I went to the Meese, Jack’s Mannequin and The Fray concert at USANA Amphitheatre the other week. I attended with one of my two favorite concert goers, my sister! I’ve decided that I really like shows at USANA. The night time outdoor ambiance always sets the perfect mood for music. Luckily our seats were far enough away that we were able to sit in them without having standers all around blocking our view.

Meese was semi-enjoyable. They have decent music but are extremely lacking in many areas. They sound like just another local band. Meese said that this was their second tour with The Fray. If they haven’t gained in popularity after one national tour, I doubt there is little the second tour will do for them. I enjoyed Owl City far more from the Relient K concert a couple months ago. I highly recommend giving them a listen instead.

Jack’s Mannequin put on an awesome show. Andrew’s piano skills are impressive and his dexterity rivals that of most drummers. Although an odd choice of band to tour with The Fray, their piano inclusion must have been what brought them together. Jack’s Mannequin sounded just as good live as they do on their cd’s. I definitely enjoyed watching them the most. What I’d like to see next time: Andrew should do a flip off of his piano rather than prance off like an injured deer. Honorable mentions: beautiful guitars and the guitarist did a scissor kick. Nice.

The Fray are excellent musicians. I really enjoyed their set and was in awe with the incredible light display. Before the show started, I told my sister that the lighting would be the best part. I think most would agree that it was. I loved everyone holding up their cellphones at the end. There was such a cool vibe seeing the glowing lights wave around. Constructive criticism: stage presence. Do something more than standing in place. Praises: the Kanye West encore was awesome. And I love it when bands have an intro/outro for their tour. It makes it especially special and unique.

I was able to record most of “How to Save a Life”. The crowd singing along at the end will forever be a favorite memory of mine.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdMmw6TTGCk]

This was another very worthwhile concert. I’m glad I was able to attend and appreciated the accompaniment of my sister. I love watching musicians enjoy what they do. It’s truly inspiring to see the stage come alive and hear the live music that has been ingrained in my head since the first time I heard it.

I had the great opportunity to vacation in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone for a few days. I went with my dad a couple weeks ago on an adventure that will most likely be written in the history books as one of the most memorable father and son outings ever to be had. It was a lot of fun.

This vacation was well needed by me and was the perfect get-away. We didn’t make any reservations or have any set plans. We just drove until we saw something we liked, looked at it and moved on to the next thing. Very leisurely and enjoyable. We had some great talks together and were able to experience the Tetons and Yellowstone in a way I never have before. I was grateful for my dad and all his preparations he put into this trip. He bought all the food, bought new camping supplies, memorized the maps and had a mental list full of things we could do.

We stayed the first night in Grand Teton National Park and then the second night in Yellowstone National Park. We drove my car which allowed us to bring more gear and ride in comfort. The weather was perfect and never got too hot. By the end of the trip I counted over 200 mosquitoes bites on me. This was due to not wearing any bug spray and wearing short sleeves, shorts and flip flops the entire time. Bug bites have never really bothered me. Highlights included seeing a bear, reading the Book of Mormon together each night, watching my dad enjoy himself on a vacation and of course all the great food we ate. We’re hoping to have another outing before the end of summer.

Here are some pictures of our exploration in the wilderness. Each picture has a caption to go along with it. Clicking the thumbnails on each page will take you forward or back in the gallery. Clicking the main picture will enlarge it.

Vacations with my dad are always unforgettable. Our family has a quote book just of his sayings and comments that are sure to bring my entire family to laughter if reminisced of ever. Thanks for everything dad.

I have done a lot of thinking in the last few weeks. As a result there are many things on my mind that I’d like to say. I’ll write about one of them.

Life isn’t about you versus the world. Life is about you in relation to you and only you. You can’t measure your progress against anyone else, that would be completely unfair. Your success in life can only be measured from where you started to where you end up.

Everyone grows at a different rate, some more than others. Does more growth make someone a better person? No. Does more growth make someone a stronger person? No. Life is not a competition. The rate at which we learn in life is unique to us. It is the very defining thing that shapes our character and makes us the upstanding citizens that we seek to be.

