Eternal

"You will be my little sister forever". That was my mom to Titi today as we celebrated her baptism and confirmation into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The gospel magnificent as it has the power to unite families for all eternity. Nothing like it here on this earth.

No joy in Mudville...

The mighty Cougars have fallen today 3-1 to our arch rivals, the Umlauts, from the West Hills ward and our goalie Nate Bemis suffered a concussion in our first game on the turf. Hope he gets better. All in all after a seven month layoff I am happy to get back into the beautiful game. Next week we will climb back on the horse. Yeeee Haw!

I'm half machine... I'm a monster!

I love Arrested Development... I love pea coats, 80's nights, hummus, Conan, vintage, indie music, the idea of being a vegetarian., breakfast places, David Sedaris, Netflix, Prius', thinking about how to solve poverty, ugly sweater parties... and much much more...You may ask why I am boring you with these details... I am bringing this up because I have just discovered that all of these things are on the "Stuff White People Like" List. Its a pretty funny list that is totally true...and it proves one thing.

I AM WHITE.....

what the heck?!

Take a look and see how white you are.....
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like/

The music challenge

I think it's safe to say that any music lover likes to put together mix Cd's to test their musical prowess. Nothing is better than the feeling of having put together a masterpiece that a friend or a loved one raves about and listens to over and over again. In this world of mp3's this art is often lost upon the appetite for the freshest song easy obtainable by many means via the interwebs. My friend Noah is an exception as he continues to pop up every once in a while dedicated to putting together a cacophony of sound on his blog Noonish. In the past couple weeks i've corresponded with friends about mixes and now to you I lay a challenge to produce the following mixes;

1. Your top 20 songs of all time (which stems from you favorite song of all time but who could really put that together, that's just crazy talk.)

2. Your newcomer's album (suppose you meet a new friend who is ready to experience a sonic revolution and your twenty songs will be the direction they will take from henceforth, so choose wisely because perhaps Coolio's "Gansta's Paradise" isn't the sort of thing that you want to hear every time you visit them.)

3. Greatest (pick a band and put together their 18 greatest hits).

4. Local (This one is a bit tougher once you have a kid, school, no time. What local bands and I will extend it region wide aka Northwest though you could be hardcore and focus on your citie's bands and has to be within the last three years)

I will get back to you on my choices but feel free to post in the comments.

Clifford

Hands on Portland

One of my classes this semester is Leadership for Change. Its been a pretty good class so far... the teacher involves us a ton which is good and I'm never wishing class was over because the discussions are usually pretty interesting. We are required to do 6-8 hours of community service this term. The one I signed up for was scheduled today in Hillsboro at the Hillsboro Family Resource Center. They help low income families in the area. They get donations of clothing and food and then they allow families to come once a month and get the clothing and some food that they need. Its a really cool place that helps those who are really in need. Our job was to sort through the donations that they receive. I will admit it was a little boring and I had a red neck middle aged man next to me making fun of The Shins (they were playing 94.7 which I was really grateful for). I love The Shins! How dare he! But, I am happy I could help and I am grateful for wonderful organizations like this one whose only purpose is to help and make people's lives better. It makes me feel good that there are still good individuals out there who want to help people and not just gain riches and status *cough* verizon *cough*.....  

---Brynn---

As an aside it's funny how people eat. This is something that has limited our diet and the food we prepare on a nightly basis. I come from a 2% milk home though I was never inclined to down the white stuff. But when I get in the mood for cereal I can down a whole bag for myself but it has to be just right, chocolate and lot's of it, with milk filled to the brim. Brynn is just a little bit different... rice milk just covering the bottom and she's down with anything, funny how things work.

---Clifford---

Cut it off

I love technology. From the cutting edge to emerging trend, nothing brings me greater satisfaction than trolling the usual culprits so that I can stuff my brain with useless information about the newest goodies around the bend. After the years of eager anticipation and months of fevered speculation today's announcement of the Ipad was a bit underwhelming to say the least. I have to admit i'm a staunch supporter of Apple though all we own are a few iTouches but I have been juiced for the latest and greatest from Cupertino and well... it's a giant iTouch. I'm sure with all the fan boys out there the iPad will do some brisk business and line some pockets for the VIP's at Apple, but as for me and my household (and by household I mean me because Brynn couldn't care less as to what the newest gadget coming out is) we'll wait for the next big thing.
The Verizon saga has ended with Brynn's dissolution of her relationship with them and a very snarky dealing with the customer rep at the store. On the whole when we went in there they acted very polite, the manager trying to do his job and convince us to stay and promising to talk to the employee who failed to mention that she would be changing our plan and tacking on a nice little $10.00 a month fee for internet that Brynn would never have used. It went all smoothly because we consciously went in with the thought not to be angry at the employees (they just work there) but as we were tying things up the lady who had been helping us left us with a nice little parting shot, a chuckle. A chuckle right after, "Good luck at T-Mobile". Now I do realize that while Verizon offers the best coverage in the state and they are making enough boatloads of dinero that two customers leaving (well one and a player to be named later) doesn't hurt their bottom line but when the employees drink the Kool-Aid and give us crap it makes me regret trying not to involve them in our personal struggle with their bosses. It makes me want to act like a jerk. And that's not something I want to treat others. In any case we are (somewhat) free from their grasp, Brynn is getting an iPhone, jumping on T-Mobile, and will stay at the same number. I hate Verizon and can't wait for these next 19 months to fly by and free me from their oppressive grip... ahhh technology.

