No Good Cookies Part 2: Enter the Wingman

(If you need a refresher to understand the situation, please read the post "No Good Cookies" from November 22.)

So let me start by explaining how great my Saturday had been. I slept in until 10:30, Napoleon made me an awesome lunch, and I had enjoyed watching college football and at the time, I was watching the Florida vs Alabama game sprawled out on the couch. Napoleon was in the bathroom shaving.

We got an unexpected knock at the door and as is our custom, I simply shouted "Come in!" and the door opened to reveal a tall girl who claimed that we had a plate of hers. I remembered the plate. How could I forget this girl's tactic. Now she was coming over unannounced to pick this plate, but she was obviously coming over to try and talk with her intended target: Napoleon. This girl is pretty gutsy and knows what she wants. Napoleon is in no condition to come out (halfway through shaving) nor does he want to come out and face an awkward conversation with someone who wants answers.

So she and I go to the kitchen to looking for this plate. Wouldn't you know, we can't find it. After a couple minutes she starts to laugh this "I can't believe this" laugh and explains that this plate is her roommate's who is moving out at the end of the semester. I leave her looking for a second and go run into the bathroom to ask Napoleon where the plate is and he says that it has to be here. Not wanting to deal with the situation (and without a shirt on and shaving cream smattered on half his face he was clearly in no position to deal with the situation), he turned on the shower and made his escape.

After a couple more minutes of looking through the kitchen until I assure her that we'll find it and Napoleon will get in contact with her and let her know when we have it. So she emphasizes again that she needs the plate for her roommate and leaves 0 for 2: no plate and no face time with Napoleon. But she did leave her mark with her second interesting blog post of the semester.

-A.T.H.

New Insight Concerning Rookies

In baseball, many players go straight from high school to the draft. Others will go to college for a year or two and then get drafted. And still there are others who will go to college for the full four years. However, regardless of whatever route they may have taken, at the end of the day, they are still just that: rookies. Yet, because of their various backgrounds, the respective maturity levels, mindsets, and attitudes of each rookie will all differ. A rookie coming straight out of high school is much more likely to be distracted by all the hoopla, media attention, and endorsements of the bigs, whereas a four-year college player will be much more mature and focused on the prize at end. Yet, they are still both rookies. Herein lies our new insight, for there are some rookies here at BYU that have come "straight" out of high school, whereas there are others who are four-year college players. And as a result, some rookies can be good for your team, while others may just be a hassle.

Utah Follow-up

My friend had the following to say concerning Utah as a follow-up to our previous post:

About Utah and not ever wanting to leave...

Things That Utah Offers
1) Prophet of God
2) NBA Team
3) Lots of temples
4) Lots of members
5) Mountains
6) Family (if you're from around there)

Why None of These Things Matter
1) Because God in his infinite mercy made it so we could have broadcasting and magazines
2) Because the Jazz year after year can't put things together - and plus there's lots of NBA teams, at least 30 or so by my guess, including one in Canada (but they suck worse than the Jazz)
3) You can find a temple anywhere too pretty much unless you can't settle for anything less than a 15 minute drive which is pretty picky if you ask me
4) Lots of INACTIVE members too...the thing is, you can find lots of active members where ever you go in North America relatively speaking...quality isn't always quantity
5) There's a lot of mountains, and if you're an ocean person Utah is not a good place to be
6) God in his infinite mercy invented the air plane because He realized that we can't always stay ten miles away from Mommy and Daddy

No Good Cookies

At the beginning of the year, our apartment was blessed to receive cookies and brownies almost every Sunday for 5 or 6 weeks straight. Since that time, we have been so fortunate as to receive similar offerings at a less-frequent, yet still quite pleasing pace. For example, tt was our blessing to receive such a gift last Sunday.

NOTE: We know that many girls think about whether to use paper plates or real plates when delivering such treats. Paper plates can be thrown away, while real plates guarantee an additional meeting when the plate has to be returned. Not all girls are like this, but many are. We just want you to know--we are on to you.

So keep this in mind while I set the scene for you. This is this one girl, let's call her Carol, although that's obviously not her name. Carol is a good friend of mine that I have gotten to know quite well the last few weeks. Because of our busy schedules and other circumstances, we would email each other often or talk online and didn't get many opportunities to see each other or do anything together. At the culmination of these emails, we were able to find a time one Friday afternoon to just sit around and chat on campus for awhile. The conversation lasted almost 3 hours. It was pretty good, although she informed me of her desire to raise a family in Utah (see blog post below). So it was good, but overall, just ok. The following week, which was this past week, I was super busy; I was swamped with both schoolwork and homework. As a result, I didn't respond to her emails and didn't really talk to her at all. However, in the midst of such business, I also came across another young lady here at the Y. We shall call her Lily, although that's obviously not her real name either. Anyways, I was able to spend some time with Lily, and it was just wonderful. As a result, I quickly found myself being drawn further and further away from Carol and closer and closer to Lily. By the week's end, Carol was no longer really on my mind.

