Roller Derby + Neices & Nephews = A Pretty Good Weekend

So last weekend was pretty good. On Friday night some friends (Alex, Gordon, Tyson, Justin, an Todd) went to the SLC Roller Derby. Alex had interviewed them a while back and they've been getting some decent media coverage lately, so we decided to go check them out. The actual roller derby part of it itself is pretty dumb. They skate around an oval the size of a Doughboy swimming pool and try and pass each other... it's boring. They shove one another every so often, but most the time the falls look fake or it's only because they are girls and therefore bad skaters. But the real entertainment came in the form of the other fans. It was, and this will be a huge surprise, a lesbian magnet. Cause butch dikes love to see girls on skates! But more than that there were all these "individuals" with tattoos and piercings and weird clothes. I tempted to editorialize on the event and draw a conclusion or two, but who wants to hear that, right? Nobody. (Judging from the responses I got to my summary of single Mormons, which I thought was fairly accurate and had a hopeful swing to it.) But it was fun and we all had a crush on one trashy girl or another at some point in the evening. I had my camera and took way too many pictures.

Sunday night i went to my sister Wendy's place in Heber for dinner. My nieces and nephews are at really fun ages now, so I love going up there. Wendy is pregnant with her 4th (boy). Enjoy some images of the evening hereafter posted...

Wendy (31) & Kate (1.5)

Corbin (5) & Kate on the trampoline

Kate in Monkey costume

Cameron (4)

Corbin... too handsome for his own good.

Paul (30) the font of Corbin's handsomeness?

Last Rocker 1977

Woah! Don't fall girls... don't fall.


Somewhere in this picture there is something weird going on...

Justin Taylor makes a move

The Ref "As-Hole"

Tyson Adam Henrie

Alexander James Kirry




Michael Gordon Peterson liked this girl with the nose piercing

Alex On Ice


Todd Evan Langston finds a friend who also loves to "Seize The Day" and a cold brew at the Derby.

This guy was awesome.


I had two crushes in this crowd.

One of them may have been the poor man's Elvira.

SPBC 1 Year Anniversary

So... I'm in a book club. The Smarty Pants Book Club. Brooke Eaton (see below) started it when she moved out from North Carolina last year and I signed up... It's been a fun past-time and a good way to be exposed to books I normally wouldn't be interested in. We commemorated our anniversary in super summer fashion: a pool party / BBQ. I brought the hot dogs and my camera... enjoy.

OUR FOUNDER - Brooke Eaton

Dave Eaton

Bookclub Mascot - Neil Curtis

Visitor - Maddy Lee

Garrett... last name unknown

Stacey... obviously related to Garett since I don't know her last name.

Marcelle Collins

Alisha Eaton

Visitor - Sarah Lee

Post Script: Here is a list of the books we've read so far.
Education of Little Tree - Forrest Carter
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Sound And The Fury - William Faulkner
The Road Less Traveled - M. Scott Peck
Life Of Pi - Yann Martel
The Enoch Letters - Neal A. Maxwell
Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama
East Of Eden - Johnny Steinbeck
Terri Schiavo (i forget the title) - Mark Furhman

"New York, New York, It's A Hell Of A Town!

You know the Bronx is up and I'm Brooklyn down!" So I waited too long and now I've lost the passion of my NYC trip. I mean, i probably could have reported in greater detail right after the fact.... but if you read my last post you'll know how busy me got. (By the way, the title and continuing quote is from a Beastie Boy's song. Tyler (my NY friend) and I were huge fans back in the day and their lyrics popped into our head constantly since they reference NY all the time.)

NYC -The trip:
It was good for sure. Ty had just ended his employment of 3 years at Lehman Brothers and so had all his time free. Which was cool, but I'm sure that made him feel like a full-time tour guide. Don't worry, people had conversations in front of me reminding me what a nuisance guests in NY were and how much they can't wait until visitors leave... it's true about the "rude New Yorker," I just didn't know Mormons would fall under that umbrella too. Juuuuuuust kidding.

Anyways... we did all kinds of fun stuff and went all kinds of cool places. I don't feel like listing them. You've heard all about it before from every girl you know and their Mom... literally. (You know, cause girls always go to New York with their Mom's and see Phantom of the Opera? You know?) So I won't bore you with those details. Suffice it to say it was fun, in that regard. My purpose, however, was to scope out NYC as a potential residence, so the sights and attractions were less of an appeal. I paid attention to the people and the attitudes, specifically of the Mormons there since i would be spending most of my free time socializing with them. It's very similar to other places I've been and lived outside of Utah and expressly Utah County. People REALLY into their careers, that act important and serious because they feel successful, who now have money and so think they can be more picky of the opposite sex, who are forced to date from a very small pool of eligible mates. Guys complain that the girls blow them off and reject them, the one they want won't give them the time of day... girls complaining about not being asked out, but out the other side of their mouth about the "creepy" "stalker" who is asking them out, and blowing off guys that are interested so they can hang out with their female roommates (who have boyfriends.) And once you get past this stage and actually do start dating, prepare for the long haul. People then date for years, and years.... and years. They blame everything under the sun from not being financially prepared for marriage to the trip they are taking around the world and talks will have to resume when they get back.... But secretly they are very aware of the petite dating pool and are out with one eye open.

