July 5, 2015

     This past week was stressful until Wednesday because I had a take home statics test due, research due on a concrete safety presentation with a PowerPoint, and an in class statics test. My role at another track meet was not a State Championship Meet. The three day weekend was nice. Early in the week, I was walking in the Hart Building, and I found the wall of school records. Last entry I said that I saw that the championship times of Cross Country were slow, and I won it the first year that I tried. After that championship meet, I never found the plaque until this past week. I was proud to see the school records updated, and my name on the cross country plaque for winning the championship of 2013. On Thursday night, we were hoping to go celebrate a friend's birthday, but she did not come, meaning that we went on our plans for her birthday without her. Later that day Jessica realized that she had math homework to do. We felt awesome because we were doing it without scratch paper. Jessica always did math homework on paper, and I showed her that she can do math in her head. The next day we went camping for Jesse Kaupert's birthday, but Jessica did not come because she is behind on her work. She did come to the evening activities of the Fourth of July.

    Wednesday went well; although, I did not finish my take home exam. That was disappointing. I started my statics class wrong, and I have never been able to get back on track, so I was a little lost. The in class test was easy though. I got a 92 on the in class test, and a 62 on the take home test.

     The state meet is not the official state championship meet, but it is a recreational invitational of talent from all over the state. The attendance is planned to be about half it has been in previous years, but it will be about 150 people. I need to find at least 10 volunteers to help me run the meet. I think that I have enough people. Tomorrow I will invite them to an orientation meeting, and hopefully some people will bring their friends. If any of you that read this attend BYU Idaho and would like to help me run this track meet, please contact me. The volunteer opportunity starts at 8 on Saturday the 11th of July, ending at noon. The meet is at Madison Jr High School.

     Jessica and I were walking through the Hart Building, and I saw plaques on the wall honoring the school's sports records. I first looked to check if the Track and Field plaque was updated, and it was! My Track and Field season had more records than I thought. We had like 6 records broken. I did not count. I next thought that if the track and field plaque was updated with season's new school records surely the Cross Country plaque must be updated because I won the championship meet in 2013, and that was updated too. I felt that I have contributed greatly to the running program of BYU Idaho.

    Thursday was Krista Gilson's birthday. She was a FHE sister of Jesse and I's a few semesters ago. Jesse's birthday was the next day, so the activity that we did was the same as what we did a way back then; however, Krista did not come. When we left the house to go on the hike, I was surprised that she was not coming. The hike lead to a small cave, and we hiked there because Loretta Lepley use to run there every Thursday, when she attended BYU-Idaho. We got a little lost, but we found the little cave. Jessica was a little slow walking, but she got used to my competitive nature and hiking habits. On the way back from the cave, we were walking fast and running occasionally. I think that she just wanted to finish the hike. I would say. Did you know that we can finish this hike faster, if we ran? I said that about three times. The cave was a little disappointing because it smelt like marijuana. We hung out and did not exploring as we did the first time when we visited the location. It was like a triple date, but Jesse Kaupert and Rachel Dunlap were not on a date. Sometimes I think that they are secretly dating. Logan Starks and Rachael Zeller came too.

     We camped the next day for Jesse Kaupert's Birthday. Camping was chill. We had a good group of people. They were all mainly his first FHE group. They are super tight. We went to a camp ground in the hills passed the temple and the fields. We stayed up until one o' clock just because it was a Friday night; although, we were all exhausted and wanted to go to sleep earlier. Joseph Cox had some interesting wisdom to share. One thing that he said is that if you play mutual funds right you can get 8 to 20% yield. The name of the book is "The smartest portfolio that you will ever own." His teacher did it for himself, being a millionaire, and he believed that any of his students can do it. I also learned that young married couples can get a mortgage with 0% down to purchase a house in Rexburg. Today is now Tuesday, July 7th. I asked my accounting teacher about investing books. There is a philosophy of man that says that we should take a lot of financial risks when we are young, but he recommends only to invest that which you are willing to lose. Many people learn that the stock market is not for them after a great financial loss. My accounting teacher only recommends investing, if you have about $100,000 to play with, not to retire with. There are mutual funds "that conservative, moderate and aggressive when it comes to risk." said the father of Jessica. On the fourth of July, we started cooking breakfast last because we slept in, finally concluding cooking eggs and bacon about 11. Logan asked me to throw Frisbee with him as we waited. I was surprised that I threw as consistently as him. There was a barbed wire fence that we would have to be careful of. Another thing that I was surprised with that I was full every meal. After everyone left, since Logan and Rachel never shot guns before, we let them quickly. Joseph had an intense bear gun that can shoot two different bullet types. It was really loud. Rachel complained that she lost her hearing temporarily. We put a box and water container in the barbed wire fence.

