Such is life...

New Blog

2010-04-11T13:42:00.001-07:00

So, my wife and I decided to make one blog for the both of us....

http://NumbersAndNeedles.blogspot.com

Ernst and Young Summer Leadership

2010-04-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

So, I just got a call from my interviewer at Ernst and Young inviting me to attend their summer leadership program this summer in Orange County. He's not exactly sure when the event will be, so hopefully it doesn't overlap with PwC. But yeah, it should be another great experience to get to know another great audit firm and the Orange County area.

PwC Summer Leadership

2010-03-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

So, I got into the summer leadership program with PwC. I'll be down in California at the end of June. It should be a great opportunity. This weekend, I went on a recruiting event with Ernst and Young. It was another great chance to meet some professionals and get an even better feel for what life might be like in public accounting. I had an interview this morning with Ernst and Young for their summer leadership program, which I thought went well.

It's crazy to think that the Accounting Jr. Core is winding down. My application for the MAcc is due in about a week, and I'll find out if I get in some time in May. This summer we plan on visiting some of the big accounting firms in Orange County and Denver to help us make a final decision about where to apply for internships next summer.

Test week, PwC and Chocolate Cake!!!

2010-03-12T17:55:00.000-08:00

This week was test week in the Jr. Core. I came home from the MTC last Sunday night, and found a beautiful chocolate-frosted chocolate cake in our cake stand we got with our wedding gifts. As I approached the beautiful cake, I noticed a small sticky note attached, "NOT ok to touch!" I soon found out that my wife had made the cake with the idea that after each of my three tests, I could have a piece. Now that I've finished all three (and think I did well), the cake is gone... and it was AWESOME.

This afternoon I had an interview with PwC for their summer leadership adventure coming this July. I thought overall the interview went well, but the program is highly competitive, so I don't know if I will get in or not. I didn't with KPMG.. No matter what the outcome, it was great interview experience and I got some great practical advise on how to improve my resume. All things considered, I think it was a pretty good, productive week.

Another blog post

2010-01-31T19:26:00.000-08:00

So, about every month or so, I figure I should add something to my blog. Not a lot has changed since my last post. The Jr. Core is still keeping my quite busy.

One difference this semester is an increased emphasis in recruiting. Since I'm planning on applying for the MAcc program, I won't do an internship until summer 2011, but each of the Big Four has what are called "Summer Leadership Programs." Basically, it's an opporunity to go out to one of the offices to get to know the people there and to receive some basic leadership training. I've been told that they're more difficult to get into than internships and jobs, but I'm applying anyways because, if nothing else, it's great interview experience.

My first interview was with KPMG this last week for a summer leadership program in Orange County. I don't think the interview went perfectly, but was not a huge disaster either. Whether or not I end up getting in, it was kind of neat to start to go through the recruiting process: getting to know my interviewers the night before, thinking through ways to answer potential interview questions, and sitting down with two professionals for the actual interviews.

Accounting Jr. Core Part 1

2009-12-18T18:18:00.000-08:00

So, you may have noticed that I haven't written in this blog in a very, VERY long time. The BYU Accounting Jr. Core has a reputation for taking over your life, and it's lived up to its reputation so far.

We started out with a huge accounting information systems case called The Waren Case. That probably took at least 50 hours (a very conservative estimate) to complete, but definitely "broke us in" for the rest of the semester.

Between work and the Jr. Core, I was busy for almost every single hour of every single day. We had three separate major class presentations throughout the semester. It was a ton of work this semester, but at the same time, strangely fulfilling to look back and see how much I really have learned in such a short time.

So, for now it feels wonderful to have finished my last final and to finally be able to enjoy the holiday season. After two week's rest, it all starts up again for Accounting Jr. Core Part 2!

Married Life

2009-08-23T14:56:00.001-07:00

It's exciting to be Mr. and Mrs. Wright. Married life is infinitely better than dating. It's just wonderful to not have to say goodbye every night after dropping her off at her apartment.

So, besides eliminating the stresses of dating, life is still crazy and hectic. The accounting program has pretty much consumed my life. I spend more time in the library with my study group than I do at home with my wife sometimes, and a lot of the time Sarah and I are together at home, we're reading more textbooks. Between both of us working, accounting, nursing, studying, etc, we keep ourselves quite busy. We do, however, make time for football games no matter how busy we get. (Go Cougars, #7!)

