Erlikasaurus

6 months ago

2010-12-15T13:12:00.003-05:00

6 months ago i made blog post about what was going on in my life. Since then pretty much all has gone according to plan, but something has changed. I read that blog post just now and realized wow, I'm a funny dude. With only 1 angry blog post since then, i have not been adequately sharing my sense of humor with the world. I think working in a law firm is dulling my senses and sucking my funny mojo dry. But oh well, maybe i will just let you all in on whats going down in life today. Hilary and i get married in 13 days. what up. two days after that we start our long anticipated Disneyland honeymoon, complete with fancy dinners and character breakfasts. I am pretty sure Disneyland is my favorite place in the world. i can think of anywhere that would top it. Anyway, it snowed this morning and that infuriates me, but i tell myself to look back on snowmageddon in dc and realize how much worse it could be. Actually it wasn't that bad, i sat home all day, slept in, and beat up on my professors punk son. I hate that kid, all three of them. I work at a law firm like i said earlier, saving peoples homes all day.it rewarding but to be honest, i am too good at it. I always run out of things to do. it reminds me of the old phrase, never work yourself out of a job. oh well. Christmas is coming up, and to be honest i am not excited, i could care less. i am a little bitter i dint get to spend it with my family and i don't get to play golf with my grandpa. Anyway, all my closest friends and family are coming in a few days, many of them will experience snow for the first time. all of them will experience temple square at holiday time. its very impressive. OK i have run out of stuff to say. word.

Ok, I'm a little pissed off

2010-12-09T12:17:00.002-05:00

Blogs are for venting right. Either that or I utilize the chain of screaming (where is scream with someone lesser than me who then screams at someone lesser than them). The last two days I have been over run by stupid. Necessarily stupid people, but stupid situations. It has been a while since I have felt this arrogant, but there are some people out there who just dont get it. For instance, the life insurance guy who refuses to take no for an answer and talks to me for an hour while I know his family is at home missing him and he knows he's not making any money by talking to me. Priorities dude. Or the 7 people i spoke to at work today who are simply incapable of making a decision o their own unless it involves reading what a computer says. Or maybe the ogre who sits next to me who needs a smoke break every 10 minutes to hopefully calm her st-st-stutter on the phone. There is a reason you get complained about all the t-t-time. I think I am just frustrated because i feel so stuck in a job that is so far below my abilities and i have too many people relying on me for something they need to rely on theirselves about. I am about ready to cut the chord with all of the lazies and drive-less people around me. As I begin to enter my 23rd year I see more and more "eat drink and be merry" attitudes and less and less "do what it take to make you happy."

alright lets do this , first joke

2010-06-14T21:35:00.002-04:00

[the first sentence of this blog will not address at how poor the writer of said blog is at keeping up with said blog, he does that every time]
Ok so quick update world. i am back in provo. it is june 14 or something. i have been taking my senior capstone class writing a 20 page paper on gay rights during the clinton administration. im also taking an ethics class for my philosophy minor. i am currently in the process of procrastinating my final 10 pager for that class as well. this spring term is over this Friday. next tuesday is tart my summer classes, US foreign policy and American Political Parties. I just went home to moreno valley to witness my beloved lil sister graduate high school. suckerrrrr it only gets harder after that. i also had the amazing opportunity to spend a day with my somewhat extended family and my dear bestest friends minus mr jason byrnes. in between all of this excitement i have had an ongoing long distance relationship with miss hilary rose holland who is currently in Paris and on my mind. we have kept this going for the alst six months (to the day) and she comes back to SLC on this friday. From that date on we shall not be separated any longer. 6 months a part is far too long, but some how it has completely flown by. 6 months from now it will be winter in Utah at there will be a wedding soon approaching. deal with it world. you may be able to tell this is a somewhat impatient blog post, but that has more to do with the whole procrastinating the ethics paper thing. alrighty, im bored with this garbage im gonna go play man overboard on my guitar. PEACE EARTH!

