Date:	2007-11-08 23:35
Subject:	Writer's Block and Life
Security:	Public
Mood:	pensive

I'm learning a lot about Writer's Block.  Writer's Block is something that happens whenever you need to write, I'm finding.  I'm doing National Novel-Writing Month again this year, and I'm becoming very familiar with Writer's Block.  National Novel-Writing Month is a kamikaze effort to write a novel during the month of November, and involves writing large amounts of fiction every single day.  This is actually pretty exciting, and then the Writer's Block creeps in, as it always does when creativity is at work.  I keep reminding myself that 50,000 crappy words are a lot better than 50,000 unwritten words.

So, I think it has something to do with the possibilities of a blank, white page.  There are so many amazing things you could throw down there, and so many awful ones, that the pure amount of possibilities freaks the CRAP out of you and you can't put down a word.  I think you could define Writer's Block, at least for me, as a fear of possibility.  Nobody likes creating crap, and that's what's pulling and tugging at your creativity, keeping it back in its cage.  So I think Writer's Block is one of the first important obstacles that our creativity has to overcome, and probably the largest one.  A truly creative person has to be very practiced at letting the creativity run loose, rampant and howling like a freaking wolf, without fear of crappy creation. 

I think we probably all have something to learn about creativity.  Creativity is not necessarily about creating something amazing, or awesome, or good, or even relatively readable.  I honestly believe that.  Creativity is for yourself.  The act of creating something, be it gold nuggets or a festering pile of feces, is empowering.  It's realizing the power of your imagination, making dreams reality no matter how small or fictional those dreams may be. 

I have been thinking a lot about my dream to be a writer.  Ever since I read my first chapter book in first grade or whenever, Goblins In The Castle by Bruce Coville, I've had a dream of being a writer.  I've truly pursued that ever since.  I've thought a lot about the joy I've experienced in writing.  In reflection, I feel that the greatest joy has not been in looking at what I've written and saying "Wow, I am freaking awesome."  I look back at what I wrote in 6th grade, random stories about a hippie named Joe or a race of aliens called Ginzfortwoozelfimms, and I'm fairly certain that what I wrote doesn't produce statements like "Wow, that Duzett guy is a freaking genius."  But I'll remember quite fondly the joyful experience it was to scribble that stuff down in my spiral notebook, to pull stuff out of my childish head and spill it unforgivingly onto paper.  The stuff I wrote for the high school paper is not incredibly good, but the experience of researching and writing and rewriting and cutting and doing it all over again was one of the most educational experiences of my life.  Every moment I busted through Writer's Block has a special place in my memory, and the excitement I remember feeling is a valuable asset to my life.

With this dream of mine of becoming a writer, is becoming a writer and fulfilling my dream the real fulfillment?  Am I pursuing this because of an expectation of incredible fulfillment at meeting my goal, or because of a recognition of the incredible fulfillment I've already been experiencing in pursuing it?  Do I write for the amazing story on the other side of Writer's Block, or do I write for the amazing experience of putting one there?

A blank page looks smooth, white, and innocent.  I think this fear of possibility also relates a lot to the often-asked and seldom-answered question: What am I going to do with my life?  The possibilities terrify us.  We know that there are so many amazing things that we can do in life, and so many terrible things.  Do we worry so much about making the most amazing choice at the other end of this phase of life that we forget the value of making the choice?  Is it more important to make the best choice or to be willing to create, to attempt to put our dreams into reality?  Again, the worst enemy to creation is the fear of possibility, the fear that when we try to move our dreams into reality that our dreams will prove sucky. 

Having pursued this dream of mine all my life, and now a sophomore in college, I see myself staring at another blank page.  What will I do with my life?  Is studying english and spending my time writing the right choice?  Am I afraid that as I start putting my dream into my life, it'll prove to be that festering pile of feces?  What if it does?  Does it matter, if it's my dream, and I made it happen?  Could this be what's most important?

