This is a promotional video we did for the Film contest GCSA is doing. It didn't turn out as high quality as I'd hoped, but Joe spoke and Malu danced, so what more do you want?
Friday, February 18, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
These are a few of my favorite things...
I have been planning this post for a long time, and I am glad that I can start putting a few of my favorite things up for you to appreciate.
This will be the first of several posts on this subject.
Item #1) My Hula Dancer wallet:
This baby has been with me since the tender age of 15. I got it for free at a yard sale that our local church had to raise money for the Boy Scouts. That was a very profitable yard sale as far as scoring sweet junk goes, but I'll have to list those things at a later date. This wallet is a tri-fold black beauty with features, as you can see, a pretty nifty stitching of a Hula dancer. One of my favorite features of this wallet is that inside it's dependable Velcro fold, there is a pocket with a ZIPPER so that you will never lose your loose change. I once tried a different wallet for a while, but it just wasn't the same. I hope to actually carry money around in this wallet someday...
Item #2) Pantech Jest cell phone:
This is a fairly recent acquisition (less than a year?) and I LOVE it. This phone is the culmination of everything I want in a cell phone. It is small and compact, which I like. It was a full keyboard which has made my texting a delightful and blessed event compared to what it used to be. There is a nice large display for the size of the phone, a decent camera, a track pad with really convenient access to my alarm clock, and some fun politonal ring-tones that I never hear because it is always on vibrate mode. But they are there if I want them. The name Jest is strange, but oddly fitting. All in all, I wish I had another one to replace this one when it reaches it's distant and inevitable demise.
Item #3) My "On a Mission" t-shirt:
My beloved sister, who used to like me more than everyone else (or so I'd like to think), was an amazing package sender when I was on my mission. This is truly one of her gifts, and I have her to thank for many a Soft Batch cookie and pop-tart. One of the reasons that mi hermana was so great a package sender was that she included lenghtly letters, (often super dated but awesome nonetheless) toys, (such as a lightsaber), and even clothes. And here we arrive at the favorite item: my 'On a Mission' T-shirt. I don't know where she found it, but it is splendid. I used to work at a Utah State Park, which requires employees to wear a brown uniform. At first I detested this. But over time, I found that I couldn't help myself and every subsequent clothing purchase (and lets be honest, there weren't many before I got married) involved accruing yet more brown attire. So the solid brown of the t-shirt spoke straight to my heart. Then there was the text, which thought was immensely cleaver because, ... well, ... you know. This t-shirt ranks in the top five of my all time favorite t-shirts, and has the distinction of being the only one that is still staving off a threadbare demise.
Item #4) My Lifeguard travel backpack:
THIS BACKPACK IS AWESOME!!!
Ask anybody.
I REALLY wish I had another one because all good things must come to an end and I will probably weep like a child when this article bites the dust.
I found this gem in Peru in what is called a 'Cachina'. Picture a yardsale/handicraft fair vomited choatically around a busy Peruvian street in the degraded sty that is Juliaca and you might have a fair idea of what a cachina is like. You can find all kinds of interesting stuff, but on this day I was determined to replace a backpack that I had purchased earlier at another cachina that had literally disintegrated. I vowed that I wasn't going to by one of the flashy looking cheaply made bags, but that I would hunt until I found something that would last. When I finally laid eyes on this baby, I was tired of looking and I figured that even a heavily used canvas backpack would be better than anything else I could find. After paying the roughly $4 that it cost, I launched into what was become a never-ending honeymoon with this backpack. Seriously, this thing is possibly bulletproof, holds a shocking amount of stuff thanks to the drawstring top, and is shabby enough looking that I never worried about attracting undue thief notice. I bought the patches of the Peru and Chile flags, and patches of the Punisher symbol and another of Darth Vader and paid a shoe repair guy (also found where ever there are cachinas) to use some hardcore thread to sew them on. That whole operation cost me about 12 bucks. Than I paid a seamstress in Arequipa to shore up the holes and worn spots for about 4 dollars. So for a grand total of $20 I have a faithful companion that has accompanied me to both of my subsequent returns to S. America and has more personality than I can describe. If Indiana Jones had a backpack, ... this would be better than his. This backpack could dodge a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick, it's that amazing.
This will be the first of several posts on this subject.
Item #1) My Hula Dancer wallet:
This baby has been with me since the tender age of 15. I got it for free at a yard sale that our local church had to raise money for the Boy Scouts. That was a very profitable yard sale as far as scoring sweet junk goes, but I'll have to list those things at a later date. This wallet is a tri-fold black beauty with features, as you can see, a pretty nifty stitching of a Hula dancer. One of my favorite features of this wallet is that inside it's dependable Velcro fold, there is a pocket with a ZIPPER so that you will never lose your loose change. I once tried a different wallet for a while, but it just wasn't the same. I hope to actually carry money around in this wallet someday...
