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.

_ ____ ___ ____ __ __ ___ ______!

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.

The Beauty of Castle Dale

It may surprise many that I am breaking my blogging silence. That is, if anyone even reads my blog anymore since it has been months since I posted and even longer since it was a meaningful post. You may wonder what has caused this extended absence from the blogging community. Well, that question will not be addressed in this post but it will be addressed in the next post.

This post is dedicated to the awesome little town in the center of Utah. I certainly don't mean Price! Many people don't even know of the existence of the town of Castle Dale, Utah.

Founded in the late 1870's the communities in Castle Valley (among which is Castle Dale) were part of the last colonization call given by President Brigham Young. This call was issued just 7 days before the death of the Prophet. In the 2000 census there were found to be 1,657 people living in Castle Dale. The main source of employment for the town of Castle Dale is probably Pacific Corp. (Rocky Mountain Power, formerly known as Utah Power and Light). There are also many farmers and ranchers in the Castle Dale area as well as the employment that comes with being the Emery County seat (ie. school district, county office, and Emery High School).

Now that the demographics are out of the way let me tell you the top 5 reasons why Castle Dale is an amazing place, and why I could honestly see myself living there in the future.

1. The People

The people of Castle Dale are some of the nicest, most hardworking individuals I've ever seen. Its very impressive to me that a person can go to the many activities (4th of July, 24th of July, Dinosaur Days, etc.) in Castle Dale and the surrounding communities and that person is welcomed in as part of the family even if they have never been there before. The people of Castle Valley, and Castle Dale specifically, are certainly part of a dying breed of people in this country. Just think of the problems facing the world today and then realize that if the people of the world, or even just of the United States, would remember their roots and act more like rural America, these problems would disappear very quickly. If you want to meet the friendliest, most helpful people, go the the country (places like Castle Dale and Blanding of course).

2. The Location

Castle Dale is situated along Cottonwood Creek in Castle Valley, Utah. Many people might say that it is the middle of the desert and as such is quite unappealing and ugly. Moreover there are two massive coal power plants within just a few short miles of Castle Dale so how can it possibly be a location that I love? Well, very simply, I love the desert and I love Coal Power! Call me crazy but the whole global warming thing is a load of crap and I quite enjoy seeing the steam rise from the triple (when all three are working) stacks of the Hunter power plant from my brother's front porch. To me it signifies why America is great and serves as a reminder of the natural resources God has blessed this country with TO USE. Also it serves as a reminder of all those brave men who work in the coal mines and power plants to keep America (and California which I hesitate to include in the word "America") lit at night, cool in the summer, and warm in the winter via electricity. Besides this the area out in what the locals call 'the desert' is absolutely amazing. I've been out there geocaching on many occasions and it steals my imagination and my heart every time. To think that it is the same area that the legendary Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch roamed and that somewhere out there the infamous Robber's Roost is tucked away from the public view. The 'desert' is quite enchanting, I could spend days out there without even the quaint desire to return to 'civilization'.

3. The County Community

As was previously mentioned in the 1st reason the people of the area are amazing. This 3rd reason is about the people of Castle Dale alone but to the whole Castle Valley community (orangeville, cleveland, huntington, ferron, etc). While living in Cache Valley I have seen how the once rural communities of this valley have their own individual celebrations and invite everyone in the valley to attend. I was quite impressed with the set up and had thought it to be unique until I went to Dinosaur Days in Cleveland a couple years back. It was then that I realized that Cache Valley had departed from its rural roots and had probably, at one time, had the sense of community that it now lacks but that is found in abundance in the Castle Valley Community. While one might argue that the reason the county acts so much like family is because it is, in reality family, I argue that this is simply the ignorant urban population accusing the more content and more ideal part of America of such absurdities in order to make themselves not seem like such a culturally defunct lot. While it is fact that often times there are families in the rural areas that seem to enjoy intermarriage it is not the rule, but rather the exception. In reality the reason why rural communities such as those found in Castle Valley are so close and so familial-like is that they share one another's ideals. They are content at being hard working, under paid, and under appreciated. They also enjoy being left alone by the cultural rot that urbanization and city life bring into the relaxing life of the country. The County as a whole consists of the type of people you can rub shoulders with in any circumstance and know that you are part of a family.

4. Family

The 4th reason why I could live in Castle Dale is certainly not lacking in importance. My Brother and his family live in Castle Dale. This brother use to live in Logan and took great care of me. I was pretty sad to see them leave Logan and move so close to Price (I'm not a fan of Price). However, I have seen them be welcomed into the community with open arms and have never seen them more happy. I love my brother and his family and would enjoy living so close to them.

5. Jackie

Jackie is the reason I am writing this blog. During the summer I was in a jam and Jackie bailed me out. My payment to her was to write a blog praising her community because I tease her so incessantly about it. However, let me make it clear that the things I have said in this blog are my sincere thoughts on the subject and are in no way tainted by the necessity to praise the community of Castle Dale to pay a debt to a friend. So let me take a minute and explain why Jackie is so amazing. She is my computer go-to-girl since Jason had to leave me to go to Missouri (not that Jason was my go-to-girl but he certainly was my computer whiz prior to leaving Logan for the truly inbred state of Missouri :) ). Jackie is always willing to help me figure things out with my computer even when she isn't at work at the IT desk at USU. Plus she is such a smart girl when it comes to so many other things on top of being a computer whiz. Also, Jackie is a very friendly person. She truly has carried on forth the community banner from the small town of Castle Dale and has established it here Logan. Her community should be proud. So besides bailing be out of a desperate situation over the summer that allowed me to talk to Kendra via cell phone Jackie has been a great friend and help. She's usually pretty happy and is even OK at Taboo (better than me of course). So Thank you Jackie for everything.