Ok, well this afternoon while we were sitting around on the couch after church, we heard a knock at the door. As is customary, we yelled "Come in!" Nothing happened. "Come in!" Again--silence. "COME IN!" Usually third time's the charm, but not this go around. One of us got up to go open the door. No one was there, but at the foot of our apartment entrance was a plate of cookies and a note. Such an event is cause for great curiousness, so we all looked on in anticipation as it was revealed that the note was addressed to yours truly: me. Feeling flattered before I even knew who they were from, I quickly opened the note to read the attached message. It was from Carol. It said something of this sort: "Hey, I know you had a busy week, so I just wanted to drop these off so you could enjoy them while you relax . . . Hope to talk to you soon!" My heart sank. My roommate perfectly interpreted her actions: "Hey I don't know where you are, but I just wanted to let you know that I am still here." Ah! The thing is--I'm not still here. I've kind of moved on . . .

Needless to say, we enjoyed the cookies in terms of the taste and joy they brought to our mouths and stomachs. However, the overall experience was quite sour for me and caused me to feel very badly! I'm not exactly sure what to do, but I do know this: she used a real plate, meaning I haven't seen the last of her.

Oh cookies . . . oh real plates . . . oh BYU . . .

I guess that's life--darn, no good cookies!

S is for Sensible, That's Good Enough for Me

If we ever write a book on the 4 S's (see previous blog post), there would most definitely be a sub-heading underneath "Smart" that would be entitled "Sensible." Dictionary.com defines sensible as "having, using, or showing good sense or sound judgment." I recognize that based on our upbringing and life experiences, our understanding and perception of the world around us and how things should be will differ from one person to the next. Moreover, I acknowledge that as a result of such differences, people often maintain varying preferences and desires that not only guide their everyday decisions, but also navigate much bigger decisions that one must make over the course of a lifetime. In sum, we all have our "ideals."

It has been my unfortunate experience to come across many a young ladies here at BYU that seem to be so adamantly attached to their vision of the ideal life that they regrettably become inflexible and act quite insensibly. With regards to S standing for sensible, I might have even another sub-heading that I would entitle "Supple." Concerning flexibility, I would like to mention the concept of where one raises their family. I am aware that the majority of students here at BYU, particularly the women, speak so highly of their hometown that it is their preference for where they would want to raise their family. I find no fault in such a desire. I love where I grew up and if it worked out that I was able to raise my family there, well that's great.

However, the downside of all of this is seen when the particular girl is so set on this "ideal" of raising her family where she was raised that she seems to push all sensibleness aside. She forgets to realize that 1) her family should follow the will of the Lord in making such decisions and 2) maybe the will of the Lord is for her family to be raised somewhere else. I firmly believe that the Lord wants us to have preferences and make the best decisions we can based on such desires. Notwithstanding, I know that He ultimately desires that we seek His will in all things, including where we live and raise our families. Consequently, shouldn't would be flexible in our approach to the future and where we will raise our families?

I recently sat down in the CougarEat with a particular "friend" of mine who is of the female-sort. As we sat and talk, she informed me of how she couldn't imagine raising her family anywhere but Utah. She was born and raised in Utah. She explained her reasoning in that this is where all of her family lives, this is where she always has lived, this is where she is happy, and she can't imagine living somewhere else away from her family and being happy. Upon hearing this, I found it completely reasonable and understandable that she would have such an "ideal" future in mind for her family. However, as the conversation continued, I became aware of how stubborn she was concerning this matter. She couldn't imagine the Lord asking her to live somewhere else, nor could she imagine her husband wanting to live somewhere else either. Ultimately, she came across as completely inflexible concerning this matter.

Maybe it sounds harsh, but to me, it was really a turn-off. This one particular experience is just an example of the many girls I have met here at BYU who feel the same way. I think it's great to have preferences, but c'mon people! Where is the flexibility?

All I have to say is that S is for sensible, and that is surely good enough for me.

Truth or Dare

What started out as a simple game being played by silly boys at 1 am who felt they could stay up late because they could sleep-in the following morning due to having stake conference at 1 pm the next day as opposed to having the normal 9 am morning church turned rather hilarious when we reached dare #2. After going through a few truths and a singular dare, I decided to take a risk and do another dare. "Prank call somebody." What?! Prank call somebody? I haven't done that in years! That's so high school! Who should I prank call? We decided we would call somebody outside the ward, lest they reference the ward menu and find my # listed. We decided to call this girl my roommate knows from back home. She doesn't know me, so it would be safe. I decided to put my cell phone on speaker phone. I reached her answering machine and left the following message: "Did you know Chuck Norris was born in a log cabin he built with his own bare hands?" Haha! We were dying laughing (please remember: this was at 1 am). I closed the phone. We continued to giggle. We could not hold back out laughter. "Ok," I said. "Truth or dare?" We proceeded to another truth, and likewise continued to giggle. I don't know what all was said, but we were in rare form to say the least. In the middle of my roommate answering his truth, we heard the following: "If you would like to make another call, please hang-up and dial again." What?! I quickly grabbed my phone and opened it. The phone had been on speaker phone the entire time and was recording a message still for the girl we were prank calling! There was one split second of stunned silence, and then we lost it. Each one of us quickly tried to remember what had been said in the past two minutes, but we were laughing too hard. We could only imagine how the message would be received in its entirety when the girl listened to it. After our roaring laughter quieted down, we wiped the tears off of our faces, changed into our bed clothes, and went to bed.