So I'm going to go back to writing my novel now.  I'm going to bust through Writer's Block for the umpteenth time tonight and do it over and over again the rest of my life just for the experience of doing it and marveling at whatever comes out.  I'll marvel because it never would've existed otherwise.

Date:	2007-10-08 23:07
Subject:	School work
Security:	Public
Mood:	thirsty

Not surprisingly, I'm procrastinating a homework assignment right now.  I'm supposed to write a 2-3 page response to Plato's Republic.  This is some pretty philosophical stuff.  It basically takes Plato 386 pages to prove that good is better than bad.  (I guess this has influenced a lot of philosophy and civilization and stuff.  It was a big breakthrough.)  He used the word "bogus" at one point.  That part was pretty cool.

I have what seems to me to be a pretty hefty reading load.  I'm reading at least one book every week.  So far, I've read Gilgamesh, the Odyssey, Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, the Republic, most of the New Testament, about 30 short stories, and a lot of textbook.  In a way, it's refreshing.  The only thing I read the last two years was the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  At the same time, I feel victimized.  I have more text from the books I had to buy for this semester than all the books I brought from home.  I feel oppressed by large piles of paper. 

I'm learning to speed read.  When I had to get through 150 pages of Plato in one day, I timed myself.  I wrote down in the book the time I started reading and kept track of my page-per-minute reading velocity.  To keep myself sane as I work through large amounts of paper, I write sarcastic comments in the margin.  I'm looking forward to selling these textbooks back at the end of the semester.  I like to imagine somebody else reading my colorful comments and finding a smile on their face.  There's probably a more direct way to accomplish this than through discreet commentary in resold textbooks, but it keeps me amused. 

There are great advantages to taking so many english classes.  My mother is an english major from the same university.  I strategically and casually mention my homework assignments to her, and without fail I later receive a call.

"I was just sitting here thinking about it," my Mom'll say, "and I thought of another way that Oedipus and Hamlet are similar.  I just wanted to let you know before I forgot."

"Oh, so you're reading Dante's Inferno?" my Dad says.  "I wrote a paper about that once, I'll have to send it to you."

So I have all kinds of ideas to work with.  I'm still debating if I want to continue down this road as far as study goes.  I know that I am enjoying what I'm studying.  I have the goal of being a writer of some sort.  All I lack now is a plan.

I'm feeling a need to write more.  I feel that it's important.  I just need to make the time for it.  Speaking of which, everybody should take part in National Novel-Writing Month.  It is a blast.  www.nanowrimo.org

I hope all is well with everybody.

I'm back in the United States again.  Well, I was in the United States before, but it kind of doesn't count.  I've been tex-mexed for the past two years straight, and it was the best experience of my life. 

So, I'm back.  I don't know if I've changed a lot; I didn't really keep track. 

I'm at BYU right now.  I'm taking some general education stuff and some writing classes, too.  But I really have no idea what I want to study anymore.  I didn't worry about it for two years, figuring that I could figure it out easier after the mission, and now here I am and I'm not really sure what I want to do with my life.  It's odd because my whole life I've known that I've wanted to be a writer, but now I just don't know how to go about doing it or even if it's still what I want to do - I haven't written for two years. 

What's odd is that on returning, the weird thing isn't how much people have changed - it's how much they're still the same.  Life and people and family feel all very similar to how they felt before I left.  Not really living your own life for two years makes you forget what it's like, I suppose.  You spend every day trying to help people and then all of a sudden it all gets taken away and you're just supposed to help yourself. 

I'm still trying to figure that part out.

I feel depressed.  I think part of it may be that at the same time I'm writing this, I'm procrastinating the start of a three-page paper that's due tomorrow.  That's not really a situation conducive to warm feelings and fluttering butterflies.  I do think it's just a lot of stuff at once that's on my plate - I don't know what my plans for life are, I'm terrified that my dreams might be slipping away, I'm a stranger in a strange land, and I miss my brothers and sisters in south Texas.  Maybe this is something important to feel.  It's probably a defining moment.

