Cut off at the Apartment

So...whichever of my neighbors whom I was piggy-backing off of slapped a password on their network mid-week, hence the lack of posts since then. Soon I will get the internet I had set up at my parents' moved to the apartment. Then I won't have to rely on errant wifi signals.

So what have I been up to lately? The highlights included:

*Having my parents over for dinner; I made them the lovely mushroom-alfredo pasta that I perfected while at Better Living's.

*Wearing blazers/sports-coats with all sorts of outfits! Mixing up jeans, dress shirts, v-neck shirts, blue blazer, old pinstripe gray suit jacket, varied belts, a tie once, french cuffs a few times...

*Dropping off my Mr. Mac suit to get altered down to at least somewhat fit me, now that I am back to my Marine Corps lean-and-mean build. I also picked up some patterned, french-cuffed, no-wrinkle, and even spread-collared new shirts, as I have yet to encounter such nice shirts at Mr. Mac.

*Financing a television and getting the apartment moved along towards a a state of being fully and fashionably furnished.

Fever Blerg

Ugh.

Came home early from class with a fever..one that I thought had gone away, but is now keeping me up.

I just want to sleep, but it is so hot...

A Job Well Done

So, the DEX competition over the weekend proved to be very fruitful for my fellow Westminster College students and I. There were three of us competing, and in each of our events, we took 3rd place. Hi-ho! Sounds like an auspicious start to me! Now, we just need to go wave our awards in the Dean's face and try to drum up some publicity, and I think that the Westminster College chapter of Delta Epsilon Chi may actually become a reality.

I was also pleased to see a multitude of fellow DEXers sporting French cuffs and cuff-links. While my initial reaction was sadness (I no longer hold the monopoly on elegance within DEX), ultimately I was happy to see men taking pride in their appearance, and having the guts to wear French cuffs, ties in colors besides black and gray, and even one three piece suit!


I found myself more satisfied with the weekend than I had expected, and I decided to reward myself accordingly; I purchased two essential items that no household should be without:

A Bodum double-walled French press and a bright orange Le Creuset kettle!


Of course, my thanks must go out to Better Living, for introducing me to the vastly superior coffee that a French press produces. :)

Welcome to the 2010 Utah Delta Epsilon Chi State Career Developmemt Conference

It's that magical time of year again...when Utah's wackiest business misfits, slickerthanshit future used car salesmen, and well-styled leaders of tomorrow (*ahem*) gather together under the auspice of education to:

*Suffer through an almost unbearably contrived "opening session", wherein the state officers (I am one, sadly) embarrass us all by poorly reading directly from a uniquely uninspired script. Then, after a bathroom and leg-stretching break, a grade-A, class act keynote speaker is brought up...and speaks for about 45 minutes too long.

*Compete in wildly varied business role-playing simulations and presentations (to win medals and glory for ourselves and our schools); there are over twenty events and everyone can choose two. I am doing Financial Service and Financial Statement Analysis.

*Meet exciting business wierdos from all over....Utah.

*Catch hell AGAIN from the Dixie and Weber students about how alcohol should not be consumed by students attending the conference, even after hours.

*And finally, in spite of all the sarcasm and bitterness stated above (which is certainly intentional, but also exaggerated for comedy), the best part is seeing old friends, making new ones, and looking damn good while doing it.

; )

Home Sweet Empty Home

So, though I've had the lease signed since last week, I didn't move in to my new apartment in a functional way until the past couple of days. I have the bare necessities: PB&J, honey-nut cheerios, several gallons of gatorade, towels, an old futon mattress to sleep on in the meantime while the weather precludes transportation of my nice bed and chest of drawers.

Let me say, it sure is exciting to be out on my own; my head is spinning thinking of all the furniture I would love to have, and all of the finer things that I want to get so that I can have a nice quality life. There are moments when I worry that I will simply rush out and buy exactly all the fancy items that Better Living taught me to appreciate...but of course, it being my place and all, and my taste being so varied, I am sure it will (eventually) have a uniqueness to it that doesn't sacrifice style or function.