Why in the heck would Brynn want to surf the internet on an EnV Touch? So can someone explain to me why without telling us about the REQUIRED monthly fee to pay for internet for a "multimedia" phone did Verizon push on us this big steaming pile of poop. This is the last straw, after talking to no less than three different Verizon representatives we have found out the only way out of this is by returning the phone but on the bright side it looks like at the time of her upgrade Brynn was out of contract and this could in fact drop the service as soon as they roll back the contract. She'll be heading to T-Mobile which at least offers a month to month service which is appealing to a couple of joes who got yanked around. There are companies on my bad list (HP being another notable one along with all the cell phone companies) and there are companies in my good list (AAA, best service ever). Guess which one you just made Verizon.

Meh.

After many weeks, broken box office records, and testimonials from countless people including friends, family, and internet denizens we plunked down our fourteen dollars to put on some official Real 3D gear and walked into the theater to watch "Avatar", James Cameron's latest foray into billion dollar properties. After all the kissing up to this movie by the interwebs about the visual splendors contained within the world of Pandora as filmed by Cameron's lens I can safely say that I still feel 3D is a gimmick not ready for prime time. While admittedly it was very neat to see film portrayed in such a manner it never really blew me away, never making me feel like I did with the transition from VHS to DVD, of being on the cutting edge of a technological revolution. Obviously Cameron has pushed the envelope in terms of how cinema can be viewed and there will be a slew of imitators to follow, feeding upon table scraps from the box office king's table (look at the TV industry they're already gearing up to release an army of 3D sets to replace the flat screen Santa brought you for Christmas) and inevitably we will see this field mature into a watchable product. But if I had to do it again I wouldn't mind paying to see Avatar in 2D because it's strength lies in the characters and the actors behind them. Going in both Brynn and I knew the basic storyline which bears a striking resemblance to many stories of misunderstood "savages (who are barely even human)" being swept away in pursuit of the riches they either posses or are in the way of when one of the more "civilized" members gains insight to the inequality and travesty of the situation and determines to be an advocate and fight for the people with no voice. But the cast did a far more impressive job behind their Na'vi masks than we thought possible going into the movie, making the predictable story an easier pill to swallow and holding us in our seats long enough to see the closing credits thus limiting our claim to a refund (*cough* Star Trek on "IMAX" *cough*). Overall not worth the price of admission but definitely a movie you could take in on lazy afternoon.

PS If you look closely at the picture you'll notice old Cliffy has gone "Six Eyes"

Da' Bears, Da' Saints, Ditka

Got my sanity back after the slog through yesterday. Whoo hoo! Felt so bad because in Elder's Quorum I was fighting back the sleep and as a fellow teacher I know how it is when the group seems lost in space, it was good lesson on the dichotomy of service... doh!
Opened up the mailbox and found myself and nice little surprise, a new ATM card! What's nice about this one is that Wells Fargo has an offer that you can design your own bank card (and by design you can upload a photo) and they'll plaster it on for free which is my kind of price so I figured i'd take them up on their offer. Put a nice little picture of me and Brynn from a Timbers game last summer, good for the next three years. I guess this will make up somewhat karmically for all the crap we had to endure this past Friday when we went to deposit some financial aid goodies before our journey to Costco. Brynn had an issue in that when they added her info to the account (she had previously banked with Wells Fargo before we got married) they pulled up her maiden name and slapped it onto the account. What was such a hassle was that we had to bring in our marriage certificate from the county in order to prove the legitimacy of her claim (never mind in order to change her license she had to bring that plus her new social security... etc) to just change her name. That is when a ten minute trip into the bank became a full blown rodeo as the person helping her kept ignoring our pleas to leave and she tried to sell us everything but the kitchen sink, oh wait, she did (bringing the mortgage broker to speak with us about buying a house after we had mentioned that was a long term goal of ours). It was by far the worst experience i've ever had at a bank and reinforces my habit of depositing through the ATM. When I go to bank i'd like to think I am savvy enough to look up the right people for help when I need it but otherwise take my money, use it to lend to others, and ensure that the next time I swipe my card the money is in the account. I wish we could go back to MAPS.

Sleepy time.

Here I am 12 and half hours into my 16 and half hour shift all the while i've been operating on a total three hours of sleep. Yummy. The bed will be so nice to me. But watching the games all day have started to bring my excitement to a fever pitch as my team will take the field for the first time next week, predictions? Champions. What else would we be? Though this division may shake out weird because we've got a number of teams but we won't be playing everyone in the division because there are a few Saturday only and a few Sunday only teams. Which means we need many goals. But talking to the team there quite a few who love playing up and hanging around that net so I have faith in their boots putting that ball in the net.
Next week my aunt is getting baptized and she has asked me to baptize her. I am so happy and this will be the first time that I will be able to do the actual baptism myself. It is a sweet experience and I am so grateful for the opportunity. The the blessing of having the Holy Ghost in her home will be such a boon to her family I can only feel good things to come.

Red headed step child

Gotta love the never ending well of optimism that sports fans draw from (unless your are a Cubs fan). When it comes to your favorite team they seemingly can do no wrong before the season begins, there is always a chance they can right the ship mid season, and when they are done and dusted for the season a true fan looks at the calendar and circles opening day when their team will once again have a chance to contend for their sports ultimate prize. The reason I bring this up is because I have lived in the extremes as a fan of the Yankees and Buffalo Bills (talk about ripping your heart out as a kid being able to watch your team almost win it all... FOUR TIMES! One of my funniest memories was dancing to a playoff game while playing a James Brown tape over and over, this went on for a big chunk of the game). As April rolls around each season I know come October I EXPECT to see the Bombers marching their way towards another World Series Championship. Anything less would be unfit for a franchise as decorated as it is unless of course we did better than the BoSox, in which case we would still remain better than them (as always in the case). But it's funny to be a soccer fan in the United States where you not only have your team but you must support your league as you hold it up to the standards of the world. The reason I bring this up is because around town i'm seeing ads running on the side of buses which proclaim of our beloved Timbers, "Liverpool, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid, Portland - Finally, we're on the world's pitch." Ummm, back up a second. Since when did the MLS' clout grow heavy enough to elevate an expansion squad in the company of these elite clubs? It's all about hope. The hope of any US Soccer fan that we will one day be mentioned in the same breath as the world's elite, when our greatest victory won't be beating the English at the World Cup but lifting the trophy itself, that is hope, the hope of a sports fan.

