Oops

Oops. I haven't posted in a couple of days. My mistake. I've been busy with school work. I'll post something interesting tomorrow maybe besides my brother's mission letter.

Hope you're all having a good week.

Two Birds With One English Lesson, er Stone

I am taking English 316, technical communication, so prepared to be bored out of your minds while I take the time to share some rules/guidelines to help me with my class.

• Avoid Ambiguous Pronoun References: You know, he she it, they and all that referring to the proper thing so everything doesn't get all confused. Make it clear. It's like the facebook status thing; if you stick to 3rd person pronouns, things are bound to get confusing if you mention something else.
  
• Avoid Ambiguous Modifiers: Words like 'only', you know, "only press the button in an emergency." You don't know if only refers to emergencies or the button. Not clear. That's a no-no. We also know that you only press the red button to launch a nuclear missile. So please don't press it.
  
• Just say no the stacking modifying nouns. You put too many on and everything gets crazy confusing.
• Word Order: Apparently each sentence builds on the previous sentence to build up to next sentence. It's like they're plot-layout happy. So just keep things connected and familiar. So new information, unfamiliar stuff should be near the end of the sentence, just to keep people happy. Imperative or commands are the exception. They're allowed to go at the beginning of the sentence to get all up in your business.
• Use Active Voice Whenever possible: Cause passive voice is for ninnies. There's also more to read and it's more direct. So whatever it is, you should just do it, not have it be done by you. That's passé. It is also unethical because it can be confusing. Hence it is for ninnies. active voice has power. Notice that when a Jedi uses the mind-trick, he never uses passive voice. And don't use both in the same sentence, if you do a grammar fairy dies somewhere. And that's the truth!
• When to use Passive Voice: When you're a ninny! Actually the correct answer is selectively. So it's like selective evolution, passive voice always gets left out of the loop. Apparently passive voice is used on a need to know basis, or when it is obvious who is doing it. Like that Mr. Jones who was brought to the emergency room. Most people assume it is a doctor or nurse that brought him there and thus people don't care and passive is OK. Or when the object, like a Ring of power that was thrown into a fiery volcano. The object is more important than the subject. Again: Ninnies! And as ninnies like to be indirect and inoffensive, they use it to avoid offending people. Instead of saying you didn't pay the bill, you say the bill hasn't been paid. Peaceful! Also in describing actions, like someone ratting out Joey the Rat, the person doing the ratting out wants protection and so all that is said that Joey the Rat was ratted out.
• Overstuffed Sentences: Don't take them to the buffet line, it gets ugly if you do. Things get messy and people get dizzy if too much information is stuffed into one sentence. (Look at 3:20-3:34)
• Editing for Conciseness: Apparently it is a crime to be inconcise. Transmit the most information using the fewest words possible. Use the drafting process.
• Avoid Wordy Phrases: Reduce phrases like 'due to the fact' and 'the majority of' to 'because' and 'most'. It means no laziness in writing essays, you have to think more and be more efficient in your writing. No filling up space for the word count!
• Eliminate Redundancy: Don't say things twice. You only need to say it twice. However, this is only for the English language, cause Spanish is inherently redundant. It means you can't use some descriptive words. After all, this is technical documents, not a novel!
• Avoid Needless Repetition: Doesn't that count as a type of redundancy? Or maybe this is to block subliminal messages. So don't say things over and over again and no superhero will think you're trying to hypnotize people into doing your bidding.
• Avoid There Sentence Openers: We openly discriminate those who use 'there' to start a sentence. It is also weak and for ninnies. Be manly and don't say that there is something to going to happen, say that it will happen, you ninny! Although it should be noted that you are allowed by proper context to be a ninny sometimes.
• Don't use It to start sentences either: It is vague, unclear and I just broke my own rule. So use 'it' responsibly if what it is, has been established in a previous sentence. So don't drink and start sentences with 'it'. This is for your own protection.
• Delete Needless Prefaces: Monologueing if you will. Or self narration. Don't say what you are doing, just get to the point. For example: 'I am writing this letter because...' Unnecessary! Get rid of it!
• Avoid Weak Verbs: They're for ninnies. You want a verb that specifies an action, not something like 'am', 'was' and other ninny verbs.
• Avoid Excessive Prepositions: Reduce, reduce, reduce! After all, everybody in this economy is doing it right?
• Fight Noun Addiction: Wow. I didn't even know you could be addicted to nouns. This sounds dangerous. Very dangerous indeed. Someone should conduct a study on the addictiveness of nouns! Resist the temptation to turn verbs into nouns. Addiction is not pretty.
• Make Negatives Positives: So, we've moved from English to altering the laws of physics have we? On the English side of things, don't use words like do not, like I just did! Tell people what they can do, what they can not do.

