Big Ken in Cali

269.4 Pounds of Awesomeness

2010-10-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

So, I promised photos of myself in the past when I'd lost weight. I've been busy of late, but wanted to post those. These were taken by Adria Scarborough who has an eponymous photography business she runs with her husband, Jarod. My photo shoot with Adria was on September 25, 2010. More or less, this is about 20 months after my weight loss surgery (I had a gastric band surgery on January 23, 2009.

Let's work out some stats real quick:
On 1/22/2009 I weighed in at 382.5 pounds.
On 10/11/2010 I weighed in at 269.4 pounds.
Total weight lost so far is 113.10 pounds.

Please don't get the impression that this surgery is a cure-all or was easy for me. I've struggled with learning how to recondition myself to eat better and exercise more. I am still highly addicted to ice cream, just like many 0f you. The difference is that I never felt full before having this surgery. Now I have certain triggers that I can sense that tell me I am more or less "full" or satisfied. Also, I have learned (and am still in the process of learning) the importance of chewing my food, getting enough exercise and sleep, and enjoying life as much as possible in the right ways.

One struggle as I've been learning this reconditioning, I've regurgitated more food in the past 20 months than in the 27 years prior to that. I've gone to bed hungry more nights because of being unable to get anything "down," too. So, those that think I took the "easy way out" with this surgery have no idea what they're talking about. Rex Ryan, the NY Jets head coach, has had a similar surgery, and one day I heard Doug Gottlieb speak of Rex Ryan's choice to have the surgery and called him this word for having had it: "WEAK." Doug Gottlieb was trying to promote P90X, a series of exercise DVDs formally called Power 90 Extreme, for which he must be a compensated endorser because if you listen to ESPN Radio at all, then you have to hear him droll on about it ALL THE TIME! Well, to Doug Gottlieb and anyone else that would judge someone else for making one of the most difficult decisions in their lives, this is what I have to say to you:

You are not a real man. A real man does not call people out for issues like that over a radio show in order to promote their exercise video series. Mr. Gottlieb, at one point in time I did enjoy listening to your show, but you are such an insulting individual that I would rather not bother with it. Being that your show is a sports show, you can make fun of the NY Jets all that you want. Make fun of how Rex is as a head coach. How he acts versus how he should probably act, but to make fun of him for wanting to add years to his life and improve his health seems absurd considering that is exactly what you were supposedly trying to promote with the exercise series you were endorsing at that time. I sincerely hope to one day find you in need of a surgery similar to the surgery Rex Ryan had. And if that does happen, I hope to find audio of your own comments to play for you to hear and to see how "weak" it makes you feel to realize that you've torn down another person for what you yourself have also done.

Of course, I doubt that this will go anywhere, but that comment that Gottlieb made has been on my mind since the summer when he made it. I've thought very poorly of Gottlieb ever since.

On a brighter note, I hope you can enjoy these photos of me. I will probably just post them from here on in this specific post.

Mark Zuckerberg

2010-10-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

This blog entry from the LA Times supports my theory that Mark Zuckerberg will be just fine after the release of the Social Network.

See the SNL sketch they reference here.

My favorite line:

Responding to whether he went and saw The Social Network, "What? Don't be ridiculous. I stole it online."

You should see this movie.

The Social Network

2010-10-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard, there is a new movie out about the origins of facebook. If you're not familiar with it, read the synopsis here.

I saw this movie last night, and think the dialogue is solid. It stars Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, facebook's co-founder. Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara, and Andrew Garfield also star. The emotions ran high throughout Aaron Sorkin's script and that made the movie very good. Overall, I am most impressed with David Fincher: that script was difficult to shoot, at best, and then piece together as a followable film. He segued between depositions and life events fairly seamlessly, all the while painting the picture of what the founders of facebook were like. I think that Fincher also proved his abilities by getting a very good performance from Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, founder of Napster and adviser to facebook's early days.

I don't feel this movie was as damaging to Mark Zuckerberg's character as many had suggested it would be. It showcases him as aloof and at odds with both understanding people and not understanding them at the same time. He gets what motivates them, but he doesn't get why it motivates them. In general, based on this portrayal, he's the brightest person in the room.

Personally, I think he'll be just fine after this movie and be unaffected by it. Leading me to believe that his donation to Newark Schools of approximately $100M had more to do with taxes than with anything else. Which also leads me to believe that you should all expect a facebook IPO in 2011 or 2012. The only questionable thing about that transaction is its timing, yet why does that even matter? He gave because he wanted to give and he found an organization that he wanted to give to. To me, that's all that really mattered.

Overall, I think that the movie is worth seeing in theaters. The pace is a bit slow though, so don't go tired. There is little to no action whatsoever. If you enjoy dramas and enjoyed television shows like The West Wing (written by Aaron Sorkin), then you'll enjoy this film, too.

(500) Days of Summer

2009-09-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

It's official! I LOVE "(500) Days of Summer." I don't know how to explain it, but this simple movie has me swooning over it. The soundtrack is brilliant. Yes, I said brilliant. The way that the director, Marc Webb, has incorporated the music into the storytelling has enhanced the movie so much. I finally bought the soundtrack from Amazon.com last night and have been listening to the music all morning. I never really knew The Smiths, Hall & Oates, or even Simon And Garfunkel before this album and have to say that based on the samples included on this album, I am now going to have to go back and check out their musical catalogs. By far, my favorite songs on this album are track 2: Us by Regina Spektor and track 8: Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap. Us is just a really sweet, tender song, and Spektor's voice is so sultry: I LOVE it! Sweet Disposition has to have one of my favorite intros of all time, seriously. Between the percussion and the vocals that start this song off, it reminds me of early U2 music, only better! So, yeah, I would HIGHLY recommend this soundtrack to anyone that enjoys listening to music. It wouldn't be very good for working out to at the gym, though. Nor would it be good for dancing. But it is sweet and tender and good for listening to while working at the office.

As for the movie, I notice that the main characters are named Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) and can't help but think that this is an homage to Mark Twain's characters Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, but am not quite sure how to make this connection because I am fairy deficient in my reading of novels including those characters. However, from what I do recall of Huck Finn, he was a total noncommittal person, living life by the day and making no plans for the future. If that is the case, then Summer Finn truly does embody those attributes at the beginning of the film. Tom Hansen as Tom Sawyer is a bit harder for me to connect because Tom's character feels as though he has always wanted to be in love and is in love with the idea of being in love. Which is one reason that I think that I relate so well to this film, because I love the sensation of being in love, no matter how fleeting it has been in my own life. Either way, I think I am onto something with this character names, but again am deficient in my readings on the original characters.

So, the two characters have basically role reversal from the start. Not that Tom is homosexual or anything, but he definitely takes on many stereotypes typically assigned to women, like always looking for love, reading too much into situations, obsessing about the "relationship" before it's really a relationship, etc. What I like most about that is that this is exactly what made the film likable because it is not only women who do this about relationships. I am not saying all men do this to the extent that some women do it, but many men do worry about this stuff. At times, I am included among those men that "overthink" their interactions with the opposite sex. So, overall, I can truly relate to this character. I think that my male friends that liked this movie, also relate, on some level, to Tom, too.

Zooey Deschanel's Summer Finn is phenomenal. Yes, one of the other reasons that I LOVE this movie is because I love Zooey. Ever since seeing her in Elf, I have been in love with her. I can't say that I have loved all of her films (seriously, The Happening and Yes Man were pretty bad), but I think that even in her bad films (including the ones I just mentioned) she has made them watchable by being so likable. She always seems to come across the screen as the beautiful girl-next-door that you could just live the rest of your life with. She has many of the movies memorable lines and is involved in some great scenes, too. I can't really say what those are here right now, but they'll probably make you laugh.

Overall, this romantic comedy does it a little different and succeeds at it. I should caution anyone that intends to see it that it definitely earns its PG-13 rating by using some colorful language, but honestly, it didn't seem vulgar to me, especially in its context. There is no nudity and no violence, so that is nice.

Time Warp to 1995

2009-08-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

I live in Bakersfield, California. Something that people often say about Bakersfield is that "there's nothing to do," which can be true, at times, but usually I'll hear many of those same people quickly follow that comment up with, "but it's really close to everything else." Well, I haven't quite figured out how to stay bored in Bakersfield and am not sure what "everything else" is, but I got a good glimpse at it over this past weekend.

Last weekend, I went to see my grandparents in Gardnerville, Nevada; a small town adjacent to Minden, Nevada which itself is a few miles from Carson City, Nevada. All of which is relatively close to Reno, Nevada. Well, enough with this geography lesson, but know that from my driveway to my grandparents' driveway, it's about a 7 hour drive.

I first noticed that I was entering a time warp because my cell phone stopped working. I was driving along Highway 58, not even to Tehachapi, talking to my mom (yes, I do call her and email her often, but I am not a momma's boy) when the cell service just died. When my mom finally heard from me a few days later, she referred to it as simply getting cutoff, but I know that this was the start of the time warp. The cell service would come and go intermittently, making it useless to make any phone calls as I made the long trek via Highway 395.

Having given up on my cell phone, I turned to my trusty satellite radio. Certainly XM would not forsake me. I didn't think it was possible, but even XM had reception issues on those back roads through such thriving metropolises as Lone Pine, Big Pine and the big city, Bishop. I guess that I was not meant to listen to ESPN Radio for 7 straight hours (which I might have done just because I could.) So, instead I went through the six compact discs in the changer in my car. It ranged from comedy to Disney classics to Broadway hits to country music. I couldn't help but sing along. Mind you, these were mp3 CDs, not audio CDs, so they were multiple full albums that I had burned onto one disc. Of course, all of this music contributed to the time warp, too. You see, the majority of the Disney and Broadway music that I was singing along with was from the 1990's. Such music as from Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King (movie and stage), The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas Hercules and Mulan.

After giving up on the cell phone and submitting to the musical forces that are Andrew Lloyd Webber ("Phantom of the Opera") and Walt Disney Studios, I found myself cruising through Bridgeport, California, crooning "If I Can't Have Her" and "I'll Make a Man Out of You," as well as various tunes from "Phantom." Okay, I didn't sing all of these in Bridgeport, the town is not THAT big, but I did stop there to use the restroom, so I sang the two I actually named while there. And yes, the two local citizens looked at me a bit funny, but they had to run back-and-forth between the various gas stations and eateries that they were manning that day, so they didn't have much time to be all that puzzled.

