One comment Heather made during the interview that didn’t go live was about her trust in the board members that we elected to make decisions on our behalf.  I would like to echo that sentiment and thank the Tooele County School Board and Administration for making some really tough decisions about the future of our children.  I have no doubt that they deliberated hard and long and thought about the impact that their judgment would have on our children.   I hope that despite tough times, public school funding will continue as more difficult decisions are made in the 2009 Legislative session.

While it may be prudent to tighten the proverbial belt in uncertain times, it would be irresponsible if we didn’t continue to make education a priority.  It’s the same type of decision that we all make in our own families when the budget is tight.   A responsible family doesn’t spend a lot of money on vacations if they’re not going to have enough money to pay their bills.  If that still doesn’t cut it, a responsible family cancels their cable TV and they figure out other ways they can save money, even when it means  a little discomfort on the part of the parents.  The very last person to suffer (if at all) is the child.

Parents sacrifice a lot to make sure their children are happy, and it shouldn’t be too much different when it comes to our schools.  We all want the best for our children and  Tooele County School District is making the same types of decisions that fall right in line with the decisions a  responsible family would be making.  Of course, with tough decisions comes some tough criticism.  As long as it is constructive and not hostile, I’m sure the Board would love to hear from you.  They meet again on February 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the District Office.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com
(Begins with a short commercial)Similar Posts:

• Tooele County School Board Says Farewell to Superintendent  May 20, 2008
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• PTA Stands Up For Children, Regardless of Consequences  March 6, 2009
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Of all my gifts I’ve enjoyed pouring through my DNA data since I got the results back on December 19th. It’s been absolutely fascinating, if not for the health and traits data then for the ancestry information that it has opened my eyes to. For anyone else that has been tested, you might find it interesting to know that my Paternal Haplogroup is R1b1c10 (also known as R-U152 or S28) and my Maternal Haplogroup is H3. I found out that I’m 100% European (more specifically from Northern Europe) and of all the groups of people from around the world I’m genetically most similar to the Irish.   And the great thing about 23andMe is that they’re constantly updating my information as DNA research uncovers more and more information.  So this will be a gift that keeps on giving!

My children enjoyed Christmas and we were able to hold them off until 7:45 a.m.  We went to the movies this afternoon (one of our Christmas day traditions) and saw Bedtime Stories.  I love to hear Griff laugh and this show got a few good laughs out of him.  I thought it was decent since I was there with my kids.  It’s amazing how seeing your kids get enjoyment out of something makes it all that much more enjoyable for you.

I hope you all enjoyed the time you were able to spend with your families!  I sure enjoyed a relaxing day with my very own family!Similar Posts:

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I also have a cousin (Kerstin Tenney) that recently made it into the Orchestra at Temple Square. She plays the violin. They recently performed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the rededication of the Utah State Capitol building and Kerstin is featured at the 4:10 mark and the 7:00 mark. It was written by Kurt Bestor, a composer I’ve loved ever since the “Innovators” release.

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• U2 Cosmic Light Show = Crap  March 16, 2008

Clark Planetarium launches a new, much-anticipated, music entertainment show featuring one of the greatest bands of the last two decades. “U2” is the first ever full-dome production featuring U2’s timeless classics and modern hits, set to lighting and animation effects using the latest in CGI and laser technology. Special effects performed live by our theater presenters make each show a one-of-a-kind experience.

The latest CGI technology? Really? Maybe I’ve been spoiled by HD content (which I don’t even enjoy in my own home) so I expect to see everything in vivid detail, but that’s what I expect when a show is touted as “using the latest in CGI and laser technology”. I’m really interested to know what part of that show involved anything that can be considered the “latest”. Judge for yourself. The graphics looks like something out of Doom, only these graphics were faded in color – the opposite of vivid. Maybe the lack of vivid color and clear details in graphics had something to do with the fact that we were viewing the dome through thick, latest-in-technology smoke that made it possible for us to view the latest-in-technology lasers. Then there was the “Star Operator” that kept begging for approval. “Do you like it? Come on!!! I gotta hear you! If you like it, let me hear you!” He just wouldn’t shut up and he even threatened not to show us the last song if we didn’t scream and cheer for more. By the way, the entire show only lasted 40 minutes! We were in line for 15 minutes (which resulted in us getting front row seats – not a good thing in a dome config) and then we sat there waiting for the show to start for 15 minutes.