Here is the morning light coming in through the nifty bay windows...
...and, though drearily adorned with some pillows and a metal folding chair (which is VINTAGE and Bombproof and the only good find after many hours combing the D.I.), I still am just thrilled to death to be able to look out across my vast living room and know that I am king of all I survey. Now, let's get to filling some of the voids...

Wild Weekend Roundup

So, my long-time friend Carlos headed home to Vegas yesterday. Our long weekend, while exhausting, featured quite the assortment of fun activities:

1. Skiing and Snowboarding: I skied whilst Carlos boarded, and though my skill level is well beyond his, we were both equally worn out and sore the entire weekend. We didn't get in as much time on the slopes as we had wanted, but we did make it up there and had a good time. Also, we managed to not get hurt!

2. Gaming: We got in several rounds of Halo on Xbox Live, with my dad playing as well. Long live team Atredies! Also, Carlos and I played the card game "Flux" for the first time. This wacky card game has become all the rage with my friends, and comes in several different flavors (we played Martian Flux).

3. SLC Nightlife: It is no wonder that, being single and having come from Las Vegas, Carlos was eager to go out on the prowl each night. I think I spent more time in bars and clubs this past weekend than I have in the entire preceding year. It was a total blast, though neither of us had much success with the ladies. I really enjoyed flirting, meeting new people, and tossing around big tips that made the bartenders smile.

4. Shooting: I took Carlos to the indoor range, where we fired CAR-15 and M-9 equivalents. Carlos had only done the tiniest bit of pistol shooting before, but with a few helpful tips from me (I was a rifle and pistol coach in the Marine Corps, after all), he got pretty damn good pretty damn quick. I even saved our targets, mainly because I was impressed with his accuracy.

5. Paintball: Carlos had also never played paintball, so after a quick Google search, we found a good indoor field with remarkably decent prices. We played a total of 6 matches with strangers, about 8 players to a team, and did fairly well. We were always on the same team, and our team won most of the time. Unfortunately, in the second-to-last match Carlos took a shot right in the goggles, leaving him essentially blind for the final match.

....and I think that covers most of it. It was a great time for me, and Carlos seemed to enjoy himself quite a bit as well. My thanks go out to him for coming to visit, and to my family and friends for the generous hospitality they extended to him. We've got a plan in the works now to meet up in Vegas with Dustin...let's hope that works out!

Sunday Special

So the heavens opened and let their light shine down on a glorious ski day. Now we'll get to really enjoy ourselves.

Snowbird Mountain Stats
Average Annual Snowfall: 500”
Vertical Drop: 3,240’
Base Elevation: 7,760’
Top Elevation: 11,000’
Skiable Acres: 2,500’
Terrain: 27% Beginner, 38% Intermediate, 35% Advanced
Number of Runs: 85
Lifts: 1 tram, 4 quads, 6 doubles
Miles to Major Airport: 29

Friday Late Edition

Lease= signed.
Apartment = empty

Lift tickets = bought.
Mountain = socked in with clouds :(

The Tremendous Trample of Thursday!

Oh my what a day!

9:00 AM: Checking out the apartment that I am almost certainly going to move into. There is a totally excellent large living room. Now I have graduated to thinking about, stressing over, and delighting in FURNISHINGS!

12:00 PM: Managerial and Cost Accounting. Oh the fun fun accounting times for him...he was a willful little accountant...

2:30 PM: Carlos, my classmate and friend from grades 1-12, age 5-26 and counting, will arrive via promotional rate flight from Las Vegas.

In an interstellar burst...

So I have had a very busy and productive day today, and I am feeling pretty good about myself. I have been trying to change how certain things in my life operate, and one of those things involves writing a post 7 days a week.

Now we'll see how long I make it...