Peer Pressure

2010-03-14T19:11:00.002-04:00

So partly out of guilt, but mostly out of necessity, I feel the need to dedicate at least this blog post to Miss Hilary Rose Holland. I am not sure who actually reads my blog posts, but i know she does at least. Nevertheless, i am going to take the time to tell the world about her and i and i am going to at least pretend that everyone who matters to me will read this, and maybe even a few that don't matter. I would like to start off by saying that Hilary and I met on December 14 at possibly one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Provo. I saw the most beautiful girl ever and for the hour or so i was there i had trouble not staring across the room at this girl. Before we left, i left a note on her car and figured i had nothing to lose and everything to gain from trying to ask her out on my final night in Utah. She obliged, we went out the next night and it was the most perfect date you could imagine. I left the next day fully expecting to never see her or talk to her again. I was wrong. Since about 1pm that day until now, i cant say that i have gone more than a night's sleep without talking to her. She came out and visited me over valentines weekend here in Washington dc and we spend 5 amazing days together. looking back on it, it literally feels like it was all a dream. She is amazing to me and treats me so well. I feel like a better person each and every day i am with her and i try to get better every day for her sake. I am going back to visit her the first weekend in April and to meet her family for the first time. sure i am nervous, but i have nothing to worry about. she makes me feel calm. she makes me know its going to be OK. Things are getting very serious, and by BYU standards, pretty overdue. I cannot remember ever being this happy and this excited for the future and for this welcome change. That is all that really matters in the end. She makes me happy. She makes me better.

The End

updates

2010-02-26T22:29:00.002-05:00

this week had some pretty thrilling new updates.
first and foremost, Hilary Clinton said hi to me. she was on her way to a hearing and i saw her in the hall and smiled and she said hi and i got totally starstruck. after that i got to be part of an elaborate senatorial maneuver to make sure that some tea party journalists couldn't stick a camera in boxers face. it was awesome and i would probably get yelled at for disclosing that on here but who cares, im an intern. i got a lot of sleep this week and it really paid off. i actually worked really hard this week and since so many of the other interns were out at hearings, i was doing everything and i loved it. i got a very important letter in the mail today as well, which i will disclose later. Also today was uncle beau's memorial. i obviously couldn't afford to fly back for it but i heard it was really nice and everyone seemed like they were coping alright. i prayed for them all today on several occasions and i am actually doing really good because i know this is just the beginning for us all. i think that is all. i get to go see my girl in 5 weeks and i am so excited to meet the family finally! i love you world, you are taking good care of me.

Washington

2010-02-19T19:55:00.002-05:00

I have a weird problem where i refuse to call our nation's capital "DC" for some reason. it is just easier for me to say Washington and i don't know why. Well i think maybe living here for two months merits a blog update. I am currently on an internship with Senator Barbara Boxer's office through the BYU Washington seminar. I love this city but i hate the people. I think living in Hawaii has ruined my ability to be in a hurry for anything and everyone here is always in a rush. However, i love the city. i always have said i would rather look at concrete buildings than mountains and trees. that is still true, sorry nini.

Anyway, my internship is interesting. I am in one of the most left leaning liberal offices in the senate and i am a pretty moderate democrat who has changed political part is four times in 3 years. Sometimes i feel out of place, but i have come to find that the senate needs people like me to raise opposing views. its kinda sad how many people surround themselves with "yes men" and we wonder why nothing gets accomplished. i have learned since being here that i definitely do not want to be a politician any time soon, but i do want to serve the public. one of the briefers that visited us in one of our Friday classes said earn money first, serve later. basically my goal is to establish myself as well as i can financially in order to provide for my family and then take the opportunity to serve my fellow Americans. However, the more i think about it, Americans have it pretty well off and i am increasingly seeing the need to serve others around the world who aren't so well off.