Maybe I was only so disappointed because it’s how my wife and I chose to celebrate our 11 years of marriage. I would rather have seen U23D for a third time, which brings me to the second part of my opinion. U23D is awesome! If you’ve always wanted to go to a U2 concert but couldn’t get tickets in time or refused to pay $100 per ticket, this is your chance to get front row seats! I don’t know how much longer it will be in theaters, but I hope to make it at least one more time. My biggest desire would be to go with a theater full of die-hard U2 fans. I can’t help but to clap and cheer after each song because that’s what I’ve done at the three U2 concerts I’ve attended, and never did I have as good a seat at any of them as I did at this one. The only problem with that is some people come for the movie experience instead of the concert experience. They have a drink and popcorn and they watch it as if it were a movie, but it’s really not! That’s why it would be nice to attend with a bunch of fans that are there for the concert experience.

If you’re plan on seeing something U2 in the next little bit, see U23D and avoid the Planetarium at all costs!Similar Posts:

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Check her out at heatherslack.com!Similar Posts:

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The line started at doors 14 and 15 or thereabouts, which is on the east side of the building. There were ushers every so often so that you were sure to stay on course and that led me through the middle level of the auditorium all the way to the west side of the building and then back out into the halls and all the way back to the east side of the building, almost to where I entered. Then up the escalators and finally up to where the busts of the presidents of the church are on display. That’s where the Prophet laid peacefully, surrounded by flowers and mourning members (and likely non-members, as well). As I paid my respects I recited the words Gordon B Hinckley (which has become our own personal family motto and that we’ve all memorized; even Griffin can say it word for word) and felt a profound love for him and the difference he’s made in my life. Our family motto is:

The time has come for us to stand a little taller. This is a season to be strong. It is a time to move forward without hesitation. It is a time to do what is right, regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a time to be found keeping the commandments. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous towards one another in all of our relationships. We have nothing to fear. God is at the helm.

Our Prophet was always one to encourage and in a way that made you feel loved and not scorned. He always commended the Saints for doing their best and then encouraged us to do a little better. As I thought about his legacy (many say it’s a legacy of Temples that he left us that he is best known and will be best remembered) but the reoccurring feelings and thoughts that passed through my mind was that of his pure love that he had for everyone. He was truly a charitable and loving man of God. He will be missed.Similar Posts:

• Commencing Epic Adventure!  August 10, 2009
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I’ve been involved with the PTA since my daughter began school in September of last year. I attended my second Leadership Training Convention on Thursday and Friday which happens annually in May. Last year I was inspired by Ronda Rose, Legislative Vice President on the Utah PTA Executive Board. She finished up her term this year and she will be greatly missed because of her ability to speak from her heart, stand up for her convictions, and truly inspire! All the effort I’ve given and all the effort I will continue to give will be, in part, inspired by this amazing woman.

This year I was inspired by the last workshop that I attended; one that I really didn’t have time to attend and one that I had to leave half way through, but the half that I was privileged to listen to proved extremely worthwhile. The workshop was entitled Rachel’s Challenge and was brought about by the tragic events of April 20, 1999 when two students killed 12 students and 1 teacher at Columbine High School. Rachel Scott was the first to die that dreadful day. But little did anyone know, except Rachel herself as she foreshadowed in her diary, that her death would touch millions of hearts.

After her death an essay that she had written for a class was found under her bed. The message of the essay inspired the family to share and challenge people everywhere to take upon themselves Rachel’s “Codes of Life“. There are five of them and they gel nicely with my personal beliefs. But put in perspective of her life and tragic death, they suddenly took on new light and meaning. How this girl of 17 was able to have such vision is a miracle.

I listened eagerly as Dana Scott, Rachel’s sister, shared her story with us. The presentation consisted of heartfelt narration by Dana along with video clips and slide show pictures. It was the best powerpoint presentation I had ever seen. I found myself watching Dana as she watched the video clips and I tried to imagine what she must have felt losing her sister and nearly losing her brother. I watched as her emotions changed from sadness and fear during the news clips that showed the tragedy of that day to pure joy when they showed footage of her as a child, full of joy (incidentally her middle name) and life. I felt myself empathizing, which has only begun to happen in my life as of two years ago.