Shake down

Well I started perusing youtube and the googledom in order to being my education in the internet of today. As you know several of items on my bucket list include being able to code my Quidditch game and learn how to design and put up websites. In working with the website for Salem Indoor I have come to appreciate the simplicity and beauty of other websites. Looking around the vast 'net I can't say that many indoor soccer places offer a easy ride through their sites. Most are ugly (the the former place of employment which must not be named still has Beavis kicking a soccer ball), information cluttered and improperly maintained because it's takes some hefty money to commission a user friendly site and once it's done no one knows how to take care of it. That's where I hope to fill a void starting with Salem Indoor Soccer. Now i'm partial to the group of people who work there and I want to be able to do anything I can to make it a better place because they just are like family. I think a lot of people in Salem are missing out on a fantastic place to be able to gather and have fun and I think an attractive website would help steer people in that direction. This is really my test case both in being able to learn new tricks and taking the time to knock off things off my bucket list so that all of tomorrow is spent looking back at past today's. I want to find out if I have the chops in order to continue to try my hand improve the overall internet presence of the indoor soccer world in Oregon which by extension is part of the game I love so much. So I press forward through the jungles of the internet, clearing out the weeds, and hopefully a few months you will be looking at a changed man.

Eye on Portland

I love missionaries. They're the most fantastic bunch of young men and young women (and retired couples) who given up their time to devote it serving the Lord. I am sure each of us met different sets who missionaries who bring a remarkable spirit into your home despite their individual talents and personalities. We missed out tonight having them over because we both ended up being scheduled to work which was real bummer for both Brynn and I because we hadn't fed the missionaries since we had moved here.
My Titi Amalia is getting baptized and joining the Spanish branch down in Salem which is a culminating blessing of many hours of praying and hoping that she would be another part of the family that accepted the fullness of the gospel. Briefly her story started while I was on my mission and she and the kids were still in Puerto Rico. Every once in the while she would notice the missionaries going around and they looked starved as the prostelyted so she invited them in for food. Eventually she had sat through all the lessons but still was hesitant to give up the faith of her childhood. It is a hard decision to move away in part from something that is so familiar but the gospel requires a lot of us including the willingness to change and shed the comfortable for what is right. Ultimately as she attended the branch here she found what she had been searching for but there are trials awaiting. Already things are happening to her and the kids as the opposition presses upon her. So if you can keep them in your prayers I would appreciate it.

The quest

I think one of the greatest mysteries of adulthood is that where to find the perfect meal for the right price. I am convinced that there is no way you can find it at those fifty dollars a plate joints nor does the thrift of Little Ceaser's pizza satisfy my taste buds. Whether it's a nice big bowl of pasta, the tenderest steak, or the perfect pork fried rice it's a journey every couple has to take. Now we've got the rice pinpointed to a place in Beaverton (though we keep going up and down Barbur in hopes of finding something closer to home) yet Brynn's Chow Mein with pan fried noodles are hiding out in some kitchen somewhere in Portland. But our quest to finally find "our place" that continues to prove to be quite elusive. We love Gravy for it's breakfast menu and Mississippi Pizza (though it doesn't come cheap) for it's pies. Doughnuts are always fun at Voodoo and the Mango Yogurt drinks from Indian restaurants always brings the taste of that most delicious fruit close to home.

GoGirl

To all the ladies out there....

I love camping and doing outdoorsy things... the thing I hate the most about doing these things, however, is having to pee outside... it's the worst trying to squat and its usually cold and dirty and really it's just not fun AT ALL. I know we all wish we were men for a second so we could stand. Well there is now a solution to our problem... there is a new device called gogirl which allows women to pee standing up... i was way excited to see this!

http://www.go-girl.com/?gclid=CP2Y0LGMrZ8CFRMqagod_3Io0w

Boogers

Everyone who knows me well knows I'm horrible with kids and I've never really thought they were that cute. They smell funny, they seem to always have runny noses and boogers or sticky cheeto fingers, they always need to be entertained... Why do I need to be doing something funny at all times to win their affection?? I've never liked holding other people's babies either.. it's always freaked me out. What do I do with it once I'm holding it??? I never know!!!!!!
When I got called to Sunbeams I was excited (no more relief society :) ) but also nervous... would I have to wipe boogers from their noses?? Would I have to be one of the three stooges to make them laugh?? I wasn't sure how it would end up but I can tell you now that its been so fun! They are adorable and say the funniest things are are more easily entertained than I thought they would be :) Maybe I'm getting better with kids after all .....

Cheesy rodent

Brynn's sunbeams are too cute. Got to see some of them today as church ended and Brynn was reading to them from "Where the Wild Things Are" it was funny we talked about how some of the monster's have the same feet as we do and why they don't wear shoes (there are no monster stores). Brynn is in the right place as she gets ready every week cutting and getting the projects ready with such diligence.

On the field

I am so proud of the Elders Quorum. We came out in force today to help the Bemis' move, it's a great blessing to see so many honor that call by one of our fellow brethren for help. That is how the gospel is supposed to be.
Tomorrow we have an appointment to visit with our home teachers, Matt Hoiland and Taylor Mallard, and I am excited. I have not seen a home teacher in over a year in the shuffle between the singles ward in Monmouth, the Brush Hills ward in Salem, and the creation of the Maplewood Ward in Portland. I've talked about it before on how a faithful set of home teachers really have meant so much to me and was part of the reason I stepped on the plane to Oklahoma. I earnestly believe that being a home or visiting teacher is the greatest calling one can have in the church. We were talking about entrance into the Celestial Kingdom last Sunday and how after we are baptized into Christ's Church we honor our covenant and the requirement came from the Doctrine and Covenants 76 on how we must be valiant to enter into the Father's Kingdom. I know that diligent home teachers who show through their valiant effort that they are faithful to Lord's commandments are the greatest asset to sharing the fullness of the everlasting gospel.