I continued on my way, mile after mile seemed to stack up. My car and I were enjoying the scenery of Topaz Lake and the mountains, but were growing weary and ready to just chill for the night. Of course, it was early afternoon, so it was too early to do any of that, but I was tired nonetheless. About an hour after leaving Bridgeport, and approximately 23 songs later, I arrived at my destination.

I walked into my grandparents' house, nothing seems to have changed since the last time I was there. Some of the photos have been updated since I was last there, but for the most part, everything is as it was when they first moved to Gardnerville in the mid-1990's. Even the room that I'll sleep in that night will have changed very little since the house was first inhabited by my grandparents (the first owners of the home.) I am nearly certain the alarm clock next to the bed I'll sleep in is older than I am. I half believe that the VCR might only play BetaMax tapes (this is not actually the case, it only plays VHS.) As I enter the living room to greet my grandfather, I see that one of the two channels that we'll watch that weekend is on: AMC. The other channel is Turner Classic Movies ("They don't have commercials!" I am assured by my grandfather.) After setting my luggage in my room, I return to the living room and am told to sit down, we have a Gene Hackman movie marathon to partake in.

The marathon is broken up by a home-cooked dinner (Thank you, Grandma!) and attempts to print paperwork from the internet for my grandmother. She only has Adobe Reader 6.0, but we need to print something that will require a minimum of 7.0, so we go find 9.0 and try to download it. Doh! That's right! It's 1995 and the only thing available is AOL dial-up (remember when EVERYONE in America had AOL? Even I did, as recently as 1999.) Well, the Adobe Reader 9.0 files aren't exactly small and they're going to take a while to download. I try not to fall asleep in the process, but I do. It takes 5 hours to download these files. I hope that they let us print what we want. I also hope that Grandma doesn't pay for internet by the hour or for local phone service by the minute. Either way, I am sure it will all be worth it to Grandma and Grandpa, as it helped them print out some paperwork that was VERY important to them. Hurray! The install was a success!!

After breakfast, prepared by an awesome grandmother, we decided to go to The National Car Museum in Reno, Nevada. We saw some OLD cars there, too! It was awesome! Some of those cars make today's SUV's look economical. I was fascinated by the various cars, but took few photos, that is, until I saw the "celebrity" cars. And which celebrity car made me decide to start taking snapshots? You'll never guess: Grease Lightning!

Other cars that I saw that day, include this beauty from 2 Fast 2 Furious:

And this funky one from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me:

Then we saw this amazing car, you might recognize it as something James Bond drove in Die Another Day:

We finished off the afternoon at the museum with an ice cream. Then we tooled around the mall for an hour or two, after which we had dinner at Outback Steakhouse in honor of my birthday (I turned 28 years old this year.) It was a good, long day. Luckily my grandfather drove that afternoon. My pedometer that night showed that I had walked 8 miles that day! Crazy, huh? It definitely made me feel better about eating the filet mignon for dinner. ;)

The weekend was capped off by a return trip to Bakersfield, during which I partook in many of the same festivities as on my way up there. Only this time, I sang a few hymns, too. It was Sunday after all.

17 Pounds in 6 Weeks

2009-07-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you that are not aware. I am a lap-band patient. Well, that is not fully accurate, I have the Realize Band, but my point is that I had laparascopic banding surgery on January 23, 2009. At my pre-operative weigh-in, I was 382.5 pounds. Through February, March and April, I wasn't doing much exercise due to being inundated with work as a tax-focused certified public accountant. So, my weight was really reducing that much. Also, I was doing it all through diet and no exercise. Then I had my first adjustment on March 18, 2009. And another in May 2009.

Around the time of that adjustment in May 2009, I started going ot Pair & Marotta Physical Therapy on Truxtun. I started with the water exercises and some rehab in the medical gym area. After two months of Physical Therapy, I've since become a Medi-Gym member, which just means that I don't see a therapist when I am in there, though they are available to answer my questions and direct me as to what I should be doing. Also, if I have a problem, they are there to help me. I needed this, as I was legitimately too heavy to start running or even walking on a treadmill or elliptical machine. My knee bothers me and just doesn't support it, but the water allows me to do things that I otherwise wouldn't be able to do. Either way, I had been able to drop down to about 360 pounds before six weeks ago.

About six weeks ago, I started trying a few things different, including taking some newer prescription drugs (Phentermine 15 mg and Topamax 25 mg) and weightlifting. I also started protein-loading. I am making sure to eat a minimum of 100 grams of protein per day and my goal is to actually have a minimum of 150 grams per day and be closer to 175 grams per day. I am doing all of this while trying to eat a diet of less than 2500 calories per day, and if I can help it, less than 1800 calories per day.

My body has responded well to all of this. My blood pressure is doing great (thanks to the Topamax and another blood pressure medicine that I take daily) and the weight is coming off. I weighed in at 342.5 pounds at Cedars-Sinai yesterday before I had my third adjustment. The goal is to weigh even less by the end of August. Stated more clearly, I'd like to be at about 325 by 8/31/2009. I think that I can easily do it, I just need to stay away from eating too much ice cream and cookies. Two things that I refuse to give up completely, but have come to realize that I must eat in moderation. I have found some good-tasting protein mixes and have figured out some recipes that work for me.

The best part of my weigh-in was that they tell me my body stats. My body fat percentages continue to go down. Better yet, it looks like I actually put on a few pounds of muscle over the past six weeks, meaning that the vast majority of that 17 pounds was body fat. My body has slimmed down a lot. My clothes fit better and people are starting to notice. My trainer at Pair & Marotta was somewhat shocked. Last night, he said, "You know, I noticed that you were looking thinner, but most people just have their belly curve continue to come back, your's has just dropped flat. That means that you've been dropping belly fat. That's great!" I like hearing stuff like that! I also like seeing the definition that I am getting in my calves and biceps and even my abs. Unfortunately, the abs are covered by a lot of fat still, but the muscles are coming in, I swear they are!!

So, at this point, I think it is safe to say that I am pleased with the results that I am seeing from the working out and diet changes. If anyone has any questions, then I will be happy to answer them directly. Just post a comment here or message me if you know me.

The Long Day from... Heaven?

2009-07-19T22:27:00.001-07:00

I couldn't fall asleep last night. I don't know why, but it just wasn't happening. It could have been any of a myriad of reasons, but after going through any and all of them, the result was the same: I could not sleep. The last time I remember seeing as I glanced at the clock last night was about 1:30 AM. My alarm started its persistent buzzing at ten minutes before 7:00 AM; what was this, a cruel joke? It's a Sunday, not a weekday, I'm supposed to be able to sleep in! Also, my first church meeting isn't until 11:45 AM on Sunday, so I don't need to be up that early. So, I turned my alarm off and just laid there in bed, drifting in and out of sleep. Then, the phone rang.
Out of principle, I didn't want to get up. Why would I? It was 8:32 AM on a Sunday morning, certainly it was just one of the guys in my branch asking for a ride to church that afternoon, I could call them back. That thought went through my mind very quickly upon hearing the phone ring, but then something came over me. I honestly began to shake and at the same time a warm feeling came over my entire body and this thought entered my mind: "GET UP AND ANSWER THE PHONE!!" I jumped up from my bed to my phone and saw who was calling: it was the Fresno Co-Chairperson for the statewide Young Single Adult (YSA) conference. I tried to answer, but the call went to voice mail before I could do so. I called her back immediately. She had a new challenge for me and the stakes of Bakersfield: put together a choir and perform on August 9th at the Sunday morning session of the Conference. My end of the conversation went something like this: "What? Really? With so little time? Do you really need a choir? Well, I can't see the Bakersfield Stakes backing down from this challenge. How many people can we have in the choir? Sixty? Okay. I'll let you know as soon as I do that we've accepted this challenge. Thank you."
So, began my morning. I then showered, got ready for church and headed to my office to get my paperwork together for the conference. Then, feeling challenged by phone calls from earlier in the week, I called every but who was already registered, but had yet to pay. That was a lot of phone calls and phone messages! Luckily, I know everyone on my lists, so it's not scary making the calls, just a little awkward asking them to pay the money for the conference! Seriously though, it'll be worth every dime the attendees spend on attendance.
After the thirty or so phone calls, I left my office, already a few minutes late for my Branch Council meeting; I'm also the Sunday School President of the Kern River Branch. There we were able to discuss the greatness that is the California YSA Conference that will be hosted in Fresno. I told them of my conversations with the co-chairs and the excitement that I was feeling for this conference and the disappointment that we don't have more people registered yet! They council countered with their plans to have two more "search and rescue" events in the next week. One on 7/20/2009 and the other on 7/26/2009. I lamented that I had plans both days, but vowed to change plans for the one on Monday. The one on Sunday interferes with an engagement I have to be on television, volunteering with ALSAC/St. Jude's; totally a good, better, best situation, but I gave my word to St. Jude's first.
After more talk of the conference in all three hours of Church, I went to the Bakersfield Stake offices to renew my temple recommend. While there I met some more YSA, so I proceeded to invite them to the conference, too. Then, went and met with my stake president, Michael Hawkins. He's a good man, and has worked in energy for years. I don't know much about him, but I like him. After that, I went to our Linger Longer and had some chili with cheese and chatted with some other young single adults.
Following that, and after consulting with Bakersfield South Stake and my stake and trying desperately to get a hold of the East Stake's representatives, we had a trial run choir practice to practice a piece of music that we are not quite sure we will have by our next practice. I am having faith it will work out. How can it not? Either way, practice is immediately following institute on Wednesday night at the institute. Maybe you can join us?
I returned home around 9:00 PM this evening, exhausted from the day. And after doing some last minute chores am now writing this as I am about to fall asleep. How great this day has been. I think I know what President Hinckley was talking about regarding losing yourself in service only to find yourself, because I haven't felt this spiritually good in a while, and I wasn't exactly bad off before this. I feel almost like I am on missionary status right now. I love it.
If you haven't registered yet for this conference, you really should. The cost is negligible when you factor in that housing for Friday and Saturday nights will be provided. Lunch and dinner on Saturday and Breakfast and Lunch on Sunday will be provided, too. And there are two dances: one on Friday night, one on Saturday night. Overall, it's going to be a fun weekend, and well worth the registration fees. Register today at http://www.californiaysa.org

Fast & Furious

2009-06-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Last week, to celebrate $1 Tuesdays at Starplex Cinemas in Bakersfield, my buddy Adam and myself decided to see Fast & Furious after work. Wow! The theater was packed!! So many kids and parents crowding that place up!!!

