Running Out of Gas

Day 226

I betcha you all thought that I was running out of ideas to blog about right? Well, I'm getting there.

Kristy and Logan are back from their vacation all safe and sound. They had a real good time (you should take a look at Kristy's blog when she updates it for more details) but I am glad to have them home. Kristy and Logan called me last Saturday night to tell me that they had driven a bit further and are staying over in Dillon, Montana. Which reminded me of an experience I had many years ago.

My mom and I were heading to Canada to visit Dave and Jennifer driving our old Dodge Aries. We were making excellent time (we have made the trip numerous times) and were having a good road trip until we got into Montana. The trip to Edmonton is a long one and takes about 22 hours to make. Typically we stop over in Helena for the night, which is about halfway. We usually make a pit stop in Dillon to gas up for the final stretch of the first day of driving.

Ah.. the Silver Bullet. Good memories. This was right before the car was sold. So no more black smoke and no more running out of gas.

What we didn't expect was that our Aries was getting older and was not the runner it used to be. About ten miles out of Dillon we realized that we were very short on gas but we thought we would make it.

And then we were only a few miles out of Dillon and we were riding on fumes. We had made it up this hill (which ate up any remaining fuel we had) and we were coasting down the hill, hopefully to use that momentum to get to the exit to Dillon. But no such luck.

After we had finished coasting down our car started to shake and we knew we were OUT. Out of luck and definitely out of gas. We pulled over and went as far as we could and only made it about twenty feet before the Aries stopped. Mom looked over at me and asked what should we do now? I looked back at her and shrugged my shoulders. I told her we should pop the hood and I will see if someone will stop for us.

I waved down some cars with no luck but finally a big truck pulling a boat stopped. Without hesitation I ran up to the truck and told the couple driving what had happened. He offered to take me into Dillon (they were stopping there anyway) and buy some gas and then bring me back.

Relieved, I ran back to my mom and asked her for some money and told her I would get a ride from them. Mom gave me twenty bucks and I ran off and hopped into their truck. We took off and left my mom stranded on the road. the other way! We left without saying anything to mom, she didn't even see these people, she watched as her only son, a kid only thirteen, leave with some strangers.

I was not afraid. Maybe it was because I was naive but I didn't fear these strangers. They saw that I was from Utah (from the license plates on our car) and they asked where in Utah I was from. They were pretty familiar with Utah and said that they loved visiting it. Then they told me that they were from California and he was a retired detective for the L.A. Police Department. He said hitchhiking was not the best thing and was dangerous for both parties but said he would rather take his chances with me than with me taking my chances with someone else. We dropped his wife off to do some grocery shopping and we went to the gas station to fill up this gas can. I paid for the gas and picked his wife and we went back to the car. The funny thing is that we had to pass my mom going the other way so we could make a u-turn and come from behind. We beeped the horn as we passed my mom Going in the other Direction! I had no idea that might panic my mom. The guy driving also mentioned that maybe beeping at my mom was not a good idea considering it would be about twenty minutes or so before we could turn around to meet up with her. We laughed about it.

We pulled up and my mom was happy to see us all. We thanked the couple and we went to Dillon to drop off the gas can and to properly fill up. We were thankful that this ended well and we filled up the Aries every chance we could on the rest of the trip.

The Big Picture

Day 225

Creating that large image was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. Using PhotoShop to cut each picture out was a different story. But I am happy with what I got. Some of the images you cannot see all that well so here is the full picture along with a legend.

1. Lime Crush - One of my all-time favorite sodas that they don't make anymore. Sadly the new Mountain Dew Lime is nowhere like this flavor. I would drive back to Canada tomorrow if I knew I could get some.

2. Brett Favre - I have always like the Packers (even though the Jets are my team) but I really liked Favre. I own 3 different Favre jerseys and no matter the flipflops of retirement, he will go down as one of my all-time favorite players. His boyish love of the game is just one of the reasons why I admire Brett. In fact, Logan was almost named Brett (after Favre) and Kristy and I are thinking of travelling and visiting the Football Hall of Fame when Favre gets inducted. If he retires...