Flattered but I am not just ready for this...

I am saddened to hear about Mark McGwire admitting to using steroids though it is altogether not that surprising. Part of me held out hope that maybe just maybe he broke the home run record legitimately but now this is the nail in the coffin. The reason it hurts so much is because I remember the chase for the record and though I am not a Cardinals fan I made sure that I was near a television every time he was up to bat. When it finally it happened, when the ball finally sailed over that fence the room just exploded as my friends and I celebrated history which is funny because in retrospective I was the only real baseball fan in the room at the time (but my friends would humor me and watch what I watched, same thing happened when we made sure to watch the world cup in South Korea cheering on our boys over there, kicking the ball around at four in the morning.) When the record was broken we spilled out onto the street with signs in hand we had made announcing this great sporting triumph to anonymous cars as they drove by. That was then and now in the reality of adulthood steroid users are a dime a dozen and baseball reels from the damning evidence that continues to be revealed by the investigations into the integrity of America's pastime, little by little my childhood gets eaten away by the coldness fact.
Talked to a crazy guy about employment law today as we took the break from my four hour class. I was just sitting eating some bento (which was tofu, mushrooms, and rice which I do not recommend as tofu doesn't add a bit of flavor, just stands in there and is. Bring on the beef to this flavor party or at least some chicken) and this guy sits next to me (mind you that the cafeteria is maybe 5% full) and starts a conversation with me about being laid off. Now he look a bit disheveled and lost so I thought maybe he had just lost his job and perhaps I could comfort him but I in no way knew what was on his mind as he went off into space talking about where we draw the line between freedom of speech and the work place and his buddy who got fired in 1983. Moral of the story, always stare down at your rice.
Added to my bucket list is the desire to run a marathon. This dates back to my mission when I was serving in Edmond and often we would pass Edmond North and their track. After seeing a few meets on a warm hot days the running bug bit me and not long after my companion (Elder Green) and I were doing our daily runs during exercise time (a big departure from my infamous ankle rolls) in my new asics that my dad had bought for me. This lasted for maybe two weeks before the complacency shark bit and thoughts of enduring a 26.2 mile run were shelved for the comfort of being under a blanket for a half hour and some ankle rolls. The reason this all comes back to me is because my friend Joel Warnock is planning to run the Portland Marathon this year and I have to say i'm very interested but also quite apprehensive. A marathon is not only pushing yourself to the limit but also far past it and requires a singular dedication to train and finally go through with it. So thinking about it but if there is any time to do it it would be now while i'm young.

Count it...

Well it's going down and Conan is really getting after NBC and Jay Leno. They deserve it Coco is my guy. I hope they get the message.

Brynn and I are taking a measure of time to veg out instead of doing actual important things. Oh well, worth it now though we'll regret it in the morning.

A few of us from the Maplewood ward have gotten together in order to form a Coed indoor soccer team that plays on Saturdays but we are still looking for some women to fill out roster, any takers?

One more time

I love Lego's. Bar none they have to be one of the best toys ever created because of they allow a child to express their creations in a physical world. There are many memories of which I am sure you share of building fantastic castles and other faraway destinations that were brought home by these simple plastic pieces in their array of colors and shapes. You always hoarded the little one piece jeweled pieces for use as currency or bombs and what was so extraordinary about this boon of the imagination was that they gave permission to others to join your play. I spent many a night plotting how we would make a stop motion movie of our masterpiece in order to tell the world the real story of Zelda and her hero Link. Many years later those pieces hopefully lie in a box awaiting a child's touch to awake their phenomenal magic. Embed is a short film that awoke this bit of nostalgia tucked away in my brain.

Save Conan

For those of you who are enlightened you know that there is a problem in the universe (or for the truly enlightened there is a great disturbance in the force). NBC wants to bump our beloved Conan O'Brien to the nebulous universe that is the 12:05 am time slot. All because they want to give Jay "Doesn't have a clue he's not funny" Leno a half hour of prime time show biz real estate. It's this kind of clueless shenanigans that kills shows. I hope NBC suffers and Conan gets the respect he deserves. Head over to the Consumerist to spring into action or delve into Gizmodo's coverage of the late night holy war.

School and and increased workload has vaporized my available free time (aka plop on the couch and vegetate) into a million pieces and has called for dramatic force of will to stay on task and forge on ahead. What's more is that i've lost Brynn to the school bug as we sit next to each other, she huddled under a blanket sleeping as I bang away at the keyboard. Our schedule has made us into busy bees with the only guaranteed time that we will ever see each other is our evening prayers (I peek sometimes, do you?) because goodness knows that we will only stay in bed to sleep for so long (I was up at four last Saturday in order to get ready for work). Life has become a balancing act and we will have to manage our the precious moments that we are together wisely as they will be rare to find in these next few months (years...? Yikes!). I question sometimes whether it is worth all the effort, why can't I just call it a day and move onto other things but as I see our lives already changing for the better and our situation, maturity, and experience developing I envision a world where this time and effort we put in now paying off it's dividends. I also and take time to ponder on what this will mean for our children and how this reflects on our individual upbringing. What I do is a measure of which my parents' labor of love, a love which runs swiftly through my veins and lives deep within my soul. In time as we bring children into the world they will up to me and hopefully down upon us as they stand upon our shoulders. And all I want to do is give them the best view that they can get.

Things I like: Kettle Chips, best kind: Salt and Pepper (with Salt and Vinegar running a close second).

We are in deep

Switched to Chrome... dang it.