I feel like things will get worked out.  They always do.  Orson Scott Card's coming to BYU on Thursday, so things can't be going too bad, right? 

I've already been set apart as a missionary, and I'll actually be physically leaving tomorrow morning. I was originally going to write some long, deep entry, but I've spent too much time packing and I need to get some sleep or else my first day at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) will be miserable. Anyway, I think I might have my Mom put some updates up here every once in a while to let you all know how/what I'm doing. I left step-by-step instructions for her so she won't mess up.

I hope you guys are all as cool in two years as you are now, if not cooler. Don't do drugs or smoke cigs or drink alcohol! Stay in school! Brush your teeth! Write me if you feel the urge!

Well, I need to sleep now, so farewell.

-Elder Duzett

Date:	2005-06-23 21:43
Subject:	I'm more excited than Wayne over there
Security:	Public
Mood:	excited

Dear Elder Duzett:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Texas McAllen Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.

You should report to the MIssionary Training Center at Provo, Utah on Wednesday, 7 September 2005. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language. Your mission president may modify your specific assignment according to the needs of the mission.

You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president.

You will also be expected to devote all your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs. As you do these things the Lord will bless you and you will become an effective advocate and messenger of the truth. We place in you our confidence and pray that the Lord will help you meet your responsibilities in fulfilling this sacred assignment.

The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children.

You will be set apart as a missionary by your stake president. Please send your written acceptance promptly, endorsed by your bishop.

Sincerely,
Gordon B. Hinckley
President

Date:	2005-05-06 22:25
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	restless

A few days ago (this may have been yesterday in actuality - my days are all blurred together), I was feeling confused. Not necessarily depressed, just confused. I'd just realized my life had changed quite a bit over a brief period of time, and was about to change even more in merely weeks. I felt like I was in a non-space, ie a location wherein identity is sacrificed for function (an airport is an excellent example of non-place, as well as a car) - a crowded airport where we're all going places, but nobody wants to stay. My point is that I felt like I was in the Airport of Change, and I didn't know where I stood as a person.

I missed the days when I could define life, or at least complain about it. This confusion was new to me. Man, I had life figured out. And I've decided that maybe we don't need to always be able to do that. I doubt every successful person that's gone through life did it by constantly defining what life "is." Maybe it's okay that I don't know everything right now. Maybe some things just have to be learned by the good-old-fashioned Magellan method, setting sail for completely unknown horizons, drawing the map as you go. I'm not going to get some kind of epiphany thinking about exploration - just by going after it.

Well, just random crap; but I thought I'd share it for some reason. I'm bored.

Date:	2005-05-02 00:06
Subject:	Um
Security:	Public
Mood:	tired

Your Birthdate: May 8

Born on the 8th day of the month, you have a special gift for business, as you can conceive and plan on a grand scale. You have good executive skills and you're a good judge of values. You should try to own your own business, because you have such a strong desire to be in control. You are generally reliable when it comes to handling money; you can be trusted in this regard. Idealistic by nature, you are never too busy to spend some time on worthwhile causes, especially if managerial support are needed. There is much potential for material success associated with this number.

Date:	2005-04-27 20:22
Subject:	Back from Utah
Security:	Public
Mood:	restless

Well, I made it back alive - and five weeks sooner than most of you, I might add. I accomplished much this year, including:

* Taking Calculus I twice, earning a D+ and an A, respectively
* Winning 1st place and $1500 in BYU's most prestigious, most lucrative writing contest (as a freshman, too - wam!)
* Writing the first draft of a novel
* Turning a 2.73 GPA into a 3.43 in just one semester
* Guessing one of the songs on Tati's list

At this point, I'm just chilling in Oregon, reflecting on my amazing achievements. I'm also getting paperwork done for my mission, which I'll likely leave for in late July or so. I'm spending most of my time reading, as I've banned myself from videogames. (I satisfy my competetive thirst by crushing my family at Cities and Knights. Taste my college-educated fury, siblings!) Anyway, if anybody's around Hillsboro or Oregon in general, give me a call or something.