Playing for Keeps

There are three reasons why people try to set you up with other people:

Reason 1: "I live vicariously through other people and as such want to set you up with someone I know just for the sake of setting you up."

Reason 2: "I think you two are a really good match and would really hit it off!"

Reason 3: "Even though you haven't officially met, my friend has expressed interest in getting to know you."

I have always enjoyed the prospect of getting "set-up," so long as the motivation behind such has found its roots in either reason 2 or reason 3. If both of those reasons are the motivation, well then, that is pretty much just a really fortunate situation. Consequently, when I was approached by another girl in the ward and told that she wanted to set me up with her friend due to both reason 2 and reason 3, I was very excited.

I proceeded to make contact with this friend of hers: I called her, made it known that I would love to eat dinner with her one night, set up a time, etc. etc. And just like that, it was in my hands.

My approach to the evening was very appropriate: I had a good balance of excitement, realism, hope, and openness. And so the evening came and we ate dinner together. It was truly a great little "date" and we really did hit it off (or so I like to think). The conversation flowed freely from both ends, we found out that we shared a lot of common interests, and it just felt very comfortable and pleasing. I obviously wasn't making wedding plans in my mind--c'mon, what kind of an RM do you think I am--but I was thinking to myself that this was a great girl that was definitely worth pursuing. And then it happened.

Me: "Ya, I was really glad to see you come to my lesson on Sunday."

Her: "Well I thought I should probably start going to mission prep. In fact, as of last night, my papers are officially in! Isn't that so exciting?"

Exciting? EXCITING?! I don't know if that is the word I am looking for to describe how I feel. Thank you for setting me up and telling me I'd hit it off with, and be a good match for a girl that I will no longer be able to hug 3 months from now. Is that what we now define as a good match?

I guess maybe that is the difference between some sisters and brothers here at BYU. Some look at dating as only a way to get to know people, have fun, etc. A night out on the town, you might say. The rest of us? Well of course we want to get to know people and have fun. But in the end, it's all about the ring: you see my friends, I am not playing this game for the sake of playing. I am playing for keeps.

It gets better in a worse way...

Allow me to apply what we have learned from our extended and ever improving baseball analogy.

Two weeks ago I signed a rookie to be my lead off hitter. She was a hot prospect (literally) and did excellent in training camps. She had all the right things going for her and eagerly signed a short term deal. (I hope your following this: so we had gotten passed the "just hanging out" phase and were getting on to the breaking point in our relationship, the point where you just have to talk about "each other". We were not exclusive yet but we could both tell that the decision point was close at hand.)

I could tell earlier in the week that something was on her mind and that our contract needed to be renegotiated. So being the just manager that I am I made plans to sit down with her on Friday night and work out the details. But rookie had other plans. (I am going to be in and out of the analogy here so try to keep up.)

Thursday rolls around and she asks me if I would like to go for a walk with her (ya, I know, a "walk"). Naturally I say yes and prep myself for possible situations and things that could come up about "us". Let me insert some vital information at this point - the whole time we had been "courting" I felt deep down in the depths of my stomach, you know, the dark place where emotions have no voice, that our "contract" was not going huge. She probably wasn't going to be the girl that took me to the 'ship. I can't explain that emotion, but I enjoyed being with her anyways and we were winning some games together, so to speak. Who doesn't like to cuddle and hold hands and such? Exactly. I was ready to commit to her had be a one girl guy if she was willing to do the same in regards to me. If not, then I was ready to move on. I wanted it all, or nothing at all (thanks O-town).

As we get to talking she lays it all out. (Ok, so now rookie is the pitcher and I'm up to bat). I know what pitches she has; fastball ("I just think we are moving too fast..."), change-up ("I just think that we should still date other people"), and curveball ("I'm just not interested in a relationship"). Or, she could lob it up there softball-style and for me to hit out of the park (= boyfriend/girlfriend). But rookie does something not only unexpected, but darn near illegal! She throws me a spit-ball (a spitball is illegal because it gives the ball an atypical and unpredictable movement and is near impossible to hit). And this was no ordinary spit-ball either, this was a split-ball/bean-ball combo!

She says, "I'm in a relationship with another guy."

I go to flinch out of the way but know the ball is coming straight for me.

"Did I just get played?" I ask myself. I did not see this one coming. It gets better in a worse way.

"He lives in Indiana."

