Who knew Josh Groban was so versatile and funny?

. . . and random!

MoTab, Jr.

I guess this is late news, but I thought I should make mention of it. I am now singing in the American Festival Chorus, aka MoTab*, Jr. My brother-in-law and my brother-in-law's brother-in-law are also in the choir. 

It's not really a mini-MoTab - but it is a choir of over 250, I did have to audition for a spot, it is directed by Craig Jessop (who led the MoTab for 10 years before stepping down last year and becoming the head of USU's music department), and we are wearing black tuxes (for the men) and matching sparkling outfits (for the women).

We have a patriotic Veteran's Day concert coming up on Nov.12 and a concert performing Mozart's Requiem on Nov. 15. So put it on your calendar!

*MoTab is short for Mormon Tabernacle Choir, in case you aren't 100% hip on the Mormon slang.

Step into my office

As some of you know, I finally got the go ahead to continue working remotely part-time (technically as a contrator) with the organization that I interned with over the summer. That means that a lot of the work I do is computer-based research from home. Deidra has been very supportive and even arranged our spare bedroom to be more of an ideal home office, as seen below:


It has made it much easier and nicer to focus on work while I am home. The other great thing is that the office is about two feet away from the "studio," so I can take a break when needed by trying to remember how to be a musician.


All in all, I like this working from home stuff.

The Annual "Who Sucks More" Game!

Tomorrow is the annual meeting between the Aggies and the Vandals (Utah State and U. of Idaho, respectively). Ever since I've lived in Logan, basically what that means is that both teams have their best chance at a conference win. So who will it be? The 1-2 Vandals (does beating Idaho State really count as a win?) or the winless Aggies?

My heartfelt apology

Dear Brett Favre,

I could tell from the above picture that you really took it personally when I kept telling people I was sick of hearing all about Brett Favre on all of the sports shows every day during the summer.

"He's retired . . . he's interested in coming back . . . no, just kidding . . . ok, maybe not kidding . . . yeah, definitely coming back . . . bad blood in Green Bay . . . interview on Fox News . . . calls from the Minnesota Vikings . . . maybe the Dolphins . . . being 'bribed' to stay retired . . . finally traded to the Jets . . . had to run a lap in practice because of fumbling a snap . . . "

It just went on and on! I'm sure you can understand my feelings. I know I said that I wish you had just stayed retired and spared us all the media circus surrounding your return. I know I scoffed when you got traded to the lowly Jets. And I scoffed even more when I saw that I had drafted you in the 13th round of our automated fantasy football draft. And I know it all really hurt you to see my bad attitude toward your return to football.

That's why I'm here to make amends and hope that we can be friends again. You see, in that draft, I gambled and took Tom Brady as my 1st round pick. He's been my fantasy QB for four years now (if memory serves me correctly) and has never let me down. But this year is different. This year, he earned a measly 3 points before getting injured and getting sidelined for the season.

So that's why I'm now petitioning to you. You're my only hope. Without you, my fantasy football season could already be over. So waddayasay? How about we forget that whole summer circus and start again with a fresh, clean slate. You just go out and play some great football (throwing for a lot of touchdowns, of course) and I'll be behind you every step of the way.

Thanks, man. I owe you one.

- Chris

72-hour kit lunch

Deidra is planning on doing the yearly update to our 72-hour kits next week, so I decided I should start eating the food that is in there from last year. I actually thought I should try eating all the food in my 72-hour kit in 72 minutes, but Deidra wasn't so keen on that idea. So, instead, I had a lunch made up of Spicy Chile Chicken cup-o-noodles, soda crackers, and orange flavored Crystal Light mixed in water. All-in-all, it wasn't so bad (minus the stale soda crackers). I'm grateful that we're able to have a 72-hour kit in reserve should we need it.

Wow! That's pretty good!

Today is my third anniversary being married to Deidra - a beautiful, wonderful, and amazing woman.

When I started this summer internship and some of the other interns found out I was married, one of the girls asked how long I had been married. I replied, "Almost three years."

Her eyes widened a little bit and she nodded, seemingly in disbelief, "Wow! That's pretty good!"

It made me chuckle that she was impressed that we had made it for three years. I guess with the breaking down of the family in our society, all the entertainment break-up news, etc., she thought three years was a really long time.

But I do have to agree with her on one point - it is pretty good! And it's only getting better!

Stop whining!

Ah, the Olympic Games! Where nations compete with each other in the spirit of international harmony and brotherhood - or something like that.

While I have enjoyed cheering on the feel-good stories of record-breaking Michael Phelps, age-defying Dara Torres, the USA basketball Redeem Team, and the seemingly infalterable Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, I have kind of gotten a bad taste in my mouth for how much the American athletes, former athletes, and coaches have been reported as whining and making excuses when things haven't panned out like they had hoped.

From boxing, to gymnastics, to swimming, to tennis, there seem to be a lot of finger pointing and excuses. Do these Americans really have such a sense of entitlement that when they don't get what they want, they have to find someone to blame?