I don't know what to say about this movie, because while it was somewhat fun to watch, it was overall a very crappy movie. I don't remember ever watching him prior to this and thinking this thought, but while watching this movie it dawned on me that Paul Walker cannot act or at the very least, didn't act well in this movie. Ditto that for every other actor in this film. Michelle Rodriguez mailed it in. Vin Diesel was his normal self, but still a bad actor. Even Jordana Brewster (she's very good-looking) was pretty terrible in this one. I wouldn't be surprised in the least bit to see this movie get nominated for lots of Razzies this year.

So, in closing, if you're looking for a sophisticated, smart film, then this is not that film. If you are looking for a dumb movie, with cool cars, and some scantily-clad women, then this is your film.

As an aside, before we chose this movie, I narrowed it down to three movies and presented those to Adam. Now, I chose those three movies based on the showtime and what I thought he'd like. So, he totally chose this movie. As we were leaving, he says this to me: "I don't know that I would have a chosen a movie with such scantily-clad women, but thank you for taking me to the movies." I don't remember the other two film titles, but this was the one I least wanted to see.

Terminator: Salvation

2009-06-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

I was able to watch this movie when visiting Pasadena on 5/30/2009, following my completion of the GMAT that morning. Overall, I liked Terminator:Salvation. It was rather entertaining. The action was cool, the story was cool enough. I thought that Christian Bale and Anton Yelchin (the new "it-kid" in Hollywood?) did very good jobs in their roles as John Connor and his dad, Kyle Reese. My biggest complaint was the Terminator in this movie: Sam Worthington. Worthington's acting was a huge distraction to me. I thought that he was a muscle-bound idiot, yet he tried to show a heart throughout the movie. And Moon Bloodgood's character was annoying at best, especially her flirtations with Mr. Worthington's character. What was up with Moon's makeup in this movie? She has a Zorro-like band around her eyes the entire film, which made it difficult to understand her character at all; why? because I was busy looking at her eyes and trying to figure out what was up with them.

I really liked the sound of the movie. The attacks by the machines were really cool because of the sound effects. Also, the machines used in the movie were fairly innovative. And Helena Bonham Carter did a great job in her limited role. I really liked the "cameo" by Arnold Schwarzenegger near the end. The ending was alright and left the movie open to Terminator 5, which I am okay with, especially if the sequel includes Bale and Yelchin.

If you like Science Fiction at all, then you should go check out this film.

I Love You, Man

2009-05-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

My roommate, Mike, wanted to see this movie since he first heard about it. He's a fan of Paul Rudd (who is pretty hilarious) and tends to want to watch anything with Mr. Rudd in it (even if it were only a cameo.) As for me, I think that Jason Segel is hilarious (he stars as Marshall in How I Met Your Mother), so I was all too willing to see this movie. Well, due to other movies coming out that looked funnier to me and a vacation that I took out of the country, I decided that this was a dollar theater movie (I'll explain this concept in another post.) Yesterday, I finally saw that it was playing at the dollar theater, so I immediately called Mike, and we made plans to go that night. I am so glad that we did see it.

While the movie earns its "R" rating, it is mostly due to profanity (f-bombs galore) and sexual discussion (I don't recall any actual nudity, though.) I was laughing out loud an awful lot while watching this movie. The comments made by Sidney (Segel) to Peter (Rudd) about Peter's engagement to Zooey (a lovely Rashida Jones) were at times ludicrous, but always humorous. At one point, Sidney asks Zooey, in front of his family and her friends at Peter & Zooey's engagement party no less, to better satisfy Peter's sexual needs. (It was a great toast!!)

Add in that this movie heavily showcases Jane Curtin, J.K. Simmons, Andy Samberg, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, Lou Ferrigno, and other hilarious actors, and you have a very funny and entertaining movie. If you can get past some of the crude, sexual language, then I think that you'll laugh your butt off at this movie. Go check it out!!!

Summer Lovin'

2009-05-27T22:50:00.001-07:00

In the Kern River Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we have an annual phenomenon occur. Basically, Bakersfield, where I live, is a town large enough for pest control, satellite television, security systems, and even "living scripture" salesmen to come and market their services and wares to the general public. These salesmen come from all parts of the country, but the majority of them are recruited from the Rexburg and Provo areas, where the Church has two of its universities. At the same time that these sales teams are arriving in Bakersfield, many of the natives that attend the various Church universities in Laie, Hawaii, Rexburg, Idaho and Provo, Utah are returning for the summer to spend time with their families and earn some extra cash to help pay their way through school.

While none of this may seem to be phenomenal, it truly is. You see, during the rest of the year, the Kern River Branch averages no more than 65 people each week in its sacrament meeting. During the summer, we average as much as 125 people in sacrament meeting (the equivalent meeting to a pastor delivering a sermon in other Christian churches.) So, every year, at the beginning of June the congregation nearly doubles in size. It will stay that way until about the middle of August, when school the universities began classes for the new school year.

So, you're probably asking yourself, "Why would this dude complain about his congregation of Young Single Adults nearly doubling in size during summer?" And I would respond to that query with this: 80%* of those new people each summer are males. The other 20% and whatever other females were already living in Bakersfield, then seem to turn their attention to these "new" and "exotic" males. Thinking things like, "Their new and exciting." or "They go to BYU, I go to BYU, we must be meant for one another." All the while, the majority of these salesmen don't even have time to date one of these women who are suddenly throwing themselves at their feet.

So, you may be wondering what happens to the men that were in Bakersfield and the Kern River Branch all along? Well, for the most part, they'll be cast aside and ignored for the duration of the summer. Whatever friendships (and some times even relationships) were in place prior to the arrival of these salesmen are tossed aside and ignored. In fact**, due to this, some of the men that live in Bakersfield year-round have left for an entire summer to go to Provo (or another area filled with Mormon women), in an effort to find the very women that were left behind by the invading summer sales forces. (Think of it as a reverse invasion.)

As for me, I do my best to date those women still willing to talk to me during summer, but find it very frustrating that I am ignored by some of them due to the aforementioned on goings. The reason that I am most frustrated is because the slowest part of my year as a tax accountant is May 15th through August 15th; this should be prime dating time for me, but usually, I end up just watching a bunch of movies at the cinema and calling it a summer. Perhaps, this, my fifth summer in Bakersfield, will prove to be better than any other that I've had the privilege of being involved in. Who knows? But I am hoping that is the case.*** At the very least, there will be some fun movies this summer, so I won't be disappointed when I find myself at the cinema. Want to go see Terminator: Salvation with me?

* This statistic is not scientific in any way.
** I use the term "fact" very loosely here.
*** I'm an eternal optimist when it comes to me finding a spouse

California YSA

2009-05-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

Watch this video. We'll be participating in this Statewide conference for Young Single Adults. It is taking place around the seven temples in California.

Here it is:

The Soloist

2009-05-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, May 9, 2009, I went to see Joe Wright's The Soloist. In preparation for this film, I read the book, written by Steve Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist. The events of the book are relatively recent, taking place in 2005, and are rather interesting. Between the random acquaintance that is made between Mr. Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers near the Beethoven statue in downtown Los Angeles. Mr. Ayers is a former Julliard student who is now down on his luck following a psychiatric ailment that started afflicting him during his time as a student at the renowned school. It follows Mr. Lopez's pursuit of the story of how a man who was talented enough to attend Julliard could find himself now living a life on the streets of Los Angeles, in what is arguably the most dangerous blocks of any city in the nation, a place known as Skid Row. The book also includes the story of how Mr. Lopez is able to encourage Nathaniel to leave the streets and start living at the Los Angeles Men's Project, or LAMP. At that same time, he encourages Nathaniel to pursue what he obviously loves: music. Ayers loves playing music and has a naturally ability to pick up any string instrument, even without the requisite number of strings, and make it sound like he's always played that instrument. All of this is explained in great detail in the novel. I highly recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a good story and relatively light reading. It's available here (when I looked on 5/19/09, it was available new for as little as $3.99.)

The movie stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Steve Lopez and Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Ayers. I think that both actors turn in a wonderful performance, as does Catherine Keener as Lopez's estranged wife (a liberty that they took with the film that does not appear in the book.) Though, I do not believe that any of them should expect academy awards for their performances.

Most of the same events that happen in the book, also happen in the movie. Overall, I can only imagine what it was like to shoot on Skid Row itself, at the
very least, the movie looks to be shot on location, which lends to its credibility. I am not sure what it was that I didn't like, but somehow the story just seems to drag, whereas the novel was so good that I could barely put it down. I'm not sure if it's just me, or if others felt the same way. I see that Rotten Tomatoes shows the film at 55% as of today, and I completely understand that, because the movie wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either; it was just there. The relationship between Downey and Keener isn't well explained at any point. It's mentioned and hinted at that they were once married and are now no longer an item, though she remains his superior at the ever-downsizing newspaper company. I believe that the movie suffers from not knowing what it wants to be: an advocate for people like Mr. Ayers (homeless and mentally ill) or a complaint about the plight of the newspaper industry or just a good drama, where a man is able to conquer his own demons with the help of a friend. Unfortunately for me, I kept watching it, hoping that it'd improve and be a good movie, and was never pleased with it. So, in this movie's case, I blame the director.

So, in closing, I would wait until this movie is available to rent or at least in a dollar theater, and not a minute sooner. It's not a waste of time, but with movie prices nearing $8 for a matinee and $11 for a prime showing, it's not worth the heightened ticket price.