So far, I'm liking the accounting program at BYU. It's very time-consuming and anything but easy, but also enjoyable.

Every week we have a lab day where we have different presentations from companies or whatnot. Last week PricewaterhouseCoopers sponsored a pit crew challenge where we all changed Nascar tires in groups to improve our team working abilities. Click Here to read the Daily Universe Article on that event. Today, Ernst and Young came to teach us about how to effectively give presentations.

I'm starting to think more about my future, whether or not to do the Masters of Accountancy program at BYU, when to apply for internships, etc.. I have a lot to think about, but still a little bit of time to figure it all out.

Next week...

2009-07-29T05:18:00.000-07:00

It's crazy how fast time has gone by since Sarah and I got engaged. Now, it's just over a week away until the most exciting day of my life. We have our marriage license, temple recommends, etc... There are a lot of odds and ends to do this last week like pick up tuxes and finalize the luncheon menu, but mostly it's just a matter of waiting one more week.

Sarah will go through the temple this Saturday afternoon, so we're very excited for that. Then six days later, we'll be married for time and all eternity!! I don't think I could've found a better person to marry. So I'm a very lucky man! I love you Sarah!!! 9 days!!!!

In sickness and in health...

2009-07-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

Sarah's been sick this last week. She started out with a fever, sorethroat, cough, etc. She's been pretty out of it for the last little bit, but starting to feel a little better now. I considered myself lucky that I hadn't caught the sickness until yesterday.

I woke up with a sore throat and absolutely exhausted. It got better throughout the day, but in the evening, it hit hard. At one point, my temperature was 102.8 degrees.

I think God knew what he was doing when he created the "incubation period," the time between contact with an illness and when you actually have symptoms. It give you just enough time to help someone feel better while not feeling sick yourself. Then, they in turn get to help you get better when you start showing symptoms.

The good thing is that, for the moment, I feel fine. My fever is gone, but my sore throat remains ever present. We'll see how it turns out...

Less than a month...

2009-07-09T05:58:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can see by the countdown above, only about a month until the wedding. We have most everything planned out already. The Sleepy Ridge Reception Center is now open after being under construction for so long. I'm excited to go out and see how it turned out!

After taking hundreds of engagement pictures, we finally found one that everyone likes. We sent out our invitations this week. If you don't get one, it's probably because we didn't have your address. You can click on the invitation on the left for an enlarged invitation with all the details for the receptions in Utah and California.

On a less fortunate note, my beautiful fiancée, Sarah, is sick right now with the flu. She went to take some bridal shots on Monday and got sick on Tuesday. Hopefully she'll get better soon...

Accounting Jr. Core

2009-07-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

Fall 2009 Admittance Status for Brian Wright

We are pleased to offer you admission to the Accounting Program commencing Fall 2009.

45 Days...

2009-06-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

So I've now been engaged for just over two months, with only 45 days to go (but who's counting right?). Most of the wedding plans are done. All we have left is to finalize invitations, get tuxes, bridal photos, and a few other little things...

I'm officially done with spring term, which means I'm done with all the prerequisites for the Accounting Program as well. I formally submitted my accounting application yesterday after the help of many people editing my essay. THANKS! Now I'm working on my application to the management program (my back-up plan in case I don't get into accounting).

We can officially move into our new apartment a week from tomorrow. It will be nice to start to move things into our place. It will also give me something to do now that I'm not in school and working less than 20 hours a week. So I'm about the happiest guy in this world, engaged to the most beautiful, sweet, amazing girl.

Wedding plans continued

2009-05-29T01:53:00.000-07:00

So, the wedding plans are going well. We found an apartment to live in for Fall and should sign the contract next week. It's a basement apartment, small, and the stove is green, but I think there's some kind of unwritten rule that your first apartment has to be less-than-perfect. That way you have good stories to tell someday, right? On the bright side, it's close to campus and fairly cheap...

Another exciting step in the wedding process we got to do this week was registering for gifts. It was kind of fun to go around Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond, and Macy's scanning everything you could possibly think of wanting (I think Sarah is still rolling her eyes at the fact that I registered for a bag of Twix bars). Given the size of our apartment, I'm not sure where we would fit all that stuff, but it's fun to think about moving stuff into our first apartment together.