Maybe that's why the rest of the world looks at us as a nation of spoiled, whiny brats.

It's that time of year again!

With the Brett Favre drama finally over (hopefully) and preseason football in full swing, I am throwing out one final invitation if anyone wants to join my fantasy football league. We have 12 teams already, but have room for a few more if anyone is interested. Click here or on the picture above and enter the follwing information:

League ID#: 102044
Password: roxor

Leave me a comment here or send me an email if you have any issues.

The Washington Nationals are undefeated!

At least they are in my book! They may be the absolute worst team in baseball, but Deidra and I went to their game on Saturday and they won! That was the first game I've been to this year, and counting the five or so games I went to during their inaugural season in 2005, I have never been to a game where the Nationals have lost. I was thinking of going to another game this season, but I'm not sure if I should press my luck.

Moving up in the ranks of nerdiness

After reading Chod's post, I finally decided that I should get a Nike + as well. I need something to motivate me to run, or it doesn't happen. So far, so good! I haven't hit 100 miles yet . . . or 10 . . . or 5. I ran twice last week for a total of just over 4 miles, but at least it's a start.

I went online tonight and joined a bunch of challenges at the Nike+ website. There was one where you choose your favorite major league baseball team, and then the team with the fans that run the most miles wins. I joined as a Washington Nationals fan, and apparently I am the only Nats fan out there. They have 0 miles logged so far. I guess it's all on my shoulders now!

Hopping on the Josh Hamilton bandwagon

By now, most baseball fans can tell you the background behind Josh Hamilton. I've read the Sports Illustrated cover story about how he overcame drug addiction to get a second crack - no pun intended - at baseball (and life, really). How he goes everywhere with a long-time friend, who acts as his conscience and keeps him out of trouble, because Josh says he still doesn't trust himself. How he speaks to anyone, anywhere, anytime he can about his recovery and how God helped (and continues to help) him overcome his demons.

It's a pretty amazing and impressive story. But add to that what happened at the All-Star Home Run Derby in Yankee Stadium last night, and I now have to consider myself a Josh Hamilton fan.

He tells the story about having a dream two years ago - a dream about being at a home run derby at Yankee Stadium conversing with a female news reporter about his story. This dream coming before he had even returned to baseball and before baseball had even chosen Yankee Stadium for the All-Star game in the stadium's final year before the new Yankee Stadium opens up.


He invited his 71-year-old batting practice coach from American Legion to pitch to him and proceeded to hit a record 28 home runs (an astounding 12,458 feet total) in the first round of the derby - 20 more home runs than his closest competitor and 4 more than any other player in the history of the derby. It was definitely one of the most amazing athletic feats I have ever witnessed.

And after the round was over, there he was - at a home run derby at Yankee Stadium conversing with a female news reporter for ESPN about his story. As Josh Hamilton said himself: "I can say it was a coincidence, but I don’t believe in those."

Truly an inspiration for the power of faith, hard work, and unapologetic testimony, I certainly have the utmost respect and admiration for Josh Hamilton. I am proud to jump on the bandwagon with all those at Yankee Stadium who were chanting "Ha-mil-ton, Ha-mil-ton" as he sent baseball after baseball into the outfield stands, all of his teammates who continue to support and encourage him, and all those who have read or heard him tell his story of redemption. I am proud to call myself a fan.

(photos from Yahoo! Sports)

Meridian Park

Deidra gave me the task of finding something else to do while we were in the U St. area after work on Friday. We figured we needed to do more than just visit Ben's Chili Bowl in order to make our trip worth it. After doing a little bit of internet research, I decided that we would walk about five blocks (through one of the sketchiest parts of town, mind you) to Meridian Park.

You can see some pictures of the park by clicking on the link above. I had no idea that this park even existed, and I don't think I am the only one. Apparently, it was one of the original sites considered for the Lincoln Memorial. But now, it is fairly run down and most of the statues have fallen into various states of disrepair. Deidra decided that Meridian Park is where random statues go to die. But where else can you find a statue of a US President (Buchanan), a literary master (Dante), a war legend (Joan of Arc), and a personified emotion (Serenity) within a few hundred yards? Throw in a concrete aggregate chess board large enough to play human chess and a 13-tiered cascading water fountain, and you can't go wrong. I would certainly recommend Meridian Park as one of DC's hidden treasures.

Ben's Chili Bowl

After work on Friday, I metro-ed into the city and met Deidra at a metro stop on the way to U Street.

Our main goal was dinner at Ben's Chili Bowl, a classic dive celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Their specialties include chili dogs, chili cheese fries, and chili half-smokes (Bill Cosby's favorite). It's a pretty famous place, and they even put a Ben's Chili Bowl in the new Washington Nationals baseball stadium. I had eaten at this original location in U St. once before -many years ago - but Deidra never had. She got the chili half-smoke and I got the chili dog. We shared cheese fries (sans chili).

