I did what I said I would do

About six weeks ago I posted that I promised my younger brother I would run in a 5k with him. I told him this even though I hadn't been running in nearly a year. So yeah, I'm pretty much stupid.

Well, I did it. I ran in the race. About half-way through I swore I'd never do it again. I don't know how you people run at an elevation of 4,200 feet, but it's not pleasant. I made it through though, and my time was half-way decent. Half-way decent for me anyway. I already knew once I finished the race that I would do another one. Probably soon. I think this is why it took me so long to ever sign up for a 5k. I'm quite competitive, so I'm already wanting to better my time in the next race. I knew that would happen, and I wasn't sure I wanted my life to become that. :)

My brother (who is in the picture with me) is the greatest. He started the morning by playing the theme from Rocky for me, and when he finished the race (he won) he came back and ran the last mile with me. My time would have been at least a minute slower if it weren't for that. Thanks Scott!

The picture I posted was actually taken after the race, if you can believe it. I think I look quite chipper. So anyway, that's just a boring update of my life, I'll try to think of a more intersting topic when I get back to Detroit.

The top 10 songs of all time

I've decided to compile a list of my top 10 favorite stongs. Some of them might surprise you, but maybe not. So now, in no particular order:

Poison - Fallen Angel (1988)

This song has a great beat, and it makes me want to sing out loud. An interesting tidbit, this song was the only single on the album (Open up and say...Ahh!) not to make the Billboard top 10. And yet it's the best one. Go figure.

Aerosmith - What it takes (1989)

I first heard this song when I was very young. Aerosmith has a lot of great songs, but this one is timeless. I think it could be released today and be a hit.

Gin Blossoms - Until I fall away (1992)

The Gin Blossoms are great to listen to when you're going through a break-up. Enough said. I haven't listened to them in awhile, since I haven't had the opportunity to break up with anyone for years.

Oasis - Don't go Away (1997)

The argument could be made that this song shouldn't make the list because the members of Oasis are such jerks. But I tried not to let that sway my judgement.

Jimmy Eat World - Kill (2004)

It took some time for this song to grow on me, but now I can't imagine ever getting sick of this song. Love the lyrics.

All American Rejects - The Last Song (2003)

Not one of their most well-known songs, but I really like the lyrics.

Collective Soul - World I know (1995)

I don't know what to say about this one. I like it. It was released when I was an impressionable youth. It impressed upon me.

Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)

Def Leppard was the first group I fell in love with at 12 years old, and while they have a lot of awesome songs, this one is the best.

Papa Roach - Forever (2006)

I just love this song. I can't even tell you why. It fits many moods. I can work out to it, listen to it on the plane, wherever, it fits.

Toad the Wet Sprocket - Good Intentions (1995)

It's just good. I'm going to admit, I'm getting tired and can't think of much to say.

Honorable Mentions:

Heart - Alone (1987)

Ok, this is embarrassing to admit, but I heard Carrie Underwood perform this song on American Idol and it gave me the chills. I've loved it ever since.

Everclear - Rockstar (2000)

I first heard this song when I was going through a really hard time in life, and it made me laugh. Anything that could make me smile at that time stuck with me. As a side note, the name of the album it's on is 'Songs from an American Movie, Vol. One: Learning how to smile.' A word of warning, the language isn't the best. But it's funny.

Kate Voegele - I won't disagree (2005)

If you download this song you have to be sure to get the right version. It makes a big difference. It has to be from the 'Don't look away' album. It's awesome.

Counting Crows - A Long December (1996)

I mostly like this song because it reminds me of high school and the guy who introduced me to it. So hopefully he doesn't read this blog because that would be embarrassing for him to know.

So what do you think? What's your top 10?

I have nothing but time...

I often hear people complain about not having enough time to do the things they want to do. I have the opposite problem. I have more time on my hands than I can handle, and not enough things to do with it. I'll say that I have at least 40 hours of unscheduled time a week. What do I do with that time? Usually I come home from work, see what's on TV, and before I know it I've watched two hours of King of Queens and it's 8:00 p.m. Sometimes I'll throw an episode of Two and a Half Men just to mix things up. So I'm pretty much pathetic.

I've also been feeling that lately (and by lately I mean possibly always), my life lacks any sort of meaning. I go to a job every day that is fine. It pays the bills, but I'm not passionate about it. I'm really not that passionate about King of Queens either, so where does that leave me?

I've been thinking about what makes a life meaningful. The answer is probably different for everyone, but for me I think it comes down to two things:

A. Quality relationships with other people, and
B. Doing something that makes a difference in other people's lives.

I need some serious work in both of these areas. I've always been kind of a loner, but I can't say that it's been good for me. How do I change this? And when it comes to doing something that makes a difference, it's hard to know where to get started.

So once again, I am full of questions but no answers. Questions are my specialty. Maybe that's okay. I once read that you have to know the right questions before you can get the right answers. That made me feel a little bit better, but I do hope I figure out the answers (at least some of them) relatively quickly. Like I said in my last post, I'm no longer a 'youth', and it's time to figure things out.

I'm no longer a "youth"

The other day I read a headline that said something like, "Youth vote picks Obama to win." My first thought was that of course people my age would pick Obama to win. It makes sense that he would get the 18-35 year old demographic. Then I read the article and realized that it meant youth as in too young to vote. Oh. That hasn't been me for awhile.

A month or so ago I had a conversation with my 21-year old brother about music. It went something like this:
Me: "Have you heard the new Gavin Rossdale song?"
Him: "Who's Gavin Rossdale?"
Me: "He was in Bush!"
Him: "What's Bush?"
Me (somewhat exasperated) "He's married to Gwen Stefani."
Him: "Oh, I know who she is."
He probably doesn't realize that Gwen Stefani started out in a band called No Doubt. Why would he? That was ten years ago and he was 11.