Today was a big step for us as a couple... we got our Costco card

and after dropping cash at Winco we ended up buying what amounts to our year's supply of groceries and then some. We ended this American ritual of excess with a little song and dance tradition I call "the Pizza Shuffle". There are some things that never cha

nge and that is my love of the pie from the sky but it was so weird to scarf a few slices with anything on top because every time I went with my dad (tradition that I love more than the shopping trips themselves and one of my happiest moments was a few months after I got back we got to take Michael out for a day with the guys and I believe I was the first to share the sweet morsel that is pizza with my favorite nephew) favored our taste buds with some cheesy tastiness. When you get married it's weird what carries over from your life and what bonds you begin anew but I hope this will remain a strong part of who we are, making sure to spend time with our family, regroup ourselves wherever we may be and share in the endeavor that is life.

But as it seems in the big box that is Costco. The parade of good feelings ended when we had towithdraw cash from an ATM to pay for the pizza which tasted a bit off in the first place (I think they may have changed their sauce and put on less cheese, another sign of treason, for shame Costco, for shame). And to think for all the money we spent buying food there we didn't even hit the middle of the store where all the goodies are (though Brynn had to tear me away from the many big tv's when we first got in.) I love Costco because everything just tastes better in bulk.

In other news we have teamed up with a few members of our ward to form a coed momo team over at SoccerPlex. If there are any aspiring Mia Hamm's who read this we need the bodies.

Connor's Art

My sister painted this for us for Christmas and I really love it! It's great having talented people in your family. Too bad I didn't get any artsy genes whatsoever. :(

The company man

Yesterday I checked my inbox only to find an invitation to join Google voice. It's a service that basically assign you a new phone number which will ring your existing phone number(s) all the while giving you access to snazzy features such as transcribing your voice mails to text and sending a copy of I through email and onto your cell by text message. Really neat service and yet another in a growing list of products that I depend on them for. Add email, maps, contacts, calendar, blogger, YouTube, search, and my desire for an Android phone, I'm into them big time. Funny thing is I haven't paid red penny to use any of these things but as one of the biggest advertising companies on the web I give them the most valuable commodities in the business, information about their customer, and as the saying goes knowledge is power. But what does this mean for the regular Joe who signs up for an gmail account are they selling their souls to the big G? Will I see my electric bill bearing a return address to California soon? What does it matter because they have proven that they are capable of turning out fantastic products that are serviceable and accessible which all my price quota of FREE!? What's interesting will be how the next ten years treat Google as they begin to mature as a company will they face the same fire from government agencies that Microsoft weathered for the past decade. Until that I will stay hooked up to the machine dripping sweet Internet juice into my veins.

- Clifford "I love Google" Eiffler

More Glenn Beck

Here are my two cents (even though I hate pennies and think we should end making them). Heard about the guy in Oklahoma who gushed over the Mormon who was on tv talking about President Hinckley. Pretty exciting prospect considering any good words or examples will help combat those persistent myths that continue to rear their ugly head. When I got home I looked him up and about five minutes in I was done and didn't care to go back. He was another one of those politicos and seemed like he was among the cream of the crop. Now he would've stayed put in his part of the tv sphere had not he intruded in mine when a clip showed up on the Daily Show showing some very insesitive remarks about India. Granted I do not know the context of which they were pulled from but when you hear a sentence about another country like this, "I’m sure it’s beautiful and everything… especially this time of year… especially by that one big river they have there that sounds like a disease. Come on, it does. I mean, if somebody said, ‘I’m sorry, you have a really bad case of Ganges,’ you’d want Cipro.” Very hurtful especially coming from someone who is purportedly espousing the real America, makes me ashamed that this is what people will see and think of us when it has been chopped up by Wonkavision into byte sized pieces and delivered to the televisions of people around the world.

Da' bucket

A few additions to the bucket list and a few explanations

1. Learn to code/design a website, move this blog to said site. - I love computers, more importantly I love the internet and how you can present information in a seemingly infinite manner. The pages are there, they can grow, change and keep record of who you were. They aren't you but they are of you.

2. Return to Puerto Rico - There are two places I hold a bond to and that is Oregon and Puerto Rico. They are in my blood and it's only natural to want o be part of both.

3. Reach a point where I can become a certified interpreter in both American Sign Language and Spanish - Matthew 25:29 "For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." I have been so blessed to be born into a family that has opened doors with me by simply using our native languages. This has given me far more than I ever deserved and for a time I hid that talent. My mission brought me clear perspective and an opportunity to share what I have in the service of others. I want to do that again because it makes me feel good.

4. Build/Own a business (and how will i love it if it ended up being a indoor soccer place with two fields! What's that...? I can already hear Brynn groaning). - It's either soccer of I finally open Oregon's premier Mexican Buffet.

5. Continue to blog, or journal keep for the rest of my life. - So far, so good. And now that Brynn has gotten on board we are hitting the web fierce and cat like, dropping truth bombs left and right.

6. Start a family and raise them well. - This would make me so happy to bring children in the world and raise them with my beautiful wife, Brynn.

7. Build a house (or remodel it), I want to work with my hands. - This is something I have alluded to in the past but growing up I was always my dad's assistant. The man can do it all and he made sure to bring me with him to show me the ropes. Which has led to my aversion to construction and remodeling. My plan was always to always let a professional do it. But the the general principles of maintain a home hasn't changed for so long and there is this growing need to be the one who is able to fix that leak in the faucet or rewire our house. I want be able to say, "I did that". Goodness knows that I will one day end up with quite a few tools (not hoping but it just will happen) and might as well learn how to use them.

8. Program my Quidditch game, NHL '94 style. - I love Quidditch and aside from soccer I could honestly say it my favorite sport. I love games sports games that put me in control of the teams making key decisions that begin an endless dynasty. And after seeing the many iterations of Quidditch that populate the video game sphere I think I have the most amiable solution to my lack of a good Quidditch video game.

