August goals

 I think I like the picture at the beginning of the post. It adds feeling.

Alright, well a recap of my August goals:

Body - Improve my posture: I've done pretty well. I've been much more aware of how I hold myself, and have tried to straighten up (physically, not behaviorally). I can't tell how much it has helped, but I like to think I've start to make it a habit at least to notice my posture every now and then.

Mind - Improve my memory: I haven't done very well with this. Fortunately with the new semester starting and my increased responsibility to remember names of ward members, I think September may be a better month for this. I will make it one of my mind goals again.

Spirit - Improve my scripture study: It has definitely improved a lot! I really like the read-less-write-more technique, and will definitely be continuing it (hopefully with even more regularity) until I find something better. I think I made it a little more than every 3rd day in August, which I think I can attribute to the business of travelling. (Attribute, NOT excuse...)

Misc. - read more: Definitely doing well. I finished The Glass Castle a couple of weeks ago (thank you unnecessarily long routes to Detroit! SLC - Phoenix - Atlanta - Detroit) and I am about halfway through Ender's Game. I think once school starts it will be more of a challenge to read for recreation, but I will try to continue it. If I see myself trailing off, I may have to make it another misc. goal again.

Keep me accountable! I'll try to come up with some really good September goals now.

Photo from here

The Chase

I just figured this out about myself... again: I like the chase a lot, but I don't care too much for the catch.

Similar to my roommate's recent post, I think having what I want isn't what makes me happy, it's the thrill of wanting something I don't have. Not necessarily something I can't have, but just something I don't have. And maybe it's not just me. Perhaps this is the same reason why material things can't really bring you happiness.

In dating, it seems like as soon as I develop a crush on someone, I don't want to lose that wonderful/slightly ill feeling I get whenever I see them, talk to them, think of them, etc. I think subconsciously I want that feeling to stick around, so I take no action. I don't ask them out, I just hang out. I don't take risks, but I play it safe. I guess maybe I worry that if they're not interested, I'll have to replace that wonderful feeling I associate with them with a feeling of rejection.

But that gets me nowhere! I've already posted a few times about not passing up opportunities, but I have such a hard time actually taking advantage of them! (Granted, I have been doing better recently.)

So here it is: I want to hear your suggestions on how I need to go about changing my nature of passing up good dating opportunities when they're presented. Any rants/raves/ideas you have are welcome.

Driving adventures

Between Monday, July 26 and Monday, August 3 I drove:

Provo to Cedar City: 206 miles
Las Vegas to Provo: 385 miles
Provo to Enoch: 206 miles
Enoch to Zion National Park and back: 131 miles
Enoch to Cedar Breaks and back: 65 miles
Cedar City to Las Vegas: 187 miles
Cedar City to Provo: 206 miles
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Subtotal: 1,386 miles

From Monday July 26 to Monday August 3 I was a passenger for:

Cedar City to Las Vegas: 187 miles
Las Vegas to Cedar City: 187 miles
Cedar City to St. George and back: 122 miles
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Subtotal: 496 miles
+ 1,386 miles
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Total mileage in the car: 1,882 miles

Also about 1,882 miles from Provo: Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Pittsburgh, PA, and Fort Knox, KY (with about 200 miles to spare for getaway driving time after knocking off the bullion depository.)

Google maps won't let me drive to Mexico. Probably because of the Swine Flu and the water.