Moving to Minnesota!

So I got my work assignment this week. I'm moving to Minnesota and I couldn't be more excited! I know for a lot of people Minnesota would be on their top 40 list of states that they want to move to or even visit, but it fits me perfectly and I love it! I love the cold winters, I love the 10,000 lakes to fish and swim in, I love the four major sports teams, I love the laid back feel of it, I just fit in there. It's a great match!

I move out there in September, so I'd love to see all of you before I go! If any of you have lived in, or been to, Minnesota, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

Awesome Quote

So, I'm currently reading "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville. I loved this quote from the book:

"From the time when the exercise of the intellect became a source of strength and of wealth, we see that every addition to science, every fresh truth, and every new idea became a germ of power placed within the reach of the people. Poetry, eloquence, and memory, the graces of the mind, the fire of imagination, depth of thought, and all the gifts which Heaven scatters at a venture turned to the advantage of democracy; and even when they were in the possession of its adversaries, they still served its cause by throwing into bold relief the natural greatness of man. Its conquests spread, therefore, with those of civilization and knowledge; and literature became and arsenal open to all, where the poor and the weak daily resorted for arms."

Love it!

I get to read again!

I'm done with school, so now I get to choose my own books. I'll put which ones I'm reading so any people following this can share their thoughts on the books.

I just finished reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I loved it! It talks about how we define success and provides some interesting perspectives on predictors and determinants of success. I really liked it. He talks about how the time of year you were born, your upbringing, and cultural legacy can have a major effect on your success. It was a compelling argument.

I found the cultural legacy section very interesting. He talks about how family legacies and the cultures that your family comes from can have a major effect on your life success. He provides many examples throughout history to explain his reasoning.

Malcolm Gladwell is not LDS, but his argument made me think of another example, Joseph Smith. He came from a poor, farming family where work was required. Religion was also an important part of his legacy. Not organized religion, per se, but he read the Bible growing up. This was a cultural legacy of his family. Had this legacy not existed, he would never have read James 1:5. Think of the impact that cultural legacy had not only on Joseph Smith, but on the world. These legacies play an important role in all of our lives, whether we recognize it or not.

I would definitely recommend this book, but it has to be accompanied by a lot of questions and even more thinking. There's a lot of really interesting things in this book that I think are valuable. Good book!

I'm currently reading The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. It's about the Civil War. Historical non-fiction is definitely my favorite genre of book, and I'm loving this one! It tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg from the perspective of some of the main players, basically generals from both sides. It's very interesting and engaging. I'll share more thoughts as I continue reading it.

My New Quest...which I offered myself...and which I already chose to accept

For the rest of 2011, I will eat no sweets. No store-bought candy. No homemade brownies, cookies, or other delights. I have become very good friends with Double-Stuffed Oreos as of late. I've been best friends with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for a long time, and this newfound friendship with Oreos has got me thinking. I just need a break. It's time for me to take some me time and just think about things. This time away will be beneficial. It will allow me to hang out with someone I hate much less...my gut. That's the problem with these friends of mine. You can't hang out with them without also hanging out with Mr. Spare Tire. I've decided it's not worth it anymore. I'm going to rediscover my younger days.

Ok, enough cryptic talk. I'll start updating my blog with thoughts and other updates during this quest of mine. Should be fun. This quest will also be accompanied by working out a lot more and eating smaller portions. I haven't done awesome at the smaller portions thing quite yet (read: I've been terrible at it), but that will change. I'm excited for this challenge. Wish me luck!!

Life is busy!

Sometimes I look at my blog and am shocked that it's been months since I posted. Life gets so busy! Here's what I've been up to for the last little while:

School - I spend my fair share of time studying and writing papers. The end is in sight, though, and I'm trying to bust my butt to the finish.

Work - Same ole same ole here

Getting better - I injured my back about a month ago and I haven't played basketball since as I try to recover. I've become good friends with the elliptical machine. We may stay friends even after the back is better.

The Stock Market - I got my tax return and decided to start learning about the stock market. I invested most of my return and have made some good returns on it already. If any of you are into the stock market and have a bit of an aggressive side, I would recommend buying yourself some OTOW. It's looking great!

Those are some of the things I've been up to lately. I'll try and be more regular in posting.

Also, question for the day: If you could go anywhere in the world right now for two weeks, where would it be and why? I've been itching to go Maui and Italy lately. I'd choose Maui if I had to choose right now. You?

The Anticipation of Today

Sometimes I lay in bed at night and think. Ok, I lay in bed and think every night. Sometimes, though, I can't sleep because I think so much. Most of the time this is the case, it's because I'm excited about some upcoming event. These events can be anything: seeing a certain person, traveling somewhere, a holiday, a sporting event, turning in a big assignment, a forecasted storm, a trip to the temple, wondering what event will make the next day significant, etc. I used to hate that I had trouble falling asleep at night. Then I realized the reason.

I'm very grateful that I have things in my life that I look forward to often enough to make sleeping seem burdensome. Don't get me wrong, I love sleeping. There are few feelings in the world better than going to bed and not setting an alarm, pure bliss. At the same time, I'm so blessed to have people and events in my life that I love more than sleep. People occupy the majority of my thoughts. Even the events are usually centered around people.

With the Christmas season upon us, I've been thinking about people more. I've been trying to figure out how I can make someone's life better. I think that's what the Christmas season is about, at least to me. That's what Christ would do if he were here, and that's whose birth I'm celebrating. With Christ it was always about people, and I want to be like Him. That's what I've been thinking about lately when I should be sleeping.

Today's Quest: 1000 push-ups

So I do this from time to time. Throughout the course of the day, I am attempting to do 1,000 push-ups. I usually average about 200/day, so 1,000 shouldn't seem like that much of a long shot, but after about 600 my arms feel like rubber. I'll keep updating with my current status for those that would like to follow along/cheer me on/belittle my efforts/trash talk/or any other option you can think of.

Current push-up count: 1,000

1:26 p.m. - 600 push-ups.

3:36 p.m. - 700 push-ups. I'm definitely slowing. It's gone from sets of 50 to sets of 10.

5:31 p.m. - 800 push-ups. Every set is a struggle now. My arms are hurting even when I'm not doing pushups.

7:45 p.m. - 900 push-ups. It's all will power from here on out.

11:53 p.m. - 1,000 push-ups. My chest and shoulders are on fire. Tomorrow is gonna be bad. I did it, though! 1,000 push-ups in a day. Booyah! It hurts so good!