More tennis courts please

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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.