Ok. Here we go!!

Trying to get past the wall.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:51:00 +0000

This has been a hard week for me. By Friday afternoon, there was nothing left of me.

It started on Wednesday, I had applied for a job in Utah County. I did because I didn't see many opportunities here in town. They responded and wanted to interview me the next day. I really didn't sleep that night just thinking of what may happen. I left town and went north on Thursday. I went through the interview and received an offer to work. I left thinking about what was to come. I had to start to make arrangements to move north. I had a million things go through my mind. I had lived in St. George for fifteen years. It is my home in every sense. I was starting to struggle with my emotions at that point. I spent the evening with my sister and her family. I tried to go to sleep but I still was trying to grasp what was to come. Then, on top of that, one of her cats took an interest to me and kept me up the better part of the night.

Friday morning, my sister was telling me of a couple of places by her that are for rent. We were just about to go out and look when I get a message from Eric. There was a possible job opening back in St. George and they needed my resume ASAP. What they were offering in pay was excellent and I couldn't pass it up. I packed up everything and shot south. On my way, the radiator in my car decided it was time for a leak. I was having to stop every fifty miles or so to put water in my car. It isn't a good sign when you put more water than gas in your car. My frustration at the whole situation was building. My stepfather had a good suggestion since I had determined it wasn't the radiator hose but the radiator itself. I bought some stop leak in Cedar City. I made it south without having to but any more water in. It had turned into a six hour drive. Almost twice as long as a regular trip. I get down and get my resume over to the prospective employer. I find out that it promising but not a slam dunk. I would find out by Tuesday. At that point, I really didn't know what to think. I could be dealing with the possibility of moving but then again, I may not.

I was so tired that even trying to express my frustrations was to much. I don't think I have ever felt so completely exhausted emotionally and mentally. I didn't even want to talk.

Anyway hanging out with friends and getting out in the sun today has started to help me recover. I plan on doing the same tomorrow so that I can get myself ready for whatever may come.

I guess what is the hardest for me to deal with is the uncertainty. I like being impulsive and just going where ever on a weekend or even get in a car with no destination in mind. But long term, I crave stability. This not knowing is really hard for me to cope.

I hope that the job opportunity here in town pans out. I really don't want to leave here yet.

Did you ever have one of those weekends?

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:33:00 +0000

This past weekend has been a bitch as far as I am concerned.

It all started Friday evening when I get a call about 4:30. I find out that my grandfather had fallen out of his bed the night before and had been on the floor for at least 12 hours and possibly 18 hours. My cousin asks me if I can help so I fly out the door. Problem is that in St. George, it takes 20-30 minutes just to go 5 miles so by the time I make it there, my uncle had him picked up off the floor.

Not long after that, my parents so up and decide to stay there the weekend to see how he is doing because he looks really ragged.

I find out on Sunday that my parents took him to the emergency room and that the X-rays show a "Compression Fracture of the Spine". They tell me it is like broken ribs. There is not much you can do for them but treat the pain.

My Mom asked me if I could stay with them Sunday night to make sure everything is OK because she is a teacher and needs to get to Mesquite to get her classroom arranged. I wasn't thrilled and plenty scared but there is no way I can say "No" to my mom. I get there and the evening wasn't bad at all.

I help him get into bed they settle down for the night. About 1:00 in the morning, my grandma calls me because grandpa needs to go to the bathroom and he can't move. I try to swing the legs over the each of the bed but he starts howling in pain. Right then and there I know I am in over my head and there is no help from anywhere. It is so incredibly scary to realize that you are the only one and someone else in pain is depending on you. After 30 minutes, I finally get him out of bed and get him taken care of. I was able to get him back into bed but after that, I can't sleep. Hearing him scream in such pain really got to me.

I had to do the same thing at 4:00 then again at 6:30. Each time was as hard as the last. That screaming doesn't get any easier. I have come to label it "Heartless Compassion."

I went home but called in sick. I was to tired and my nerves were frazzled for me to concentrate on anything so I went back to bed.

I get a call about noon from an aunt saying they hadn't gotten out of bed yet so they needed me to help more. By the time I got there they were out of bed but hungry. I stayed there in the afternoon meanwhile trying to call insurance company to see what can be done about home care because the way things were going, they couldn't be left alone and everyone in the family had jobs. While I am trying to learn as I go with insurance, my aunt is falling apart and the rest of the family seemed to be eating itself apart with all the tensions. My parents decided to stay last night with my grandparents and took them to the doctor. They have solved some of the problems and tomorrow, grandpa goes in to get an MRI.