Several years ago I had a friend who had cancer. I wasn’t being especially empathetic as I talked about the situation with my wife in the car one day. She chastised me for my lack of a Christ-like attitude. At first I didn’t accept that I needed to change. My feeling was that difficulties happen in everyone’s life and that you just accept it and get over it; a complete lack of empathy. But the fact that I recognized that it was not Christ-like to have such an attitude led me to search out that attribute and I began to pray for it.

Several months passed and nothing major had changed despite my prayers. I still had a general sense of disdain for other people’s burdens but continued to search out a change of heart. It was a hot day on the 18th of July, 2005 where Clint (a friend and co-worker) and I found shade under the curved steps of the Salt Lake City Library. Just as we were finishing our 7-11 hot dogs we heard what sounded to me like a skate board hitting the pavement, but much louder. It wasn’t long before we both realized that something terrible had happened. We ran over to where the noise came from and much to our shock we found the body of a woman lying face up on the brick-lain sidewalk. I’ll spare you the rest of the details, but suffice it to say, the woman had jumped from the top of the library to her untimely death, despite what paramedics tried to do for her.

I was still unaware how much this event would effect my life. Clint and I tried to deal with it the best we could through humor, but as the days went on it haunted me. I found myself reading her obituary and all of the online comments from the online version on the local newspaper’s website to try and find out who this woman was and why she would do such a thing. Her name was Michelle Marie Macy and she was only 39 years old. She was a pharmacist and married, but had no children. She loved cats. She had family who loved her. I began to recognize feelings of empathy within myself, but the true change of heart came when I found the courage inside to pray for Michelle – a complete stranger. I prayed for her family and those who must be feeling the pain of her untimely passing. I experienced true compassion and charity during that prayer and when I finished I found that I was crying. The change of heart that I had been praying for had finally come!

I hope Michelle’s family will find comfort that her death was not in vain, just as Rachel’s death was not in vain. My life was touched and I learned a lesson that was long overdue. I hope that one day I can give Michelle a hug and tell her that I love her. I don’t know what circumstances she must have been going through to come to that point, but I know that Jesus Christ loves her. I know that her family loves her.

So it was with charity and love that I listened to the message that Rachel’s sister had to share. Her message did not fall on unfertile soil. I will take the message to heart, re-evaluate my life, and strive to improve myself. That is the Purpose of Life – day by day, week by week, year by year.Similar Posts:

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So far I can already tell that it’s done a decent job of automatically picking up my blog settings, including font colors and background color. For the non-html inclined, there are plenty of WYSIWYG tools that help you compose a good looking post but you can still access the HTML if you’re so inclined.

Spell checking is a bonus and publishing seems to be a breeze. There are also tools to insert a link, picture or map. I might as well take the opportunity to insert a picture of my sweet family, just so I can see how this works.

We went to Lagoon the other day. This is my family on the train. Some of the options when you insert a picture are to do a “drop shadow”, photopaper (like I chose here), or you can inherit the style that is set forth by your blog style sheet (CSS). You can also add effects (overlays and transformations) to pictures and custom margins are a breeze as well. So far I’m really liking it.

It also imports your tags or “categories” as they’re called. I guess I’ll find out more features as I use it, but it looks like I will be using it until I find a reason not to. Hopefully it will prompt more frequent posts since, as of late, I’ve been somewhat absent.

Looks like another feature is the ability to add multiple accounts to Live Writer. This will come in handy as I publish posts to “Sami Lee Stories” for my daughter on Blogger.com.

Editing a post is easy, too. Just hit publish again and it knows that it’s not a new post, but an edited post. I forgot to spellcheck, so I did (found 3 misspelled words) and re-posted no problem.Similar Posts:

• The New Site Design (WordPress 2.0)  January 26, 2006
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I haven’t read my old journals in a very long time. So I hauled the box up tonight and started reading through a couple of them. It was fun to remember things that I had forgotten and I got this bold idea that I could quote from one of them each day here on this blog. It’s bold because journals are generally a private thing. But I think this could be entertaining and it would give me a reason to have written instead of just waiting to die before great-grandchildren have their way with them. I might as well get some use out of them. Tonight I’ll quote from each entry dated August 4th. Side comments being made in the present are indicated with [this style of writing] and are there for the purpose of background and explanation. Here goes nothing…

8/4/1992 (16 years old)

I went to work again for Brock’s this morning [I worked on a farm picking and selling produce from the time that I was 12] at 7:00 A.M. I got home by 9:30 A.M. Jeff [Jeff Walk, my best friend] called me at 10:30 A.M. and then came and picked me up. I spent the day with him. Some of our activities included eating pizza and tacos and working out!