Hmmn, I think this is enough grammar guidelines for now. Hope you learned something. Enjoy your weekend.

You Punk!

Yes, You Wally III are a punk! Yes I know it had to be secretive and all, that you wanted to surprise everyone. But still. I found out cause you updated your status on Facebook and it showed up on my main page. You don't even answer your phone. You punk.

Punk punk punk!




Oh, and by the way, congratulations by the way for getting engaged. I always said you would marry before me.

Missionary Wednesday

Hello you all!

Well, finishing off from last week as I didn't get to say all that I wanted to. The district that I am in is all Elders, no sisters. That's alright with me, but really the only good thing about that is the lack of drama; in my last district, if you talk to a sister for two seconds about something not about the missionary work it is automatically assumed that something is going on there. It's good to be rid of that. I'm getting to know my new area well, its very different from my last ward. For starters this ward functions a bit better than the other one; we get fed at least twice a week which is at least once a week more then my last area. (Editors Note: Clearly a well functioning ward is measured by the amount of times they feed the missionaries in one week. j/k) There is also a bigger mix of people here, not just black people and white people.
One of my favorite members in this ward is Brother V. He's a less active member, a former atheist, very outspoken, liberal, funny, and he says that the only reason he even goes to church and gets involved is because of the missionaries. He's very honest and is just a likable guy. We have lots of fun and laughs with him, but we always keep the work as a focus.
As far as this past week goes, nothing to eventful has happened this week. Friday we had our interviews with President R., apparently he really likes me. I don't like the sound of that because he puts the ones he likes in power. I also found out this week that its really not a joke about how popular I am and why I'm in trios. (Editors Note: FYI, trios automatically is substituted for threesomes. Elder Fields just doesn't listen about not using that word.) Elder J. was talking to the new APs about this and they told him that I am actually the most requested companion in the mission. I really don't understand that at all. I would think the most requested missionary to be companions with would be the elder with a load of baptisms under his belt. I don't know what I've got that they don't.
It's getting very hot over here. We tracted in 90 degree weather and it's only June. It gets a heck of a lot hotter than this in July, or so I hear. The good news is that I might just sweat off my gut. (Editors Note: Ha ha ha!) I'm almost sad to not be in a bike area because then I'd loose all that weight faster. (Editors Note: Yeah, he's a bit self-conscious about his weight) But then I remember how good I have it with an air-conditioned car; call me spoiled but that's the way I like it.
As for the area, there are lots of English and Spanish speaking people in this area, with a separate set of missionaries for both language groups. As far as my statement last week about killing my companions, I was basing that off the time I had spent with my previous companions. I was with Elder H. and Elder B. for 3 transfers; something I thought would never happen. Elder J. just arrived in this area with me and Elder S. has been in this area for a transfer longer than us, so it is entirely possible that they both could stay. Thanks for the Spanish lesson, (Editors note: I sent him some Spanish phrases to use when talking to Hispanics in the street) we talked to one Hispanic person the other day and referred her to the Spanish speaking elders. Hopefully that goes well. My area's name is 'Cicero-English'.
That's about it for this week, hopefully next week something more eventful will happen.

Love Elder Fields.

Curse You!

Curse you procrastination! Curse you and your easy to fall into ways! Would that I could banish you to nether most regions of the Earth. But this I do declare, from this day hence we are mortal enemies. DO YOU HEAR ME?! MORTAL ENEMIES!

You shall be purged from the depths of my being and cast out like last week's rotten milk.

And so I will be able to declare victory. That day there will be trumpets roaring, the stampeding of horses and much jubilation all around.

So get thee hence!

Bubble

You know, I never really paid heed to people saying that Provo is a bubble. I never thought about it that much and didn't think I saw it. Probably because my last ward was older and there were a few I hung out with that paid attention to such things. But now... Now I think I see things differently. All today, any comment I make about Iran people wonder what's going on. My roommates only know what's vaguely happening in Iran because I've had CNN and Fox on to see if they're saying something new that I hadn't read from twitter or a news blog.

And so I see it. We live in a bubble. There's no other explanation for it. I mean those at BYU are all intelligent individuals right, so what's with the lack of not knowing what is going on? It's just frustrating to me because we have so many utilities at our disposal to know what is going on, but it seems none of us use them!

Sigh... I'm off to bed. That's my rant for now. I wrote a letter to editor of the Daily Universe about it, so watch for that when it's published. I mean obviously the relevance of scouting is so much more important than, I dunno, people fighting for their lives and freedom! I mean seriously, all that the Daily Universe has thus written shown anything about it is two small clips from the Associated Press and a political cartoon. Nothing else mentioned. It's sad.

But I'm going to bed. Goodnight!

For the Brave

For any that come by this blog, regardless of what the news says, please know that the people of Iran are being oppressed. They are being killed and injured by the regime. Please pray for them. My heart goes out to those brave souls who entered the streets today to protest what they saw as a fraudulent election.

So please pray and do what you can to support them in these hard times for them.

Opportunities

I'm torn between simply telling things how they happened, or using poetry to beat around the bush when I'm feeling down sometimes...

This isn't a poetry time I guess. It's more of rant-like situation. Maybe.

But you ever feel bummed out about the opportunities that go by, whether small or large and feeling down cause you miss them? Even if you know it would end? What exactly is the fun of playing things safe and analyzing them all the time? Where does that get you exactly? You're supposed to learn from pain and if things are all measuredly happy then you don't learn anything. You need the good to contrast from the bad.

Maybe you can guess where I'm headed with this, relationships. I mean, in the few steady relationships I've head, they've been great, I never regretted any of it. And that goes for my dates too, whether good or bad; excepting one unfortunate incident that is a whole other ballpark of idiocy on my part. But excluding that, in the two years I've been off the mission, I've never regretted a date. Sure there have been bad awkward dates, but nothing I've truly regretted.

But... I'm hesitant to actually get in a relationship with a girl, to go steady. My line of thinking is that I'll probably not marry her, not that I wouldn't take a chance to find out, and so might as well save the pains of break up and not get together at all. But... now? Especially after tonight? I'm not so sure now. Cause you see, I have this good friend that I have known for about maybe a year now? She hasn't been in Provo for a while so we've been chatting online. Anyways she decided to come down to see various friends for the weekend and so we made plans to hang out yesterday as her friends wouldn't be in, and today we went to a comedy place.

Anyways last night we talked for over an hour just about stuff, about politics, tangents and what not, and I enjoyed it. I don't do that often enough. And tonight we laughed at the comedy show and still maintained conversation as well. No awkwardness. Well, not from lack of talking anyways. Thing is, she's from out of town and has received a mission call starting in August. So I probably won't see her again before then. And so there's that awkwardness knowing that because of it, we're just going to be friends, but after I dropped her off I just wished that she would be staying down here longer just to hang out and just date each other. It sounds selfish I know, but truthfully if she were staying in Utah, I'd seize the opportunity to go out with her more often. The selfish part would be asking her to stay. Cause if I ask her to stay, even try for a relationship it means I'm looking for something more than a girlfriend as she already has her mission call. Which I'm not, I'm not even sure what I want. So therein lies the problem.

I hope you all understand what I'm trying to say... but I guess it means that I'm more open to take risks, and to enter into relationships. After the summer of course when my independent study courses are done, but why not enter relationships? I'll learn from them, have fun. Sure the breakup part won't be that enjoyable if that happens, but if you get along with someone of the opposite gender that you are attracted to, why ask yourself about marriage potential then? Why not go for it and just have fun getting to know each other?

I think I may do that. Cause otherwise, I miss out on some great opportunities.

Or am I wrong? What are your views on dating?

Okonkwo

Tomorrow I finish my history class once and for all. I thought to commemorate that I would put one of the papers I wrote here, a book response to Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. For those of you English majors/grammar enthusiasts please, be brutal.

