Sunday, August 10, 2014

It's Been a Month Away from Happy Valley

I've been here a month? Already? Time has flown by! I love adventure, and even though I've lived abroad for three years of my life (my LDS mission in Australia & studying/interning in China) the fact that I've moved here permanently makes things a bit more exciting.

Things I've Learned by Being On My Own:
  • Vacuums are expensive and I don't want to buy one.
  • I need puppies. Seriously though, coming home to two little cute doggies sounds amazing.
  • I LOVE having my own place. I can record and mix music whenever I want. Not to mention the clothes I don't have to wear while lounging around.
  • Ambition plays a huge part in how exciting one's life is.
  • Mail is not exciting.
  • Quiznos Delivers.

Things I Love About Arizona:
  • The heat! Cruising around at night with the windows/top down with friends is amazing because it's warm! AAAHHHHHHHH!!!! I'm a little bitter at all the years I've spent freezing my butt off. Here, most ward activities are water related but don't start until after the sun goes down. It's beautiful.
  • Geckos are cool and really fast. They like to run across my path while I'm running and sometimes they startle me.
  • Bahama Bucks. I can't describe this place properly. Some might say it's a snow cone place, but I don't like snow cones, but I love this place. If you come down this way you'll have to go there and find out how amazing the place is yourself. I will take you.
  • Every restaurant you can imagine is here.
  • My sister and bro-in-law and my dog. It's fun doing stuff with them. I hope my brother joins us after his mission.
  • Huge outdoor shopping malls! Not to mention the live bands that often play outside of them. The warm weather is very inviting and encourages people to be outside at night, which I love.
  • Not being surrounded by Mormons. It makes missionary work easier. Don't get me wrong, I love Mormons.
  • The monsoons. They're really cool looking and very powerful. During my first experience in a monsoon a tree fell on my truck.
  • Crossfit! I know Crossfit isn't just in Arizona, but I didn't start doing it until I moved here. Man, it kicks my butt and I'm crazy sore all the time. I went four times that past week, so I'm pretty beat. My coach is a huge dude who's name is Bear.
  • Being free after work! I cannot express, in words, how utterly fantastic it is not having homework. The work I do actually counts for something! This gives me a feeling of accomplishment and removes the stresses homework brings brought.
  • Setting the thermostat somewhere between 80°F - 85°F. Being constantly cold while indoors is the best way to hinder my mood and productivity. I'm always colder than the average person, but now I get to control the temperature mwahahahaha!
  • Sundays. I'm at a place where it's abnormal to keep the Sabbath day holy. Setting everything aside and focusing on what really matters, my very reason for existence, is refreshing and motivating.
  • Palm trees, even though they're totally imported. I also like the cacti here.

Things I (don't) Love About Arizona:
  • Cockroaches. My very first night in Arizona I went to sleep and woke up the next morning because there was a cockroach on my leg. Um, no. A few days later I saw another one in my kitchen, only this time I had bug spray. I haven't seen any since. Beginners luck perhaps?
  • The tap water is distinguishing. I avoid drinking it at all costs.
  • Haboobs. This is a giant sand storm which looks really cool, but makes everything covered in sand. I noticed sand in my apartment even. Not to mention the haboob that shut down the airport and delayed my flight to Utah for my sister's wedding. It was scheduled to leave at 8:00 pm. We took off at 2:00 am. I arrived at my mom's place at 6:00 am. The wedding was at 10:00 am. I was very tired.

Here are a few pictures of some of my adventures I've mentioned above:

Me at work.

The tree that fell on my car during my first monsoon. Luckily the tree wasn't too big.

Family Home Evening after the sun went down.

Me at work playing around with the new technology stuff. It's a brand new building.

Taken just before the haboob hit me. Luckily airport security came out and picked me up just as the haboob began enveloping me. It was pretty scary actually. I got out of my car, looked up, and saw this ginormous red cloud coming at me very fast. I began running, but soon enough they picked me up right when it was hitting me.
 Here are some pictures of the same haboob. I got these from a news website. The news headline reads,
On the edge of the abyss: Enormous dust storm 2,000 feet tall covers Phoenix cutting power to 9,000 homes



I bought a doormat.

This was my first day of Crossfit! Here I am with my sister, bro-in-law, and friend from work, Jesus.

Eating dinner at the Scottsdale Quarter with Christy and Ben. We just got done seeing Guardians of the Galaxy, which I really liked. It stars Chris Pratt who is my ultimate Hollywood crush.
Chris Pratt.


A candid picture of Christy and Ben. They are seriously the coolest.

My buddy Tyrell came to visit me for a few days. He's from Utah.

Lunch time at work. I LOVE palm trees!

Inside of Scorpion Crossfit in Chandler, AZ.
Out with some fellas.
 I've been liking my fortune cookies as of late.



That's it for now. Getting my studio up and running has been a bit difficult. I need to buy a 7-pin XLR cable for my Avantone CV-12 mic but can't find one anywhere. Soon though! Soon!

Stay close to God and be happy. :)