Living in my Mothers Basement: The End of the Blog is Near

The Fall weather has arrived and with the Fall weather comes the fall of this blog. Ha ha get it, the fall of this blog.  You know because I am getting married and moving out of the basement. Okay that was dumb.  But in all seriousness, I will have to begin a new blog.  I am up for suggestions for the new blog title.  My ideas are as follows:  Me and Bailee plus zero, Living in the attic with a wife,  Life Out of the basement, All you ever wanted to know about Bailee(JK she would kill me), Me and Bailee take on Fruit Heights, Chillin with Bailee in the Attic, or Newlyweds  finally out of the basement, for now.  Or whatever else you guys may suggest.

This Fall marks the first of many random things such as my first 26th birthday( that's old).  My first Fall with Bailee/getting married( oh precious),  being jobless(oh wait I already am).  Maybe it will mark getting my first job that does not involve cleaning a bathroom.  Or maybe the first time that I clean a bathroom in my own house.  It may also mark the first time that I depend on public transportation if my car breaks down again.  The great thing about life is that it is always changing.

 So with wedding preparations, one of the things that Bailee and company AKA the mom are doing is sewing all the flower girl dresses and creating the wedding dress.  With this, I sometimes get dragged along by Bailee as she does her shopping thing.  I don't know if you people have ever been to a craft store such as JoAnn's before, but they are a whole new world to me.  I felt like I was at a fast food restaurant for women.  The first thing you do when you go is grab a number.  Without this number you can't get service at the cutting table.  You then walk around the store gathering your sewing stuff waiting for your number to be called over the intercom system.  If you miss your turn then back of the line you go.  If people at the cutting table are taking too long, you can almost feel the female anger building as they wait their turn.  JoAnn's can be dangerous, they really need a security guard to monitor all the women competing for materials and spots in line.  I did not really enjoy the experience, I left hungry.  They have no food at the store.  But they did have some smelly scents floating around the store that somewhat satisfied my desire to possibly eat something,

Recently Bailee and I got are engagement photos taken.  What an experience! I finally got to fulfill my life long dream of being a super model.   Anyway I pose just seems to look good.  Afterwards when my mom was looking over the photos she said that Bailee looked very comfortable in the pictures and that I did not look as comfortable.  Essentially, I was the prop in the pictures.  That is what happens when you get your photo taken with Bailee, she steals the show.  I still think that I am super model material though.  My mom still loves me she just thinks that Bailee is much better looking than I.

I thought that my car was invincible that it would last forever, but recently things have stopped working on the car.  First it was the alternator, then it was the emissions, then it was a fuel injector, now the starter.  I am learning a lot about cars.  Quite interesting but expensive at the same time.  I like my car too much to throw it away though.  okay not really, I just tell myself that since I have no money to buy a new car.  I drove my mom's car yesterday, it was so nice I could almost live in it.

In other news, though I sucked up Creepy's web she still lives on.  I saw her last night just hangin in the shower looking nice and plump.  School is going well, I finished my first two classes and have now begun my second two classes of the semester.  I am somewhat getting used to 3 hour classes.  I do have to stop once in awhile and play some calculator games to give my head a relief.  Or just think of something else like what I just ate for dinner or what I am going to eat for dessert when I get home. 

Halloween is soon upon us.  I like halloween!  Candy, scariness, decorations, etc...  I am not sure what I will do for halloween this year, probably just sip some cider and eat a candy bar and call it good.  It depends on what Bailee wants to do I suppose, she did go trick or treating recently, so maybe she will want to go again.  If this occurs, I will be the scariest Jason that I can be.  I will scare candy out of everyone I meet.  You better believe it.



 On a final note, I must say that I sure do like sports!  I like tennis though hitting backhand is awkward, I like basketball and Bailee will like it too very soon, I like football though all the college teams I like are mediocre this year, and I like watching anything that is sports.  I think that my mom gets annoyed when I watch channel 5.2 universal sports during lunch or dinner when we are eating.  Apparently she does not enjoy Rugby and track and field as much as I do.  Gymnastics was on the other day I watched a lot of that, I watched a lot of diving last week, and this week ice skating has been showing.  Dang, I need ESPN and fast.
Anyhow enjoy you week!  This blog will not always be this random.
Peace to all and to all a good week

Living in my mother's basement: searching, planning, praying, etc...

Windows with paint on them, Brilliant!

          The days keep on flowing right along, I feel like they go by too quickly.  I am not working and I still feel like I do not have enough time in the day to get the things done that I want to get done.  I started writing in my planner a couple of days ago and that has caused me to do some unusual things.  for example, yesterday I cleaned my room.  A bit out of the ordinary for me, I usually just move stuff around and call it good.  I do things like push all the clothes off my bed so I have somewhere to sleep.  I skoot crap into the corner so I have somewhere to pray.  I stuff things under my bed and pile papers and books up on my shelves.  Well, I worked on cleaning all of that up and so it is better now. I will not have to clean it for another 3 months at least.  I even cleaned the bathroom yesterday including sucking up all the dead carcasses of spiders underneath creepy's hut in the shower.  I did not suck up Creepy though because she only comes out at night and it was the day time.  She is probably not happy with me right now, but I had to do it because someone came and looked at the shower yesterday to get an estimate and frankly the pile of dead spiders was kinda embarrassing.  I didn't mind it though and creepy did not mind it either I suppose.

 Conference weekend went great.  I kept hoping that Elder Yamashita would get to speak and he did and I was there at the conference center to see it.  He reminded me of how great it was to serve in Japan and be around those great people, and be a part of that culture.  I also liked Elder Scott's talk on the scriptures, I feel that I must now study a little better, and  gain some new prophet friends.  I am not a big memorizing person but if Elder Scott thinks it is necessary, then I shall do.  Elder Andersen's talk made me ponder whether or not Bailee and I should stick with our goal of  10-15 kids in the future or  bump are goal up to 20. 