Is Okonkwo a tragic hero or a cowardly failure? Would you be heroic or suicidal if overpowering invaders, for whom resistance was futile, destroyed your culture and turned your children against you?
In classifying Okonkwo as either a tragic hero or a cowardly failure, it is to be asserted that Okonkwo is a tragic hero. He is a tragic hero because through his work and diligence he strived for prominence in his clan, seeking to do right by his culture, seeking to protect it from those invaders who desire to end centuries of tradition and culture. However, by acting through his hubris of strength, or the avoidance of appearing weak, he instead helps perpetuate the end of his clan’s culture and becomes what he sought to avoid in life: a disgrace to his tribe.
Okonkwo is characterized by embracing all that is manly and strong, while viewing and eschewing any characteristic that his father had as weakness, even gentleness. Though he is strong and made a name and reputation for himself, he is driven by the fear of appearing weak, of being associated with his disgraceful father. This fear had swallowed him up since his youth and though it helped him achieve what he became in his clan. It was through allowing himself to be driven by that fear and the need to appear as strong that he was prone to rashness, such as when he killed Ikemefuna. Regardless of the rash impulses detailed in the book, he obeys the traditions of his clan, and until his seven-year exile, views his tribe as manly and strong.
It is his seven year exile that feeds his hubris; he views his motherland as weak, sees himself as stronger than them, and longs to return to his own clan. Because of his less-than-grandiose return to his clan, combined with the Christian presence, he viewed his tribe as changed, as weak due to their inaction in the face of drastic change. His hubris had gotten a hold of him and he longed for the days of glory and battles long past. Because of his hubris and the cruelties inflicted by the District Commissioner, he longed to chase them out and thus tragically fell. He is a tragic hero because he hastily killed the messenger at the meeting, and saw the fear from the crowd from the result of his actions. The other messengers had escaped. He failed his clan and through that action endangered the clan.
To cement his failure he hung himself, not out of fear of punishment, but of his own failures. Like his father he now disgraced the town and thus hung himself. Okonkwo’s death is more than just the fall of a tragic hero, but also symbolizes the spirit and energy that the clan is now bereft of. The laws of the clan state that only strangers can take down a hanged man’s body. This, however, is symbolic of the death of the clan and their traditions, their defeat and powerlessness in the face of an adversary that divided them to overwrite their laws and customs. The clan could not now govern itself, and so is ruled over by others. They were driven and divided, their spirit as broken as the body that hung in the tree and could now not do a thing to prevent the loss of their own customs and traditions. Okonkwo’s suicide was not a cowardly act. He was not afraid to go and defend that which he loved.
He constantly expressed his bravery, either through his four trips to the cave to rescue Enzinma if necessary, to his expressed desire to fight against the invaders. He was a warrior through and through but was perceptive enough to recognize that his clan and people were not ready or willing to drive off the strangers that dared change their customs and laws. Had he the ability to speak, to arouse his people to action, he would have tried to persuade them to go to war following the killing of the messenger. But he did not have the ability to give others courage. He could only fight for freedom, and he would have done so had he not seen defeat and fear in the eyes of his clansmen. He saw them divided and weak, which broke his spirit. He hung himself not because resistance was futile, but because there was no spirit in resistance. So the option came down to hanging himself, dying by his own choosing, rather being caught, tried, and killed by the hands of foreigners. Through strength and will he rose to fame in his clan, but by rashness and fear he fell to disgrace.

Missionary Wednesday

Hello You all,
Well Thursday was transfer day and it was raining, so packing up two people's stuff was very hard. Luckily someone had the foresight to lend us the mission van because all our stuff wouldn't fit in the tiny car that we had. After the transfers meeting, I arrived in my new area. We spent some time moving in and getting things in order, we also have had at least one appointment every day, unlike my last area when new elders arrived. After getting settled in I got to know my new companions better. Elder J. is a former AP for 9 months, pretty much the length of how long I have been in the mission. Elder J. is from Utah, has baptized 7 people and has had 12 companions. Elder S. is a convert, and has been a missionary longer than the he had been a member before going on his mission. Both of them have been out for 21 months. It looks like that I will kill both of them, or at the very least one of them. That's code for me being their last companion before they go home. Elder S. has baptized 7 people and has had 13 companions. One of them has an on-again, off-again girlfriend at home, the other was 'Dear Johned' after 5 months in the mission.
I was able to get to know my district, ward, and area this week too. It feels like I was just done being the youngest in the district, but at 9 months in my new area, I am again the youngest missionary in the district. They tease me about it, but I turn it back on them, reminding them that they are almost home whereas I still have over a year left. This ward and area, compared to Beverly (My last ward), has mostly Hispanic people living in it, whereas Beverly had a mostly African-American population. There are 2 Spanish wards and one English ward. I like this area, and I hope I stay here for a while. I also found out that the reason I am in trios a lot; apparently there's not enough of me to go around, everyone wants to be companions with me, and knows who I am. It is really creepy and flattering at the same time.
Well, my new companions have finished sending e-mail quickly today, so I don't have time to say a lot. They actually they finished before I even started, so I have to write quickly, because they have been waiting for a bit. Looks like I wont have too much time for replies if this pattern continues.

Hopefully this will do, even though I wanted to say lots more but can't.
love Elder Fields

Frome Whence Come Ye?

So I was looking at analytics, of those who visited my blog this month and saw some cool things. Some interesting visits I've received is from The Navy network information center, and the the Utah Education Network. I've received 9 visits from facebook (mainly from Provo) and so for those of you who have come from facebook or the Navy (Tim!), give me a shout out. I'd like to know who else is reading.

Also, someone found my blog by searching google for: lds not to bungee jump. That's hilarious.

Proceed, and give a shout out ya'll hear?

Questions Questions all Around

Stealing and copying of memes.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yes. Just search for my first name for famous people. I'm named after all of them.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Friday during a Laugh Out Loud show, from laughing hard.


3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
It's alright.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
If you define kids something you brought to life, like zombies, then yes. I have many kids.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I think a better question would be; if you were a member of the opposite gender, would you kiss you?

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT
Sarcasm is of the devil and all those who use it will be found in the Smore's of the devil.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes. They never get to go anywhere fun.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Why not?

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Captain Crunch; makes me feel like a real pirate.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Nope.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Depends on the day and the mood, and whether any shorts have been ripped and turned purple lately.

13. FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Homemade. It's easier to get people to elect you to world domination if you make your own.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
That they're not zombies.

15. RED OR PINK?
Purple!

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
I am not in charge of everything yet. That is what is wrong.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
The Ent-Wives

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Baby shoes.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Soup.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Lord of the Rings.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Awesome

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
My nose is undiscerning...

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Some telemarketer that I hung up on.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Basketball/Soccer

27. Hair Color?
Dirty blond.

28. EYE COLOR?
Blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Yes.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Mexican.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Why not scary happy endings?

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Princess Bride

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
White.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
I prefer kisses, no nuts.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Ice cream

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Textbooks

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
None

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST Night?
Nothing.

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
Those voices that no one claims to hear.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Both

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Mexico City

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
In the Twilight Zone

I Can Fly, I Can Fly, I Can Fly!

I have been deciding about going to Mexico City next month, there's a missionary reunion, and a friend's birthday next month as well around the same time... And I found tickets on Hotwire for $337, which is pretty cheap for round trip tickets.

I guess I have to decide if I want to use my Credit Card to pay for it all...

Looking For and to Be

Well through a slightly ironic event that I'll explain much later, I was asked what kind of girl I am looking to marry, and it stopped me for a moment, I had to think because it's been a while since I considered what type of girl I was pursuing. Obviously I'm looking for an LDS girl with a strong testimony, but what does that imply and what else? I mean I'm in Provo where the vast majority of girls have testimonies, and I'm in a highly social ward and if I wanted I could have a date a week. Well if I had a job at least...

But I've sort of grown complacent, just dating to date, to have fun. Not caring if there was potential for it to grow further and not pursuing anything if it could have. Just lazing around as if waiting for the Lord to push her into my arms while casually dating.

And so the question got me thinking, who am I looking for exactly?
And so this is what I told my friend: I am looking for someone who is able to make the most out of what they have, either in having fun or dealing with situations, an optimist. Someone who doesn't just believe what they hear from word of mouth, but they investigate it themselves, whether in factual stuff or the spiritual. Someone who helps and cares for others, and also recognizes where she is lacking and seeks to improve. Someone who is diligent, self-disciplined, not afraid of making mistakes but seeks to repair them when they occur. An intelligent, witty, young lady with whom I can converse with for hours at a time. Interested in other cultures, in the world that goes on and strives to do her part to improve what she can.

I forgot to mention she had to be interested in world domination as well.

But the thing is I need to improve in those areas as well, especially my self discipline. I need to do all that what I listed, and be more than who I am today.

