Sad Day In Provo

I woke up early this morning to a couple of text messages from my mom and friend letting me know that the Provo Tabernacle was on fire. I immediately thought dang it! What am I gonna do about my date!? I have a date on Sunday night where I was planning on attending the Provo City Christmas concert that is held there annually. To the north side of the the building there is a live Nativity scene that is always a nice addition to the concert.

I grew up in Provo and have been to the tabernacle multiple times. I've been there for stake conferences, concerts, and have even performed there multiple times with the Provo High Band and singing in the Stake Choir. The first time I performed there was back when I was 14 playing the Alto Saxophone in the band. Again I returned multiple times to perform there.

I remember the spirit that I always felt when arriving to the building, and it only grew stronger as I entered into it. It does look, smell and feel as old as it is with each visit. The building was built in 1883. It is a historic reminder that took 15 years for the Mormon pioneers and others to build. It's a pioneer legacy left in Provo.

I hope that maybe some of it can be salvaged and rebuilt. It will be interesting to see what happens with it in the future. (Pictures courtesy of The Daily Herald)

An Attitude of Gratitude Reminder

After speaking with a good friend of many years the other day, I decided that I had better start count my blessings and be grateful for them. I hadn't talked to her in almost a year (i'll call her L). I asked her what she had been up to this past year and she responded optimistically that things are going great now . Ever since returning from a cruise this past week, she seemed to think that life was going to treat her a little better now. I was a little curious. Better? Isn't life always just grand? Apparently I had gotten use to my life that is full of adventure, has zero drama and not so much stress compared to my friends'.

She began to tell me all of the things/misfortunes that had happen to her this past year. I decided that I would share some of her experiences, so others can compare their life stresses to hers and maybe feel a little more grateful for the hand the lord has dealt them.

L had found out earlier this past year that her mom had developed stage 3 of breast cancer and had to go through lots of chemo. Her little niece died. Her good friend and co-worker was killed on a 4 wheeler accident. The house across the street from her business exploded earlier this year blowing out all the windows to her place and sending shrapnel into her business. She had surgery on her nose and head, got into a car accident a couple weeks ago and broke her nose on the steering wheel. She lost her best friends and roommates, because they became addicted to drugs. Had to deal with another roommate who had to be rushed to the emergency room multiple times due to her eating disorders that caused her to have seizures. The list goes on and on, but these are all I can remember. I'm sure i'm forgetting other things that she has experienced.

L's life experiences over this past year have really helped me to put into perspective the things that should, and do matter most to me. I'm never going to complain again about how crappy it is to not to have a great job, or be 30 and single. I'm grateful for what I got, and thankful that the Grim Reaper doesn't like to lurk near by everywhere I go.

I'm glad that God has decided to lighten my burdens. So what if my life is mediocre? At least I don't have to live with the stress of my friend L. She's a real trooper and hero in my book.

Demo Day at Brighton

I hit the slopes of Brighton up today with my buddy Ryan in search of some powder. We were able to find plenty of that and much more. Today was probably the sickest snowboarding experience I've ever had, because there was a little of everything you could ever ask for all in one.

It all started with the Quad Wednesday deal where you get a lift ticket for $20 if you donate a toy for tots. Can't beat a $20 all day lift pass in comparison with the $62 regular all day pass price tag.

This day also tasted delicious. The guys at the Vans tent were making and giving out free food. It was delicious! Waffles on a stick, hot dogs, and other goods made it well worth being up there. Not to mention that some of the companies there, such as Skull Candy, were giving out free swag.

Aside from that deal, today was a demo day. I have been yearning to try out the latest technology that companies have been using in competition to have the sickest ride on the mountain. I was a little blown away seeing what extremes some companies have used in order to have a competitive edge on the market.

Nitro, K2, Lib Tech, and Arbor. I tested all reverse camber boards, or commonly called Rocker boards.I was able to test ride 6 different snowboards including my brand new Rossignol Split Twin board that is great for all mountain riding, and gives a lot of energy going in and out of turns and ollie-ing. It's a solid board that I picked up for $130... you can't beat that kinda price for a rock solid snowboard anywhere.

Aside from my new board, I demoed other boards that all run from $500-$700 dollars.

I started out with the NitroT1 board. It seemed great. My normal board is a regular camber board, so riding a reverse camber was just different. The difference is a umbrella kinda shape compared to a U shape if that makes sense. The base was bad on it and it slowed me down. I like a base that doesn't always need to be waxed. But it handled decently. The bindings they put on the board had air cushions on the heel and toe part of the binding. That was nice.