9. Finally hold my version of Muggle Quidditch. - And why stop at video games when I can get out on the field and create mayhem. I still haven't figured out the snitch conundrum but I have an idea.

10. Gain a working knowledge of cars and begin to work on my own (provided they don't all leapfrog to the future, in the year 2000!). - Especially after this week I want to be able to prevent the occasional fire under the hood of my car.

11. Twelve books a year for an average of a book a month. Start knocking out books from the list of 1,001 books you need to read before you die. - Still working on it... like the nice little loophole? - I watch far too much television and movies and though there are many great stories told through those mediums I can tell you that nothing has ever gripped me like a book. The pleasure of finishing it, the need that gnaws at you to turn each page to behold what mystery hides behind the author's prose. I love books and they need to be part of my everyday life.

12. Read the scriptures every year. - You could say that this is the ultimate book (books) and by the far the most fulfilling. It doesn't give you the satisfaction of finishing a good story, it fills your soul with the nectar of spiritual fruit which bears you up when you walk amid the deserts of life.

13. Finish my four generation pedigree chart and hoard all the information I can get on them. Digitize all I get my grubby hands on. - I remember my mom and dad telling me stories as we grew up of the important events, places, and people. These people they had known and cast shadow today, specters of the past, glimmers in the future. My family can be together forever. But I want to know what they did, how they spoke, what made them tick. I want to preserve that so that when my kids get a big head they can remember that dad was always shooting his mouth off when they played Risk with him.

14. Art projects - "The circle of life", "Faceless", "Feet". Each of these represent titles and concepts of pieces I want to do but have yet not been able to materialize. One is part never ending sculpture and the others will be using photography as my medium.

Sofia to the rescue!

Yesterday a wonderful thing happened to me while I was driving to school. My car started making click, click, clicking noises... of course I did the intelligent thing and kept going down the highway instead of pulling over. It was the type of thing where I just wanted to make it to the institute building, park, go to class and deal with my lovely red bundle of joy later. Obviously my car had other plans for me because it decided to start on fire (just in the hood). So of course I pulled over and got waaaaaaay away from my car so it wouldn't explode in my face. Long story short our wonderful friend and neighbor Sofia brought Clifford to me and then she took me to school. It's a blessing to know we live by someone so close who is so giving and kind and willing to go out at 9 in the morning on her day off with her little girl still in P.J's to pick me up and take me to school! Thank you Sofia!

- Brynn

First ASL post.

This post will be in ASL. I will transcribe it later. Once a week I plan on doing an ASL post in order to practice, see myself sign, and try to get the junkie pidgin sign out of my system.

Someone just made my bad list

There are a few things I can't stand. One of my biggest pet peeves is the spreading of ignorance. I've never listened to Glenn Beck before tonight and I realized how totally ignorant, annoying and OBNOXIOUS he is. I can't stand him! He gives Mormons a bad name if you ask me.

~BRYNN

Dream House

So I found the perfect house.. I want it... I must obtain it... Too bad it belongs to PSU and is their Alumni house and was built in 1900 and is perfect and I will NEVER have enough money to buy it :( WAAAAAA
It's the perfect size, has a porch and has many intricate details. I wish they still made houses like this. Why don't they? Why are most houses these days so boring and ugly and cheap looking?  
Oh well.. I guess I will have to find something that comes close.. although I don't think that's possible!

~BRYNN

More coming...

With a little bit of shock and awe a new job fell on my lap today, Director for the Kid's Play program at SoccerPlex. I won't lie this has been something of a goal when pursuing the job but I didn't think it would happen this fast or in this way with some simple inquiries about equipment and scheduling. But after seven years of teaching I am ready to move up. I think at some point everyone wants to be their own boss and be in charge and finally I am getting my shot. When I was let go by Portland Indoor Soccer there were doubts in my mind whether I would continue down this path but i've been blessed to stay in the game long enough to be able to see the silver lining. I am so grateful for the many people in my life who have showed me the ropes and continue to support me. Onto tomorrow.

Might as well call it MAGIC!

I don't know how our parents did it and I wish they would do it again. Nothing beats a home cooked meal which are few and far between at the Eiffler household. Between classes and our hectic work schedule you won't find our hand that busy in the kitchen. It's not that Brynn and I cannot cook or lack the instruments to cook but when I think about putting together a meal I just default to the same things I have for over six years; Ramen, Burritos, Pasta. Maybe I get fancy whip out the Forman and cook up some grilled cheese but if the food doesn't come from a box, bag, or restaurant counter it doesn't seem to make it on our table. As newlyweds i've read that the habits we form now will carry on when we have kids, I sure hope they love Oriental flavor. Time will what may come but we have been making more of an effort to cook (which led to that fantastic roast this Sunday that pushed Brynn over the edge into becoming a "flexatarian") and with a little more digging I think we will be able to find recipes that work for us and become staples so that our kids will one day yearn for a little bit of dad's mac and cheese and mom's coke salad. By the way, when do we lose the newlywed moniker...?

-Clifford

The Point

Clifford and I are watching a movie called The Point (one of my christmas presents! ). I have to say if you've never seen it, you HAVE to check it out. It's actually on Youtube in parts. Thank goodness for techy people. I watched it as a kid and it's still awesome today.

The movie (which first aired on T.V. in the 70's) was written by Harry Nilsson and all the songs are by him too. The songs are FANTASTIC! It's also narrated by Ringo Starr (who was good friends with Harry apparently) but he doesn't sing any of the songs. I've always wondered how he felt about that!
The Point is about a town where everyone has a point on their head and every object is pointed. Then a baby is born with no point and he is later kicked out of the town and sent to the Pointless Forest. The movie is basically just trying to convey the fact that everyone and everything has a point to it and that everyone is unique and valuable. It really shows that it doesn't matter how different you look. The only thing that matters is what is inside.
Seriously watch this movie... you will LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!! The music is so awesome! I love Harry Nilsson!

