My Bathroom Chatter (BC) story

I was taking a moment before class to catch up on my friends and their blogs when I ran into Jason's blog about bathroom chatter (very good post by the way although I am somewhat intrigued by his claim to having a 'skillful tongue' and wonder where he has been practicing that since moving to Missouri but I will leave that for another post) and realized that I had mentioned on facebook an experience I recently had with Bathroom Chatter and decided that for those of you who have NOT heard this story now would be a great time to tell it.

Several weeks ago I was returning to Blanding after the first of several trips to the north country during my December break from school and needed to stop in Moab to get gas. Sure I had enough gas to get home but one learns quickly that it is in one's best interest to gas up anyplace but Blanding because the 'cartel' keeps gas prices in Blanding 20- 50 cents a gallon higher than the rest of the free world, but that is a blog for another day also. Anyways, I pulled into the one place I feel comfortable in that bug (no offense intended to actual members of the bug species as I am not referring to that type of bug here) infested gut pile (hunting term) of a town. I have always stopped there and have always been quite pleased with the nice people I've encountered there as opposed to those I encounter IN Moab. I topped off my tank and then went inside to.... use the little boy's room in order to make the last hour of my trip a little more comfortable. I opened the bathroom door to realize that it was full and I needed to wait outside so I backed out and closed the door when I was confronted with a particularly fairy-esque voice saying " Is it full? Don't they know I've been holding it since Provo?" Not wanting to judge the voice I slowly turned and noticed that indeed his attire and posture fit his voice to a 't' but not wanting to be rude I decided to reply that I had been 'holding it' since Salt Lake. That started a dialogue in the hallway that I was pretty sure would end once we entered the bathroom. All men know that talking in the bathroom is strictly prohibited (especially with strangers) and that for the most part we want to just enjoy our time in this peaceful place.

As coincidence would have it both occupants of the bathroom came out at the same time and allowed us to enter. I quickly made my way past the lone urinal and into the sanctuary of the only stall (with locking door) in the bathroom. I was safe at last! WAIT, WHAT? He continues to talk to me over the stall! I'm a little freaked out and limit my responses to short, concise and very fragmented sentences in hopes to squelch his desire to talk to me but to no avail. He finished up first and washed his hands and while he dried his hands while I washed mine. That bathroom is an absolute DEATH TRAP for people in my position because if a man is washing his hands nobody else can enter or exit the bathroom. Due to this terrible design flaw my unwilling conversation continued with him standing directly behind me and me washing my hands while standing sideways and keeping at least one eye on the man at all times. Finally I was certain that my hands were clean, or at least clean enough, and turned to take some paper towel and that's when it happened.....

He puts his hand on my shoulder blade and as he very gently slides (rubs if you ask me) it off my back and half way down my humerus (Yes Kendra I DO know anatomy just not while playing Taboo) while giving me a disturbingly salacious look and says, "drive safe and don't go tail piping me." Then he left. I was in shock.... this had REALLY just happened to me!? I looked in the mirror and stared at myself for a moment. Then, with head drooping quite low I left the store, got in my car, and, being quite careful to not do anything that he might consider tail piping, I drove home as quickly as possible.

The moral of the story: 1- Moab is not a safe place, 2- Bathroom Chatter is WRONG, and 3- apparently one must be careful whom he/she speaks with while waiting for the toilet.

Trait of Flaw?

I was told last night that I am a very analytical thinker. At first I wasn't sure if that was a compliment of a trait I hold or a criticism of a flaw that I wasn't aware of (I thought I was pretty aware of my flaws and shortcomings so this was a bit of a surprise to me). However the more I've thought about it, and admittedly analyzed it I have come up with a conclusion as well as an explanation. If you have any input I'd be more than happy to get feedback.

Although I didn't realize it before Kendra pointed it out to me, I can now see that I am clearly an analyzer. I find myself often times carefully choosing my words and trying to gauge the response they get as well as whether they are saying what I want them to say. I also noticed that I miss out on fun and spontaneous moments (such as throwing the most amazing girl in the world in the snow and giving her the snow bath of a lifetime) because I think too much of the consequences or possible consequences of the actions not only from the person directly involved but also by those around me who are not directly involved. First let me explain where this process came from and why I adopted it.

I think I was born to be a lawyer. Although I don't like contention and I absolutely HATE contention with those I love the most, I am also one that enjoys a good argument. When I say argument I do not mean that I like to fight. I hate fighting but I love a good healthy argument. If you have any questions about what constitutes a 'good healthy argument' and how it differentiates from a 'fight' then feel free to ask and I'll explain but that is not the focus of my post tonight. I digress... In order to argue effectively one must gauge the response of their words on the opponent in order to find wholes in their argument or resolve. One must also choose words wisely to prevent being backed into a corner or having their words morphed into something they do not believe. I also find that it is really important to look at the facts and look at ideas and arguments and weed out the cold hard facts from the fallacies or not so firm facts. In order to do this it takes a great deal of analyzing. So, all in all I think I was just born to be an analytical thinker.... is it a character flaw or is it a valuable tool and trait?

