The Upcoming End to My One Year Sabbatical
Mar0
Due to the similarities of the word ’sabbatical’ and ’sabbath,’ one might assume that my use of the former would have a religious connotation. However, this would be an incorrect assumption. Per this definition, the word ’sabbatical’ can also mean, “any extended period of leave from one’s customary work, especially for rest, to acquire new skills or training, etc.” I’ve been trying to ignore it for a number of months now, but the truth is this: the time is drawing close to when I will have to return to Utah to finish my bachelors degree.
I had never really planned to be back here in Colorado, but I must confess that my home away from home away from home (if that makes any sense) has been nice and I would not have changed the outcome of my decision to return in any way. There have been ups and there has definitely been downs, but overall, things have gone well. I’ve attended two different singles wards, I’ve gone through two different jobs (although one was only for two weeks), and I’ve learned more about who I really am and what I want out of life. Along those same lines, something I wish I could have accomplished while I was here would have been to figure out how I’m going to accomplish and achieve everything I seek after. Then again, isn’t the mystery what makes life interesting?
I have started looking for places to live back in Utah and I am struggling on what I want to do. One of my old roommates stated a couple of months ago that they would save a spot for me in the house they are living in if I am interested. That offer may or may not still stand, I’m not sure. On the one hand, it would be great to live with him again and not have to deal with making new friends, which I’m not very good at. On the other hand, I don’t want to return to my old life I left behind and have the exact same circle of acquaintances.
On that same note, I’ve come to the conclusion that while some people and Provo get along well, I am not one of them. A friend of mine who is also from Colorado made the same decision back in January when she gave up and moved from Provo to Pleasant Grove and is quite happy there. I’m thinking about asking her how she ended up there and has any advice for me if I were to follow suit. Yes, I would have to travel to classes every day, but I think such a sacrifice might be worth it if I didn’t have to deal with the complexities of life that come with living in Provo. If I were to do that, I’ve considered getting an apartment on my own with two bedrooms so I could have a separate office where I could study and work a small number of hours from home. However, this gets quite expensive, since most non-student apartments are unfurnished. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
A few weeks ago, on a Friday night, I had the opportunity to go and see the show “Stomp” at the Buell theater with a number of friends from the singles ward. All I can say is, “Wow!” The show was really fun to watch and I loved every minute of it. Afterwards, when the group of us were walking to a nearby restaurant, I even had the courage to publicly mimic (in front of everyone else leaving the show) some of the performers and the syncopation that they used with my feet, on my chest, and using my hands as well. For what its worth, I did get a few laughs out of some random strangers.
Then on Saturday, I decided to check out a local auction that was taking place at the now shutdown Jillians and see about acquiring a pool table or maybe an arcade game. The auction was supposed to begin at 10:00 in the morning and I arrived at about 10:15 only to see a huge line coming out of the doors and wrapping around the side of the building. Questioning whether I really wanted to wait in line, I decided to give it shot and made my way to the very back. Fast-forward 45 minutes. I still haven’t even entered the building and have only moved forward because others have given up with waiting and left the line. Shortly before I was about to do the same, an announcer could be heard stating that they were going to be skipping the registration that was taking so long and immediately let everyone inside who could show a valid driver’s license. If anyone wanted to bid, their license would then be taken on the spot for a bidders registration number and then returned after the auction was done. Fast-forward another 45 minutes. The auction has started and the lowest winning bid for any item thus far has been about $2500. Knowing there was no way I could fork over that kind of cash, I gave up walked around the whole auction just to see everything they and then and left (sigh) without a pool table or an arcade game. Really, where would I have even put a pool table?
Then that same afternoon, I went and attended a high school performance of the play “Brigadoon.” Another friend from the singles ward was one of the show’s directors who was in charge of the makeup, being the accent coach, coming up with the character placement on the stage, and a number of others things I can’t seem to recall. It had been a good 7 or 8 years since I had seen a high school production of anything and even though I wasn’t expecting a whole lot out of it, I quite enjoyed it as well. There was even a live bagpiper which made the overall professionalism of the show that much better. It was weird thinking about the fact that I participated in some of my high school plays just a few years ago and now I was friends with a director of a similar play.
Okay, now it is story time. I recently received a very strange and completely unexpected phone call that still has left me a little not right in the head. One night, after getting home from some errands, the house telephone rings. My mother then informs me that the call is for me. Hearing this, I am already surprised and little concerned because no one calls me at this phone number. I pick up the receiver and the caller introduces themselves and asks if I remember who they are. I politely state that I do not. This person then goes on explain when we previously met and reminds me that they are the in-laws of a girl I went on a number dates with close to two years ago. I can now remember who they are and I ask them why they are calling me. It turns out, they ‘googled’ me and somehow found my contact information. Next, a series of pleasantries are exchanged between us and is then followed by a very forward statement asking if I there was any way I could be convinced to ”get back together” with this girl.
