New Camera

So, my wife is awesome. She got a new digital camera for her birthday (thanks everyone!) even though she has never really, really wanted one. I pretty much convinced her we needed one. However, I think after a couple days, she is a convert to digital technology.


Why you ask? Because it can do things like this.


Yeah.... that is underwater filming with a digital camera... sweet.

The Showdown

So Brian "BB" Barabash is the man. I challenged him to a shootout (soccer/futbol)... which is something you should never do when your opponent has an ammunition related nickname.

Going in I talked a lot of smack, saying I could score 8 of 10 on BB.... I failed. Miserably.

Kyre filmed it for us.

Here it is. (Scroll down)

Back from Zion

Here are some pics from the Reunion, and a video.

Thank Erik for his great work, as all these are his, I will post more that I like later (when I can gather pics from Dan, Bonnie, Renae, Reggie, Tat, and Mom...)

In the video we are singing (duh) for the Clawson Family Talent Show... we just made up a song. Tat was the lyricist, she did a primo job. Pay attention to the line about our skin tones... It is OK to laugh a lot, Reggie said so.

We had a blast, I really like my family.

Weezer

So Weezer dropped a new self-titled album a few weeks back... and it rocks. This is the third time they couldn't come up with an adequate name so they just resort to calling it Weezer and letting their fans call it by the color of the background of the album cover... in this case... red.


This is the best work since Pinkerton, far surpassing Weezer (Green), Maladroit, and Make Believe. I highly recommend it, especially the tracks "The Greatest Man who Ever Lived" and "Dreamin'"

Also, I found out that Rock Band 2 is coming out in September. That will be really cool. Jethro Tull will be on there... beat that.

It's been a while...

Not a lot has happened that I have felt is "blog-worthy" recently. Mufasa died. He was stubborn and would not eat frozen food and he wasn't getting enough nutrition from the live food we were giving him every 5 days or so to keep him alive (per the instructions of 2 aquarists)

So cross lionfish off of the list for things I want. They are finicky eaters and hard to maintain with the other fish. Lesson learned.

Our anemone is doing well though, so that is a plus.

On the very brightside, in 5 weeks, I will be leaving Capital City Bank and venturing back to the "Ivory Tower" of academia. In the midst of those weeks, I have a 2-week vacation. One of those weeks will be spent in Utah at the Quadrennial Clawson Family Reunion. For those of you who know Blair and are immediately thinking, "that doesn't sound like fun" ... you are wrong. In fact, if you are going by your opinion on Blair, you may think the Clawsons are a lot like the Schrutes. This is not true, the Clawsons are actually a fun bunch to hang with. (sidebar: I love Blair, but come on, it is fun to pick on him)

Lastly, if you enjoy The Office (American Version)... check out the British (original) version. Brian "I hate UT-Austin" Barabash lent me the complete series... it is wonderful. The language is a little rougher, because that is how the Queen likes it, but if you can get past that, you won't want to miss the midget/dwarf argument.

Have a great July weekend.

Assistantship

Put another one in the "It's better to be lucky and blessed than good" column... I got an assistantship.

After a few months of swinging and missing (à la the Florida State bats against Miami with runners-in-scoring-position), I was afforded an amazing opportunity by my program head, Dr. Joseph Beckham. He offered me a choice of two jobs that will pay me a small stipend as well as provide me with tuition grants for the coming school year. Both were far better than I deserve (in my mind) and one stood out greatly. So, I am taking the opportunity and running with it (à la Walter Dix and the Back-to-Back-to-Back National Champion Florida State Seminole Track and Field Team.)

For the next year I will be working with Florida State's President, Dr. T.K. Wetherell, developing courses in the Higher Education Department. This is new ground for both of us, so hopefully I won't mess it up too bad for him.

I am very grateful and humbled by this offer and look forward to getting back to school come August. This is a lesson to show that missing out on perceived opportunities is not always something bad, as I theoretically could have been offered other jobs in the past few months and missed on this extraordinary chance, but things have worked out in the absolute best way possible.

Mufasa

Mufasa, Mufasa, Mufasa!

So cross getting me a lionfish off of your list. Yesterday we decided to add to our aquarium family and purchased Mufasa, a red lionfish.

He is fitting in sorta well... meaning he is a solitary loner and is difficult to feed. Hopefully we can figure it out soon.

We also got an anemone and some Mexican snail things... they are cool too.

He looks like this, so the fact that he is hard to feed, highly poisonous, and doesn't socialize with the other fish is not a big deal at all:
In conclusion, there are 50 days shopping days left until my birthday. Remember that down.

Popcorn Popping Right Before my Eyes

My short run in the best calling in the Church has ended. I am no longer a Nursery worker. No more snack, Play-Doh, or building blocks. However, I still get to skip Priesthood and Sunday School.

I am now the Primary Music Leader. Scary huh? I am rather intimidated by this calling, but I think I'll be alright after the first few Sundays.

To anyone with thoughts or ideas, I will graciously accept them along with any encouragement you have to offer.