It's decided... I AM STRONG LIKE BULL

For weeks I've been hearing about a change in the zodiac calender. I didn't really think anything about it until my little sister posted something on Facebook about how she is still a Cancer no matter what anyone says. So, finally, I decided to see what all the hullabaloo was about and found out a few... weird things.

Apparently, Minnesota is where the change in the Zodiac Charts took place...MINNESOTA? I always thought that their only contribution to society would be the NFL team the Vikings. I didn't realize that they were also the Astrological capitol of the world. It just seems kinda weird to me that one guy says that we need a new sign for horoscopes and everyone in the world just immediately agrees. I wonder if there is a group of astrologists out there that are trying to resist... you know like that fifth dentist who hates Trident gum. I can imagine them in a bunker somewhere in Texas going over star charts, plotting to overthrow the astrological regime in Minnesota.

The new sign is called Ophiuchus /O`phi*u"chus/ and it is delineated as a man holding a serpent in his hands. Kind of creepy sounding right, but then you look at the other signs that are scorpions, archers, creepy twins, and so on then it's not so bad. The dates for the new sign are Nov. 29 - Dec. 17.

The final little tidbit I discovered is that they changed the signs because of the shift in the Earth's axis, which I can get behind because it's science. So what does all this have to do with my title? For years I've been a "fence sitter" of signs. My birthday is was on a cusp between Taurus and Gemini not really a big deal, but It's kind of like being caught in the middle of the Montague v. Capulet astrologically. I was never able to pick a side, but with the new sign throwing a monkey wrench in the whole thing, I am now firmly in the Taurus camp... Go Montague.

Thanks for the vent session

The BIggest Mistake of Her Life...

It's been a little while Internet...

A great many things have happened in my life since my last blog. The most important of which is that I got engaged. Crazy right? So I'm gonna tell you how it happened whether you're interested or not.

It's not really a romantic story, but it is kind of unconventional:

My younger brother was married the weekend before Thanksgiving and my girlfriend and I flew down to Long Beach for the wedding and decided to spend the week there for the holiday. The wedding was a very happy occasion for my family. So naturally, suddenly finding myself to be the only one of the boys in my family to be unmarried, I became the focus of matrimonial speculation. I hadn't planned on being engaged for a very long time, but jokes about a future wedding started to fly like snow in a blizzard.

My girlfriend and I are both 30 years old. In the Polynesian community, as well as the Mormon community, being unmarried at that age is unheard of. We might as well have been some kind of sideshow attraction for all the peculiar looks that we received, but we both felt there was really no big rush to get married... Fastfoward three days from my little brother's wedding...

My father and I are driving somewhere, I think it might have been back from the grocery store for the traditional Thanksgiving fare, and my Dad is STILL spewing jokes like they were going out of style. Then he asks me when we are gonna get married. I say "Let's go get a ring then..." and he promptly almost crashes the car. Needless to say I am very pleased by the reaction.

By the smile that split his face, you would have thought I told him that I was going to give him $100,000,000 in cash. He tells me that he is going to come home early from work, which is a miracle in it's own right, and we will go downtown to get a ring.

For those of you who don't know, Downtown Los Angles is a shopper's paradise and my girlfriend wanted to go shopping for a few things. So my entire family, which include Both my brothers and their wives, My teenage sister, My parents, my six year old niece and 17 month old nephew, jump in the car with my girlfriend and me and happily drive downtown. At this point my girlfriend has no idea that we were going ring shopping.

We arrive at the jewelery district. My girlfriend, who had also been assaulted with the marriage talks since my brother's wedding, was happy to leave the jewelery store when she saw that my dad was looking at rings and had a crazy twinkle in his eye. So my sister and my girlfriend go looking for earrings and I pretend to go look at watches. I find a ring but quickly realize that I don't know her ring size... so I call my sister. My sister being a teenager, hatches an elaborate plan to find out my girlfriends ring size... and to my surprise pulls it off. I buy the ring and we leave. It's at this moment that it dawns on me that I have no idea when I'm going to pop the question.

At about 11 p.m. that night, my girlfriend asks me if I can take her to the store for some medicine, so we hop in the car and start driving around. I decide to do it then, but have no plan on how to execute. So I start taking her on an impromptu tour of my old hangouts. I take her to one of my favorite spots in the city, a breakwater in the Long Beach Harbor. BREAKWATER: n. structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift. We reach the end and you can see the entire city... I am standing behind her with my arms around her as she is taking in the sight. And then I just pop the box open right in front of her face. The fact that she was speechless was astounding since she always has something to say.

She turns around slowly and I drop to a knee, landing it on a sharp rock, but I remain undeterred. All I say is I love you... Marry me... and wait. Let me tell you, the 10 seconds it took her to answer seemed like an eternity. She starts to cry and says yes. She will contest that I cried first. If I did, it was because of that sharp rock that I was kneeling on. And just like that... two people, who profess that they will never marry are engaged.

This is the short version of the story.

Thanks for the vent session...

Bring it on rain, wind, cold, snow....sob...

So I guess the summer is finally gone and fall, or autumn whichever your mom told you was right, is upon us. I had a good summer. Lots of laughs, first time in court, first auto accident, and first vacation with my girlfriend... followed by numbers two, three, four, and five. I'll stop there before I start to sound like an episode of Sesame Street. I would like to take this time to bid farewell to summer by starting a new job at Hill AFB... in the freezing rain...sob.