Star Trek

2009-05-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 8, 2009, I went to see the newest version of Star Trek, directed by J.J. Abrams. I wasn't sure what to think of the movie, but upon seeing that Simon Pegg and John Cho were in it as supporting characters, I figured that it had to be pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised by this film. Yes, Chris Pine is a surprise pick to play James T. Kirk, but he plays it to perfection! He doesn't try to do William Shatner's "dramatic" pauses and just plays the role with brooding confidence. His cockiness is perfect for this movie! Playing opposite Pine is Zachary Quinto, mostly known for playing Syler on NBC's Heroes. Quinto's Spock is more emotional than I recall Nimoy ever playing him before. This really works for this film though. As it makes it so much more watchable than any other Star Trek movie that I recall having watched. The other actors are all perfectly cast as well, including Zoe Saldana as Uhura and Anton Yelchin as Chekov. Yelchin plays Chekov with a cartoonish Russian accent that has you laughing whenever he's trying to say "Vulcan." In one scene, he says it about six times, each time struggling to pronounce it correctly and sounding more like, "Woolcan."

Overall, the movie is worth the time to see it. I saw the recent Wolverine Movie on opening weekend, too, and Star Trek was far more entertaining to me. I think that Star Trek has just the right amount of homage to the original and yet still a new take on the whole storyline that it just comes together perfectly. You should really check it out!

Fun Times in Costa Rica

2009-05-08T10:49:00.001-07:00

Sorry that it has taken me so long to post pictures or a blog. As you may already know, I am a tax accountant in California. Due to that, there was no time to attend to this blog from about February 1st through about April 15th. On April 16th, I took off to Costa Rica for a little vacation and I must say, I loved it!!!

In November 2000, I moved to Costa Rica as part of the mission that I served with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was there until about September 2001, when I became sick and was sent home for a few months. In January 2002, I returned to Costa Rica to finish my mission and returned home a little early, due to sickness again, in May 2002. Since that time, I had not been back to Costa Rica until this trip.

The first day of travel included a 10-hour layover in Panama. Because of the length of the layover, I decided to explore Panama a little and went to see the Panama Canal!!
For those of you that are my facebook friends, I have many more photos posted there (about 190 or so total of the entire trip.) Immediately after the canal, I was able to see the Panama City Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but I'll post about that in my other blog.

That night I arrived in Costa Rica and went to the Doubletree Hotel and crashed. The next morning, I woke up and went to the Costa Rica Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, it was as immaculate as I recall it being. I'll also post more about that in the aforementioned blog.

Then that next day, Saturday, I went to San Isidro de El General and randomly ran into some kids at the Church building participating in Seminary (they have weekly meetings there, not daily as in the United States.) Turns out that the kids in that class ranged from 6 to 8 years old when I was serving in that area in 2001. In fact, that day was the birthday of one of the girls there. She was turning 15, and just happened to be the cousin of one of the families that I most wanted to see in San Isidro de El General, La Familia Torres Monge. Turned out that after seminary, there would be a birthday party at the Torres Monge household that very night to celebrate her 15th birthday, so I stayed for the rest of seminary and went to the party with the Seminary class.

When we arrived at the Torres' home, we were greeted by Sofia Torres, their oldest daughter, a recently returned missionary. To say the least it warmed my heart to see her and the rest of her family. Her mom, Yamulet, was almost immediately behind her. We went inside the home and started chatting.

Later, the party started and everyone seemed to be having a good time. In the picture at right, is pretty much the entire birthday party, except for me; I was taking the photo. Mind you that the house was fairly small by American standards, so this was quite the house party! We had cake, sang karaoke, danced, chatted, and all around had a great time.

I attended Church in San Isidro de El General on Sunday and due to general conference of the Church and a branch conference locally (where Victor Torres was sustained as the local branch president) it was Fast Sunday. This meant that I would have the opportunity to bear my testimony in Spanish to the congregation. Something that I was a bit intimidated by, but also truly enjoyed. With no offense intended to any of the other areas in which I served, San Isidro de El General was my favorite area as a misisonary. Between the great people, great companions (Matthew Brandley and Richard Hada), and the personal spiritual growth that I had there, no other place compares quite as well for me. (Because of the companion, Ciudad Colon with Joshua Dean was pretty good, too.)

After spending time chatting with Victor Fallas, Manolo (last name?), and Hugo & Belen Rivera and family (another of the three families that I had hoped to see), my time in San Isidro was pretty much done. Sadly, I didn't get to see much of the third family I had hoped to see, the Blanco family and I didn't quite get a hold of one another while I was there. I did see Katia Blanco (one of the daughters and now married) at Church.

After leaving San Isidro, I headed to Playa Dominical. This is a picture of the beach that very afternoon. Notice the foilage so close to the beach. The sand was coarse and very dark. It was amazing. At night, I had fresh fish (I think it was Mahi Mahi, but really, I don't know.)

I'll place some other pictures, too. Again, if you're my facebook friend, then you can see my photo albums. If you're not my friend, then sorry, but maybe you should add me. (look for kjwitham at google's mail dot com; if you cannot figure this out, then I am impressed that you found this blog.)

After two days in Dominical, I decided to head up to Manuel Antonio, a national park near Quepos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. While there I was able to see a deer, tapirs, monkeys, iguanas, and one of those lizards that runs on his hind legs. I got to see that lizard run, too. He was really cool. Here are some photos of those guys:

Also, during my time in Manuel Antonio, I saw some more amazing beaches:

From Manuel Antonio, the last day was spent traveling back to San Antonio de Belen de Heredia. That night, I caught a movie at the local cinema and made sure to buy all my Costa Rican favorites in a local grocery store. All in all, it was great (I came home with lots of Guanabana Tang!)

The flight home was a little tight, but it was nice to finally make it home to my own house and sleep in my own bed with my own pillows. Believe me, I slept that following day and night.

Doesn't matter how you spell it, Hanukkah, Chanukah or Hannukah is fun!

2008-12-23T17:58:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure which night of Hannukah we're celebrating today, but I just thought that it'd be nice to make a post about the festival of lights. My cousins and uncle celebrate this holiday and the cousins seem to enjoy the gelt that they get each year. While my uncle has been getting away with chocolate coins for a long while, I'm not sure that his boys will be okay with that for too much longer. His oldest just turned 13 (a Bar Mitzvah is in the works, probably for February 2010) and is sure to demand bigger, or at least more expensive, gelt in the ensuing years. My guess is that he'll have to start forking out slightly larger bills or coins with real value.

In honor of this festival of lights, I found this image online (doesn't belong to me and is not my work, but thank you to whomever's it is.) I've heard many stories of why these are lit, but none come to mind right now, so why lie about it? I believe that there are typically nine candles on these things, one for each day of Hannukah, but am wondering why the ninth candle? Wikipedia says that the ninth candle is used to light the other eight candles: good enough for me.

Also, in the spirit of Hannukah I found an image of a dreidel. I've never had an actual dreidel, though I have had a top before, and I have to say, I really suck at using these things. Wikipedia taught me today that dreidels are used for gambling; I'm not completely shocked by this, but am a little shocked at the same time. I guess that I, ignorantly so, still think of Hannukah as something akin to Christmas, though it isn't.

So, to all of you readers out there (though I only assume anyone else cares what I write), I apologize for not writing more. Once I figure out how to upload images from my camera phone without using messaging, then I will put up posts about my recent vacation to Utah. Sorry, I don't ski or snowboard, so nothing cool like that. Just lots of pictures of LDS temples and the University of Utah.

The Counterfeiters (German: Die Fälscher)

2008-11-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

A little over a week ago, I was able to attend a screening of an Austrian movie called The Counterfeiters In German: Die Fälscher.

Though the movie is a work of fiction, it is based on the actual event of the German Nazis using Jewish artists and printers to forge the British Pound and American Dollar. The Nazi goal was to topple the economies of Great Britain and The United States. The movie, released in 2007, won an Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film.

Specifically, this movie focuses on an artist/counterfeiter who is the "best counterfeiter in the world." It follows him as he goes through internment camps during World War II. I would say more, but I don't want to ruin the film. If you really want to know more, then go here.

The version of the movie I saw was presented in German, with English subtitles. It may sound odd, but the language sounded a lot like Spanish to me. At the very least, being able to speak Spanish and English, I was able to pick out quite a few words. Though, it wouldn't have mattered because the actors are able to present such great and seemingly real emotion onscreen that I never had to actually look at the subtitles (but of course I still did!)

A word of warning, the film is rated 'R.' Also, it does have some nudity and is fairly graphic in a couple of parts in such a way that the two scenes I am recalling were very disturbing to watch. Notwithstanding, I highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to see foreign film at its finest.

The film starred Karl Markovics as Sorowitsch, August Diehl as Burger, and Devid Striesow as Sturmbannführer Herzog.

Follow the Prophet

2008-11-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

This is the text from a talk that I gave on Sunday, November 16, 2008 in the Kern River Branch, Bakersfield Stake, Sacrament Meeting:

As I was leaving my office this past Friday morning after pulling yet another all-nighter, the wait at the stoplight nearest my office seemed to take forever. On at least two occasions within that moment that I was stopped at that light, which couldn’t have been more than a minute, I thought that perhaps it wouldn't matter if I made a right turn on red and just went for it; just this one time. While a right turn on red may be legal at most intersections in our city, this intersection is a little different. Painted on a rectangular sign are the words: "No Right Turn on Red." I've personally witnessed an accident or two at that same intersection. I've also heard on the radio of another one or two and have been told by my co-workers of even more accidents at this very intersection. Still, the temptation to just make that right turn was strong. I had been there all night and was now ready to go home and sleep a little. Both times that I specifically was about to turn right, that sign popped into focus, "No Right Turn on Red," and immediately after a vehicle that I couldn't see around the curve that the sign was protecting me from came barreling down the road, speeding at a rate much faster than the 55 mph that the area is zoned for. To say the least, had that sign not alerted me or had I paid no heed to it, then perhaps I wouldn't be standing here today to tell you of this experience. At the very least, my vehicle and I would be very bruised, sore and damaged.

