Tuesdays with Muerte

Today, members of our ward volunteered at the MTC referral center. It was wonderful, as always. When we walked in, the lead RC teacher was getting ready to prepare a big training for us and then noticed me among the group. Letting some air quickly release he said, "oh, Bryan's old-school. If you have any questions, he can help you." And that was the last we saw of him. I thought it was a little unfair that the others didn't get the full RC experience just because I was among them. Fortunately, our ward mission leader was present and took the reigns. I brought along my bound copy of the Conference Ensign and read a talk or two. It was the perfect source of inspiration to look at between calls. I handled about 4 Spanish calls, all of which reminded me of how wonderful sharing the gospel is. It's easy to forget here in Provo that there are families earnestly searching for the truths of the gospel. My favorite call was from a family man living in Columbus, O...

The very first time I wore these shoes I scuffed them getting out of my car. I'm not mad though because I pretend with myself that scuffs are in fashion… The second pair is what I use for work EVERYDAY. I'm so glad that I have them. The 1/2 inch rubber sole gets be to about 11:30am without getting my socks drenched at the car wash.

My hometeachers were so considerate in asking me out to dinner in SLC before our ward temple appointment. Randy (spelled "Rendy" because his parents didn't want his peers to receive the false impression that he was promiscuous in any way) served his mission in Taiwan and when he came here found this great whole in the wall resturant that served the most authentic chinese foods: hot-pot, pot stickers, battered pork, snow peas, etc. It reminded me very closely of every single meal we ate in China earlier this Spring. As we left, I asked if we left a tip for our $50 meal amongst the 6 of us. Rendy said, "No, there is no tipping in China." Trying to be witty by making an allusion to x-men III, I said "Tipping is a CITY in China." …silence from the group… Just to break the awkward silence I went back into the restaurant and left $2.50. I felt generous because before dinner, I popped in next door to a Equadorian bakery. There was a big soccer game goi...

This week, our BYU ward pledged 4041 cans at a service auction and dinner. Every ward member wrote down something for others to bid on the previous week at FHE and this week we bid for them. The highest bid was 400 cans for an authentic Indian dinner hosted by one of the members of the bishopric. My bit of service was quite original but not very wise. I granted the highest bidder a punch in my stomach as hard as they could. I thought it was a good idea at the time, but when all was said and done, the winner was a big guy named Greg who won for only 1 can. AS HARD AS HE COULD, FOR ONE CAN! (Fortunately, he did hit me in the stomach and not the groin like it appears to be in the 3rd picture there. That was the ricochet after the initial blow.) I guess nobody wanted to hit me. I would have hit me if I were someone else. Can I help it that I am so amiable? Next auction, I will offer a lifetime supply of high-fives or something lame like that.

I took an intermediate bowling class at BYU in 2007. I was surprised how much focus is required to bowl well. I also learned a lot about life and love. Every M,W,F I would show up to the downstairs bowling facility after my Gold Standard Ballroom Dance class to bowl. I was tired and didn't want to continue to focus; not after an hour of coordinating my mind, feet and the rest of the muscles in my body. I initially thought bowling was a goof-off class; a break between the more rigorous classes. It is only in hindsight that I can see now that I was quite mistaken. I think Tom Cruise said it best in one of his all-time classic films, Top Gun: "If you think out there, you're dead." Of course, I am examining this quote in a non-literal light. What I mean by this is that bowling, like every sport, requires concentration 100% of the time. Foreign thoughts can pull me out of the "zone" and I'll blow it. I wonder if that is why bowling is so popular with ...

Dad and I love to make the same poses when we visit beautiful places all over the world… …actually, that's not so true. Only one of these is the real photo. The rest were created by me last night. Can you tell which one it is? I got carried away after taking an online tutorial of photoshop and made about 20 of these. If you are interested in seeing the others, I'll send them in a family email. These are the best though. Hopefully, I will continue to improve my graphic arts skills. I have a feeling that this is something that I would really like to spend my time doing as a career. What kind of "good" careers are there out there for graphic artists? BTW, I saw cousin Devin Brown this week on the tennis courts. He's back from Arizona doing an internship with the Church Motion Picture Studio here in Provo.

As many of you know, my wrist have been bothering me since EFY this summer. I thought the cause of my pain was a handshake gone bad. However, recently, I've been feeling the same pain in both wrists. The x-rays took 3 weeks ago indicate no brakes in the bones. The doctor suggested that is was only tendonitus derived from the initial handshake and exacerbated by continually meeting people and shaking their hands. Recently, I've opted to offer side-hugs in place of handshakes. It's worked out well in the Monticello and ward settings, but I'm not sure how it's going to fly at work. I have been conducting some initial research with some old people I drive home from the Cadillac dealership. After a nice conversation in the car, I hoped out and helped an 70 year old lady out of the car and gave a her a little side squeeze; I think (hope) she liked it. I haven't received a call from the "Service Manager" about any harassment complaints so I guess it we...