On that inspiring note, i think it is important to note that i met a girl the last day i was in Provo during fall semester. i took her out once the night before i left Utah. i don't think i have gone more than 10 hours without talking to her since. i am proving to myself that we are increasingly perfect for each other. Hilary Rose Holland came to visit me here in Washington last weekend for 5 days, possibly the longest second date of all time. things are good, and i have not been this happy in any recent memory.

updates will be coming more often i hope and i will try to be more descriptive about all the wonderful things i see and do.

god is love, rev run.

Brigham Young University

2009-10-28T22:01:00.000-04:00

never before in my life have i wanted to take the time to consider assassinating the administration at my school. today is that day. the entire education system is ridiculous right now. you walk through halls only to see down trodden faces, empty smiles, and lost eyes. why do we put ourselves through all of this? high paying jobs? recognition? because we are told to? as soon as i can hear a worthwhile reason why this needs to happen i will continue to look down on this system and work not not succeed in it, but to bring it all crashing down. we work as hard as we can all day at school, go to work for eight hours to pay for that same school, go to bed with prayers to help us get through the next day without collapsing under the pressure and for what? an arbitrary piece of paper that says we did what we were told for four years and maybe some vague remembrance of our chosen discipline. School does not teach desire, school does not teach progression. school teaches what works for now and what may work for you tomorrow. I know what will work for me tomorrow, and if i don't, only God can. they ask us to devote our tomorrows to our futures, our work never catches up with itself, our tomorrow never comes. if we are put on this earth to gain a knowledge of eternal principles, whether secular or sacred, shouldn't we focus on what will be eternal to us, not what someone decides is important at this stage in time. why would i work to earn a grade when i know what i am going to get. why would i try day after day to fail time after time. why do we need to put ourselves through failure and sorrow at all. When i die i will not be measured on my joy on this earth or the things that i have succeeded in doing, i will be judged on the basis of righteousness and how many people i was able to serve and love. I cannot remember the last time i learned about love in a classroom. i work constantly to do all that i can not to succeed in school, but to succeed in life eternal to succeed in everlasting happiness not intermittent accomplishments. This system is corrupt. This country is lost. we, ourselves are already lost, but can we be the generation to make it so our children can live in a world where they are truly measured on the "content of their character" or their "aptitude for greatness." I will.

Back in Utah (and not much to say)

2009-09-20T18:10:00.002-04:00

So here is round two of eric living in provo. the weatehr is still nice. the people aren't mental yet. so i think it's safe to say its not too bad. I'm only stayinf for fall though. i get to go live in WAshington DC in the winter to be an intern with the united states government. And then i get to come back to provo and finish school over summer. i really wish that i could do this all from the comfort of my own home. I am really getting sick of not being with the people i care about. You would think time makes things easier, but it just frustrates me. I wrote a song the other day. It is probably one of the smartest things i've written and i feel sorry for anyone who has to hear its awesomeness. I have church at 8:30 in the morning so my mind is never really all there on sunday so if i seem like im rambpling its because im a crazy person. Ricky and i got a fish tank because our room "needs something alive in it." i also saw a funny license plate the other day that is a good play on words with my last name. anyway.

Spittin Game

2009-07-22T01:46:00.003-04:00

I think i feel like spittin a little bit about my current likes and dislikes. particularly regarding music. I think right now is an intersting time in my music world. Metal bands are starting to wear neon and purple. Rappers are increasingly blasted from head to toe. And i feel like blues is making a much needed comeback. however there also appears to be wayy too many over produced, and under utilized bands out there. i like that Jay-Z has put out a track called death to autotune. its what we kinda need right now to get music back to being music as opposed to preprogrammed tracks. oh well thats enough on that. CAlifornia is too hot right now and i do not own enough tank tops and basketball shorts to look as gangster as necessary. its hard to sit home all day babysitting and still not have any money but you gotta do what you gotta do for others. i read a verse in Joshua that says : choose you this day whom you will serve" and ends with "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" i really like that phrase because of its urgency and its unwavering faith. you can tell no one was going to go up to joshua and try to talk him out of it ever and thats where i think i am now. i will never be talked out of serving the Lord and it is my choice to do so, not anything that was pressured on me. now i just wish i had it in me to get others to make that choice as well, now is the time and today is the day that people need to learn to make a definitive decision on how to live their life one way or the other and start down their own paths with unwavering faith. i hope everyone can do this sooner rather than later, there may not be a later for some...

home...