3. Edmonton Oilers - Before there was football there was hockey. And Hockey Night in Canada was a staple growing up in Canada. And I was very lucky to be there in Edmonton during the dynasty days. Hockey is the only sport that I can sit down and watch any team play each other and know I will be entertained.

4. Wolverine and the X-Men - I love comic books but I don't have a love of comic book movies, that is until the first X-Men was released and raised the bar. I never thought any actor would be able to portray one of my favorite comic characters but Hugh Jackman nailed the role and it only took a few minutes to convince me. Now when a comic book movie comes out I am not as nervous as I used to be. Most of them have been good with X2 being the best.

5. Ric Flair - WHOOOO! I admit that I love wrestling and I was lucky enough (if you consider that to be lucky) to watch wrestling when it was awesome. Ric Flair is my all-time favorite wrestler, again like with Brett Favre, the Nature Boy just loves to play the game. And no one plays an evil (heel) wrestler like Ric Flair. Nothing gets you more excited when a hated villain finally gets what is coming to him!

6. Nexus - I don't think I have mentioned Nexus here on the blog yet but that is one of my all-time favorite comics. It came out in the 80's and was way before its time. It combined science fiction along with a heavy dose of politics with just a hint of superheroes. The main character Nexus (picture here) is gifted with god-like powers to act as judge, jury and executioner. He dreams of evil people (mass murderers) and is haunted by these dreams until he tracks them down and kills them. If he doesn't eventually the dreams will kill him. Awesome comic series.

7. Cadbury Creme Egg - I wish I had one right now. I love these tasty Easter chocolates. My all-time favorite candy.

8. U2's Zooropa - I love U2 and I am one of the few fans that think Zooropa is their best album. And this is one album that I cannot just listen to one or two songs, I have to listen to the whole album all at once. Johnny Cash's voice on "The Wanderer" is the perfect and fitting end to such a wonderful album. For some strange reason I really like the album cover too. I wish I had a T-shirt of this album cover.

9. Mountain Dew LiveWire - I don't get to drink this very often since it is not available where I live but it gives me a grand excuse to go down to Salt Lake. My old boss used to complain that it was just orange soda mixed with Mountain Dew and I would laugh (in my mind) at him. That is EXACTLY what it is. I don't know why I love it but I do.

10. The Laughing Cat - You are either a dog person or a cat person. While I don't mind dogs, I do prefer cats. Kristy found this picture of a laughing cat in a magazine and I had to keep it. Whenever I feel down I can always look at this pic and smile. So sorry dog people, I like cats better.

11. Alan Davis and Captain Britain - Captain Britain (pictured here) is one my favorite heroes. So why not Captain America? I like Captain Britain because he is a flawed hero. He doesn't want to be a hero and makes mistakes but ultimately becomes a hero. My favorite comic book artist is Alan Davis (who drew this) and I first saw his artwork drawing this character as well. He drew the good Captain aloof and brooding but powerful. And I just had to learn more about him. I have followed Captain Britain and Alan Davis wherever they go. I also run an Alan Davis message board and I have been extremely lucky that I am in contact with my favorite artist. A comic geek's dream come true.

12. Bottlecaps - My tongue has cankers. Yes, I went out and bought another box and ate them while watching the World Cup. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I love this candy. I love soda and candy. And those orange ones taste like children's aspirin, which I love.

13. Queen - I love this picture (taken from the album The Miracle) and it totally represents what Queen means to me. They are so diverse and creative. Listening to them relaxes me and makes me want to be like them and create. I never tire of them. This may surprise you though, Crazy Little Thing Called Love is one of their songs I like the least. Not sure why, it might be because I have heard it too many times.

14. Banshee - My favorite comic book character. Why? Beats the crap out of me. I think it is because he is not popular and is not seen very much. Something about his gliders on his costume and his powers that make me think he is cool. When I participated in the ScriptFrenzy, I wrote a comic book script that had Banshee in it. One of these days...

15. Princess Leia and Star Wars - My first celebrity crush as a kid. And it wasn't until Empire Strikes Back that I really began to think that she was hot. And then Return of the Jedi came out (I was 9 at the time) and I really began to crush on her. I didn't know it at the time but I am sure her little slave outfit had something to do with it.