Tradition

2009-05-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

So, this weekend my mom is coming up to Utah to go dress shopping with Sarah. I’ve been repeatedly reminded that I am NOT invited because of the tradition that the groom cannot see the bride’s dress until the wedding day. I generally don’t mind being involved in the wedding planning process, but I really don’t enjoy shopping in any way, shape or form. In fact, I don’t think very many guys would really want to go around looking at hundreds of similar-looking dresses for hours on end. Hence, I think the tradition is a bit strange, but one that I don’t mind too much. ☺ I’m sure Sarah will look gorgeous in whatever dress they pick out this weekend, and I’ll benefit from the additional sleep while they shop. I just hope they don’t take too long shopping so that I can actually see my mom while she is up in Utah.

Wedding plans

2009-04-30T23:24:00.001-07:00

A lot has happened in the past week or so in wedding plans. We decided that our reception will be at Sleepy Ridge. It's a band new venue opening July 1st, so it will be neat to be one of the first couple there. On one side of the building it has a gorgeous view of Mt. Timpanogos. On the other, it will have fountains/waterfalls and a view of the sun setting on Utah Lake past the golf coarse. Along with Sleepy Ridge, we'll have Magleby's catering. We had a taste test on Monday. The food was absolutely amazing! "Tuxedo" chocolate covered strawberries, cream cheese pepper dip, muffins, Magleby's chocolate cake, turkey and bacon sandwiches, etc... So it will be an amazing evening!

It's also a lot of fun planning out our honeymoon. This morning I booked a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas! After our cruise, we'll probably spend another day or so in Cape Canaveral or Orlando and then fly back to California for a reception/open house in Redlands.

I'm engaged! (español)

2009-04-23T01:20:00.000-07:00

Today was an amazing day! Finals are over and Sarah and I are officially engaged. We're planning on getting married on August 7th, 2009 in the Mt. Timpanogos LDS temple.

Today was a very busy day. I woke up early to go pick up the roses for our dinner this evening. Then I went to the testing center to take a 3 1/2 hour accounting final (which went well). Then, I rushed home and cleaned as fast as I could to prepare for our final cleaning checks (which didn't go so well).

After I got tired of cleaning, I went to go see Sarah. She looked gorgeous today. I guess she always does, but especially so today. I don't think she had any idea I was going to ask her to marry me in a couple hours.

I had my now ex-roommate Shane call me at about 5:00 PM to schedule an "interview" with the bishop at the chapel for 5:30. I convinced Sarah to come along with me and just wait for me. When we got to the chapel, instead of going to the bishop's office, I took her upstairs where I had a grand piano set up in the middle of the room. About 15 minutes earlier, my roommate had planted the ring inside the piano, and my other roommate was hiding behind the curtain videotaping. I played/sang a song for her that my roommate had written for guitar about us several months ago. Of course, I had rearranged it for piano and added an alternate ending. The last line is, "So now I'm getting on one knee."

So after I finished the song, I pulled the ring out of the piano, knelt down on one knee and asked her to marry me. At this point she was crying pretty hard, but managed to get out a faint "yes" in the middle of all the tears. I took her back to my apartment for dinner while we both called family and friends to let them know of the exciting news!

So once again, I feel like the luckiest guy around. Life is great!

To read the lyrics to the song I played, click here.

The original version of the song is found at http://bwright4887.angelfire.com/DTR.mp3

An Amazing Birthday

2009-04-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

I'm now 22 years old officially. It's strange that after 2 years of being gone on a mission for my birthday, I'm still away from home for the third straight year. But it was still a great day! My grandparents took Sarah and me out to lunch at Applebees, which was really nice. Later on I had a final in my outdoor recreation class. While we took the test, our teacher prepared a dutch oven dinner for us. It tasted delicious! Sarah brought some birthday candles and put them in the peach cobbler, which was very sweet of her. So the class sang happy birthday to me. Thanks Sarah! I love you!

After that, we just went back to Sarah's apartment to watch Pirates of the Caribbean. We ended up talking through most of the movie, but we already know the plot line anyways, so that's okay with me. Sarah got me some Tevas so that we can do some hikes during the summer that involve crossing streams and whatnot. So I had an amazing birthday!

As a side note, perhaps my best birthday present was realizing that there's not much more snow (if any) foreseeable in the Utah weather forecast, only daffodils and spring blossoms :)

Daffodils or Snow?

