A day in the life of Fred

"HAIR"

2010-06-22T09:20:00.012-06:00

Six months ago I was only familiar with a few songs from the rock musical "Hair". I was not familiar with the story, the characters, or even the content of the show and if you had asked me what the show was about I probably would have given you my familiar deer in the headlights look.

I received a call from David Evanoff, mid-February, asking me what my plans were for the summer. At the time I was fairly certain that by June-July I would be moved out of Utah and relocated to Las Vegas. He informed me of the upcoming auditions of "Hair" and that he and Jerry Rapier were wanting me to audition for the role of Claude. "This would be the chance of a lifetime for you!" he said, "your resume would be much more impressive with this show at the top!".

Over the next few weeks I debated back and forth whether or not to audition. I started my extensive research about the show and became very enthralled with the music and the history. Dave and I talked over the phone a number of times about the show, the content, music, and the all famous NUDE SCENE.

The beginning of March hit and auditions were less than a week away. I had become very nervous about auditioning for the show and my conservative background had me questioning whether or not this was for me. I would one moment be convinced this show was not for me and then the next have something tell me I needed this experience. One of the biggest influences was my grand musical partner Deena Marie Manzanares. She and I had done 2 shows previously and in both shows played opposite each other. How could I pass up another chance to do a show with her?

Audition day came and I missed it. I backed out. Never showed. Chickened out. Call it what you want, I just didn't go. I put the blame on how busy my schedule was already. "I had to work and I couldn't get away. Anywho my schedule is way too busy to take on anything else." Inside myself I knew I was blowing a huge opportunity. The same evening after I had missed auditions I called David and left him a voicemail. "Dave, is there any chance that I would be able to still audition or be able to make it to callbacks in the morning? I really want an opportunity to be in this show." The next day I was invited to attend callbacks.

From the second I entered into the room I could feel an incredible energy and power to the show that weeks ago I had known so little about. From that moment on I never looked back.

Fast forward to the present. I've been in rehearsals for "Hair" now nearly 6 weeks and this has single-handedly been the most difficult, emotional, and yet rewarding experience of my acting career. I have always had a love for the stage. I have not, however, been involved in a show where each person involved has such an overwhelming passion for the content of the show.

*the following bit of this blog is very personal to me*

In my journey as a performer I have always aimed to please those very close to me. I love being up on stage! It has been a passion of mine my whole life and I love the thrill and excitement of putting on an incredible show and being able to see peoples responses afterward. It gives my life meaning.
The role of Claude parallels my own personal life in so many ways. In the show Claude has to make a choice between being drafted into the military or following his heart. It tears him to have to choose between what is expected of him by his parents, the world, his friends, and his faith. The choice he is faced with, and the choices that he has to make eventually cost him his life.
I have had a few people close to me express a bit of disappointment in my choice to be artistically involved in "Hair". In their minds I have sold my soul and joined the forces of the underworld and the next stop in my career is gate keeper of hell. This is unfortunate. Not everyone who is a bit more reserved on their views has treated me like this but there have been a few. The weight Claude feels in the show is a weight I also have felt at times in my personal life in the last few months. My family, friends, and my faith, are all very important to me. Sometimes having to live what's expected of you can be very tiresome. The song "I Got Life" is Claude's way of expressing that he is a free spirit and that if he is JUST given the opportunity he could spread it around the world and "perform miracles". Claude lyrics speak perfectly in answer to the expectations others have weighed upon me. I feel sorry for those that judge my involvement as an artist in this production.
I have, on the other hand, been extremely surprised at how many of my close friends and family have been beyond supportive of my decision. Many are even excited to see the show! To each of you wonderful people I dedicate this upcoming performance. Thank you for your overwhelming, consistent, and unconditional support from day one! I also want to thank David Evanoff and Jerry Rapier for believing in me and putting the confidence in me for this show. Thank you!

I never would have guessed I would be so passionate about this show 5 and 1/2 months ago and I can honestly say that this show has been a life changing event. The rehearsals have been an amazing ride and, at times, more than I can handle (those involved know the emotional intensity we have felt especially in the last few weeks). I wouldn't change one thing. I love my cast, crew, and directors!

I would like to extend an invitation to ALL my family and friends to see the upcoming production of "Hair" at the Egyptian theater! The show is very heavy and deals with "grown up" themes and yes, there is even about 30 seconds of nudity. I promise you though, that if you come to the show with an OPEN MIND and look past the innocent layer of "adult content" in this show, that you will get something out of it. I have grown as an artist by being involved in this show. Like I mentioned before, I have never been involved in a show that has been so emotional rewarding (and at times draining). I hope that each person that sees the show can leave by having "Let the sunshine" in their lives just a little bit.

Don't forget to get your tickets soon!

http://www.egyptiantheatrecompany.org/

An ode to SEE3PO

2010-05-04T23:39:00.014-06:00

My dear dear friend. You have been with me for 2 and 1/2 years. You have taken me to far away places and have provided me with comfort and safety. You have been with me through multiple girlfriends. The ups and downs that each have brought. I am sad that you will no longer meet the plethora of others that the future is sure to bring.

I can't believe that I told myself that I would never own a car like you. A 2 door GOLD car was never an option.....so I thought. When Mr. and Mrs. Huff traded you in and I was able to drive you for the first time you changed my mind entirely. :)

Thanks buddy!

I pity those who don't get the name.

This was the amount of miles it took to go to Disneyland and back.....with a trip of Vegas on the way.
The exhausted and brave crew SEE3PO drove over 17000 miles
Becky used SEE3PO as a bed most of the trip.
Happy times.
SEE3PO say many Rockstars and goodies.

Pretty girl with her bra.

I am glad that you and I could be such good friends. Thank you and enjoy your new owner!

No out

2009-11-10T14:18:00.013-07:00

I'm failing all my classes. Call it lack of motivation or whatever. I tend to get in ruts....I get 1 week behind in an assignment and then I just frustrate myself more with each passing week. I try to escape by going on vacations and hanging out with friends. It helps put me in a great mood but then reality soon sits in and I realize I am 5 weeks behind.....DOH!

Recently one of my nieces passed away. Sabrina Gabriella Bennett. She was barely 3 months when she passed away in the night. It has been very hard for my older sister Tammy and her husband Troy. I had the opportunity to spend some time with her before she left this earth. She was the cutest pinkest little baby you will ever meet. Here are some of my favorite pictures of her:

Angry baby! :)

Such a cute pink plump figure!

First time mommy and daughter meet.

baby with daddy.

Sleeping with mommy
Precious baby Sabrina. You will stay in our hearts forever!

This precious little angel was taken in the night back to our Heavenly Father. Although it has been hard for my family I know that it has also unified us in great ways.

I was listening to my sister Tammy yesterday after the funeral service talk about how she has dealt with this whole situation. For her and her husband it has been extra hard because they had to deal with two funeral services and in a way two goodbyes. On Saturday the 7th they had the first funeral service in Seattle Washington. They then came to Utah and had the second funeral service and burial on Monday the 9thof November. Tammy said that so many people had come to her to say how impressed with how she had been able to handle everything. Making decisions on where to bury her and where to have the services etc. While we were sitting talking as a family she said: "It's not that I was so strong. It's that there was no other thing to do. There was no out. Of course I am going to do everything for my daughter." This struck me pretty hard. How many times do we not do 100% and instead find an out? STORY. OF. MY. LIFE. I am the KING of looking for outs. Especially lately with school.

Well, this is my new motivation! NO OUTS! Just get things done. Why look for an out when you know that the final accomplishment is BETTER than the out?! If you look for an out then down the road you are just going to be dodging the same thing and will try to find another out. Blah. That's not worth it.

So, I am going to pass my classes. If I get only C's then I will be content.

Ready? GO!

Disneyland!

2009-11-05T03:30:00.003-07:00

I am bad at blogging. Enough said. I have NOT kept my New Years Resolution at all this year. That's okay though cause I just got back from DISNEYLAND!!!
The last time I went was back in summer of 1998. That's over 11 years people. That's awful! I can't believe I have neglected the happiest place on earth for that long!
I went with a bunch of friends from my ward and 5 of us left on Wednesday night at 11pm and crammed into my 2 door car. I feel bad for those who had to ride in the back. I KNOW they weren't comfortable. After all night of driving we finally arrived. I drove the whole way and I did it with the help of dill pickle sunflower seeds and Rockstars. They are my friends.
The first day out there we caught up on sleep and then hit downtown Disney. I stood outside the entrance of Disneyland and gazed at the booming fireworks from the park. Ghee! In the Disney stores I took a picture of me in a Mickey hat.
On Friday we hit the beach and met up with the rest of our arriving clan. Huntington beach is beautiful and I could live on the beach for sure.
Saturday was the big day. DISNEYLAND!!! I played on my feet all day long. I soon realized that I was wearing the wrong shoes for Disneyland. I had converse on and I could tell I was getting blisters. I decided it would be better to sport crocs and have happy feet rather than try and go through the day with crunched achy feet.
I had never been to California Adventure and was very pleasantly surprised. Soarin' Over California is by FAR the best ride in that park. By far. Well, I guess Tower of Terror comes in pretty close. I have to say though that as fun as California Adventure was it didn't give me near the joy I feel when I am in Disneyland. There is something about the magic in the air when you walk along main street. When you taste the Pineapple Dole Whips and watch the birdies sing in the Tiki Room. It really is the happiest place on earth.
After we finished our weekend at Disneyland we checked out and began our long journey home. We did stop in Vegas (the sinniest place on earth) for the night. We stayed at Circus Circus and hit the long awaited hot tub.
A night in Vegas is never complete if you don't see Bellagio's fountains.

I will see you again soon Disneyland! I promise!

Oh, and I wanted to post these two pictures. On the Indiana Jones ride I found some fun bamboo to play on as a monkey! This first picture is in 1998. Notice the scrunchie in my hair. In 2009 I decided to re-create my monkeyness. The scrunchie was replaced by a fannie pack however. What do ya think? Have I changed at all? ;)

I made a quick little video of some fun moments in Disneyland. Enjoy!

51 Things

2009-02-16T13:56:00.002-07:00

I jumped on the bandwagon of 51 Random things found in my house. :) I hope you like it!

I got a new editing software program and really fancy high definition camera. This is my first creation with my new equipment. I am not totally satisfied with the quality of it yet. I have to figure out how to get it to edit and save in a higher quality.

Enjoy!

Thank you for helping!!!

2009-02-13T17:42:00.004-07:00

First off I want to thank everyone out for helping out by watching my video and commenting so much! Next I wanted to give you an update of the Netflix contest. We didn't make the final three chosen videos. Even though we were the number 3 viewed video overall and we had more comments left on our page than anyone else we still didn't get chosen. You can see the winners here: www.netflixgreatestkiss.com
We think it had to do with the Deena (the girl that I was in the video with) being hired by the sponsor to promote the contest. We think that, by being hired, she was automatically disqualified. They never said anything about that but there were others who were hired by the sponsors and none of them made it into the top 3 either.
No worries though. We had SO MUCH FUN! It was great to see everyone rally to our side and promote/watch/rate/comment on our video. I have also ventured into the world of youtube. I have decided to become a regular on youtube and create my own videos. Deena has been doing it for over a year now and she is now a youtube sponsor which means she gets paid for putting videos on! What a fun way to earn some extra dough! So that is what my goal is. You can check out my first video at the from the link at the end of this email.

I just uploaded my latest creation on youtube. It's a thank you video to everyone who helped out! Oh, and the sound is bad cause I am using a digital camera and not a professional one.

Our final stats:

11,872 views
543 5 Star rating
374 Comments

THANK YOU!

To my friends and family

2009-02-09T13:41:00.004-07:00

I have many secrets. Some of which I have kept up inside for so very long. It's time to finally let them all out. I am sorry if this comes as a shock to some of you. Many of you have probably seen that I have been anxious. Especially as of late. Well, here you are. The truth to it all.

Please watch before reading below.

So, how many of you thought I was going to say I am gay and coming out? Huh? How many? Let's hear it! I BET that's what crossed your mind!

Guess what? Straight. Staying straight. Yup. That might be good news for some of you!

With this blog and this video submitted to youtube just this morning I officially announce my quest to become a YouTube Idol! I had so much fun making this video and I have a lot of other projects in mind. So go to my website www.youtube.com/MonoAtPlay and click on the Subscribe button!

Thanks!

Super Bowl/One month check up/12 week program/

2009-02-01T23:53:00.014-07:00

Super Bowl Sunday is one of my favorite times of the year. All my old high school friends get together to celebrate two teams head butt for four hours. I love my old friends. I borrowed my roommates dog Toby (I kinda feel like he is sorta my dog too cause I spend so much time with him). The food was delicious and we watched it on a great plasma tv that Ben borrowed from Costco. Haha. It was good to see everyone again and for Laura and Ben Ellis to host. They have a great house for it. As you can see the in the picture I am the only one that didn't bring anyone this year....female wise that is. So I got to play with Rocky and Toby most the night. All they wanted to do was hump each other. That seemed a bit weird seeing how they are both boys and they are both fixed. Huh.

Moving on.

I set myself some goals 1 month ago today and I have decided that in order to see that my goals get completed decided I should do a "check up"to make sure that I am doing my best to complete each goal. So here we go!

#1-make a BIG CHANGE this year- So far I feel as if I am doing a lot to make something happen. I have made many new friends and I have been networking myself quite a bit more to make something happen. Also, I have a feeling that this Netflix contest that I am involved in with Deena could bring me some exposure!Maybe if I will actually get to go to New York! That is something big! I feel lie I am really trying to make some big changes happen!

#2 and 3- personal blog each week and start a family blog. 5 weeks in January and I had 5 entries! Woot! Also the Lee fam blog is a go!

#4-Disneyland! nothing happening with this yet.

5-Birthday cards and birthday wishes to people on their birthday. Thanks to Facebook I can actually remember when peoples birthdays are! I haven't sent any birthday cards to family though. :(

6-Respond to all texts, email, phone calls etc- I have to admit this has made quite the difference. I am such a people person as it is. It should be a given then that I want to respond to anyone contacting me! Oh, I just remembered that my dad sent me an email and I have not responded to it yet. Whoops.

7- Swear less. Hmmm. I broke this one at 3:12pm on New years day. Gotta renew!

8-Re-print mission photos and get them digital. Haven't really given this one much more thought.

9-Finish Associates and start Bachelors. I am for sure in school! I am taking me some 13 credits right now! Boo-yeah!

10-Finish El Libro de Mormon. I still read out of it but I am falling behind.

11-Clean room always. I just took a look and it's all clean! Except for some laundry that I need to fold. :) It feels nice having a clean room.

12-See end of my blog entry.

13-Learn one new song on guitar and piano. Still got to work on this one.

14-$4,000 in savings. I have my 401k! Looks like this one is working just fine

15-Be in a book club and read 1 book a month. I am in a book club and I read 2 books this last month! I read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Restaurant at the End of the Universe. I am almost finished with Good Omens by Neil Gieman and Terry Pratchet (that's the book of the month)

16-Fred Chef. I have been cooking a lot more! I cooked for my roommates and a girl the other day too!

17-Organize or be in charge of a service project. I am looking for ideas on this one. Any suggestions? Anyone?

18-Do not rely on overdraft. This is gonna take a little time but I am on my way. I want to always have my checking account in the positive.

19-Go hiking, camping, fishing. This one is seasonal and right now it's not gonna happen.

20-Be on time. I am getting better at this but I still run a little behind on schedule.

There we go! My 2009 goals are coming along! Some better than others but I AM trying.

#12 on my list was to gain 15 pounds of muscle this year. I have always been a little guy. About 4 years ago I was a lot smaller. I weighed 125lbs. I found a workout plan online by a guy named Anthony Ellis. He set up a program for guys who have very high metabolisms and have a hard time gaining weight. I took this program on in 2004-2005 and in the time I actually did it I gained 20 lbs. I have not continued to work out with the same program but I have kept the weight on. I am happy about that. I don't want a girl who is dating me to weigh more than I do (not that I am in this situation right now any who). So, I have a target weight and that is 160-165. That is healthy for me (if it is me being fit and not fat).

With the summer months coming and all I want to look good without a shirt. I better get crackin'! One reason why I decided to kick off my workout program in February is because in January EVERYONE and their dog start their new diets and workouts and they usually stop them by Feb or so. So now when I hit the gym it will be a lot less crowded! See? I am a thinker!
I saw some pretty fantastic results within the first 4 weeks when I was on this program. Pardon the long hair and the evil look. I was going through a long hair phase. The picture on the left was on 3-14-2005 and the right side was on 4-11-2005. If I took my shirt off now I would not look like the right side. I wouldn't look like the left picture either. I am somewhere in between. All the muscle in my shoulders and chest have slightly shifted to my belly. I am gonna get those abs back!

Thank you for reading!

My Girl with Deena for a Netflix Contest!

2009-01-29T19:33:00.005-07:00

This last week I had the chance to be in a youtube video with the all talented Deena Marie. I have had many opportunities to work with her. I met her when I was Young Joe in Damn Yankees almost 2 years ago. Since then my life has NOT been the same. She immediately became one of my best friends! I was given the golden opportunity to work with her again that fall in Little Shop of Horrors. Her talent blows me away! Then, about two months ago she asked if I would participate in Twilight High School Musical. This youtube skit has reached nearly 260,000 hits and in the short time it has been up. Deena is making me famous! Well, that isn't true entirely. She is becoming famous and I claim to know her and that makes me feel like I am becoming famous. :) Hope that made sense...any who, she notified me recently of a Netflix contest. Netflix wants anyone and everyone to re-create their favorite kiss scene from a movie and send them in. She came up with the idea to do the cute scene from My Girl. I brushed up on my Macaulay Culkin and on Sunday last we shot it in her house. Her husband did the editing and green screen work and WALLAH we have a video!

So, family, friends, and anyone else viewing this blog I need you to watch this video and then share it with EVERYONE! You can link them to my blog or you can just send them the link here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_28B1O9X00&feature=channel_page

We need more than 5,000 hits (views) to make it into the final 3! It will help as well if you have a youtube account and you can log in and rate it! the top three videos on the Netflix webpage get flown out to New York to perform it live in front of a panel of judges! WAHOO!
Also, if anyone wants to submit their own video they can, All the rules etc are here:

http://netflixgreatestkiss.com/

Enjoy the video!

Here are a few more pictures of me and the famous BeanerLaRue.
As you can see I have had some shining moments with Deena Marie. I hope to be able to work with her a lot more!

I AM taking a break

2009-01-26T00:18:00.002-07:00

Everyone I talk to: "Fred, what is your next show? What are you auditioning for next?"

My response: "Nothing."

I work 40+ hours a week, I am in school full time, spend part of my time raising a puppy and a cannibal dwarf hamster, am in a book club, and have to make time for facebook.........oh, and dating (yeah right). , I don't have time to do any theater right now. I HAVE done a few film projects (one I will post at the end of this blog). I am only doing projects that don't require more than a few hours of work and I only do them every so often.

Any who, lets get to the blog. This won't be a long one. Just enough to keep my resolution and keep y'all updated.

Life for me is going great. My classes right now seem pretty difficult but I know I can handle them. I have been on many dates (yes, I know I joke about not wanting to date but I am always on the prowl) and have lots of optimism right now. I just bought an inexpensive laptop for school and took out a small loan to help pay for school tuition. I have always paid as I go but right now with the price of books and the raise in tuition I couldn't quite make it. It is something I plan to have paid off by the end of the semester so I am going to try to do that.

I am picking up some very bad habits and staying up WAY past my bedtime and then relying on Rockstars to get me through the day. BAD Fred. It's starting to get to the point that if I have a Dr. Pepper or Coke that I could still fall asleep if I wanted to. Again, BAD.

Okay, I am now going to put down the blog and go to bed. It's late right now as I write and I work in a few hours. See? I am getting better already.

Enjoy this movie on geek etiquette that I was in.

Find more videos like this on Utah ACTORS

Ode to a corndog...and the return of the pants

2009-01-13T21:55:00.010-07:00

Ode to a Corndog:

Ever since last week I have craved you. Your crispy crunchy outer-ness and your flavorful soft hot doggy center. Twice now I have sought out for you and twice I have failed. Time separated and taste mocked, but you were soon mine! Mustard and ketchup and a 350 degree wonder brought out your best. I munched you up ever so fast and put my taste buds, finally, to rest.

Yesterday I ventured to the Gateway mall downtown to return a few things. *sigh* Some nice nice things. My sisters Tammy, Rhonda, and my brother Dean all pitched in to give me a few gift cards for Christmas. About a week ago I was at the Fashon Place Mall and I bought a really nice zip up sweater from Eddie Bauer (thanks Tammy). It has also been awhile since I have bought some nice pants so I ventured to the Buckle. Bad BAD idea. I had a $75 gift card and went into the store and spent over $250 in jeans! There was maybe a time when I was racking in the dough but right now I am in school and living pretty nice in a bigger townhouse so......money is a bit tighter. I also splurged a bit (I guess I got on a roll) on some other items I needed. I wanted a fm transmitter so I could listen to my music I have downloaded onto my Sprint phone (not nearly as cool as the iphone) in my car. On Subday evening I was going over some finances and I realized that I had spent a lot of money on junk I really didn't need. Who needs a pair of $100 jeans? Do I really have to have a $50 dollar fm transmitter that picks up more static than actual music? So, like I said earlier, I ventured back to the to return an expensive pair of jeans and then a few other things. The transmitter I also returned. I got refunded nearly $200 total. I decided to keep one of the really nice pair of jeans (used from the gift cards I got from Dean and Cc, thanks guys!) to go with my new Eddie Bauer zip up. I decided to take a few pics to show off my late Christmas clothes!Be aware of the fierce ninja kick that I will enforce on your face!An actual one where you can see the cool shirt the pants I kept.
The rear of the jeans was the part I liked the best. Check out the butt!

I figure if I am going to achieve a lot of the goals I have this year (travel more, don't live on overdraft OR paycheck to paycheck) then I really have to be careful on what I spend things on. Time to stop living in luxury! It's time to Save SAVE SAVE!
Goodbye expensive wonder-pants!

A minow amongst BIG FISH

2009-01-07T12:38:00.008-07:00

Last night I was given the amazing opportunity to be able to sing downtown in the Jazz club Zanzibars with Ginger Bess Simons. Ginger is an amazing vocal talent in Salt Lake city and is booked every week with different gigs throughout the valley. She absolutely blows my mind! I was seriously sitting there in awe with how much talent she has.
I met Ginger through my bestest friend Deena Marie a little over a year ago and then got the opportunity to work her briefly in the youtube video "Twilight High School Musical". Watch her in that (video can be found in an older post) and you will see what I mean. A voice that BLOWS YOU AWAY!
Ginger contacted me via facebook (the mainstream for communication these days) asking me to sing a number in between hers. She was making it a night of "featured hot men". These were the "hot men" listed to sing with her:

Josh Black (who played the role of Edward in "Twilight High School Musical")
Thomas Marcus
David Spencer
Fred Sherman Lee
Alexis Baigue
Doug Irey
Ryan Paskins
Willie Richardson
Trevor Jerome
Jeffrey S. Stevens
Corey Alan Heaps
Daniel T. Simons
JD Dumas (pianist for the evening)

I was one of the first guys to perform. I sang "Babe" by STYX. I was pretty impressed by JD Dumas who was sight reading the music. It felt like glorified karaoke but it was a great experience! If anything I got a cool lounge singer shot of me now!

There were a lot of people there I didn't know but I caught up with many old friends.

One of my New Years Resolutions is to "Make something BIG happen this year". I think getting myself out in the open and doing what I love all the time is a step in the right direction. The more I surround myself with amazing performers the more I realize how much I love it! Pursuing a stage career just might be that "big change"!
I have to emphasize that last night I was BLOWN away by the sheer talent everyone had that I was just a minnow amongst BIG FISH. Utah has so much talent. One of my friends Jeff Stevens sang one of my favorite songs "Cry" from Forever Plaid and he had the audience rolling! He is going out to New York to try Broadway in about a month. He is trying to get me to be his roommate out there!

Thank you everyone for a great night of fun and singing!

A new beginning.......2009!

2009-01-03T12:27:00.014-07:00

Welcome oh year of 2009! Your brother 2008 sure did bring some good times, sad times, rough times, exciting times, boring times, and some interesting times. I hope you are just as entertaining as your older brother.

On New Years Eve I set out to find me some parties! I ended up not going to any friends parties but spent the night at my sister Cc's house. I got a quick smooch from an old friend to close out 2008. I didn't get a 2009 midnight kiss (and have yet to receive/give one to in 2009) but that's okay I started the New Year out right with some bubbly (Martinelli's and Welch's Sparkling cider) and we ran up and down the street banging pots and pans!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I think the best part about that night was our joyous bell kicks! Here's me gettin' some good air!
My sister Georgia shows the luck of the Irish!

My sister Rhonda (Cc) gives Peter Pan a run for his money.

After the night was through and I laid my sweet head to rest, in the morning came our tradition Lee family toast and New Years Resolution setting! I set some pretty realistic goals (I think), and instead of checking up on them at the end of the year I am determined to keep them somewhere visible (like my blog) as a constant reminder.

Here they are:

1-Make a BIG CHANGE this year

-My brother Lamont said this resolution sounded pretty vague, so I will expand on it. I want a major life changing event to take place. Something big from the decisions I make. It could be career-wise, school-wise, something to do with a relationship, or maybe moving to NY! This will be a switch point year for me!

2-Personal Blog each week

Last year I think I blogged 20 times. So this year I gotta hit 56! I hope that this year I will have a variety of blog topics from politics to family to school etc.

3-Start a Lee Family Blog

I get a lot of people asking for updates on how my brothers and sisters are doing, so I plan on making a Lee fam blogspot account and each month feature a different family member. So, family? I am going to need your help on this one! You will be receiving an email from me shortly with more.

4-DISNEYLAND!

It's been over 10 years since I have been. I think it's a great idea to plan to go over my birthday! I get in free!

5-Birthday cards or phone calls to all family and to close friends

This is pretty self explanatory. I just gotta do it!

6-Respond to all text messages, phone calls, etc from everyone

With the digital world most people that try to reach me do so by an email or text message and an occasional phone call. Sometimes I become a hermit and don't respond. That's mean. I need to just respond and NOT be lazy about it!

7-Swear less

I have acquired a sailors tongue. A big reason is because I work with a lot of people who just don't care. This IS something I can perfect myself in.

8-Re-print all mission negatives and get them digital

On my mission I must have taken 60 rolls of film and a good majority of these photos I printed were given to families or sent to friends. I have all the negatives. There are pictures I have not seen for 8-9 years. I am gonna get on this!

9-Finish my associates and take a big chunk out of my Bachelors

I am back in school and I should finish up my associates by summer but it might take longer because of my work schedule. I am still working 40+ hours. It's time to just get it DONE!

10-Finish El Libro De Mormon

The last few months I have been reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish out loud. My Spanish has gotten worse the last few years so I am brushing up on it! Might as well be spiritual while I am at it!

11-Clean Room Always

There is going to be some clutter. But I CAN keep up on laundry and keep it neat and tidy!

12-Put on 15lbs of muscle

Yeah, laugh it up. Ha ha. I weigh a healthy 146 right now but I would like to be a bit bigger. I use to weigh 125 but then bulked up to 145 in about 5 weeks! My target weight I would like to be at is between 160-165.

13-Learn one new song on piano and guitar

I am okay at guitar but I don't know how to play the piano very well. This is a fun new musical goal!

14-$4000 into savings

I have a 401k that I have been contributing into for the last year and I put about $4,000 into it last year. I would LIKE to put more but I am taking care of other debt I have at the moment.

15-Be in a book club and read 1 book a month!

Thanks to my friend Lindsay Beardall I think this one may actually happen! I love book clubs!

16-Fred Chef

I can cook a little but I want to be able to cook more. I am going to learn some new recipes!

17-Organize or be in charge of a service project

I need to do more for people. I have spent too much time focusing on myself and I want to give a little back.

18-DO NOT rely on my overdraft

One problem of living paycheck to paycheck is that when I want something I rely on my overdraft. I want to be able to stay positive in my checking account instead of going negative and dipping into that dern overdraft!

19-Go hiking, camping, fishing

There is something so rewarding about the outdoors! I did this last year and it will be something I go again!

20-BE ON TIME!

I am always late. 10-15 minutes sometimes more. It is something my whole family is bad at. I dated a girl that told me this bothered her a bit. Out of respect to others I am just going to be ON TIME!

Okay! This is it! This can be done! I need to just set a pace and stick to it.

2008 in review

2008-12-31T22:03:00.013-07:00

Seeing how the New Year is HOURS away I figured I would get 1 more blog in!

These were my resolutions for 2008. I havehighlighted the ones in red I did NOT accomplish.
I highlighted the yellow ones I actually DID.

-Sell more cars than last year (providing I still work for Murdock)
I sold less cars this year but actually made more money so we will count this on!

-Do more camping. snowboarding, skiing, outdoor activities than last year
Did more than last year! Wahoo!

-Go to Disneyland
I HAVE NOT BEEN IN OVER 10 YEARS!!!

-Get paid for acting
Although I personally did not receive any of the money it did go towards the group I was performing for so gosh dern it I am counting it!

-Attend BYU games (football and basketball)
*BUZZ* Didn’t go to a single game!

-Send birthday cards to each family member
*DOUBLE BUZZ* Slacked on this one.

-Read minimum of 1 new book a month
Although I DID read quite a bit I don’t think I read even 10 books.