And down I go. Hit in the Lower House of Parliament, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the toolbox, the frank and beans. You get the picture. Rookie signed a contract behind my back with our analogies equivalent of the Japanese league. But oh, it gets better in a worse way.

As she describes the way this "other guy", shall I say, assumed that they were already in a relationship (over facebook of all things!), I come to realize that he kind of forced her to be in an exclusive relationship with him. He sounds socially inept and desperate at that. Never has a rookie made such a rookie mistake as this rookie did. She is confused about "them" (wouldn't you be too if the negotiations were in Japanese?!!) and just needs to "figure things out" she says.

That's fine. I understand bigger and better deals come along. It is only right to take advantage of those deals. But a) behind the managers back and b) with the "foreign league"? Goodbye, sayonara, zaijian, au revoir, adios.

So now it appears that I am building my team from scratch again. Let this one thing be known, the 4 S's just got changed to the 5 S's, indefinitely. "Single" just made its way up off from "honorable mention" to the big leagues. Congratulations.

-Genghis

The 4 S's

1. Spiritual: must have a strong testimony.

2. Spunky: has a great personality and you have a lot of chemistry together.

3. Smart: this is not so much about GPA as it is about having a good head on her shoulders; has common sense.

4. Smokin' hot: you have to be attracted to her.

Honorable Mention:

5. Single: not only is she not dating someone else, but she also doesn't have a missionary she is waiting for.

6. Sustaining: another way of saying she is a good nurturer (see "The Family: A Proclamation to the World").

It's All About the Ring!

Let me just start by saying I love playoff baseball and I also love talking about baseball. It is only fitting that with the League Championship Series about to get underway, we extend our baseball analogy (see the post entitled "Take Me Out To The Ballgame") to the postseason. Last night, I had an apostrophe, maybe an epiphany. Whatever it was, lightning struck my brain. Miraculously enough, it didn't hurt (that was for anyone who loves the movie "Hook"). But before we get to the real reason for this post, the "ring", we to define some new terms in our baseball lingo to give context to this new interpretation of an old concept.

The World Series: Winning the World Series is the ultimate achievement in baseball. It doesn't matter if how great or poor your regular season play is if you are able to make the playoffs and win the World Series. As a manager you are trying to get the right combination of elements together so you are able to make a run at the title this year. You don't want to wait for next year or consider this year a "rebuilding year". It isn't enough to just play in the World Series, you have to win. Sure it may be a great atmosphere to play in a World Series, but let's face it, nobody remembers the loser as they fall in to the same category as the other 30 teams who didn't win. You may look back with fond memories and think "that was a great push to make it to the playoffs and nobody thought we would make it as far as we did". However these fleeting thoughts are quickly replaced by the overwhelming memory that you didn't win.

Translation: Happy marriage in the temple for time and all eternity. A relationship that ends any other way is settling for something other than the greatest award there is.

The Rookie: A hot new prospect new to the Major Leagues who has the promise of becoming the face of the franchise. All teams would actively pursue such an amazing up-and-comer because they know that having a rookie with such talent is hard to come by and can lead to a long and successful career. Unfortunately, most rookies with such endowed with this skill level have agents whose only concern is setting their client up for big money in the future. Contracts are often pricy but not too long, giving the rookie a chance to jump teams and secure an even bigger and longer contract. There is more focus on the individual rather than the team. And since the rookie is at the beginning of their career and consequently they feel they have their whole career in front of them and don't need to worry now about winning a World Series. But there comes a point when you have to move on past the rookie and recognize that there are some drawbacks about rookies. Namely their inexperience and lack of practical knowledge of playing in the big leagues. That is why veterans can also be appealing because they have some savvy about how to win and has a stronger desire for a championship than for personal accolades.

Translation: Girls who are awesome, outgoing, fun to be around, easy to talk to, etc. Essentially, they are a freshman girl who attracts lots of attention from non-freshman guys. She isn't so concerned about getting serious because it is more exciting and adventurous to have five guys trying to fight over her valuable spare moments, be it during the week or on the weekend. By contrast, the veteran is a girl who is less concerned playing and just having fun and is more concerned about being and finding the right guy.

The Ring: In addition to hoisting the World Series trophy high over your head in front of thousands of screaming fans, each player on the team that wins the World Series receives a customized ring (see the Angels ring above). It is constant reminder that you won it all and nobody can take that away from you.

Translation: Let's be serious here, if you don't know what the ring is I have only one suggestion: go listen to Beyonce's song "Single Ladies". The ring is the symbol that you won and are married to the woman of your dreams. She is yours and you are hers and it is the ultimate sign that you are the world champion of the dating game.

So remember next time you step up to the plate, it's all about the ring.

-A.T.H.

Apartment Date #2

For the record:

Zupas + "homeade" cookies and brownies + electronic version of life + eating cookies and brownies and drinking milk + watching "Amazing Grace" = Apartment Date #2

Are you guys close?