Even today, I am having difficulty trying to cope with what happened yesterday and hearing someone howl in such pain.

I guess it comes down to this, growing old SUCKS!!!!

Finally a break away from St. George

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:19:00 +0000

I was finally able to get out of town for a bit. My friend did a show up in Beaver on Friday night. I went up to help him set up and take everything down. It was a beautiful night and I was actually able to enjoy a nice evening breeze.

The crowd was fun but on the wild side. I love small towns where they sale beer on site. They get to drinking and all sorts of fun ensues. There are times I should have a "Security" t-shirt on cause the locals were getting all over him. It did make me laugh. He even signed a girls backside. It was a shapely backside. I will say that.

After we finished up backing the band up, we took off up the mountains to hang at the condo. It was a warm night but so relaxing.

On Saturday, we went down to Three Creek Reservoir to check the area out. It had been about 20 years since I had been in that area and could remember it. It was awesome.

We tried some stream fishing but didn't have much luck. I gave up and did some hiking around. The scenery is memerable to say the least. Here some pictures from the area.

From here we went down about 20 miles south to my friends ranch to stay Saturday night. We went spotting deer and had some good luck there. We crashed at the cabin then headed back down on Sunday. It was a wonderful way to recharge the batteries.

Quick music review.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:18:00 +0000

I have been in a mood for '80s rock. Not the same old songs from the bands but something new from those old bands. I got my wish.

I downloaded "Lightening Strikes Again" from Dokken. There are a couple of songs that really struck me. I like the first track: Standing on the Outside. It was a fast paced song and the guitar licks reminded my of the original guitarist, George Lynch. The album as a whole is very well done. It sounds polished and they are on their game.

I always like Dokken. They seemed like sheep when it came to their image but their songs went a lot deeper and their musical abilities were among the best in the genre in my opinion.

If you are in a mood for some good '80s style rock, check this album out.

Some old school Rock.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:43:00 +0000

Today's update.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:53:00 +0000

Today I:

I ate at In-n-Out Burger. It was the grand opening of the joint here in town and the first in the state of confusion...ER...Utah. I had a double-double and it hit the spot. As far as what it took to get the burger? Just a 30 minute wait in line at the drive thru. Talk about putting up with a lot just to get a burger. It was well worth it but now I think I will let the crowds die down before doing that again.

Happy Birthday Dad.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:33:00 +0000

I had a special treat this week. My dad came down on his annual trip to the south land. He and his wife, Karen, crashed here Tuesday and Wednesday. We had a good visit last night catching up and seeing how everything was. He even tried my left-handed strung guitar. It isn't as easy as it looks folks.

Anyway it is his 60th birthday and we went up to Zion's National Park. He wanted to go up Observation Point on the East Rim trail. If you know Zion's, it is a really steep and long climb. We found a back way in by going above the park and hiking back into the park. It was about a 7 mile round trip hike but not hard at all. It was very windy but not really that cold. It made for a fun day.

I am happy he made it here and that we were able to spend the day together.

Above is a picture of Angel's landing from observation. It is an awesome sight.

Added security

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 06:44:00 +0000

I had to tighten up the security since some idiot decided to start spamming my blog. Got ahead and post replies if you want and I will approve them. Just not from spamming idiots.

The Miracle of Life

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:10:00 +0000

About a week ago, my friend's yellow lab had pups. It was amazing to see these little guys. It was the mother's first litter and we figured/knew there was going to be complications. The amazing part? No complications what so ever and even know it is her first litter, she has taken to the part like she was an old hand. She was caring for each pup and so far, all are healthy and being watched over by a doting mother. I need to get over there to see how they are doing and how they are growing. It is just amazing to see. My goal is to get a picture with a whole litter of pups jumping all over me.

Not to be out done, my fish decided to commit parenthood also. The funny part is that I had no idea about this till a week ago when I saw this little guy some swimming out of the this wooded alcove that the fish built up. I haven't seen any other besides this one so I am quite thrilled and a tad bit confused. I thought the fish I had weren't compatible for breeding. I was wrong. Last set of fish I had were convicts and when they breed. There is a BUNCH and it looks like a little cloud in the tank. It was fun watching them grow but it put the other fish under a lot a stress and the convicts are a VERY protective species when it comes to their young. Just to give you a frame of reference the rocks you see in this picture are no larger that little pebbles you would find in a creek. He is about 1/4 of an inch long. He is getting braver and will swim out of the alcove but not to far. He is smart enough to stay close by so he doesn't get eaten. Sad part is even my fish are having a better time than I am.