2009-04-03T17:20:00.001-07:00

Utah weather is the strangest phenomena. Spring officially started on March 20th, about two weeks ago. Since then, we've had perfect, sunny, bright weather, then snow, rain, more sun, and finally, it's snowing right now. One day the weather is wonderful, and then the next it's totally different. I'm getting more anxious every day for winter to be over, replaced by beautiful daffodils and other spring flowers. I'm not sure how much longer we'll have to wait until the weather in Utah decides to permanently become springtime, but I sure hope spring comes soon...

Camping!

2009-03-31T07:47:00.001-07:00

This last weekend was a ton of fun. Sarah and I went down to Capitol Reef National Park to enjoy some fun hiking and camping with our outdoor rec. class. The red-rock canyons out there are absolutely amazing! Then, we got back and went to Breanna and Jason's wedding reception, which was really nice. It's always fun going to a wedding reception when you've been dating someone for a while. We got all sorts of "you're next" comments... I guess time will tell in that regard.

So other than that, life is really busy these days with lots of homework, quizzes, tests, papers, etc.. (the normal end of semester craziness) Life is extremely busy, but great. These next couple weeks will be fun with my birthday coming up and then the week after is Sarah's birthday.

Sick of being sick...

2009-03-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

This last week has been a very difficult week for me, but I made it through. I started off the week coughing and with a mild fever. The fever has gone away, but I'm still coughing a bit, despite lots of drugs this week. So being sick, I had two major tests, a paper, two quizzes, and a long econ. assignment due this week. It's been a long week.

The good thing is that Sarah takes good care of me. She gave me lots of drugs to take, took my temperature, and gave me lots of encouragement to keep going.... She's awesome :) Thanks Sarah! I love you!

This week was nice as well because I got to meet Sarah's grandparents, Mimi and Pappy. They seem like wonderful people (and make the most delicious steak). It was nice to finally be able to meet them and get to know them a bit as they came out for Matt's farewell.

One Lucky Guy

2009-03-07T02:26:00.000-08:00

Four months ago, Sarah and I started "officially" dating (our first date was almost six months ago). It has been an amazing last four months. So tonight, I'm working my weekly all-nighter. After Sarah got off work tonight, she drove up to the MTC to secretly drop off some candy on my car as a nice surprise for me. To her surprise, security at the MTC caught her as she pulled in. Then I went out to say hi, and she locked her keys in the car with the candy (See, I'm not the only one that locks his keys in the car). I ended up driving her to her apartment really fast to get her spare key because none of her roommates were awake to come help her. So it kind of ruined her surprise, but made for another great memory. :) I'm one lucky guy to have such a beautiful ,sweet, amazing girlfriend...

I love you Sarah!

To run or not to run?

2009-02-20T21:15:00.001-08:00

As a follow-up to my last post, my Valentine's Day was quite enjoyable. We saw Inkheart and then drove out to Spanish Fork to make dinner. The chicken alfredo was decent, and the cherry cheesecake was delicious (despite being dropped on the floor). She made a picture frame for me that said "Prince" at the top and "Princess" at the bottom. On the sides were "Once upon a time..." and "...happpily ever after." It was really sweet of her.. :)

So... once upon a time, I ran the St. George Marathon with my dad. After about mile 18, I vowed that I would never run another marathon (Despite the "motivational" sign strategically placed at mile 18...) Now, almost ten years later, I'm considering the idea of doing it again.

After many weeks contemplating the idea of starting to run again, I decided tonight that I'd give it a shot. So I ran about 2.5 miles- down to Center street, over to 9th East, back up to 7th North and home :)

Despite being terribly out of shape and therefore worn out by the end, I actually enjoyed the experience. It was nice to be out in the fresh air doing some good, old-fashioned exercise again. Who knows? I might even try it again and go farther...

The Valentine's Day Curse

2009-02-14T05:14:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day has always been my least favorite holiday. Somehow things tend to fall apart just barely before Valentine's such that I am yet to go on a date for Valentine's Day. 2004, no luck with girls... 2005, I broke up with my girlfriend 5 days before... 2006, 3 days before... 2007 and 2008, I was in a foreign country. My mission journal from February 14th, 2007 reads, "Today is Valentine's Day. I've never really liked Valentine's Day and today was no exception..." And now, 2009, the curse is finally broken!

