T20:19:00.003-07:00

Here's pictures of my niece. She was the only one around Christmas so she gets a special place on my blog. What a cutie.

Flossing her teeth.

Hitler reacts to BYU loss

2008-12-26T18:49:00.001-07:00

So the BYU football season turned out to be much less than we were all hoping for. Here's a funny video showing some of the frustrations of the game against Utah.

Snow? In December?

2008-12-22T21:04:00.001-07:00

So the weirdest thing happened when I went from Utah to Washington (no, not getting stuck in the airport for 9 hours). There was snow on the ground when I left Utah and it was still on the ground when I got to Washington. Not only that, but it kept snowing, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Everyone in the Pacific Northwest is very surprised. They get snow up in the mountains, but not here at sea level--maybe twice a year, but not a lot either. I haven't had a White Christmas that I can recall. Maybe it will stick around a few more days.

That's my home.

The forest behind my house.

Sister Hall's Christmas Present

2008-12-19T21:45:00.001-07:00

Every year the members of the Men's Chorus contribute $5-10 each in order to get a Christmas present for our conductor, Sister Hall. The last several years instead of getting something for her, we have tried to do something for others. Two years ago I had an amazing experience when we did a Sub-for-Santa for nine kids in a foster home. We raised the money, bought gifts and a tree, drove out to Sandy to deliver it all and sing for them at their doorstep. We did this all without her knowing and then presented her with the DVD of it at the end of the semester. One of the top ten experiences of my life.

This year was another incredibly uplifting experience. Sister Hall's father still lives in Wales and hasn't been to the U.S. in over ten years. His health is getting worse and it's pretty hard for him to get out here. I don't know whose idea it was, but the Men's Chorus bought a plane ticket for him to fly over here for Christmas. (We had the help of Sister Hall's husband and family to make this happen logistically.) We've been sending e-mails to each other and planning it for months without her knowing.

Then on Thursday, December 4 we were down in the Marriott Center practicing for Christmas Around the World. At the end we handed her a sweet little card with all of our signatures and the signature of her father. This whole time her dad was sneaking up behind her as she read the card aloud, already starting to get emotional without even knowing the biggest surprise. We asked her to turn around and she gasped. She quickly embraced him as we all applauded. It was a beautiful thing to witness. He was able to attend the Christmas Around the World concert one night and Celebration of Christmas the other. She has told us repeatedly that it's always been one of her biggest dreams to have her father there to see her do what she loves so much.

To finish it off, after our MTC devotional on Sunday, December 14, we all met in a room as we usually do to say goodbye and have a little snack. With her dad there we sang a song we had been learning without her knowing called, My Little Welsh Home. What a great way to bring in the Christmas spirit.

Piano in the Wilk

2008-12-12T16:21:00.001-07:00

You should only be allowed to play the piano in the Wilkinson Center terrace if you are good and have some music prepared to play. Just a thought I had the last few days as I've heard multiple people playing it. I'm not saying I would be able to play. If I did, I would need to practice a bunch beforehand.

That piano should have the feel more like Nordstrom rather than your own private piano.

Kevin's Wedding

2008-11-25T14:34:00.003-07:00

For those who have not yet seen on the pictures from Kevin's Wedding on Facebook.
I think this is my favorite one. Jeff jumped in when I was about to take the picture.

Most people have heard of this picture by now. Nathan bet Jeff $10 he wouldn't go stand in the big family picture of some random wedding party (aka, we don't know them). After a little egging on from myself and Nathan, he stepped up right in the thick of it. It was hilarious. We tried not to laugh too much and give ourselves away.

The beloved roommates. Who knew five years after meeting freshman year we would all still be so close. He has a new roommate now and we're happy for them.

2008-11-17T10:13:00.002-07:00

A short trailer for the new Pixar movie coming out in Spring is available for viewing.

Anyone that knows me know that I love Pixar and will be very excited to see this movie. I own almost all of the Pixar movies (I don't have Wall-E or A Bug's Life). I am really excited for this movie, but I was not impressed by the trailer. In fact, I've felt that way about a lot of Pixar's trailers. I became a die hard fan of Pixar after seeing Monster's, Inc. But the trailer actually turned me off. I didn't think it looked very good at all. The only reason I went was because a few weeks after it had come out a friend highly recommended it. I felt the same way about the trailers for Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, and Wall-E.

