Randomosity

Awkward Moment

So this week my roommate and I attended a game night at a a friend's house. When we arrived, the guys were just finishing up watching football game. So my roommate and I sat on the couch to wait until the game was over and we could begin the game night. I was sitting on the end of the couch so that there was maybe 6 inches between myself and the arm of couch.

A very large young man sitting in a chair across the room from us suddenly jumped up out of his chair and came over to try and sit on the couch. Did I mention a very large young man, larger than the 6 inches between me and the end of the couch. Hence he ended up sitting mostly on my lap. I looked at my roommate and we burst out laughing because it was rather entertaining. He didn't even acknowledge that he was sitting on me! I scooted out a little bit so that I was now mostly sitting on my side squished between my roommate and the large person who was still not even noticing anything but the football game. Other people in the room were giving him odd looks of disbelief, but he appeared to be oblivious to everything and everyone around him.

Now, this was a bit uncomfortable for me. I have a large bubble in which I don't particularly like people I don't know invading. In retrospect I should have unwedged myself from my seat on the couch and taken his chair, but the idea did not occur to me at the time. I remember thinking that it was a strange situation and he wouldn't seriously keep sitting there once he realized that there was already a person there! Finally, after the game when he still didn't move one of the other guys in the room asked him to move back to his chair and he got all grumpy about having to move.

Boiling the Frog

A recent article in the newspaper had me doing a double take. A former professor of mine had been arrested for attempting to solicit services from a prostitute. He was arrested as part of a sting in which he and several other people from the community were caught-- including the VP of SUU. At first glance I was certain that there had been a misunderstanding, some sort of mistake made by the police force. But after reading a recent article I came to understand that there was no mistake, these men had truly fallen to such temptation.

It is a humbling and alarming thing to realize how vulnerable we all are to such temptations and addictions. None of us are above temptation. It's just like the primary lesson about boiling the frog. It can start out with such seemingly small things until it escalates into big things.

I think that Professor Groft summed it up best in his statement. He has made no attempt to justify or deny his mistake. It seems to me that he just wants to move past it and do everything he can to get back on the right path. The following excerpt is his statement from Iron County Today:

" I feel that avoiding bargains and paying the maximum penalty that the court believes will satisfy justice is the best way for me to begin on the path of healing and redemption," Groft said in a statement released Wednesday evening through his attorney Blaine T. Hofeling.

" I have made some decisions that I will regret for the rest of my life," he said. "The road that led me to this point started out with smaller offenses that seemed benign but gradually pulled me further and further into a pit of addiction and despair. Although I continually prayed for forgiveness and experienced bouts of fortitude and upright behavior, the cycle of addiction and darkness visited me again and again and engulfed me more and more."

"My beliefs taught me better, my convictions taught me better, but unfortunately my beliefs and my convictions were weaker than my resolve. My wife, family and friends are all angry and shocked, but have offered a tremendous outpouring of love, forgiveness, and encouragement. I thank them for that."

--Andy Groft

2010 Recap

Wow, 2010 has been quite a year! Just think......

the good.....
-bought my first car
-moved into a house with some amazing roommates
-got my first real job
-paid of almost half of my student loans in the first year
-got to travel to Bryce Canyon for the first time ever
-bought a new computer that is not possessed by demons (as my old computer was)

and as with all things good come the bad....
-car broke down less than 3 months after i bought it
-found out my boss was being dishonest and he let the firm go under, now I'm unemployed
-boss owes me lots of money from insurance scam

All in all, this past year has been eventful. More good than bad overall; especially seeing as how most of the bad things that happened have been within the past month. This Christmas season has been, well, interesting is a good word. Now I have lots of free time on my hands to decide what my next big adventure will be. It will be hard if I have to move up north, but a year ago I thought I would have to leave so technically I got one year more of southern utah than I thought I would. Yes, all in all this year has been more good than bad.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Bryce Canyon!!

Adventures at a Glance

Cedar Breaks



Old IronTown