16. Mr. Burns and the Simpsons - I quote the Simpsons all the time. Seriously, I do it all the time and I think I do it unconsciously, without even thinking about it. Mr. Burns is my favorite character. I can watch this show anytime and every Halloween, Kristy and I will whip out all the Halloween episodes and watch them. We love the Simpsons around here.

17. NaNoWrMo - I love to write and this novel contest is awesome. If any of you are aspiring writers or want to see what you are capable of, I highly HIGHLY recommend doing this. It is very rewarding and I am looking forward to doing it again this November.

18. Bob and Doug McKenzie - SCTV was a fixture growing up. People still believe that all Canadians are like this and that is not true. Only a few of them are exactly like this. Watching Strange Brew quickly brings about my Canadian accent. I can use the Great White North call and my family would immediately call back and come running.

19. New York Jets and the NFL - I get asked this all the time, why the Jets? My mom and I share a love for the NFL and I followed the Packers and 49ers but it was not until my LDS mission where I started to follow the Jets. I was in Queens and we used to go over to Mike's, a member's house every Sunday after Church. Mike’s dad did not like us at all. He did not want to be disturbed while watching football and this Sunday wasthe Giants/Jets game. Sometimes I would peek in and see the scores but I never stayed and never made any noise. But for some reason Mike’s dad wanted to know where that one missionary was. And he for some reason was talking about me. I walked in and his dad yells out “Are you going to stand there or are you going sit here and watch the game with me?” We were all flabbergasted! I sat down next to him and I was nervous. He looked over and said, “Who are you for? The Giants or the Jets?” I did not know what to say so I looked over at the television and I saw that Ronnie Lott was on the Jets team. (I guess he was traded while I was on my mission.) I replied “I like the Jets!” I picked the right team because he muttered “Damn Giants. I hate them!” He looked over at me and I blurted out "I hate the damn Giants!" He smiled and asked Mike to bring me my dinner plate so I could watch the game with him. I did what no missionary ever did. I ate quietly (I was a little scared) and after the game was over Mike’s dad wanted to take a nap but before he went upstairs he told me he expected me next Sunday to watch the Jets play. I have rarely missed a game since.

20. Annyong and Arrested Development - The best show ever. Seriously, go google and find the episode Pier Pressure and tell me you didn't laugh. If you watched it and didn't laugh you have no soul. How can a TV show be so wrong be so right?

21. The Little Mermaid - I already confessed that I love the movie The Little Mermaid. As I left my LDS mission in New York, this cute little girl Tina, gave me her favorite puzzle of the Little Mermaid. She was so sad that I was leaving and she wanted me to have it. We used to put it together when I would visit her family.

22. Chris Hansen and Dateline - I love Dateline and Chris Hansen is awesome. One of my guilty pleasures was watching him when he did those To Catch a Predator news stories. He asked the perfect questions and said the funniest things. If I was a journalist, I would want to be Chris Hansen.

23. The Platypus Clan - My awesome family. Without them I wouldn't be what I am today. My life would be so boring without them. They are the center of my life.

Random Ramblings

Day 224

I was reading my cousin Jaimee's blog yesterday (Thoughts of the Day) and I was thinking about how much I like reading these columns. And like a good fellow blogger should, I am totally going to steal this idea.

Are you ready to take a peek at what I am thinking? I keep thinking about that Seinfeld episode where Jerry and George sit down and talk about their feelings.

George: So, that's it. All of my darkest fears, and... everything I'm capable of. That's me.

Jerry: Yikes. Well, good luck with all that.

George: Where you going? I-I thought I could count on you for a little compassion.

Jerry: I think you scared me straight.

So here goes....

- Blog Redesign
It has been a long time coming and I finally dug into it yesterday. I have always wanted to change up the look because I felt mine was so boring looking. Blogger also has some new design templates and I was fooling around with them yesterday and got a design I wanted. The background and the main banner were created by me and my feeble Photoshop skills (I am getting better) and that took most of the bulk of the time. I wanted to create a collage of things that make me ME. I designed the picture before I put it into the blog design and I am pretty happy with how it went. It does make me giggle that Princess Leia is so prominent on the side. I didn't intend for that but I am not complaining. I will continue to tweak some of the colors and fonts but most of the work is out of the way. I appreciate all the compliments too.