I went to dinner earlier this evening at an old mission companion's house. There were some other RMs there as well, most of which are married. I brought along a girl that I've spent a lot of time with this past week. Obviously we aren't at the point of exclusively dating each other yet, but things have been going pretty well.

Anyways, one of the RMs there was an older missionary that I never actually met when serving my mission. About the middle of the evening, he looks at me and my date and asks "so are you guys married?" Taken aback, I froze and then quickly responded, "no." Without a moment's hesitation, he had a follow-up question for me: "Are you guys close?" I froze yet again. I didn't even have time to think before I found myself jumping forward with a response: "no!" I'm not sure if everyone else noticed me breathing heavily. A better answer might have been "Oh no, haha, we're just good friends for the time being . . . " or something of the sort. But no. In the awkwardness of it all, I jumped the gun with a passionate and resounding "no."

I don't really mind. Who asks that anyways? I don't even know the guy!

"Are you guys close?" Well we're definitely not now. Thank you for making my date feel uncomfortable.

Love ya--bye!

As is customary, when saying goodbye to close friends and family on the phone, I might say something like this: "Great talking to ya. Love ya! Bye!"

There was a stretch of time earlier in the week when I talked to a bunch of people (as mentioned above) that would constitute me ending the conversation with a casual, yet sincere, "love ya."

Shortly thereafter, I called a girl. Now this girl, you see, is one that I have been on a date with, hung out with multiple times, and ya--I think you are picking up what I am putting down. Anyways, she didn't pick up the phone, so I had to leave a message. I began with nothing big, just the normal "hey, how's it going, hope you're having a good day, etc. etc." I stated my purpose in calling. And then I closed: "Well, hope all is going well. Talk to ya later. Love ya--bye. Uh! I mean! Habit from the mission. Uh . . . I gotta go! Bye!"

The Callback

This last week on Friday I was talking with my lead-off hitter. If you don't know what that means, please see our "Take me out to the ballgame" post. We were in the same building and had just finished up what we each needed to get done and were both heading home. As we made our way out of a building and just as we were about to head out the door, some other guy called out her name. She said "hey!" and stopped for a second. I didn't know the guy and thus hesitated to see if she was going to stick around to talk to him or just follow behind me out the door after a quick hello. She gave a follow up comment and I made a quick judgment call to just leave, knowing that I’ll see her next week. While walking out the door, she said, "See you" and I said, "Bye”.

Within probably 30 seconds of exiting the building, I heard a girl call out my voice and I turned around to see her coming after me. She asked why I just took off and I told her about how I was just caught off guard and didn't quite know how to respond and expected her to stick around and catch up for a minute. She mentioned to me that she wanted to just say hi but didn't feel like she could do so because she was going on a date with him later that night. Not wanting to have me get discouraged (as I see it), she quickly mentioned that she doesn't really like him like that but she felt like she couldn't really say no. We walked a little further until our paths split and we each went our respective ways.

Although this isn’t a major breakthrough, it is still nice to get her chasing after me and it is definitely a good sign that she mentioned to me that she would tell me she was going out on a date but wasn’t interested in the guy. There’s a reason she is batting in the lead-off position.

-A.T.H.

Why did you call me?

Her: "Hey what are you doing tonight?"

Me: "Well I'm just finishing up my eating my blizzard. As of right now, I don't have any big plans. I do have a paper I need to work on."

Her: "Oh that sounds fun."

Me: "Oh you know it. What are you doing tonight?"

Her: "One of my guy friends from back home is in town, so I'm hanging out with him tonight."

Me: "How exciting."

Her: "Ya I am really excited."

silence

Her: "Well enjoy your blizzard!"

Me: "Thanks--have a good night."

Her: "You too!"

September is almost over . . .

Two hand-holdings, a kiss on the cheek, a plate of brownies, Sunday night dinner, and a Sunday school surprise . . . yeah--it's been that kind of a weekend: amazing!

Take me out to the ballgame

For future reference, when we talk about the opposite sex, that being the female, we use baseball terms. It's not your typical "first base, second base, etc." It has nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with everything else though. Here are just a few examples:



Roommate: "So what is your lineup?"

Other Roommate: "Well girl #1 (insert name here) is leading off, but girl #2 is on-deck. I figure girl #1 will stay in the lead-off position until she messes up or girl #2 makes a statement and gets some key hits."

Roommate: "Anybody in the hole?"

Other: "Well there is this one girl in my class. I picked her up off of waivers last week, but she's still on the bench for now. I might put her in the hole later on in the week and give her a chance to hit."

Example #2:

Roommate: "How was your night with so and so?"

Other: "Dude--it was awesome!"

Roommate: "So she got on base then? So what did she hit-- a stand-up double?"

Other: "No dude, she had a triple for sure. It wasn't standing up; she had to slide, but still; she cleared the bases."

Roommate: "Awesome."



Batter's up!

Please feel free to comment

We welcome any and all advice/comments :)

Conflict of Interest?