- Carl

So I just went to my last class of the semester today. I have an online, open-note, open-book, open-partner final that's worth 30 points on Saturday. Then I have a take-home open-note, open-book final due Monday.
Then I've got the comprehensive calculus exam from 7-10 at night on Tuesday, and a biology final on any day I want from this Saturday to next Thursday. All in all, I'm going to have it really freaking easy this time around. I'll be back in Hillsboro by Monday the 25th.

Basically, it's odd that the school year's over, but I'm about ready for a break.

Oh! Good news, if you care. I won a big, fat essay contest. It's BYU's largest writing contest, and I netted $1500 from it, plus I'm getting published in a book of the winning entries at the end of summer. This is the first time I've received money from writing anything; plus, I got a neat pin.

So I'm done with BYU for a couple years now. Once I get back to Hillsboro, I'm going to focus on getting my paperwork in for a mission. Probably around late June or early July, I'll head out for two years to preach my beliefs. It's real convenient that I get another two years to decide what I want to study and possibly do for the rest of my life. I think I need to figure some more things out before I can attack that. Your opinions are welcome, by the way, on what I should do. I thought a little bit about International Relations the other day. Who knows?

-Carl

Date:	2005-03-07 00:26
Subject:	Stuff and Things
Security:	Public
Mood:	optimistic

(This is the part where I mention that I haven't updated for a long time.)

Somehow, this school year is already winding down. Finals end by the 20th of April, and then I'll have experienced an entire year of collegiate education. I've learned a lot of things this year, and I'm kind of sad for it to be over. I've kind of got my own little life here in Provo, where all my friends are people who live in all corners of the country. I'm with a girl from Phoenix who I'd never have met outside this "bubble", and who will go in completely different directions from me at the end of this year.

I've learned I'm not as much of a hot-shot as I thought. (The rhyming, by the way, was strictly unintentional.) I've learned that being smart isn't always what's important. I've also learned it's easy to let things that you cherish drift away for seemingly no reason.

And the most exciting thing- I'm going on a mission for two years. I'm probably turning in my papers in May, around the time of my birthday or so, meaning I'll find out where I'm going in June or something. And then at that point, the next two years of my life will be spent focused on one thing. There's something exhilirating about focusing that much time on something you feel strongly about. It's kind of putting your money where your mouth is, so to speak.

It's an odd feeling to realize that no matter what I do for the rest of this semester, I'll be spending the next two years on a religious mission. I just get the feeling that everything's dying down right before I leave on this thing.

Anyway, I'm beginning to get excited to come home to Oregon and see my family, and see how everybody's been. As great as Utah is, I'd trade almost any of it for one look at a good ol' Oregon Douglas Fir.

Date:	2005-01-02 18:51
Subject:	Two-thousand and Four
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

2004 is driving a stick
2004 is the last ski race
2004 is finding a way to move on
2004 is people working together
2004 is no longer caring what others think
2004 is graduating from lower education
2004 is reforging something wonderful
2004 is turning my life around
2004 is opening room for improvement
2004 is learning the differences between places and spaces, heterotopias and non-places
2004 is entering the Bubble
2004 is learning more about my sister
2004 is walking the walk
2004 is leaving it out on the line
2004 is a study of ethics
2004 is making a website
2004 is becoming an Unstoppable Writing Dynamo
2004 is starting something new with someone great
2004 is trying to understand a sacrifice
2004 is actually writing a novel
2004 is glad tidings of great joy
2004 is just a beginning

I was about to start this entry off with something to the effect of "I haven't posted here for awhile, but that's because I've been busy. Sorry." Then I realized that's what everyone says, and it's probably what every one of my posts for the past five months have been like.

So I'm in the midst of finals. Three down, two to go; and they're both comprehensive multiple choice suckas I gotta take tomorrow. I haven't studied that much for them at all; that's not good. But life is going excellent. I've discovered this thing about life, at least my life, where life can be hard, but very very good to me. I feel like I've grown a lot as a person over the past year. I'd say it's been an amazing year, and this Christmas will likely be one of the best ever.

I've made some awesome friends here at college, our hall is absolutely awesome (like, every single guy in the entire hall - yes, we have guy-only halls), I've met an amazing girl, and I've been writing. That novel I was working on fell short (ouch) by 13,000 words - it was just too busy in November. But I'm finishing it over Christmas break. And I wrote a ten page personal essay which I'm very proud of and I submitted it to a prestigious contest. I probably won't hear anything from it, but the point I'm trying to make here is that I've always wanted to be a writer, and now I'm actually writing. There's a short story contest in January/February that I'm also thinking about doing. And the thing isn't that I'm going to win any of these contests (as nice as that would be) so much as I'm kind of putting my money where my mouth is for once. Oh, and in a spurt of vain ambition, I made a website for myself. It's The Official Homepage of Awesomeness. I just put a bunch of random crap I've written up there. I'm probably going to put some more things there this break; I really want to review some movies I just saw at the dollar theater. Anyway, if you ever find any amount of time you'd enjoy removing from your life, check it out.

Anyway, so that's one thing. Another is that I'm leaving for my mission in May. That's just five months. I was kind of apprehensive about this before, but now I'm getting excited. It's something I'm really looking forward to.

What else? I'm coming back for Christmas on Thursday. That's going to be a blast. Absolutely NO homework, just writing and spending time with family and friends. And we're not driving to New Mexico like we originally planned, which is just fantastic. And really good. (It would have been a 24 hour road trip, 48 hours both ways.) So I'm thinking everybody needs to go to a Blazers game or something. I'm very excited about seeing a Blazers game.

So things are just freaking PEACHY around here.

Date:	2004-11-24 01:10
Subject:	Never Before
Security:	Public
Mood:	anxious

Have you ever moved in on a friend's ex? It's a weird feeling.

Is it something that can be done with good conscience?
Is it something I can stop with good conscience?

Likely, things will settle themselves out later and I'll look back on this and shake my head.

That's the beauty of life. No worries; just excitement.

Guess what I just bought at the BYU bookstore? A BYU shot glass.

I wouldn't have even known they existed if it weren't for the civic A.J. Butler, who wrote a Letter to the Editor in the school paper complaining about their presence.

This is surely a collector's item.

Date:	2004-09-17 20:53
Subject:	less people MORE ROBOTS
Security:	Public
Mood:	shameless

This is, I'll admit, a shameless plug. I usually try and avoid making these the same way one tries to avoid clipping their toenails; it's technically avoidable, but every once in a while it just has to be done.

My sister's in a band based in Salt Lake City. Now, I'd be supportive of my sister even if she was in a sucky band. As in, if she were accompanied by the chinese lady with the violin in Spiderman 2 and some random irish bum who hit some spoons against the floor, I'd probably still support her.

Point is, this is actually a good band. Not only am I plugging it out of brotherly kindness, but because, in a breach of local band etiquette, they're actually talented. People like them, and YOU might too.

They're Less People More Robots, and they're rock/alternative/punk, whatever that means. (That's just what their website says.) They started up like 4 or 5 months ago, and just won the SLAMMY (Salt Lake music award) for Best New Band. I've been listening to their demo and I went to one of their shows, and they're for real.

They have a website at myspace where you can listen to four of their songs and look at the pictures of all the crazy people who post comments. Even if you don't like them for whatever reason, you probably know someone who might. Spreading "the word" to people who might give half a rat's bum about "the word" would be appreciated.

As a bonus for reading my shameless plug, you get to see a picture of a guy punching a shark.

Date:	2004-08-28 16:06
Subject:	Chronicles of Ridiculousness
Security:	Public
Mood:	contemplative

One of the benefits of going to a college in a college-centered city is the cheapness of the nearby theater. It's basically a dollar theater where they show movies that came out three months ago or later.

So I met up with my sister and we went to see a movie. The only movie showing at a decent time was Chronicles of Riddick.

Like so many other flops, Chronicles of Riddick is exactly what is sounds like. It's not just an over-the-top sci-fi action film, it's a really really bad over-the-top sci-fi action film. The thing does, however, flaunt some special effects. Like, uh, space ships. And more impressively, digitally removing absolutely all color from the film except gray and certain shades of blue. But mostly gray. This certainly makes Chronicles a very special film.

Apparently, in the development of this film, they decided to sacrifice a few things for the betterment of the movie. Like plot. And characters. And intelligent dialogue. And clear camera angles. And any color which isn't gray.

All of these unimportant elements were sacrificed on the altar of Making Vin Diesel Seem Hardcore. Vin Diesel is clearly the focus of the movie, and rightly so; everything else freaking sucks. Vin Diesel is one person you can expect to be hardcore in a movie. I mean, if the dude was in some Mary Kate and Ashely movie, he'd still be totally awesome. He'd be there surrounded by slutty pop teenage stars and Ashton Kutcher, and he'd still manage to be The Man.

Chronicles, however, still manages to screw it up. He's got this awesome braided beard and sunglasses at the beginning of the movie, but then guess what he does? He SHAVES! Jerk. And then, instead of wearing sunglasses or anything else remotely cool, he wears freaking goggles. They look like speedos. It feels like Vin Diesel just took a break from his synchronized swimming workout to do a number on the bad guys. Even those gay protective sports goggles would be an improvement. Yeah, I said it; Clyde Drexler would make a better Riddick than Vin Diesel.

Vin Diesel, of course, has a love interest. She's this dirty little puke he finds in a high-security prison. They apparently share a past, when she was twelve years old and called "Jack." I'd tell you not to ask, but then I'd feel like a hypocrite. I have absolutely NO idea how that came up. Who in their right mind creates a female love interest character named Jack?

Try and think of the last movie I saw wherein the main female character was easily confused with a male. That's right; Whale Rider. This is the one of the few movies even worth comparing to Whale Rider in crappiness. In this dead heat for rights to the title of Worst Movie Ever, Whale Rider still does have a couple things on Chronicles.

First of all, Vin Diesel appears on the screen once or twice in Chronicles. Whale Rider is conspicuously lacking in Vin Dieselness.

Second of all, while Whale Rider was an $8 nap, Chronicles was only a $1 nap. Now that's a steal. So if anybody needs some sleep, see Chronicles of Riddick; it's seven dollars cheaper than the alternative.

Date:	2004-08-18 21:40
Subject:	LEAVING
Security:	Public
Mood:	excited

I'm going to BYU tomorrow. That's August 19th, baby.

I'll have a computer, I'll have a internet, I'll have a South Korean room mate named Jin Hee Yi, I'll have a lots of mormons, I'll have a bunch of people back in Hillsboro who'll stay in touch. Right?

carlosduzer@yahoo.com

Yeah, that was my email. That's how you keep in touch with the Duzer, see? You email him.

So, because I like keeping stuff short and sweet, I'm going to make a list of people I'm going to miss:

Stefan Safranek
Marc Nielsen
Chad Morrill
Alaina DeJong

I'm afraid that's it. I'm not going to miss anyone else. Sorry, guys; you make my LJ cuts, but I only really miss those four people.

Seriously though, I'm going to miss everybody back in Hillsboro. Good luck with all your futures and lives and such, stay in contact best you can, and kick the world off its lazy bum.

Date:	2004-07-19 08:03
Subject:	What I Did For My Summer Vacation
Security:	Public
Mood:	accomplished

I spent the last two weeks driving around in the desert. Our family decided to DRIVE to Moab, Utah for a family reunion. It was seven full days of extreme camping fun, minus the extreme part, and minus the fun part.

