Holy criminy I have been busy! My poor brain is doing it's best to keep up, hopefully it will make it until my next break, which seems like it will not be until next weekend. A brief synopsis of the past few days. I moved over the weekend. Everything I need to live is here, storage and a few other things still need to be brought over. Sunday, I had a very spiritual and memorable Sabbath. Monday, I left for work at 6:40 and did not return to my house until after school, work, FHE dinner, and curling league. I got home at 9:30 , where I took a quick shower and then had to leave again for a few hours. I got to bed late Monday night around 1:15 and was up for work again at 6. I then worked until just before 5, then I went home and did laundry and was in bed by 9 so I could be up at 4:45 for another long day of work. Tonight, I am taking an evening to myself after I do a spot of homework just so I can rest my brain. I will say that ever since the struggles of chronic fatigue, the importance of rest has been better understood and respected.

Life in general is going well. I am doing very well in school so far this semester. I am hoping to secure enough financial aid to cover next semester without loans and I hope to pay off the small loan I took for the current semester by summer's end. That or try to pay off my car so I can reduce my cost of living by $300 a month. I tell ya, money will stress you out quicker than anything.

Spring is supposed to be approaching but the low was close to zero this morning and this weekend we had another storm dump 4+ inches of snow on us. This global warming thing is unpredictable.

I'm starting to ramble. I had some words of substance to impart but staring at this screen is making me more weary by the minute, so instead I will just depart and I will come back with more in a day or so.

For the Song of the Day, there can only be one today, it has to be "Wake Me Up Before You Go" by Wham, but I just call it "Jitterbug"!! The song has been in my head all day. Here's a little trivia that has nothing to do with this song, but with the term jitterbug. Jitterbug is a type of swing dance that became popular in the 1930s and 40s. The term came around in reference to alcoholics who would get the "jitters" (uncontrolled shaking). Then, dancers started using the term jitterbug to describe swing dancers who would dance out of control. Popular culture pushed that further to just mean all swing dancers, and somehow that came to be a kind of dance now closely associated with the Lindy Hop and East Coast Swing. Another interesting piece of trivia is that at the time jitterbugging was becoming a hit in the 30s and 40s, the Wizard of Oz was being filmed for release in 1939. They filmed a song and dance that was eventually removed called "The Jitterbug". Below is the scene with the actual video footage beginning at the song.

It has long been my belief that if you are not moving forward, you are moving backward. There is very little leveling or stagnation, for if you are content to never change, it does not take long before your contentment leaves you sliding back in your progression.

I have had a very blessed past six months that has found me on a strong upswing, though recently, I felt as if I was beginning to stall. I took a look at where I am in this current chapter of my life and then looked at where I would like to be in the next couple chapters. One thing was absolutely clear. Regardless of what I do next, I need to better position myself to get there. There are steps I need to take to be prepared financially, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. The wheels are now in motion to achieve my goals.

This weekend, I moved. I now have a room in a four bedroom house about a mile down the road from my old residence. This move will alleviate my finances a fair amount and hopefully growth in other areas will follow. I will be in a new ward at church, which will be an interesting challenge.

I reactivated my Facebook account this weekend as well. However, I pared down my account significantly to reduce the need to frequent the site. Essentially, I want to enjoy the ability to share my blog there and allow other people who no longer see telephones as a means of communication an extra resource for contacting me. My month and a half away has been extremely invigorating. I definitely found far more value in my conversations and associations with friends. It is amazing how much more you can talk about when you have not shared your every thought already. I do not refute that Facebook is a powerful tool, but I irrevocably believe that friendships and relationships built as far outside the virtual realm as humanly possible will always be stronger, more meaningful, and will lead to a real and true happiness that cannot exist online.

Now to venture off topic for a moment, though I suppose this does fit well into the topic of moving forward and change. I am excited to announce that beginning next Wednesday, I will be writing a weekly blog post for the Catering/Dining Services blog "Exceeding Expectations". The management has been chasing me down for over half a year attempting to force me to do it. I hate feeling forced and I was very confused with what they wanted and though I tried several times, I could never come up with anything of substance. Then, somewhat out of the blue, I had an idea, sat down, and the series I will write was born. Here is a little teaser for you:

Food is a fact of life. It is all around us. In our homes, in our workplace, even in our cars; food is always present. Food is more important than you may believe. Aside from the obvious vital nutritional benefits to our bodies, food connects us socially. Think of a time you participated in a social gathering; a wedding, a birthday party, a funeral, a holiday party, a farewell, a business meeting, a conference, an interview, a sporting event, or even a simple day out enjoying nature. Food was likely involved, and even more likely, was a large part of why you attended. As people, we see food as a means of uniting us. If you feed them, they will come.

My name is Jon and I am a Catering Chef for University Catering. I would like to invite you to join me on a journey to see food differently. Throughout this journey, I will introduce you to our entire dining establishment and our staff, who have dedicated their careers to food and the coming together of people it brings. Each week, we will explore a new dining operation on campus and the purpose each place serves. We will meet workers from all walks of life who passionately provide service to loyal customers each day. Together, we will discover how food affects us daily and how Utah State University provides for the culinary demands of an ever changing world.