I know that this is just the teaser trailer and a new one will be coming out soon. I'm just wondering since they make such amazing movies why can't the trailers portray that more. I'm gonna see Up because I love Pixar, but if it were just from seeing that trailer, I probably wouldn't.

President-Elect Barack Obama

2008-11-06T09:52:00.001-07:00

My last post stated reasons why conservatives or moderates should not vote for Barack Obama. The elections are now over. Barack Obama was elected President of the United States through the tried and proven system of this great country. The one that was fought so hard for by the hands of our founding fathers over 200 years ago and has been the model for so many other countries. As American citizens we do not need to agree with the President on issues, but we do need to stand behind him and give him whatever support we can. I'll will pray for him as I would any other leader with so much responsibility on his shoulders. The ENTIRE world is now looking to him. That is a lot of pressure.

John McCain showed true class in his concession speech. He said, "I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together.

"Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans."

To all moderates and conservatives

2008-10-28T22:41:00.001-06:00

If you are conservative then there is no reason to justify voting for Barack Obama. His record clearly shows he is one of the most liberal members in Congress. In the General Election he has tried to lean towards the middle--but failed. In his economic policy he wants to "spread the wealth," a very socialistic idea. Aside from that his economic plan doesn't help that many middle class workers like he claims it does. McCain and Obama differ significantly on spending too. Obama wants to increase spending while "lowering taxes" for some and raising them for others. In my mind there is no way we can increase government spending in the state the economy is in right now. McCain on the other hand wants to significantly decrease government spending and not raise taxes. In 2001 one he voted against making the Bush tax cuts permanent because there was no decrease in spending to balance out. He now wants these tax cuts permanent while decreasing spending.

McCain is not afraid to step across party lines. This has angered conservatives sometimes. The country now more than ever needs someone that will be willing to listen to and work with both sides. If Obama is elected there will be a Democrat majority in the House, Senate, and the White House--giving him even less reason to work with conservatives. He also has very little record of stepping across party lines. Why would he change now?

The last point that most people don't think about is the appointments to the Supreme Court. There will most likely be one or two appointments during the next Presidency, If Obama were elected this could shift the courts to a majority liberal also. So conservatives wouldn't have much of a voice anywhere.

I believe that there will be change no matter who is elected. But think about what kind of change you want.

Here is a good article.

Children's Books That Never Made the Cut

2008-10-23T09:31:00.002-06:00

Some people might be offended by this, but I find it pretty funny. So if you get offended by the first few, don't keep reading. I got it off my friends' website, funnychuckle.com. There's lots of funny stuff there.

Politics - a few thoughts

2008-10-20T21:46:00.001-06:00

A few thoughts about politics as I start to fill out my ballot.

-It kind of stinks that Washington state is "guaranteed" to Obama so it makes me feel like my vote doesn't count much. I wish I lived in Florida, Virginia, or Ohio. Despite this I still think we should all take the time to vote. Even if you're from Utah.

-I'm not as scared of having Obama as the president as I am of having democratic majorities in the House, Senate, and the White House. We need those checks and balances.

-McCain didn't make the best choice with Sarah Palin. And it's not just cause I think Mitt Romney would have helped tremendously in this financial crisis. (Yes, he would have had some cons--his and McCain's battles during the primaries would have been used against them.) Sarah Palin helped unite the base, but at what cost?

-It's not over even though the left leaning media would have you believe that. But McCain definitely needs some boosts--especially in key states.

-Colin Powell, what are you thinking? You don't want two conservative judges in the Supreme Court? How did you go from conservative to liberal supporter?

-McCain was hilarious at the Al Smith dinner. I didn't know he could be so funny. Sure he had writers, but he delivered it very well. On the other hand, Obama had a few good lines but he came off to me as pretentious more than anything.

Oh those summer days, gone so quickly . . .

2008-10-06T09:01:00.001-06:00

Can't Get Enough

2008-09-30T21:54:00.002-06:00

Picture taken by Christine Armbruster (a friend of mine!)

I find myself looking at espn.com, foxsports.com, cbssports.com, and rivals.com for any article I can find talking about the BYU football team and their chances for going big this year. The beginning of the year I thought it a little arrogant to make a shirt called "The Quest" (for perfection). If we lose one game that shirt becomes useless. I still wouldn't by one of them, but I am loving the season so far. The UW game was a big scare, but exciting nonetheless. And these last two games have been so much fun to be at (I'm sure the UCLA and Wyoming fans can't say the same thing).