2009-05-25T22:56:00.002-04:00

Hawaii is an amazing place. No, no, no "Hawaii is an amazing place." i have come to learn that there are somethings that, no matter how beautiful or wonderful or unique they are, are only as great as you let them be. some people look at a pretty flower and say wow this is the most beautiful flower i have ever seen. some people see a pretty flower... i suppose perspective is all that makes the difference. some people find beauty in things, some in words, some in actions. regardless, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. may i am just too young to get it. maybe it's just inherently not worth it, who knows. All i know is Hawaii is exceptional. if you can get it all done in 2 weeks, you will love it, but i do not think i could live here. i think it is just a bad case of island fever. if i was alone i would've jumped off a cliff weeks ago.

Next thought... why is it that people change as time goes on. why can't people just be who they are. it seems to me that more people are going downhill as time goes on and few people are going uphill. i think the key to it all is to stay close to the people on the way up. Potential is my new favorite word. i was thinking about it yesterday, what is the ceiling on my potential and i honestly believe there isn't one and the only one who can draw one is me. i mean that. i don't want to be old and look back on my life and say i did not live up to my potential, i think that is where happiness comes from for me. it is like the whole good, better, best thing. i want to be able to say i did the best thing most of the time and did not just settle for good things. maybe other people aren't going downhill, but maybe i am going uphill so fast they aren't moving, who knows.

i would like to know what everyone thinks my potential is, or better yet what i should do about it. what do you think i should do, out of curiosity????

thank you friends

A lovely saturday on north shore

2009-05-03T04:57:00.000-04:00

So today was a pretty amazing day, but then again any day is amazing with the right attitude. i got waken up by a phone call yelling at me to get ready!!!! Bekah, Liz, and i hopped on the bus and headed up to shark's cove for my new favorite food...soy milk acai bowls. that was the first life changing event of the day. then instead of snorkeling in shark's cove (dont worry there arent really sharks there) we walked down to waimea bay to lay on the beach and play in the water. it is so much diferent from california beaches here i am not sure if i like it. there is no room to play in the water it is all crazy shore breaks and a huge drop off. anyway, after getting sufficient sun and heat in our systems, we headed up to haleiwa to do some tourist crap. hit up the famous matsumoto's shave ice. shopped around in some little shops. i found a tank top i needed to get in order to be a true biggart, but it was 15 bucks and a true biggart would've gotten it for free some how. oh well i'll find it at a swap meet or something. anyway. we were walking along the road and came to this weird house thing that has this surfboard graveyear in the front. i guess when surfers break their boards, they bring them to this guy ron artis and he airbrushes them and makes art out of them and then places them around this yard for people to admire. so we are walking around and we get invited into the house to see some performance. inside this house there is like an indoor/outdoor sun room cabana kinda thing with all kinds of musical instruments set up, everything you could ever imagine. i guess ron artis used to be a traveling musician who has played with pretty much everybody and he retired to play music with his 11 kids and to teac them to best use their gifts of music. so they get up and they are anywhere from like 17 to 6 years old and they start playing this amazing zydeco song that had my mind completely blown by the amount of natural god given talent was in this room. i immediately felt like i was a part of something really special and i knew this experience was unique. i knew i had to bring Vince here one day to experience this and enjoy it all. god truly blesses people with gifts in order to allow his spirit to be felt within you. i am still kinda in shock from the feeling i had watching and listening and being a part of this family for a couple songs. it was amazing and made my day and probably my week or my month. i wish all of my friends and family could have been there to see just how beautiful this family was and how talented and dedicated to each other they all were. i guess that is all for today. have a good sunday eveybody, i'll take pictures next time.