Was it intuition or common sense that made me think twice about making what would have been an untimely turn for the worse? Perhaps it was just that. Or perhaps it was because of a still small voice telling me to follow the laws of the land. I'll go with the latter. As I was about to make those potential right-turns within seconds of one another, thoughts of the twelfth article of faith popped into my head:

12 We believe in being ^asubject to ^bkings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in ^cobeying, honoring, and sustaining the ^dlaw. (Articles of Faith 1:12)

Though written more than a century ago, the words of the prophet Joseph Smith rang soundly in my mind. And as both of the large pickup trucks that our city is known all over California for passed me by, I was thankful to my primary and seminary teachers who had helped commit to my memory these basic standards of what our Church practices and believes even to this day. Now if anyone were to ask me to recite for them almost any of these thirteen basic truths, then I doubt that I would be able to do so on more than few of the thirteen. Though at this time, I would like to read a few of these Articles of Faith to you.

The sixth goes onto read:

6 We believe in the same ^aorganization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, ^bprophets, ^cpastors, ^dteachers, ^eevangelists, and so forth. (Articles of Faith 1:6)

And the seventh:

7 We believe in the ^agift of ^btongues, ^cprophecy, ^drevelation, ^evisions, ^fhealing, ^ginterpretation of tongues, and so forth. (Articles of Faith 1:7)

And the ninth:

9 We believe all that God has ^arevealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet ^breveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. (Articles of Faith 1:9)

Clearly, the Prophet Joseph believed in modern revelation. If it were not for modern revelation, then this Church would not exist as it does currently. Almost certainly, the Book of Mormon would not have been translated and the restoration would have never taken place. It has been said that:

3 Joseph Smith, the ^aProphet and ^bSeer of the Lord, has done more, ^csave Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the ^dfullness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord's anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own ^eblood;... (Doctrine and Covenants 135:3)

Since the time of Joseph's martyrdom, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been guided by the Lord himself via truly worthy, righteous men. These fifteen successors to the position of the President of the Church have been called of God. From Joseph to Brigham Young and from Brigham to John Taylor and so forth until even this year when upon the expiration of Gordon B. Hinckley we sustained our newest prophet, Thomas S. Monson. This line of succession will continue on for the rest of this earth’s mortal state.

While the vast majority of us will not be called to serve as the President of the Church, whom we sustain as the Prophet, the Seer, and the Revelator for the entire world, we will be called to serve in other varied capacities. We will need guidance on how to fulfill these callings and how to incorporate them into our daily lives. For those needs and so many others, the Latter-Day Saints look to ours' and the Lord's prophet, seer, and revelator. In this day and age, that prophet, seer, and revelator is President Thomas S. Monson.

In the July 2008 Ensign, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf discusses this very concept, that of:

“God… speaking to us in a consistent voice… [Currently] the universal power and blessings of the restored gospel are available to all, irrespective of culture, nationality, political system, tradition, language, economic environment, or education.

Today, we have again apostles, seers, and revelators who are watchmen on the tower, messengers of supernal, healing truth. God speaks to us through them. They are profoundly aware of the different circumstances we members are living in. They are in this world but not of this world. They point the way, and they offer help for our difficulties, not through the wisdom of this world but from an eternal Source…

We have a living prophet on the face of the earth again, even President Thomas S. Monson. He knows our challenges and fears. He has inspired answers. There is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can each be an influence for good in this world by following the commandments of God and relying on true repentance, the power of the Atonement, and the miracle of forgiveness.

In 1989, Glenn L. Place, then serving in the Presiding Bishopric, reinforced the concept of the Lord’s people being guided by a prophet. He said:

Knowing the shortest distance from the world to the celestial kingdom is a straight line, the Lord has restored his gospel, which contains the truth and guidance we need to make the journey as smooth as possible. We can avoid unnecessary detours by reading the scriptures and listening to the Lord’s current prophets. (Glenn L. Pace, “Follow the Prophet,” Ensign, May 1989, 25)

Many people in and of the world would look to President Monson and see an Octogenarian who should be playing shuffleboard in a retirement home, not leading a worldwide Church. Those same people would have us believe that when we follow the prophet, we are following an “old, out-of-touch man.” Sadly, this criticism is sometimes from active members of the Church. In that same aforementioned article, Bishop Pace states:

One activity which often leads a member to be critical is engaging in inappropriate intellectualism. While it would seem the search for and discovery of truth should be the goal of all Latter-day Saints, it appears some get more satisfaction from trying to discover new uncertainties. I have friends who have literally spent their lives, thus far, trying to nail down every single intellectual loose end rather than accepting the witness of the Spirit and getting on with it. In so doing, they are depriving themselves of a gold mine of beautiful truths which cannot be tapped by the mind alone.

[Then] Elder Faust describes this type of intellectual as “a person who continues to chase after a bus even after he has caught it.” We invite everyone to get on the bus before it’s out of sight and you are left forever trying to figure out the infinite with a finite mind. In the words of Elijah, “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him.” (1 Kgs. 18:21.)

Inappropriate intellectualism sometimes leads one to testify that he knows the gospel is true but believes the Brethren are just a little out of touch. Out of touch with what? Don’t confuse a decision to abstain from participating in a trend with a lack of awareness about its existence. These Brethren “prove all things” and “hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thes. 5:21.) To accomplish this, they are in constant touch with Him who created this earth and knows the world from beginning to end. (Glenn L. Pace, “Follow the Prophet,” Ensign, May 1989, 25)

I want to reiterate one part of that last paragraph: “Don’t confuse a decision to abstain from participating in a trend with a lack of awareness about its existence.” Just because the world is doing it, doesn’t mean that we should. Elder Tucker, an assistant-to-the-president from my mission, would often say, “Partial obedience is disobedience.” Often when a person is not living the commandments, that person wants the Church to bend to his or her fancies, but that is not the Lord’s way. We must learn his rules and abide by his commandments. Bishop Pace had this to say concerning obedience:

There are some of our members who practice selective obedience. A prophet is not one who displays a smorgasbord of truth from which we are free to pick and choose. However, some members become critical and suggest the prophet should change the menu. A prophet doesn’t take a poll to see which way the wind of public opinion is blowing. He reveals the will of the Lord to us. The world is full of deteriorating churches who have succumbed to public opinion and have become more dedicated to tickling the ears of their members than obeying the laws of God.

In 1831, some converts wanted to bring a few of their previous beliefs into the Church with them. Our problem today is with members who seem very vulnerable to the trends in society (and the pointing fingers which attend them) and want the Church to change its position to accommodate them. The doctrinal grass on the other side of the fence looks very green to them.

The Lord’s counsel in 1831 is relevant today: “Behold, I say unto you, that they desire to know the truth in part, but not all, for they are not right before me and must needs repent.” (D&C 49:2.)

We need to accept the full truth—even all of it—“put on the whole armour of God” (Eph. 6:11), and get to work building up the kingdom. Each of us might ask ourselves, “Am I a positive contributor to building up the kingdom in our day of this dispensation of the fullness of times?” (Glenn L. Pace, “Follow the Prophet,” Ensign, May 1989, 25)

Now, I am certain that each of us has our days when we are not exactly being “positive contributors” to the Lord’s work and Church. Please don’t be discouraged by that. Don’t entertain the thoughts about how you’re not doing too well right now. Think about your triumphs. Think of how you said a prayer this morning upon waking up. Think of how you are keeping this Sabbath day holy by being here and partaking of the sacrament, and in general, feeling the stirrings of the Holy Ghost inside of you. Think of how much you believe in Christ. Think of Him and what He wants from you. Choose to follow Him, our Lord, brother, and Savior: Jesus Christ.

My mission president, Jonn Claybaugh, sends out a monthly message of the month to the missionaries that served with him. In the most recent edition, sent yesterday morning, he wrote this to us:

En mi querida California han tenido una lucha furiosa sobre la definición del matrimonio, y los miembros de la Iglesia han sufrido persecución, pero tal como los días de Joseph y Brigham, saldremos más fuertes y seremos bendecidos en el fin. Sé que al juntarnos con los profetas vivientes tendremos la seguridad espiritual—y ésta es la única manera de tenerla. (Mensaje de Noviembre 2008)

Allow me to translate that for you:

In my beloved California, they have had a furious fight over the definition of marriage, and the members of the Church have suffered persecution, but just like the days of Joseph and Brigham, we’ll become stronger and will be blessed in the end. I know that by uniting ourselves with the living prophets we will have spiritual security—and this is the only way to get it.

President Claybaugh understands that it is through the living prophets that we may come to know Christ. It is through our obedience to their teachings, which come directly from Jesus Christ, that we will come to know of Him. As we know and understand this deity better, then we will come to know Him personally. How many of us heard these words at last month’s General Conference of the Church:

It is proposed that we sustain Thomas Spencer Monson as prophet, seer, and revelator and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Henry Bennion Eyring as First Counselor in the First Presidency; and Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf as Second Counselor in the First Presidency…

…It is proposed that we sustain Boyd Kenneth Packer as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the following as members of that quorum: Boyd K. Packer, L. Tom Perry, Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, M. Russell Ballard, Joseph B. Wirthlin, Richard G. Scott, Robert D. Hales, Jeffrey R. Holland, David A. Bednar, Quentin L. Cook, and D. Todd Christofferson…

…It is proposed that we sustain the counselors in the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. (“The Sustaining of Church Officers,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 25)

What goes through your mind as you hear those words? Do you accept these men and choose to sustain them? Or do you think that they’re cool, but doing what they would have us do might be too difficult for you at this time? Or do you reject them? Do you willfully disobey them? As the Seer and Revelator for the Church, the President of the Church can see and then reveal to us what may happen to the people of this Church, even this nation, and even the entire world, should the people choose not to follow the Lord. Some examples of modern revelation are: the principle of Family Home Evening, which was revealed in 1915; the right for all worthy male members of the Church to hold the Melchizedek priesthood and immediately benefit from the ability to bless their own families; and the Proclamation to the World regarding Family.

“By their fruits shall ye know them.” It is through revelations like those that I just mentioned that my faith in the prophets has steadily increased. As I have followed them more and more, my life has been better and better. Now, I am not going to say that I haven’t had challenges along the way; for any of you that know anything about my personal history, you are aware of some of the challenges that I have faced. Through it all, I wouldn’t go back and forfeit those experiences, no matter how difficult, for anything. In my life, I have chosen to follow the Lord by following the counsel of His prophets and other servants. In recent times, they have counseled me to: attend church meetings and activities; read and even “feast upon” the scriptures as often as possible; pray to my Father above; visit any of the 145 Houses of the Lord as often as possible; help protect the sacredness of marriage; pay ten percent of my increase as a tithe and to give other offerings, too; to visit a handful of homes each month with a gospel lesson; and to leave my home for a time and serve the Lord as a missionary in Costa Rica.