Here's the point: If you are 25+ and graduated from college, wher'ere you be, you're life sucks. Mormon singledom is a sorry state. Now, as negative as that sounds (and is!) there's no use crying over spilled milk. It is what it is. And once you accept that you will be much happier... sort of. I mean to say that once you realize there is no "solution" for the single Mormon dilemma, you'll stop looking for one, and more important, stop moving around the country trying to find one. And you can start focusing on making your post-college life decisions without dating/social "solutions" as a motivator. You can if you realize it's not going to be better just different. If you're ready for a change of pace, scenery, culture, crowd, etc. then by all means make a move! Not better, just different. I knew this before, but this trip helped crystallize the idea into a belief.

That said, I liked NY. Great place to live. I would love the change of scenery, culture, pace, etc. Even the quirky NY singles would be a welcomed relief from my Utah boredom. So I may go, but the NYC magic wore off a little bit and I got a decent, albeit small, glimpse of reality. It's just different from Utah, not better and not a solution. And that's exactly what i wanted to get out of the trip. So it was good.

NYC - The Camera:

The camera was good. I got to use it in a variety of situations. I was impressed with it overall, but saw some of the flaws that all those articles had pointed out. I want a higher ISO and faster shutter speed. I want a heavier, bigger camera with some weight to reduce camera shake in low light situations. I want a camera with a spot meter. I want a better lens, and on and on...

So I will be returning it. It did pretty good though... you can see the results below.

Jenni Willardson (Ty's sister)

Jenni on Ty's roof in midtown Manhattan

Ty Willardson (Ladies Man)

He hates the paparazzi.

Craig Tovey (Fat Ladies Man) at the "Shake Shack." As far as shacks go, it doesn't compare to Huntington Beach's "Sugar Shack."

Soul Claps

Breakdancing at Central Park

Looking East from Ty's roof. Central Park is just beyond those two towers.
Looking West

BIG CITY DOWNTOWN




PEOPLES

Hello, Again, Hello...

This last week (July 7th - July 14th) was one of the most stressful weeks of my life. Anyone within the sound of my voice has heard me complain about it, so this is for all the people outside of the Wasatch Front. I need to spread my negative energy further! (See, I'm kind of a pioneer that way.) But basically, I came back from NY and went right to work on packing up my house and getting it ready to paint, tile and clean the carpets for the new tenants. Of course the garage door and the AC broke and the plumbing leaked when i put it back together. By Saturday night I literally felt like my hands might fall off and I was sick from only sleeping 4 hrs a night. I was worthless at my job as you might have guessed. But I have to thank all the people who came to my aid last week and made my life SO much easier. I'll do so by name...
THANK YOU!
Dave Eaton
Karly Spencer
Brooke Eaton
Nancy & Pete Lisonbee
Wendy & Paul Malan
Heather Hess & her sister
Brian Sutton
Cameron Goetz

If you aren't listed here and you live in Utah then you probably made my life significantly harder... yes, there were those people too. I won't list them. But know that inside I'm sad at you and won't help you next time you're in need. Jerks. Just forget about borrowing my truck next time you move!!!

But, the good news is the fact that I found a great family (parents, 3 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats) to rent out my 6 bedroom / 3.5 bath house in beautiful and sometimes smelly Draper, UT. I am super excited for this cause everyone told me no one would pay what I wanted for rent. "Why wouldn't they just buy a house if they can pay that much in rent?" Well, my idealistic, fiscally responsible friends, there are many families in many diverse situations. Some with bad credit, some with good. Some with lots of money, some without. Some have lived here a long time, some are moving to Utah for the first time. But I can tell you I advertised my house on Craig's List and KSL.com and got at least 2 calls a day of people interested in it at the price I was asking. Hooray for me, right? I'm such a real estate guy.


Anyway, after we signed the year lease, I realized I had no place to live and a week to figure it out. All my current roommates have all had enough of each other (2 are getting married soon anyway) and we've decided to go our separate ways... luckily for me I hung out with my friend Gordon who said he was in the market for a new roommate and invited me to be said roommate. I agreed and the rest is very recent history... He lives in Provo and I thought I had finished with that place, but I guess fate would have me give it another round. I know people are down on Provo, but I have always had fun there and am excited to be back in a really Mormony place. (Salt Lake City can get you a little sad about what can happen to Mormons when they leave the church.)

So i moved in Saturday night and the apartment is SUPER COOL. It's on Center St. above Starry Night (this is our kitchen). ( a crappy music venue for crappy Screamo and Hardcore bands that shake the floors every weekend night.) It's on the corner of the building, has high brick walls and this big iron staircase going up to the 2 loft bedrooms. I took some pictures Sunday cause it has a way cool look and feel. I'm excited about the place, but as I took some pictures something tells me my roommates have mixed feelings about me being there...

Gordon Peterson - He makes out with this computer for hours everyday and as a result is a pretty awesome web designer.

Tyson Henrie - He makes out with girls for hours everyday and as a result is a pretty awesome song writer. Or vice versa. Ever heard of Arson Car? I arrest my case.

So goodbye sweet Draper and hello, again, dear Provo. I don't know how long I'll be there, but i'm determined to enjoy my stay for as long as it lasts. Everything I own is in a storage unit in Bluffdale, except some clothes and a blanket... and some toothpaste. I love the feeling of being able to pack and move in 20 minutes. It may come in handy since I have no clue what the next few months will hold. In the meantime, here is Gordon with his shirt off...