Keep Tahoe Blue

Last night I saw a truck with this bumper sticker. The truck had Nebraska license plates and an emblem for a dealership in Blair.

I spent the first 6 months of my mission in South Lake Tahoe, and these stickers are everywhere. I'm kicking myself for not bringing a stack of them home with me.

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My favorites were the people that would modify their bumper stickers to say something else, i.e. "KEEP A HO TRUE" or "I PEED IN TAHOE."

I had almost forgotten about these bumper stickers that brought so much simple joy into my life. I jumped up and down with excitement and nostalgia in the driver's seat as I followed the truck down the road.

Blog Maintenance

I've done a little maintenance as you may have noticed. Or maybe you haven’t.

- I changed the settings so anybody can leave a comment now, even if you do not have an account with Blogger or Google. So now you don't have any excuses.

- I made the links to other blogs all fancy so they display the title of their most recent post.

- And I added a new song to my Rock Box. “One Day All This Could Be Yours” by Oceansize. I didn’t really feel like writing a review of the entire album (Effloresce), so I just added this song here, which is by far my favorite song on the album. I don’t think the Rock Box really does the song justice. It’s severely lacking all the movement from the bass line, causing the song to seem slower and less active, but the vocal harmonies come through very nicely. It’s so nice to hear a song with 6 beats per measure that does not sound like a waltz. That's right folks, there is no rule that says the accents have to be on beats 1 and 4!

Yes, And...

Yes, I was able to go see Robin’s act in Ft. Dodge and it was great. Very funny. I had forgotten how sweet her voice is. It doesn’t matter what she says, just as long as it’s in her distinct voice. If you’ve ever heard her speak you would know what I mean. There was quite a long line of people waiting to talk to her after the show, so I was only able to see her long enough to give her a quick hug and slip her my email address. (Robin … I’m waiting …)

I meant to shake hands with her stage partner too, but I think I was kind of flustered about not being able to say more than two words to Robin because I don’t even remember seeing him after I left the crowd around her, but I’m sure he was only 10 feet away. Sorry I missed you, Matt. You were great too. Consider your hand eShaked.

I wish them both the greatest of success.

This Might Explain Why I'm Going Crazy

Go to a party to cut dementia risk, study says

LONDON - Keeping a full social calendar may help protect you from dementia, researchers said on Monday.

Socially active people who were not easily stressed had a 50 percent lower risk of developing dementia compared with men and women who were isolated and prone to distress, they reported in the journal Neurology.

"... Our findings suggest that having a calm and outgoing personality in combination with a socially active lifestyle may decrease the risk of developing dementia even further."

Click on the link above to read the whole article.

Go See Robin!

Back in high school I knew this wonderful redhead, Robin Corsberg. (Yes, I’m using her real name. Google it. She won’t mind; this is free advertisement.) Robin was born with the gift to make people smile and laugh. She was hilarious, and she would share her humor with the rest of us through Drama and Speech. I think she loved the stage almost as much as the stage loved her. I didn’t know her as well as I would have liked to, but I was one of her many fans.

I do remember one time when she gave me a hug up in the light booth of the auditorium. (Just a hug. Don’t read more into that.) I don’t remember why either one of us was up there, but it must have been before a performance because she apologized for getting makeup on my shirt. She had no way of knowing, but at that particular time I really appreciated every hug I could get. (I still do.)

When we graduated I figured the next time I saw Robin she would be on a movie screen. It turns out she is currently going around the country doing what she does best: improv comedy. She has been a member of Ryan Stiles’ improv troupe and has warmed up the audience for Whose Line Is It Anyway?

This Friday (1/16/2009) I’ll be skipping out of work early to go up to Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa to watch her perform with Matt Slater. I encourage you all to go too, or see her when she comes to a city near you.