Creepy is not going to be happy

As far as wedding stuff goes, Bailee is working on a wedding dress with her mom(good luck with that mom).  We have maybe settled on a place for a reception and we have maybe found a place to live and so we are maybe a little bit closer to figuring things out.  We did find a photographer and we did just change are wedding date to the 19th of November.  Just could not wait until the 22nd.  It will be on a Saturday and probably will work out a little better for everyone involved.

Bailee and I checked out a few apartments this weekend.  The first one we didn't like at all, The second one we liked okay it was doable and cheap, but the third one was pimp.  The third place we checked out was an apartment above a four car garage that is fairly new, fully furnished, part of a 1.5 million dollar house, and is very spacious.  The neighborhood and location is awesome too.  Hopefully they let us move in to the place, otherwise it will be sad. The best part is that I will not be in a basement, I will be in a roof!  I always wanted to live in a roof.  The only thing the apartment is missing is a big jetted tub, I was actually surprised when I walked into the bathroom and did not see one.

The job search is going okay.  I have a job interview on Monday and so hopefully that  turns out to be something.  Living in the basement is still good.  I have not gone crazy yet.  The dogs have only peed on my bed 3 times now. I very much do look forward to change and getting out of the basement soon and getting married of course, to my LLB.  You all may wonder what LLB stands for, but you will never know.  You can guess though in the comment section.  Hint(the B may or may not stand for Bailee)
Well,  that is it for now!  Love you all!

Living In My Mother's Basement: School, Being Productive, Wedding Prep,

The time has come that I find a job, it will happen soon perhaps, of course I said this 3 months previous also, and 3 months before that.  I may have to start like begging soon by visiting businesses with cookies, I don't know.  Looking for jobs reminds me a lot of searching for people to teach on the mission.  First off, looking for jobs online is like housing.  I can find jobs to submit my resume to every day online but nothing ever happens.  Housing in Japan was the same way and in both cases I don't get to talk face to face with the people.  In Japan, often we just talked through a speaker phone with a camera placed next to it.  We called this speaker phone a "kekko" box.  Kekko is the word that the Japanese would use to say that they are okay and don't want to listen.  It was a very nice way to say we don't like you, yet we heard it a lot and I always enjoyed hearing new methods of rejection that didn't include the word kekko.  If anything else at least it expanded my vocabulary.  Streeting was always fun on the mission especially in Tokyo.  Did not have a whole lot of luck streeting either except for  here or there.  At least we got to talk to people in the flesh and see some smiles.  I have not done a lot of job streeting, maybe I will try it, I am just not sure where to start.  Referrals were definitely the best resource for finding people to teach.  If we had decent people to teach it was always through referrals.  I have had some referrals in the job hunting process but I would like some more and I feel that ultimately that is how I will find a job but who knows.  I just need a job that will give me experience to get me started.  I have limited my options to gaining a job in my career field, I may need to look at that and tweak it a bit.

Wedding plans are on there way to a point.  We have a wedding date and we have ideas of what we want to do but nothing is set in stone yet.  I am thinking that since the wedding is close to Thanksgiving that we should have a Thanksgiving themed reception including replacing the traditional cake with a big fat turkey and holding the reception in a field.  The servers will be dressed as Indians or pilgrims and Bailee can be dressed as Pocahontas or Sacajawea and I can be Christopher Columbus or John smith or something to the sort.  Dessert will be cornbread and pumpkin pie with some warm fresh cow milk. So good!

Hey, It is Bailee and I.

Football season is fully underway, Utah State has crushed my soul twice in three games already.  Sports make me so mad sometimes, I remember when the Jazz were playing the Bulls in the Finals they were losing the game and I got ticked and started throwing my bananas all over the basement.  The cool thing is that they stuck to the ceiling and everything.  My mom was not happy with me.  I was not happy with the Jazz, I blame the Jazz.  Utah State's losses have been ridiculous.  The games go like this, the Aggies go up by many points, wait until there is 2 minutes left in the game, then they hand the ball to the other team and say go score and we will keep giving you the ball back until you win, sound good? and they say yes and that is that.  Needless to say, I try not to eat bananas so much anymore and Bailee probably won't let me even if I wanted too.

Last week Bailee and I got to spend time with a former mission companion of mine and was able to see his wife and new baby and hang out with him at temple square and at Braza Grill.   It was a good time, he was a great companion on the mission and he is inspiring to me.  I always enjoy meeting up with old friends.  Also,kj I must say that Brazilian food is good and even tastes better the second time, sometimes even the third.

guess where I took this picture?

 I am currently taking a business ethics class and a corporate finance class at Weber State University.  I have mentioned this before but it is just about the only productive thing I do these days.  I am learning some new things, so far most of the material has been a review of my undergrad coursework.  I have learned that ethics is really about making the best decision in every circumstance and that best decision comes through experience and personal values.  I am learning from finance that I really don't like numbers that much and that companies financial statements are crazy.  You have to dig deep to understand if a company is doing good or bad.  It seems that accountants may have more of an interesting job than I first thought.

Bear Lake without a beach

To end, I just want to leave with a few thoughts that I have had such as life in the basement has not been as bad as I thought it would be.  I don't really like it but it has not killed me yet. My mom is a good roommate she cooks, goes grocery shopping, tells me when I am being messy, and lets me know when I am slacking.  The singles ward has been fun,  a bit of an adjustment from the college ward, but it has been good.  It has been challenging as well in many ways which I did not really expect it to be.  Since being home I have grown more than I thought I would.  I would prefer to grow vertically though any day.  There is never a day to rest even jobless as I am.  Always a responsibility, always something that I need to do.  I am glad that I have a bad memory so as to get over all the mistakes I have made.  Working out is a good thing but eating is too, I like to do both and so I decided that I am just staying balanced in life.  That is the key to life, or so I heard!  Have an enjoyable week you all!  I look forward to seeing you soon.