The Arbor Coda board won the board of the day for me and Ryan. It seemed to be just as responsive as you would want a board to be. Attached to the board were Flux ds45 bindings that allow the biding to twist left or right, but stiff from front to back, so i think that helped to make initiating a turn feel like you were cutting through butter. Very nice. I believe this board was partially made from bamboo, and it just also felt really light.

The next board was an Arbor Del Rey board that was a regular camber board. It seemed great to me, like any other regular camber board. The bindings weren't set up equally apart, so I didn't ride it long.

I then moved over to K2 to demo their Turbodream board. It seemed like a chill board, but they put these Uprise bindings on there that had a one ratchet tighten up the heel and the toe strap kind of an operation. I wasn't a fan of that crap technology. It just felt uncomfortable for some reason. Wasn't horrible, but just wasn't a fan.

The last board was a Lib Tech Banana Magic board (wide). Now this board I thought was going to be insane, cause the rep kept talking about how the technology and construction of the board was one of a kind. The owner of the company went to Russia to collect basalt mineral from a volcano that was brought back and used in a synthetic fiber used in the base of this board. No fiberglass.

Unfortunately they didn't use any of their fancy bindings with this board. They put Ryan's old crappy bindings on it, so that made it a little tough to get a better feel for it. Neither Ryan or I were impressed with this board though. We were disappointed and thought it was a little heavy and not as responsive for being a rocker board. It looked sick though and had wavy, serrated edges. It may be Eco friendly and super durable, but just didn't feel the the smoothness of what they put into making the board. It's possible a shorter board might have been better. It was a 159. It was still great, but was still the least favorite board of the day.

I also demoed some Van boots.. They were decent, while Ryan tried out some 32 boots. He said they felt like a cast and were straight crap, but he has a size 13 foot, so who knows? Maybe they don't make good big boots?

As much as I would have thought there wouldn't be a difference in the different boards using the same technology, but surprisingly each board had a different feel to it. It wasn't a huge difference within the same technology boards, but noticeable enough to feel the difference. Overall this day turned out awesome and I only hope there will be more days like this in the future.

A Decade of Memories

Ten years ago today I was set apart to be a full-time missionary for my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I tried to humble myself and become more teachable and open to the promptings of the holy ghost. I decided one of the best ways to learn more about God and his church was to serve a 2 year mission.

I decided to serve a mission after turning 19 years old. I did all the necessary things to prepare myself spiritually to be able to take on the task of becoming the lords servant. I had no idea where I would serve. I didn't care where I served, though I did have a preference to learn a new language and go abroad. If I was going to go abroad I really wanted to learn Spanish, because it would benefit me greatly since there are a lot of Hispanics I would be able to communicate with in Utah once I returned home.

I did everything necessary to get ready and soon my papers were sent to the church headquarters. It only took a week and a half to receive my call. I had a feeling that I would go to Spain, but wasn't sure. Sure enough, the first week of August 2000, I was called to serve in the Bilbao Spain Mission.

My mission covered the Northern coast of Spain from Portugal to France. I Spent 3 weeks in the MTC in Provo Utah and 6 weeks in the CCM in Madrid Spain. I then spent my next 22 months in 7 different cities along the northern coast of Spain.

I have to say that learning Spanish was extremely difficult. Probably the most difficult thing I have ever learned in my life. It took a lot of studying, practice and frustration to get to where I am today. I remember how I would talk to people on the streets of Spain and ask them if they would be kind enough to speak with me, so I could practice my Spanish. I would tell them that my Spanish was limited, so they would have to listen to what I had to say. That's when I'd share with them my Spanish vocab that only consisted of gospel talk. It was great. Once I got to the field, I learned very fast by speaking to people everyday, and studying Spanish for two hours a day on top of that.

Living in a foreign country for two years was something I was proud of doing, and will never forget the good and bad experiences I had. It was all worth it, and I saw and learned many things that have since enriched my life and my understanding of the world.

The wonderful memories have become a little faded, but they will never be forgotten.What an incredible time of my life it was to be so spiritually in-tune and act as a representative of Jesus Christ daily to spread the gospel among the Spanish people. It was not an easy task, but worth every tear and drop of sweat shed. I loved the people. For the most part, they were very tolerant and respectful.

What The Melon?

