Wii Boxing (Or Is It Swimming?)

My sister and my niece came down to my place last weekend and were looking to try out the Wii. My niece had just finished a swimming meet in American Fork (thus the swim cap.) They had a great time. Of course they have a great time doing pretty much anything. I did have to video them when it came to their boxing match. I think it shows why my niece is such a great swimmer. Look at that breast stroke. :)

New Shoes

If you know anything about me, you know that I love a bargain. Thus my daily (or more frequent) monitoring of various deal sites. Today one of my favorite sites, Slickdeals.net, listed Men's RSVP shoes for a whopping $10 plus shipping and handling on 6pm.com. I'd never even heard of RSVP so I wasn't too excited until saw the shoes. They look kind of trendy which is fine for $10 a piece. Of course that means that I have to get at least two pairs! These are the styles I choose. There were a few others that I liked better but apparently I was a little too slow because by the time I made it to the sale site some of the more popular styles were only left in 12 or 13 and I wear a 9 1/2. What do you think? Thumbs up?

Boys Stink!

I was recently at a gathering of several single adults. (Some of you reading this may have even been there.) It was a fun time and there was lots of laughs. I definitely had a good time. Afterwards though I got to thinking about something that was said somewhat in jest while there. Before I mention what was said, I just want to let you know that I'm not offended by the statement and actually generally agree with it. It might be I was not offended because I don't feel that I represent the stereotype presented.

Anyway back to the story. It was a mixed crowd with several guys and several girls. One of the girls mentioned that boys stink. Not figuratively. Literally. I don't disagree with her assessment and in fact sometimes I do stink. I dare say some boys always stink. And when I do stink I'll be the first to admit it. But for the most part I don't stink. Anyway, I was just thinking, what if I would have said that girls stink? Or better yet, if I girls were stupid, vain, or conceited? Would that have been okay? I doubt that it would have been as well received as "boys stink." All the guys there just kind of laugh and say "yeah, whatever."

It seems though in our society today that it is more acceptable all the time to belittle men in the same way that if directed towards women most would call sexist.

It reminded me of my last trip to Hawaii. On the island of Maui, we found a little shop called David and Goliath. It had lots of funny stuff and a lot that was maybe not so funny and some stuff that was just gross. But I bring this up because they had one particular line of t-shirts, magnets, cards, posters, etc that emphasized that boys are inferior to girls. Are these products meant to boost girl's self-esteem? If so I'm afraid that they are going about it the wrong way.

I am curious to see what you have to say. So tell me if you think this harmless and there is nothing to worry about, or if this is something that should not be accepted.

Paradise Bakery & Cafe

This past week some the guys from work and I checked out the new Paradise Bakery & Cafe in American Fork. It came as a recommendation from one guy's wife. I had never heard of it so I had no expectations.

The place was packed. Everyone loves to try out the new place. Walking in the atmosphere was nice and there were tons of employees. They were either working in the food lines, handing out samples, or cleaning up. I ordered the Turkey Cranberry Sandwich. (Oven roasted turkey with cranberry sauce, mayo, lettuce and tomato served on our Paradise Molasses bread.)



It came with a chocolaty cookie and I added nice big soda. The sandwiches were pre-made. It was kind of nice because you got to see the actually sandwich before you made a decision but on the other hand if you ordered a less popular selection (Jason) then your bread was a little dried out. On the way to pay I got ushered to a separate line from my coworkers. I was just getting rung up when their computers hung. It took them a few moments to figure out what was going on. But soon I had paid and rejoined my coworkers only to find out that they got their meals free because the computer had hung. Apparently I should have staid in the other line. Oh well. I was only out around $10 for lunch. All said, I'm sure we'll be going back again. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Why Am I Such a Baby?

This morning I attended a viewing with my parents for the mother of a family who lived right behind our family for thirty some odd years during my growing up years. I attended the viewing mostly because I was friends with their daughter who is the same age as I am. I had not seen her since our 10 year high school reunion 12 years ago and she currently is living in Dubai. So the chances of seeing her any time soon would be slim.

I didn't really have a strong emotional response before the viewing. I liked the deceased lady. She was very nice and what I thought to be a good mother. But mostly I felt sad for her children who were left here without their mother and her husband left without his wife.

Soon after arriving early in the viewing my parents made their way over to the grieving husband. When he talked to us his eyes filled with tears as he told us what an amazing woman his wife was. I, being the emotional guy that I am, could not help myself. I was doing my best to hold back the tears. It wasn't easy. I could feel my eyes filling to capacity. At any moment the damn was going to break.

It wasn't until later that I got to talk to my childhood friend, his daughter, that I saw her emotion and it pushed me over the edge. The water gates opened. Here it was a time when I should be strong and a support for her but I couldn't even hold it together myself. Sad. Talking to her was even a chore because I was so choked up. It took me a several moments just to gain some composure.

Why does this always happen to me?!

In this case, the best I can figure is that I pictured myself in their shoes and thought of how I would feel on this occasion. I can only imagine the wreck I will be when that day comes.

It's not like I'm a guy who has a problem with crying. (Obviously, I do it all too freely!) I even love a good movie that can make me cry. But that is different somehow.

Empathy, it's a good quality to have, I know. But a little control would come in handy.

Well, That Was My Question!

Several years ago, my sister, Tammy, her husband, Fred, and their young daughter, Jess, were on a family vacation driving in the car. Tammy and Fred had been talking and mentioned Brian (me) and that he was single (still is.) Jess was quite surprised by this news and exclaimed, "What? He isn't married?!" A little shocked at Jess' question, Tammy told her that I was not married and asked, "Who did you think he was married to?" Jess replied, "Well, that was my question!"

Oh, the innocence of youth. I'm sure she just figured that all adults were married to someone. Sorry to burst that bubble!

The funny part is that Jess knew me very well. I had baby sat her several times at her house and she had slept over at my house a few times. We had gone on family camp outs and vacations, and to my knowledge my wife never showed up.

General Conference: Priesthood Session

We have a tradition in our family when it comes to conference time. The priesthood holders that can, get together and attend the session in our old stake center. Following which we go to dinner at Bajio in Riverwoods. It's a nice tradition. This year those in attendance were my father, brother, 3 nephews, and a nephew's friend. We missed having Josh with us. He used to be a regular until he moved to Washington.

There was a little special treat for us during conference. President Monson told a story about Theron Borup. Everyone in our group kind of did a head whip to look at my dad. It's not that often that you hear the name Borup and generally when we do it is someone that is related to us. Dad confirmed that Theron is his cousin and that he worked in personnel for many years at the church office building. I had never heard the story before but Dad had.

Oh and about the bow tie... I had to try and compete with all the attention that Nick was going to get with his magician-looking mustache. Yeah, I failed miserably.

Just a Warning: Be Nice to Your Family

Click this newspaper clipping to read this real-life obituary. Just a warning that you should be nice to your family or this could be you. :)