Ketchup

Don't Let the Jonses Get You Down - The Temptations

So, I'm a big slacker. But I'm not going to let that deter me from keeping up on this blog. I refuse. So, what I'll do is give a kind of poor man's recap of this past week, repent and then move on.

On this past Friday, my band, The Hucksters, played a packed house down at Sammy's Café alongside the New Electric Sound. It was one of the best experiences of my musical life. There were around 150-175 people that came and it was PACKED in there. We really played our hearts out and melted some faces, which is our ultimate goal as a band.

The rest of the weekend consisted of homework and then church. Not too many crazy eventful things happening there.

Then, the rest of this week has been pretty fun, albeit exhausting. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are pretty much nonstop, starting at 8 and ending at 6-7. Especially this past Wednesday. I woke up early to help out in the Rexburg Temple. I got up at 5. I didn't get done with class and work until 8 p.m. This led to me going to bed at 9:30 p.m, which was a great decision.

Also, this week, the Hucksters have been rehearsing for our acoustic/folk show today (Friday). We are featuring the ever-talented, always lovely Emma Huntington from Tandem - another local artist - and she will help by playing uke and banjo for us while singing along as well. I'm sure I'll have fun things to report about that show. I get to play guitar, bass, uke, harmonica and cajon! Should be a blast.

I promise to stay consistent. I must, I must, I must!

Always,

Mike

Ain't No Grave - Johnny Cash

My Personal Plan of Salvation

The Big Picture - Bright Eyes

            Since man has first had coherent thought, there have always been questions pervading the mind that cry for an answer. Some more complicated than other, these questions require a great deal of introspection in conjunction with an incurable curiosity for what lies beyond this world. Three of the most common questions center around the pathway of human existence. Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?

            I was born to a young couple who were very much in love in Raleigh, NC. This would be the first element of my identity. I am a son. However, I believe that my lineage is not only of this earth, but has celestial roots which run through my body as thick as the blood I inherited from my mortal parents. Because of this, I am not only a son of worldly kin, but also a son of God. This fact alone can change practically every outlook, decision and attitude you have in life.

            Apart from these fundamental elements of who I am, there are many other temporal elements that make up my personality.  I am a musician, a loyal friend, a conversationalist.  Many of these attributes carry over to the reason why I believe I am here on this earth.

            There are many people that walk this planet and give no thought to others; no care for what a stranger may be going through, no empathy for loved ones who’ve suffered a bad day. I have been blessed with the wonderful gift of altruism. However, this desire to connect with others and make them feel valued and important can be draining. There are many times where the desire to put other’s well-being or opinions before my own has led me to be self-depreciating, tentative and emotionally exhausted. It’s a balancing act; finding the happy medium between building up others without tearing yourself down to do so. However, the satisfaction that comes from helping those who may not typically feel useful come to realize their infinite worth in the eyes of their fellow man, as well as their God is unparalleled.

            I do not claim to be ay kind of role model or inspiration for anyone, I simply believe that everyone has the capacity to love those around them. I only wish to be a catalyst for those who are on the cusp of deciding to be themselves and be proud of whatever that person is and what they stand for.

            The place that I’m going has two tiers: temporal and eternal. As pertaining to my mortal life, I hope to be able to continue on my chosen career path, which is Public Relations. I always capitalize the name of the industry. It’s a bad habit, but I think it’s because I consider it a friend. I realize this sounds odd, but my reasoning for saying such is because ever since I’ve realized that PR is the field I’ve wanted to be in, it has given me a new confidence and purpose in my mortal life. I love to write. I love to speak. I love to assist people in helping other people. Public relations helps me to address all of these strengths in one place. Getting paid is a bonus.

            As far as the more religious and supernal aspect of “where I’m going,” I believe I’m returning to the same lace I came from: back home with my Heavenly Father. For I am persuaded, as was the Apostle Paul that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from…God.” (Romans 8:38-39)

            I believe, with everything inside of me, that God has a plan for me. I also believe that I can know of a surety if I am following that plan by asking Him in prayer if I am on the path he’d have me follow. With the confidence and reassurance I receive from those conversations with my Maker, how can I not continue to try to not only be my best self, but encourage others to do the same?


Always, 

Mike

Let the Sirens Rest - Now It's Overhead

April Come She Will - Simon & Garfunkel

April, come she will
When streams are ripe and swelled with rain;
May, she will stay,
Resting in my arms again

June, she'll change her tune,
In restless walks she'll prowl the night;
July, she will fly
And give no warning to her flight.

August, die she must,
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold;
September I'll remember.
A love once new has now grown old.


Mike

Any Colour You Like

Breathe - Pink Floyd

The second day of classes was just as fulfilling as the first. I had my research class this morning and it actually got me really excited to start learning about things that are somewhat outside my comfort zone. Apart from that, my other class is the student-run agency on campus, currently called I~Comm, but we're going through a re-branding phase right now, so the name will be different by the end of the semester. The current favorite is Soapbox Creative Agency. I saw the pitch. I dig it.

Below is a sample of some of the work we've done.