aloha ohana

2009-05-02T03:54:00.000-04:00

i believe it is time to write a blog that is legend---wait for it---dary! Ive realized lately that most blogs are from married couples or like professional photographers. i realized i am neither married nor do i own a camera so i thought what am i doing??? then i remembered i am in Hawaii and this can be a forum to publicly brag about how lucky i am that I'm not in Utah or hot Moreno valley or even Europe (apparently everyone is in Europe right now...dgaf). so it is rather humid here which is interesting because it makes my skin clearer and my hair poofier. i have the sweetest fro right now i may have to go buy some Murray's hair creme and do it right. i am badly sunburned. sorry mom. sorry nini. thank you god for moving nini into a house that doesn't have an aloe plant anymore. i have fallen in love with acai bowls. its like acai ice cream with a little strawberry blended with soy milk, topped with granola, honey, and bananas and apparently some fairy dust because it is unbelievable. i got a job working in the nursery on campus tending to flowers. i am not sure why i wanted that job but i figure if I'm going to be in Hawaii i wanna be a.) outdoors and b) around flora and/or fauna (as long as that fauna cannot hurt me). i really wanna go camping this summer, but most of all i really wanna take Micah camping for the first time i just don't know where. any suggestion??? i am almost done reading this book from Steven r. covey. he is a smart guy i am really enjoying it and i think it is actually helping me better my relationships with people and being more "effective" as a person. overall life is not to shabby. i ain't got no money, but that's alright. i do have expensive taste though i need to fix that. i miss my friends and i miss my music. i really wanna get a guitar soon but i feel like there are better things to save up for. i think this is the point in my life where i make the decision to grow up. either save up for a guitar or save up for school/family/future/car/debt etc. i just love being happy and playing music makes me happy. i wish more people understood that about me as much as i do. anydangway tomorrow is another day. i am excited for my future. i read a quote today that said "the best way to predict your future is to create it" i like that idea. i need to not be lazy anymore and be happier in general. i think it is time to go or at least time to wrap up. i learned in my religion class that god wants all people to come to him because he loves each and every one of us. if that isn't a good enough reason i don't know what is, but if you believe in Christ, you kinda owe it to him it think. so go listen to your favorite song and read the articles of faith and i will talk to you later.

Judge Righteously

2009-03-15T11:54:00.000-04:00

I learned something this week. I always thought i was taught not to judge, but i learned of course we have to judge that's the only way to get by. Therefore (as the title suggests) i have learned to try to judge righteously. which i believe is an incredibly unique and complex concept. what exactly does this mean? i have an idea but I'm not sure. for instance, right now as i sit, there is someone sitting behind he slurping and smacking their lips over a meal. does judging righteously mean i leave it alone and love my neighbor or does it mean for the sake of manners (and his future wife) that i say "hey, learn to eat because your grossing everybody out."
This brings me to my next point class. i believe it was St. Francis of Assisi who said " you can pay for school, but you can't buy class" (wait no... i think it was jay-z). There is such a lack of class in the world today among people. or better yet a lack of a desire for class. no one seems to care about it anymore or want to care about it anymore. i am pretty sure that i am not the classiest person on the planet or even remotely, but i realize that respect is gained through showing respect and having dignity. its not about how much you have or what you drive, its all about how you Carry yourself that makes you stand out. I love the term "swagger" its such a perfect term for demonstrating how building yourself up can make others take notice and want a part of it. the trick however is moderation. Aristotle got this point really well in his discussions on deficiency and excess. you dint want to be loud and obnoxious and arrogant, but at the same time, be recognizable, get noticed but i guess just have that swag. Its all a game and we gotta stay ahead of it i suppose those who let the game happen to them are just going to get played, but those who play the game are going to win it all.
I'm pretty sure that's what life is about. winning. mixed with humility and a whole lot of gratitude and charity. but everybody knows you cannot pull anyone up if you aren't on a higher level all together. I'm pretty sure I'm talking about morals here. i definitely know I'm not talking about money or power. but i believe that the goal in life is happiness and i know that moral justice and moral excellence is how we achieve happiness, not just for this life, but the one to come. money stays on earth, conscience and spirit will live on. I'm OK with that, now i just gotta figure out what morality is...woo.