Well Friends and Visitors if you have any desire to see what America is all about I recommend that you visit Castle Dale. It truly is an amazing and pleasant place.

High School Poetry

I was looking through a file of my high school English assignments and found a poem that I had written.

GIRLS ARE LIKE PARKING SPACES

Girls are like parking spaces,

all the good ones are gone.

You must search and search for the one that fits your car best.

However, if you wait too long,

all the good ones will be gone leaving you with one that is wrong.

If she is perfect let your car stay there and don't look around cause soon as you leave your

spot will be stolen in a Christmas shopping rush.

If you feel left out cause everyone else is already parked,

don't rush into the first one you see and suddenly find yourself in something without a spark.

Now many will say, "what is one compared to another, as long as they don't bicker?"

I say, "they don't have my handicap sticker!"

Kendall Laws

10th Grade

Not exactly the most romantic 'love poem' but isn't life great when you are able to find an available handicap parking stall? Nothing makes you more angry than to see some 'pimped out rice grinder' of a car, with no sticker, parked in a perfectly good handicap stall.... Think about the imagery :). Anyways just wanted to share this.... masterpiece. ENJOY

When in the Course of Human Events....

Today I've had the opportunity to spend roughly 10 hours on a piece of equipment and have contemplated the more recent developments in the relationship between the BLM/Forest Service/Federal Government and the citizens of San Juan County. As the title might indicate my mind has been brought to bear on the Declaration of Independence. That is the approach I will take with this post.

"But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security." Now I know what you may be thinking, " Kendall has lost his mind and has turned into some fanatic." Well, that might be so but lets look at the situation and then I'll let you decide what the writers of the Declaration would say about the events.

Before I delve into this let me first establish that I am not saying who is guilty or who is being falsely accused. Quite frankly I don't care if the men who were rounded up yesterday are guilty as charged or not. What I do care about, as will shortly be evident, is the complete disregard on the part of the Federal government and her ghestapo-like henchmen of the BLM, Forest Service, and National Park Service of meaning of 'citizen' when dealing with the people of the rural West. Please feel free to comment.

I will assume that anyone reading this is familiar with the raids that took place in the 4 corners area yesterday morning and with the sad developments of today dealing with yesterday's raids. If you are not familiar with what I am talking about then check out any of Utah's major news websites. I am not disputing the fact that what these people are ACCUSED of is a crime (although I think it is ludicrous, it is still considered a crime) but what I do dispute is the necesity of putting thousands of man hours over the course of several years into an investigation to appreahend such "HEINOUS CRIMINALS" as those who dig indian ruins. Many will argue that they are stealing America's cultural artifacts, others might argue that they are stealing 'tribal property' and to both I say BS. Who's tribe do these artifacts belong to? Last time I checked the Anasazi's have been dead and gone in their entirety for nearly a thousand years. If in fact some tribe does have ownership of these 'artifacts' then I want them to know my family is going to charge them rent not only in the future but also an insanely high back fee for storing all of their left over dishes and discarded weapons and clothing for the past 80 years. Feel free to contact me if these articles are the property of your tribe and make sure you give me an address to send the bill. As to the argument that these people are 'stealing America's heritage' I say, "atleast these people have the ambition to go dig this junk up so we can know more about these lost civilizations!"

All arguments aside the fact of the matter is that the FBI and their fellow goons raided homes and arrested people yesterday to close a several year investigation. How much money was spent on this investigation? How many Border Patrol agents could we have trained for that much money? How many DEA agents and drug dogs could we have trained for that much money? How many terrorists could we have waterboarded with that much money? In the world we live in are there not more important things for the government to be doing to protect us? In the quote from the Declaration that I already used it says that when the government stops providing for our future security it is our RIGHT to find a new guard for our future.

I found several aspects of the press conference held by the government yestarday to be quite interesting. Mr Salazar (who I think is about as worthless as worthless gets) said (quoted straight from CNN.com), "Let this case serve notice to anyone who is considering breaking these laws and trampling our nation's cultural heritage that the BLM [Bureau of Land Management], the Department of Justice and the federal government will track you down and bring you to justice," There you have it, yesterday's raids on American citizens were nothing more than terror tactics brought to you courtesy of our own government that should be protecting us from foreign and domestic dangers not from pot hunters! When a government starts allowing its people to be terrorised in order to 'prove a point' then that government is no longer functioning as James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and the like set it up, but rather as Hitler and Stalin set up their respective 'governments.'

The other part of the press conference I found to be quite disturbing was the fact that all of the officials were flaunting the fact that they had the Redds again. The attitude was that of "well we were too sloppy with out case on them ten years ago so we came back at them and got them this time and regardless of what the truth is we WILL convict them." Thats not the way the legal process was designed to work but alas the government we are governed by today is not the organization that Hamilton so nobley defended in the Federalist Papers either.

Basically what I'm getting at is that yesterdays raids that resulted in 24 people being arrested and lives being broken and ruined forever was nothing more than terroristic scare tactics by a government that would rather have the citizens of this part of the world be evicted so they could turn the 4 corners into a play ground. The government that was founded to save us and provide safety to us against the tyranny, oppression and despotism of England has, over time, BECOME that very institution it was developed to deter. Once again I am not saying anyone is guilty or innocent but what I am saying is that this is a poor use of our limited funds and law enforcement resources and that if Mr. Salazar wanted to 'send a message' he did a fine job of it. Message sent AND recieved, you don't want us here and thats fine cause we don't want YOU here either! You keep taking our land and our ways of enjoying it, we know you will, but stop fighting our desire to have freedom in our own land with trumped up charges and ridiculous laws!

In closing I just want to tie the complaints back in with the Declaration of Independance. What do you think? Are James Madison and Thomas Jefferson rolling over in their graves? You bet they are!