Resolutionary

December 31st has always been different for me in the last decade or so of my life. There were times that I partied with all my friends, times when I went out, times that I stayed home, times that I actually stayed up the whole time, times that I didn't care as much and just woke up in the following year… Even this year, I'm still not 100% what I'm going to do. A consistency, though, has been making "New Year's Resolutions." Goals or desires for the upcoming year that are hoped to be achieved one way or another – either by hard work and dedication to them, or by hoping for some miracle to happen. Almost everyone I know makes them every year, which I think is admirable; however, a problem that I've had for myself is that once I make them and even write them down somewhere, I tend to lose track of where they are despite my planning ahead of an "unforgettable" place.

SO. This time it's gonna be here. Online, for the whole dang world to see, in a place that I absolutely know I can't forget. And making them public for everyone to see is all right with me, because depending on the resolution I could have people help motivate or remind me to get them done. (For however many of you actually end up reading all of my posts, that is.)

In no particular order, here they are, Buzzfeed style:

1. Exercise a little every day, even if it means taking a walk for 30 minutes on a treadmill. I can't tell you how many days I've thought about exercising and haven't done a dang thing about it. It's my health that's at stake, and I've done relatively little about it these last couple years. Thankfully there are some fun ways to exercise that I've utilized in the past, such as games like Just Dance, so hopefully I can use those as my motivators in the future.

I've got access to a small workout room 24/7, which also leaves me with no excuse to not do anything.

2. Unless I'm specifically out with friends, stop eating so much late at night. On a similar note about my health, I eat a lot. And that's most likely not going to change. But one thing I can change is when I eat, because everything I've ever heard about trying to lose weight says that you shouldn't eat late at night, especially right before going to bed. Sometimes before I go to bed (because there are many nights that I'm up late for no apparent reason) I eat a snack or something just because I'm bored. Not that good. So, I'm going to change that habit and say, for now, that 9:00 PM will be my cutoff time for eating. That's a couple hours before I usually go to bed, so it seems reasonable to me; the time is subject to change if it seems necessary, but the overall goal will be this one.

3. Read at least one new book a month. I have read very little over the last year, which is a sad, sad comparison to when I was a child. I used to devour books left and right, having learned how to read at such a young age, but these days the most I read is an online article or two a day. If that. So while I don't necessarily plan on going out and buying new books, I'll take advantage of the resources I have around me (local libraries, books already on my bookshelf that I have yet to tackle, suggestions from friends/family members, etc.) and start getting back into a habit I once had daily.

4. Start up a media production of some kind. I've been meaning to make a series on YouTube for a while now, and while I have a couple ideas for it, I just need to kick myself in the rear and get going on it. Or a podcast with some friends. Just… something. I'd like to get my name out there somehow, and before the opportunity passes me by.

5. Do my best to enter into a relationship that is leading towards marriage. As superficial as that may initially sound, I've already discussed a couple times on here the issues I have with trying to date around here in Provo. Yet obviously not everyone has the same issues that I do, since marriages still keep happening around here… eh, I won't bother going into one of my rants about it in this post.
I'm choosing the wording on this specifically because this is a goal that obviously requires someone else. I can't just force someone to start a relationship with me. Obviously. If, for some reason, I'm still single by the end of 2014, I don't want to look back and see that I didn't put forth my best effort in this regard.

6. Write at least one blog post per week. This one shouldn't be too hard, but then I kind of had the intent to do this when I started this blog up… I just need to find a specific time/day every week to do it. Plan to do just that, nothing else. Sometimes the internet just gets so distracting, though...

7. Watch the movies in my library that I haven't seen yet. I keep adding to it, based on good deals that I find or recommendations from others, so I get them and watch them, but it leaves a lot that I've yet to see still…

8. Go to a convention of some sort. This year marked the first Salt Lake ComicCon, and two of my roommates and my brother got to go, thoroughly enjoying it. I experienced it vicariously, and while listening to their stories and seeing all of their pictures were great, it only made me want to do something like that myself even more. There are a few conventions that I have in mind that I'd love to attend, so I'll be saving up my pennies and figuring out what to do this year, most likely during the summer.

I know this isn't really related to conventions, but it's been a goal of mine to go to one for a while now… One that I'd treat like an achievement, if you will.

9. Be more outgoing. I'm not a total introvert, nor a social butterfly. But I do feel like I could be more sociable, more friendly towards others, more open. There are definitely times that, while I don't have a full understanding of why, I just feel the need to close up and not be around anyone. And often times I hate it. So while I don't plan on being a party animal by any means, I definitely want to get out more.