-V for Vendetta
I watched V for Vendetta last night while eating some Bottlecaps and it got me thinking. I find the graphic novel much more compelling and fantastic but I have to admit that the movie is pretty good on its own. I know that the movie rattled a few cages with some of my friends but I think the overall message of the movie was poignant and clear. "People should not fear their government, the government should fear the people." I personally think that both democrats and republicans fear the same thing. They fear that the government will take control of everything. In the worst case scenario, republicans believe that it can turn into Socialism while democrats believe that it can turn into Totalitarianism.

While you may not agree with this, I do have something that we can all agree on. I think Natalie Portman is an attractive woman.

But that completely changes when this girl cries. It is so hard to watch her cry (in any film) because she is a terrible cryer. I looked all over the net for a good picture of her crying and (luckily) I couldn't find any. I even tried searching for "Natalie Portman ugly disturbing crying" and nothing came up. At one of the most crucial and beautiful moments in the book is when Evey is out in the rain (I won't ruin the reason why here in case you have not seen or read the book) but when she does it in the movie I cringe.

-I Got Mail!
I got a postcard in the mail yesterday from Kristy and Logan. I have not heard from them for at least a week now so it was nice to hear from them.

Just where is that glacier again?

I bet Kristy asked Logan if he was homesick and he said he was "almost" homesick. I am looking forward to seeing my family tonight.

Mother's Day

Day 223

Yesterday was a nice and relaxing day. I went to work at my dad's from six in the morning till about eleven and I headed home and got ready to spend the rest of the day with my mom.

We first went to Walmart to look at some printers and then decided we were hungry so we went to the Beehive Grill here in Logan. I ate a fantastic Turkey Chipotle Wrap with some fries and a freshly brewed Creme Soda. It was so tasty. Then we hit the road and drove around the valley and chatted.

We drove through Paradise, Hyrum and Wellsville and visited some old haunts. We also drove through the cemeteries and found my great grandparents graves. It was nice to see where they are located and to learn more about my family. We also found my great grandma's (Grandma Kate) old home and also where it used to be located. I don't have a lot of memories of my great grandparents but seeing where she used to live did jog my memory. It was also fun to hear what my mom used to do as a kid when she visited her grandparents.

When drove back into town and stopped by the mall and by Alvey's Chocolates and scored some chocolates. Then we drove up on campus and we went past my old trailer. I then shared with my mom about how I met Kristy and what was happening at the time. I don't think she knew those stories. Then we just had to stop by Aggie Ice Cream. We must have sat in the parking lot and talked for hours.

We finally stopped at my home and we again sat in the driveway chatting for another hour. We spoke about all things, memories, family, religion and politics (and we were nice and respectful), we covered just about everything.

Thanks mom for taking care of me while my family is away. It was a lot of fun sitting and chatting. I couldn't have asked for a better mom!

The Deer Hunt

Day 222

Last month I blogged about me being scared to death by a killer moose and I realized that I only covered half the story. My dad and I were hoping that my little run-in with the moose scared him enough that he would go to a different water hole. I don't know if dad said that just to help me gird up my loins or if that was actually true. Anyway it worked because I once again took that long hike up the mountain back to that watering hole. I sat and waited and remembered the moose. This time I made to pay more attention to my surroundings. I didn't want a repeat of what happened last time.

The best part of bow hunting was the watching and waiting. It was very peaceful; you were there with just your thoughts (as long as you weren't interrupted by some rude moose) and it was fun to watch nature. I would watch the mice again play around my boots. I would watch the birds come in for a drink and a quick bath.

And then suddenly I heard a much larger animal carefully coming to the waterhole. It was a deer and more importantly it was a buck. He was not a large buck but still it was a buck and I now had my chance to snag a deer. It walked around and waterhole and finally stopped right in front of me. He was standing exactly where we had marked our 20-yard mark. This should be an easy kill. I raised my bow and pulled back and aimed.