We have all been there. Been where? In teacher's quorum I say. And when I say we, I obviously am referring to those living in our apartment. But the point is, we've all been there. It's a typical sunday afternoon, so you think, and it's the last hour of the block. What's the lesson for today? Well wouldn't you know it... the lesson today is about getting married. And so it begins as each young man is handed a piece of paper and a pencil. The task at hand? Write down a list of qualities/characteristics you want your future wife to have.

Maybe for you it wasn't in teacher's quorum. Maybe it was in seminary, or maybe it was when you got home from your mission. Regardless of when and where, we have all done it at one point or another in our lives. It's obviously a productive exercise, to say the least. However, it would be unwise to assume or expect to marry someone who will meet all the criteria as listed on your piece of paper. BUT to what extent do you be easy-going? Of course you can't "settle." We aren't talking about settling. What we are talking about is real and rational expectations. Furthermore, we are talking about focusing on what's important and relaxing about the smaller details.

But what happens when you have a conflict of interest? Picture this: one girl, great spiritual side, awesome personality, fun, spunky, etc. The other girl? Even a more favorable personality, even more fun and such, but maybe not as spiritual. Of course spiritually is HUGE, but at the same time, you find that you enjoy time with the other girl more. But maybe it's too soon to judge; maybe the other girl is really spiritual and you haven't realized it yet. And maybe the other girl is more fun than you thought. Maybe you just haven't given it enough time. On the other hand, maybe you have and your assessment is dead on. And you have to choose. This, my friend, is what we call a dilemna. This is the BYU dilemna.

Ok ok, so it's not the BYU dilemna, but it is a dilemna nonetheless. What would you do?

Squirrel!

Our first apartment date. We figured it would only be right to keep record of our apartment dates, and this past Friday was this school year's first for us. From a blind date to a long-distance friend and from a classmate to a new found friend, we were all excited for our respective dates.

We first went to a volleyball game, which was followed by games and ice cream. We played "the game inside my head," which was absolutely hilarious. After that, we watched National Treasure 2, which was a very good movie.

And just like that, the evening ended. To be fair, we believe that all in attendance had a great time. We were fortunate enough to receive a couple post-date texts, therefore signifying that the girls did indeed enjoy the activities of the evening.

What's next for our apartment? Well my friends - that is the joy of the single life at BYU. You never know what tomorrow will bring. As for now, we take each day as it comes.

You emotionally exhaust me.

That's what she said. No seriously--that's what she said:

Me: "How are you?"

Her: "Good. Kind of tired."

Me: "Ya but it's been a good week?"

Her: "Oh yeah. It's just I am emotionally exhausted."

Me: "Emotionally exhausted? I'm sorry. Is everything okay?"

Her: "Oh I am fine. Don't worry about it."

Me: "Well what happened?"

Her: "Oh nothing. I am just emotionally exhausted from flirting."

Me: "Haha, what? From flirting? Tough life flirting with all those boys I see."

Her: "No. Only one boy. You. You emotionally exhaust me."

Me: "Oh I am sorry."

Her: "No. It's a good thing. I like it. I am just tired."

Me: "Oh. Well. Your welcome, I guess."

Brownies

From wikipedia.org we read the following concerning brownies:

"A brownie or chocolate brownie is an American invented dessert or snack food: a semi-flat square or bar, made with chocolate and baked in a sheet pan, something like a dense chocolate cake. Brownies' density ranges from fudgey to cake-like. They may feature a variety of toppings and ingredients such as frosting, nuts, cream cheese, and chocolate chips. Brownies are common lunchbox fare, typically eaten out of hand, and often accompanied by milk or coffee. They are sometimes served warm with ice cream or topped with whipped cream, especially in restaurants."

Our apartment has been mercifully blessed to receive a plate of brownies from a different apartment of girls the past two Sundays, thus indicating a perfect record of 2-for-2 since the new semester began. As we returned home last night, we wondered what fate might deal us come our 3rd Sunday. Is it too ambitious to hope for a 3rd plate of brownies? Would that be unreasonable? Unsure of how to approach the situation, we went to bed with great anticipation.

The brownies are not what is important. What's important is the concept of wonderful food given to us. In all of its glorious, varying, and beautiful forms, we are gladly willing to accept such blessings. With such an understanding, we are glad to report that we were extended a lunch invitation for 2:00 today from some girls we sat next to in church.

3 Sundays down . . . 3 occasions of free food. 3-for-3.

P.S. Please recognize the difference between what is going on here with us and what was spoken of by Elder Oaks: "Don't make it easy for young men to hang out in a setting where you women provide the food. Don't subsidize freeloaders. An occasional group activity is OK, but when you see men who make hanging out their primary interaction with the opposite sex, I think you should lock the pantry and bolt the front door."

Thank you for understanding.

I rub shoulders with fame

As the wise Napoleon once put it, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh". How true this is.
This is a tale of good fortune and bad luck. Let me explain:

This last week I took some me time for the long weekend and visited an old friend. As the anticipation built up my excitement to get away took my mind to anything but school work. However none of these daydreams could prepare me for who I was about to meet.