I love finally getting some recognition--and not just BYU, but the whole Mountain West Conference. Every time one of the them wins I'm happy. I wanted TCU to upset Oklahoma so bad last Saturday. I hope Utah continues to win (until the BIG game). And this year it will be huge. Right now BYU is ranked 7th (Coaches Poll) and Utah is 15th. The last two years this game has been big and both teams weren't ranked.

I can't wait till the game this Friday night! (Even though it's only against Utah State).

Greatest commercial ever!

2008-09-25T21:48:00.001-06:00

Modern take on Singin' In the Rain. I love it.

BUSY

2008-09-20T08:58:00.000-06:00

Life has been busy lately. A few things going on this last week . . .
Various assignments and readings due in classes (luckily no big projects)
Pre-interview dinner with Ernst & Young
Interview with Ernst & Young
Baritone sectionals Wednesday evening
Tennis when I found the time
Social with Deloitte at Sundance
Interview with Deloitte
Retreat to Aspen Grove with Men's Chorus
Work

On deck for next week
BYU football game vs. Wyoming
World of Dance tonight
Church
Choir practice
BYU Combined Choir Devotional
Intramural volleyball games
Intramural tennis game
Choral Showcase Thursday and Friday night
Interview with KPMG
Work
Various assignments due next week

Why Obama Can't Close the Sale

2008-09-03T09:52:00.001-06:00

I couldn't have said it better. Everyone should read this article whether you agree or disagree, and I'd love to hear your comments.

Why Obama Can't Close the Sale

This one reminds me of Nathan

2008-08-31T23:47:00.001-06:00

1 or fewer? Am I not a complete person?

2008-08-21T20:45:00.002-06:00

I saw this on Becky's site and had to do it on mine, especially with that number. This is how many people have the name Jordan Hochstrasser in the U.S.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
1
or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Les Misérables

2008-08-18T22:33:00.001-06:00

Today I finished reading one of the greatest stories ever written. It took me over half a year to do (including 5 1/2 months during school when I didn't even pick it up). But when I picked it back up I could easily remember what I had already read.

Why was Les Miserables so great? The characters, especially that of Jean Valjean, are so intricate. He goes through an amazing transformation because of the charitable, hope-filled act of one kind soul. This changes his whole attitude and perspective on life. But he still has many choices to make, and things never come easy. There were times when I hoped, but didn't know what he would do. Then there is the determined Javert that seems the embodiment of the letter of the law.

If you have not read this book, read it! I did shed a few tears near the end. I'm not afraid to admit it. I don't know if I've ever had a book draw me in like this. I'll share two of my favorite lines from the last part:

"God knows better than we do what we need."

"It is nothing to die; it is frightful not to live."

Zion Narrows

2008-08-10T17:55:00.001-06:00

This weekend I went to St. George and Zion National Park with my roommates Bwood and Kevin, and Kevin's girlfriend Aubrey. It was pretty spontaneous as far as road trips go. Kevin and I had been talking about going to Southern Utah all summer, and we finally decided less than a week before that we should do it. The Narrows was pretty much amazing. For those who have never been, it's a hike pretty much through a shallow river in a canyon. There were gorgeous views all around us. We didn't get to go too far because of time constraints. Pretty much all it did was make me more excited to come back some other time. I want to go back and do the entire hike from top to bottom.

Bwood took most of the pictures, so be looking for those on Facebook sometime next week.

Tennis

2008-08-06T19:20:00.001-06:00

My friend Lauren and I organized a mixed doubles tennis tournament for our apartment complex and any friends that would like to participate. It was a lot of fun! Here's some pictures from the championship game, including the best dressed preppy outfit contest. (Keep reading though, cause that's not the main point of this post.)

Anyway, that's all kind of old news. My main reason for writing this post is to say, I want to play tennis pretty much everyday now. I have time. I'm just working and not taking classes. My thirst for it seems unquenchable. I think about it all the time. Greg Skidmore wants to play a lot too, but he's coming up on finals, so it won't be possible. So if anyone has a desire to just go and play tennis, call me up and I will be there. Even with short notice.