This past Fall I was introduced to a whole new world of Melons that I never knew existed.I ate two new kinds of melons I've never heard of, and I have only begun to scratch the surface of the 17 + different types of melons that I learned exist. For some reason, the only melons that I'm familiar with are the conventional Cantaloupe and Honeydew melons that can be found abundant at any local grocery stores throughout the summer months.

Why is it that nobody has ever told me there were other types of more gourmet melons in existence? My favorite fruit of all times are Melons. Water Melon and Cantaloupe are pure deliciousness to my taste buds.

As I was driving back home from a 3 day work trip to New Mexico during the first week of October, a guy I work with wanted to stop in Green River, Utah on our way back to Orem just to buy some melons that I have never heard of. I was a little doubtful at first that everything he said about these melons would be true. He said that Fall is the season for the Cranshaw and Israli melons and that they make Cantaloupe taste bland. Well... He was right. I bought one of each, brought them home and was quickly blown away by the flavor of the two; so juicy and yummy that I was about ready to make the nearly 2 hour drive to Green River just to buy me some more. While these two melons are comparable to Cantaloupe in taste, they look and taste different for many reasons.

The Cranshaw Melon is a popular melon that is a cross between the Persian and Casaba melons. And are known to have somewhat of a subtle spicy undertone to the sweet flavor. These melons taste best during the Fall.

The othe

r Melon I was introduced to is called the Israli Melon, or Ogen Melon. This melon comes from Israel and is highly popular among melon lovers. Even though a substitute for these two melons could be honeydew or cantaloupe, they are one of a kind in flavor, and extra juicy.

I highly recommend them, and I'm really glad I was able to learn about them and devour them when I got home. By far, this was one of the most memorable experiences of this past summer, because I could not believe that I have never heard of, or tasted these types of melons in the 30 years of my life! I can't wait for next year, so I can find me some more.

Hanging With The Locals

I love being able to be able to take a vacation. For me, a weekend is usually a sufficiently long enough escape for me to be able to get a break from the stresses of reality, or being couped up in one place for so long.

My trip to L.A. was just what I needed. I spent time with a couple friends, and even made some new friends while I was there. My buddy Rick showed me what it's like to be a local in Huntington Beach. He's the popular type of local who knows so many people there. It seems that Main Street is the place to be. Different bars like Sharkees are where the hot spots. Be

ach Volleyball and surfing is really huge there. Pros can be spotted there daily.

I had a great time, and only hope I get to return again soon and get to know the area more, and make more friends.

Weekend Get Away

I have been getting a little cooped up in the cold weather that Utah has been offering this time of year. It has been abnormally cold for this time of year with a bit of snow, so I decided to fly to L.A. for the weekend to visit some friends. My friend invited me to go with her to a Mae concert with her tonight, so that should be a lot of fun.
It's been awhile since I've been to So Cal to explore and check it out. I'm excited to check out Hollywood and go to Huntington Beach to visit my buddy Rick and check out the beach. Sunny and 79 degrees. I'll take that over cold and 45 degrees any day!

Return To The Blog

Don't think that I have long forgotten about my blog, or my passion to share my thoughts, experiences, and passions with my friends and the stalking world. Nope! In fact, all summer long in the back of my mind as I was laboriously working to earn a stipend that could support my lifestyle, I longed for the chance to return to my blog and put back creativity into my fingertips where it belongs.

Summer is over, and my job is starting to slow down due to colder, wet days. I actually don't mind this at all, because I'm finally getting a chance to relax after working an average of 70 hour weeks all summer long.

I have traveled thousands of miles, been to unique places, sweat-out hundreds of pounds of fluids... I'm sure, and come across man eating Grasshoppers. Some of the places I have gone include a handful of cities and towns across: New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Most every city in Salt Lake, and Davis County, along with a number of other cities across Utah. (Can I just say that Utah County traffic sucks orange cones and then some?)

Fortunately I was able to do a few fun things this summer, including a hiking trip to the Havasupai Native American Reservation in the Grand Canyon in Arizona where I hiked roughly 40 miles in 4 days. That was a ton of exhausting fun.

I feel very fortunate to have such a great job that allows me to work so hard, travel so much, see so many places, and still do my media relations internship with Real Salt Lake during every single home game this year. I am unfortunate that this has taken away from my social life, blogging time, rest, and the chance to find a suitable job that allows for the use of my education, talent and my Bachelor in Communication degree.

If you are my FB friend, none of this comes as a surprise to you. I have become a man of fewer words and crunched up some of my blogging thoughts and placed them into facebook statuses throughout the summer via iphone to keep my friends and family informed of my daily adventures. Thank goodness for FB, or else my social life would be non existing. (Thanks Mark Zuckerberg)

As the rainy days roll in this season, I'll be putting my life in rewind and sharing a few of the experiences that I had this past summer. I think of my blog as my journal, and a way to share my fancy experiences with whoever thinks I'm cool. Until then, Au Revoir

New Scholarly Spice

I have been so extremely swamped at work this summer that I have had zero time to get around to posting about anything. I did see this video the other day and thought it was pretty funny, and figured it would take a couple minutes to post on my blog. This video was made as a spoof of the Old Spice commercial that came out a little while back. It was never meant to get so much attention, but it did. It's even better, because it's a BYU made video, so it hits close to home, since I call Provo, Utah my home. If I do have any blog followers, then you now you know I'm still alive. Enjoy the video.

Backstreet Back in SLC

When I first heard that Backstreet Boys were coming to Utah, I couldn't wait to go see them. My roommates and I decided we'd go together to see the show. We have gone through a lot of criticism from everybody, because we were the only guys they know who was going.. All I have to say to that is that hey.. every guy not going sure did miss out. Every Teeny-Bopper who fell in love with the band has now grown up, and still hold fast to their love of the Backstreet Boys.. Yes.. I'd say the average age of women at the concert was early to mid twenties. Perfect age for 3 single guys in their upper 20s. Needless to say... We did get a couple numbers.

The show started later than expected. We waited an hour and a half before they came out. The opening act was a DJ. That was pretty much the lamest opening act I have ever seen. He ended up being the one-man band for the BSB.

They sang a bunch of old school songs, which brought me back to my teenage years.. in 1999 my buddies and I went to the BSB Millenium Tour. That was fun too. There was a movie theme that went along with the show. Each band member remade their favorite movie and put themselves in the staring roll. As the boys were changing their outfits, the movie clips would come on. They were pretty funny, and well done. Fast and Furious, The Matrix, and Fight Club were some of the movies they did. They put their own twist onto it and made it look like they were really the star actors in the movie. It was a very clever idea.

We bought our tickets the day they went on sale and ended up with some of the best seats in the house. first section from the stage, 6th row. This made for excellent photos.

BSB mentioned they have been around now for 17 years. That is just nuts. Everyone thought boy bands would fade fast, but these guys are here to stay, and continue to put out great music.

BSB mentioned that their first music video "Quit Playing Games With My Heart", was filmed in Salt Lake City. I didn't know that.

Overall, great show and sweet dance moves. I'd go again in a heartbeat.

ReAl Fun

Last week ReAl Salt Lake battled L.A. Galaxy at the Rio Tinto Stadium. This was no regular game. This was the biggest game of the season for RSL. RSL took the MLS Cup playing against L.A. last year, so I'm pretty sure L.A. still carry a grudge against RSL for kicking their space junk trash during a PK shootout in that final game. This game was algo a big one, because L.A. is an undefeated team this season. 10 wins, which make them the best team in the MLS. When on the road, no team has scored against the Galaxy.

I was in charge of official stats. I regularly work with the commentators like David James from Channel 2 and tv producers to make sure accurate information is not only said on the air, but televised during the game.

Soon after the game began there was a a sudden thunderstorm that struck the area and the game had to be delayed about 30 min. due to lighting. After the lightning break was over, the game continued. The stadium was packed. I have never seen more attendees at the stadium. Just under 20,000 RSL fans in attendance.

Since the game happened nearly a week ago, I'm sure you all know the outcome already. RSL scored a controversial goal in the 80th minute. L.A. claim that the point scored by Morales was scored offsides. It clearly wasn't offsides after the ball rolled to him after it bounced off of an L.A. defender. Goal! Not only did the fans cheer like crazy, but RSL players ran around the field with their shirts off, feeding their fans with excitement. That's how much this goal meant to them. RSL ended L.A.'s winning streak and sent them home scoreless. I have noticed I have been getting way into soccer when I jumped out of my seat and cheered. Immediately I was hushed by other media guys around me, making me feel like a retard. I forgot about the no cheering in the press box rule. Oh well. RSL has won their 7th game straight at home. These games are very exciting to watch.