Watching sports, it kind of hit me hard that EVERY college athlete is younger than me. I know it's obvious, but I remember just like it was yesterday that those players were adults so much futher into their lives than I was. I'm to the point where many professional athletes are also younger than me. The ones who aren't are starting to think about retirement.

So, I've started to realize I am no longer a youth. And I must admit it came as somewhat of a shock. I feel exactly the same as I did when I was 18. I have no more of a clue what I'm doing with my life. The difference is that I'm expected to have my stuff together now. Has anyone else dealt with this? What do you do when you suddenly realize you're a grown-up, and it's nothing like you imagined it would be?

There's no such thing as runner's high

I'm sure you've heard of runner's high. Supposedly when you run, you're supposed to experience some sort of euphoria that some people compare to getting high (I guess). I'm seriously doubting the existence of this phenomenon. Those of you who know me know that I HATE running. I'm not exaggerating here. Even in the short period of my life where I was serious about running (serious is probably too strong a word), I dreaded my nightly run all day, every day. I admit, sometimes after I ran I would feel somewhat invigorated, but mostly what I felt was elation that I wouldn't have to do it again for at least 24 hours.

My brother runs. A lot. He's been asking me for years to run a 5k with him. He was recently on a mission, so I got a few years off. But he's back now, and wants to run a 5k on Thanksgiving, which is a mere 6.5 weeks away. I foolishly told him I would. I need some sort of goal to get me back into working out, and I figured this would take care of the motivation factor. Who wants to run a 5k in 45 minutes? Not me!

But then what? I've tried keeping my mp3 player stocked with new music. I've tried different types of workouts. Nothing seems to stick. What do you do to stay motivated? I'll take all of the suggestions I can get!

Top 7 reasons why I hate politics

7. My vote - lets be honest, it really doesn't count.
6. The fact that your vote doesn't really count could actually be a good thing if you're one of the many who vote for the political candidate that their favorite celebrity supports. (Me, I do pretty much whatever Oprah tells me to, so...).
5. Debate moderators encouraging candidates to jump down the other's throat. It may make for good entertainment, but I have no desire to watch the future president of the United States act like a teenage girl competing for head cheerleader. I want to know what you're going to do in office, not how stupid you think the other guy is. Ok, I'm kind of going to go off on a tangent here, but last year I went to a presentation of a former U.S. Senator. He expressed his disgust at the way politicians have turned to personal attacks. In his day (1950's to 1980's) you disagreed with someone's politics, but you still had respect for that person. Why can't we go back to that? I'm so tired of having to feel defensive of my opinion. I'm an intelligent human being who makes informed choices. If you are the same and happen to make a choice opposite from mine, I respect that. So please do the same for me.
4. This whole two party system just doesn't work for me. Let's get some more options in there.
3. Name dropping. It just happened in the debate I'm watching. I don't care that Henry Kissenger is on your speed dial. What is YOUR opinion. And on a slightly different note, I highly doubt that Biden was filling up with gas the other day and had a conversation with an average Joe about how much it cost to fill up his tank. Commence with the eye-roll.
2. Candidates who keep repeating untruths about the other side's campaign long after it has been proven to be false. This is rampant on both sides.
1. A quick browse of factcheck.org tells me that I can't believe a single thing either side says in their commercials, speeches, or debates. So what's the point?

The Finale!

Part 3: The solution

Sorry this took so long. I went to Utah for the weekend and left my laptop in Michigan. And to be honest, this was the part I wasn’t looking forward to writing, because I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go with it. But I’ll give it a shot!

I think there are a few possible solutions to this dating problem. When I first started this blog I had all sorts of drastic solutions thought out. Thoughts of Elder Oaks “Dating vs. Hanging Out” talk kept running through my head. No more home cooked meals for you! No more hanging out at the movies where we plan everything to do ranging from what time to meet, what movie to see, and where to go after. But that all seems a bit drastic. So, here are some more reasonable (possibly) solutions that I have come up with.

1. Date non-LDS guys, or guys who aren’t active in the church. Like I said before, non-LDS guys have a different reaction to me. I think they are more likely to ask a girl out, and more likely to keep dating her even if he’s not in love with her within the first five minutes. I’ve had more luck dating guys who aren’t active for the same reasons. The problem with this “solution” is that while it’s easier to get a relationship off the ground, it’s harder to keep it going for obvious reasons, especially if you’re really active in the church. Ours is a lifestyle church, and even if you’re completely fine dating someone who believes differently, it may be hard for him to accept how big a part it plays in your life. I have seen people make this work quite well though.

2. Find (or maybe start) a colony of divorced men. Maybe you have a problem dating someone who is divorced, but think of it this way: at least we know that at one point he stepped up to the plate and made a commitment, and also that someone was willing to marry him! This is my personal favorite of the solutions, but it’s not too realistic.

3. And now for the most practical solution (prepare for a bit of a let down). Realize that you are not the problem. The fact that you (I) don’t date much has nothing to do with your perceived flaws. Focus on other aspects of your life and don’t worry about it. This one is pretty hard to do, I admit. Most of us want to have families, and it’s hard to picture that ever happening when you’re not dating much. But rest assured it will happen. Just keep putting yourself out there, but don’t worry too much about it.

I once read an article that said that every single woman should have a gay male friend who made her feel great about herself. You know, a guy who would say, “Honey, if I was straight I’d snatch you up in a heartbeat!” I’d like to modify that advice to say that every single Mormon girl should find herself a good non-LDS guy friend. Someone to keep your head straight amongst all this dating madness can do wonders for your self esteem. It has actually really helped mine.

If anyone else has another idea, please leave a comment. We can all use all of the help we can get!