Facebook and Puppies

This has been an absolutely exhausting week, but it's completely my fault. Since moving to Las Vegas, my free time has expanded exponentially relative to my time in dental school. You'd think that with all of the free time, that my productivity would increase exponentially as well. Somewhat surprisingly, however, I've become the maestro of wasting time. Hence, over the last week I had several late nights doing absolutely nothing, and by the time Saturday came around I was absolutely exhausted. To top it off, I had to wake up early so that the Dishnetwork man could hook me up and finally allow me to end my disasterous DirectTV experiment (seriously major disaster...).

(I am sitting here listening to the Knights of Cydonia by Muse. I forgot how much I love this song. The song is Epic.) (Also, along the music lines, I was reminded in Priesthood today how quickly church hymns and music can bring the Spirit into our lives. I'm definitely going to dust off a few of my old EFY CDs tonight....)

Anyway, back to my Saturday morning....Basically, I had a million things on my 'to do' list Saturday including finishing up some ortho applications, getting a new tire on my junky car (one more month until the pain ceases :) ), and trying to drop by the doctor's office to get some blood work done for disability insurance. And despite this long list of things to do, I ended up sitting on the couch Saturday morning, just relishing in my exhaustion. In this state, however, I stumbled upon some old old friends on Facebook. While I wasn't a big fan of Facebook initially, I've since become an addict over the last couple months. Saturday morning I was able to find a million different people from my mission, highschool, old jobs, and even elementary school. I love that I'm able to re-connect with some of these people that have played so many significant roles in my life. I enjoy reminiscing on past experiences, etc. I remember what it was like to be a new missionary, lost and excited in a completely foreign land with no one but my companion to rely on. And then, later to be that same person for another new missionary. I remember making different goals as a 5th grader with my friends, and now I'm finally starting to realize some of those goals. I remember forming secret clubs in my best friend's backyard as a 7 year old....snow caves, epic capture the flag games, legos, and cub scouts. I remember old jobs (yay Lagoon...good times) and old girlfriends. I remember exploring stalagtites and stalagmites with my now passed away uncle...and then overheating on the car ride home....Japanese breakfast at Denny's with frameable photos....tackling the biggest kid in 5th grade when I was threatening for the least of stature...playing football against kids that are now in the NFL (and getting smoked by them)...This is all part of the reason I've decided to blog. To often, we get carried away with our lives and we forget to take the time to look back and reflect. I'm hoping that this blog can help me remember a bit where I've come from and where I'm going.....

After my almost 4 hour Facebook distraction, I went to check out some puppies for a close friend's mother. The family has recently gone through some very trying times, and this puppy will hopefully be a bright spot to help them get through it a little easier. It turns out that the breeder is located in Vegas, so I've been enlisted to check out the puppies and transport it out to them in a few weeks. I was secretly very excited about the puppy....I'm a big sucker for dogs. Anyway, I spent much of Saturday afternoon in a cage full of 5 miniature schnauzer puppies. They were adorable...and so much fun. I really can't wait to get my own dog.....and I think that time is getting closer and closer. I posted a few pics below. I forgot to pull out the camera when they were awake and exciting however, but they are cute nonetheless.

While it wasn't the most productive weekend by any means, I quite enjoyed it and I wouldn't mind a few more weekends like this. Next weekend, however, I'm going to be in Michigan for the Utah game. Go Utes! I'll make sure to take some pics while I'm there. :)

Countdown Tuesday

I love music. And, I am constantly in the hunt for the next great album. And, I generally won't purchase an album unless I really enjoy it from top to bottom (yes, I still purchase CDs...as recently as 2 weeks ago I purchased the Juno Soundtrack, the Red Album by Weezer, and the Beatles Love Soundtrack from the Cirque Du Soleil show in Vegas). Anyway, here are my top ten albums in no particular order (at least my top ten for tonight...this is constantly evolving and I'm sure I'll leave out an album or two that I quite enjoy)....

So..(drumroll)...in no particular order....

1. Weezer, the Blue Album - My parents weren't huge fans of me listening to alternative growing up, and more than once they took away all of my music and CDs. My first copy of this CD was thrown away on one such occasion after I snuck into my parents closet to listen to it (and others) while they were out. My second copy of this CD was 'fed' to my little sister when she was a baby because she had great taste in music even at a very young age (although, it has greatly deteriorated as she's gotten older...). And my last, and final copy of this CD was re-purchased shortly after returning from my mission. I enjoyed Weezer pre-mission, but post-mission is when I really fell in love with them. I am a huge Weezer geek and proud of it. Post-mission, this CD is what got me back into music. Love it.