Friday came and as I waited for transportation to take me on my journey I noticed a really cute girl sitting in front of me. I make the routine bling-bling check on the left hand and to my encouragement her fourth finger was bear. Now how do I open a conversation with her? I think to myself. "Hey, would you mind watching my stuff? I need to go to the restroom." "Sure," she says pleasantly. After my brief meeting with John I open up to her with a, "So where you headed?" "Dallas," she replies, "I'm going to the BYU/OU game." This of course opens up a delightful conversation about BYU and football, both of which I thoroughly enjoy. "Actually my brother is on the team," she states at one point. "Neat, who?" says I. "Max Hall." That's right, the Max Hall; the senior signal-caller for the Cougars. In jaw dropping bliss I stumble through another half hour of chat, revelling in the blessed situation God has given me. I can't believe I just met Max Hall's little sister!
Does this sound immature and a little giddy? Maybe. But you have to realize you don't meet many "famous" people in Provo, even if it is only that "famous" person's little sister. besides, she was cute.

As fate would have our seats were not next to each other, and at one point she switched lines and was out of my life as soon as she came in.

Cool by association? I think so. God is good.

I Love to Study

The first week of school has officially come and gone. We all know how crucial this can be in setting yourself up for victory in the fight against the temporary title of Young Single Adult. As previously discussed, bringing the "A" game to the first day at church is irreplaceable. Slightly less important but still a major part of the plan of attack has to be the ability to quickly identify the cute girls in your classes. Those with eyes to see are able to find these select few yet the problem often lies in finding a way to strike up a conversation, get a phone number and then make something happen about it. I recognize that there are those bold and courageous men with all sorts of catchy pick-up lines who have little trouble getting a phone number. Unfortunately, for others they have plans of greatness but can never make it happen. This post is to provide encouragement to this group of strugglers and help them realize that all it takes is being in the right place at the right time and appreciating the small successes.

I have the curse of being in a major that provides me with great guy friends (Translation: there just aren't many girls in my major). So when I noticed a cute girl in one of my classes I took a mental note but unfortunately I was already in my seat and she was halfway across the room. Not to mention, as is often the case, she took off too fast after class for me to say anything to her. So when our next class came around, I walked in just a little bit later than I had the previous day with hopes of finding an open seat in her vicinity, since half of the battle is just getting onto her radar screen. The professor had a practice problem up on the board so we didn't really have a chance to say anything before class. Towards the end of class the professor told us that he recommended forming study groups to work on the homework together and would allow us to use the last five minutes of class to do so. When it came time for us to form groups, I was in prime position and naturally was able to work my way into her group and get her name, email, and phone number. Needless to say, it was a successful day, or so it would seem.

Lest we jump the gun and get too excited, let us remember that just because there is a pretty girl in the class doesn't mean anything will happen. I'm not trying to be a pessimist, just a realist who recognizes that there are a lot of girls on BYU campus who are spoken-for. What I'm trying to say is that you need to check for the wedding/engagement ring before trying to make any moves and avoid a seriously awkward situation. Luckily, I noticed her fat ring early on.

In conclusion, although the outcome is less than desirable, the principle of putting yourself in good situations to meet, interact with, and get to know pretty girls is still important to master.

-A.T.H.

Oops . . . I dropped my fork!

For those of us who are shy, the initial "hello" can be quite intimidating when you first want to talk to a girl you find cute. Such was the case earlier today during our ward's "break the fast." Now, I want to make this clear: I'm not talking about some bombshell hottie who all the guys gawk at. I'm simply referring to a nice young sister in the ward who I find cute. Again--please pay attention to my pure motives. So as I was walking home from the ward feast, I noticed she was about 15 feet behind me. I thought to myself, should I just turn around and wait for her . . . or . . . maybe I should just walk really slowly? Needless to say, I was unsure of my next move. Then all of the sudden, a rush of inspiration overcame me. Boom. With my back turned to her, I picked my fork up off my plate, moved my hand to the side, and purposefully let it fall to the ground. Oops . . . I dropped my fork! How convenient . . . Having timed it perfectly, by the time I picked it up and was standing straight again, she was standing right next to me. "What's your name?" I asked her. The question was simple enough, but I rushed the delivery. Luckily, her easy-going manner softened the abrasiveness of my question. A mini-conversation ensued as we walked back to our apartments. And with that, I had made initial contact. Mission accomplished.

-Leon

Guys Night Out?