This last night I've been at the MTC for my weekly all-nighter. At about midnight, I looked outside and there was a car with its lights on in the parking out in front. I looked a little closer and saw a person running toward where my car was parked. When I got up to see what was going on, I saw Sarah's car pulling away from the MTC... After a few minutes, I went out to my car and found a heartfelt Valentine's note from an amazing, beautiful girl and a Twix candy bar (which was gone within 30 minutes or so).

So today is looking like it will be a very enjoyable day (after I wake up... I'm yet to go to sleep for the night and it's almost 6:30 AM... one more hour of work left). Sarah and I are going to see a movie in the afternoon and then .... :) I hope today turns out to be a great day!

Tough classes...

2009-01-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

This semester is looking to have some very difficult classes: Accounting 210, Econ 110, M Com 320 (Business Communication), etc.. It's a lot of stress and pressure to get all A's this semester. I originally registered for 16 credits of core prerequisite classes for accounting. Then, I got a bit wiser. I dropped two of those classes (I'll take them spring term). But then, I had a difficult time filling in the credits I needed to keep my scholarship. I think I finally found the answer:

Yes, my new Wednesday afternoon class meets at the Quarry rock climbing gym this week. From there we'll go cross country skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking, camping, geocaching, etc... My final exam will be at the instructor's house. We'll take our Intro to Outdoor Recreation final as we enjoy some great dutch oven cooking. The cool thing too is that I'm taking the class with Sarah! It's going to be a blast!

Christmas break is over?

2009-01-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

This last week was a ton of fun. On Monday I went skiing with Sarah, her family and the Cannons. We had a ton of fun! Thank you Kenisons for taking me! The next day, we drove up to Salt Lake to see the lights on Temple Square. We also watched the Joseph Smith movie in the Legacy Theatre. That was another great night. Later in the week, Sarah and I drove down to my family's cabin in Southern Utah. Sarah had never ridden a snowmobile before, so I went easy on her on our first ride. (We only went up and down a few steep hills... Don't worry, she didn't fall off because she was holding on pretty tight) My two year old nephew Kael's first words when we arrived were, "no girlfriends allowed," a phrase that his grandpa taught him... So other than Kael, my family really likes her a lot. Even Kael started warming up to her by the time we left the next day. It was quite an awesome trip!

So I still cannot believe that Christmas break has already come to an end. Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM, I start classes again with Economics 110. This semester should be a tough one, but with a little encouragement and a lot of hard work, I think I'll make it through okay.

Another year gone by...

2008-12-31T10:44:00.000-08:00

2008 was a great year! I spent the first half in Honduras in an area called La Peña with Elder Chinn and then Elder Branch. My last area was a great area, but a constant struggle of time management between office/mission responsibilities and proselytizing time. I can't believe it's been over 6 months since I've been home now. Summer 2008 was a fun time of adjustment back to school, dating, and normal life again. It took me a month or so, but I finally said goodbye to the part in my hair. (A fact I found out later that Sarah was very grateful for) In August I quit my custodial job of two weeks to work at the front desk of the MTC. Then I decided in a matter of about 5 minutes that I wanted to go into accounting instead of medicine. In September I started dating a beautiful, amazing girl named Sarah. About six dates and a month and a half later she decided to let me hold her hand and we've been officially dating ever since then. These last months have been some of the happiest months of my life. :) Classes were great as well. Some were very difficult at times, but I managed to pull off a 3.936 GPA for the semester. So in other words, I have been greatly blessed in this last year.

2009 looks like it will be a very difficult year, but perhaps a great year as well. This next semester I'll be taking most of my prerequisite classes for accounting, so my grades this semester determine whether or not I can get into the difficult program. Fall semester 2009 will be intense if I get into the Junior Core of accounting. I'm tired of people telling me to think twice before going into accounting or that accounting is a great program at BYU but impossible to get into. I like what is says in D&C 6:36, "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." I may or may not get into the program, but I will give it my best effort. Other than school, we will see what exciting things 2009 will bring with my job, family, Sarah and me :) etc... Hopefully it will be another great year!

Brittany's Married!