Living in my Mother's Basement: Surprise! Engaged and jobless

Me and Bailee, visiting Logan, her beauty makes me look bad

I am engaged!  I would say that most of you are surprised.  I am still surprised myself, I often wake up now thinking "did I really ask a girl to marry me."  Then I think, freak I need a job.  Then I think about who I am and whether I can be the person that I need to be for Bailee.  For those who don't know, Bailee is the girl's name.  I first met her before my mission as I was visiting the girl I liked at the time at BYU that was a roomate with Bailee.  At that time, I remember thinking two things, 1 that is a cute girl and 2 Where is she now?  I only saw her briefly that day, I think that she was hiding from me because she did not want to fall in love yet.  I was a 19 year old pre-missionary at the time, I can understand her thinking.  So I went on a mission and then afterwards went to Utah State.  While at Utah State I had lots of good times, meeting lots of cool people,  dated various girls, and yelled a lot at basketball games.  During this time of my life, my good friend Tyler married Cami.  Cami is not just really cool, but she is also a good friend of Bailee's.  Cami would mention Bailee here and there and of course I remembered Bailee from when I saw her back back in the day. I did not want to overplay it but in the back of my mind I hoped that I would have the chance to take her on a date.  So essentially, the time arrived and I willingly agreed with Cami when she suggested that I take her good friend Bailee on a date.  So in March of 2010, I did just that.  She came up to Logan and we hiked the wind caves trail and then we had curry with Tyler and Cami.  We hung out a couple of times after that but then I blew her off.  I just had to do it at that time which stunk because when I called her that last time she was making Indian food and I thought, "dang it I am not going to be able to try any of that."   

So fast forward with me now to May of 2011.  As I prepared to move back home with my mom and live in the basement I spent a lot of time pondering my life and what I what I ought to do to be happy with my new situation.  When I thought about dating Bailee instantly entered my mind as someone that I had to ask on a date.  within the first couple of weeks of moving home I called her.  She did not answer of course, ( if you call Bailee and she answers the phone it is a miracle, if you text her and she responds she must really really like you and not just that it must be your lucky day) but she did quickly call me back and I asked her if she was dating someone and she said no and thought good and then I asked her on a date.  We went to Salt Lake City to a cultural festival.  I think she liked it,  I don't think that I won her over with the date though.  I should have thought of some jokes to tell her or something.  speaking of jokes, why is the ocean happy?  Because it waves.  Okay I am not so good at jokes.  Anymays, after the first date Bailee started to avoid me for awhile, I think it was the lack of jokes or the lack of breath mints I am not sure which.  She did not avoid me forever though, I was able to take her on a couple more dates before she left to China for the month of July.  My goal in dating Bailee was to get to know her the best I could and then if it works it works and if not then oh well.  So that is what I did and then Bailee went to China. I did not have an email for her, I did not think that she liked me really, I did not expect anything to happen when she returned, and so my search for the one moved forward when she left and I had a good month of getting to know a lot of people, go on blind dates, etc..

I really had the intent to just move forward, but I often wondered if she would talk to me when she got back.  One day I got a post card from her near the end of July and I was surprised somewhat with the tone of the postcard and also discovered that she had not arrived back home from China yet.  I had no idea when she was returning.  After receiveing the post card I thought that maybe my interpretation of what she thought of me was wrong.   One Sunday, I came home from ward prayer and a familiar car was parked in front of my house,  to my surprise, it was Bailee bearing gifts. I like gifts, and It was good to see her again.   I soon asked her on a date and she said yes.  I soon took her on another date and she said yes again.  Now,  I felt that she did like me and that made all the difference for me.  thereafter, I started spending more and more time with her and her family.  She has a great family, they are all a bit corky in there own way but I think it is great.  Father likes chickens,
alive ones that chirp. Nate the younger brother calls me nosaj ( jason backwards)  and always stares at me oddly and says things that just confuse me.  Melissa is always cooking food, cleaning(well sometimes cleaning), or chillin in her basketball shorts.  The dog chases me out the door every night, and mother is very prestigous as she sews, cleans, cooks, teaches piano, and everything else and she is good humored, I do not think she likes my jokes though.  They are not funny enough for her.  Bailee also has a sister and brother that are both married and out of the house and out of the basement, congratulations to them.   I like them all.  I almost forgot, my favorite of the the whole family is grandma, every time I see her it makes me happy.  She always makes me laugh.

This is the spot, kinda looks like a memorial for someone that died but that was not the case.

Okay, proposal story and then I am done.  Bailee really likes to spend time walking, hiking, and pondering in nature.  One of her favorite places is Jensen Park in Syracuse.  knowing this  and knowing that I had a ring that I would prefer she had rather than me, I decided that it would be the place to propose to her.  My criteria was that I wanted it to be special and I wanted her to be surprised.  I bought a bunch of roses including pink her favorite color and also candles because I knew that I would be proposing at night time.  I found a spot behind one of the ponds and with the help of my friend Matt set up the candles on the ground and placed the flower around the area.  It was a Friday night, Bailee was at a sewing class until 9.  So I showed up at her house a little before that time.  When she arrived I just acted normal and casually asked her if she was still up for doing something.  She said yes and so I suggested that we go hang with Tyler, Cami, and some friends at a house in the Clearfield/Syracuse area.   As we were driving, Bailee started pointing out that my brother lived around where we were and then she said that Jensen park was this direction also.  I told her that she was confused and then she really was confused.  as we neared Jensen Park she again emphasized that we were nearing the park.  I acted confused and said no I don't think so.  She then pointed to all the landmarks near the park and clearly stated that we had arrived at the park, I then said yep sure have.  So I successfully got her to the park without her even thinking that I might be proposing to her, in fact she even thought that we were going to join the sweet 16 party going on at the park.  There were bouncers and everything, it was legit.  anyways, I took her hand and walked with her past the party and over the bridge and around the pond.  As we neared the spot, she saw a flickering of light. (but not directly above her head) As she did so she tried to point out the phenomenon to me as I then tried to block her view.  As we neared the spot, she accused me of perhaps being the cause of this phenomenon, I said maybe, then walked her to the spot and got down on one knee and asked to her to marry me.  She was excited and said yes and then she kissed me.  Now we are engaged.  My days in the basement are numbered thanks to my sugar mama Bailee.  I feel a lot of pressure to find a job now.  I feel a lot of pressure in general now, but I am excited and look forward to this new adventure with Bailee.  So now you all know the story and if you have questions, ask Bailee she would be glad to answer them.  Life sometimes really is like a box of chocolates.