Quick update from last post.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:19:00 +0000

I had my first lesson tonight. The teacher is a coworker of mine and he is gonna challenge me. I am excited. I didn't realize that how much my left hand knew about the guitar and chords that my right hand will have to learn. I will have to start basically from scratch. I am up for the challenge.

He will even teach me music theory for possibly *gulp* writing songs. Now THAT will be a challenge.

For me, it is kind of a big deal.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:34:00 +0000

I have been thinking about doing this for a while now. What you may ask? Well, you make ask. :P

Anyway before I let you know about I decided to do, let me lay down a little bit of history. I like music. Eh, let me say that I freaking LOVE music. It touches my soul and helps me through tough times and also helps me through the good times.

I had always wanted to learn how to play the guitar and I did take lessons for a while and got to were I could play and people actually could recognize the songs I was playing. It gave me great happiness. I would practice and get down the lessons my teacher prepared and felt like I was growing.

Then something bad happened, I got engaged, then broke up and right after that? I broke my left wrist. It was a nasty break. It took me over a year to recuperate and even then, I hadn't picked my guitar back up to play. It would sit in a corner and I would look at it. I would pull it out to play. It felt good but since I was using my left wrist for the chords, it caused me a lot of pain if I played for any amount of time. It still feels like there is a hole in my soul and something that needs to be filled.

Here is the funny thing, I am left handed. I learned out to play right handed. Go figure. I decided a while back to restring my guitar to be a left handed guitar but never moved on it. Just a couple of days ago, I learned that one of my coworkers is a guitar teacher and he agreed to take me on. We start tomorrow.

It is going to be a challenge but I am excited to start to fill up a gap that has been in me for the longest time.

Wish me luck.

Easter Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 04:31:00 +0000

So how is your weekend? Mine has been interesting. I found out on Friday that my grandmother, the one that had broken her hip, decided to check out of the rehab center and go home. That has cause a lot of stress in the family. We are now scrambling to make sure the house is accessible to her so that she can get around in comfort. There is still more work to be done.

Now to jump back a day. I went with a friend, Erin to the Nashville tribute to the Prophet. It was a blast and VERY uplifting. I have to say that the music was excellent and the singing was awesome. Thanks Erin for showing me the light. I just need to get the sound track.

Now to jump forward, after the trying morning with my grandparents, I needed to get out so I went with some friends. The original plan was to go out the Gunlock reservoir and check out the area. We didn't make it all the way out but turned off on a road and found a hiking trail that led us to some hieroglyphs. It was a blast. There is something about looking at the writings from another time. I wish had the learning to know what they were writing.

I want to take a moment and express my gratitude for out Savior and the sacrifice He made for all of us and the fact that he has risen from the grave to give us a chance to return. I know I have fallen short but I still appreciate what He has done.

I hope you all have a happy Easter and I hope you have success.

I must come from a tough family.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 05:03:00 +0000

About a month a ago my grandmother fell and broke her hip. It was scary and sad at the same time. They took her in a couple of days later to operate on the hip and put a clamp on the hip. It was a success.
She is doing well. She is at the rehab center now. My grandfather spends the day over there to be with her. He has held up well with all of this. I feel bad for him but he loves her so much.
Today, she did take about 50 steps with the help of a walker. I am so happy to hear that. I have been told that for someone over 80, a breakage in the hip is something major. I just keep my finger crossed and pray a lot.
I just hope I can be a strong as she.

Blessings of the season

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 01:35:00 +0000

Looking back over Christmas I have been thinking of what was the best part for me. I am not one for Christmas anymore. It is a nice day and I respect what we are celebrating during the day but it has changed since I was a kid.
Having said that, the best part of Christmas is the fact I was able to spend it with my Grandparents. They are getting along in years and there is no guarantees that they will be around next year but I was able to sit with them and open presents with them. It was a most comforting feeling then to have cousins come over and have the Christmas meal with them was wonderful.
Another blessing was the fact that with a friend, we were able to fix the lighting in my grandparents house and also the lighting in their condo up at Elk Meadows. The gift of being able to help them with that was a feeling that I won't soon forget. My friend felt the same way. We did have a blast going up to Elk Meadows. He tried using an inner tube that was designed for water and being in a pool. That lasted one run and popped. It was hilarious. We were able to watch the Redskins/Vikings game on TV(way to go 'skins) then watch "Just Friends". I feel like this has been one of the best Christmases I have had in a long time and I will treasure this for some time to come.

