ode to the claus

so what can be better than meeting santa claus in person? how 'bout meeting three santa clauss all at the same time? actually, the one on the left is technically father christmas. poor ashley had to be stuck next to father christmas. he has a potty mouth and wreaks of strong liquor. thank you santas, for bringing christmas cheer in the best way...

ode to beauty

who art thou, beauty?
thou art a babe's first smile. the loving embrace of a mother and her child. a bedtime story, song, and "i love you" before sleep.
thy voice is the silence of freshly fallen snow. the peaceful, rhythmic breathing of a toddler fallen asleep. wind through a sea of grass. waves lapping against a rocky shore.
where art thou, beauty?
thou art in the excitement of a young one learning to read. the awkward hesitance of a first kiss. the joy in one's heart as he kneels across the altar, eyes fixed, lost in those of his true love. thou art in anticipation and confidence. in determination and triumph. loss and sorrow. love and forgiveness.
what art thou, beauty?
thou art the face of one who, though moves slowly, weighed down by the wisdom she carries, her face wrinkled by a life of smiles and frowns, laughter and tears, is yet quick and spry, full of faith, goodwill and cheer.
who art thou, beauty?
thou art life itself. thou art he, thou art she. yes, even art thou in me.



i often wonder what makes certain things in life beautiful. we could analyze this for days, years, or even all eternity. but i have limited my thoughts to only a few lines. the painting is one that i think is truly beautiful. it is located in the wilk and was once featured on the cover of the byu magazine. the other weekend i was privileged to attend the mormon tabernacle choir christmas concert with four very beautiful young ladies. even though i had to sit next to eric, it was a very enjoyable night. the choir sang with the king singers, and the music was splendid.
that sunday, our ward, along with several others, had their christmas programs. something remarkable happened that day. as i was trying hard to listen to a talk, something pierced my sole to the core. an angelic voice sounded from the sacrament meeting next door singing "oh, holy night." i was transfixed. i could no longer listen to the talk. i sat as the music filled me. i thought at that moment, that perhaps there are a myriad ways to describe beauty, but i knew that what i heard was true beauty. so, to that girl who sang, your voice is inspiring and refreshing. thank you.

ode to class

this is in response to brooke's post from last night. i would like to begin by saying that it is a very nice compliment to be told you look like a grandma, if youre a girl. the reason being, grandmas come from an era of class. i think a prime example of this is she who i consider to be the most fashionable, classiest, most beautiful woman in the last century. her name, audrey kathleen hepburn-ruston. now, perhaps one of the reasons she is so graceful is due to her excellence in ballet. plus, she had royal blood in her veins. but, more importantly, she comes from an era of beauty. it was in vogue to have manners and be well dressed. today if your clothes say hollister on them then you are in fashion. it's despicable. if you have manners people laugh thinking it is old fashioned. yeah, it's old fashioned! and as true classy people know, old fashioned is the most fashionable. some proof? well, here is a little visual proof.















well, if you haven't fallen in love with her after looking at these pictures, watch some of her movies. its her class, her style, her manners that you will fall in love with. i hope you are now inspired to get dressed up a little more. i hope you are inspired to go to the opera. i hope you are inspired to attend the symphony. i hope you are inspired to read good books, use correct grammar, speak politely, and have a little more propriety. i hope you are inspired to bring a little culture and class into your life. i hope you feel the same way i do when you see a picture of audrey hepburn. i am the only boy in my family. also, i am the only unmarried in my family. what a loser, you might say (that's what my family says, especially the brothers in law). well, i say whatever. i am just waiting for audrey hepburn's granddaughter.

ode to geo

dU=T*dS -p*dV This is part of the first law of thermodynamics. ∆S(universe)>0. The second law of thermodynamics. S is entropy. Entropy is a measure of disorder. Energy is required to put things in order. For example, a gas is a bunch of molecules moving around in random order. There is not much order or entropy in a gas. However, if you compress that gas with enough pressure, and push the molecules together, they will arrange neatly into an order which turns the gas into a liquid. (That's the difference between a liquid and a gas. In a liquid the molecules are closer bound together, in a gas the molecules move around randomly) That pressure requires energy. So back to ∆S(universe)>0. Do you know what this means? It means that entropy will increase for ever. The particles in the universe will continue to become less ordered and will dissipate. Because dS=dq/T, it means that the universe will continue to transfer thermal energy, in the form of heat, into entropy. Thus, inevitably our universe will meet its fateful heat death. Don't worry, we won't be around long enough to see the actual heat death, though. We will have died long before that happens. It's all going to end in a cold, harsh, lonely death. So what does this life matter anyway? Well, don't worry. Two things make life worth living. First, since we may argue that the universe is infinite, this means that there is also infinte energy in the universe, so, even though dS=dq/T and ∆S(universe)>0, there will always be energy sufficient to perpetuate life. I was reminded of the second thing when I went to lunch and took a break from studying thermo.