I've been on the job for about a week and already the base is on High Alert( I don't know if that's secret or not... don't tell anyone please.), we've had a nuclear drill, chemical drill, air raid drills, thunderstorms, tornado warnings, and work called off because of the possibility of being struck by lightning. I was told under no circumstances to go near the jets because I might get sucked into them, and if I pass a certain fence, I will be treated like a terrorist and shot in the face... maybe. Actually the safety guy was unsure if I would get shot or tackled by three guys. He actually gave me a second look and said "maybe six in your case..." but regardless of how many guys, we wouldn't be able to leave the base for many hours. But on the plus side, there's a Popeye's Chicken on base...Yummmm. You know you're jealous. Kinda makes the possibility of being sent to GITMO worth it. So with a hearty "Fair-thee-well" to the carefree days of summer. I turn with a slight glistening in my eye to face the coming Fall and eventually Winter. I plant my feet in the sand and roar a defiant "BRING IT ON!!!" to the icy grip of the elements ahead of me...This blog was brought to you by the letter Q

Thanks for the Vent Session...

Strangest city in Utah...

I can imagine that Ogden would want to use this post in their tourist pamphlets:

Welcome to Ogden.
While walking down the street I came across this little sign which is posted on a major street.

I'm not really sure how to take this... what exactly is in Ogden that is so valuable that they are prepared for an eminent nuclear attack? Maybe these beauties?

Rare specimens indeed. Ogden has a "beautiful" city hall where, within ten steps, you can get a marriage license and visit your abusive soon-to-be spouse without the pesky inconvenience of guards.


but the best parts are the businesses here in this wonderful city where you can get your car detailed and be entertained by child neglect while you wait.

This poor kid was alone screaming his head off in the detailers office... but hey they did a great job on my girlfriends car...Shiny. So the next time you're in northern Utah, please visit Ogden... I know hardened ex cons that would be afraid to walk these streets at night. Enjoy!

Thanks for the Vent Session...

Attacked and sad...

Please note that my views are my own and do not reflect the views of any other individuals or organization... thanks and much love

I just finished watching a movie about proposition 8 in California and the role the Mormon Church had in passing that proposition. First off, I am a Mormon. That being said, I believe that any man or woman have the right to live their lives as they wish. I am not gay, but I don't condemn homosexuals because it's not my place to judge anybody. I have gay friends and relatives, who I love dearly. But this movie made me feel like I was under attack for my beliefs.

I was raised to believe that the relationship a person has with God was his own concern. The Church leadership did ask people to support the proposition because the Mormon view of marriage is that it is a sacred bond between Man, Woman, and God. I support that. I'm not exactly sure if the Gay community ever involve God into their marriage vows because none of my gay friends seem to want to get married...(maybe because most of them are men and, as any woman will tell you, men have commitment issues.)

I personally feel that the whole gay marriage issue is more of a "right to do something" thing than a "we're gonna screw with God and all religion" thing. Maybe some people feel that way. But as far as I am concerned, God gave us each the right to choose and we will deal with it when we see him individually. I don't care if homosexuals marry... let them find their happiness while they have their time on earth, just like I would hope that they let me find mine.

The movie I was watching did portray Mormons as Blindly Obedient and Mindless. That is where I have issue with the film. I am no ones puppet and to be called one offends me greatly. Members of the Church, and other churches who supported Prop 8, did the most American thing possible and cast a ballot. The political process wasn't cheated, nobody was stopped from voting at their polling locations, the simple truth is that prop 8 was passed because more people voted for it than against it. To persecute Mormons for what they believe would be just as wrong as persecuting Homosexuals for what they believe.

I'm all for Gays and Lesbians having their freedoms. Just beat them at the polls next election.

Thanks for the vent session...

The Squeeze...

Just got back from sunny California the other day. The weather was perfect, the beach was amazing and had some good food. It was a mini-vacation/performance trip. On this trip, with my girlfriend in tow, I was able to visit with my parents. Most of my friends and family just recently found out that we were an item, so we have been the center of a whole barrage of probing questions.

My father, being my father, is as subtle as a punch in the face. He sits us down and the first thing out of his mouth is "So... What's the hold up? When are you guys gonna get married?" Oh the awkwardness that was felt by all. Then he proceeds to give us an hour long lecture why we should get married. Followed by my mom. My poor girlfriend.

It didn't end there. We get home and I get the speech from my older brother. Meanwhile my girl gets it from her folks in Idaho. And finally... we go to babysit my nephew for a couple of hours. Having a good time waiting for my sister-in-law to come back from the dentist with my niece. She gets home and we are talking about the kids. I go to the bathroom and when I come back... you guessed it... my sister-in-law is giving the speech to my girl.

My sister-in-law and my brother dated for 10 years before they got married. I always thought they would be the last ones to lecture us about getting married so soon. It's not that I don't want to get married. I love my girlfriend, it's just I don't wanna hear about it from every single person who knows my name...

Thanks for the Vent Session...

Propositioned... Ewwww...

The other day I was leaving my girlfriends house downtown. I decided to stop over at the 7-11 to grab a drink. In front of the store I noticed a couple of people who appeared to be transients, a male and a female, but there are usually a few there so I didn't give it another thought. I buy my drink and head for the truck. I roll down my window and the female approaches me with a gapped toothed smile. Me being me, I start to fish out my wallet because I assume that she is gonna ask for a couple of bucks to help her out... silly me. We had a short conversation.

Female: "Hey, got a question for ya."
Me: "What's up?"
Female: "You a cop?"
Me: "Nah."
Female: "Lookin' for a girl tonight?"
Me: "... uh... Nah."

Off I drive wondering if that really happened. WHAT THE CRAP?

Thanks for the Vent Session...