For more info, go here: http://underpressureandready.com/bio.php

Sacrament Kiss

(Listen closely. This one's juicy.)
I was in church yesterday and sitting in front of me, slightly to my left, was an amazingly beautiful girl. I don't mean "girl-next-door pretty." I mean "super-model-movie-star gorgeous." Occasionally I would glance away from the speaker to momentarily admire the beautiful scenery the Lord had blessed me with.

At one point I noticed she had a miniature Reese's peanut butter cup. Then just like in the movies, she lifted the peanut butter cup to her mouth in slow motion. Or maybe it only seemed like slow motion to me as my brain focused on savoring every detail of this delightful moment.

The surroundings seemed to blur away until nothing else existed except for her, with her long luxurious hair blowing gently in the breeze that mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. The speaker's voice disappeared and was replaced by the sound of harps.

The peanut butter cup was poised between her slender, perfectly manicured fingers. Elegant fingers that must have turned away hundreds of offers to star in moisturizer commercials. She raised the decadent treat to her mouth with a gracefulness that would make Aphrodite jealous. Her luscious lips began to part and puckered ever so slightly in anticipation.

Then her anxious lips knocked the peanut butter cup out of her hand, causing it to roll down her arm and plop onto the pew.

The harps stopped, the chapel reappeared, and I couldn't keep myself from letting out a playful chortle. She blushed a bit and looked behind to see who had witnessed her private blunder, as I gave a playfully exaggerated look to indicate "I didn't seen anything." She looked forward for a second and then turned around to face me again. As a peace offering, or perhaps to bribe my silence, right there in the middle of the chapel with everybody watching, to my great surprise SHE GAVE ME A KISS!

I'm An Uncle!

Again!
Briahna Lee ______ was born to Dave & Kasey this morning.
9 lbs, 7 oz
That's one hefty girl, but she's still not as big as I was.
I'm going to stop by the hospital to see them after work.
Have a (chocolate)cigar, everybody!

Rock Box!

Hey, check out my new rock box on the right! There are enough music related posts on here that I really needed to be able to let you hear a bit of what I'm talking about. Right now there is just a small sample of songs/bands I have mentioned, and it's currently about half heavy, half light.

Enjoy!

Live Atari

Human Pole Position
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Human Space Invaders

Weekend

I had a great weekend. I went to go visit my little brother, Mr. Pibb, in the little town where we grew up. Driving there was an adventure in itself. I spent the last 40 miles in a solid wall of fog. I only dared to go 30 mph. But I made it there safely.

Sunday at church was nothing short of awesome. Through various circumstances, there were many people there that I had not seen since my teenage years.
- My old bishop, who had moved away to California, was there visiting his son for Christmas.

- Nicole just returned from her mission and gave a wonderful homecoming talk. She and her sister Erica performed an amazing acapella duet. Both the girls and the duet were breathtaking. Nicole played a key role in helping Mrs. Pibb join the Church, so even though her family was awesome before, they are even more awesome now.

- Their older sister Danielle was also there to welcome Nicole home. I was better friends with Danielle than the other two because she is closer to my age. (When you’re 18 you’re not too concerned with 12 year olds or 8 year olds. But you may eventually notice a 15 year old, especially if she’s as cool as Danielle.) I hadn’t seen her in 10 years. She is so fun to talk to with the way she buzzes with excitement and energy, and her wonderful laugh always loaded and ready to go.

- My good friend Verny has moved her records back to our “home ward” (I don’t really like using that term.) so I was able to see her, and will get to see her more often when I go back to visit again – whenever that may be. It seems I only get to see her in person once or twice a year.

I was able to spend a lot of quality time with my 18 month old niece, Baby Pibb. By the end of the weekend she would run up to me and grab my legs. She may have even said my name a couple times. She is quite possibly the most beautiful little girl ever.

And to top it off, I was finally able to pick up my New Hotness. She’s waiting to get fully tweaked and outfitted, and hoping to take her maiden voyage soon.

I hope you all had a weekend as good as mine.