Until next week!

Living In My Mother's basement: Part 2 Things Are Changing

My blogging hiatus is now over, it has been too long and I miss writing randomly about my life in the basement.  It has been many weeks since I last blogged and now I should have lots of material to discuss.  You may think that I probably have a job by now, but I don't i did actually for a month but school ended my pursuit of being a professional sewer cleaner.  Yes I am back in college and yes I am at Weber State University.  I feel that I am moving back in time, I am now back to age 19 when I took Weber State night classes before my mission.  Essentially, a few more months and I will be back in high school.   Oh good times! except my friends will not be there and so it will probably be a different experience.  I will probably become Mr Lancer instead of Braden now that I have gained the proper skills. Bu ha ha!

I pretty much am a pro at archery

My sewer hole sucking job was awesome!  I would wake up at 5 in the morning, waddle out of bed, make my sack lunch consisting of peanut butter and honey along with a few other essentials, and then stick my bright green shirt with reflectors on before heading out the door.  The day would consist of driving to a location more often then not in a dirt field wherein we would pull the truck up to where we think a water or utility line should be and then we would start water blasting and sucking up the dirt as we blasted our way down into the earth.  It was kind of like digging for oil, sometimes we would find something sometimes we wouldn't.  I was always ticked when we didn't find anything cause it would take like 2 hours and then we would just have to start over.  I was the person of our two man crew designated to get muddy.  I held the tube that blasted the ground as the muddy water splattered all over me.  It made me feel a bit cool though actually, especially when I would walk into Artic Circle at lunch and would get the biggest stare among all the construction workers that were eating there.  I would just think, "Ya that's right,  Who da Man."  When we weren't digging aimlessly for holes we sucked out gutter drains and some sewer cleaning.  That was not too bad unless I dropped the sewer lid down into the sewer, then it was kinda crappy fetching the 80LB lid up and out of the hole. 

Logan Temple located on a hill built back in the 1800's

My mom is still alive and kicking she and I often eat lunch together and talk about the weather and such.  Her main complaint with me at the moment, besides then not having a job, is that I need to clean my room.  She says that I can't get married until I clean my room.  I say okay maybe I should clean it then.  I will do it tomorrow, maybe. She left me for a week back in August to visit my brother's family in Denver including my new niece Cara.  During that week it was my special responsibility to watch the dogs.  This included feeding them morning and night, if the dogs were inside I had to make sure that the back doggy door was shut and that Reggie's diaper was on.  When I let the dogs out i would have to take the diaper off the dog, shut the gates keeping them from peeing around the house, and open the doggy door.  At night the dogs would sleep with me on my bed.  I did not know that dogs could steal sheets during the night but they do.

School is cool I guess.  I am back to being forced to learn.  It is strange not being at Utah State.  I miss the commotion of being on campus that lacks at Weber State Davis.  My teachers are pretty chill which I like and they seem legit.  I currently have an ethics/leadership class and a finance class.   I am taking 3 hour night classes, I do good for the first hour and a half but the last hour and a half is blah.  My mind goes to another place and I become quickly worthless and brainless. I start thinking about  a certain someone,football, and whats for dinner.  Speaking of football, isn't it great!  I like sports!

spider couple in love

Other interesting facts that have occurred:  One night I entered my bathroom and there were now two spiders living in my shower.  I wondered if they were in love and so I decided to leave them be. I took a picture of the two love birds.  On the exercise front,  I still go to the gym once in awhile but not at quite the vigorous pace as previously.  I just do not want to get slow and fat, I need to be able to kick butt at basketball still.




To close this issue of my blog I will just say that change is occurring in my life and I look forward to the future with great excitement!  I hope that everyone is doing well with school, new babies, and work!

Have you seen this before?

Living In My mother's Basement: Blog Break

Well I decided to take a blog break for the time being.  I have a job for the next few weeks sucking dirt and crap out of sewers and so I really do not have time like I used to for writing this blog.  I will probable be able to restart this blog back up when schools starts because I will probably not be working when  school time rolls around.

Just if you are wondering, I am doing good and excited to have something productive to do for the next few weeks.  My job starts at 6:00 in the morning and ends at 7:00 at night.  therefore my work day is 13 hours and I really do not have time to do anything else at all.    I do need the money and so it is worth it though I am tired.  When last saturday rolled around it never seemed so good.  Friday night I did not have energy to do anything except eat, shower, rest on the couch for a bit, and then go to bed.

I now look at weather reports more closely and hope that it is cloudy and cool each and every day.  That sun gets really hot when I am standing outside for hours.  I bought a cheap Wal-Mart pair of boots for work and they are crappy.  Every afternoon while at work my feet are on fire.  I think that they will be okay though because when I check my feet they are not edible yet and so I think that is a good thing.

Today is Sunday, it has been decent.  Church was enjoyable, good talks and such.  After church we had an ice cream linger longer.  I love ice cream it makes me happy!  Hopefully you all are doing well and have many opportunities to eat ice cream in the near future.  I am going to rest now.  See  Ya all later.  If I get time I will try and blog but I am not making any promises.

Living in my Mother's Basement: WK 11 Cool Beans, Spiders, and Waterfalls

guess which temple?

The key to happiness lies in what you do.  Without doing you go nowhere.  Just thinking and desiring something is not enough.  You must get off your butt and do it.  Often the thing that you got to do is challenging and hard.  Hence, it takes effort and sometimes it takes going out of your comfort zone to accomplish the task.  In the moment of decision it may not seem like an enjoyable task to take on but in the end happiness will come, but not until the challenge is first overcome through sacrifice and effort.

I often hope for things to get accomplished that I have a hard time doing such as getting my car cleaned, finding a job, finding someone to give me a nice back massage every night for the next 50 years, you know just the usual.  These things probably as an end result will not bring happiness(except for the back massage) but the things that I had to do along the way to achieve the results will.  Take for instance the nightly back massage, it takes a lot of sweat and tears to find someone willing to massage my back every night.  Along the way I learn many things about myself and about finding such a person.  I have discovered which persons have the right hands and elbows to best perform the task.  I learn who has the right amount of patience, fortitude, and kindness. I learn to appreciate all those who try but just aren't there yet.   I now have valuable knowledge that will stay with me forever.  Because of all my hard work, those massages now will mean so much more.

Sometimes challenges are caused by yourself and sometimes they are caused by others and sometimes they just happen such as when lightning strikes you, or your house falls on you due to it being on a sandy beach, or maybe a bear eats you, just to name a few.  Challenges can cause happiness or can cause the opposite effect of unhappiness.  Interesting,  so if that is true what makes the difference.  How can a challenge bring happiness as supposed to unhappiness.  The key my friends who don't live in your mother's basement is knowing who you are/attitude.  Whats your attitude? Are you blaming others or yourself for your problems?  Are you working and wanting to beat the challenges in the face or are you trying to find a path around them?  Challenges are always in front of us, we just got to kick them in the face and enjoy doing it. So know who you are and then go and do.

I have enjoyed kicking the challenge of not working in the face.  I have been able to rest more and clear my mind.  I am learning new perspectives on life and enjoying the process for the most part.  I have read books that I otherwise would have never read and now I have new knowledge that I otherwise would have never gained, like what a Mocking Jay is.  The challenge of meeting new people is fun, I guess.  There are a lot of good people out there believe it or not. 

This is a spider that lives with me, he cool!

So I have a new pet spider and its name is creepy.  This particular spider lives in my bathroom, at night it loves to hang down from the shower.  Whenever I see it I say hi to it and it acknowledges me by not doing anything.  I can now walk right up to the spider and it will just sit there.  We respect each other.  My mom does not like it but whatever, nothing will come between me and my spider.

The "real" waterfall at Adam's Canyon

Yesterday I hiked Adams Canyon with the my Elder's Quorum.  Apparently. the last time I hiked up Adams canyon I did not go far enough.  In fact, there happens to be a very nice waterfall at the top of Adams Canyon that I seemed to have forgotten about.  I had been to the waterfall before but it had been so long that I had forgotten about it.  When I hiked up a couple of months ago I stopped at a waterfall that was small but it satisfied my needs and I accepted it as the Adam's Canyon waterfall.  So last night when we made it to the real waterfall I was really excited to be there and I went up to the waterfall and got wet and dang it felt good!  I may have to go up again, soon.

Being that it is summer I hope that everyone is doing fun things such as vacationing, having BBQ's, playing lots of sports, enjoying the outdoors, and basking in the sunshine.  This is certainly a great time of year, I wish I had a job and that I could afford to move out of my mother's basement but hey, it could be worst it could be winter.

Living in my Mother's Basement Wk 9-10: Tis the Season

I skipped my blog last week due to the holiday called the 4th of July.  That is my excuse at least, it is not because I was lazy or anything like that.  I don't know what it means to be lazy, I have a full time job of looking for a job and I do it for free.  My 4th of July started with a 5k fun run that really was not very fun.  My goal was to run the 5k in under 22 minutes, I did not make it, though I did come close at 22 minutes and 30 seconds.  The same time I got last year when I ran the race.  I probably would have ran better but I was lacking energy considerably that morning and maybe should have gone to bed a bit earlier.  The first half of the run went well, I ran with ease and confidence but as the second half of the race came about, the course  turned to uphill which was the start of my downhill.  The last half of the run was a fight, a fight to finish and a fight not to throw up.  It was a relief as I returned back onto the track and rounded to the finish line.  In hindsight, not sure why I ran the 5k, I did not get a thing for my efforts except for a t-shirt.  I got another t-shirt in the parade and all I had to do was sit there.   I even had to pay $30 to enter the race.  Pay to run, what a novel idea and for some reason it works.  If I had run a half marathon or even a marathon I probably would have had to pay more.  No wonder people are getting more fat!  Pay to run, novel idea.

Yes, this is my face at the parade

After the race, I helped a new girl move into the ward and then I went back to Kaysville for the parade.  The parade was a moshpit, I did well to fight off all the kids who came between me and the candy being thrown out at the parade.  Without the candy there would be no reason to attend the parade.  A parade around these parts is just an hour long advertisement, all the local dance studios and eateries and dentists and yogurt shops all advertising as we all watch with glee like this is a once in a year opportunity to find out about where to eat for lunch or go to the dentist.  

In the afternoon we had our traditional family and friends BBQ.  After the parade, I was wasted and as soon as I got home I laid down on the couch in the nice cool basement and fell asleep.  After about 10 minutes of sleeping I wake up to my mom yelling at me to get outside and setup for the BBQ.  We still had two hours but I still had to go setup right then.  So I sleep walked outside and pulled out some tables and chairs and began to fill the swimming pools for the kids.  The 4th was a tiring day...

Best part of the parade!

The BBQ lasted from 4 to 8 and then we headed to the fireworks back in the retched city of the high and mighty Kaysville.  I must say I do miss seeing all the weirdos that attend the Layton fireworks, you know the type of people that you did not know existed untill they finally crawl out of there caves for the 4th of July.  They don't seem to have those in Kaysville.  I think it is because Kaysville people are racist against people that live in caves.  Anyways, the fireworks were good and the local authorities made us sing happy birthday to America.  It seemed a bit strange but whatever, nothing like singing happy birthday to the dirt I am laying on.

Job searching is still a continuous event in my life.  I may find a job someday, I think my next step is to search my family line for a rich uncle that will hire me on somewhere.   Today I applied at Intermountain Healthcare for a Human Resource opening.  I have applied 4 times before, never have got an interview but hey, maybe this time will be different.    Last week some company offered me a job without interviewing me,  the English was not very good in the email and I decided that it probably was not in my best interest to take the job.  The other day I went to what I thought was an interview with Whipple Plumbing and Heating.  When I got there I noticed other people dressed up arriving as well, that is when I decided that this interview was going to be odd, and it was.  40 people at the interview, I sat for 2 hours filling out a 10 page application and waiting for my turn to be asked 2 questions.  I had to listen to everyone else get questioned also.  It was an enjoyable experience, thank you MR. Whipple!