2. Radiohead, OK Computer - This was a mainstay in my playlist (along with Weezer, Fountains of Wayne, and Zebrahead) during undergrad. I remember listening to this on long drives up to Lagoon to work the day shift, and then long drives down to American Fork to hang out with friends. This was usually followed by a 3am drive home. Good times.
3. Our Lady Peace, Clumsy - I've never really gone through a phase when I can't put this album down, but its the type of album that I can always listen to. Its defintely highschool music, and probably not the type of music I'm in to anymore...but solid nonetheless.
4. The Kooks, Inside In/Inside Out - This is the first of this list that I don't actually own...I absolutely love it though. Naive is an amazing song, but everything is just catchy and fun to listen to. It defintely brings out the wiggles in me (I call it wiggling....because I don't actually do anything that resembles dancing...I move a lot and have fun...but I'd be disrespecting the field of dance if I refered to this movement as actual dancing).
5. Fountains of Wayne, Utopia Parkway - I thoroughly thoroughly enjoy this album. I was pretty bummed when the next album came out with the infamous, "Stacey's Mom," which then became intimately associated with Fountains of Wayne in everyone's mind. As far as Utopia Parkway goes, I heard "Denise" one day on x96, and it made me smile from the inside-out....so did the rest of the CD.
6. Modest Mouse, Good News for People Who Love Bad News - This album is so unique, and fun, and kind of quirky. There are definitely some dark undertones if you listen to the lyrics, but it is still crazy fun. I love concerts, but honestly haven't been to a lot. Modest Mouse, however, is one that I have been to....and it was crazy fantastic.
7. Hot Hot Heat, Elevator - I'm not sure if this deserves top ten, but enjoyable nonetheless. I had heard a few songs of these guys on the radio...but nothing really sank in until I started listening the all of their music on Rhapsody. I'm not really sure that this is my favorite album because I kind of just listened to all of their music combined. While they may not have the best voices, they definitely know how to lay down a funky track :)
8. Muse, Black Holes and Revelations - This is top 3 for sure. I absolutely love this album. Love love this album. It may even be number one. Starlight is absolutely fantastic. I'm actually not sure if I own the physical album, but I definitely downloaded it and listened to it over and over. This album is magic.9. The Shins, Oh Inverted World - Another that may not actually be top ten...but still a very good album. I'm always down for some Shins....they're just a bit kooky, and that's a good thing.
10. Weezer, Pinkerton - This CD is completely different fromt the Blue Album, and didn't do as well commercially. For me though, it is probably my favorite of Weezer's albums. It's a little edgier and darker, and I find that appealing in this case. I went on a vacation once and listened to nothing but this album....I can remember singing it alone in the car at 3am in the morning on I-80 just trying to stay awake...love this album (I was actually just listening to it today).
Honorable Mentions: Jet's Get Born, Franz Ferdinand's self named album, Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine, Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American, Michael Jackson's HIStory, Weezer's Red Album, and many more. It's defintely hard to decided where to make the cuts on this'n.

On a side note, if you look at my music collection you may find a lot of little known bands, etc. Everyone on this list, however, is pretty mainstay....if we were looking for best songs, a lot of these may be less recognizable, but since we're sticking to albums top to bottom, this list isn't necessarily full of any surprises. (I'm getting really sleepy...so some of this may not make sense...I can't believe I have to add pictures now....)

Blogging Thoughts

So, apparently I am not the best at this blogging thing. I can't believe it's been almost three weeks since my last entry. And, it's not that I've completely forgotten about this little blog, but rather, I get so wrapped up in making the perfect entry that it just never happens. Actually, that is a relatively common theme in my life and something that I'm definitely trying to work on. Growing up, I always had so much time and energy that I could put 110% into everything, but really since dental school, I've found that it's impossible to do that for every occasion.

Anyway, I'm making some blogging goals. I think if I type it out, then it's more likely to happen. So, here they are:
1: Countdown Tuesdays - Every Tuesday, I'll come up with a short list of Top Ten's, etc.
2: Update Sundays - Every Sunday, I'll make an entry, even if it's just short and pointless.
3: Attempt to take more photos - This is actually the number one reason why I haven't been very good about blogging. I don't have very many photos to post. Heck, my mom visited last weekend, and my dad (and fam) visited this weekend, and I have a grand total of 1 photo from those two visits.

Quick thoughts.
-I am crazy excited for the Utah-Michigan football game. Jeff is taking me out to the Big House to watch the game, and I think we may have a chance. Either way, it's going to be awesome to be there. (Reminds me of how amazing going to the Final Four was in 1998)

-I'm not a fan of the movie, the Break-up. I just finished watching it, and the ending kind of bothers me. It's not horrible, but comedies should end on a happier note (that's the whole reason I'm watching the thing, right)

-I have a renewed addiction to Foosball. We have a table at school, and we generally get in a decent amount of time when it's slow during the week. I actually thought about purchasing a table to practice on.....but then I thought to myself 'seriously, matt? seriously.'

-I love the creamed honey from Trader Joes. Actually, I just love Trader Joes in general. The food is healthy and inexpensive, and oishii desu! If I end up back in Utah, I'm definitely going to miss the place.

-Watching the Olympics over the last week has been amazing.