Praying for Tuberculosis?

As you all know, I have been suffering from a mysterious medical conditon for well over a year now. It has been seven months since I last saw a doctor for it, so I decided to find a new urologist to get a fresh perspective.
My search was made surprisingly easy when I received a list of health care providers from my insurance company. I randomly chose a urologist in the valley.
My appointment was today. I was really nervous because these things usually involve some awkward moments. Strange enough, the doctor just talked to me. He looked over my history and is pretty sure he knows what is wrong. His guess? tuberculosis. That's right. . . TB. The same disease that claimed the lives of thousands of people in the 18 century. Just my luck, right? To be honest with you, I'm relieved. They still have more tests to run, but I really hope they have finally found out what is wrong. I'm ready to move on.

Ode to February

February has always boggled my mind. It's probably the coolest month out there. It just does what it wants. It's noticably shorter than all the other months but is filled to the brim with awesomeness. The word "february" alone is evidence enough of its greatness. Just to make sure February stays cool, every once in a while it decides to have an extra day. I think we could all learn some valuable lessons from the month of February.
You likely didn't notice, but I haven't blogged since the first of February. Being that it is now the first of March, I think I will just touch on the highlights of my favorite month.

• I was in training all month long for my new position at the bank. The training takes place at a big building out by the airport. This building just happens to be home to the best *cafeteria ever.
• President's Day always happens in February. Question: Who doesn't love President's Day? Answer: Wells Fargo (we were the only bank open).
• Valentine's Day is another holiday that calls February "home." This year all my friends that are around happened to be girls. They decided to have a "Anti-Valentine" Party (more accurately named "Party of Hate"). I'll admit, I was a little depressed that I was potentially going to have to spend the day alone. Instead of being pathetic, I took the high road. I spent the morning working with the missionaries. Then I took a break and Gavin DiFran and I went laser-tagging. After that, I went with some different missionaries to the temple open-house. It was a great Valentine's Day.
• February 23rd was my half birthday. Since I am so much younger than everybody else in my class, I have always openly observed my half birthday.
• The best part about February 2009 has got to be my NEW CAR!!!! I bought a 2008 Dodge Caliber. It's sexy silver with black trim. Inside it has tons of room (I can even sit all the way up and not touch the ceiling with my head). The coolest feature of my new car? Inside the glove box there are grooves where you put up to four beverages. The air-conditioning then kicks in and cools the beverages. That's right. There is a cooler in my glove box.

Ideally, all of this information would have been spread out over the last four weeks. But I'm lazy, and a procrastinator. So here it is.

*No weight was lost during the month of February.

Landmarks

In the last month, I have reached a lot of interesting landmarks in my life.

• My car reached 100,000 miles. My little Hyundai that could. . . did.
• I finally weigh 200 lbs. Who is the biggest loser now, suckas?
• January 30th was the anniversary of my first documented evidence of any sort of medical condition. I remember it like is was yesterday. My companion, Elder Clements, and I were walking through the foggy Belgian streets. We were heading to a dinner appointment with the nicest family ever. I remember turning to Elder Clements and saying, "Elder, righty doesn't feel so hot." Happy anniversary.

Already Disappointed.

Anybody who glanced at a tv today knows that it was Inauguration Day. The day when the mantle of the presidency shifted from tired shoulders to the "shoulders of change." I am an Obama supporter and have been from the start. However, I find it hard to not be disappointed by what I saw today.
What upset me most was the fact that all of the festivities of the day came off like a really boring red-carpet special. I don't even want to know how much money was spent on the goings-on today. I also hate the fact that celebrities such as Ashanti were interviewed wearing skanky award-show dresses. This is an inauguration people- put on a jacket.
Our country is in a pretty serious bind here. We have money. . . or do we? I hate to think who could have benefited from the funds wasted today.
I still have faith in my boy Obama. I'm just sad is all.

Denied. . .

Well friends. Plans have changed again. I'm okay with it this time, mostly because it wasn't my choice. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I was not accepted at BYU. It's no biggie though because I recently received a promotion that would have prevented me from going to Provo anyway. So now I am a Banker at Wells Fargo.
This is even better than my original plan for the following reasons:

• I can keep my beard and not feel guilty for being in violation of the Honor Code.
• I don't have to kick my mild swearing habit.
• I can enjoy a little bit of extra money while I do online classes and night school.
• I won't be throwing money away by paying rent.
• I still get to hang with all my friends who live in the SL valley.
• I won't be looking over my shoulder everytime I accidentally blurt out "That's what she said."

I'll be honest, I didn't really think I would get into BYU- but it was worth a shot.

Heckled

Earlier this week, I was given the honor of playing the piano for the Oquirrh Elementary School Fifth Grade Christmas Program. I thought this would be a fun thing to do. Preparations began a couple weeks ago and I immediately learned (and improved) various arrangements of songs like "Holly Jolly Christmas" "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" "Rudolph" and "Let There Be Peace On Earth". A couple days before the program, I was informed that I was expected to have "a little something" prepared for while the kids walked on and off the stage. I decided I would just take my big Christmas songbook and find something easy to play.
The program itself went well. I had a great rendition of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" for while the kids came in. The actual program went very smoothly. My confidence was firm.
Then it was suddenly over. I scrambled through my big songbook to find something for the exit. "Jingle Bell Rock" caught my eye.
I figured, since it's technically a jazz song, it wouldn't really matter if I missed a couple notes here and there. I thought I was doing a great job having never played that song before. Apparently I was wrong. Some redneck in the back row shouted "Come on, Piano." At first I thought I was just hearing things. Then I realized that my take on a Christmas classic was offending someone.
So I stopped playing. Looked around. Stood up and left.
This experience is now the newest addition to my Anti-Christmas arsenal.

In Conclusion. . .

I realize that if one were to read through my previous blog posts, they would encounter two or three posts talking about some sort of "life-changing" decision. Here's another one.
These last few weeks, I have been tossing around the idea of going back on a mission. It's still hard for me to shake the thought of "where would I be right now?" and "where SHOULD I be right now?".
Well, I made up my mind. I decided I am going to try to go back. If I tried, I would know whether or not it was meant to be.
Unfortunately, not long after having made that decision, the exact opposite occurred. My body gave me a gentle reminder that I am not quite at full capacity.
So, I am here to stay.
I know what you are thinking. Deciding to stay in one place is no life-changing decision. You're right. The part about my life changing is more about the way I view my situation. I have made every effort to return, but it's just not meant to be.
The next step? Find a good reason to be here. This one shouldn't be hard.