The agency is one of my favorite parts of school; of life, really. I'm an account executive, which is a fancy term that means I'm better at talking than I am at design and creativity. Although I'd like to think I still have some of those skills and an eye for good design. Being able to work with such fantastic and talented people everyday is such a privilege, though.

Now, I'm just sitting in my living room, lights dimmed, listening to Dark Side of the Moon on vinyl.


[Insert condescending hipster insult here.]

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Devotional was today. Every Tuesday at my school, they have a speaker come in to address the student body. Typically, the topics are on a spiritual level, but cover all aspects of life. Today, the president of the school, Kim B. Clark spoke. The quote I enjoyed the most from him was this: 

"You can live the letter of the law if you follow the commandments. You can live the letter and the spirit of the law if you follow the Savior."

I like this because there are a lot of people in the world today who believe being a good Christian is simply obeying the Commandments and staying out of trouble. however, true discipleship is loving Christ and following his example by showing charity towards those around you, living with peace and patients and patiently and happily bearing all things he sees fit to bestow upon us. (Mosiah 23:21-22)

I love this school, I love the Lord and I love you, anonymous reader!


Always,

Mike

Brain Damage - Pink Floyd

...To Prove To Dad I'm Not a Fool

Dead Man - M. Ward

Today was my first day back to classes since last July. It was an extremely reassuring and enjoyable experience, contrary to what most college students would tell you.

My day didn't start off the best, however, as my car wouldn't start and I had to walk to school a mile in 2 degree weather. With no shoes. Uphill both ways.

Ok, so those last two parts weren't true, but the part about it being uphill kind of is because Rexburg is the San Francisco of Idaho; it's pretty much built on a hill which has hills on it. I know that doesn't make geographical sense, but it's true.

Other than this little bump in the road, however, it was interesting to get to my first class and remember that feeling of impending responsibility. However, instead of stress, all I felt today was absolute excitement and love for my classes, my professors (all of whom I know on a friendship basis) and the students taking the classes with me. It's close to indescribable and hard to articulate.

Also, on the way to and from classes, I would run into friends, coworkers, professors and classmates and have joyful, albeit brief little reunions. Hugs were shared and fond words quickly followed.

There is something profoundly beautiful in knowing that you are of value to others.

This evening, we met our ward more effectively at a ward get-to-know-you night. The camaraderie paralleled the turnout, which was phenomenal. Afterwards, Jon, Steve and I went to yoga and relearned the meaning of relaxation and physical endurance simultaneously.

There has not been a time in my life that I can remember where I've felt more hopeful for the future and at peace with the present.

I have but God to thank for that.


Mike

Hold On - Alabama Shakes

MacBook!

Soldier Boy - Mason Jennings

Not much to report here, except that I got my new MacBook in the post last night and I am loving it. It came with The Adobe CS6 Master Suite pre-Installed. Pretty excited about that. Now, since I have CS6, I can spend more time developing my talents as far as design and web developing goes, which I need to do. I had the ability before, by going to an on-campus Mac, but having my own machine to use whenever I want is fantastic.

I found it for a fantastic deal, too. It really was a blessing, and money well spent.

Enjoy your weekend!

Mike

Old Pine - Ben Howard

2013: Good Things In [Book] Store

Off the Record - My Morning Jacket

Today was pretty great. A good portion of it was spent in the company of a good friend of mine as we spent some much-needed time together talking about life, etc. for a few hours at a coffee shop. It was a welcome conversation that spanned time reaching as far back as 2004 and then to the present as we recounted different stages of our friendship, the twists and turns in our individual lives and the enigma that is a relationship, be it friends or of the more romantic variety.

I love good conversation.

Much of our exchange concerned each of our individual resolutions to more fully appreciate the people in our lives who truly loved and respected us for who we were. We'd both found that in the past year, there were several friendships or relationships that we had been a part of where we were giving more than we were receiving in return. Of course, when you sincerely care for someone, you give of yourself without necessarily expecting an equal amount of reciprocation. Usually because you DO get things out of the relationship, whether tangible, physical, emotional or otherwise. However, an extended period of effort in something that is as vulnerable and energy-consuming as a friendship or relationship, if you're getting nothing from the other end, it becomes stale and, frankly, discouraging.

BUT, the purpose of this post was not to divulge our conversation (and believe me, 3 hours worth was MUCH more than my little nugget above) but was to celebrate a little blessing in disguise I had today!

The plan my friend and I had laid out was to meet at 12:30 at the coffee place. However, I got there a bit early (likely due to my admittedly lead foot) and after sitting in the place for a few minutes alone, I had the presence of mind to skip over (not literally) to the used bookstore next door to see what they had to offer. I scanned the modern fiction for a few novels I'd been looking for and after being met with disappointment, I looked over the classic literature. [Tangent - I prefer classic literature to modern literature because there is so much mediocre writing that has been put out en masse during the most recent decades. I'll explain more in a later post; hold me to it!] I found, much to my surprise and elation a book I had been looking for for years: Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. Better yet, it was four dollars. Better even still is that it was a hardback and featured three other short stories from the author.

So, point is, adventure - in the form of good deals on novellas you've been searching for - is out there. Just follow your intuition. God loves us.

Always,

Mike

The Big Picture - Bright Eyes (You'll be seeing a lot of them, no doubt)