At 6:30 P.M. we came to my house. I called up some people to see if they wanted to go to a buck flick. The only two that were able to were April [April Reese] and Vanessa [Vanessa Ackerson]. I picked them up at 7:00 P.M. after visiting Andrea [Andrea Homer] real quick. We went to the mall and bought tickets for “Encino Man”. We went to Golden Spoon real quick to say ‘Hi’ to Lynette [must have been Lynette Anderson who didn't go to Granger High School but I knew her from West Lake Jr. High]. Then we watched the movie which was very funny.

8/4/1993 (17 Years Old)

I woke up at 6:30a.m. to get ready for a dentist appointment at 7:00a.m. to get a cavity filled. I got home from that by 8:00a.m.

At 9:30a.m. I called Heather [Heather Stokes who is now my wife but at that time she was my High School sweetheart] and at 10:45a.m. I went to get her. It was so good to actually see her again. It’s been a few days. We went bowling at Delton’s and I bowled a 141. Not very good. We bought fries and a drink, too. That was good.

We came back to my house after but my mom wasn’t home. So we sat outside forever until my mom finally got home. Then she left again so we went in my backyard and played basketball. [Obviously we had some rules about girls not being in the house when my parents weren't home. Good rule.]

At 3:20p.m. i had an appointment to get my picture taken for this year’s yearbook and activity card. When I was done Heather called and then I did the paper route with her. Then she took me home and I got packed for East Canyon. At 9:10p.m. Heather picked me up and then we headed up for East Canyon with her father. That’s where I am now. We played games with her family and now we’re going to bed.

8/4/1994 (18 Years Old – Graduated from High School – Preparing for a Mission)

I woke up at 2:20a.m. and was a little bit late for work [I worked at UPS at the time]. I got home at 8:00a.m. Heather called me on her break and told me what time her lunch was. I headed out there on my bike and got there in time for lunch. [She worked at some telephone company and it was located out past the airport! That's a long bike ride just for lunch, especially after an early morning of hard labor at UPS!] We sat and talked for a half hour and then it was time for my long journey home.

I mowed Heyrand’s lawn [she was a neighbor] and she paid me $10.00. At 4:15p.m. Heather called right off of work. [At his point in the journal entry my writing starts to get sloppy. It's obvious that I'm falling asleep and some of the handwriting is barely legible. I'll do my best at translating.] At 5:00p.m. I picked her up. I had to tell her about a Lagoon date I just got asked to go on tomorrow night with Amy P. [Amy Pett]. She wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, but she took it well.

We went to Roundtable Pizza for an all-you-can-eat buffet. Then we went on a hike up to the Salt Lake Overview. It was in Millcreek Canyon up the Desolation Trail. We watched the sunsent and hiked down in the dark.

8/4/1995 (19 Years Old – On a LDS Mission in Dresden, Germany)

Today has been a weird day. I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and got ready to go to Leipzig. We cancelled a Termine [appointment] with Herr Paul [if I remember correctly, he was an old drunk man that we finally convinced to give up alcohol. He was hospitalized so that his body could handle the shock, but he gave it up!] Then we bought tickets and went to Leipzig. It was a 1 1/2 hour train ride.

Once we were in Leipzig, we went to Mission Büro [office]. We got there at 11:30 a.m. We were a little late. He asked us if we got lost and went to Poland. [I probably wrote that because it was something we had discussed doing at some point which would have been against the mission rules.]

We were welcomed and we ate lunch at their house upstairs. It was chicken with potatoes and carrots. It was really good. President Johnson made it.

After that he talked to Elder Riggs [Aaron Riggs, my companion at the time] for a couple of hours. I had no idea about what though. In the meantime I helped sister Johnson make tortillas. She’s an awesome lady. I love her a lot more now.

