the beginning of the end

I’ve struggled with something my entire life. The worst part of this revelation is that if I don’t actively do something about it, it’s going to get worse as my life progresses. I misplace things almost every day. When it comes to important, physical objects, they are generally missing.

As I think back, the first time I left or lost something of importance was in college. I know I had lost stuff before this, but this was the first time it was fairly catastrophic. I left my jacket at some girls house during a house party. From that particular moment on, I have probably lost about 4 jackets total in my life due to my forgetfulness.

Throughout my college years it almost become humorous to the bank teller when I would come up and say, “I need to order another debit card.” Luckily, as my debit card has been misplaced several times (including twice over this last weekend), I have been able to recover it 98% of the time.

A few years ago, I left my $400 phone at a bar called green street and even though i got it back, the staff had used it to take pictures of themselves. In late December of 2008 my iPhone fell out of my pants pocket in the parking lot of a Jiffy Lube. I noticed less than 1 hour after I lost it, but it didn’t change the fact that I didn’t know where it was and had to wait until morning to look for it. The phone was broken due being driven on several times by Jiffy Lube’s patrons.

My keys have been at least marginally recoverable over the course of my life. Usually lost keys turn up in Lindsey’s car or some random spot at my house, sometimes even in the key holes they were last used in. In early January however, as I was getting a ride from Jen, I locked my car as we passed it in the parking lot so we could carpool together. Even with only being at her house and her car, my trusty car key seemed to vanish. I am now forced to use a JB Welded together key, or pay the dealer $240 for a replacement key.

Wallet, Keys, Phone, Jacket.

As pointed out by my mom, this problem will plague me for the rest of my life and it is something I most likely inherited it from my Grandfather. It’s a severe degree of forgetfulness that needs to be improved. I am taking several steps to fix or begin to work on my problem…

1. Install key rack in house – It’s a simple concept, and it’s related to a work process I already do called 5S (Read about it here). Everything has a place. Sort, Set in Order, Sweep, Sustain.
2. Man Bag – This is for going out. I need a single repository that can keep my prized possessions. It will aide in doing a quick “bag check” as I leave and enter a place. It will also help me swoop my jacket through the bag loop.
3. Tattoo – This is the crazy part about the idea. I need something to start this off, a marketing campaign for my brain if you will. It’s a sign to signal the beginning to the end. It’s something that I can look at every day and be reminded of what I need to do to persevere.

I know it won’t solve everything, and I know it is something I’m still going to have to work on every day, but it’s important enough to me that I want to fix this as best I can.

Hanna, Montana

Me: So what did you do last night?
Linds: Kim and I got ready for our camping trip coming up next weekend.
Me: Oh really? Cool. Where are you going?
Linds: Hanna
Me: Where is that at?
Linds: It’s in Utah
Me: Hmmm… why do I get the feeling that there is a Hanna, Montana?

Tears of laughter ultimately ensued for the next several minutes.

on a whim

I had 2 VIP passes to the Utah PGA Championship, but on a whim, a friend and I toured two church grounds instead. We first walked to the Cathedral of the Madeline, where they give tours at 12:30 that range about 15 minutes of an officially guided tour which is then capped by meandering throughout the cathedral to look at all the art at your leisure. It was an amazing sight to see all the hand carved sculptures that have been brought in from all over the world as well as the history behind the people that saw to the construction and it’s upkeep over the years. It was a piece of Salt Lake I had never seen before.

Next we headed over to temple square for a little Mormon education. I had never really walked through the buildings of temple square, so we toured through the ones that were open…

1. South Visitor Center – Videos and Interactive Guides interspersed with replica and real artifacts about the temple being built… it took 40 years to build.
2. North Visitors Center – Tons and tons of paintings, an interactive guide of Jerusalem, and a huge-ass statue of Jesus surrounded in a space-scape.
3. Conference Center – We did an official tour here, it’s the largest auditorium of it’s size and built using simple cantalever tech to get it’s size. Was completed in 2000 with Gordon B Hinkley overseeing the design and construction. Even coming into the fall, the roof garden was still amazing.

After the tours and the walking all over downtown, hunger struck and we found ourselves walking to Red Rock for Lunner (aka’d Dinch) and then finally settling upon Desert Edge for cheese cake… food coma and naptime insued when I finally got home. I now find myself relaxing and to soon be reading while putting a pleasant weekend to rest.

Paréa (Day 1)

Day/Night 1

“Paréa” in Greek means a group of friends, guests, or company and typically implies close friends and/or family gathering together to share their experiences, their philosophies on life, and their values and ideas.

Kristi picked me up from the airport after my flight being 10 minutes early, and after a bit of google mapping traffic (a theme throughout the trip), we arrived at her place. On the way she quickly informed me that she is babysitting a French Bulldog named Ellie. If you know anything about me, there is only one dog in the world that I like more than pugs, and that’s the French Bulldog. We freshen up at her apt (which has so much character it’s ridiculous) and head out to meet friends in a cab.

I find it ironic the first place Kristi and I went in SF was called Paréa. A fairly elegant little wine bar that her friends had invited her to, and owned by another friend of a friend. It was actually formerly an oxygen bar. I meet a stable of friends (most of which work for breweries) and we choose to round off the wine bar in conversation with a local AM radio jockey. He happens to be incredibly knowledgeable about the issues surrounding California as well as it’s history, I found it incredibly refreshing and miss this aspect of California… people truly care about their state and it’s future. It’s always seemed like a passion of fashion in Utah

Micheletti (the AM jockey) Kristi, and I head over for the late night pizza hot spot called Deja Vu which makes the least greasy pizza I have ever had, and also happens to make it by the slice… literally making it by the slice from scratch after you order. Truly the best slice I have ever had. This was after a walk of “3 blocks” that was not actually 3 blocks, Micheletti Math is in full effect. From that point it was to a “party” that was close. We walk in and essentially double the party participants with our presence. Kristi and I enjoy a dimly lit dinner with a quite ravishing cheese cutter, and end up deciding to share one slice, and tossing the rest. Thus, Team Fat Camp and Team Skinny Bitch are more or less formed.

We call it a night, find a “green cab” and have a pleasant ride home with a very nice cab driver who was also kind enough to give us his card. I got to sleep with Ellie, and Kristi slept with Macy… fans were pleasantly on level 4s the entire night.

Print

This is a print my friend Lindsey and I made while killing time on the 4th of July. It’s basically a poly satin print wrapped around a custom 50×26″ frame that we made out of 2×2s. I think the conversation went something like this…

Her: Jess and James aren’t going to be ready for a while, what do you want to do?

Me: We could go to my work and build something… you need any furniture or any prints?

Her: Yeah, lets to do that, but let’s get slurpees first.

Oh how I love thy slurpee in the summer time.