There were more than the average amount of people in attendance at this game, because American Idol winner David Cook performed after the game. I had just walked out of the press conference room, when suddenly I rubbed shoulders with David Cook in the hallway. I was done with my duties, so I decided to follow him and his entourage to the field. I kinda felt like a clingy fan for a little bit, because there was nobody else around. I watched him and the band get pumped for their performance. I scrambled to pull out my camera and recorded a short video clip of them walking down the hallway. Too bad he was on his way to perform, otherwise I would have stopped him to get a picture with him. He put on a great show and my friends and I enjoyed the show.

My First Jump

This past Saturday I decided to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with my buddy Ryan. I love crossing off items from my bucket list. Skydiving has been on that list for years. We decided to jump in Ogden with Skydive Ogden.
I had imagined there would have been more instruction involved with the jump, but there really wasn't any until just minutes before jumping out of the airplane. Going tandem was a blast. My tandem instructor, Ryan is also a bullet biker guy. We talked about bikes on our 20 minute plane ride up to elevation.
I was as calm as a summer day the entire time until it was my turn to jump out of the plane. My buddy Ryan jumped before me and as I watched him free fall, it hit me that I was next. Jumping out at 12,000 ft. was a little scary at first, but once we reached terminal velocity speed, free falling felt normal. Just before jumping out, my instructor Ryan said, "Ok, if everything goes well our chute should come out, and i'll see you when we land. If not, it was nice knowing you." I laughed and said, "ok. It was nice knowing you to."
We did some different kinds of turning maneuvers and did lots of spinning. The free-fall lasted about a minute.
Once the parachute came out, we floated around for about 7 minutes. I was able to control the chute and get a feel for it. You really need to be strong in order to tug on the cords. It was a lot harder than I had expected.
We also did a ton of spins. It was a lot of fun, and it was peaceful to be able to talk and look at the scenery. I do remember popping my ears a few times on the way down because of the atmospheric pressure.
Our landing was great. We both landed on our feet for a smooth landing. I told my instructor Ryan that I felt a little nauseous from the spinning. He replied, "me too." I think we were a little more extreme than he normally is with other people. The dizzy feeling went away about 5 minutes later.
Overall it was a ton of fun, and I would love to go again.

Brand New Shoes

The new Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband album has just been released. I attended the release party last week and had a chance to catch up with Ryan Shupe, and play ultimate frisbee with the guys in the band.

I was lucky enough to help with recording of two of the songs on the album. I was eager to see if I could hear myself in the recordings, and see my name printed in the cd booklet. I have always wanted to be involved in some kind of professional recording, and now I finally got that chance. It's so exciting listening to the songs I am in. I laugh every time, because for some reason my voice stands out. Ryan told me that he could totally hear my voice in Beep above all the rest. I think I was just closer to the microphone than everyone else. I told Ryan that I hoped that I didn't ruin the song, but he reassured me that it sounded great.

This album was recorded 2 blocks down the street from my house in a small recording studio. The band put a lot of hard work in to the album and produced it themselves. It features such classics as "Baldy", "He knows Karate," and "Beep, Beep, Beep."

Ryan wrote "Baldy" as a country music parody about "the greatest cat he has ever known," because Shupe wanted to write the best country song that ever existed. People in Nashville would tell them that their music just wasn't quite country enough, so Shupe decided to pen a country song that involved typical country items such as cowboy boots, county fair, SUV, shot out to the military, etc. According to Ryan, these are all a variety of items generally included in a standard country song.

"This album features top notch musicianship, witty creative songwriting and great musical depth. The title track is a fun jam dance tuned about a kid's pair of 'Brand New Shoes' that not only helps him run faster and jump higher, but lands him on the news stations and gets everyone talking. It's post Heehaw, Funkadelic Hiphop New Grass in its finest form."

In addition to the new album, the band recorded the music for the new Toy Story 3 video game. How much fun is that? That will be interesting to play a game with their music in it.

Check out their new album. You can listen to it free on their website where it can also be purchased. Shupe.net

An Antelope Excursion

This past weekend I was able to knock off one of the items that has been on my bucket list for years; visit the Great Salt Lake.

I went to an island on the Great Salt Lake called Antelope Island. I did a little bit of hiking with my buddy Ryan. Our group rented some kayaks, and wanted to paddle around the White Rock Bay, but as you can tell from the photo, it would have been about a mile walk just to get to the water, and those kayaks were heavy. We decided to stick to the North Bay, because the water was much closer to get to from the parking lot. The lake held up to its name. It was so salty that after the water dried on your skin, it left enough of a salty residue to salt up a meal for 5 by scraping salt off your body.

It was a great day to spend playing with friends on a sandy beach.