     The 4th of July was fun, but I did not do any school work. I did bake an apple pie with Rachel Dunlap. We made a blueberry pie too. Since I have never baked a pie before, this was a special experience for me. After baking the pies, we went to eat dinner with Joseph Cox and his friends. They were not the normal type of group that we have, being very rowdy. They would throw these firecrackers or something like that. It had a fuse. It was a little annoying because all the thing would do it make a loud noise. They would shoot roman candles at each other and other stuff. Jessica and Janine Chalmers, Jessica's roommate, came too. The experience was not bitter though because the firework show was good. After the show, there was an apparent display of the misery of the rowdy environment that Jessica, Janine, and I were not into.

     I did not write last Sunday in my journal because I had an essay due on Tuesday for my Book of Mormon Class. I want to publish it as a blog, but I have had prompting today, saying that some content is overbearing for the general public, but I think that the Mormon YSA Blog Spot's audience is not the general public; although, anyone can read it. The act of being overbearing is one that I hate as sin. I think that some of the content is overbearing because it is meat. It is not milk that people, who lack faith may reject as the word of God. I think that the material is available on the internet already, but I also think that it is good to read for the right people. I wrote the essay, so I can bless people, since the philosophy of man is embraced so greatly that families are suffering. The essay is based on the "Eternal Marriage" institute manual, and it is full of quotes on the family by general authorities. I would recommend that everyone read this book after the standard works of the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. I think that I should publish the essay on the family. It sorrows me to see all the contention amongst the families of the earth. The application of the "Eternal Marriage" institute manual's teachings would solve all of the problems of the world.

     Last week was the final full week of school before finals week, which ends on Wednesday at least for me. Jessica somehow has an assignment due on Thursday. I was in a similar situation last semester, having an assignment that prolonged the semester longer than usual. I turned in my essay on the family, but I did not have enough time to complete it. I had to kind of quit in the middle and simplify it. I want to rewrite it and complete it for the reader of this entry. I don't remember much that happened because I skipped a week. I remember braking the screen of my phone, and I got a smartwatch, which can make calls and text and most everything that any android phone can do. I watched the first episode of the new series of Dragon Ball Super with Janine Chalmers and Jessica. On the weekend before this current one, which is the 19th of July, I helped supply for volunteers for a State meet of a track and field program that Brother Stutz hosted. I think that he created the youth program. My safety presentation group aced our project last Wednesday. Jessica and I have been working hard to finish the semester well. The architect of JW Robinson said that he would contact me this past week after saying that he was impressed by my work, but he didn't. On the topic of investing, my HR teacher led a class on benefits and investing. He recommended investing. This weekend Jesse suggested that we watch the movie True Grit on Friday night, but after watching the trailer with Jessica, we decided not to watch it. We spoke about watching movies last Sunday, deciding on a higher standard of our media consumption on movies. Instead Jessica and I helped Janine edit a final essay on Shakespeare. Last night we had basically a farewell party for Jesse Kaupert because he is graduating this semester.

     The phone/watch that I purchased is called the Neptune Pine. I really like it. I personally think that a phone is more ideal on someone's wrist. Phones annoy me because I don't like anything in my pockets. If I don't like it in my pocket, where am I to put it? In my backpack? Neptune Pine is the basically the only true standalone android smartwatch for now. I saw that Samsung has a standalone smartwatch, which is actually much cheaper than the Neptune Pine, but I don't like Samsung because they customize their apps too much. I saw that a website say that you actually need a Samsung phone to install the standalone smartwatch's apps. I didn't want to mess with Samsung. I really like the Neptune Pine, but the hardware is a little weak. The screen's resolution sucks. It operates a little slow, but I think that may be partially due to the rom on the device. It is basically a miniature smartphone that attaches to a wristband. I fulfill all that I hoped in a weak manner.