Advertisement #85, now I know where to get my car washed

other things going on in my life are church stuff galore and sports.  I have been able to play tennis a bit more as of late, which has been nice.  I also have been going to church softball.  My team is not great but they try, whenever the other team hits the ball into the outfield it is always fun to watch our players run up as the ball flies 15 feet over there head.  We have fun, we just are not so good.  I also have had chances to play basketball, my shot has been good the last few weeks, so everybody better watch out!

War vets, aren't they cool!

nieces and nephew waiting for candy

The other day my mom was sweating and she decided that she wanted to tell me about her menopause to explain her hotness.  Needless to say I did not really want to talk about her menopause or her hotness.  Maybe I should be a better son and talk more openly about things like that, I don't know. Speaking of hotness, I still am going to the gym just have not been able to make it to my favorite strength conditioning classes with the crazy instructor.  My pants are getting more loose as of late and so I take that as a good sign.  Maybe I can get a job in Vegas now as a Chippendale.  No, I am too hot for that now to.

Well Peeps I must say that things are going, where they are going I do not know but they are.  Someday I will emerge out of my mother's basement and move back out into the real world.  Until then, this blog will keep on rolling along and you all will know everything you ever wanted about surviving and thriving in your mother's basement.  Peace!!!

Just waiting for fireworks, Yippee!

Firework

Living in my Mother's Basement: Wk 8 I am blue with some white and I like yellow depending

I am a bit stuck these days as to what I can write about in my blog.  What can I write that will be entertaining? What can I write that will interest the reader?  What are the important things to focus on?   What really makes this all difficult is my inability to remember much of what has happened in my life the past week or whatever time has past.  My memory is not the best, I need to eat more vegetables or something I guess. 

I am not sure if anyone wants to hear about love but I am going to let you know about my love of sports.  You might be wondering about my girlfriends and one night stands  but I tend to leave girls out of the blog more for their sake than anything. I Jason Neering am addicted to sports.  This past weekend, I went to Denver to visit my brother and his family and see Braxton, my oldest nephew, get ordained into the Aaronic Priesthood.  I enjoyed the trip and time spent with the family but I had a hard time not knowing what was happening in the sports world.  Even though I do not have ESPN at home, it was hard to be without the internet and local sports for the 4 days I was in Denver.  I felt like I needed to eat chocolate to suppress the anxiety and I did and lots of it.  I must say though that I enjoy my addiction to sports and because of that I will probably fail at any attempts to overcome my addiction.  While in Denver I did get a chance to play some sports.  I played tennis with my older brothers and enjoyed beating them at that.  Stephen really wanted to score a point on me but try as he did he just couldn't do it.  Next year I guess.   I also got a good workout jumping each of my nieces and nephews on the trampoline while getting sprayed with water and whatever else they could use to harrass me.

This past weekend in Denver I discovered what my nephews and nieces really think of me.  Abby told me that I am more like an older brother than an uncle.  My other nephew Daniel thinks I am more like his friend slave than an uncle.  and as for the rest of them, they think that I am incapable since I am still not married.  and they are never shy to let me know it.  It is good to have a family especially one that possesses many nieces and nephews that say it how it is such as I have.

Recently I acquired a CD that talks about personality colors.  I discovered that I am mostly blue with some white.   Being Blue means that I am purposeful and desire intimacy, if I cannot connect with you then why talk to you.  I am picky about those who I choose to get close to.  I also care and have a strong sense of responsibility.  I  am a tough competitor and am strongly loyal and put an importance on commitments. I have a strong sense of moral integrity.  I am emotional and have a hard time forgiving others, I hold grudges.  I am self-righteous and am too serious and I like security.   I  know now that it isn't my fault that I can't stands Reds, I was just born that way.  Reds are selfish and arrogant and very logical.  If something is not to their advantage then they don't do it.  It is hard for me to understand how they put reason and things that are to their advantage over caring for other people or hurting feelings.  I am attracted to yellows apparently,  yellows are the happy people who thrive off of doing what brings them the most excitement.  yellows are less reliable though and a bit off the wall all the time and have a hard time keeping commitments.  I am actually attracted to yellows but they drive me nuts at the same time.  I have never dated a red, I wonder what that is like?  I can see fireworks there.  Blue people have unrealistic expectations for themselves and others.  Whites are the quiet peace lovers who don't seek attention.  I have white in me, I was probably born white but now have become more blue.  Red and Yellows are foreign to me.    Now you all know who I am, don't judge me!
 
A few days ago the bishopric came over to visit my widow mother.  My home ward bishop is African American and as they conversed my mother told them about a job that I had in the past and she said that they worked me like a slave.  After saying slave my mother became very nervous and awkward thinking that she may have offended the bishop. Also, my mother seemed to handle the idea that my brother would not let her help drive to Denver because he thinks her driving is scary.  I am also grateful that my brother would not let my mother drive. 

On an ending note, as I was driving through Wyoming on my way to Denver I decided that Wyoming is not as ugly as it seems.  I was able to find beauty and interesting objects to look at as I drove through the flat dirt land.  Because of this, I have decided that you can find beauty in anything.  So when you look at yourself in the mirror, think to yourself "I am beautiful surely more beautiful than Wyoming." 

Living in my Mother's Basement: Wk 7 Off the wall Madness

This is my "winning" nature shot.  It adds color to the blog.

Hello Hello Hello!   I have a couple of stories to share with you this week.  I will start with the story I title, "My Dogs Are Messing With Me."  I have two dogs named Reggie and Lexi, they are Little Schnauzers( the annoying variety).  On occasion, the two of them are also known to pee around the house (I just have to throw that out there).  A week and a half ago I kept waking up during the night and smelling a horrible smell.  I was too tired to do anything about it and I figured that it was probably just my arm pit smell finally seeping into the sheets.  So the next morning after waking up I decided to wash the sheets, when I pulled the sheets off I saw a yellow stain that was big and round and  right where my head laid the entire night before.  At first, I was scared that maybe I had wet the bed during the night but then I decided that the pee stain was to high up the bed for me to have done it.  So I then proceeded to wash my sheets and shampoo the mattress to get rid of the wretched smell.

