Mr. Clean

One of the new jobs that I received was at a hotel, doing housekeeping. It is a lot of hard work to clean a room. Even worse, I am cleaning up a mess that I never made. It is eyeopening to see how people live, and how filthy they can be. I clean rooms in an extended stay hotel... which I must say is rather interesting. There are some pretty normal people there, like construction workers, or people who need a place to stay while they are building their house, and then there are not so normal people.

For some reason I find cleaning therapeutic. I like it, but at the same time I don't. I came to the conclusion that I do today because out of all the jobs that I get, I am most qualified to be a janitor. I really am qualified and could do other things, but yet I sign up to clean up after people. Now I am in housekeeping, which is pretty much the same thing. And its not something that I do in passing, I am pretty good at it, which mostly comes from paying attention to detail. I am a little bit slower than others but that could be for several reasons.

Anyways, today I was cleaning a few rooms. I mostly got the bathroom portion of things because I don't know, I just picked them. I came up with a list of reasons why cleaning is good for you.

#1 - Health
Lets face it, living in filth is way unhealthy for you. Disease builds up, mold can grow, things start getting transmitted from bacteria, etc. A whole house of people can just pass around one illness because it isn't clean. Or several people can get infections or have problems due to mold growing some where. For a healthy life, clean regularly.

#2 - Appearance
Who likes walking into a dirty house? Or going over to their friends house who's is dirty? Ever been some where where you have to wonder if the cup they just gave you to drink out of really was clean? A clean pad can impress the ladies, and help your mom not worry so much about you as you are away.

#3 - Productivity
I have met very few people who never have the time to do some simple cleaning. It only takes a few extra seconds to hang up your clothes, wash your dish, and if properly cleaned and maintained, cleaning a bathroom or vacuuming could take just a few extra minutes. But it makes you feel good to have done the work. You feel like you have accomplished something, especially when you make something dirty to nice and clean.

#4 - Therapeutic
Cleaning gives time for your to think, clear your mind, or work through a problem in your mind. It doesn't take a lot of thought to figure out how to clean something, A little soap and a lot of scrubbing does a lot. It makes you feel good about yourself.

Anyways, here are a few reasons as to why I think you should clean.

Read

As I have stated before I recently got a new job cleaning at a extended stay hotel. I think they hired me for  the sole reason that I know how to use our carpet cleaning machine, called the CFR. So for the past week I have been cleaning rooms and a whole lot of carpet. I lack one floor of public carpet that I need to clean, which will get done tomorrow.

The fun thing about this whole situation is that all I have heard for the past week is how no one knew how to use the CFR. That it just sat there and no one figured it out. Well, on Monday I was walking around looking at some of the signs and things hung up in our break/laundry/supply room and in plain daylight the only thing that was really hung up, next to the standard government papers about our rights as employees, there was detailed step by step instructions on how to prepare, use, and clean out the CFR machine, with pictures. Hmmm... sounds like a class in reading could help everyone.

The Kings Speech

Last night I went and watched "The Kings Speech" with my wife and a few friends at the dollar theater. I really didn't know what to expect about the movie. I knew that it had once been rated R for it's language, but that they had edited it and made it more of a PG-13 movie. So I was a little worried about what was in it. I thought I might have to leave depending on how bad it got. But to my very surprise, it was probably one of the best movies that I had ever seen. I would not recommend it for anyone's kids because of the language, but that is actually part of the movie. It wasn't just thrown in there so it could be thrown in there. It had a crucial part of the movie, actually.

I was thinking about why I liked the movie so much this morning and I have came to a few conclusions. The biggest reason that I liked the movie was that it showed someone overcoming obstacles and challenges in his life and succeeding. If you are unaware of it, the movie is about King George the Sixth and how he overcame his speech impediments with help from a therapist, just in time to deliver some of the most crucial speeches to the people of England and around the world during World War II. It was refreshing to see someone persevere and so hard and struggle and finally succeed.

The other part of the movie that I really enjoyed was seeing how important it is to have a trusted friend. Someone who you could confide in and talk with about your problems. Seeing the King finally learn how to take down his barriers and trust in his speech therapist was amazing. I thought to myself, I hope that I am able to be that type of friend. The friend that people can trust and confide in. I also hoped that I was never that type of dad or brother that caused so much fear and so much distrust that my family and friends develop some very severe problems because I was so unwilling to accept them for who they truly are.

