Church
A personal victory
February 26, 2012
So, last week, I was caught off guard when I was asked if I would speak at Church the following Sunday (today). All week I’d been worrying and stressing about writing it, making sure it was long enough, practicing it, delivering it, making sure it wouldn’t put people to sleep… etc, etc, y’know, all the normal stuff people worry about when giving talks or speaking publicly.
As Sunday approached, the draft for my talk kept getting sharper and sharper, as I’d add things, tweak things, and edit things out. Natalia eventually read the talk and said it was excellent (of course she has to say that though… right?!).
Today, when I entered the chapel, I was at complete ease. At that point, I was just ready to face it head on and get it over with. When it was my turn at the pulpit, It was almost second nature… (I thank teaching on a regular basis for that).
When all was said and done, by the time I got home from church, 25+ different people had pulled me aside and told me a mixture the following:
- Thank you for sharing your experiences
- That was a great talk… no, really, like a GREAT talk
- Good talk
- You’re an amazing public speaker, I wish I could speak like that
- You were articulate, clear, well-spoken. That talk was well written and overall put together well
- Thank you for your talk
About half of those 25+ people, had never really spoken to me before, so for them to stop me and say something really meant a lot. One of the 25+ was a 10 year-old kid I’d never even seen before. There’s nothing like having your really hard work pay off, and people really appreciate it.
So, for me, this talk was definitely a personal victory.
conference
October 9, 2011
Last week, our church had its semi-annual general conference. The week prior to the conference, there is a big meeting for all of the women in the church. The meeting is held in Salt Lake City and broadcast all over the world. In a lot of congregations, the ladies have dinner and/or some type of refreshments and mingle after the meeting. The week of the conference, there is a big meeting for all of the men. At least here in our congregation, the guys don’t get refreshments (probably because they’d have to make it themselves and it is just easier not to). Knowing the “great injustice” of it all, I usually try to remember to get Luis some type of treat for when he comes home. This time around, he got a slice of chocolate cake.
pioneer day
August 3, 2011
I always knew that Pioneer Day (July 24th) was a big deal in Utah (almost bigger than the 4th of July). But whoever would have thought that they make a big deal out of pioneer day in Las Vegas too? Our church had a huge celebration the Saturday before pioneer day. Even though it was outside and scorching hot, I insisted that Luis and I at least make an appearance.
There was a free pancake breakfast. And as you’re probably aware, where there is free food, there is usually hoards of people. In this particular case, lots of pre-teens hoarding the food as soon as it was placed out for the masses. So I ended up getting some watermelon and one pancake and just giving a little 12-year-old girl the stink eye for taking 8 sausages even though there were 20 other people in line who probably wanted some too.
Fortunately, thanks to Anderson Dairy, drinks were plentiful. We had the choice between water, regular milk, chocolate milk, and orange juice. I went with the juice which made up for the lack of food nourishment.
There were lots of activities to participate in, including:
Potato sack racing
Wet sponge throwing (people would put their heads through the holes and others would throw wet sponges to try to hit them in the face… not sure what that has to do with pioneers, but it looked like fun)
Snow cones
Cotton candy
Face painting
A dunking booth
And lots and lots of other activities. All free to whomever showed up. It looked like everyone had a really great time. Since we didn’t get a whole lot to eat, we decided to head over to Blueberry Hill after we made our rounds.
This is just one meal. We shared. And it was still too much for the two of us.
Yes, we’re in Cub Scouts now
April 28, 2011
A couple weeks back we were asked to help out with growing number of boys in the Webelos (the 10 year-old Cub Scouts). So now, we’re official (well, not OFFICIAL just yet) Webelos Den Leaders.
As part of becoming an Adult Cub Scout Leader you have to go through various online trainings… the most important of all being Youth Protection Training. While the material covered was pretty important, the acting in the video was pretty cheesy.
I’m actually starting to look forward to this calling… seems like it’ll be a lot of fun!
Music from General Conference
April 5, 2011
Usually, after General Conference, I like to go back and give a 2nd listen to all of the music (in addition to the individual talks). That’s right, we do MORE than just make fun of people.