I have two anecdotes to share.

The first: When I was injured with hip bursitis in high school, I made regular visits to the physical therapist to try to recover. With each visit I ranked my pain for the day. They explained that the ranking methods were clearly up to me and that whatever number I said had no effect on what they did. The ranking merely allowed them to see if progress was being made. I knew what pain I had been in before, but I also knew that I could be feeling much better. With 10 being the highest, I told them 7 the first day. By the time I was done with physical therapy a few weeks later, I was at a 4. I moved down my scale 3 places over the course of about 10 visits. Although the numbers didn’t change much, I felt a big difference in my hips and legs and was satisfied with the therapy. In the end it didn’t matter how much the numbers changed, the only thing that mattered was that I felt better. I saw direct results from the effort I gave.

The second: When I was in the MTC, there was a missionary in my district who was struggling. He wasn’t able to learn Spanish as easily as the rest of us. He got so frustrated he was about to go home. One day as we were working on the computers I saw him get really upset. He buried his face in his hands and started shaking his head. He was discouraged. Later that night I talked to him and asked what was wrong. He expressed his feelings of inadequacy and not being able to learn as easily as the rest of us. He felt like he was failing. I looked at him and said, “Don’t compare yourself to the rest of us. We’re all on different levels here. Just because some of us are picking up Spanish so quickly doesn’t mean that you aren’t as good. Only focus on the progress you’ve made and how that makes you feel. As long as you are doing your best that’s all that matters.” He ended up staying in the MTC and served a full two-year mission, not because of me, but because he eliminated the comparisons from his mind and focused only on his own results.

I have experienced change and growth recently. It’s something that I’ve been wanting but have been greeted with discouragement and doubt when I’ve tried. My progress is what gives me the satisfaction I need to continue learning and growing. The rate at which I grow and the amount I grow only matters to me. Each day I am one step closer to being who I want to be.

Success in life needs to be measured on a day-to-day level.  You can’t hope for things so far into the future that you don’t see the destination. You need to focus on the here and now. Look at tomorrow and then the next day to see results and make your next move. It is the sum of each day that we live that gives us the final and total value of our lives.

I am not necessarily excited to be in school this summer but I know it will be worth it when I graduate next April. A new semester has started and new experiences are to be had. Here is one from my physics class today.

Professor: “Is there anyone without a text book?”

lonely guy: (raises his hand)

Professor: “Ok, please get one by tomorrow if possible.”

middle-aged woman (MAW): “I got mine for free!”

class: (gasp and shock) “Where? How!?”

MAW: “Online from a website.”

class: “What’s the site?”

MAW: “The pirate b…”

class: “WHOAA!! Ok, ok, right. Let’s not go there. Obviously…”

MAW: “What? I just downloaded a torrent file and it gave me the book that someone scanned page-by-page in PDF format.”

class: (chatter and laughing)

Professor: “Might as well finish telling the name.”

MAW: “bay.org”

class: (more chatter then awkward silence)

I think most people would consider discussing illegal means to getting a book with your professor a bad thing. What made this incident so awkward was that the MAW clearly did not understand the legality of what she did and then freely admitted to it and suggested the idea to everyone else, during class and in front of our professor. I don’t think she understands the internets. This kind of thing might have been ok when we were a college, but now we’re a university.

Last week I played with Sydney Rees in her senior recital at BYU. We’ve been writing music on and off for a little over a year and have been able to create some great music together. The recital included two songs that we’ve written, along with four of her originals and a Nirvana cover, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Below is a song that we wrote together called “Home”. One of her best friends, Eric Jackson, was able to fly in from Oregon to play and write some amazing accompaniments. I love this song.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amNVGHxT3y0]

Some of my best memories have involved playing music with my closest friends. My uncle once told me that the people throughout his life he has managed to keep in contact with over the years are the musicians whom he has played with. Playing music with people creates a special connection between you and them. It allows you to communicate with a feeling, mood and emotion that can’t be described.

I know I’ll never forget this opportunity I had to play with some of the most amazing and talented people I know.