We had a block party in the neighborhood tonight. It was a lot of fun. We had one family moving out, the Chauhans who are from India originally. They are moving to Castle Rock, Colorado. They are wonderful people, and the neighborhood had a party to send them off. We had a lot of fun, eating, visiting, and enjoying each other’s company. This is what being neighbors is all about.
Well, get a fun thing to do, that is, go drive the convertible and what happens, the rain comes. Here is it Memorial Day weekend, and what should happen but that we have a lot of rain for a couple of days. That spoiled all of my plans for driving the convertible. It was going to be a great time to go somewhere with the top of the thing down. Instead, the weather got downright cold and nasty. Oh well!!!
Well, maybe it isn’t really mine, but I can always dream.
My brother in law and part of his family are going to be living in India for about a month or so. As a result, they needed someone to kind of keep an eye on their Chrysler Sebring convertible. I have always (my family knows this) harbored a secret desire to have my very own converitble. There is something about driving with the top down that has made me always feel like I would be something special in this old world.
Well, in the last two days I have spent more time behind the wheel of a real live convertible than I had ever spent in my whole life before. Like before, I maybe drove one for up to 30 minutes and in the last two days, maybe 2 hours. Whoa, I am now truly in heaven. Well, maybe not in heaven, but at least I am fulfilling a life long dream. To bad I couldn’t have it given to me for free. You can always dream, right?
I went golfing today for the first time in 2 or 3 years. It was very embarrasing. It was a scramble. It was for the Kiwanis Golf Klassic, a tournament the local Kiwanis Club I belong to sponsors every year to raise money for scholarships for youth, and to operate on. I was asked by a vendor to play with his group.
To put it mildly, I didn’t add anything to the score of the group. They couldn’t use any of my drives until the 14th hole that we were playing. I did a lousy job. It was not a fun day, and also proved that my age is taking a toll. My diabetes and lack of upper body strength was also making a difference. I should golf more often, but you have to mortgage the house anymore to get the money to do it. It was a beautiful course.
People do love their politics, and one thing about a political convention is that people feel passionately about the power structure. I went to the State Republican Convention today and voila, what an experience.
We had a couple of really interesting but time using experiences. The first was that we had an attempt, as perceived by a lot of the delegates, to make a grab at taking away the grass roots nature of the political process in Utah. In affect, the power structure of the top County party leadership would not have had rubber stamped by the delegates their ability to control the selection of some of the delegates. It took us about 2 hours longer than it should have, but that one was defeated and many people were upset.
The other was the unseating of an incumbent. Many delegates in our congressional district were unhappy with Chris Cannon and they voted as a majority to send the contest to a primary. He was so concerned that I actually got a call from him two days before the convention trying to sway my vote. This will be interesting to see what happens.
I don’t think it matters what I write here. My audience is very limited, and then they only read once in a great while.
Meeting, After Meeting, After Meeting
This is my month to conduct in Sacrament Meeting in the ward. With that honor also comes several other items. I also give the theme in Primary which I haven’t done before so this will be a first. Next, if there is a Ward Baptism for Primary, we also then have to be there and conduct that service.
Today, there was a miscommunication between the families involved and the Primary Organization Leadership, so I ended up having to conduct two Baptismal Services about 2 hours apart. While it was Ok to do so, it was just another added meeting that I need to take care of. I feel like I am being overwhelmed. I am just not a young man any more and trying to get this all done is proving to be a real challenge. Well, tomorrow is the sabbath and therefore I have a busy day ahead of me.
We just decided a few days ago that we are going to Taiwan, for sure, this summer. The airline tickets are bought and we are getting ready to go. I am so excited. I can’t wait to see how much it has changed, and if it is the same at all.
Well, it is going to be during the hottest time of the year. That I wish I could avoid but it is not to be. I think I am going to have to work a few days inside a sauna so I can get used to the heat. In any event, it will be fun and interesting to go.
The problem, my Mandarin is lousy. I have got to improve it somehow. In order to do that, I have been watching Taiwanese TV and also been listening to language CDs. I am lost!!! I have forgotten so much, and I don’t know if I will ever learn enough to make my spouse feel confident in my abilities to “translate” and get us around the country. Well, we are committed now.