Item #2) Pantech Jest cell phone:
This is a fairly recent acquisition (less than a year?) and I LOVE it. This phone is the culmination of everything I want in a cell phone. It is small and compact, which I like. It was a full keyboard which has made my texting a delightful and blessed event compared to what it used to be. There is a nice large display for the size of the phone, a decent camera, a track pad with really convenient access to my alarm clock, and some fun politonal ring-tones that I never hear because it is always on vibrate mode. But they are there if I want them. The name Jest is strange, but oddly fitting. All in all, I wish I had another one to replace this one when it reaches it's distant and inevitable demise.
Item #3) My "On a Mission" t-shirt:
My beloved sister, who used to like me more than everyone else (or so I'd like to think), was an amazing package sender when I was on my mission. This is truly one of her gifts, and I have her to thank for many a Soft Batch cookie and pop-tart. One of the reasons that mi hermana was so great a package sender was that she included lenghtly letters, (often super dated but awesome nonetheless) toys, (such as a lightsaber), and even clothes. And here we arrive at the favorite item: my 'On a Mission' T-shirt. I don't know where she found it, but it is splendid. I used to work at a Utah State Park, which requires employees to wear a brown uniform. At first I detested this. But over time, I found that I couldn't help myself and every subsequent clothing purchase (and lets be honest, there weren't many before I got married) involved accruing yet more brown attire. So the solid brown of the t-shirt spoke straight to my heart. Then there was the text, which thought was immensely cleaver because, ... well, ... you know. This t-shirt ranks in the top five of my all time favorite t-shirts, and has the distinction of being the only one that is still staving off a threadbare demise.
Item #4) My Lifeguard travel backpack:
THIS BACKPACK IS AWESOME!!!
Ask anybody.
I REALLY wish I had another one because all good things must come to an end and I will probably weep like a child when this article bites the dust.
I found this gem in Peru in what is called a 'Cachina'. Picture a yardsale/handicraft fair vomited choatically around a busy Peruvian street in the degraded sty that is Juliaca and you might have a fair idea of what a cachina is like. You can find all kinds of interesting stuff, but on this day I was determined to replace a backpack that I had purchased earlier at another cachina that had literally disintegrated. I vowed that I wasn't going to by one of the flashy looking cheaply made bags, but that I would hunt until I found something that would last. When I finally laid eyes on this baby, I was tired of looking and I figured that even a heavily used canvas backpack would be better than anything else I could find. After paying the roughly $4 that it cost, I launched into what was become a never-ending honeymoon with this backpack. Seriously, this thing is possibly bulletproof, holds a shocking amount of stuff thanks to the drawstring top, and is shabby enough looking that I never worried about attracting undue thief notice. I bought the patches of the Peru and Chile flags, and patches of the Punisher symbol and another of Darth Vader and paid a shoe repair guy (also found where ever there are cachinas) to use some hardcore thread to sew them on. That whole operation cost me about 12 bucks. Than I paid a seamstress in Arequipa to shore up the holes and worn spots for about 4 dollars. So for a grand total of $20 I have a faithful companion that has accompanied me to both of my subsequent returns to S. America and has more personality than I can describe. If Indiana Jones had a backpack, ... this would be better than his. This backpack could dodge a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick, it's that amazing.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Sweat is a sweet last name.
There have been many over the course of my life to comment on my surname. I have had people mock it, and praise it. In elementary school my parents had the unfortunate penchant to dress me in sweat pants and sweat shirts, which was basically inviting ridicule. Maybe they were trying to teach me an important life lesson, or maybe they were oblivious. Either way, I wasn't big on sweats until college and I rediscovered the joy of elastic waistbands. When I was young, I was also examined rigorously by my peers to determine whether or not I sweated more than was socially permissible. Needless to say I was a big proponent of antiperspirant, even before the free miniature Old Spice that was divied out in 5th grade maturation class.
Later on, people would intentionally mispronounce it in order to avoid offending me if they were wrong. They mostly say "sweet" rather than sweat, which is amusing but gets old. It is a good screen for tele-marketers though, so I guess there is balance in all things.
Finally, during my mission the "SW" together gave the Latins fits with pronunciation. There aren't any words in Spanish that feature the W anyway and so my name-tag caused general stammering and uncomfortableness. Basically, for all you Spanish speakers out there, the pronunciation works best (Su-et).
Despite all of the issues my surname has caused throughout the years, I am proud of it. There aren't a whole lot of us, and I am glad of that. It originates in England, and we even have a sweet (or Sweat) coat of arms. Check it out here:
http://www.4crests.com/sweat-coat-of-arms.html
So, I'm a Sweat. Wanna fight about it?
Later on, people would intentionally mispronounce it in order to avoid offending me if they were wrong. They mostly say "sweet" rather than sweat, which is amusing but gets old. It is a good screen for tele-marketers though, so I guess there is balance in all things.
Finally, during my mission the "SW" together gave the Latins fits with pronunciation. There aren't any words in Spanish that feature the W anyway and so my name-tag caused general stammering and uncomfortableness. Basically, for all you Spanish speakers out there, the pronunciation works best (Su-et).
Despite all of the issues my surname has caused throughout the years, I am proud of it. There aren't a whole lot of us, and I am glad of that. It originates in England, and we even have a sweet (or Sweat) coat of arms. Check it out here:
http://www.4crests.com/sweat-coat-of-arms.html
So, I'm a Sweat. Wanna fight about it?
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