I think of a talk that I recently listened to that discussed the importance of focusing on the problem, rather than the person. Rather than labeling someone as a state of being - as a lazy person or stupid - we should make sure that what they did was the problem, not who they are. I think we all too many times forget that people are children of our Heavenly Father and that we should love them and care for them, no matter what.

Nostalgia

I am a little worried about growing up. I know everyone is but the thing that scares me the most is how nostalgic I get. I am not even 24 yet and get very nostalgic about a lot of things. For example, every time I drive home to New Mexico, I think of every time I have made the trip. I think of the time that I came up to start school at BYU in August of 2005. I remember driving up and passing University Parkway going up to Salt Lake to stay at my aunts house. I wanted so bad to have my dad drive up and walk around campus, just to see what it was like. I know it sounds just like a memory, but it is more. I kind of wish I would go back and do it again. Just for that feeling again.

I also get nostalgic about high school and going to school and studying. Those were the days of no worrying and just enjoying life. I think about some of the things that I worried about then and how silly they were.

I also think about my freshmen year of college. That was so much fun. I learned so much from being on my own and being around a whole new group of people. I think about all of the opportunities that I passed up, but yet all of the experiences that I had that helped me to learn and grow.

I think about the time I spent playing sports and in band. That would be the place that I have regrets. I wish I would have tried harder in sports and focused more on practicing and developing, but at the same time I feel that has helped me to learn how to just enjoy sports and realize that winning is not everything.

I think this song by Brad Paisley is a great way to explain how I feel some times. 

I know that we should never look back, but we should always be looking forward with faith. I just think about some of the decisions I made and things I did and really enjoy some of those memories. I do have a few regrets, but I would say that I am happy with my life.

New Jobs

Being employed is good. Being over employed.... I hope that turns out great. I have worked at the Missionary Training Center for the past 5 months. One of the best jobs I have ever had in my life. I have extremely great co-workers, and while at times it can get a little frustrating, over all it is awesome hours, great pay and very fulfilling. With a baby on the way I thought it would be a good idea to add another job to help ends meet. I went to craigslists and searched and searched and found some great posting. What did I find?

Job one - www.tornbysports.com - Freelance writer for them. It is a sports blog that focuses mostly on Utah Sports, but covers everything else as well. Right up my ally, right? So far not so bad. I have four posts that I have gotten published, hoping to add a few more within the next few days. It isn't thing terrible hard. It helps me develop better writing and blogging skills, or so I hope. But it is a great side job, for fun.

Job two - Housekeeping. This job is not completely in the bag but it pretty much is. An extended stay hotel in American Fork needed some new housekeepers to help get things nice and clean. I have to wait until my drug test and background check get cleared, which shouldn't be to hard. Funny story... I was talking to the lady about the job. I have over a year of experience as a custodian. She was telling me about a carpet machine, known as a CFR, has never been used because no one knows how to use it. Well, I do. I spent hours using that machine and it is really a matter of a two minute training. It is not hard at all. So I will be starting that job here fairly soon.

Job three - yard work. A lady down the road from here has a daughter who got in a car accident a few years ago and so is unable to do her yard work. So she hired me to clean out the flower beds and help everything like clean and good. It isn't a lot of hours a week, but it is some. I get to spend those hours out in the sun, working on my tan lines.

This summer will be busy, but being busy is a good thing. It helps keep me out of trouble.

Summer Work

This Summer has already started crazy and we aren't even all the way into it yet. A new assignment at church has kept me busy, as well as trying to work 40 hours a week, start a new online businessish thing - check it out at http://www.a-ztraining.com/ - and planning for a baby. In case you are wondering planning for a baby is a lot easier said then done. There really isn't any planning until the baby is here and then you actually see him and realize his diaper size is this big - his clothes are this big - etc.

But back to the online website that I have been building. It has been a blast to sit down and start to put together a website about working out. As hard as it may be to think of everything a person might need in terms of working out, weight and consumption watching, and other important cool tips - it is a lot of fun. Time consuming but fun. I again- check it out at by clicking here.