Please ignore my shirt tucked into my pants and that horrible haircut.

I was excited. My heart was beating so fast. The next most exciting thing was tracking the deer after you strike it. If you aim right, you hit the deer right in the lungs and it will take off running and will not last more than a couple of minutes before it dies. After you hit the deer with your arrow you sit back down and let it go. You wait about twenty minutes and then you go track it down. I was really excited to track it down.

The buck had no idea I was there. I carefully aimed and released my arrow and it hit the deer.

Sadly, my dad and I didn't notice the small sapling directly in the path. My arrow hit that and veered it off course and it hit the deer in the upper back. The deer instead of running collapsed right then and there. At least I wouldn't have to track it but I hated seeing it lay there. It looked right at me and I started to feel a little bad. It was like he knew I was there and knew that I was the one the hit him.

So I sat and waited like I was supposed to do. I waited for twenty minutes and the deer was still alive. I was thinking of just heading back to the truck. By the time I met dad and walked back up the deer will be dead. I was about it get up when I heard something else come into the water hole. The buck heard it too and turned to see. It was that doe and her two little fawns that I saw the last time. The buck made these horrible snorting sounds and the doe snorted back and suddenly it was gone! The buck warned them to get out of there. That didn't help my feelings of guilt. So after they took off, I took off too.

I walked down to the truck and my dad saw me and started to head down too. I told him what happened and we decided to have a drink before we headed up to make sure that the buck had died. So we toasted my first deer over a Diet Coke and a Dew and then headed up. I didn't take my bow or gear and my dad took his bow in case another one came in. We hiked up to the watering hole and found the buck.

And he was still alive.

I felt horrible. That poor thing was suffering and it was my fault. My dad took his bow and shot it and it finally died within minutes. We examined where I hit the deer and we came to the conclusion that I must have hit it right in the back bone and paralyzed it. We then gutted it and hauled it down the mountain. I have to admit that I was no longer excited about deer hunting. I was no longer excited that I got my first deer. If it was dead by the time we got back up there I am sure that my feelings would have been dramatically different. I was feeling quite down the whole rest of the night.

I eventually got over it. The deer steaks and jerky definitely helped me get over it. The deer was very tasty and lasted quite a long time and that made it all worth it. But I am not sure I wanted to hunt again. If I could guarantee that it would be quick and easy for the deer, I would do it again. I just was not a fan of inflicting pain on an innocent animal. I don't have anything against hunting and would do it again if only I knew that it would be over for the animal quickly.

I left for my LDS mission soon after and we sold my bow to get some money for it. That was the last time I went hunting.

World Cup Madness

Day 221

I am not into soccer at all. I don't think I have ever watched a full match in my life. I usually like to watch football (NFL), hockey and basketball in that order but I have never had a desire to watch soccer.

That was until last year when I watched the MLS Championship and the only reason I watched it was because Real Salt Lake was in the finals. And I have to admit that I was more taken by it than I thought I would be. It was much more exciting than I remember soccer being. I told Kristy that we should attend a Real Salt Lake game and that I should watch more soccer games.

And now the World Cup is nearly upon us and what a perfect opportunity to watch some soccer and learn more about the game. In fact I am in my first World Cup Tournament. My friends and I drafted some teams and we are going to have a point system where basically you score one point for every match any of your teams win. You get half a point if they draw (only applicable in the group stage). Person with the most points at the end wins.

 
My friend Tim from the UK gave some analysis of my picks. I honestly didn't know what I was doing and that was obvious from the picks I made. Here is his analysis:

Matt: Portugal, Ivory Coast, Algeria, North Korea

Well, Matt should get something out of the Group of Death at least. Sadly and despite having three of the group’s four teams it’s almost certainly be only one space for the next round – it’s hard to see Brazil getting crowded out. It’s quite possible that the group will come down to who manages to pick on Matt’s other team in that group more and rack up goal difference.

Seriously, this is high-risk high-reward stuff. Although a little unlikely, it’s still possible to see both the Ivory Coast and Portugal outperform Brazil on a given day – they’re good teams – and if they do, well… Matt would then have two good teams in the knockout stage brimming with confidence from having bested the best already.