2008-12-22T07:33:00.001-08:00

So this weekend I didn't get a chance to watch BYU get defeated in the Las Vegas Bowl. Instead, I drove up to northern California with my family to go to my cousin Brittany's wedding. It was nice to be able to spend a little time with my family and see some cousins that I don't get to see all that much. This was the first opportunity I've had to attend a temple wedding. The ceremony was absolutely incredible. It was really neat seeing Brittany and Dan kneel across the altar. Brittany looked happier than she has ever been. Congrats Brittany and Dan!

Seeing them get married made me realize how unprepared I really am to get married. "Time and all eternity" is a long long time, so there is no point in rushing it. Right now, I need to work on improving myself personally so that I can become the kind of guy my wife deserves to have. So for those expecting me to get Sarah a ring for Christmas, sorry to disappoint you. Plus, she said she would slap me if I got her a ring for Christmas, so it's in my best interest not to buy her a ring right now...

I'm really excited for Christmas to be here! This will be my first Christmas with my family in three years! So it will be really nice to go decorate the tree with them, go look at the lights on Temple Square, etc.

Time for a break

2008-12-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

So finals are over and I was actually surprised that I did really well. I got an 87% on my Music 202 exam, an 89.9% on my calculus final, 90% in Accounting, 93.5% Music 202 ID exam, 96% Teachings of the Living Prophets and a 101.5% on my Music 190 final.

I'm so glad that I finally have a chance to take a break. Right now I'm in Arbuckle, California at my grandparent's house in the country, and it is nice and peaceful. Apparently I forgot my cell phone charger in Utah, so that wasn't the smartest thing in the world, but oh well. I'm excited to see my cousin Brittany get married tomorrow and then on Sunday another long drive back to Utah.

Finals!

2008-12-08T13:43:00.000-08:00

So final exams are coming way too fast. This week I have to do a lot of quizzes, a huge calculus test, Music 202 and Music 190 Finals and prepare for finals in Accounting, Rel 333, Calculus, and the other part of the Music 202 final! So this week and next week should be insanely busy, to say the least. It'll be nice when it's all over with though. I'll go to California to see my cousin get married and then Christmas! If I can survive another two weeks, life will be great!

0 Finals, 0 Quizzes, 0 Tests, 0 hours of work and 0 nervous breakdowns until break.....

... The countdown is over!!!!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-29T00:12:00.000-08:00

So, Thanksgiving break has been a ton of fun so far. On Wednesday Sarah and I made two apple pies: one for her family and another for mine. She did most of the work, so they ended up turning out really well and were quite delicious. We got into a bit of a fight with the apple pie filling. She most definitely started the fight, but I ended up winning. We both ended up with pie filling all over our faces, and some even ended up in her hair. Sorry about that Sarah! The pie Sarah is holding in her hand in the picture was gone about five minutes later. It went fast!

On Thanksgiving morning, we went out to the Orem Rec center to cheer on my family as they finished the "Earn Your Turkey" four-mile run. They tried to convince us to run it, but we opted to be moral support instead. She got to meet the rest of my family, so that was nice... and by the rest of the family, I mean the immediate family and most of the extended family (There were probably 40+ people at my grandparent's condo where we went for dessert on Thursday). Miraculously, she got cancelled three nights in a row from work, so we've spent about all of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday together. (It's probably not a miracle for her paycheck, but I sure enjoyed the extra time I got to spend with her)

Tonight our families went out to eat at Los Hermanos because her little brother Matt was the server there tonight. So that was a nice chance for her parents to get to know my parents a little bit. This picture doesn't show her family at all. We both thought it was interesting that my family was on one side of the table and hers on the other... but Sarah and I were switched. I was on her family's side and she was closer to my family. The reservation was under the name "Sarah and Brian." Thanks Matt!

Turkey Day

2008-11-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

So, I am most definitely looking forward to Thanksgiving break. It will be nice to have a few days off of school. On Wednesday, Sarah is going to teach me how to make an apple pie, so that should be a lot of fun. (And on Thursday, I get to eat the pie, so that will be even better). So I'm planning on eating Thanksgiving dinner at with Sarah's family and then we'll head over to Grandma and Grandpa's condo to eat some dessert. So yeah, this week should be pretty awesome. It'll be nice to see the rest of my family this week...

