Dear Self

Please try to do your Shopping earlier than the day before Christmas Eve.

Sincerely,
John

To My Sisters

Thanks for Introducing me to the BBC TV series Robin Hood, and thanks for picking one with only three seasons.  Maybe we will be done watching it before the end of the break.

No School + Lots of Time = New Ideas

I'm so glad that the semester ends before the Christmas break.  It relieves all the pressure and with this new sense of freedom come new ideas.  The most ingenuous idea is to start a monthly publication, a newspaper of sorts and deliver it to my ward.  It is to be called the Monticello Monthly. Stay tuned for more details, right now it's not much more than an idea in progress.

Sun Set, Sun Rise, a New Blog, and A Chance to Redefine

Another semester has come and gone, and Christmas is drawing near. Revamping my blog was one of the first post-finals goals I had, and now it is accomplished.

With this new look, I have set the goal of posting something every day. This will mean shorter and simpler posts about things that happen on a day to day basis.

Today I have been thinking of all the things I have learned over this year and how pretty the sunset of 2010 really is. I'm even more excited for this coming year, I have so many hopes and plans and goals I think the sunrise of 2011 might be even better than the sunset of 2010.

There is one thing I have become sure of in 2010, and that is that it is impossible to see what's coming in life, but if you do your best it always turns out. So with the sun to my back I can't see much more than a shadow of what 2011 might bring, but I am excited for all the new adventures.

I hope I am able to share a few of those adventures through this blog.

Thank You

Thank you David Archuleta for a stunning vocal performance.
Thank you Michael York for a wonderful reading of Luke 2.
Thank you Mormon Tabernacle Choir for always exceeding expectations.
Thanks Liz and Lo and Mom too for making the trip down and for making it entertaining on the way back.

What a wonderful way to start off this Christmas Break.

General Conference Weekend

Once again it has come and gone, and as is to be expected I am left with a sense of nostalgia for family, excitement for the future, and a better understanding of who I am, and where I need to be going in life. This conference was special because I got to attend a session with my family. Being in the conference center is always a treat, but being their with family is a unique and fulfilling experience.

After the first session we spent time at my Grandpa's house which has become one of my conference traditions. We ate delicious food and enjoyed an afternoon of family and conference fun. We continued a budding tradition of post-priesthood pizza that I believe started my freshman year of college when I went with my Grandpa to the Priesthood session.

Sunday has now come and gone and I could hardly believe it when President Monson said goodbye and adjourned the conference for six months.

I learned so much in these past two days I feel as though I entered the first day of class and received a syllabus for the next six months of spiritual instruction. I have a full time load of things I need to learn and apply as I study the messages again and attempt to put the personal guidance I received into practice. I feel even more excited for this set of coursework than I do my University coursework. I am determined to apply what I learned and to ace this semester of spiritual university.

I know that the Lord will tutor us personally and give us experiences that will allow us to learn and apply the spiritual lessons we learn from His prophets in general conference.

To The Lion King

Thanks for taking me back to my childhood. I could almost remember the first time I watched you in the theaters. That was a long long time ago. But I'm glad you brought me and my awesome sisters together for a few hours to enjoy the vibrant colors of the jungle. Oh, and tell the Hyenas and Zazu thanks for making me laugh. We'll have to meet up again sometime, and maybe you can introduce me to some of the other awesome plays.

John

17th Annual Office of the Gaurdian Ad Litem and CASA Conference

This week I attended the State-wide conference for the Office of the Guardian Ad Litem and CASA. This was my first time ever attending a legal conference. While many of my fellow CASA volunteers were dozing off during the State of the Office address I was totally enthralled by the office strategy to work with the Utah Legislature to get the annual budget approved. When they started talking in Legalese and reviewing important statutes, I felt right at home and reaffirmed my commitment to attend Law School.
Later that evening we had a very fancy catered dinner with multiple courses, including salad, the main course, and dessert. The food was gourmet, but one thing I found funny was how the main course plate appeared rather empty with the small piece of chicken and side of green beans and potatoes that appeared with it. When I received it I felt somewhat nostalgic for a home cooked self served meal with hearty portions. The upper class fancy dinner scene was an enjoyable experience, but I really felt like I would feel more at home in the less formal environment of my college dinner group where we sit around the living room sharing the highs and lows of our day. The key note speech was done by a judge who looked like she could have been Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s twin. It was a great experience, and I’m glad that I took off work and class to play lawyer for a day.

The Songs of Summer

Last semester I decided to start making real progress on my goal to learn to play the guitar. The winter came and went and I learned the basic tools of practice and technique to improve my hummin' and strummin' skills. So now this summer it's time to take it to the next level. I've been practicing every day and I feel like things are starting to come along. I even sent an email to a guitar player I heard at BYU Acoustic Explosion who apparently teaches guitar. If it isn't too expensive I may even do private lessons. But one way or another I'll keep writing song lyrics and by the end of summer I will have the music to share them with you all. Perhaps in a later post I'll put up some of my lyrics so you can help me with the music. I know someone out there has to be more guitar savvy than I and you'll help me with the lyrics. But here's to Larry Greene's Great Big Guitar Method! I'll be up all night and all day working over the chords, the travis pick, hammer ons and all those other cool things I learned. And hopefully you all can come listen to me play sometime next winter semester at something like Acoustic Explosion. So I'll keep you all posted, as my progress continues. But I promise I won't be the musically defunct one in the family anymore, I may have dropped out of Piano but I'm determined to get this guitar thing!!! And then maybe I'll tackle the Piano again. So this is my call to all you great future fans! I'm countin' on you all to help me make it! Oh and I'll need sweet suggestions for a future band name or something! Well I'd better get back to practicing!