10. Be happy with myself. I don't hate myself by any means, but there's a lot that I feel I can still improve and accept. And I know there are multiple ways to do this. I feel like all of the things on here will help to do that in some fashion, but I know that other things that I'll try to find daily will contribute to it as well.

So there you have it. My resolutions for 2014. Somewhere that I won't lose them, and will constantly have the opportunity to look back on.

No new movies for my collection, but I did see Saving Mr. Banks on Christmas. Highly recommend it.

Personal history, Part 4

Been a little while since I did a blog post, and in a future post I'll get to explaining why. For now, I'll catch up on the story of my life.

I left off at the time that I got to the Brazil MTC. Day 1 was intense, to say the least, and I'm actually grateful for it. They didn't waste any time to start teaching us Portuguese, and made full use of the 8 or so weeks that we were there. To this day I still remember my teachers and how much they worked with us (it helps that one of my teachers eventually moved to the States to study at BYU for a while, so I met up with her a few times while she was here). While we were in one building for most of the time there, it did give us that initial taste of what life in Brazil would be like for the next couple years.

Truly, many things happened while I was there that I feel like just one post with words wouldn't suffice. So it's time for another series of pictures that can at least partially summarize my experiences. Going through the albums I uploaded on Facebook shortly after my return, I realized that I'm missing pictures from a certain area; I believe I have them on a CD somewhere, and while that CD's location may be currently unknown I still have it somewhere. So hopefully I can find it soon and when I do I'll upload pictures to there and update this post. In the meantime, here ya go:

Most of the group that reported to the Brazilian MTC the day I did. There were some flying out from Atlanta, GA; our flight left from Dallas, TX.

With one of our teachers, Miriam (left side in pink)

With our other teacher, Ramon (back row)

There was actually an article published about my teacher in the Ensign/Liahona while I was serving! She had served her mission in Temple Square some years before.

My first house on the mission. Not too much in there, but it holds a lot of memories.

One of the first families I met, the Dullius family. I'll never forget their helpfulness for a greenie like me.

My trainer, Elder J. Souza. From the heart of Rio de Janeiro, and one of the most humble yet awesome guys I've ever met.

After a fun day of playing soccer!

This was the most "jungle" I ever saw. Most of my mission was in cities and towns, but one part of my first area had this big old mountain covered in unsettled forest.

The guy in the middle, Marcos, was pretty much the first guy I met in the field besides my trainer. He's Brazilian, but served here in Utah and spoke perfect English and helped me a TON.

Saying goodbye to my trainer! My first transfer was his last.

We weren't always blessed to have a chapel, but we made do with what was available to us.

Examples of Brazilian currency. The real (pronounced "hey-AL") isn't quite as strong as the dollar, but a lot more colorful.

Picking up supplies at a Zone Conference in a suitcase made things a TON easier.

That spider wasn't quite as big as my palm, but still... not something we let live for very long.

The woman in the middle ended up turning 111 while we were serving there.

Found him during a service project... (the rat, not my companion!)

Down in Brazil they play a lot of the same games we do!

...and are just as competitive as we are!

Another one of the great families that I'll never forget. They made some of the best lunches I ever had.

A super-strong couple with a great family in the ward.

Picture from a service project. We cut down ALL of those branches!

Picture from a lunch while most of us were celebrating one year on the mission

Also on the one-year anniversary... long story

Making sure the baptismal font was full

A great picture of a lake while visiting an area for splits

The morning of another day of splits, we woke up early and caught the sunrise

And had some fun while we were at it!

Dinner for missionaries wasn't always healthy...

But it was always delicious

This marked the first hole of many that I would develop over the months of walking everywhere we went

Many of us from the same departure group, towards the end of our time out

The cliffs of Torres, a popular beach area (but it was winter when we went, so it was mostly deserted)

The Farias family. Always going to be grateful for their generosity and hospitality.

Playing around with Angelica, one of my favorite converts

The Freitas family, always a friend to the missionaries. They ended up coming to the airport the day I started flying back home.

The temple of Porto Alegre. A true beauty atop the hill it stands on.

Waiting for one of the last flights home

Finally.

I got home almost exactly two years after I left, in August of 2011. I will never, ever trade those two years for anything. Those memories, those friendships, those feelings will last forever.

New movies! I went and saw Catching Fire a few weeks ago, so I felt justified in getting some more movies. Black Friday led me to a pawn shop that let me get 7 for $5: Enter the Dragon, Dinner for Schmucks, War of the Worlds, 21 (which was still in its original packaging!), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Meet Joe Black. And a few days ago I just picked up The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, The Incredible Hulk, and a collection with Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments.