FAIL 2011

Christmas break was a bittersweet experience for me this year. I had the opportunity to go back to Utah for about 3 weeks and for the most part I got to spend a lot of quality time with my family and friends. That encompasses the sweet part.

The bitter part came in the 2 days before I came back to California when I received my grades from law school (that were substantially lower than I had hoped) and I had "the talk" with Natalie that ended our 14 month on-and-off relationship. I was able to stay pretty positive while I was in Utah amongst my family and friends, but soon after I returned home to California, everything began to settle in. During the week that followed I felt like my life was falling apart at the seams and I hit some serious lows concerning my self-worth and happiness as I began asking serious questions about myself, my potential, and where my life was going.

But I was soon lifted up as I remembered a principle that has guided my life over the past few years; I remembered that happiness is a choice. We as humans don't have a lot of control over the circumstances and events in our lives, but we do have exclusive control over how we react to those events and happenings. If we choose to look at events in our lives with a negative perspective, then a lot of bad things will happen to us during our life spans and we won't be happy. But if we choose to have an optimistic perspective then the exact opposite will occur.

So I realized that these seemingly terrible things that happened aren't all that bad, and in all likelihood are actually great blessings. There are a lot of life lessons to be learned from failing or from falling short of our goals and expectations. In fact, most things we learn in life are due to the moments in which we fall. Those are the moments in which we learn who we are and prove ourselves to God.

I have already learned a great deal about myself, and about life from the past two weeks and I know that there are many more great lessons to be learned as I move forward and progress in life. And at the moment, the lesson I have learned is that my happiness is my choice. This was reconfirmed to me this evening as I read a verse in the New Testament that quotes Paul as saying "...I have learned, in whatsoever state I am in, therewith to be content." - Philippians 4:11

I know that we will all have experiences and trials that will seem to be terrible and burdensome, but I also know that things happen for a reason and we don't have to let those moments get us down. Rather, we can choose to learn from those experiences and we can choose to be happy. Life is great, so let's all be happy.

Also, this makes me happy.

 

Special thanks to Steve West.

A True Christmas Miracle

I finished my last final yesterday and I am still in shock.

I cannot believe that I was able to get thru a whole semester of law school and remain both sane and alive. I would dare say that it was a real life Christmas miracle that my first semester of law school wasn't for to be to make me dead. I have no idea how it went, but I honestly don't even care. I am just relieved to have the first semester over and done with.

And now I'm just ready to celebrate the holidays, enjoy some good company, and laugh a lot!
So to begin, here is a little something that makes me laugh. 



 

Paint me a rainbow

I have now completed two of my four law school finals and have the third tomorrow at 1:30, but in between studying, wasting time, and procrastinating I decided I need a little rest and relaxation so I returned to one of my most therapeutic hobbies.

Painting.

This is what I completed. It's not exactly what I wanted/intended (the colors aren't quite right), but I like the idea and plan on painting another one similar to this.

My painting excursion this past weekend reminded me just how much I love to paint, it really helps me relax and keep my mind clean and clear. It made for a surprisingly relaxing week.

It also helps that I was listening to the likes of this.

Politically Correct Song of the Week: episode 3

Hey everyone, so apparently the cat theme was offensive to some of our viewers, so we are going non-discriminatory from now on and just calling it the politically correct song of the week. Boring, I know, but until I have a moment of cleverness it will have to remain politically correct.

This weeks song is called "Kettering" and comes to our ears from a band named the Antlers. They hail from the United States of America and enjoy eating and play-dough. The music video is really weird, but the music itself is fantastic.



Also, be on the look out for some big changes coming to the world of music and blogging over the next few weeks, I smell something fresh coming our way.

With that said, stay classy and remember peace and love.

Less than common sense?

Law school is cool. From 12-1 each day there are no classes held on campus. It's for something religious I think, I'm not exactly sure what tho. Anyway, I have learned to love this time because different student organizations in the law school hold little seminars and bring in speakers. But most importantly they almost always provide food and good food at that (if I'm lucky they'll have Chipotle). I went to a meeting a week or two ago that was titled something like "Morals, Faith, and Law." Being the very religious Mormon that I am, I decided it might be worth my while.

