First off, I’ve managed to go … continue reading: Quick update]]> It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything, so I figured I should write a quick update. Work is a little slow at the moment (read: the calm before the storm), as I’m still waiting on the majority of the foreign markets to submit their forecasts, so I’ve actually been making it home at a decent hour.

First off, I’ve managed to go without fast food for over two months now. Which isn’t saying a whole lot, but I’m still pretty proud of myself. Ditching fast food has been surprisingly easy: after the first two weeks, it wasn’t at all difficult to say no to dollar menus and quick calories. Granted, I only have to cook for myself, not a whole family, and my schedule is completely independent of anyone else’s.

Last week, I was able to attend a performance of BYU’s Music Dance Theatre Showcase, which was terrific, as was the company (by multiple definitions.) They opened with the Glee rendition of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, which is always a classic, and performed other numbers from a variety of musicals. I was a little disappointed that they chose heavily from Legally Blonde and Urinetown, hoping for a few Rodgers and Hammerstein songs or selections from Wicked (Defying Gravity anyone?) instead. The weirdest thing was thing I knew two of the girls in the production – this is either a sign that I’m mixing with better gente, or that I’ve just been in Provo too long. Both are quite possible at this point.

I was planning on taking my bike out for the first ride of the season tomorrow, but with the massive snowfall that we just received, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. That leaves me with apartment hunting and attending the 20th Annual BYU Hunger Banquet. Which reminds me, I still need to find a date for that.

On the topic of the social life here at BYU, I haven’t yet decided if I want to stay in … continue reading: Four weddings]]> In the past week alone, I’ve received four wedding invitations/announcements, which sets a new personal record for the number received in a single week. Three of those four were from mission friends/companions, while one was for my cousin’s wedding later this month.

On the topic of the social life here at BYU, I haven’t yet decided if I want to stay in the same ward next fall. I’ve signed a contract at Mt. Vista after successfully negotiating myself out of a rent increase, but one of the guys who I was hoping would move in wasn’t able to come up with the deposit in time. Because our apartment complex is at the very edge of our ward boundaries, the social scene is pretty quiet. Since it doesn’t look like I’ll be having a sociable roommate (my current ones are great, don’t get me wrong, they’re just somewhat antisocial), I may want to find a different complex where there’s a bit more going on in that aspect. The problem is, at 24, I’m hesitant to move into a ward where the average age is 21 or 22. My current ward, while geographically abstruse, is wonderful in the fact that the average age (for males) is 24-25. Plus there’s the economic factor. I could afford a nicer apartment, but those complexes typically cater to a more, dare I say, snobbish clique. It would be foolish to move to a new ward/complex in hopes of a better social scene with the foreknowledge that I would have little in common with the majority of the ward. It’s my personal belief that relationships usually have a better chance of success when the two parties have similar socioeconomic backgrounds.

To summarize, were I to look for a new apartment and ward, these would be my criteria:

• Social roommates. Not party roommates, just social ones.
• A nice apartment. I don’t care how nice the roommates are if the place is a dump. I do have to live there, even if only on nights and weekends.
• An older ward. Sorry, but I have to admit that in most cases maturity is directly correlated with age.
• Peers from middle to upper middle class families. I’m not trying to hate on either end of the spectrum, there are some amazing people who don’t fit inside that range, but if your dad bought you a car that’s worth as much as my first house will be, something is wrong.
• Within walking distance to campus. Even if I never have to walk to campus again, it’d be nice to be close enough that I could do so should the need arise.

Also of note, … continue reading: Library Folding@Home team takes lead]]> The Harold B. Lee Library’s Folding@Home took this lead this morning as the top-scoring team at BYU. Congratulations, and thanks to those who have donated their CPU cycles to such a worthy cause. Now that the HBLL team leads at BYU, their next goal is to overtake the teams at Yale, U Minn, and the University of Oklahoma.

Also of note, the author of The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch, passed away today after his extended battle with pancreatic cancer. If you want to show your support for his widow and children, the easiest (and most meaningful) way is to purchase a copy of his book.