     I tried to read Dragon Ball the manga, and I didn't make it passed the first chapter because it had suggestive themes. I do not understand how the Dragon Ball series got so family oriented. I have learned that manga's usually keep the same nature. If it is vulgar, suggestive, clean, or humorous, it will most likely keep the nature throughout the series. Dragon Ball Super is different from Dragon Ball, and Dragon Ball is different from Dragon Ball Z. I have no idea how the franchise has progressed, but Dragon Ball Super is pretty amazing. The characters are original and well developed. Sometimes the nature of anime are so shallowly written that all the characters have the same personality. Most of the themes of Dragon Ball Super are wholesome and innocent except for the old turtle guy. The second episode is about Vegeta, going on a family vacation with Trunks and Bulma.

       The State Track meet for Brother Stutz' Youth Program was impressive. It was fun to see all the youth and partake in the environment. Most of the volunteers that said that they would come to the track meet came. We helped with youth check in, and it was great to see my friends help out. I invited people to bring their friend, and that worked out well too. After we gave each kid their event T-shirt as they checked in, Brother Stutz asked Jessica as my wife and I to go help his wife with the timing of each race. I was a little disappointed with the girls' 800 meter race. They were about 11-13 years old, and their time was more than 15 seconds slower than the 9-10 year old boys. The boys may be younger. No girls' 800 meter time was fast any boys' 800 meter finishing time; although, they are so much smaller. I think that Brother Stutz has been a main inspiration of the track culture in Idaho.

     Jerry Robinson is the architect of JW Robinson Architecture, and I have been practicing the skill of following up to hopefully get a job with him. Mr Robinson said that he would definitely contact me last week, and that he was impressed with my work especially on Revit. I sent him an email, saying that I am only asking for 10-15 minutes for an informational interview about the University of Utah's architecture program. He didn't reply. My next follow up plan is to ask if I can visit him as I go home from school.

     My Human Resources teacher taught that investing is a no brainer, and we ought to invest in ourselves; just as we reserve ten percent for tithing. There is no excuse for investing. The stock market has averages a 7-8 growth over the last one hundred years, so that yield is basically guaranteed. I don't think that investing in individual stocks is a good idea. I would recommend mutual funds. One must be patient with the value of their investment going up and down, trusting that the growth will average out to have the doubling rate of 9 years. If you invest 1000 dollars, it would double 7 times in 63 years, which would be 64000 dollars, and that is only a one time investment. If I would invest, I don't think that I would even look at the fluctuating value of the money because my accounting teacher warned that it can be obsessive. I heard a guy on campus say that he has been distracted by checking the stock market all the time, so be careful.

      Jesse's farewell graduation party was put on by him designed by his favorite things. He likes to have nothing planned for a party, and it came out as the last occasion of the semester. We just had dinner. Joseph Cox kind of harassed him, saying that he will be basically dead to us, since he is graduating, most likely never coming back. I feel bad because I was basically harassing Joseph Kaupert, saying that he is part of a different generation similar to my little brother. They have a philosophy that their effort cannot be changed. He was helping Rachel Dunlap make like blueberry pie things, pouring it into the pie crust. Joseph was a little messy, and he said that he can't change that. I asked him, if he will stay in Nauvoo with Hiram when he comes, and he boasted that he was going to live in the premium apartments of Nauvoo. I pointed out that that was another philosophy of the next generation. They want the best of everything. Rachel asked about Jessica. I don't think that she counts as part of his generation because how she grew up was very different, so I made up the excuse that generations come every four years. One part of the new generation that Jessica has is a very chill nature. Joseph; Trevor, my little brother; all of my FHE sisters; and Jessica are all easy going, go with the flow type of social relationship with people. I always have observation like this to talk about. If I had time to write, I would have a lot to write about.