It was a fairly interesting meeting, there were 5 people of different faiths and backgrounds who just talked a little about how their religious beliefs and their careers interacted and how they reconciled the two. To be honest, I didn't learn that much. They talked about priorities, ethics, and the benefits of those in the work place. I specifically remember a couple of the panelists saying that it was important to treat everyone with respect, no matter how insignificant their position. They stated that it benefited you in the long run because you gained mutual respect and that you never know when that respect will help you out.

And I thought, duh. It all seemed like common sense to me, but then I realized that it might not be that common after all. In fact, it might be less than common sense.

While working as a server at Cafe Sabor, I realized that my job was easier and more enjoyable when I made an effort to make other people's jobs better. If I treated all my co-workers with respect they would treat me with respect as well. If I cared more about my busser and hostess than I did about myself, the easier and more enjoyable my job became. It might seem counter intunitive at first, but it is the truth. I tried to inform others about my new found understanding, but it seemed like the majority of people were only concerned with the amount of money they made. They didn't care about anyone else, they just wanted to make money. They only cared about themselves.

Don't get me wrong, this is no "I am holier than thou" type of a post cause I know that I am as just as likely as anyone to be self-centered and uncaring. This post is merely my way of trying to share what little I have learned in the hope that I can better understand myself and help someone else in the process. Because the truth is, I am happy when I forget myself and think about others. And that, I believe, is not a coincidence.

It is exactly what Christ taught us to do when he said "Follow me." Christ lived a life of true happiness. A life of worth. A life of meaning. If we want to do the same, we must follow His example and care about others more than ourselves. We must treat others as we would like to be treated. We must love one another.

These are things I have been taught since youth and on the surface they all seem simple. They all seem to be common sense. But I've come to realize that they are anything but simple or common. Being a good, caring, and loving person often goes against what the world considers "common sense." I guess that many of the things I consider common sense are a result of my upbringing. A result of the many great lessons my parents have taught me over the years. A result of the great examples I had to follow in my 5 amazing siblings. A result of some fun friends with great morals. A result of a life based on faith.

For that, I have much to be grateful for. So at this time of year, I would hope that everyone could come to gain some of what I call "common sense" and realize that forgetting yourselves and caring about others will actually benefit you. It will bring you happiness.

When we give to others, we receive more in return.

Peace.

CLSotW: episode 2

Hey again everyone. Welcome back to Cat Lover Song of the Week (CLSotW). I know y'all have been highly anticipating the second installment, so I'm sorry for the delay.

This weeks song is titled "Wax and Wire" by Loch Lomond. It is a new song from a new band that comes to us directly from the home of the domesticated cat. The Highlands of Scotland.



The video associated with this weeks song is not very exciting/cat related, so here is a fun fact: the Scottish were the first to realize the true potential of cats as not only a friend and potential ally to the human race, but as a help meet as well (e.g. vermin control, Schrodinger's cat, Kitten Mittens, etc.). I also found this video to satisfy your feline needs.



With that said, don't eat cats and stay classy.

CLSotW!

Hey everyone, welcome to the first weekly presentation of the highly anticipated 'Cat Lover Song of the Week' (or for lovers of acronyms CLSotW).

During this weekly presentation I intend on sharing music for cats, about cats, by cats, or with cats. Pretty much anything that the Thundercats would approve of.

Now, don't be alarmed if you're not a cat lover, you are still welcome here and this is music that even the average human should enjoy as well.

This week's song is titled "Outside" by the Trashcan Sinatras.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0XBsYzue7M

I don't know why, but it won't let me embed it, so just click on the link (I think embedding is disabled for copyright protection on all the sweet pictures of cats. The slide show is amazing!)

Seriously tho, at least listen to the song, it is an amazing instrumental song and don't expect any lyrics cause there are none.

Until next week, or the next time I am in a really weird mood, stay classy friends.