Otra semana ya pasó

2008-11-14T23:33:00.000-08:00

So another week has gone by... and not a whole lot has happened. I got an 80 on my calculus test, which I was not happy with... Then I found out that the class average was a 65, 10 pts lower than usual... So I didn't feel too badly. The next day I got a 92.5% on a accounting test that I didn't really even study for, so I guess a little bit of Sarah's natural brilliance is rubbing off on me. Right now, I'm at work... I work from 12am to 6 am today so that I get Wednesday off to spend with Sarah. It is kind of a pain tonight, but it works out in the long run...

My roommate Alan wrote the last verse to his song about me and Sarah. The song was originally about not knowing what to do with Sarah because I really didn't know what she thought of me..

Last verse:
I wont be putting my heart on the line.
You gave me a clue
I'm now with you.
I know I'm liked by you.
So what are we supposed to do?

Brian and Sarah

2008-11-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

So a lot has happened in the last week, and I don't feel like going into a lot of the details on a blog. But, to make a long story short, Sarah and I are officially dating now, which makes me really happy... and I think she's happy too... Yesterday we went up to Salt Lake to watch Music and the Spoken Word. I'd never seen the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform live in the tabernacle (that I can remember), so it was quite amazing. Afterwards, we just walked around temple square for a couple hours or so and took some pictures. So needless to say, I had another incredible weekend.

Body Worlds

2008-11-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

So yesterday, I went up to Salt Lake with Sarah and her parents to see the Body Worlds exhibit. Basically, it's a bunch of well-presevered cadavers on display in an artistic way to show the inner anatomy of the human body. It was amazing at how well-preserved and prepared the bodies were. I was also amazed at the intricacies of the human body.... So many different systems working together with relatively few problems.

After Salt Lake, we went back to her house in Orem to watch the BYU vs. CSU game, which we won, but was much too close for comfort. After work last night, we went out and got some Mexican food with Brittany and Dan who are down in Provo for the weekend. So my weekend was pretty awesome!

Twix, Reese's and Pixy stix....

2008-10-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

While I was at work late last night, I got a message from my roommate Ian saying that I needed to come home immediately. I told him I couldn't go back to the apartment because I was working, but he insisted that it was more important than work... When I asked him what was up, he said that he had left something in the oven too long. After considerable concern that our apartment had burned down, he told me that in reality there was no fire in the apartment, but that a present had been left on my doorstep by a sweet girl named Sarah.

Sure enough, when I got home a few hours later, I found three bags of candy on my desk: Twix, Reese's and Pixi Stix, with a nice note attached. In the morning, I found out that all of my roommates had already read the note... And seeing that the note made no mention of candy, my roommate confessed that they had considered just eating all of the candy and leaving me the note. Needless to say, I was on cloud 9. To be completely honest, I haven't come down yet. (At this point maybe it's just a sugar high from eating too many Twix and Reese's for breakfast, but even so, life is awesome!) That definitely made my week!

Thanks Sarah!

What to Blog?

2008-10-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm new the whole concept of blogging, but my mother insists that every once and a while I should put something on my blog. So, life is going well. This last week I went up to Snow Bird with Sarah and a couple of her friends to ride the tram. It reminded me how much I truly love having four seasons instead of two in Honduras (the hot season and the hot and rainy season they call "invierno" which is winter???). I was also reminded how cold snow really is... Maybe I'm not so much looking forward to seeing a lot of snow on the ground this year..

This Friday I'm going to watch Don Giovanni by Mozart. I'm not so sure I'm that into Italian opera myself, but I get extra credit for it. So I figured if I have to endure an opera, I might as well endure it with a cute girl (misery loves company, right?). So I invited Sarah, and she was crazy enough to agree to go with me. Poor girl... Oh well. She'll forgive me... From what people say, it actually might be really good, but time will tell...

Music Stuff

2008-09-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well, at the request of my mother, I am putting on some more songs I've recorded. (Most were recorded over two years ago and are not very well polished)

Piano

Prelude in C# Minor. Op. 28, No. 10 -Chopin

Jazz Waltz

City Life -Larry Minsky

Homecoming (BYU Young Musician's Summer Fest 2002) -Jon Schmidt

Rhapsody in Blue -Gershwin

Organ

Dearest Jesus (This piece is pretty, but almost guaranteed to put you to sleep)

Postludium

Agincourt Hymn (This is my mom's favorite of the organ pieces I've played) -John Dunstable