~BRYNN

First day of school!

I started school today after a year and a half break. Its honestly been more difficult than I thought it would be. I'm one to stress a lot and that doesn't help my jitters, but I know in a week or too I'll be back in the swing of things.
The first college I attended was BYU-I, a church school. I really loved this school but certain circumstances brought me home and led me to PSU. It's so weird to be in a regular school. I can see the pros and cons of each but I am only going to focus on the pros. I want a great experience from this school! Its great to have diversity. There are people of all faiths, races and ideas. Its going to be nice to be able to discuss touchy subjects where I didn't feel I could at BYU-I. I love hearing different opinions and views and I think this school will teach me a lot about all walks of life.
I am taking Spanish (I signed up for a class too difficult for me so now I have to battle for a different class. Cross your fingers that I get into another one!), Leadership for Change and Environmental Sustainability. 
I will keep you posted on how things go!

~BRYNN 

Vegetarian

I think I'm going vegetarian. We made roast and potatoes and carrots in our crock pot today. Clifford thought it was delicious..but I couldn't eat the roast!!! It tasted really gross to me and I just couldn't eat it. This has been happening a lot to me lately with all sorts of meat.... maybe I am going vegetarian.....

It's upon us

School starts tomorrow the great monolith of monotony but it has to get done. Hopefully when it picks up I will have some interesting classes. ASL should be more challenging as we progress to the 200 level and it will really neat to see everyone develop and start to grasp the conversational aspects of sign. This begins the final run down towards the application process to the ITP program. This is what i've been aiming for about three years. In the end I don't know if I will end up sticking as an interpreter, maybe just as long to pay some bills down and save enough to go back to school. This term will bring a lot of changes to our home with Brynn going back to school I don't how much we will see of each other with work and school we will be in and out a lot. I can only imagine that the house will feel a lot emptier at times but we gotsta get our edumacation. For all of those going back good luck and those unlucky to be out, haha!

The people we are

I am a man of two faces. Maybe three or four. Countless are my faces. Because every time I meet someone, pick up the phone, walk down the street I am someone else. Each face is similar to the other but familiar to the trained eye but with each passing moment the faces change. They grow weary of monotony, eager to please, inquisitive with each passing moment. The reason I talk about faces is because in life we each have different desires with each passing day, goals and aspirations of who we want to be and a vivid idea of who we are in the world. I am the person who wouldn't trade my job for the world but ask me how things are going at 12:30 in the morning with mop in hand and you may get a different sentiment. The happiness that I have when i'm on the field sharing with kids my love for the "beautiful game" permeates my thoughts whenever they dwell upon work which paints a rosier picture when I talk about it. The stark realities are very apparent when I picking up gum from the floor that people had a hard time putting in the garbage (must be some kind of evil force field). I love technology but if I had a bat for every time a piece of silicon jerked me around I would be sitting in mountains of thousand dollar sand. I want to create a masterpiece. I just don't know in what medium. My fingers yearn to be part of something great, an instrument of lasting fame (because i'm more than certain my voice isn't the ticket). My interests vary so widely I feel like an excited kid who can't decide which toy he's going to take with him. I wouldn't have to have a masterpiece in terms of the Mona Lisa but something very concrete, something that really bears my mark. I guess I ought to learn a skill in order to get started. What will my business card say of me? Entrepreneur, interpreter, teacher, counselor, owner, manager, nerd, husband, father, priesthood holder, brother, son, uncle, Cliffnerd, Cp, Clifford, Cliff, student, employee? I guess only time will tell but might as well get started now with my bucket list (in no particular order).

1. Learn to code/design a website, move this blog to said site.
2. Return to Puerto Rico
3. Reach a point where I can become a certified interpreter in both American Sign Language and Spanish
4. Build/Own a business (and how will i love it if it ended up being a indoor soccer place, I can already hear Brynn groaning).
5. Continue to blog, or journal keep for the rest of my life.
6. Start a family and raise them well.
7. Build a house (or remodel it), I want to work with my hands.
8. Program my Quidditch game, NHL '94 style.
9. Finally hold my version of Muggle Quidditch.
10. Gain a working knowledge of cars and begin to work on my own (provided they don't all leapfrog to the future).
11. Twelve books a year for an average of a book a month. Start knocking out books from the list of 1,001 books you need to read before you die.
12. Read the scriptures every year.
13. Finish my four generation pedigree chart and hoard all the information I can get on them. Digitize all I get my grubby hands on.

So much to do and more to come.

The New Year

Last year was a wonderful one. So many wonderful things happened to me and I am not sure why I was so blessed but I am grateful for it.
I never ever make New Years Resolutions. I hate cliché things and I feel resolutions are very cliché. But I feel it would do me some good to make some.  I hardly ever make goals. Of course I have broad goals like get married in the temple (check), complete school (I feel like this will never be a check :) ), start a family.. etc... I want to have a successful, happy life and I feel like this year I really need to make more goals to make my life feel more meaningful. Don't get me wrong I know my life is meaningful but I feel like this year I need to make some concrete goals for the year.. not for the next five years but for this year.

1. Be more positive.
2. Get into the Social Work program
3. Dance more
4. Drink more water
5. Read my scriptures everyday (not just when I get on a scripture high) and attend the temple more
6. Pray with more intent
7. Read more and watch T.V. less
8. Cook more real food

I feel that these are definitely goals I can accomplish. I am excited to see what the New Year brings!