Well, sorry it has been a few weeks since I last posted. I have to go now and work on that website a little more. But check it out and I will keep updated on this thing.

School is out!

Well, now that school is over I have to come up with all the things that I want to do this summer. What should I do? Well, my wife is going to have a baby, that is a pretty big deal - that would make me a dad. So that is one thing on the to do list. Add to that the fact that I would like to build/finish a few new home furniture items around the house - a table, chairs, and a bed. Those should be fun. Preparing for next semester of school - which means getting all of the procrastination bones out of me - if that will ever happen. I am sure there are many many exciting adventures ahead of me over the next few months - but mostly just having fun. That is what summer is for!

"Today is record day!"

This is a great movie clip. If you haven't watched The Guardian, take two hours and do so. It is an amazing movie! The reason why I like this clip is because of the way that Kevin Costner becomes so obnoxious and absurd that he makes Ashton Kutcher and everyone around him hate records. This is pure brilliance. Some of my favorite quotes from it are:

"Wow he's fast!"
"You are the man! You people do not deserve to be in the same pool. He is destroying you!"
"This is fun! We'll pass out trophies later!"
"Unbelievable! You want me to pull these pansies out?"and my favorite...
"Come on you're all just fighting for second. Just first loser!"

That reminds me:

"Freaky like my lady pyramid!"

Principals v. Policies

Yesterday my wife pointed out to me an article in BYU’s Daily Universe. It was talking about how the United States House of Representatives just passed a  bill which would reduce the amount of money that students would receive from the federal government to pay for school. It still has to pass the senate, but it is a direction in which many states are heading. Several states are finding their state budget is not getting balanced and so they have decided to cut their budgets in some areas, one of those being higher education. My thoughts on the matter... I am all for it! But wait, you are saying, you are student, doesn’t that hurt you? It does in some ways but not in others. Let’s walk through these ideas and see how we got here.

The problem that we are finding ourselves in is a growing national debt. This is not new, but it is growing quickly without very many people planning on paying it back anytime soon. How did we get here? Well, you can point at several events but what you are actually seeing is an attitude that has come over the nation and the leaders of it. Rather than following principals, like we want a balanced budget, or low taxes, people are seeking out policies. Why? Well, so many people want their bills and laws to be passed, and so it becomes a you scratch my back and I will scratch yours. If people stood up and said I want a balanced budget and I will not agree to any bill that will exceed our budget, things would be a lot different in this nation. I am not talking about crisis or wars. I am talking about day to day policies like  pell grants, or bridge and road building, or even things like school funding. I know it sounds crazy but the government can pay for everything. So we must define our policies by our principals.

Sadly, most of the people in this nation have developed horrible principals. They have developed an entitlement principal, that we are Americans and deserve everything that we want. It doesn’t work. Money and funding doesn’t come out of thin air. We have to change this idea in the nation that we deserve everything and that life should be fair. Life is not fair and you don’t deserve everything. Hopefully we can get things worked out in America and get some leaders that are principal centered. Let’s face it, one day all this debt is going to come due, and then what?

We All Fall Down

Brandon Davies - we all fall down. That is the message that we have to take away from this. I go to BYU so I feel that I need to address it. Not that I have more to say or even add to the situation in terms of crazy stats. I just want to put forth my thoughts on the situation. So lets look at some take aways from the whole thing.

BYU - Well done. You did what you should have done. You have an Honor Code, all students are aware of it and agree to live by it. I agree with Micheal Wilbon from Pardon The Interruption, along with everyone else that has said it thus far, “This is what BYU has to do. I would be ripping them if they didn’t do this.” Thank you for actually showing everyone that principles are far much more important than winning. Thank you for showing schools that honesty and integrity and commitment are important principles to live by. And selling your soul to win isn’t worth it. You passed the test. You have principles and you stick to them. 

"You Always Make Me Smile"

I am really enjoying this song.

And we're back

After an extremely long break from blogging, I think I want to get back into this. I have to wonder who reads this and what they think about what I am writing. A question that I don’t think will get answered anytime soon. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I am writing.