MySpace anyone?

I admit it: I'm totally addicted. (What else am I supposed to do with hours on my hands to be killed?) So how many of you are on? I'd like to add you lovely people a friends.

BTW, don't knock it 'til you've tried it.

Hippie Facts

Did you know....

-Everytime you plug something in or turn on a light you create a little pollution back at the power plant.

-The U.S. has converted 260 million acres of forest land into grazing land for livestock and/or growing livestock feed.

-Over half of the amount of water consumed in the Unites States goes to irrigate land growing feed for livestock. Additional water is needed to wash away animals excrement.

-To produce a single pound of meat takes an average of 2,500 gallions of water (as much as a family uses in a month)

-To produce a days food for one meat eater takes 4,000 gallons and for a vegetarian only 300 gallions. It takes less water to produce a years food for a pure vegetarian than to produce a months food for a meat eater.

-Around 8o million Americans live in areas that continually fail to meet federal air quality standards at least several times per year.

-SUV's put out 43% more global warming pollutants and 47% more air pollutants than the average car.

-If you use space heaters instead of central heating you can save 1500$ a year.

Work. Sleep. Work. Sleep.

So I am 3 days into my new job. As far as jobs go, it is a good one for me. I get to create using my own brain, and learn new skills as I go. After I'm done with training it should pay fairly well. The people I work with seem to be nice folks.

And after all that... it's still just a job. I'm going through freedom withdrawals. I just can't seem to look forward to spending 8 hours of my day away from what/who I really care about. I find myself going home at 5 or 6 exhausted by working for someone else. Hopefully I will get used to it, but at the moment I am really tired. I know you all feel really sorry for me since you've been at it much longer. I just can't get over the feeling of how unnatural it feels to get set in this routine. Time will tell how things go.

Bad Boys and Girls

I can't testify as to the legitimacy of this, but if it were true, it's quite telling.

36 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad checks
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
17 can not get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 currently are defendants in lawsuits, and
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?

It's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same group of Idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each yeardesigned to keep the rest of us in line.

"Voices of the World"

I was reading the First Presidency message online and something really jumped out at me. President Faust was talking about the voice of the spirit versus the voices of the world. He listed off these voices:

- Murmuring voices that conjure up perceived injustices.
- Whining voices that abhor challenge and work.
- Seductive voices that offer sensual enticements.
- Soothing voices that lull us into carnal security.
- Intellectual voices that profess sophistication and superiority.
- Proud voices that rely on the arm of flesh.
- Flattering voices that puff us up with pride.
- Cynical voices that destroy hope.
- Entertaining voices that promote pleasure seeking.
- Commercial voices that tempt us to "spend money for that which is of no worth, [and our] labor for that which cannot satisfy."10
- Delirious voices that spawn the desire for a "high." I refer not to a drug- or alcohol-induced high, but to the pursuing of dangerous, death-defying experiences for nothing more than a thrill. Life, even our own, is so precious that we are accountable to the Lord for it, and we should not trifle with it. Once gone, it cannot be called back.

I found that particularly interesting because of the "commercial" and "delirious" voices. They are not things we often think about as temptations of the devil, and even the other more obvious ones are many times put into the backs of our minds. I know I am guilty listening to many if not all of these voices but I haven't recognized them as temptations of the world, only as normal facts of life.

Having this written out in a list, for me, makes it easier to shun them because they are detailed out for me. If only everything were that easy.

Another joke

Two guys, one old and one young, are pushing their carts around Home Depot when they collide.The old guy says to the young guy, "Sorry about that. I'm looking for my wife, and I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

The young guy says, "That's OK. It's a coincidence. I'm looking for my wife, too. I can't find her and I'm getting a little desperate."

The old guy says, "Well, maybe we can help each other. What does your wife look like?"

The young guy says, "Well, she is 27 yrs old, tall, with red hair, blue eyes, long legs, big boobs, and she's wearing tight white shorts.What does your wife look like?"

The old guy says, "Doesn't matter--let's look for yours."

NAU freaking VOO

I am writing you from balmy Nauvoo. Where the mosquitos are biting and so are the members of the Community of Christ. Come to think of it, the break off churches from the Latter Day Saint tradition are about as numerous as the mosquitos here on the Mississippi.

I had a really hard time at the first of the trip. I was really tired from the move and we were having hard times with Syd. We have got into a travel rhythm and we are really enjoying it. We did a session in the Nauvoo Temple. Phenomenal. Loved it. We met up with a friendof our grandparents who is an engineer at the temple. He took us into the clock tower where we stood directly underneath the statue of Moroni. Awesome.

I went running tonight in the Old Nauvoo. I ran past Joseph's home, his grave, and his business. He is a wonderful man. I appreciate him a lot more now. I really am a better Churchgoer after coming here. I needed this.

We have seen Adam Ondi Ahman, Far West, Independence, and Nauvoo. We go to St Louis tomorrow. This has been a tough trip but a good one. I really am privileged to have been able to come here. I took a lot of pictures that I will post when we get back.

Through all the doubt and confusion that accompanies our religion...I really cling to the peace of the Holy Ghost. I think of the sacrifices of the pioneers and the wonderful things they did in the name of truth. That buoys me up when the going gets tough and the philosophiesof men cloud our vision and perspective. We are here to be tested. We just need to continually check our answers on the test with the answer key in the sky. We should "lean not to [our] own understanding." I am a worldly man. I have really needed this dose of spirituality.

Carthage was amazing. To see the very place where Joseph sealed his testimony was amazing. That was the crowning moment so far. What a wonderful man.

Thanks to Toni for taking us to the airport!

Adios.