~Brynn

Snow and Society

Tuesday was a day of epic proportions. Portland was blessed with a beautiful blanket of snow. This blanket was only like 1 inch but it caused a night of interesting events.
There were many happy Jamba employees at 4 pm on Tuesday. We kept running out to see the snow! Snow that we hadn't seen for a year! I got off at 4:45 and learned that Clifford wouldn't be picking me up because our car was stuck in our parking lot. We like all other North Westerners were unprepared for the weather we were having. I will spare you the gory details, but it took me five and half hours to get home that night.  Four of which was spent on a bus that was stranded right outside of down town Portland.
The night was a long, cold one, however it made me realise a few things.
It really amazed me how unprepared the city of Portland was. Most years we get a day of snow and its usually gone by the next morning. Last year we had a week or more of snow. So, I would think that there would be at least a game plan for when we get this kind of weather. I didn't see that they had any game plan on Tuesday. Everyone was caught off guard, I get that, but really.. there were at least four buses stuck around me.. tons and tons of people stranded with no other way to get home and we all had the city to grumble about. Don't get me wrong, the Trimet system is pretty dang good in my opinion. We can get anywhere without a car which is comforting. But it was crazy to me how a LITTLE snow turned everything upside down.
It was also crazy to me however how strangers bonded with each other. Its rare in this day in age to see strangers talking. Everyone is paranoid including me. I try not to make eye contact with anyone on the bus, especially shady looking ones. Judgemental on my part yes, but I've watched too many Law and Orders and read too many true life crime books not to. On this particular snow day, however, many were stranded with only the bus as a viable means of transportation. It was great to see how many people were talking and joking with each other. I was talking with a few people around me and we were even planning on maybe calling a taxi and splitting the cost. I later sat next to a lady on the bus and we were stuck together for four hours. I learned that she just moved from SoCal, she is new at her job and they all jokingly blame her for the snow, she loves pancakes and she desperately tries to convince her sister to move here all the time. She was a nice, funny lady and it was refreshing to talk to someone who was a complete stranger. I saw this happening all around me and it made me smile.
I have always believed that people are inherently good. It's saddened me that throughout my years I have become suspicious of strangers around me, I don't trust many. I know this is for a good reason, for there are many out there who want to hurt others. But, it was so nice to bond with strangers around me. Sitting stranded on a bus for four hours could have been an awful experience, and although it wasn't Disneyland, it was still a good experience and one that I smile at.

2009, a year in pictures

A few pictures documenting a wonderful year. Marriage, Honeymoon, the move to Portland, school, callings, work, the abundance of love from families and friends. We really were blessed this last year and I look forward to another prosperous one in 2010.

One for the road, two for the journey, three because they're really tasty.

Watching the documentary, "I am trying to break your heart" about the making of Wilco's album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and I have to say I just never gets old. I would be so lucky to live in Chicago where these giants live and play but here I am stuck in Portland where the biggest sighting of my life was the one I had was of former Portland coach Mo Cheeks by Pioneer Courthouse Square, yipee! But after reading so much about this period of time in the band's history it really brought home seeing those  vivid images of a band trying to create a masterpiece and how the process unfolds on screen of the destruction of the relationship between Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett. It's hard to believe that for all of us time will wear down our relationships, that they eventually will run their course. It's an icky part of this existence and as an optimist and one who values the profound effect people have on my life I want to deny that idea, but to a certain extent there is truth in that, in how life pulls you in different directions and you just move on. There are times in my life that I would deem pivotal or defining because they helped shape who I am today and as I examine those memories I see the players who still remain active and others who have simply faded out and to some degree it's never whom I would suspect, really it is all so fascinating. Back to the documentary and a feeling that I want to share though there is a caveat (of course) because through the advent of more sophisticated recording technologies which have become more accessible and has allowed an artist much more freedom to record as they please,  in general record companies stink, are afraid, and  shame on them. There is so much intellectual property that is fantastic and mind blowing and it's out there and the people who labor to lovingly create those pieces walk amongst us each day remaining hidden by the fact that some AR stiff won't take a chance in this jaded world where money is the decision maker. Well hey, I guess a brother has got to make a dime, too bad we will miss out on the beauty that is art all because Fiddy Cent needs to pad some fat cat's wallet with his next chart topper. I only hope that in the next few years we will see the way people interact with music expand to a point where I can drown out the noise that comes through my radio. Which reminds me of a discussion Brynn and I had the other day. It stemmed from a Portland Tribune article about a new innovation in the Sound Scan system that allows the ratings big wigs to track the actually listening habits of a person being monitored through a brand new doo hickey that recognizes the music playing from nearby radios, which has lead to a more accurate picture of which stations are actually top dog in the metro area. Before they had to log information on paper and pen but now with these devices the analysts are finding that those logs weren't entirely reliable and it's turning the charts upside down. The biggest pinch are being felt by public radio stations which general posted higher listener ratings because people tended to fudge results towards what they wanted to hear than what they actually heard throughout the day. What they tended to omit when reporting the numbers were all the ambient stations playing in the background while the worked, shopped, visited the dentist, etc. Thus KINK FM is getting a solid boost. Now to my point. When trying to explain to Brynn what kind of music KINK played, the discussion turned to older music and what would be played forty years from now? What will represent us and become our oldies? Will I be doomed to hear a DJ lead into another nauseating spin of "Hit me baby one more time" by Ms. Spears? Or would a revolution occur where I would be able to turn and dial and hear Jeff Tweedy serenade me with "California Stars"? Already I can get on demand music with an mp3 player and Sirius/XM does offer a broader array of music to choose from, throw in Last.fm and Pandora into the mix and life is generally great, that is until I get into a car. Will radio even continue to exist as the man behind the microphone introduces me to another Portland act during "All songs Considered"? I don't know, but after ten years of innovations in the way I get my music and the technologies that appear around me I can't help be excited and curious what lies around the corner in 2020, I guess i'll just have to live it to find out.

 PS I don't care about your political affiliation but you got to admit that looks like Obama has got the right taste in music.