No TV

So Christina and I are trying the no TV thing in our house. (By no TV we mean no cable hook up, we have a TV to watch DVD's and things online.) Christina grew up without any TV for a lot of her childhood, so it's not too unusual for her. But as so many things are available online, it's really not a huge sacrifice. We don't waste time just sitting in front of the TV for hours, but we can still watch some shows. To be honest though, we don't regularly watch any current TV shows. We have a $10 antenna that gets CBS, Fox, and PBS if you set it just right, along with about 10 foreign language channgels. But we haven't actually used that lately. Mostly we just watch Seinfeld online (we have a hook-up from my laptop to the TV), find a show on Hulu, watch movies we own, or check-out DVD's from our library.

Our public library actually has a lot of TV shows on DVD. Not very educational, but pretty awesome. So earlier we watched a few seasons of Home Improvement. I'm also introducing Christina to some new shows. Right now we're watching Frasier--a show she didn't like much at first, but now she finds it very funny. Next up, we have Season 1 of The Cosby Show on hold. I really enjoy that show and think Christina will too. (I couldn't believe she'd never watched it!) They also have the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Which I think is a pretty funny show. I occasionally sing the theme song and Christina has no idea what it's from.

The major downfall of this is sports watching for me. I'm sure Christina likes it cause I'm not turning Sportscenter on almost every night. We do have access to ESPN3.com, so that makes it better as a lot of games are on there. And BYU moving to ESPN/BYU-TV we can watch any televised games online. But I have a friend with DVR and DirectTV. DVR may be the one thing that pulls us back, if that were to happen. I love the idea of recording a sports game and watching it much faster and not missing any cause I'm at work. But for now, we're doing well without TV.

Fun with the Family

Last weekend my parents came to visit Christina and I here in the Bay Area. They arrived late Wednesday night. I wasn't able to get Thursday or Friday off work, but we still managed to have fun. Thursday evening we went to the Olive Garden for dinner and then came back to our place for some games. 

According to the forecast it was supposed to be raining all weekend! Fortunately, it rained a little bit Friday morning then cleared up the rest of the time. It was still a bit chilly, but at least the sun was out. On Friday my parents went by themselves to San Francisco. The main attraction while they were there was a ferry ride to Alcatraz. 

Here's my mom with Alcatraz in the background. They both really enjoyed that tour. Christina and I will have to check it out sometime.

I got home early that day, around 4pm, so my mom and I went to play some tennis! We then brought some dinner over to my cousin Becky and her husband Fred, who just had a son, Micah. It was fun to visit with them.

Saturday morning was a big day. More tennis, this time me against Christina and my mom. Then Christina and my mom took off for San Francisco to get a makeover at Saks 5th Avenue, while my dad and I stayed back to watch the BYU @ San Diego State game. 

I'm really glad we did. That was an amazing game! We all know what's happened since then and there will be a blog post forthcoming about that.

After the game ended we drove up to the Millbrae BART (bay area rapid transit--a subway) to ride into the city and meet up with Christina and my mom. They were finishing up with some cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory, which we helped them out with. Then we walked on over to Chinatown.

We walked around the streets for a little bit looking at the different shops.

We even stopped by the Fortune Cookie Factory. A little disappointing because it's pretty much the smallest factory ever--with three workers. But it was cool to see them being made. Definitely one of the most boring jobs ever.

Basically the guy takes one of those flat, round cookies that are still hot and folds the paper inside it using that small metal stick.

Both of my parents were on the trip with us, here's proof.

The last stop was dinner at Fisherman's Wharf. Saturday was a very fun day. It was great to have my parents in town for a few days.

Not a Role Model

A lot of famous people don't ask to be role models, and some have even made it very clear that they don't want to be. But because they are famous, people constantly watch their lives and look to them. It can probably be difficult for them. But LeBron James loves the limelight—that became more apparent last night. But his arrogance went to a new level. 

I often check ESPN and was growing very tired of the ceaseless talk about where LeBron James will end up. But it wasn't until Thursday morning when I kept hearing that sources leaked he would be going to the Heat and announce it on an hour-long special that night that I truly just wished it would all be over. Then it actually happened. He announced he was going to the Miami Heat. I didn't watch it because I wanted to play tennis (or do many other countless things rather than watch the hour long show.) Instead of quietly stepping out of Cleveland he put the spotlight on himself to the world he was leaving his old team behind. He has the right to do that, but it's the way he did it that bothered me.

I, along with many others, probably made LeBron James into who we wanted him to be. Last night he showed us a more self-centered side. Sentiments like mine can be found all over the web (here and here)—and not just from those from Ohio. I hope I'll be able to help my kids find good role models. It's not impossible for sports figures to be role models either (Edgar Martinez or Dan Wilson come to mind). But yesterday was just a reminder that they shouldn't be looked to just because they are good at sports. 

Intramural Sports

BYU has some of the best intramurals in the nation. Not that I've participated in any others, I've just had a good experience and I've heard that from other people. If you do a Google search for "intramurals" BYU's intramural homepage comes up as one of the first one's on the list. Here are the intramural sports that I've had a chance to participate in since being here:

-Men's Racquetball Singles
-Men's Tennis Singles
-Mixed Doubles Tennis
-Coed Soccer (full field, 11 person team)
-Coed Ultimate Frisbee
-Men's Softball
-Coed Volleyball

-Men's Volleyball

-Coed Wallyball (it's volleyball in a racquetball court. You can bounce the ball off of the side walls.)