A few days ago I get up, go upstairs, and eat breakfast and read my scriptures, I then went back to my room to grab my gym clothes, upon entering my room the first thing I notice is a big pee stain in the middle of my bed.  It got me wondering if i had developed an embarrassing  problem.  I proceeded to check myself to see if I was wet, luckily I was dry.  I suppose that was a good sign.  The thing about it is that when I went upstairs my dogs were both on the couch and when I came back downstairs they were both still there looking as if they had never moved.  They are so soo sneaky.  I know they did it though, probably the both of them with the size of stain they left.  So I had to go and clean all my sheets once again.  It was Great!  Every morning now I wake up nervous and check the bed. Dang Dogs!

Story number two is shorter.  A couple of nights ago I was downstairs working on something with my headphones on.  All of a sudden I heard a noise that sounded like the doorbell.  So I went upstairs to check the door and sure enough someone was at the door.  It was like 9:45 PM and dark outside and both my mom and I were quite conflicted as to who might be at the door.  The person at the door was an old man.  He said he was 75 and then proceed to show me a kitchen knife.  The knife looked decent, it was a smaller sandwich cutting knife like they use at subway.  He said that the knife was Swiss army made, but I am skeptical about that.  He offered the knife for $10.  Whenever I would speak to him he would turn his ear and say,"speak up I have bad ears I am an old man."   I felt bad for the man and would have bought a knife but I honestly did not have $10 on me and I would have asked my mom if she wanted a knife but I knew that she would much rather just get the old man off the porch.  So I took his phone number and name.  For anyone interested in a very nice $10 somewhat iffy kitchen knife with lots of potential, please call Stan at 801-403-7103.  I am sure that he would appreciate it.

Okay so I really have a third story which involves my mother.  The other day I was with a friend at which time I received a text from my mom which read, "is all well? " I then replied "yep, all is well."  The next morning when I talked to my mom, she gave me an explanation for the text.  Apparently, knowing that my friend and I were going out to the wildlife refuge, she began to worry that we might get robbed or shot.  So, the caring mother she is she sent a text message to make sure I survived my visit to the wildlife refuge area.  I guess a couple had been shot at a lake recently and she thought that my friend and I might be next.  It is nice to have a mother. 

Today is Fathers Day, I think of my father often but I have not so much today.  I have actually thought more about my brothers for some reason.  I have two great older brothers who happen to also be great fathers!  If I can become close to what they are someday I would be very pleased with myself.  I am amazed at there patience, work ethic, and kindness.  I hope that they feel appreciated and know how cool they are.

I recently changed up my blog appearance.  I do not like it quite yet and so I will probably change it again.  I am not much of a designer.  I need to find a Utah Jazz background or something.  Anyways, friends you are great!  I am very lucky when it comes to having friends!

Living in my Mother's Basement: Wk 6 Keep on Keepin On

The weather has finally turned a corner, it is nice to see the sun and to feel its warmth on my skin again. Seeing how I still have not found a job I could technically bask in the sunshine all day everyday. Take that all you workers out there/mothers! It is cool to not have a job, but remember it is even more cool to live in your Mother's Basement.

At times it seems difficult to not have the security of a job, money, or any idea of what the future might bring. It causes my soul to be a bit antsy each day. The exciting thing about it I guess is that tomorrow might bring a new adventure or maybe the next day. I am not necessarily stuck in the same job day after day with no end in sight. I will get there some day though and I will like it! My position in life is most likely different from yours, but it may be the same. Everyone goes through different phases in life, that is life and it is great. I am not sure how long this phase will last but it is moving along nicely. I will enjoy it until life changes again as it seems to always do, especially when you allow it too.

When I decided to move back to Layton, all be it into my mother's basement, I did it because it felt right even though I knew that I may not find a job quickly. Even at this point I do not regret my decision. I have been presented with new challenges, new friends, and strengthened relationships with friends and family. At this time in my life, being here is where I will grow the most and become more of the person that I am meant to be. I am guessing by this time next year that I will be ready to take over for Tyrone Corbin as the new coach of the Utah Jazz. Just sayin! Don't laugh it will happen!

For those wondering what I have been doing with my life for the past two weeks, I will tell you. I have been exercising when I can, practicing the piano, searching for jobs, attending church functions, taking daily naps, eating anything and everything that I can find, visiting family and friends, texting once or twice a week in response to somebody's text messages, reading, and watching So You Think You Can Dance. I don't know if you all have seen this show, but I like it. The girls are very good looking but that is not the reason I like the show, well it is but it isn't. I like the show because it is entertaining, the dancing is actually good(unlike another dancing show on TV) and the way those dancers move is ridiculous. I try to convince myself that it is similar to watching a sport on TV. For one thing it is a competition and for another it takes a lot of physical skill to dance as they do and you never know what the outcome of the competition is going to be until it happens.

This weekend I went up to Logan and visited some friends before going to Downata Hot Springs with some more friends and then with friends to a friend's cabin. I like the word friends, it makes me feel good inside. Downata Hot Springs, if you do not know what this place is you should, it is a hot spring swimming pool with water slides and a camping resort located somewhere out in the boonies near Malad Idaho. The place is literally an oasis in a farmers field. The water is always warm so any season you can go and swim. I have been there in the summer and I have been there in the winter. I usually do a tummy performance when I go to the pool but I forgot this time. Sorry Jalayne and Cha Cha.

To give you an update on my exercising, I am still exercising but it is starting to get boring. That is what I have decided. I will keep trudging along though because it is good for me. I will throw in some activities such as hiking here and there. In fact, last week I was going to hike for a little ways and then find a spot to read my book, but as I was going I could not stop and so I just kept hiking to the top, I had FGS (Forrest Gump Syndrome). I hiked Adams Canyon and enjoyed it, I took pictures along the way of nature and my face and I saw a snake and some squirrels. I tried to take their pictures but they would not cooperate.