There was one musical number in particular that jumped out to me as I listened live, and again today as I re-listened.
At the beginning of the Sunday Afternoon session, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sung “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus,” a well-known Primary/Children’s song. Natalia likes to criticize me for thinking that Primary songs are too cheesy, but for some reason, when these same songs are sung by adults and/or MoTab… it brings the words/meaning to a whole different level.
Here’s a clip from the musical number:
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For the rest of the music from General Conference, head over here. Make sure you click to option to “Show music.” Everything is downloadable as an MP3.
Someone didn’t get the memo…
April 2, 2011
Natalia: This is kind of mean.
Luis: I know, I do feel kinda bad… but come on! It’s funny!
Natalia: What if someone that knows this girl reads our blog and gets offended?
Luis: It’s the price you pay when you become a TELEVISION STAHHHHHRRRRRR… besides, I doubt anyone will recognize her.
Natalia: I know you’re just teasing, and you know i’m just teasing, but what if no one else gets it and they just think we’re rude, obnoxious people and decide they hate us?
Luis: So… should we NOT post it?
Natalia: Oh no, we should definitely post it.
The Value of… Guy Friends
March 30, 2011
Yesterday, I read this very enlightening blog post about the importance of women needing other women in their lives: as friends, as support, as inspiration– all of which I am in complete agreement. As I was reading the post though, I was thinking about how women don’t corner the market on needing each other.
Here’s part of my (lengthy) response:
Luis: On that same vein, I also believe that men need other men. Maybe not for the same exact reasons women need women, but for me, there’s something awesome about bonding and connecting with “the guys”. Being in Las Vegas, and not having a circle of guy friends like I had in Provo has been pretty difficult.
It’s true, and it’s not something I like to bring out in the open very much. But the lack of real friends here has been quite rough on me.
- I miss being constantly pestered by Spencer
- I miss hanging out with Brent and Kelvin in the UVU cafeteria
- I miss playing Smash with Cody, Billy, and Daniel
- I miss the various eating-outings (specifically at Chili’s)
- I miss the EFY trips with my high school buddies
Don’t get me at all wrong… I love Natalia, and I absolutely love the little life we’ve built. Being apart from friends has given us an opportunity to grow together, and lean on each other in a way that we would have never had if we’d stayed in Provo. She’s my rock– my everything.
But, I’ve always thrived on the friendships around me. It’s a necessity for me. It’s part of the reason I created Toaster Strudel Tuesday back in my singles ward. It’s why I’ve loved pouring hours of my personal time into producing THE PLACE. It’s part of who and what I am.
And yes, there are a handful of people in here in Vegas that we are somewhat close to, which I SO appreciate, but not having that Buddy friendship hasn’t been easy for me. I often feel like I don’t fit in with other guys at church. I don’t have a great job that supports my family.. I don’t like sports.. I didn’t serve a mission.. I don’t play basketball.. I will be staying at home taking care of our child.. It’s hard to feel like I have a place.
Which brings me to the 2nd half of my reply:
Luis: Sometimes, it seems, this need for guy-bonding is overlooked when it comes to Mormon culture. Women are encouraged to befriend and support one another (Visiting teaching). In my ward, there’s a RS activity about every month where the women get together, no kids, no husbands, no men– and connect.
In the year I’ve lived here, there’s only been 1 EQ activity, and wives and kids were included. The only thing there is for men to do together is basketball on a Wednesday night– but if you don’t play or aren’t a fan of sports, where does that leave you!?
Outside of that, it doesn’t seem men are ever encouraged to interact with each other.
Is that not the truth? Aren’t male-to-male relationships within Mormon culture treated differently than female-to-female?
Am I envious of the organized interaction women get to have with one another both inside (Visiting teaching, Relief Society) and outside (Mommy play groups, “lunch with the girls”) of the church? … I’m kind of embarrassed to admit it, but yes.
The bottom line: friendship is vital to our human existence. For some, the need for friendship can be tiny, and for others, it can be quite a lofty necessity… but we all need Friends.. male, or female, single, or married, parents or childless.
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