In all of that play I have yet to get the coveted intramural t-shirt. The prize given to the champion(s)—the single player/team that wins it all. I pretty much have two more chances before leaving Provo. I am currently playing on an amazingly good men's softball team. We are in the top division for the tournament (there are three divisions) and ranked #2 overall. We haven't had our first tournament game yet. We have a good chance of winning. I am the least experienced (worst) player on the team, and just landed on a team with so many good players cause a few of them are in my ward.

The other chance will be a two-day tennis tournament in July. Unfortunately with these, it always seems that people assess themselves as worse than they actually are in order to get in lower divisions and have a better chance of winning. But I'll get some practice in before then and hope for the best.

Happenings

Just an update on what's going on in our lives:
-Christina worked for about three weeks substituting in the Provo School District after her student teaching ended.

-She then decided to accept a summer job from APX Alarm in their call center. Not the most enjoyable work, but a lot more consistent than substituting, which would have ended in 2-3 weeks anyway.

-I'm still working 1-5pm at a small CPA firm. If I ever put it on a resume I'll write down "Office Assistant," but I'm really the secretary.

-I have taken 2 out of 4 sections of the CPA Exam. I finished the second one, Business and Economic Concepts today and am pretty sure I passed. I took Regulation (covering tax and business law), and have no
idea if I passed. I may not find out for another month. I hate the suspense! You can retake sections individually if you don't pass. Each section is between 2.5-4.5 hours.

-We will be leaving Utah the end of July and going to Washington for three weeks, then to Brazil.

-I'm playing intramural racquetball and softball. I won my first racquetball game this week. Somehow I got on a really good softball team, and we have won our first two games 26-2 and 29-4.

-Christina and I have started hosting a games' night every Thursday at 8:30pm. Let us know if you're interested in coming. So far it's only married couples, but it doesn't have to be.

March Madness!

I love NCAA basketball. I get really excited when this time of year comes around and I get to watch so many games. It's definitely one of the best times of the year. It's a lot of fun to fill out brackets and compare with family and friends.

Today was the start of the tournament. The BYU game was a thriller! They finally broke their first round losing streak. Year after year BYU fans have been disappointed in the tournament—and at the end of regulation and overtime it looked like it might continue. But BYU kept it alive and ran to the lead in the second overtime. I think we have a chance against Kansas St, although we're definitely the underdogs. No matter what happens, I'm so glad we broke the 7-game tournament losing streak. Any more wins will be bonus.

My guesses of who is going to win is Kansas or Kentucky—Kansas if I have  to choose one, but it could be either. Let's see how far BYU gets.

Update: BYU lost to Kansas St. by 12 points. Kansas also lost in an incredible game to Northern Iowa. Of course, anyone following the tournament knew all of that. I guess I'll stick with my other choice, Kentucky, to win it all. But that would be really cool if Northern Iowa, Cornell, Butler, or UW continue to make a deep run and end up in the championship game (I don't really like St. Mary's, I don't know why).

We Not Only Survived, We Triumphed

I was a little nervous (and excited!) about attending the BYU game in Salt Lake City vs. Utah after many comments from friends about bad experiences they have had. It turns out Utah fans aren't as rude to you when they're losing by over 20 points for much of the game. We got there a few minutes late, because unlike Provo, we don't know the area well.

There were actually quite a few BYU fans around us, and in the arena. I'm sure the Utah fans didn't like us cheering as loudly as we were, but we didn't care. 

We started out doing really well. We weren't shooting the best, but we were doing our job on defense. For a period of over 10 minutes, from the end of the first half till well into the second, Utah didn't score a field goal (see ESPN). Our starters didn't score that much, but it's great to know we have a deep bench. Brandon Davies scored 21 points and Loyd stepped it up again, this time in the first half, with 18 points and 4 steals.

By the end of the game, there were just as just as much blue as red in the stands. The entire game you could definitely hear the BYU fans cheering for BYU and against Utah. A lot of the Utah fans left early. Christina and I didn't get spit on or even harassed (at least not that I heard). It was a really fun time. Great game Cougs! 

(photos courtesy of Michael T. Barney)

BYU Basketball

Last week Christina and I went to two BYU basketball games! The first game was against San Diego State on Wednesday. They are a good team, so we knew it should be a good game.

Brad and Jessica Morgan invited us and the Sharps to go with them using some ticket vouchers they got. 

Christina and I

Our view, pre-game.

Nathan and Courtney cheering.

It was a close game until partly through the second half and then we pulled away and won 82-68.

The next game was the much anticipated game against New Mexico to determine the likely conference champion. The place was packed (sold out). We got there an hour before the game began. 

The game was a lot of fun. Christina could tell you I was yelling and jumping around. Everyone was. We went from down by 8 at the half to up by 5. Michael Loyd, Jr. stepped up his play when he had to take Jimmer Fredette's spot for the second half (Jimmer was having stomach problems). He was 8-9 shooting. Both teams played really well. Unfortunately, we all felt the referees didn't call several things that they could have in our favor (while New Mexico went to the line several times). And when you lose 83-81, that can be a big deal. I can't wait till the Conference tournament! And then, MARCH MADNESS!

Next up: at Utah on Wednesday. We'll be there! A little scared for my life, but it should be fun.

Olympics

I really enjoy the Olympics. I think the summer ones are a little more fun, but they're both great. Since we're currently in the middle of the winter Olympics I'll ask this question.


What are your favorite events to watch?


I really enjoy short-track speed skating, ariel ski-jumping, and figure skating. My favorite moments so far this year are Evan Lysacek winning gold in men's figure skating, watching Apollo Anton Ohno in short-track speed skating, Shaun White tearing it up on the snowboard half-pipe, and even though I didn't watch it live, the USA men's hockey team beating Canada 5-3 (I did watch them beat Switzerland in the quarterfinals).