I think it is both. When I get into law school and become a lawyer I believe it will be a very valuable tool in making me a successful lawyer. I think it will be something I will be very grateful for in years to come. However, when it comes to relationships and that person or persons who mean the very most to me I think its a double edged sword. While its important to think before you speak and to try and communicate clearly, its is just as important (if not MORE important) to be spontaneous and simple. Often the calculated speaking comes across and lacking sincerity and thus doesn't have the same meaning to those you love. Also when you thin and calculate too much you end up missing out on fun experiences like giving Kendra a snow bath, or going and getting frosty's and fries on a whim and eating them in a parking lot while listening to sappy late night radio. Those type of experiences are so important in a relationship. I girl needs to know that you are FUN and that you can let your hair down and read a Dr. Seuss book to her and her mom and sister. So there are times when you need to go NIKE and 'just do it' and not worry about the consequences. I know that I will certainly work on being more spontaneous. I don't think there is any doubt of my feelings and my commitment to those closest to me but I wonder if they realize that I CAN have fun and let my hair down and just go with the flow. So my January resolution is to not be so calculating when it comes to having fun with those I love.

In thinking about this today I did come to one conclusion that I think is worth sharing. As I mentioned before I take information and observations that are in front of me and I try to sort them, solid facts, possibly fact, not sure of the validity, and false. If things are accepted as solid facts then I don't analyze them past that point. If there are enough 'solid facts' for me to feel confident in the course of action or in the course that something is taking then I wont analyze it. I am capable of being spontaneous and doing things on a feeling rather than simply on logic but I can only do that if I am confident of the situation.... I'm trying hard to be better at leaving logic out of relationships but I think if there are enough solid facts about the course it is taking then I will be less likely to calculate every move and every word. That's just my opinion.... take it for what its worth.

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aaacwwwiitttnllooohsyume

Village Inn

yes everyone, it is true, i am writing in my blog two days in a row! i can't believe it myself really. Kendra started a blog today and it has inspirEd me to be better at writing iN my own blog. the title of this blog inDicates that i'm going to say something about village inn we can assume:) Right?

so last weekend I had tHe great OpPortunity to drive to south jordan to see kendra and her familY fOr a few days bUt because of the circumstances i didn't leave blanding until 8 pm and didn't get to south jordan until 1 am. however, much to my suprise Kendra still waNted tO see me tHat night. i was really happy and had initially just planned On seeing her for a feW minutes eitHer At her hosue or at my brother's Parking lot and then going to P bed but when i got into town and called her to see what she wanted to do she asked where we should meet. half jokinglY i said, "well we can meet at mY brOther's parking lot or i'd be willing to drive to yoUr house and see you there if that's easier. or we could get pie at village inn." again, Much to my surprise And delight, she went for the idea of meeting at village inn for pie. what started out as a simple 1 am date for pie turned into 2 + hours of talKing and gEnuinly having a great time. it was possibly the More relaxEd, fun tIme i've had the past year! the details of the time we spent together wont be incLuded here but, speaking fOr myself, it was amazing.

i digress howeVer. thE purpose in writing this post is to explain the situation at village in during the wee hours of the morning. while kendra and i were there there was onlY one table that stayed as lOng as we did and they were still there when we left. it was interesting to watch them becaUse at 2 in the morning they were eating deserts AND playing cArds. i'M not sure what game tHey were plAying but they were having a great time just talking and Playing some sort of card game in the middle of village in. the other peoPle that were there were unique also. theY didn't show up until about 2 ish and When they ordered they ordered food for themselves to eat but also ordered several to-go dIshes.... however, The to go disHes came out wiTh tHeir ordERs and thEy causuaLly just sAt and aTe theIr foOd there iN the reStraunt. all in all it was quite an interesting situation. 3 couples at one table playing cards, two couples eating eitHer a very late dInner or an even earlier breakfast, and 1 couple talking and laughing and reconnecting. it just goes to show you that sometimes things happen when you least expect them to and in locations that you least exPect them to happen in. so if you cant sleep some night and there is a village in near by you should really drop in and have some pie and take a look around.... i assure you it'll be a unique experience.... as for me, i'd like to go there in the wee morning hours sometime and play cards just for the sake of doing it.... who is with me?

Exciting Month

Wow what a month this has been! First of all who in the world thought it was a good idea for Utah State to give us a full month away from school? I mean sure its fun and it gives you time to relax and have some fun BUT I'm honestly afraid they will have to retrain me after such a long break! I'm not going to remember where the library is (not that I use it anymore... the secret UR lab is a ton better)! At any rate they gave us a month off and what a month it has been. Here are some of the highlights:

I went to Logan once (very unexpectedly) and Salt Lake twice (once planned and once not so planned) in order to try to fix my own stupidity. I'm not sure how its working but I'm learning to be a patient man. The details of this particular part of my month will be omitted and left for my journal. However, on the way back from one of these trips I was hit on in a Maverick store bathroom (in Moab of course) by a severely gay Navajo kid.... I could definitely live the rest of my life without that happening. Luckily I had the stall so i was able to lock him out of my space... ugh!

Christmas was amazing this year and New Years.... well I slept through New Years cause I was sick.

Last but certainly not least.... I heard back from my first law school that I applied to..... the letter went to my apt in Logan so I asked Kendra to go get it and read it to me over the phone. I got accepted! Its my 2nd choice out of the schools I applied to so now I will just wait for the others but I'm really excited. Its somewhat far away though and I am not really excited about moving so far away without any friends or anything to take along with me... maybe.... (but maybe).

Anyways Sorry this isn't much of a blog post but I just needed to get some of the dust off of my brain so hopefully I can do better in the future.

PS University of Tulsa is where I got accepted to today.