Let's freakin hate some people already...

2008-12-17T20:56:00.000-05:00

When did discussing current events become discussing everything that is wrong with Islam. It is amazing that a woman who apparently knows so much about the world, about religion, and about education could be so closed minded. If grades weren’t at stake I would have walked out of that final today. Every question on the exam was some way to describe how multiculturalism has ruined America or how “radical islamists” are slowly corrupting our values to one day rise up and rule the world…too bad they apparently are going to have to fight the gays for world domination. In a world dominated by left leaning academics, apparently there needs to be balance in all things to the point when teachers are hired with such a blind knowledge of world affairs. It’s really too bad that Saturday night live clips aren’t legitimate sources for information because I may actually believe her, but as for credibility I am astonished how she justifies herself in these blatantly offensive lessons. I don’t know what else to say, I just wish there was another student at this university who thought the same.

Lines on pages

2008-12-16T02:23:00.001-05:00

What do I have to say this is the hardest thing I’ve done in a while.
But I put myself through this to make our time worth while
I look back on this life and the risks I had to take
Let’s hope this chance works out for both our sakes
We fight together, we cry together, but in the end let’s die together
So that I know I can do it and hope to make you better
If I could just make it happen and allow you to live
I’ll let go for eternity and this breath of life I give

So come to life and let me live and then leave me alone
I am broken without you here but with you, I am done
We’ve worked too hard to get here, and failure’s not a choice
I’ve got no words to say but I need to use my voice

So here we stand stuck face to face it’s your turn to decide
Will it be me can it not be, and are you on my side
I’m done sitting around and letting you run
So sit back down and focus now it’s all coming undone
I know it’s hard but you must believe we can make it through all this
But until then I’ll stay alone and you will not exist

So come to life and let me live and then leave me alone
I am broken without you here but with you, I am done
We’ve worked too hard to get here, and failure’s not a choice
I’ve got no words to say but I need to use my voice

So we’ve finally made it out and I can see your face
But this dawn is setting quickly and it’s time to go away
You were never more than a song to me, and I won’t have to look
Together we were everything but you’re just a page in a book

So come to life and let me live and then leave me alone
I am broken without you here but with you, I am done
We’ve worked too hard to get here, and failure’s not a choice
I’ve got no words to say but I need to use my voice

The education system

2008-12-09T18:04:00.000-05:00

Finals are stupid. I don't like them at all and i don't like the system that we use t administer them. There has got to be a better way to assess knowledge than stressing students to the brink of insanity for weeks on end and then arbitrarily cut them loose on the world afterward. I know a lot of stuff, trust me, but i do not know enough to take 5 tests in one week and still come out satisfied with my education experience. i think i am going to simply go back to my proven method of system evaluation and exploitation. why study what you already know, why focus on what there is no need to know. Knowledge is subjective. to you i may be an idiot because you know something i don't and vice versa, but as far as assessing general knowledge and reviewing what was learned current testing procedures do not seem to be enlightened in the least. I conclusion here i am sitting on my couch not studying, not reading ( i don't know how to read) and i am perfectly content with my future. Figure that out??

Ask and Ye Shall receive...

2008-12-05T20:09:00.000-05:00

It is clear to me now that if you want something in life, you need to ask, then work for it, and then enjoy the journey towards that goal. The last two weeks have been amazingly unique in the contrasts between life in Provo and life in Los Angeles. I wont say i love both equally but they both have their merits. I absolutely love the fact that no matter how i feel about life, i know that i will be happy as long as i am surrounded by people that love me. Thank God for friends, thank god for family, thank god for color. Listen to Cinematic Sunrise, watch House, read philosophy. thank you.

Why the Freak Not

2008-11-21T23:30:00.000-05:00

so i've figured i might as well post whats going on in my life being that i'm 800 miles from everything i care about so check back often for life updates on Eric.