Health Care, the Family Factor

With the signing of the Health Care Reform bill by President Obama on Tuesday, everyone is wondering what these changes will mean for America. I understand that the extremely political nature of this bill and the debate surrounding it has created two camps, those who supported the bill and those who hoped to block it. These divisions prevented a discussion of the specifics of the bill and led to a partisan clash of catchphrases. But now that the bill has passed, most people are digging deeper into the specifics trying to figure out how the legislation will affect them.

Many people are excited about the bill’s provisions that prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to children with pre-existing condition; other portions of the bill prohibit lifetime dollar limits on coverage. The targeted goal of insuring over thirty million uninsured is also heartening to many people.

I also understand that there are many who are concerned about greater federal involvement in the healthcare system. One specific concern that I have heard frequently is the potential cost of this legislation to small businesses. The concern is that businesses with fifty or more employees will be negatively affected by the requirement that they provide health insurance for their employees or pay a fine for these employees.

When I started thinking about these concerns a few thoughts came to mind that I want to share. This semester at BYU Cardinal George, the President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, came and spoke at BYU about preserving the freedom of religious expression. But one thing I remember from his address not related to religious freedom was his discussion about the family. He talked about the Catholic Church’s emphasis on preserving the family and the concept of the “family wage.” He addressed the growing need of both parents to work because the wage of one parent was not enough to meet the basic needs of the family. As I contemplated the new health care legislation, and in particular the portions that require small businesses to provide insurance to their employees, I was reminded of this concept of a family wage.

I did a little bit of research to find out what might be some of the reasons families choose to have both parents in the workforce. On the site of one of the top financial advisor’s in the nation it listed health insurance as the number two reason both parents should be in the workforce. He cited the example that one parent’s employment didn’t provide insurance but the spouses did and this alone was a reason to have both stay in the workforce. I also found the average family’s health insurance policy cost over $13,000 dollars a year. This amount exceeds an individual’s yearly income working twenty hours a week at ten dollars an hour. Doing a little more research I found another article that outline how a working parent could qualify to have their children enrolled in government funded daycare facilities while the parent is at work.

Many employers across the country are passing more and more of health insurance costs onto their employees because of skyrocketing premiums. I remember when my dad opened his own law office and became self-employed. One of the things I recall very poignantly is the great frustration of dealing with health insurance companies set on charging extraordinarily high rates to our family because of pre-existing hereditary health conditions. At one point we had to have two separate policies because keeping us all on the same policy meant premiums beyond our ability to pay in exchange for limited coverage with high deductibles and exorbitant co-pays. With my sisters older and in school, my mom now works at a school and our insurance comes from her employer. Even still, this insurance doesn’t meet the minimum standards required by BYU for students, and consequently I have to enroll in the University health insurance in addition to my parents to continue my studies.

While insurance isn’t the only reason both parents leave the home to work, I stop to wonder how many young mothers would love to be at home with their kids but are unable to because they need the money to pay their own health insurance or because only the second parent’s employer provides coverage. I wonder; wouldn’t it be better for a Mom to raise her toddler and receive help from the government for health insurance rather than have the government funded daycare take care of her child so she can pay for health insurance on her own.

Of course there will be costs associated with employers providing health insurance to employees. The Healthcare Reform Bill establishes mechanisms to decrease these costs, but even with the potential costs, shouldn’t health insurance be part of the family wage? Is there a possibility that a few more children will receive the tender care of their own mother? Only time will truly show what the outcome of this legislation will be, but I think perhaps there are a few reasons to be optimistic and make the best of an imperfect bill.

A Thousand Vibrant Fibers Connect Us..

The other day I was talking to a friend from Ecuador who has plans to move to the Washington D.C. area with his wife when the visa comes through. Talking to him brought back memories from our few experiences together when we were serving as missionaries in Chile. I love meeting people from different parts of the world because it confirms to me that we are all part of the same family. Just like we all have different likes and dislikes, every country has a unique culture and people, but when it comes down to it our similarities are far greater than the differences.