The verdict?

Overrated.

While the food was fairly cheap compared to anywhere else you can eat in DC, it wasn't any better than cooking your own store-bought hot dogs, putting them on cheap store-bought buns, and covering it with canned chili. It reminded me of eating at the ski lodge at the Pomerelle Ski Resort. But, as Deidra put it, at least your work up a big appetite while skiing at Pomerelle. The food tastes so much better then.

So, overall, Ben's is a good place to go once, just to say you've been there, but I don't think we'll be fighting to get back. When it comes to chili restaurants, I certainly prefer Hard Times. Hopefully we'll get there before the summer is over.

Happy Independence Day, Nelly!

We decided to celebrate independence day a little bit early by paying off the remaining amount on Nelly's car loan this morning. So now she is officially free and liberated from the oppression of "The Man". We'd take her out for a spin to celebrate, but considering she's in Idaho and we're in DC, that's not likely to happen anytime soon.

I passed!

I passed my HRCI Professional in Human Resources (PHR) exam today. That's definitely good to have off my back. Now I can carelessly enjoy the rest of my summer!

Could our day get any "Fuller"?

We spent pretty much every waking moment last Saturday with our friends, Nate and Sara Fuller. They gave a rundown of the events on their blog here (including video footage of the monster koi pond), so be sure to checking it out. (Rumor has it that Deidra might be posting a koi pond video of her own - but that's just speculation).

Here's the details I will fill in. We had borrowed a car from Deidra's roommate (as explained here), so we could pretty much go wherever the wind blew. Unfortunately, we spent a lot of time in the car while I tried to figure out how to get us from where we were to where the wind was blowing us.

At Eastern Market, the breakfast was great, but what was even greater was watching how upset Nate would get when people would throw away their pancakes, french toast, or other breakfast items after only eating half of it. I'm pretty sure he would have stood right by the garbage and eaten everyones' extras for hours if Sara would have let him.

While at the Arboretum, we heard they were doing some sort of launch for alternate energy plants. That didn't really interest us too much . . . until we also heard that they were going to be giving away Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The lady told us we just had to endure 15-20 minutes of "blah, blah, blah" and then we would get free ice cream. She was partially right. The "blah, blah, blah" ended up being about 35-40 minutes, but we did get free Ben & Jerry's! I got the Half Baked on a stick, as did Deidra. I think Sara got Cherry Garcia, and somehow Nate scored one of each - props to him!

The National Cathedral was cool - even though I've been there numerous times. I had never been down to the crypt before, so that was cool. There was even a plaque saying the Helen Keller was interred there. Who knew? (Probably everyone out there but me.)

We ate dinner at our place mainly because none of us could make up our mind on where to eat . . . and because we're all cheap! It was actually nice hanging out with friends who were as frugal as we were.

It was a fun day, and I think I speak for both myself and Deidra when I say that we would love to hang out with the Fullers again. How about the Nats v. the Diamondbacks or the Reds? Or maybe while the Bergstroms are in town. They get in tomorrow night! I think Sara said it best when she told us that she just loved "merging the Logan and DC worlds" by hanging out here with Logan friends.

Kelly Kapoor on Scrubs?

So, Deidra and I have been watching Scrubs recently, since we borrowed the first season from some friends. As we were watching the 3rd episode by myself, I was positive that one of the medical interns was Kelly Kapoor from The Office (Mindy Kaling is the actress's real name). Anyway, Deidra doesn't think it's the same person. I looked at the credits at the end of the show and all over online, but nowhere does it say anything either way. So I'll let you all decide.

This clip is long, but all you need to do is skip to 8 min 30 sec and take a look. She's the only intern in green scrubs. It's not the best quality, but it's the best I could find online. Let me know what you think.

Two car family

When you live in a bustling city with great public transportation and gas prices are skyrocketing, what do you do? You go from having zero cars to having two! At least that's what we did last night.

Deidra and I wanted to go to the temple and we heard that renting a car through Priceline was the way to go. So I went to work yesterday morning with that topping the to-do list. By the time Deidra got to work, that mission had been accomplished.

Then I hear from Deidra that another old roommate is going out of town for the weekend and Deidra had talked her into letting us borrow her car. The only problem is that we can't cancel reservations made through Priceline.

So I got our rented car, picked Deidra up, went to the temple, stopped by the Bank's house (a couple from our Logan ward) where we were treated to a great 9:30pm dinner, and then went to pick up Deidra's roommate's car. A for about 20 minutes between picking up that car and dropping off the rental, we were a two car family. It was pretty exciting!

While we're on the topic of beverages . . .

This is why I love Shoppers - an entire section of different flavored Tang in the ethnic foods aisle. I bet most of you didn't even know there were different flavors of Tang. I never knew until my first trip to Shoppers many years ago. Unfortunately, they were out of the Strawberry Orange tonight, so I had to settle for the Orange Kiwi.