I don’t hesitate at all to say that I owe every good thing in my life to following the Lord and his prophets. All that is good and holy in my own life is directly related to having obeyed the Lord’s commands through his servants. Whether that command came from a branch president, a bishop, a stake president, a mission president, a general authority, or even the Prophet, himself, doesn’t matter to me. After a while, you get a feel for His voice, you begin to recognize when He is the one speaking through another. President Uchtdorf has this to say about following the counsel of the prophets:

The prophets speak to us in the name of the Lord and in divine plainness. As the Book of Mormon confirms, “For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3).

It is our responsibility not only to listen but also to act upon His word that we may claim the blessings of the ordinances and covenants of the restored gospel. He said, “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (D&C 82:10).

There may be times when we feel overwhelmed, hurt, or on the edge of discouragement as we are trying so hard to be perfect members of the Church. Be assured, there is balm in Gilead. Let us listen to the prophets of our day as they help us to focus on the things that are central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. The Lord knows us, He loves us, He wants us to succeed, and He encourages us by saying: “And see that all … things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that [men or women] should run faster than [they have] strength. … [But] it is expedient that [they] should be diligent” (Mosiah 4:27).

No commandment is given from heaven without a reward attached to it. The direct benefit of following the modern revelation known as The Word of Wisdom is health, knowledge, and strength. The direct benefit of paying a full tithe is a nice building to meet in every Sunday, Temples to worship in regularly, air conditioning during Church in the middle of a hot Bakersfield summer. The direct benefits of obedience are often very visible and we could keep going on like this for a good while longer. What about indirect benefits? I believe that chiefest amongst these is that by following the Prophet, we will be closer to the spirit of the Lord. From there, the blessings balloon and suddenly we see blessings on top of blessings until, like the promise made to Malachi of old, we shall not have room enough to receive the blessings being poured down from the windows of heaven (Malachi 3:10.)

I’d like to close with this excerpt from President Uchtdorf’s July 2008 First Presidency Message:

Let us in humility and faith refresh our dedication and our commitment to follow the prophets, seers, and revelators in all diligence. Let us listen and be instructed and edified by those who hold all the keys of the kingdom. And as we listen and follow them, may our hearts be changed that there will be a great desire to do good (see Alma 19:33). Thus we will be pioneers in building a spiritual foundation that will establish the Church in every part of the world, that the gospel of Jesus Christ may become a blessing for each child of God and unite and strengthen our families.

It is my hope that we can all recommit this day to serve the Lord with humble obedience to His teachings which are communicated to us through His servant, the Prophet, Seer and Revelator of His Church: President Thomas S. Monson. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Intelligence Quotient

2008-11-15T11:08:00.000-08:00

So, I was a little tired of work last week and decided to do one of those online IQ tests. Now, I'd done the free ones before, but this time I decided to pay a whole $9.95 for a slightly better test (or so I perceived.) Admittedly, I think my actual IQ is much higher, but am afraid to take an actual exam for fear that the score is even lower than this!

Looking at the scores, I think that it's funny that apparently I'm very intelligent, but slow at it! Look how everything is well above average, but computational speed is my lowest score!! Anyway, I'm not too worried about that. Also, I think that the low computational speed is due to the last question that I was asked on the exam taking me at least a minute longer than any other question (which I mostly finished within the recommended twenty seconds.) Also, the internet connection failed at least once during the exam; so, I'm thinking that it should be at least a computational speed of 120.

Anyway, I am not posting this to brag, but I am most definitely not ashamed either. I invite each of you to take a similar exam and post as a reply your own score. Who's higher than me? (To be honest, I'm most interested in this.) I went to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and am very much an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, so I think that there has to be many of my friends and family that have a score relatively equivalent to, if not higher than (and in some cases much higher than), my own score of 134. I am hoping to be surprised by people that I know but would have never suspected of having a High Genius (or whatever those scores go up to) IQ score.

If you're a single woman, have an IQ near or higher than mine own, and are a member of the same church as me, then please send me a message or post a reply to this posting; I'd like to get to know you.

Christmas Presents

2008-11-07T09:03:00.000-08:00



Every year, I am asked by my family to create a list of what I would like for Christmas. Basically, it's because I am difficult to shop for. I hate it when people buy clothes for me and most things that I really want that cost under $25, I can buy myself with little effort. So, this year, I've decided that I will publish my Amazon.com Wish List.

What I have done is gone through the Amazon.com website and added things to my wish list that I was already looking to buy anyway. I may not actually buy any of them for myself, but it's still nice to think about having some of this stuff.

So, feel no obligation to get me anything, but if you're capable of reading this blog post, then you're capable of clicking on the image above that should link you directly to my Wish List.

Marathon Run to Arizona

2008-11-06T17:03:00.000-08:00

View Larger Map

On Monday, around 2:00 PM PST, I found out that I needed to go to Bowie, Arizona to test inventory and fixed assets for a client of ours. The problem? I had to be at the Bakersfield airport in time to fly out by 4:25 PM PST. The other problem? When I found this information out, I was in Tulare, CA, about an hour and some change North of Bakersfield. All in all, not a good place to be when you're trying to make a flight out within the next couple of hours.

I got to my office in Bakersfield around 3:00 PM, and wasn't able to leave until around 3:30 PM or so. I then raced home and packed. From there I drove to the airport, which is a little north of the actual downtown area, roughly twenty minutes from my home. Arriving at the airport ticket counter at 3:58 PM, I was dismayed to find out that US Airways doesn't ticket in Bakersfield after 30 minutes prior to takeoff. Mind you, I was about three minutes late, but they wouldn't allow me to board. Originally, I was being polite and nice to the ticket agent, but she didn't respond. We spent more time arguing than it would have taken her to let me board. Eventually, after five to seven minutes of discussion, I asked her (I'll admit, in a not very polite way) if she was kidding me. I also informed her that I could have been seated on the plane already. Luckily, United had an airplane leaving at 4:54 PM, so I was able to get on that plane.

Now instead of flying Bakersfield to Phoenix to Tucson, I'd be flying Bakersfield to Los Angeles to Tucson. The only real problem with that flight plan? Because I'd be flying into LAX, I received the privilege of having my entire bag searched; the same bag that I packed in about four minutes at home! It actually took me longer to re-pack that bag at the airport than it did to pack it originally!!

Once I touched down in Arizona on Monday night, aside from a one-hour time difference, there weren't too many issues and I had a pretty nice stay at the Hyatt Place hotel near the Tucson Airport; of course, I only stayed there from about 10:00 PM MST until around 7:00 AM MST the following morning.

Trying to find the office for the company I was there to audit was a nightmare. Apparently, I wrote down the directions wrong and misunderstood my manager's instructions over the phone. So, what should have taken about 35 minutes to travel to, took me about 75 minutes to find. I was a little frustrated, but had a job to do, so just ignored it. it wast still only 8:30 AM MST when I arrived at their offices in Tucson, AZ. I spent about two hours there discussing fixed assets and inventory with the controller when I had to drive to Bowie, AZ; a town about 115 miles from that office. I arrived there around noon.

Bowie, AZ is a crazy little town. I don't mean that the people are crazy, but it doesn't even have a traffic light that I could see. It had multiple stop signs, but you could sneeze on I-10 and completely miss the entire town of Bowie. Anyway, I was there for about four hours or so, then had to return to Tucson International to fly on my beloved US Airways. This time I did fly Tucson to Phoenix to Bakersfield. Of course, my gate-checked bag wasn't returned to me at the gate because too many people had gate-checked their bags (no one wants to wait for those silly luggage carousels.) So, of course, they put the gate-checked bags through the luggage carousel. This actually added 30 minutes to the total trip time!!

I guess I just wanted to explain the quick trip to AZ and how much I now officially dislike US Airways. Unfortunately, I am still a penny-pincher for things like travel, so I will probably fly US Airways again, but I have to say that my experience with United was so much better than US Airways. Price notwithstanding, I'd fly United every time.

Sorry, I can't give details as to what company I was visiting in Arizona, but that's not really an important part of the story.

So, has anyone actually heard of Bowie, AZ?

Clint Eastwood's Changeling

2008-11-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

After we were done counting cash this morning, a few of us went to see Clint Eastwood's newest film, Changeling. Angelina Jolie stars as Christine Collins, a single mother, raising her son in 1928 Los Angeles, California. Being a single mother, she has to work to provide for her and her son, Walter.

One day, she is called into work and decides that she needs to go to help the company out. Unfortunately, when she returns home from work that evening, Walter is no where to be found. Distraught and confused, she calls the LAPD, only to be told to wait until morning to be able to file a missing persons report. Having no choice, she complies.

After what ends up being five months or so, the LAPD calls to tell her that her son was found in Illinois. Of course, she lights up and is very excited to meet him at the train station, where the LAPD has decided to stage a press conference to make themselves look better because at that time, the Los Angeles Police Department had an image problem. She quickly realizes that the boy that is presented to her is not her son, Walter, but is in fact, an impostor. Instead of owning up to its mistake, the police try to cover it up and make her go away, but Collins refuses to do so.

I'll leave the rest of the plot alone, as you'll definitely be surprised by some events that took place. By the way, this film is based on a true story. In fact, the filmmaker is so confident in its accuracy that at the beginning of the film it says: A True Story.

Also starring in this film are Jeffrey Donovan (of Burn Notice), Michael Kelly, Colm Feore, John Malkovich, and Geoffrey Pierson (I was rather impressed with him, too! He used to be on a WB sitcom in the 90's called, Unhappily Ever After.)

While there are some scenes which are difficult to watch, most of the violence and abuse are alluded to and not actually shown. Instead these scenese are filmed with shadows or in a perspective that tells what's happening without actually seeing it. I really think that every person over the age of 17 should see this film.

(Please note: clicking on the picture above will link you to the Apple movie trailers website for this film.)

