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