Algeria, well, nice to have them along. And at least if North Korea do threaten to bomb everyone he has himself covered in that way.

Bottom Line: If the Group stage goes well, be afraid. If not, unlikely to trouble anyone else.

I am looking forward to watching as many games as I can. I hope that there are some major upsets and that it is exciting. I guess more than half the world can't be wrong, it has to be exciting!

From the Soapbox: Religion, Politics and Respect

Day 220

It has been said that you should NOT to talk to friends and family about religion and politics. I had an experience not so long ago that definitely makes this point completely true and valid.

So instead of following this advice, I am going to talk (blog) about religion and politics. But first let me tell you what happened to me just a few weeks ago.

I was sitting and chatting with some people that I know. And the subject turned to politics. I minored in Political Science and I don't mind discussing politics with people. But this conversation turned ugly rather quickly and quickly spiraled out of control. This person hurled volley after volley of insults and made everyone else quite uncomfortable. It just kept going, no matter how noticeably uncomfortable we all were. And I couldn't stand it any longer.

This person obviously hates our President. But that wasn't the problem. Everyone has a right to believe what they want. You can say that you don't like him and that you do not agree with the current state of affairs. I have no problem discussing things like that. But instead, she lost every valid point she was trying to make by name calling. She called him something like "Butt Aroma" instead of Barack Obama. And then she called him the Anti-Christ.

Ash will save the day!

And this is where I have a problem. Name calling and hurling insults does nothing to help your cause. This person had previously made some valid points, some with which I could agree on. But because of her venom and putrid hatred and disrespect she lost me. And finally I had had enough and I had to say something. And this was not because we obviously differed on our opinions. This was because of her disrespect. Name calling just makes her look stupid and uneducated. If that is really how you feel that is fine. But have some respect for other people and have respect for those you are speaking with.

So I called her out warning her that what she is saying was extremely offensive but I don't think she got the message. She thought it was because I disagreed with her position, if she would have just listened she would have realized that I agree with some of her points. It was the way she presented her beliefs that I took offense at. So I told her that she should be careful with how she voices her opinions and words. I told her that it was wrong to name call and was being disrespectful.

And now for the religious perspective. If you are going to label someone as an Anti-Christ you must be Christian. And I know she is Christian and I think that offended me even more. But aren't Christians taught not to be judgemental? Aren't they taught to love their neighbors and to bless their enemies? So I called her out on this too. I told her it was wrong to judge this way and that she would be judged the exact same way, that she would be condemned just like she condemns others. Her reply was that while she is in hell, she would be with Barack and all the Democrats. So she knew what she was doing was wrong but she was so caught up in the hate that she didn't care.

I will share a little of my beliefs here. I believe that we are all children of God. Everyone that has been on the Earth, everyone that is on the Earth and everyone that will come is a child of God. Calling someone an Anti-Christ is something that is extremely judgemental and very disrespectful.

I served an LDS mission to New York and I remember being asked this question. "If you were arrested for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?"

Now I am not saying that we should all agree. The only way that things can improve is by opposing views getting together and discussing points in a mature and respectful manner. You can say all you want that these laws are stupid and wrong. No matter what your religious persuasion is, when you attack someone personally, you are crossing the line. A line that I won't tolerate.

I am glad that I stood up to this person. I normally am not confrontational but something had to be said. I will defend anyone regardless of what party they support. I have called out both democrats and republicans when they have crossed this line.

I called out a former Mayor of Salt Lake City when he berated President Bush. Politically, I agreed with every thing he said but he was so disrespectful and so rude that he nullified every point he made. So I sent him an e-mail about it and called him out even though I agreed with his points. I just didn't agree with the way he presented himself.

So if you want to talk, let's talk. But let's also be reasonable and respectful. I am not perfect, I can be critical and can be rude at times. And if I am, call me out. I shouldn't be acting like that. I was taught to love my neighbors (even my dad's neighbor that tailgated me) and I try my hardest but on occasion I need a little kick in the butt to remind me.