-Get a pet
Danny got a pet puppy and I help take care of him. Oh, and I have two dwarf hamsters!

-Visit my brother Dean in Texas
Never got around to this.

-Help my sister out each month financially
I gave her some money at Christmas but that’s about it.

-Go to the Nickelcade more
Oh, I wish I had done this!

-Consistent exercise
I for sure exercised but was NOT consistent.

-Contribute the maximum amount allowed in my Roth IRA ($4000)
I did put money into retirement but that was my 401k. I neglected my Fidelity Roth

-Go fishin'
So glad I did this! Got my boat out on the water half a dozen times!

-Decide what I am doing with school
I am back full time at SLCC and will have my associates about half way through the year!

-Temple attendance once a month
This is a major one I slacked on! I need a Temple buddy!

So, as you can see I only accomplished 31% of my set goals and did a little bit of the others.
I am DETERMINED to have a better year end result next year!

One of my favorite music artists Jamie Cullum talks about New Years nicely! Happy New Years everybody! I hope you get kissed!

Clutter clean-up comes to a SCREEEECHING HALT!

2008-12-29T09:57:00.003-07:00

I have been living in this amazing town home in Centerville since May of '08 and I have absolutely loved it! It's been my favorite place to live yet! Because I was the one who found the place I had first choice of the bedrooms. I am on the ground level with in the master bedroom with my own walk in bathroom/closet. I have painted nearly every room in the lower level of the house.
The only thing that has been bothering me as of late is how cluttered my room is. I am a pack rat. Always have been. It is very hard for me to throw things away. I have stacks of unmarked cd's, unlabeled cassette and video tapes, old birthday cards, some clothes I have had since '97, and much more.
Well, I decided to start somewhere! I started going through all my boxes and have thrown away a good majority of crap. What I have mainly done is condensed my stuff. What I had in 7 boxes I now have in 7 bins. My cd's I started going through and labeling. I must have had 300 cd's that had no label. So I started uploading old music, pictures, and programs that I had forgot about. This took me about three evenings to get through. I came across one cd that said Freddy's files and so I opened it up and came across a bunch of pictures I had deleted off of my old computer of an old girlfriend. You may remember me getting pretty serious with a girl who lived in Sweden. We dated for little over a year and I really thought she was the one. A good majority of our relationship was through email and msn chat. During this time I had saved every online conversation, music exchanged, and picture sent. this is a girl who has since moved and been married for over a year now. I have been over her and accepted everything with it not working out but when I started reading some of the conversations we had and I browsed through some pictures all the emotions came right back. I was really in love with girl and we were so close. My heart dropped and my head began to ache. Of course the organizing of my things stopped and I just sat there in a stupor for who knows how long.

This isn't a woe is me post. Not in the slightest. In fact, I thing this is more a GO IS ME post! To summarize what I did after my moping and whining about an ex, I got rid of the cd (without uploading the files) and threw out a bunch more crap. It's like I have done an inner cleansing of my life now that my room is a lot less cluttered. It's true I have yet to throw away my shirts from '97 but I am one step closer to! I even put new satin sheets on my bed! They are red. They make me feel like Hue Hefner. They go great with my brand new down pillows my mother gave me for Christmas!

Best Christmas Ever!

2008-12-26T18:39:00.015-07:00

Twas the night before Christmas at my sister Cc's house,
all the creatures were still stirring, especially the little mouse.
We wore our pj's, fuzzy slippers, and ate Greg's delicious dinner,
I think I over ate....so much for getting thinner.
We put the kids to bed and the puppies out so they could pee,
and cleared some spots for presents under the tree.
Then we ate beef stick and crackers and cheese ball,
while we finished wrapping presents from Santa, both little and small.
"Why do we always wrap until 3am the night before?" asked my bro-in-law Greg,
my sisters Georgia let out a sigh as she rested her swollen hands on her leg.
Cc then burst out "It will all be worth it in the morning when the kids eyes are bright,
of course I will be too tired to play with them cause I rarely sleep much at night." We built a dollhouse, made bean bags, and topped them with bows,
I told everyone this was fun to do while outside it snows.
The morning came quick and we got little rest,
We figured we'd put the Christmas spirit to test.
The kiddies tore into their presents with furious greed,
shredding through bows, bags, and boxes at such great speed!
They got helicopters, sweatshirts, doll houses, and toy bugs,
Georgia gave me hot chocolate and to go with it two mugs.

Yes, Christmas morning came and went quick,
we then became lazy and turned on a flick.
"Gotta get ready to go to Bompy's" someone shouted "for Big Mont will be there."
"Oh yeah!" said Garrett and then spiked up his hair.
We cruised down to Bompy's and had lots of amazing food,
with family around we all got into the Christmas mood.
We laughed, joked,
and talked to relatives on the phone,
we talked about our bumpers and tooting and Bompy gave out a groan.

The hour soon came where those who came had to go,
"Thanks for coming" said Bompy "drive safe in the snow."
Before everyone left Big Mont sang an old song,
about an old rooster, it wasn't very long.
Dominique wrote the words and we all sang the chorus,
he prepared it for the freak show and planned to sing it for us.

It was the Best Christmas ever at least till next year,
so everyone have a fantastic New Year!

Funny puppy and a cheeseball

2008-12-23T12:02:00.006-07:00

My roommate Danny James surprised us one day by bringing home a dog. The night before he and I both talked about wanting one and then the next day I came home to Toby the beagle. He is a cute little pup of 10 months with a wet nose and a rambunctious attitude. I am not too ecstatic about having a dog at the moment because I worry whether or not he will be taken care of properly. For now he is being cared for solely by Danny but that is cause Danny is currently unemployed and looking but as soon as he is employed again the doggy will be all alone most of the day and that just saddens me. He already is alone most of the day and he does still occasionally go potty in the house even though I know Danny hides it from me. *sigh*
The OTHER reason I am not too thrilled about having him is cause we have him there without our landlords consent! Because my name is on the lease and no one else is I am responsible. At the beginning of the year I am going to look into it and find out what the fee is for having a doggy. I can't just keep it from my landlord. Bad bad bad.
Anyway, the dog is cute. I play with him for hours (when I have the hours to spare) and he loved me. He does a really funny deer in the headlights head turn when he hears funny sounds. As he sat in the hall I played my harmonica and he turned his head almost completely around!

Cause today is the 23rd of December and I will not be here tomorrow for Murdock Chevrolet's Christmas Eve lunch (I am taking tomorrow off and half day Friday for Christmas) I bought a cheese ball and Beef Stick and I have it on my desk. Sarah Allen and I were talking about the yumminess of Christmas and I just had to splurge a bit on some festive snacks! So delicious!
I will be leaving work a little early today cause it is time I do my tradition last minute Christmas shopping!! READY?!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! BUY! BUY!BUY! SPEND! SPEND! SPEND!

Three Christmas parties, two lovely ladies, and one home-made Christmas sweater!

2008-12-22T11:41:00.030-07:00

I love the Christmas Season! Now that my shows are over and done with I can get to the Holiday! I must say that this is turning out to be one of the best Christmas' ever! I am so very thankful for the wonderful family and friends I have been blessed with. I would be lost without these special people in my life! Thank you!

On Friday the 19th I went to a friend pot-luck dinner at Sonia and Shelby Maughan's house. The food was fantastic and the company was amazing! Some of these people I had not seen for nearly a year! We told stories and updated each other on our lives with work and school and married life and had delicious yummy hot chocolate!
My roommate Danny James and I decided to add spice to the party and dress alike with similar scarfs and festive sweaters. We Zoolandered it up afterward. I love Christmas time where you can wear festive clothing and bundle up with warm scarfs.