Why do we need such a long preseason?

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 04:12:00 +0000

As the NFL is smack dab in, preseason. We are all tied to the TV and the websites to see how are teams will fair during this most important time right? RIGHT??? I guess not. Yet the NFL is trying to milk the preseason for what it is worth. Charging regular season prices for game where the 1st team is only on the field for a series maybe a couple but no longer than a half. Sounds like highway robbery to me!!! It is a blast to tune into a preseason game and see the stadiums fill all the way to, well, 10 to 15 percent capacity. I guess those few are just desperate enough to try to make it a memorable experience.

I can understand the need for a preseason. You need to work out issues of timing on the offense and this is a good way to tune but it is essentially a 1/4 of a season. You just try that in the NBA or MLB. I don't think that will fly. Another drawback to such a long preseason? Go to any sports website and check the injuries. You will see a number of players already out. Some are out the whole season. You could get by with a couple of games to help timing issues and evaluate some of the players on the bubble and that would help greatly. Somehow I don't think that will fly with the powers that be. Heaven forbid you take away all that revenue from the stadiums bursting with all those fans.

Rocks longest soap opera lives on.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 04:39:00 +0000

When I first heard that David Lee Roth was to join Van Halen, I just about fell over. I thought to myself, this will be one kick ass concert!! I love the stuff the original members did, all the way from Atomic punk to Jump. Even with the synthesizers they were the best. Little did I know it wasn't going to be the original Van Halen. They seem to have forgotten one: Michael Anthony.

How could you decide that it would be Van Halen without him. I know when they toured with Sammy Hagar, I heard the argument that it wasn't Van Halen, rather Van Hagar. I understood their point of view but I still loved the band. Even the tour they did a couple of years ago I loved. But to replace an original member with your 16 year old son? What is this? The "Van Halen family values tour" with DLR just tagging along for fun? Don't label this as a reunion unless it has ALL the members the band.
Why isn't Michael Anthony along this time? Possibly because he has toured with Sammy Hagar? I wouldn't have blamed him one bit. At least he wasn't sitting on his butt before going to rehab.

To add insult to injury, the only members of Van Halen to show up at the Rock 'n' Roll hall of fame was the two members not going out on tour this time around. That is pathetic!!!

Eddie!! Pull your head out, get over the bitterness and make it an actual reunion tour with Michael. If you don't want Sammy around. That is cool. I can understand that also but give the fans,like me, a memory to really savor. As it is right now, I have no interest in going to any of the shows.

I feel like such a redneck

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:39:00 +0000

I am hoping to get a picture up soon but last night I went to the Washington County Fair. It was a blast. I was able to get in to the Demolition Derby. Nothing like watching a bunch of old cars smash into each other. Besides it is even more fun to see true redneck watching the thing.
They had a couple of heats to start things out. Several cars didn't last long at all. The impact were bone rattling but worth it for me.
During the derby, they had a rock climbing competition. The coarse was set up with two telephone poles, then a space of 10 feet then you had a 20 ft long pile of boulders about 4 ft high then another 10 ft of space finished by two more telephone poles. The competition was to get over the whole track the least amount of time possible. They had several Jeeps that tried it. One actually hit the rock pile and basically jumped onto the pile. He lost his drive line but one the contest. There was another Jeep that lost a tire and came in second. Yet another Jeep pick up got up on the pile only to roll, get back up and try it again. My personal favorite was a Ford Explorer that looked like it had been in a pretty bad roll over. He hit the telephone poles, caught air and smashed head first into the pile of rocks. He promptly left. We figure he had a nice case of whiplash. I should feel bad but I don't. I just couldn't stop laughing and wanted him to try it again.
After that, there was a really nice firework display. The nice part was there was a thunderstorm in the back ground. Not to bad to finish off the weekend.

A video that I must share.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 02:31:00 +0000

This is a homemade video my friend did in tribute to his Grandfather. It is awesome.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:47:00 +0000

Today, I am celebrating a small victory. I had a bet with a coworker about who could lose the most weight in a time period. The result? I won. I dropped 11 lbs and he dropped 7. He asked for double or nothing. I agreed so I am in another competition for 6 more weeks. It is totally worth it to me just for how I am feeling. I went bike riding for an hour and a half today and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was able to ride through the Washington Fields and enjoy the evening air.