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

2008-11-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

Today I had the privilege of counting cash from the various people who were walking in Bakersfield's 2008 Walk to Cure Diabetes. Along with me, I was able to convince my friends Michael Moore, Robert Perl, Jenna Layne, Samuel Yang, and Kimi Ramos to join me. All in all, it was a rather good experience. One volunteer from my work joined us as well, Vivian. There were also three volunteers from Wells Fargo and one other from West Coast Lending (I think that's where she worked.)

Though we asked people to be there around 8:00 AM, we didn't actually have any cash to count until some cash arrived around 9:00 AM or so. It was a lot of money to count, but through the efforts of the aforementioned volunteers we were able to get everything done. I'm not sure how much was raised in total, but it was well worth it.

For more information on Type I Diabetes or to just check out the JDRF website click on the logo below:

Wicked: A New Musical

2008-10-31T19:03:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you have had the opportunity to watch the play Wicked: A New Musical, but I've had the opportunity to see it twice now.

Currently, the show is playing at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, CA (the show will actually end it's Hollywood run on January 11, 2009, when it will move to San Francisco, CA), which is near where I was last week. Having previously seen the show in July with five friends, it was nice to go to the show alone. This time around, I didn't feel obligated to try to appease anyone to assure that they had a good time (no offense intended to anyone who attended with me in July.)

When we had gone in July 2008, we were seated in the Mezzanine center. The seats were good and there were no view obstructions in anyway from our seats. Though, from that distance it was difficult to see facial expressions of the actors. For many of the scenes, I appreciated seeing it from such a distance because the stage is huge and the people sitting closer to the stage weren't seeing the Time Dragon Clock's motions, and I am almost certain that they missed out on many of the movements made by Chistery and his fellow flying monkeys. All in all, I really liked those seats and thoroughly enjoyed the show.

The above picture is of the backdrop before and after the show begins. It is a map of Oz.

About two weeks before I had to take the trip to Los Angeles, I received an email in my inbox explaining that if I attended the play before October 31, 2008, that I could receive a 45% discount off of the normal weekday ticket prices. So, I looked into it. After it was obvious that I'd be going alone, I searched for the "Best Available" on ticketmaster.com and it shot out ORCHR, Row C, Seat 201, or something like that. I looked at the seating map and realized that I'd be three rows away from the Orchestra pit. I purchased the ticket immediately. (This ticket actually cost less than what I had paid for in July!)

The night of the event, I guess that I underestimated the traffic because I arrived at the Pantages just as the lights indicating the audience to take their seats were being flashed. I hurried to my assigned location and just marveled at how close I was to the stage: it was wonderful!! Seeing the show from such a close position after having seen it from a distance was really cool. I was able to compare and contrast the different angles and how the show was different for me in the two different seats. I don't think that I would have liked my seat that night if I hadn't already seen the show previously. While my view wasn't obstructed, I found myself focusing on specific actresses in the company and was definitely fixated on Teal Wicks as Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and the actress (I can't remember her name at the moment!) that played Galinda/Glinda (the Good Witch of the North) that evening (the actress that regularly plays that role right now is Erin Mackey, but she had the night off, so it was the current understudy's turn that night.)

All in all, I loved sitting so close to the stage. Having already seen the special effects from a distance, I could analyze and see how they were performed because of how close I was sitting. I won't share them in this blog, only because I don't want to take away the magic from the stage and lighting effects that make the show even more brilliant than just the soundtrack.

The above is a picture of the Time Dragon Clock from its underbelly.

After the show, there is something called "Stage Door;" basically, you can go backstage and wait for the actors and actresses in the show to leave the theater. As they are walking out, the security guards have set up a barricade that allows fans to get the autographs of the various actors and actresses. I was able to meet Derrick Williams, Teal Wicks, David DeVries, Briana Yacavone, and the gal who played Glinda (I still don't remember her name!), as well as various members of the ensemble. It was a very cool experience. Also, both Teal Wicks (without the green bodysuit and make-up) and Briana Yacavone are some of the prettiest women I've ever laid eyes on; really, they're gorgeous! You can check Briana out at: http://www.brianayacavone.com/

Basically, it was an amazing performance and a great show! I encourage everyone to see it before it leaves Los Angeles on January 11, 2009. If you're in San Francisco, the same cast will be coming to you starting late January 2009. They'll be staging the show at the Orpheum Theater.

A picture of Briana Yacavone as Nessarose in Wicked: A New Musical.

How many zeros in a billion?

2008-09-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Have you seen an email that read something like this:

This is too true to be funny.

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it's releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain... let's take a look at New Orleans ... It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division. Louisiana Senator; Mary Landrieu (D) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number... what does it mean?

A. Well... if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528.

B. Or... if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787.

C. Or... if you are a family of four... your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D.C., HELLO! Are all your calculators broken??

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fe e Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago... and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt... We had the largest middle class in the world... and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What happened? Can you spell 'politicians!'

And I still have to press '1' for English.

I hope this goes around the USA at least 100 times.

What in the world happened?????

I've seen this a bunch of times previously. While many of those listed are actual taxes, a lot of them are licenses and fees. Typically those are for services that the general public doesn't use all-of-the-time, so the direct "tax" or fee is directly passed onto those that do use it, i.e. Vehicle License Fees, Dog Licenses, Marriage Licenses, Fishing Licenses, etc.

For every one of those fees I mentioned above, you must choose an action that requires it. If you don't have a car, you won't pay VLF, if you don't get Married, then you won't pay for the license, same as whether you fish or own a dog.

I have no problems with fees when appropriate, like the aforementioned fees. I do not like them when it is a fairly general cost, though none of those listed really seem to foot the bill.

Additionally, I've never even heard of an Accounts Receivable Tax, Inventory Tax or a Service Charge Tax, amongst others on this list. I don't think this list is correct. And they've put the word "tax" on the end of everything to make it sound like it's a tax vs. a fee vs. a license.

Finally, IRS penalties and interest is extremely needed. If it weren't for Penalties & Interest, then no one would pay their taxes on time, because there would be no incentive to pay them on time or ever. Also, it'd be very unfair to those of us who do pay their taxes on time.

If you disagree with anything that I have stated, then please feel free to respond and post your sources that contradict me. I will post comments no matter how much they contradict me, so long as they are not vulgar. Please realize, that if appropriate, I may refute your comment, eventually.

it should be noted that I did no research to respond to the chain e-mail, other than my personal experience as a certified public accountant in California.

What were you doing around 8:46 AM EST on September 11, 2001?

2008-09-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

In honor of Patriots' Day (I think that's what President Bush designated today as):

I was watching The Today Show this morning and every other word was about 9/11; this is understandable, considering that the show is aired live from NYC most days. On today's broadcast, infrequently, mostly between commercial breaks, they would show video of the victims' families reading each and every name aloud. It was an almost eerie scene; at the same time, I was moved to tears.

I thought of how hard it must be for each and every one of those in attendance that day to deal with their emotions. I wonder what each felt as their loved one's name was called out.

They seemed to read the names in an alphabetical order, which led to people with the same last name being read in sequence. This caused me to consider how many couples died alone, but at the same time in that catastrophe. I don't know, and probably never will. Though I cannot truly empathize with their situations, having never lost someone so close to me and in such a tragic manner, I wondered how I could honor them.

In its own trivial way, I hope that this does some good. It will in no way bring a loved one back to life, but I want to reflect on how 9/11 affected me. So, I had to answer a question for myself; I hope it helps you, too. This is the question: What were you doing around 8:46 AM EST on September 11, 2001?

I was serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Costa Rica. Specifically, I was in the office because I was very sick. By most definitions, I was paralyzed and needed immediate medical attention that couldn't be found in Costa Rica at that time. I had a plane ticket to return to Los Angeles for September 12, 2001 so that I could enter the UCLA Medical Center and receive attention for my malady (Guillan-Barre Syndrome.)

Of course, the events that transpired that day precluded me from returning so soon to the USA, and I wasn't able to return to the States until September 17, 2001.

The morning of the 11th, I helped make phone calls to my mission's zone leaders to inform them to stay home until further notice and that they should contact their district leaders and inform them of the same and to instruct them to call their companionships and pass on the same instructions and information.

To say the least, the phone calls were surreal. Being outside the country and being fed limited news truly kept us in suspense and uncertainty. Whatever would happen, I figured that I'd be fine since I was serving the Lord (yes, even in that paralyzed state.)

While the attacks changed our plans, the church didn't allow for me to be left to waste. They flew in a medical doctor from Arizona who was serving a mission in Bogota, Colombia as the Area Doctor. His name was Egon Johnson, he was a retired orthopedic surgeon. The Lord truly does take care of his own.

May God bless each and every person this day. May He bless this earth, so that such catastrophes come to an end. May He bless you, yes you, with a love for each and every soul on this planet, and that He so blesses me, too.

Why I am voting for Proposition 8

2008-09-11T03:18:00.000-07:00

This is a very difficult situation for me. I have many great friends that are practicing homosexuals, who are in committed relationships (some are even married.) I love and respect each of them and want them to be able to do as they see fit for them. I, in no way, want to force my religious ideals on anyone else.

(It should be noted, that I do favor equal legal treatment for all people, including homosexual couples. They shouldn't be barred from loved ones' hospital rooms, should be allowed to live their life in peace as they legally choose to, and should have to pay income taxes just like everyone else.)

The reason that I am voting yes on Proposition 8 is because of the religious freedoms that I want to keep. The biggest issue that I have with a no vote on Proposition 8 is that it would then force many religious people to accept practices from someone else that the religious people feel goes against their beliefs. Just as I do not want to force my ideals on others, I do not want them to force their ideals on me or my future family.

There are two circumstances that truly bother me if Proposition 8 were to fail. The first is that my future children would be taught in elementary school that two parents can be of any combination of the two genders. Personally, I believe that a family consists of a father, mother, and children (if they want them and are able to have or adopt them.) Later in their lives, I hope that my children would be able to accept that people of different belief systems live according to their own belief systems and so long as they don't harm us, then they are acceptable, too. Seeing as how many adults don't seem to be able to accept this, I am entirely uncertain as to how a child would reconcile that in their mind.