On the 20th of December, a Saturday night, it was the Traditional Lee and Garrison Family Freak Show! My Aunt Sandra organized it this year and we did it on a Saturday night. Not all the family could be there. Many were missed. :( We made due with the FrEaKs we had though.This year we had it at my mothers home. It was great to see all the little kiddies and extended fam!
My date this year was a dear friend of mine Samantha. She is pretty much the most adorable thing you will ever meet! She even got up and sang!
She was a great sport for coming along and participating even! She was warned before she came how freaky-weird we get. Randy of course got up and did his usual Winter Wonderland and Funny Farm. I got to be the tambourine this year! Yay!

I really wanted to put together a GOOD talent this year but of course I slacked off and DIDN'T! DOH! So day of the party I text CC and convinced her to do a Riverdance with me! We threw it together in like 1 minute but I think it was one of the highlights and got some of the best laughs! Oh, and we roped Bradford into doing it too. I vow to have a better talent next year!

On Sunday the 21st it was time for our "Special Needs Party", named after the "Ding, fries are done guy" that is famous on youtube. Some of these friends are from back in Jr. High and High School and I met many new faces. This years theme was awful Christmas Sweaters! I put mine together from odds and ends I found from DI, Joannes Fabric and my mothers home. I used a Yellow Sweater and used glitter glue to design a Christmas tree and I hot glued holly berries, Christmas presents, candy canes, and my personal favorite, a huge snowman corsage! There was some pretty stiff competition and some crazy sweaters but I took the door prize of $59 dollars!Wahoo! It was great fun! It's great to catch up with old friends. Oh, and mistletoe was passed around a lot if ya know what I mean! ;) ;) Jot some more kisses down for Fred this year! Woot woot!I think one of the best parts about the party was Kita, Melinda's kitty. The kitty was FORCED to participate in the sweater competition and she was NOT happy about that.

How funny is this picture?

We did the all tradition white elephant gifts and I came home with a singing bass. One word: AWESOME!
The night would not be complete without Fred being caught on camera between two beautiful ladies. Oh, how how I love Christmas! Merry Christmas to me!
Once again I want to tell everyone in my life how much I love them and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and an even Happier New Year!

A snowy Saturday at work, a re-arranged bedroom, Christmas break, school,and a closing night.

2008-12-13T09:05:00.014-07:00

I guess I didn't ramble enough in my last blog so I feel the need to continue in today's blog. You could say it's cause I don't want to work today or that I think the car dealership I work for today will get little to no business because of the snow storm that is supposed to cover the state. Whatever the reason, I am glad to blog again. I get a sense of satisfaction by putting the crap that goes on in my head in writing for the world to read.

SO, I have not been very happy with my room layout. Whenever I am going through some crap with girls I am dating or I am feeling the need for a bit of change I re-arrange! Ha! That rhymed! I put up some old pictures, threw my books up on an old bookshelf that my roommate Michael Dubois gave me, and moved my computer and bed to their new spots. I even put up some new earth tone curtains that I think go very nicely in my room. My room is STILL in shambles with laundry on the floor and half empty boxes with their clutter strewn about my room, but other than that I am happy with the change!I even have Christmas decorations! Well, one little one.....it's a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree!

Let's see, the Christmas break is here! I finished my first semester back in school in over 5 years. It was pretty easy actually. I remember something my mother has always said to me: "Just do the assignments and turn them in on time and you will automatically get a B". I did just that and guess what? I got B's! B's are fine by me. This next semester I am going to be taking on a bigger load. All I really have left is English and Math *shudder*. I took the pre-test that determines which class you are in and I pretty much screwed myself in Math. I have not taken a math class since High School. I am back in pre-algebra.......I am doing everything I can to brush up on my math so that I can take the 1010 instead. I can re-take the test up to 3 times so I am on the quest for a math tutor. Anyone want to offer? I have until the beginning of the year to take it again.

Tonight I close Plaid Tidings in Midvale. I have been playing the part of Frankie (who I am type cast for I believe). It has been a fun show to do. I don't think the writing is near as good as the first show but it has been fun to work under Suzanne Walker again and all my friends. Here is a picture of us that was featured in the paper. (in order) Wade Walker plays Jinx, Bruce Craven as Smudge, Steve Duke as Sparky, and Freddy Lee as Frankie.
I think this show will be the last one I do for a few months. I ALWAYS say that. Hahaha. We'll see what I get sucked into next!

I plan on blogging more about my current situation with dating but it may take a bit of time to gather my thought.....just like the time I said I needed to gather my thoughts on the Prop 8 controversy back in Nov. :) Until then I feel the need to share this youtube video I found quite amusing.

Take a deep breath........now GO!

2008-12-09T11:22:00.010-07:00

Okay so I have kept myself UBER busy (yes I used the word uber) and prefer life to be that way.

So that all of you can feel a part of my life I will do a summation of events I have participated in over the few past months!

Starting from..................hmmmm lets see....The summer! Please bare with me whilst I word vomit in this blog. I am going to try and do this in one continuous sentence!

GO!

Okay so I got asked to audition for The Sound of Music by my dear friend Karen and I had always wanted to play the part of Rolf and that is what I got cast for and I made a bunch of good friends in the show and I also got to play opposite of Maren Abercrombie who I absolutely love by the way and she played Liesl......but I am not even sure if that is how you spell that name but anyway during the show I also got to know Ann Marshall and her and I started dating but then she dropped a bomb on me and told me that she was going away to Houston to finish up school in a few weeks but that's another story so I won't say much about that but I may address it later if I don't run out of breath from telling this story about my summer and the delightful friends I met and got to know but anyway I was talking about The Sound of Music it was a fun show and right after that I went into rehearsals for Pirated at Rodgers Memorial written and directed by Jim Christian who is a man I would work with again in a HEARTBEAT!!! Oops...I just completed a sentence....sorta.....Anywho......no breath no breath........I grew a really creepy mustache for the show and I felt like a pedophile by having one. Oh well. I made many more friends and developed a crush on a cute girl in the cast (her name will not be revealed because I still am back and forth with her currently AND I am not too sure how things will end....I am fairly confident that they will end though....hmmm)While I was doing Pirated I also enrolled myself back into school at SLCC taking two online classes and one on campus. I finally had decided to get my butt back into gear and get my degree so I just have it. It's true I have put it off longer than I should but I have enjoyed life in the meantime. :D Once Pirated ended I started my next project which was Takito (see blog below). After that I thought I would have some time off but then I got asked to be in Little Shop (also refer to previous blog) and I made some incredible friends from that! A shout of go to Melinda Patterson and Alisha Williams! I was then called by a lady named Donna Johnson (friends with Karen who directed Sound of Music) and I was asked to play Fairfaxx and Leonard in an in concert version of Gilbert and Sullivans Yoeman to the Guard. We would rehearse twice a week for two weeks and then perform. I had also received an email from Suzanne Walker (a previous director of mine) about doing Plaid Tidings in Midvale. AND one of my favorite people of all time, and youtube riusing star Deena Marie asked me to help film Twilight High School Musical! Eek! With the holiday season upon us and me ALREADY working 40+ hours a week at Murdock Chevrolet and trying to stay on top of school I stressfully and willingly accepted it all. I was so ecstatic to be taking on so much that I felt I could do almost anything!!! That is right about the time when I blogged about wanting to go to Broadway to try it out for a time being. :) Now, here comes the twist. The girl from Pirated then started pursuing me a bit more and I started spending my weekends and weeknights with her. Everything I had taken on started taking the backseat to her. I didn't finish assignments, I didn't focus on lines, I didn't have music prepared, I text her all day instead of working, I stayed up way too late, and I was falling for her. Well, I got my head out of my butt and started re-focusing. This has all been within the last two weeks. To make a long story even longer, Little Shop turned out great, Yoeman turned out great as well, I opened Plaid Tidings (sick, but that's okay), and I passed all my finals with B's and better! Oh oh oh and I started filming another movie called Rambow. Good times. Things are still in the air with this girl I am sorta seeing so that is the only part of my life that I don't feel I have control over.