Activities

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 02:33:00 +0000

Today I decided it was time to get out at get some exercise. I have been doing good but there is always room for improvement.

The decision? To do some hiking up in the Pine Valley Mountains. We got up into the mountains and it cooled off into the 80s. That is a promising sign.
The last time I hiked up there, things didn't go so well. I ended up fatigued and basically wounded to say the very least. That is when I decided it was time to lose some weight.
This time? I have dropped 15 pounds and it made a HUGE difference. Yea, I came back stiff and sore but not wounded. On top of that, it was a harder hike so I had to do more work. In the end, I feel good.

I know I am headed in the right direction.

From Kalispell to Flagstaff in a day.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:44:00 +0000

That's right. At the buttcrack of dawn I was in a plan leaving the paradise of Montana headed back home to the heat. I had only one reprieve, head to Flagstaff, Arizona. Yup. I am now in Arizona for the weekend.

How that happened was my friend had a weekend show to do in Flagstaff and he needed a roadie. I just happen to volunteer for that job so I landed in St. George, repacked my bags and hopped in to a truck and headed out. I figure I have gone about 1500 miles today. I tried to take a nap but I think I am so tired, I can't even do that. Oh well. I am making the most of this vacation and I will squeeze this for every once I can.

Fireworks made fun

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:57:00 +0000

Last night I went out with my Dad to check out the fireworks. The have a neighbor about a mile away that does his own private show. I have heard good things about the show from my sister. I didn't think much about it because I know how Utah treats fireworks so I kept my expectations low.

Instead of a mini show, I was treated to a spectacular event. He had all sort of wonderful explosive devices. What made it even more impressive is that you are nestled in a valley with rolling hills all around. It makes for some killer acoustics so the explosions seem to roll back and for through the valley. I was blown away(figuratively).

We are headed out to the Flathead river to raft. I am really looking forward to that. But I know that tomorrow I have to fly back to St. George and to reality.
That bites.

Montana: Capital of Coffee houses and Casinos?

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 22:56:00 +0000

I just wanted to make an observation here. It seems like there is a coffee house and casino on every intersection. It's kinda creepy. I feel like I am in a mix of Seattle/Nevada here.

BTW, Happy Independence day to all.

Those sneaky Goats!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 23:46:00 +0000

I have had a blast today. We took off for Glacier to see the sights. Last time I was up here, we couldn't get past Lake MacDonald due to forest fires and such. So this time we took off and started the climb.
We started up the road but found out soon that my Dad's truck had a little problem. It was overheating badly. We would have to pull over to the side of the road and let it cool. The we would go about another mile or so and pull over again. In other words, it was a long trip but I got some wonderful shots of the peaks. I am just in awe at the beauty around me. And in a sense, it was quite humbling.
We made it to the top called "Logan's pass." The parking lot was full but a Park ranger was understanding of the truck and just let us pull to the side and said as long as the hood was up, no one would really say anything. I hiked around a little bit up there and enjoyed the scenery.
On the way back down, we bumped in to some mountain goats that were just hanging out. Some where walking in the road so the traffic backed up quickly. As we got closer to a momma goat with her young I had my camera ready. At the last second she decided to head down the side of the mountain. I was 10 feet away but couldn't get a shot off in time.
Oh well.

Hello from Montana.

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 03:06:00 +0000

My vacation has finally arrived. I am such a happy camper. The best part of this is that I am able to spend time with my dad in Whitefish, Montana. Part of this wonderful trip is that my sister got me a round trip ticket from St. George to Kalispell, Montana which is about 15 miles south of Whitefish.
I got up this morning and made the quick trek up and I was in God's country by noon.
I love flying. I love most to look out the window and see where I am heading. So what happens? I get an isle seat. That just about broke my heart. I had to keep craning my neck in order to look out the window to check the landscape but that didn't stop me. I saw some really impressive mountain ranges on the way up.

This afternoon my Dad got out a canoe and we took it out to check out a lake. I get in and we promptly turned it over. Welcome to Montana. :) I didn't mind whatsoever.
I had brought clothes to get wet. After that, we paddled around for a bit.

Now I am staying in the Yurt. If you want to know what a yurt is, I will have pictures posted later on. It is a blast.

More to follow in the coming days.