And oddly enough, knowing this gives me motivation, it gives me focus.

So thanks you all for listening. Of course I could just be crazy with what I listed too, so let me know if I do that.

Darn

I'm just not in the mood to do school work this week it seems. Anybody willing to crack the whip over me to get me going?

Missionary Wednesday

Hey You all!
Friday we got a call for some kind of leadership meeting Saturday morning, but Elder B had a feeling he should pray about whether or not we should go and when he did he felt he shouldn't go, and by not going he could get a baptismal date from that. President R. and others there weren't happy about that but couldn't argue after he told them he prayed about not going. Saturday we did normal proselyting and got a new media referral we thought we should check on immediately, so we did. The guy we found has been in his baptist church for a very long time but has never been baptized because he wanted to be sure to get the right church to do it because there were so many. He agreed to the baptismal date and is pretty much one of those textbook MTC stories you always hear about but never actually see. I'm amazed by Elder B., we wouldn't have found this guy if we had gone to the meeting.
Sunday we finally got Sister P. to church to confirm her. We all feel so good about finally getting her there, she almost didn't make it again this week. After church we had a district dinner since transfers were coming and we all wanted to do something. It was all good.
Tuesday we finally managed to arrange a trip to the temple, right on the last week of the transfer before we leave. Talk about cutting it close. We actually missed the deadline to go and had to get special permission from president roach to go. It felt so good to be back at the temple after seven months.
The temple trip took up most of the day but then afterward we were reminded that it was transfer call Tuesday. We called and got a bunch of calls about rumors confirmed and others blown away. I really hate it when you find out where someone else is going but you have to wait a longer time to find out about yourself. After a bit our district finally got the calls. My "little birdies" were half right, I am leaving Beverly and going into a trio, just not in Naperville. My new area is still in the city zone(i thought for sure i was leaving) my new companions are Elder J. and Elder S. Elder J. is a former AP and both have been out for a lot longer then me, that's all I know for now, I'll give more details when I get them.
Sister C. is sick today but I told her I was leaving my area after nine months and she said that number was symbolic of birth and rebirth. (Editors Note: That is false) I talked to a lot of other people too and told them I was leaving, and lots of them want me to keep in contact with them, I'm amazed because some of those people I hardly know at all.
today is Sister Ca.'s hump day and we had a huge burning party at the Point. The sister's tradition for 9 months is to burn a skirt, some other elders there burned some of their cloths to celebrate their respective check points. (Editors Note: What is this, Mario Kart?) It was a lot of fun. Sister Ca.'s hump day makes me feel old because I flew out with her and she's halfway done but at the same time I feel so young because when she leaves I'll still have six months left. Then sisters who got here after me will be leaving before before my turn comes.
After email we're going to pack up a bit then maybe do something for a last chance district activity. Lucky, Elder B. gets to stay here; I avoided Naperville again and he avoided the zone leader loop again. Oddly enough Elder H. and I are getting transferred into the same district. If this next area is his dying area and I stay there for six months we will have been in the same district together for almost a full year. As far as everyone else in the district, Elder P. and the Zone Leaders will stay the same but Sister B. is on her last transfer and she's getting moved out. That's just cruel, having someone move to a new area for six weeks then having them pack up again and go home. But then again that's how the mission is sometimes. Elders S. and Elder T. had to do the same thing. Eldder H. thinks he might have to because he's got 4 transfers left but has never been in an area for more then three.
I'm really exited for my first transfer in a new area and seeing how that goes.

Love, Elder Fields.

Extreme Case of Irony

Since moving into my new ward a month ago, I joined in and participate some Saturdays in NCMO. "No" Climb Mountains Optimistically! Basically it is weekly hikes and all that. Anywhat, in the search box I typed in ncmo, but instead of clicking the link for the the group I belonged too, I accidentally hit enter, thus I searched for "NCMO" on facebook. The thing is that I started laughing upon seeing that there are over 70 groups all dealing with NCMO, and that even more hilariously is that there is BYU NCMO club group.

Well my curiosity got the best of me and I clicked on the BYU group, not expecting to read in the most recent wall post that posed the question,

Why is this group full of married folks and pregnant chicks?

I began laughing hilariously at it, so much I felt it had to be shared. And I'm not linking to it because you can all find it easily yourselves if you so choose.