Whew. There. I feel good. I am ready to do it all over again! I am going to sign up for more classes at SLCC and keep my options open for upcoming auditions for movies and plays.

What do you think? Any comments on my hectic crazy life?

Here is a quick clip of the movie Rambow I am in.

Twilight High School Musical

2008-11-22T00:44:00.003-07:00

So about a week ago I get a call from my VERY GOOD friend Deena Marie, who I did Damn Yankees with and Little Shop the first time, and she asked me if I would be together with her in a project. A parody of Twilight and High School Musical! She asked me to play the part of Jacob! Hahahaha. I don't really look Native American but....okay! Hahaha

It was shot very fast in front of a green screen and YES this is all of our voices!

It was a blast!!! Thanks Deena!

The Rack!

2008-11-14T12:22:00.006-07:00

I have a lot on my plate. I am being pulled this way and that way and thus way. It's cause I have taken on too much. I am rehearsing two shows (which I should probably blog about) and working 40+ hours a week, taking 9 credit hours at SLCC, trying to date, and then find time for me. I guess that the shows can be counted as time for me but sometimes it sure doesn't feel like it.

What I really need to do is clean my room. When my room is clean I feel more relaxed when I get home. I don't have a very hard time with that part anywho but it is easier when my room is clean. I am not very organized. That's a big problem. Whenever I try and find something I know I have in a box my room EXPLODES and somehow pictures, books, and all sorts of random stuff I have picked up as a pack rat ends up all over my room.

I guess right now I just feel like I am on a rack being stretched to my limit. I feel like I am more productive this way but I also feel that I run the risk of failure in the above mentioned commitments.

*sigh*

Words of advice and encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

Little Shop of Horrors 2!

2008-10-24T13:18:00.009-06:00

One week ago I was all sprawled out on the couch in my jammies to watch my BYU Cougars play TCU when I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. As I stared at the phone number questioning who it could be I felt that I should answer it instead of letting go to voicemail like I do so often when I see an unknown number. I answered just as the kickoff for the big game had just happened. I slightly cursed under my breath as I watched BYU start to get hammered from the get-go. A kind lady named Liz was on the other end of the phone and she explained to me how she got my name and number from Tracy Evans, a mutual theater friend, and that Tracy said that I might be willing to step in as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors. Apparently they ran into a little conflict with the guy they had cast as Seymour and he walked out on them 1 week before they opened. My heart raced a little when I heard what she was saying. Little Shop of Horrors is one of my FAVORITE SHOWS and Seymour has DEFINATELY been my favorite role I have played. My concentration quickly faded away from the BYU game and I raced to my room to locate my script from when I did Little Shop at Rodgers Memorial just a little over a year ago.

I remember a few months back reading a bullitan for auditions for Little Shop up in Clearfield. "That's too far to drive and too much of a time commitment." I thought to myself. "Plus, I wouldn't be able to do it because of work and the other projects I have going on.....sad" Secretly though, I had wished that I would get a call from the director of the show saying they needed someone to step in last minute! I really really thought and wished this! Careful what you wish for people.

I had the chance to step in as Riff in West Side Story a number of years back about 5 days before their tour, so this would not be my first time stepping in to do a role with very little preparation. The good news was that I was already familiar with the part.

I showed up to rehearsal and was pleasantly surprised with how fast they embraced me. It took me a day or so to get off book and the blocking was a little different but I adapted pretty well! Long story short, we opened last night and I think we did pretty well! despite the few opening night jitters and the last minute techinal additions we pulled off an entertaining show. :D

Stepping into this role with very little time has got me thinking that I want to pursue a career in theater. For the past few nights I have been very moved when I sing the lyrics to Skid Row (Downtown). There is one specific spot where I sing that has got me thinking:

"Someone show me a way to get outa here
Cause I constantly pray I'll get outa here
Please won't somebody say I'll get outa here
Someone gimme my shot or I'll rot here!
Show me how and I will,
I'll get outa here
I'll start climbin' up hill
and get outa here
Someone tell me I still
could get outa here
Someone tell lady luck
that I'm stuck here"

I gotta get outa here. These lyrics didn't hit me last time I sang it at Rodgers. I need out of the same day in and day out. With a little push from friends from late I am feeling big changes ahead. I may leave Utah for awhile and try and make something of myself under the big lights! Who ever heard of someone "making it" as a used car salesman? Not me.

I anticipate that I will be blogging about this a lot more.

Idle Time

2008-10-20T00:25:00.000-06:00

You gotta love Facebook, Myspace, Ldslinkup, and all the other websites out there that let you spice up your profile, keep in touch with your friends, or comment on someones silly political remarks. I love that almost everyone I know (with the exception of my family) has a facebook or myspace. It is so much better to me than email. It is a way you can stalk everyone you want AND ignore everyone else that you don't really care to keep in contact with that often anyway. It still lets you be civil about it though.

The problem I am having with all of these websites is that the little time I already don't have seems to go 100% towards them!

When I was 11 I had a paper route. I would get off school and sit in front of the tv and fold papers until it was time to deliver them. I remember idly sitting there in front of the tv while I dipped my finger into a leftover tub of icing from a birthday cake for a family member. Hours passed while I watched Rescue Ranger, Duck Tales (a woooooo), Talespin, Tiny Tunes, Animaniacs, and The Adventures of Batman. Once that Full House came on I knew I had to get on my bike to deliver the papers otherwise I wouldn't reach the 6:00 pm delivery time. This was my idle life. I don't remember much of when I was 11, just a lot of tv watching. I must have done that for 4 years. I think once I was in Jr. High and High School it was theater and track that got me out of that habit.

15 years later I have not changed much. The introduction of the internet has brought on a new laziness to my life. The good news is that I never watch tv unless it is a pre-recorded show. The bad news is that every day for 2-3 hours I sit and stare at a white screen and click refresh to check for the latest update. I have gotten pretty good and toggling and refreshing the 6-7 tabs I keep open to view each news feed, game score, highlight, or new message in my inbox, that it feels as natural as chewing gum and walking. I feel like the computer is sucking my life though.

This is all BAD! Especially cause I have just taken on a LOT of responsibility. The holiday season is just around the corner and if that wasn't enough I am involved in 4 theater/film productions, taking 9 credit hours of school, 50 hour work weeks, and a social night life. As of late it seems my only social life has consisted of facebook chat, msn, or gmail chat. As soon as I sit my bum in the leather chair, that comfotably becons me, in front of the computer screen the hours just go by. What is REALLY bad is when I start to neglect one of the above mentioned responsibilities I have taken on! So far I have kept up okay. I think I am recognizing the problem before it gets too out of hand but if I don't change my idle sitting time then I am gonna be in big trouble.

