Current Commercial Successes

Recovering from reconstructive surgery on a torn Achilles means you have a lot of time to watch TV.

Most commercials are an annoyance.
But some aren't so bad, or can even be entertaining.

Here are three that I kinda like right now.

1) NFL: Player safety with Tom Brady & Ray Lewis

2) Temptations: Cat food

and my current favorite:

3) Nissan Altima: Tire-fill alert system

Any others that you've gotten a major kick out of lately?

My "Go West, Young Man" "Chasing the Sun" Roadtrip

My cross-country drive didn't have the best beginning.

While finishing packing the car, I was taking the base off my TV so it'd fit easier into the car.
The wrench slipped, and I gashed my finger pretty good on the metal base.

It hurt like a bugger, and when I rinsed the blood away, I could see a little bit of bone. That's when I got light-headed and nauseous for a few moments, and decided I couldn't just treat this wound on my own. After getting my wits about me, I headed to the nearest urgent care center in Arlington.

Luckily, the cut was a clean one, and the doctor determined that butterfly bandages were sufficient, thus saving me from getting stitches.

I headed home, finished packing, ran a quick errand or two, surprised Emily at her work (her reaction was priceless), and hit the road for the ~36 hour journey from Washington, DC, to Salt Lake City, UT.

I'm not going to give a lot of commentary on the drive, because it was fairly uneventful.
Except for all the beautiful sights across this great country, of which I'll share a few examples.

Mindy Mazda looked good with three cars on her roof

The view when you're following Horace Greeley's advice to "Go West, young man"
and chasing the sun

America the Beautiful

I'd always wanted to see the Gateway Arch in St Louis, MO;
next time I want to go up inside it to the observation deck 

The view for more hours than I'd care to discuss

The highlight of Nebraska [read about it]

Breathtaking and inspirational

Don't think I'd ever seen such a small train out of the station

After driving for so long, I was very happy to arrive in the evening of my third travel day.

Feels great to be home in Utah!

Why I Don't Wash My Car As Often As I Should

Because as soon as I do, a bird will poop right on it.

Washed at 5:30 pm. Dirty by 7:30 pm.

And I know I'm not the only one this happens to. Right?

Lost Art: The Wave

Lately I've noticed a few types of waves that aren't done as often as they used to be.
The decline of all three makes me sad.
Let's all work together to bring them back. Wavers unite!

Passing other runners
Unless you're a super hardcore runner in the middle of your speed workout, you should wave hello.
You're not too cool to show solidarity for a fellow athlete. You just aren't.
If it helps motivate you to wave, feel free to consider raising your hand as an arm-toning move.

Sports games
Memories from my childhood fuel my sadness at the struggle to get sports fans to do the wave.
Going to BYU and UofU football games with my dad and brothers, we loved watching the phenomenon going around the stadium, and we excitedly popped up and flung our arms in the air.
I hope parents are still teaching kids to do this, because it's a grand tradition at games.

Waving at other cars
Oh, you just let me into your lane? Then I'll give you a courtesy wave.
Would you like to come into my driving lane? Sure, I'll wave to let you know that I acknowledge your coming over and that I'll give you plenty of space to do so.
Not something I learned in Driver's Ed class. My folks taught me this, and I'm grateful for that lesson.

Making the Plate Straight

I've had a couple ongoing projects, but this was a quick one I hammered out a little while back. Literally.

During the most recent Thanksgiving trip to Philly, someone (we figure a drunk person) tried to pull my license plate off. They succeeded only in breaking the license plate cover and bending my plate.

I figured it was about time to straighten the plate, so I used a screwdriver to remove the plate (what the Philly person should have done). Neither a hammer nor pliers properly bent the metal without disfiguring it more in other areas. Eventually, due to its pliability, I decided my bare hands were the best option.

Worked pretty good, right? Not 100% back to its original shape, but close enough. Especially when I put the new BYU cover over it. (Thanks for the Christmas present, mom!)

Though just a little project, it feels good to have Mindy Mazda looking spiffy again.

What's Scarier to Adults than Halloween? This.

It's always frightening when the gas light comes on.

Well, my new car goes one step further and tells me exactly when I'm about to run out of gas.
That's a good thing, but apparently I am taking too much advantage of this feature.

Oh the horror! The horror!

So far, I've gotten down to under 1 mile remaining on two occasions.

Time to get back into following my dad's advice of filling up at 1/4 tank. He's a smart fellow.

Adieu, Apt 814 & Susie Subaru

Tonight I said goodbye to my apartment home in Courthouse, Arlington, VA. It was a sad moment closing that door for the last time. I'd lived in that building almost two years and have a lot of memories there.

Knock, knock. Who's there? No one, because I moved.

You'll be missed, Courtland Towers.

Not only did I have to say goodbye to apartment 814, but I also arranged to donate Susie Subaru to charity (specifically, NPR). While I don't know exactly how the donation works, I do know that they came and picked my car up and that made the process 100 times easier than if I'd had to drop off my non-functioning automobile. After almost 10 years, it was time to move on.

Signing over Susie's title to the charity, and entrusting her to my new buddy Elias.

Susie's last ride.

Closing the Courthouse chapter in my life means opening another. I've moved into a large house about 10 minutes away with six friends. Don't you worry; I'll keep you updated on the new adventures.

My new home