At this point in time, I wondering if this is for real or if I had somehow fallen asleep already and was dreaming. After getting over the initial shock of such a request, I explain that I am currently living in Colorado and would not be able to do so. With that not being a big enough deterrent, I am then handed over to speak with this girl herself. I then spend the next ten minutes or so conversing and catching up with her and enjoying a good conversation. Then, I simply explain it has been to hear from her and that it would be great talking with her sometime again in the future.
So, given the circumstances, what does someone expect me to do when they call like that? Quite an awkward experience indeed. I think of the movie “Family Guy” and the minor correlation found between that plot and my recent conversation. I admit I did like this girl back in the day, but when things didn’t work out between, those feelings eventually diminished. What an experience! Like I said, it still has left me a little not right in the head.
The Game of Life
Mar0
I’ve been thinking recently about how quickly our lives can change without us even realizing it already happened. Then, when we begin to pay attention, 6 or 12 months have already gone by and everything that was familiar to us is long gone. Let me explain. This last week I was kind of depressed (as if you couldn’t tell my by previous blog postings), so one night, I started looking through all of the photos and other random videos I have kept from the past few years.
I think about all of the different roommates I have had during that time and I see pictures of all of the random outings and activities we went on. Specifically, I can remember the winter sports event in Park City I was invited to go to during the first month of school after returning from serving a mission. Then, there were the numerous campfires up in we made in Provo Canyon. Then, there was the group date I was dragged to (not literally, but almost) during that first summer. I can now laugh at how awkward I was during the transition time period of my life. Where are all of these people now and what other adventures has life has taken them on?
I also remember the various girls I went on dates with and realize that the majority of them are either already married recently engaged. How crazy that truly is. There was that Black & White party at the BYU Museum of Art that I absolutely loved going to. There was the geocaching date I somehow coaxed a girl I was interested in to do with me. The fireworks I volunteered to drive a group of people to only to have my car brake down five minutes after leaving. I can also recall the fantastic President’s Day adventure to California a group of us went on. We got lost in the city of Los Angeles at 2:00 in the morning and how had to drive two hours out of our way to get back on course. The day we went to the San Diego Zoo was just a blast. Also, the hot-tubing and the guacamole dips and the 45-minute bagel runs are all memories I am quite fond of. I also recall the dinner groups I participated in and how my love of cooking grew exponentially during this time period. I recall spending hours at the grocery store looking for things such as coconut milk and pumpkin filling just to add that special touch to whatever concoction I was trying to create.
I ponder about all of the different jobs I have had and all of the co-workers who I quickly became friends with. Are they still there or who have also moved on to something different as well? There was ExxonMobile credit card job I hated doing but dealt with because it paid better than anything I could find on campus. Then the network operations center at BYU where I learned so much and has been the basis almost all of my career choices. The short stint I had at Nortel’s BCM support center is something I can always laugh at. I was paid to sit for there 3 weeks prior to any training or actual work. Then I moved on to consulting and thanks to a wonderful boss, learned so much about how businesses actually work and how to make myself valuable to them.
Any ways, life is interesting. Enough dwelling on the past.
This past Friday, I left work early and went to various different stores trying to find something I could splurge on to make myself momentarily happy. I tried so many different places, but there was really nothing I wanted or needed. After a number of hours in one last, almost futile attempt, I stopped at a grocery store to buy something to eat. You would think this would be easy, but again nothing was calling out to me. Finally, I saw that they had caffeine-free coke and thought it would be fun to make the vanilla coke I’ve always wanted to try but wouldn’t due to my previous addiction to caffeinated beverages. On my way out, I saw all of the artesian bread at the bakery and decided that I was going to learn how to make bread.
After arriving back at home, I put on my man-apron and started getting crazy. The coke with the vanilla extract turned out okay, but not great. I learned that extract wasn’t the best choice, but should have tried to find vanilla syrup. The bread started out as a disaster because I was having a hard time understanding how to correctly use yeast, but finally turned out alright in the end. I made it through lesson one at this site and hope to make it through the others in the next couple of weeks.
Then on Saturday the weather was finally nice enough (74 degrees) that my mother could arrange to have the free fill dirt she had ordered some time ago delivered to our house. She and my Dad have a landscaping project they have wanted to do in the backyard and thus needed the extra fill. It ended up being about 20 cubic yards of dirt (or two full dump-trucks) before it we had enough. The great part about is that we didn’t have to move it all my hand and instead had paid to have the delivery guy use his Bobcat tractor to move it from the driveway to the back. The side of the house doesn’t have a lot of room, but the guy definitely knew how to maneuver the tractor and made it happen. In fact, it was so close, he actually scraped the ivy off that was growing on side of the house.
When the guy left to get the next load of fill, I jumped in the Bobcat and started it up just to see if I could. It was a little difficult to drive at first and although I only drove it for about 5 minutes, I did get the hang of it and loved every minute of it. One day, I’d like to rent one for myself and spend all day in some random field going to town in similar tractor. Maybe that can be next on my list.
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