The series will run through the end of the semester and should be loads of fun. I will be sure to link each post to here for you all.

Our Song of the Day comes from a fantastic movie I always love watching. It is "Keep on the Sunny Side" from the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

I wish I could say my life was all sorted out, I was totally and completely happy and things could not be better, but, if I said that, I would be dead and in heaven and I likely would not need a blog as I would hopefully (fingers crossed) have the ability to will my thoughts to everyone through some awesome form of spirit to spirit telepathy.

I can say, however, that I know where I want to be in life, I am working towards that, I find joy in the small every day things, and life is always getting better. Speaking metaphorically, I am filming my life story, and, as we all do, sometimes I wish I could fast forward a few years past this grindstone part that is young adulthood. I do enjoy the experiences though, because I know that for every challenge I face now, a sweet reward is somewhere in the future.

Really, the main thing that is bothering me is this moving ordeal. I do not mean to make it sound over exaggerated, but almost regardless of what I accomplish, I feel like until I settle this problem, I am completely stagnant. Everything I do or want to do seems to come back to it. I cannot escape it. I feel the need to move, yet the circumstances to do so persist in preventing me from moving. I have exercised nearly every option available to me to no avail. Hopefully, by the end of this month, things will resolve in their own time, otherwise I will be forced to play a hand I truly do not wish to play.

I know I am being just a little enigmatic here, but I do not want to cause a stir about the situation. Word always travels fast and already people are taking sides based on the two differing views on what is occurring with my desire to move.

In a nutshell, the bulk of my reasoning for moving lies in my goals. I have very specific goals I want to achieve by summer's end. Simply put, in ways more than just financially, staying in my present location and environment would greatly hinder my ability to achieve those goals.

Anyway...things are progressing slowly for the time being. On a positive note, my date Friday was terrific and extremely enjoyable.

Song of the Day is one I have enjoyed for a few years now, it is "Keep on Trying" by Poco.

It is that time of year again. I was at the grocery store on this the eve of Valentine's Day and lo and behold, all the last minute shoppers were in their frenzy to get that special something for that special someone. I, as usual, blew past the flowers, the teddy bears, the cards, and the chocolates and gathered the grocery items on my list. I do not pity myself nor do I feel the least bit sad at having my February 14th alone. I find it interesting that so many feel obligated to have a date that night. The social pressures of society have yet again lessened the value of what I think is a wonderful holiday for those who truly love. To all of you with plans with your special someone, and to those of you yet to find that permanent someone who have a temporary one for this year, Happy Valentine's Day.

Oh, and don't worry, I have a date Friday I am looking forward to very, very much :)

At work today, we had a power outage that lasted three hours. I had finished the early morning duties and had just written the long list of tasks remaining for the day when it went dark. In the kitchen, with no windows or sky lights or emergency lights, it was pitch dark. We pulled out our phones for light and went to find out what we could. After a few minutes, we learned eight buildings on campus were part of the outage, which meant it was a more serious problem than someone bumping a switch. With several catering orders to be sent out to areas with power, I had work that needed doing and could not wait. I searched for a flashlight and when I found one, it was back to work. To keep the fridges cool, we got as much as we needed out at one time and waited until we were done with everything to put it all back at the same time. I cut fruit and laid cookies on trays with a lone beam of light illuminating my work space. It was interesting, but I enjoyed the change. I went to my class where the power also was out. There were two emergency lights and windows that enabled us to begin a simplified class, but the power in that building went on after fifteen minutes. We ended early anyway and I expected to go back to work to catch back up in the light. But, it was not so. We continued our work in the dark until finally, at about 11:45, nearly three full hours after it went out, the power was fully restored.

The Piano Guys have a new video out and, as usual, it is phenomenal. I will post it here in lieu of a Song of the Day. Enjoy!

This past week has left me frazzled.

I have been aggressively seeking a suitable replacement for my place on our lease so I can move into a less expensive room in a house. A banking error has left $245.70 floating around somewhere other than my bank account. One of three upcoming tests has been taken in school. These and many daily lesser dealings, all compounded by a slight head cold I've only just overcome and several nights of inadequate sleep have rendered my brain rather useless this weekend.

I need a reboot.

I will say, however, that I am very grateful to be busy. Boredom, or rather, idleness, is something I do not deal well with. I get cabin fever. I lose my mind. I feel useless and worthless and then I buy highly sugarous drinks and foods. I waste the days away in front of the boob tube, watching shows not on History and Discovery that are of legitimate interest, but rather pointless shows I watch simply because they are on and I am there and I have no willpower to do much else.

No, I prefer being frazzled and having worked tirelessly to accomplish my tasks. Only then can I find the sweet solace that lies in my piano. Only then can the words of a book capture my mind and not put me to sleep. Only then can I appreciate each day I have.

Here's to being only slightly less frazzled this weekend.

Song of the Day is "Hip Pickles" by: Blue Lou Marini's band Blood, Sweat and Tears. I actually heard this song done live by ol' Blue Lou himself at a jazz festival in Texas. I figured the interesting introduction and the heavy funk was an appropriate "frazzled" feel for today.