My mother has been nice to me lately, she does not bug me about being a bum as she should. I have found that the key is that if I am continually doing something she does not bother me but if I am just sitting and thinking she thinks I am bored. The thing is that I am always bored it is just that there are different levels of boredom. Sometimes I reach the state of staring at the wall boredom. I see nothing wrong with that. Well, I did before but not now, I think of it as intense pondering. So on a final note, if someone asks you what you are thinking as they will inevitably do, respond by saying "I am intensely pondering... your beauty, my basketball shot, dinner I just ate" whatever it is they will take your response more seriously. So don't shy away from that, just take it straight on.

Have fun friends and Choose the Right because then you will be happy!

Living in my Mother's Basement: Wk 5 Special Edition on daytime TV

Alright boys and girls, here is the most useful list out there of any sort. It is my daytime TV list that I have so graciously prepared for each and every one of you. Now you may be wondering why this is relevant to you? Well stop thinking that. It just is, okay.

So here we go, first up is Morning Shows. I rated this list along with the rest of the lists from best to worst.

1. The Today Show NBC; This is my favorite because nobody can beat Matt Lauer, I mean nobody. My favorite shows are when they have, Where in the World is Matt Lauer. Love it! I am not much of a fan of Al Roker though, I liked him better when he was fat.

2. Good Morning America ABC; No comparison to the Today Show, they have a Matt Lauer wannabe but he just does not cut it.

3. The Early Show CBS; It is the Early Show, nobody watches it. I do not even know what to say about it. The Early Show just sounds bad, depressing really. I hate waking up early.

Second on the list is game shows. I want to be a millionaire so stinkin bad!

1. The Price is Right CBS 9AM; This is the best game show ever, even without Bob Barker. Someday I will be jumping like a mad man on stage hugging Drew Carey and then knocking the hot models out of the way as I race to climb in my new car!

2. Let’s Make a Deal CBS 11AM; the show is weird, but the host is funny. Everyone in the audience dresses up like it is Halloween every day. Again, weird.

3. Family Feud CW30 10AM; this is a classic game show that never dies, why will it not die!

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ABC 4PM; I like it, but no one ever wins the million. What’s up with that. Come on Meredith! Show us the money!

Next on the list is Talk Shows(this is where home schooled kids learn about life).

1. Ellen Degeneres ABC 3PM; Ellen Degeneres is the best! She is fun, entertaining, and always makes you laugh. Everyone is happy on her show and it keeps me coming for more. Her dancing is not bad either, at least it makes me feel better about my own dancing skills.

2. Rachael Ray NBC 10AM; Rachael is also cool, I learn how to cook from her.

3. Dr. Oz FOX 10AM and 4PM; Because of Dr. OZ I now know how important it is to get a colonoscopy. Thanks Dr. OZ, I am on it.

4. Nate Berkus NBC 3PM; I am not sure about Nate, he seems like a cool guy but you look at his audience and it is chalk full of women. If he is not gay than he is something else. I need to learn his secret for sure and quick.

5. The View ABC 11PM; I like this show mostly because of the blonde, Elizabeth. Too bad she is married. She is also the reason that I watched Survivor season 2. Don’t judge me. The rest of the ladies seem nice I just don’t like them like that.

6. The Talk CBS 2PM; A rip off version of The View without the blonde. Stupid! They need a blonde.

7. Dr. Phil CBS 3 PM; Dr Phil was hip 5 years ago, but now it is like watching Maury, the same thing day after day.

8. Maury CBS; If you like paternity tests, this is the show for you.

9. Oprah is over; Yea!!!

10. Doctors ABC 9AM; I watched part of this show a couple of times, creepy! It is like they just threw 4 or 5 random odd ducks together and then told them to talk about our inner most bodily functions. Stick to Dr OZ for that stuff.

Now on to my favorite shows ever! Judge shows!

1. Judge Judy FOX 4PM; You can’t beat the original. When I think of judge shows she will always be the one that I think of. She is fierce, gets to the point, and says it how it is. In a way she kinda of reminds me of another favorite of mine, Dr. Laura for those who know who she is.

2. Judge Joe Brown FOX 2PM; Well I think I like him because he is black.

3. Peoples court KJZZ 3PM; You get to hear what the people think.

4. Swift Justice With Nancy Grace KJZZ 11PM; She judges people over the internet like something straight out of Las Vegas.

5. Judge Alex FOX 1PM; His eyes scare me!

6. Judge Karen CW30 10:30AM; She is on CW 30, she must be bad.

7. Divorce Court CW30 12PM; CW 30 and worse than judge Karen.

8. Judge Jeanine Pirro CW30 11AM; CW 30

Well I have one more list for you which is what I call, Normal Shows.

1. Matlock KJZZ 1PM; This is the best show on TV. It is mysterious, super suspenseful, and involves people getting thrown into jail each and every day. If you watch one show during the day I suggest Matlock! It is my favorite.

2. Little house on the Prairie KBYU 6PM; Good wholesome TV. Every time I watch it I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This show makes me want to live out in the boonies.

3. I love Lucy 2.2 3PM; Classic show that always makes me smile. I do love Lucy.

4. Law and Order SVU KJZZ 2PM; This show is for the serious minded souls. Lots of death, crying, and intense sequences.

5. The Brady Bunch KBYU 5:30PM; This show is good, I am just jealous that they had a maid to cook and clean for them. Dang Lazy Punks!

To make sure that my mom made the blog I asked her what her favorite daytime TV show is and she responded Channel 2 morning news, mostly because of Casey. Lame, but then she said that she also likes Matlock! Atta Baby!

Well, I hope that you enjoyed my daytime TV lists.You are all now prepared to venture into the daily life of having nothing to do. TV is important at times like these, without the knowledge that I have just provided, you would be but a lost soul drifting endlessly without direction or guidance. So the next time you have a day off, or have just got fired from your job, remember you can survive! Remember the list of all lists! It will get you through! Enjoy your week peeps!