Then it was MY TURN! I slowly stepped into the office. I looked around to see who was watching. I could feel the cold breeze of death upon my neck. I entered the cold, dark room and the door slammed behind me and locked. [Obviously, or not so obviously if I feel obligated to comment, I was being funny. I must have felt that I was in trouble for something and after looking at the previous entry, we were speculating that we got busted for being over at the sister missionaries apartment making them mexican food. That would be a no-no, just like going to Poland.]
Anyway, we had a talk. It turned out to be about the following things:

1. Missing DSV [District Meeting] on 8/3/95.
2. Staying up past 10:30 p.m. and coming home late.
3. Members seeing us in P-Days [preperation day clothing - jeans and such] on a working day.
4. A fight in the apartment with Elder Theurer about cookies.
5. Listening to music that was against mission rules.

It turned out that we weren’t ina huge amount of trouble, but President did want to get it cleared up. He wondered if it wouldn’t be better to ship the both of us out of here and put us in a new apartment without Theurer. I didn’t that that was the best solution. I thought we could just work it out like adults.

I had a really goot talk with him though. I have a new respect for President Johnson. H has a really strong testimony. He explained to me tonight that free-agency really isn’t free. Jesus Christ paid for it. That’s the first time i’d seen it that way. He also told me that the Holy Ghost goes to bed at 10:30p.m. out here on the mission. He reminded me of the “Return and Report” principle and also told me the difference between practices and Eternal Principles. I learned a ton! [We ended up getting moved out into our own apartment, something I wasn't very happy about in the beginning but that I got used to in a hurry.]

8/4/1996 (20 Years Old – Still on a mission, now in Magdeburg, Germany)

Church went good. I had to play the piano for church again. Jacklyn Gehrke isn’t coming anymore. [She was the regular piano player.] I don’t where she is. Sergej came to church again. He asked his Seven-day Adventist church if they’d give him the Gift of the Holy Ghost by laying on of hands and they said that wouldn’t be a problem even thought they don’t usually do that. That funny as heck!

After church we hurried over to Winklers. We had to eat really fast because they wanted to visit Sister Gehrke in the hospital at 2:00p.m. We ate and left in 1/2 hour. It was my fastest eating appointment ever. But it tasted good.

On the way to Winklers I made a card for Sister Winkler. It was pretty funny if I do say so myself. We introduced ourselves to the Millet Family on a tape that Sister Millet gave us. We made it exciting and fun.

8/4/1997 (21 Years Old – Married)

I cleaned the house today and watched some recorded stuff. When Heather came home we went to LakeView Hospital in Bountiful after I shaved my head again. We went to see Stephanie’s new baby that was born today at 3:12p.m. It was a little baby girl and so adorable, too. They named her Madison.

We came home after that and went to the movies with Jeff and Christy [Jeff Walk and his wife]. We saw “My Best Friends Wedding”. It was ok. [Meaning I hated it.] We came home and Heather and I went at it a little bit tonight. We have our little disagreements every once in a while.

There are no journal entries after that for 8/4 because I stopped writing regularly. I’m glad I was so consistent during that time in my life. I probably should have gotten consistent again when Samantha came into our lives. Oh well. Live and learn. (Some say “live and let die.”)

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]]> http://www.desultorythoughts.com/blog/archives/2006/08/05/on-the-subject-of-journals/feed/ 1 http://www.desultorythoughts.com/blog/archives/2006/07/09/july-resolutions-journal-writing/ http://www.desultorythoughts.com/blog/archives/2006/07/09/july-resolutions-journal-writing/#comments Mon, 10 Jul 2006 06:07:01 +0000 Tyler http://www.utahadventurevideos.com/blog/archives/2006/07/09/july-resolutions-journal-writing/ Boy, it’s been a while since my last blog entry.  But not as long as my last “official” personal journal entry.  I pulled out the ‘ol journal today after an inspiring lesson in Elder’s Quorum and discovered that it had been 5 years since I last wrote.  I missed writing about my son’s birth, my graduation from college, a couple job changes, a new house and the list goes on and on.  A far cry from my journal writing hey-days from the time I was 16 to 21 where I kept a daily journal without missing a single day!  I guess I may have burned myself out.

But as Brother Cross (a man who reminds me of President Hinkley) said today in Sacrament Meeting, today is a new day and each hour is a new hour.  So I’ve recommitted myself to writing daily in my journal.  I won’t make such promises as far as this blog is concerned, but hopefully I don’t let things go for a couple of weeks like I’ve done this time.

I’ve posted some pictures of my family that were taken when we went on a nice scenic drive on Mirror Lake Highway through the Uintah’s.  I have a sweet family and I love them a lot!Similar Posts:

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• Getting to Know the Blogger  April 12, 2006

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