The other problem that I have with a no vote on Proposition 8 is the idea that if a church, non-governmental, or other non-profit organization refuses to perform weddings for homosexual couples or even refuses to allow weddings to be performed in their buildings, then they can be sued for discrimination and potentially lose their tax-exempt status.

This doesn't feel right to me. How can those opposed to Prop. 8 call those that are for it, bigots, yet when it comes down to it, they'll file lawsuits to force these tax-exempt organizations to service them?

I will admit that I have not researched it thoroughly, but I've heard of a Canadian minister being sued for refusing to perform a wedding ceremony for a homosexual couple. Honestly, this goes against the spirit of equal rights. Now you are not only costing them extra funds from legal defense, but now you are jeopardizing that organization's tax-exempt status, too? Why would you even want your wedding photos to feature a church or other building belonging to an organization that disagreed with your right to marry in the first place? No matter how beautiful the building, each time you viewed your wedding photos, you would be reminded of the disapproval of the building's owner; this makes little sense to me.

Therefore, if someone can prove to me that we can re-write our current laws to allow homosexual couples to marry, but not infringe on my beliefs, then I would consider voting no on Prop. 8. Until that happens, my vote is firmly in favor of Proposition 8.

Friends

2008-05-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder what a friend really is. I mean, we all have friends; even those of us who may think that we're without them. I honestly don't know a single person that is without friends. Even the over-the-top character on The Office, Michael Scott (brilliantly essayed by Steve Carell), has friends (his employees.)

Speaking of Michael Scott, one of the people that actually wants the best for him through thick and thin is someone Michael loves to hate: Toby, the Scranton branch's Human Resources Manager. Toby tries to help Michael and keep him out of trouble as often as possible. However, for whatever reason, Michael hates Toby and spews statements reminding Toby of such whenever possible. How many of us are like this? We hate or dislike the very people that have our best interest at heart? I think that this happens a lot with families. For example, teenagers hate their parents (at times, not always) because they won't let them do something that is against the standards of the home. Too bad that these teens can't see that their parents only want the best for them. It's also too bad for those of us that can't see that our friends have our best interests at heart.

Some times friends hurt you. Is this because they secretly hate you? I don't think so. I believe that we're all human and some of us feel compelled to do certain things that eventually catch up to us and get us tangled up with problems. Being friends, my problem may become your problem and vice versa.

What is friendship? I think that true friendship is an unconditional love, in which you love that person for being themselves and nothing more. I would argue that the only way that any marriage will last is if people look at it this way, too. Friendships aren't all that different from marriages. The differences are that we typically don't share beds nor do we have erotic relationships with our friends (I do realize that some people do both of these things.)

Personally, I try to be a friend to everyone. I truly believe in the team player concept at work (though my co-workers don't necessarily see it that way.) It just makes life easier for me to deal with if I can be a friend to anyone that I see in need.

What do you consider a friend? I'd love to hear what any of you have to say.

A well-deserved day off from work...

2008-03-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

So, on April 16th, I have the day off from work. Any suggestions as to what I should use that day for?

Sen. Obama a divider and not a uniter?

2008-03-21T16:41:00.001-07:00

The article, originally printed at Bakersfield.com:

http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/395624.html

Marylee Shrider: Obama a 'uniter' no more
BY MARYLEE SHRIDER, Californian contributing columniste-mail: mshrider@bakersfield.com Friday, Mar 21 2008 2:36 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Mar 21 2008 2:43 PM
You have to hand it to Sen. Barack Obama. The man can really whomp up a speech.

The presidential hopeful from Illinois is obviously a brilliant orator whose recent reflections on the racial state of the union left many Americans, including the already infatuated mainstream media, more gaga than ever.
But in spite of Obama's spellbinding speaking skills, red flags are still flapping over the racist and incendiary remarks made by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., the senator’s longtime pastor, friend and spiritual mentor.
By now you've heard the words and seen the spectacle — the reverend at his pulpit, calling on the Almighty to damn America, insisting the “government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color” and declaring America got just what it deserved in the 9/11 attacks. It's not that Obama hasn't denounced the pastor's racist and anti-American rants. He has, albeit belatedly. And it's not that Americans expect Obama to “disown” his friend of 20 years.
We're simply trying to comprehend how the man who would be president could sit quietly by as his pastor and his church embraced some of the most virulent racist remarks ever to pass from the pulpit.
It's a question Obama himself asked in his eloquent speech, but ultimately failed to answer. True, he did call the reverend's remarks “divisive” and “racially charged” and said he “strongly” disagreed with them. But he then went on to characterize those remarks as merely “controversial,” a disagreement of the sort any of us might have with our own “pastors, priests or rabbis.”
Hold on a second. This isn't a debate over hymnals versus overhead projectors. It's not an argument over the number of services or the volume of the worship music. This is about the core faith beliefs we share, the doctrines by which we live and raise our children.
Like Obama, I've attended the same church for more than 20 years. Like most of my fellow congregants, I have an abiding respect and affection for my pastors.
That being said, if any one of them uttered racist or inflammatory remarks like those shouted from the pulpit by Wright, I would be faced with only two possible conclusions — that the pastor had suddenly taken leave of his senses, requiring immediate psychiatric assistance, or that our philosophical and faith beliefs were no longer in sync.
If it were the former, I would support him, if the latter, I would leave.
Obama's continued presence at the church is tacit approval of his pastor and his pastor's behavior. His regular attendance over two decades indicates he is either comfortable with Wright's racist worldview or — and here's an even scarier thought — he didn't recognize it as racist when he heard it.
Obama believes he has the power to unify this nation, yet the defense of his choices and his subsequent “typical white person” remarks not only fall short, they offend.
Whether or not Obama can put this mess behind him remains to be seen. But his claim to the title of “uniter, not a divider,” rings true no more.
Marylee Shrider's column appears Saturdays. Reach her at 395-7474 or at mshrider@bakersfield.com

My response:

Obama's continued presence at the church is tacit approval of his pastor and his pastor's behavior. His regular attendance over two decades indicates he is either comfortable with Wright's racist worldview or — and here's an even scarier thought — he didn't recognize it as racist when he heard it.

Just because a friend becomes, or worst yet, has always been a racist, doesn't mean that you must completley abandon them and their friendship. I am sure that Mr. Obama remains loyal to the reverend because of the good memories that he has of the Rev. Wright and not for the racist remarks that the reverend definitely uttered. Consider that this is the same man that helped convert Barack Obama to Christianity and then performed both his baptism and marriage, two events that are pivotal to the life of any Christian.

Though you state differently in your op-ed piece, I believe that even you would have a difficult time seperating yourself from anyone that you held in such high regard. If you were in Mr. Obama's position, how would you have handled this situation? I believe that Mr. Obama did the best that anyone could have done under the circumstances. He dismissed the man from his campaign and then rebuked his actions.

As a white male, I have yet to be offended by Mr. Obama. I believe that your comments regarding him no longer being a "uniter" are misguided and off-base. I am not sure what your political agenda is, but thse comments have no support. When did Mr. Obama ever utter "typical white person?" I have yet to be privy to such a comment.

Finally, being a Republican, I will most likely support John McCain this Autumn. However, I did not care for your characterizations of a good man, with a history of reaching across the aisle.

Sincerely,

Kenneth J. Witham

It's a little choppy and was written in reply to my above post inside of the post. Not sure how to better show this response, since I can't figure out how to do more than one color of text. If I do figure it out, then I'll fix it.

Marylee's rebuttal:

If you read my column carefully, you'll note I didn't say Obama must completely abandon the friendship, nor do I think he should.
Yes, it would be very difficult.
I would have found another church and told Rev. Wright why I could no longer sit silent in the face of such divisive, racist rhetoric.
I disagree - having Rev. Wright on board showed incredibly poor judgement - a enourmous rookie blunder.
Yes, but only after public pressure demanded it.
You must be kidding.
Google "typical white person." I'm sure you'll find it.
I didn't characterize Obama as anything - I simply wondered - and am still wondering - how anyone who says he wants to be president of all Americans, could sit by, year after year, and listen to anti-American and racist diatribes like the ones his pastor engages in. Doesn't sound like much of a uniter to me.
Marylee

Payroll Taxes & Politics

2008-03-20T22:27:00.000-07:00

In my line of work, I see a lot of tax returns. Mostly, I see fairly successful people's returns. Realistically, if you don't make at least $100k/yr, you're probably not coming to my firm for your tax preparation.
My biggest point with this entry is that much is spoken about with regards to social security and how it won't be here when people of my generation (I was born in 1981) reach retirement age. Well, I have the simplest, most fair solution: take the cap off of the FICA portion of payroll taxes. Those people that are making more than the cap (currently $97,500 in 2007) are the same people most capable of paying this tax.
I have clients that make millions a year, and because of this cap, they pay a maximum of $6045 in 2007 to their Social Security. Now, I realize that it won't be fair when they go to retire and there is still a maximum on what they can take out, but realistically, these same people will tend to have other retirement funds available to them.
All in all, it is an absurdity that this maximum FICA wages even exists. At the very least, it should be doubled to about $200,000 in wages.
The biggest problem with any increase like this is that the politician that offers it up will be painted to be someone who is trying to "raise" taxes. The very same people that do not want to pay an extra $6045 next year will give that much (or more) to Political Action Committees, and opposing candidates to remove that politician from office.
It should be noted that I consider myself a Moderate Republican. I still believe that each person should be responsible for themselves, but do believe that not enough people are saving for retirement and that our funds will be longer-lived if everyone pays a more fair share.
I would probably better classify myself as a Fiscal Conservative (I don't want to raise most taxes), and a Social Liberal. That is, I want to pay as few taxes as possible, but think that we can service more social programs with fewer dollars.

Just Getting Started

2008-03-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

After seeing that my two sisters had created blogs, I decided to join the crowd. I'll admit it, the "If they can do it, then I can do it" attitude is very strong in this situation.

Anyway, I won't write much at this time, but will in the future. My hopes for this blog are to give insight into my world. Currently that consists of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and California Society of Certified Public Accountants. Also, I work at a CPA firm as (any guesses here?) a Certified Public Accountant. I have been licensed for about six weeeks now and my title is currently Senior Accountant.

Finally, I hope that this blog can be found by my many friends and that they will contribute and encourage the project. We'll see how this turns out...