Diversity fills the world with life and beauty. I’ve had a chance to work with student groups from countries all over the world in the BYUSA Clubs office and I love attending their cultural events. It is a neat experience to listen in as they plan these activities with such diligence and care trying to bring the spirit of their home country right here to BYU. Even among the students from the United States there is such a great diversity in our interests, passions, hobbies and goals. Today I stopped to talk to the Chess Club President when I noticed him and three other people playing an intense game of what I came to learn was called team chess. I then continued to my office walking by a room filled with students Salsa dancing. I can’t imagine a world without individuality and diversity. Each country, family, and individual has a unique culture, passion, and tradition. These allow us to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle to form a colorful quilt tightly woven into one human family. I love my country, my family, and I love the person I am becoming; but, I have also come to love, respect, the unique traditions of everyone I meet. As I have interacted with people from all walks of life I have gained an appreciation for the common thread we all share. I have seen that when we take interest in the passions of those we meet they in turn are interested in learning more about us.











This week a national rally of immigrants will march on Washington D.C. in hopes of regaining the attention of Congress to fix America’s broken immigration system. My hope is that partisanship, misconceptions, judgment, racism, selfishness, and pride do not keep this special nation from recognizing the sacrifices of immigrants that come to our country and work hard to provide for their families the basic things we far too often take for granted. I hope we do not forget our immigrant roots and the heritage of this country as a land of opportunity for everyone willing to put in an honest day’s work. We are all brothers and sisters, we shouldn’t be afraid of individuals because they have a unique culture, or even a different language. I hope that we seize this opportunity to embrace the unique contributions made to our society by our immigrant friends. If we all work together there is incredible potential for all of us to prosper together as each of us gives his or her all to make America a land of promise, hope and opportunity

Dance Sport Championship

This week has been a series of unexpected events, leading to a dramatic Dance Sport Championship competition. I’m in a social dance class this semester and we have the opportunity to compete in a competition against all the other social dance students. The competition isn’t required for the class and I didn’t think I was good enough, so I decided not to compete. But then this Monday I got an unexpected opportunity when one of the other competitors from my class had to drop out. I accepted the invitation to dance with Stephanie, and the dance preparation began. When we started practicing I couldn’t remember half the Cha Cha steps and was really worried. Even up to the day before the competition I kept forgetting our routine halfway through.

Then came the day of the competition; it felt like the Olympics with five qualifying heats leading up to the quarterfinal call backs. When I got to the check in place to get my number I found out they didn’t have me on the list! So I was shuffled over to a line for same day registration and was entered into the competition there. This meant that I had one of the last numbers and would be one of the very last couples to enter the floor.

So here is where I have to relate this to speed skating. Everyone knows that what lane you’re in matters; if you’re on the outside you’ll be skating from the back trying to pass everyone to get into the front. This is where you put it all on the line with the risk of wiping out and knocking down half the other skaters with you.

Krista, my dance teacher, taught us the importance of quickly making our way to the center in front of the judges in order to be in their eye and get our name circled as one of the advancing couples. In the first round we made it to the middle of the floor with some space around us and advanced to the second round where we also made it to the middle and advanced to the third round of competition.

By the third round they had already eliminated all the people ahead of us who were letting us slip by them to get to the middle. So here when we walked on to the floor we were cut off from the middle and ended up in the corner away from the judges (The outside lane of the speed skating track). As the music began we started our routine, and at the precise moment we began to make our pass. We danced our way through several couples and right in front of three judges! Yes! We had made the move and we advanced to the fourth round.

By now they had whittled down the competitors from the initial 177 couples to 86 couples. So we were competing against the top fifty percent of the competition. We were still stuck with our number entering the floor second to last. And this time as we made our way to the floor we were cut off from the center and boxed in on the front and on the back. It was time to go big and miraculously dance our way to the front or go home. The music began and we started our routine smoothly making our way to the part where we could travel towards the judges. But when that moment came, figuratively making our turn on the outside, we clipped another dancer and lost the rhythm. It was over, our glimpse of gold faded like the setting Sun.

Stephanie and I had a blast and made it farther than I had ever imagined going into the competition. While a couple weeks ago I figured dancing just wasn’t my thing, today I think I’d better take another dance class sometime just for the fun of competing in another Dance Sport competition. And maybe, just maybe I’ll go for the gold!

To Family, Friends, and Colleagues

And to all the cool people who might happen to check out this page.

After a two year technological hiatus, I've had a lot of catching up to do in the digital age we live in. Since my return, I've been convinced that facebook is indispensable, I now have more than a half dozen stations on Pandora, I have obtained a google voice number, I am part of the elite group of "Google Waver's" surfing into the future of communication and collaboration, and today I feel like I'm standing at the peak of the mountain looking at the beautiful vista before me as I accept the title of "Blogger." No longer am I a simple consumer of the internet but a contributor also to the infinite archive of information.

So, why the decision to start a blog. Well, mostly because I enjoy talking and expressing my thoughts and I probably drive all my friends crazy when I turn our supposed "study sessions" into a forum for me to bounce my ideas off them and get feedback utterly distracting everyone and leading to awesome conversations........ but little homework completion. So, this will be a good place to just throw out some of my ideas and let you all think about them and comment at your convenience. I've also had a lot of people say they miss getting weekly emails like I sent while on my mission. So for those of you who feel out of the loop this can be a little window into my life and my thoughts for those who are interested.

Well it is late and while I'm not keeping any of my friends from doing their homework, I should probably put some more time and attention into my own...

So here's to cyberspace, ready or not here I come!