With it being the start of a new semester, I figured it would be good to "go out of my way" to be extra-social and get to know people. So when two girls from the ward stopped by last Saturday night to invite us over to play games, I figured I should go. Attila and Genghis were both at wedding receptions, but Alex had about 30 minutes before he was leaving, so agreed to accompany me. When we first arrived at the apartment, there were 2 girls and 3 guys; we made it 2 girls and 5 guys, which is not unreasonably noteworthy in and of itself. However, little by little, more and more people showed up as there seemed to be a knock at the door every 5 minutes. In would walk 2 more guys, then 1 more guy, and once, there was even 4 more guys! Not a single girl showed up. "We invited other girls--honest!" was the plea from our kind hostesses. Really? Did you really now? I took a step back from the whole scene and realized that there were about 16 guys there and 2 girls. Well every guy was thinking the same thing, I could likewise read the thoughts of the two girls: could this get any better? In my innocence, I was merely trying to be social. The consequences? I joined in with 15 other dudes in a completely socially awkward display of desparate guys looking to hang with some ladies on a Saturday night. I kept wondering at what point I should leave and how I would be able to do without making it completely obvious why I was leaving. Everytime I was tempted to stand up, another guy beat me to it. They didn't have to make an excuse as to why they were leaving; everyone in the room knew why, and as they were the envy of the rest of us as they walked out the doorway in search of a separate social event where the girls were in abundance as opposed to scarcity. The ratio was down to about 10:2 when I noticed Attila and Genghis walking up the stairs. No! Turn back! Save yourselves! I wanted to save them before it was too late, but alas, another knock at the door. As they sat down, our eyes met, and I knew that they knew exactly what was going on. The three of us shrugged it off, kept playing the game, and decided to make the most of it. As chance would have it, the guys kept leaving, so by the end of the evening, there were only 4 boys left and 3 girls (one of the roommates came home). We ended up staying until curfew talking and playing the "Would you rather . . . " game, and it was actually a lot of fun. The blessings of patience or the tender mercies of the Lord? I'll let you be the judge on that one.

-Leon

A come from behind victory by the underdog!

People come to play on Sundays. I'm not talking about the Little League World Series going on right now, the Super Bowl, or even the final round of the latest PGA event. I'm talking about going to church here at the BYU singles wards. Both the males and the females agree that Sunday is your day to shine: wear your new suave tie, show off your new hair-do, etc. On any given Sunday, any given sister and any given brother can make it happen. When the Spirit is strong, miraculous things come to pass. This is the kind of hope that inspires the exhausted college student to be fueled with energy for early morning church. Needless to say, that energy is multiplied when it is the first Sunday of a new semester. All the girls wear their favorite dresses and all the boys wear their favorite ties. The first Sunday is when first impressions are made, so you can't afford to not show-up (and showing up entails more than just coming, if you are picking up what I'm putting down).

Today was just that--the first Sunday of the new semester. Having only a few days to recover from the natural disaster of having our EQP hesitate when asked about the pool of ladies in the ward, we were unsure of what to expect when 9:00 am came our way. As we arrived at our seats a little bit early, we were blessed to watch probably 3/4 of the ward walk-in as we gathered for a joint EQ/RS meeting. To our surprise, attractive girls seemed to be in abundance! Could this really be happening? We thought it might be too good to true. Maybe we were only seeing what we wanted to see, and as a result, our eyes were fooling us. Although there were numerous sisters in our sunday school hour as well, we sat in the front row and didn't have an adequate opportunity to reassess the situation. Yet, as we all came together for the final hour that would be our sacrament meeting, it was reminiscent of the first hour: attractive girl after attractive girl came walking in. Renewed with hope and ambition, we sang the hymns with vigor like never before. As if to confirm to us that yes, we were being blessed, the Spirit was strong thoughout the meeting. Our prayers had been answered.

Welcome the ward gentlemen. It's going to be a good semester!

So . . . how are the . . . uh . . . the ladies?

Having just moved in, there we sat Thursday night gathered around the TV. We each had our various plans for the evening, from a ninja-pirate party to a Target run. Yet, there we sat together, the four of us. Innocent as the evening began, the mood of the room was united in a silent acknowledgement of the task before us: a new school year with new dating opportunities. Whether through the ward, our jobs, referrals, or chance happening, we each understood the endless possibilities supplied by the social scene at BYU. With hope in abundance and expectations high, the mood of our apartment was one of anticipation and excitement. However, like the unknowing bass who bites at a worm only to end up on a dinner table hours later, our lives changed in an instant.

It all began when the Elder's Quorum President walked in. After the necessary introductions of sorts, the following conversation ensued:

Alex: "I don't want to be known as that guy, but you've lived here now for a year and probably know the ward pretty well, so . . . how are the . . . uh . . . the ladies?"

EQP: "Well . . . um . . . you know . . . um . . ."

(silence)

EQP: "You know, I'm hopeful. It seems like there might be a few cuties moving into the ward. Yeah--I'm hopeful."

Wow. What a wonderfully reassuring response. The hesitation and trepidation in his answer was more than enough. As if our prize stallion had just been laid to rest, the room was still and silent; no one turned off the lights, but it felt darker.

And with that, we had our first impression of the new ward. As he left our apartment, the EQP turned back to us and said "Well guys, welcome--glad you're here."

Expressionless, we robotically responded: "It's good to be here."