Dastardly Deeds II

I believe I owe you all the continuation of the story do I not?

It was Sunday afternoon, actually it was more near the evening though there was still plenty of daylight about. Deciding it was time, I called upon two fellow co-conspirators and we took the bucket full of ice to their sink to let hot water run over it. As soon as the ice block was unstuck to the bucket and we could slide the ice block out of the bucket we headed out to the residence of the girls.

It was a relatively quick journey to their complex, no one was out and about, so we just set the ice block down in front of their door, rang the doorbell and hid and watched. When they came out, they didn't know what was inside it at first and thought maybe it was something unmentionable that they had left on a guy's car the night before and in one of my co-conspirator's sink.

Anywhat, we enjoyed watching them smash the ice block on the sidewalk and trying to get the sandals out of the Ziploc bag. Of course before that actually happened they discovered us and we fled slightly for our own safety. But it's all good.

Have a nice night!

Dastardly Deeds

I unfortunately I arrived at the end of a thing, so I can't tell all of it. Suffice to say there were 9 girls toilet papering/saran-wrapping a couple of cars, some guys came out to stop them, buckets of water were thrown, girls were saran-wrapped to poles, hilarity ensued and the girls retreated to their apartment complex abandoning at least three sandals (That we found).

So I arrive, and see a few guys huddled, they're talking about the tussle or whatever you could call it and were discussing what to do with a sandal. One of the viable ideas was to get a rope and some counterweights and throw it on a power line like a pair of shoes. That would involve finding rope. Other ideas were thrown out, for the sake of throwing out ideas, and other stuff until I suggested freezing the sandal.

So we put the sandal in a ziploc bag and saw that it floated, so we went and collected some rocks, using saran wrap as a tie to anchor the original sandal and two others we found while collecting rocks. After some fidgeting we managed to get the sandals in the middle of a decent sized bucket of water and put it in my apartment's freezer.

And after church we'll see what happens, how the girls react to the frozen sandals.

Metal Claws

It was late at night and I was on my own, alone in a deserted corridor looking... looking for something. I didn't know where it was, just that I'd know it when I saw it. As I walked I rounded a corner and came upon a receptionist's desk where two middle aged women were still at the desk. I continued walking casually, occasionally sniffing the air as if anticipating something. Acting as if I had business in the building I asked if their supervisor was there, to which they responded that he wasn't. I thanked them for the information and continued walking as if to go to the elevator. Just before I reached the elevator I noticed out the of the corner of my eye a dimly lit room just down the next corridor and ran to it. As I entered I saw that the room was full of files, accounting books, and backup computers. This was the correct room, but I still didn't know what it was that I was supposed to destroy. I could take my time and look, or I could destroy everything. That was the simpler solution, and I had in fact the perfect tools for destruction; a pair of metal claws that extended rapidly from the back of my hand. Smiling, I quickly went to work, I started shredding books, gutting computers, snapping sticks of memory, RAM, in half and just making a glorious mess. The secretaries upon hearing the ruckus that was being made and came running in to investigate. Upon seeing me enraged and destroying everything one of them picked up a metallic object, a piece of scrap metal, to try and use as a club to get me to stop. Not that it threatened me or anything, I just quickly sliced it in half, much to the dismay of the secretary. I continued for a moment to slash the few remaining things that were still undamaged, when a large security guard entered the room as well. Before he could make a move, and thinking that everything was sufficiently destroyed, I leaped through a window in the corridor and took off running...

Yeah, I had a weird dream that I was Wolverine, destroying some type of information.

That a dream about a friend's blog, who posted her policy on kissing; that she would only kiss a guy if they'd gone out on more than five dates and there was strong marriage potential with the guy; aside from any kissing that would be done in drama or theater classes.

Again, all very odd.

180°

Just to be brief as I am out of time at the moment.

I find it interesting that even though everyone has their own issues, their own problems, we don't consider those people like that. I mean you do a search for a name in facebook and you can come up with with over 500 people that match that name. Or, in my case, in boredom I was browsing random BYU groups, reading stuff on their discussion boards and even looking at some people's pictures but beyond that I didn't consider them at all beyond the picture presented. Just some abstract face I don't know and am thus indifferent too. That over the internet I would treat as indifferent, or maybe less than dignified. So I was just glancing, wasting some time until I clicked on a girl's profile, a fellow BYU student's profile that I had viewd and noticed she had a blog.