That's right. Life is about awesome and cool, and who cares about thermodynamics when you can ride through town in a Geo Tracker.

ode to learning

Knowledge is power. Knowledge is freedom. Knowledge bridges the gaps between poverty and wealth, depression and self-esteem, helplessness and autonomy. Be it in the midst of a college atmosphere from a professor lecturing at a podium, or in a timeless classic read for leisure on a lazy summer evening, I am confident that what I learn in life will enrich this experience I call my life. As I become aware of the world in which I live, I will be equipped to act in it, and not to be acted upon. I, therefore, become an agent to do good unto others. A beacon to guide. A mentor to trust.
So let not this pursuit of knowledge become mundane or short lived. Let it not be a bother. Let it not be an obstacle to my happiness in profession. But let it be an adventure. An eternal experiment. A study of me. Of who I am. Of what I can be come. Of truth itself. A study of divinity.

ode to the best

have you ever had a roommate that you suspected would lie awake at night plotting how to annoy you the next day? or perhaps your roommate doesn't even realize he's being annoying, maybe he is totally oblivious to how much you can't stand him. it's as if his very core is made of annoying and everything he says or does screams in your face. you stop referring to it as a semester and unconsicously refer to it as a sentence...when my sentence is over, i am so moving out.
well, if you have felt that way, i cannot empathize with you, because i have the greatest roommate ever. brian is real. there is no facade about him. if he's thinking it, he says it. he is always looking out for the bros. he is a real rennaisance man. he is quite the artist, musically inclined, sings like a nightingale, well versed in literature, knows his dance moves, and knows how to be a gentleman. for all you single lady who reads my blog(yes, i meant to use the singular form of lady), know that my rommate is quite the catch. cast your line while you still have a chance.

ode to looking like your dog

have you ever heard someone say that a dog tends to resemble its master? i don't know if its true or not, but just in case, be a little careful about what dog you get:

ode to technology

so, i have always been a fan of technology (well except for a brief moment upon returning from argentina when i was anti-technology...how foolish of me). what can i say, i am an engineering student, so applied science is ultra cool. so i am studying for my p-chem test, and have been all day, so i am a little fried in the brain. i was finding that every couple of minutes i would turn my head to look at the long row of bookshelves and wonder what it would be like to fly into one of them, thus, knocking the whole row down like a giant set of dominoes. i decided a quick photo shoot and a little experimenting with after effects would be a great remedy. what would i do without my 1 megapixel camera phone? it takes pretty good pictures, huh?

ode to man's best friend

so what makes a man's best friend his best friend? well, he greets you with excitement upon arriving home, he likes to go on walks, he doesn't complain about much, he is a good listener, he hunts gophers with you, he sleeps with you under the stars at grandma's house, he eats dead, decaying seal carcusses and you have to clean it up, but he doesn't seem to mind much, he lets the cats get into the garbage but then takes the blame for it, he likes carrots as treats, he can do cool parlor tricks, he stands guard at the front gate, he lets you pet him constantly, he puts up with munchkin grandkids crawling all over him, he lets maggie love him to death(almost literally), he doesn't care if you yell at him because, well, he's deaf, he loves the cats and plays with them...well, the list goes on, but let me get to my point. i'm just sayin' that i miss my best friend while up here at school. i was reading megan's blog about how she found her puppy. i was looking at a book of dog breeds. i just got kinda lonesome for my bud.
some people have to look for the best dog. well, my family's best dog found us. we're probably pretty boring people to him. i mean, look how bored he looks on the happiest day of the year. but he loves us. i know he does. he's getting old. one day we might have to say good bye. but this dog is going to heaven and our friendship will continue there. for now, here's an ode to otis.