We played cards, swam in the pool, went rafting, and met the locals. The locals are about 85% mosquitos, 10% German tourists, and 5% asian tourists. I'm still not quite sure where we fit in. Anyway, the mosquitos were apparently holding some massive family reunion of their own in our campsite. By Friday, I'd been bitten by the great-grandson of a mosquito that bit me on Sunday, and everyone inbetween.

Moab is known as the location of Arches National Park, but is more famous for housing the only place in Utah where you can gamble: Eddy McStiff's. I can't describe Eddy McStiff's to you, but we did spend a lot of time in Arches. There are lots of big red rocks in Arches, and they can take just about any shape. While some rocks can resemble Dr. Seuss' summer getaway, certain landmarks beg comparisons to celebrities. Skull Arch, for example, bears startling resmeblance to a certain one-gloved wacko who will remain nameless. At least he would, except we all know I'm talking about Michael Jackson.

Although the many arches and rocks are pretty cool, the park rangers are more obsessed with the dirt. While on a pleasant hike through a cheery place called the Fiery Furnace, the park ranger introduced us to this stuff in the dirt called cryptobiotic crust. I guess it helps stuff, and you're not supposed to step on it. Which is a difficult feat, considering that it's invisible to the naked eye, unless you're a park ranger and have super-anal-ranger vision. If you step on this stuff (and he WILL catch you), he'll get all pissy because it's like his firstborn child or something.

After lecturing us on cryptobiotic crust, he pointed to a spot where we shouldn't step because of it. My little brother had beaten him to the spot and was somewhat distracted because he was in the process of fashioning a sand castle there. Needless to say, this didn't go over well with the park ranger.

Despite hot climate, stupid park rangers, and mosquitos, we managed to have a good time with our relatives, and at the end of the week we drove to Farmington, New Mexico, which is boring. It's probably the only place in the country where there are so many rednecks that the day's winning lottery and powerball numbers are on the front page.

Of the few things we actually did in Farmington, me and my brothers helped my grandpa work at the bishop's storehouse. It's like a grocery store for Navajo where everything's free. One thing to remember, though: don't ever eat lunch when surrounded by an aisle of cardboard boxes labelled "Beef Chunks."

I think I've written too much, and that just about covers everything important anyway, so let's just say I got back safely and a little more tan.

Date:	2004-06-18 17:45
Subject:	Hah! Another Update!
Security:	Public
Mood:	nerdy

Summer is kind of boring so far for me. I've applied to about five different places for a job, and that's been the extent of my Summer Fun Madness. Everything else I've done has required little-to-no effort.

So I've decided to flood our little Livejournal community with absolutely pointless, meaningless updates on my oh-so-important life.

Just in time for summer, my Yahoo email account has upgraded itself. This is along with everyone else's Yahoo email accounts, so technically, I shouldn't be excited about this. But when my account was previously 86% full and is now 3% full, I feel like throwing a party. Or updating my livejournal.

Also email-related: I've decided to stop deleting all of my bulk mail. That's the folder where all my spam supposedly goes, even though I still get spam in my regular inbox. After probably a month of not deleting, my bulk mail folder has reached 3,600 emails.

Whenever I feel like a loser, I browse through my bulk mail and uplift myself. Whoever sends these emails calls me by my first name, and invites me to extend my social life by engaging in Virtual Online Dating. I even receive special information from "Dating Secrets Online," who recently informed me of the 10 Mistakes Most Men Make With Women.

Or, I'm told how much more confident I can be when I'm magically extended between 1-3 inches...guaranteed! Or I can even enlarge my breasts by two sizes! And once I've enlarged my...self and my voluptuous breasts, I can make everything else slender using the Diet Patch, which guarantees a 30 pound loss after 30 days' use!

Everyone should save their spam and browse through it every once in a while. And on that note, I've ran out of pointless things to talk about.