Now being the blog reading type that I am, I clicked on the link and began to read, expecting some attempted humor like I do occasionally, something to poke fun at all the stress that goes on. But that isn't what she wrote. I won't say what's going on, except suffice to say that's she's been having a rotten summer so far.

And reading it made me feel guilty because just a few moments ago I was just casually brushing by her facebook profile as if she were nothing at all.

And then I came to the realization that every single person has something going on in their life, some problem. And I've been too focused on my own blunders and getting back into school in the fall that I lost track of what is important, how I should be treating others, how I should be helping them instead of objectifying them or filling my day with trivialities.

It is a metaphorical slap in the face for me to man up and get doing what I am supposed to be doing instead of focusing on my own past blunders.

So I hope that in the future I express more optimism for the future, that as my attitude changes that this blog reflects it.

And so for those of you I know, I apologize for the times I have slighted you, big and small and hope you'll forgive me.


Sincerely Sam, the Nanti-SARRMM

Mouthwatering Nerdiness

There is a game by Nintendo called Zelda, where you play as link and basically fight to save the kingdom from the Ultimate Baddy, Ganondorf. I have enjoyed playing all the games.

Anywhat there is an Electronics convention of sorts going on (E3) and one of the main developers Miyamoto said something awesome.

...but the only other hint is that it's very possible the game could be only played with Wii MotionPlus. "Of course, that depends on how well Wii Sports Resort sells. I'd like you to think of Zelda when you're playing with some of the swordplay in Wii Sports Resort."

That means we'd be making the sword movements. Awesome. *drool* umm... Sorry. It's just awesome.

Missionary Wednesday; Witnesses in All Things

Dear family and friends,
We worked it hard on Wednesday through Friday, and Friday afternoon we experienced something that has never before happened in the history of this mission. We were witnesses to an armed robbery. We had to go down to the police station and give our stories. They caught one of the guys involved but the other got away. We got to identify him in a police line up. Then there was a lot of paperwork, questioning and talking to police and lawyers. This took all night. I never thought I would ever pull an all-nighter in a police station. I didn't get to bed until 8:45 A.M., but we didn't let a little sleep deprivation stop the work; we continued to press forward. Saturday and Sunday we did the best we could with our appointments, considering how tired we were. This whole thing doesn't help the work at all, they may have to call us into court to testify, with transfers coming up we may be in three different areas so we can only hope this will all work out quickly. In case your worried, don't be; nobody was hurt except for the car they stole.
In regards to President R., he's not getting any better. At the end of this transfer the last of the missionaries that started under the previous mission president, President H., will go home and President R. is trying to tighten his grip on the mission. He's not happy that the Pres H. missionaries have more respect for President H. than himself and that the baptismal record of 40 baptisms in one month occured during President H.'s last month and hasn't reached that height since then. The Pres H. missionaries say that he inspired them but all President R. cares about is obedience and numbers, so they don't feel inspired. President H. sounds like a nice guy and if President R. wants to see the mission improve he might try to inspire us like President H. did instead of lecturing us and telling us we need to constantly improve and not do little things that don't really matter. Don't get me wrong, I love President Roach, and I don't want to make him sound like a bad guy but honestly that's what some missionaries feel he's becoming. They don't feel like he listens to them at all. In reality he does his best in the best way he knows how and trying to be like someone else probably wont help ether.
Moving to something a bit more light-hearted I hope, in the last two weeks of every transfer, information leaks out about what will happen next transfer and if my little birdies have told me right, then there's a 100% chance that I will leave Beverly and go to the Naperville zone. The only thing good about this is that if my little birdies are right then I will be in another missionary trio. But lets wait until next week for transfer calls for those rumors to be confirmed.
Today at Sister C.'s we learned a bit about the history of the earth, how it fell from Kolob's orbit to here and the trauma of that fall is what may have killed the dinosaurs and started the ice age. Earth was baptized in the flood and places like Atlantis disappeared when the earth split. Also each of us is going to be an Abraham in someway because we will all be tested by giving up something we love. Last, Christ was confirmed a member of his church when he received the Holy Ghost; God spoke and confirmed him and then he received the Holy Ghost.
Today is a zone activity, that's it for now.
love Elder Fields

No, I Didn't Catch It

Compared to many of my friends, I'm short. How short you ask? This short.