When I was 18, right after high school, I student taught at Lakeridge Jr. High and helped with their Shakespeare team. I had a blast! At the same time I was enrolled in school at UVSC (now UVU) and was working 20+ hours a week. I was given the chance to help direct the show, with my very close buddy Al Oquendo, The Taming of The Shrew. I helped cast it, build sets for it, costume it, collect props etc. I had my hands in it all. I very rarely slept. I even had a bunch of friends over for an all night Star Wars marathon just days before the opening night! My sleep habits suffered greatly but I felt accomplished. I felt like I was important. I had so much to do and I did it. I am finding myself in a very similar situation right now. I just hope I have not taken on too much!

So here we go! I know it's not New Years yet but I am going to make some 4th quarter resolutions regarding how to use my time wiser:

-Get homework done 1 day BEFORE it's due.
-Get to sleep by no later than midnight (unless it's the weekend)
-Spend LESS time on facebook, Myspace, Linkup, msn, gmail, etc and more time on reading and memorizing lines etc.
-When I am at work spend the time on the computer to do work related things and NOT surfing (yes, I admit I am a work time waster)
-Read 1 inspiring book each month instead of click click clicking.
-Gotta do more exercise. Just gotta.
-Date more lovely ladies. A guy my age should, right?
-Just have fun. I think I am doing this last one pretty well but I will feel better if LESS TIME IS WASTED!

So wish me luck my friends I am gonna start anew!

It's a race.....and more feelings about WHAT'S GOING ON!

2008-10-13T23:34:00.000-06:00

So, on gmail chat tonight I was writing back and forth with my friend Sarah Allen and we decided it was time to update our blogs. So we are racing to get one posted. I am gonna beat her. If you don't know who Sarah is she is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cool. Cute too! Here she is with me in a short film we recently shot (a blog of that is yet to come). She was our heroin for this movie. We had someone bail on us last minute for the shoot so we asked Sarah to do it and she agreed! Soooooooooooooo glad she did. She is my hero.......er heroin. This blog goes out to her.

Now to the meat of this blog. Let's talk about what is going on in the country for a minute. The economy. People are scared. I am scared. Kinda. Some big stuff happened today at work though. They laid off 7 of about 20 salesmen we have there. No one of real senority got let go but there were some very very questional choices in my opinion. I saw this coming. I just didn't realize how severe it would be. I thought they would let a few under-achievers go and then move on. Well, I guess when sales are down 70% from last month it can call for some pretty drastic action. Like canning some salesmen. I guess for some of them it will be a benefit in the long run because there really has not been enough to go all around. 1 or 2 commission sales are NOT enough to get by for the month. Having more sales employees really does affect the rest. It's like pie. There is only so much pie in sales right now that when you are forced to divvy it out to 30 people the portions are smaller. by having a smaller crew working I will definitely see more sales. I am looking to come out a okay. Or am I? What happens though if the level of unemployment in Utah goes up even 1-2%? It is going to affect us all. In talking to the above mentioned friend, to who I gave a shout out earlier in this blog, I found out that there are company lay-offs happening at her place of employment as well. More and more companies are being affected by the collapse of the economy and that will come back and take a bite out of all of us. We are all being forced to budget a little tighter and work a little harder for more pay just to make ends meet. There are jobs available for a lot of people looking right now but how much longer are they going to be open? Companies each day are cutting company sepnding, advertising, working hours given to their employees etc. I will repeat what I said before. I am scared.

It's times like these that I am so greatful for the gospel that I am able to be part of. I know I have that boost, that extra security that it will be alright. Just do what you are asked in the church and you will come out okay. That doesn't mean it won't be a pain in the butt or I won't get laid off next week. All I can rely on is that I won't go hungry and I will be able to provide to my family.......and right now that is me. I just wanna be able to pay the bills and have some left for fun. So far I can say I have been able to do that.

Ramble ramble ramble.

Now I want to upload my preview for the short film I am in. tAKITO Enjoy!

Take that Sarah! I beat you!

EVERYBODY PLAY!

2008-10-10T11:13:00.000-06:00

A fun game:
1. Add a comment on this post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

The economy. WTF?

2008-10-09T15:50:00.000-06:00

Wow! To think that 1 year ago we reached our RECORD HIGH!!! Now one year later we are over 30% lower. Most of it coming this week. What will tomorrow bring? Will it drop again? My guess is yes.

I think each and everyone is just sick Sick SICK about what is happening right now and will CONTINUE to happen on Wall Street. I believe we are only beginning to see what really is about to go down with the US and the Worlds economy. The crap is about to hit the fan people. What can we do? Really?! What can WE do?!!!

I don't claim to know the answers in what our country needs to be able to get out of this downfall. I DO feel I know what we can do to start helping each other out as a society. We need to move forward. We need to continue living our lives and continue to give to our society and earn our money and put it back into the system. Anyone who has money invested in stocks or mutual funds has felt the effects and has lost money. People are pulling out, selling their shares, and freezing their accounts so that they don't lose more money. I myself have moved my money to more stable areas to stop losses. It hurts. My fear is that we will do exactly what happens in "It's a Wonderful Life" and pull all our assets out.

"You're thinking of this place all wrong. As if I had the money back in a safe. The money's not here. Your money's in Joe's house...right next to yours. And in the Kennedy house, and Mrs. Macklin's house, and a hundred others. Why, you're lending them the money to build, and then, they're going to pay it back to you as best they can. Now what are you going to do? Foreclose on them?...Now wait...now listen...now listen to me. I beg of you not to do this thing. If Potter gets hold of this Building and Loan there'll never be another decent house built in this town. He's already got charge of the bank. He's got the bus line. He's got the department stores. And now he's after us. Why? Well, it's very simple. Because we're cutting in on his business, that's why. And because he wants to keep you living in his slums and paying the kind of rent he decides. Joe, you lived in one of those Potter houses, didn't you? Well, have you forgotten? Have you forgotten what he charged you for that broken-down shack? Here, Ed. You know, you remember last year when things weren't going so well, and you couldn't make your payments? You didn't lose your house, did you? Do you think Potter would have let you keep it? Can't you understand what's happening here? Don't you see what's happening? Potter isn't selling. Potter's buying! And why? Because we're panicky and he's not. That's why. He's picking up some bargains. Now, we can get through this thing all right. We've got to stick together, though. We've got to have faith in each other."

I think George Bailey would say the same thing to us today(yes I know he is fictional). I am considering writing in his name for President in 27 days.
We can't panic. We must believe that things will turn around. It is VERY hard to believe in our leaders and those in office who are in control of our future. We can't control what happens on Wall Street immediately but how we use spend our money CAN have an effect eventually.

Weather you work in sales, construction, for a bank, own your own business, or work for ANYTHING relating to money being spent then you have DEFINITELY seen an change in the last year. I happen to work in sales have been hit pretty hard. I have suffered but not as much as the next guy. I am doin' alright. I have a buddy who owns his own construction business he has suffered as well. It is obvious that people are cutting back on their spending. This is a good thing. What I wish people would do is cut back on how much they spend that just puts them further and further in debt. Spending money is GOOD not bad. Getting into debt is what is bad. Spend within your means.

I guess why I am writing this and what irks me more than anything is when I have customers say they are going to buy from me but then they get FREAKED OUT cause of the economy so they back out. I don't and never have wanted to sell to someone who can't afford it. I never want anyone whether they be a family member, friend, or stranger to over extend themselves with their finances. I don't feel right about it. It gives me an icky feeling. People make their own decisions sometimes and I can't tell them how to spend their money. But when I see people holding out on buying cause they are "nervous" or "scared" cause of the crisis it makes me a bit mad. When this happens I end up not getting paid. When I don't get paid I can't put my money back into society. I eat out less or tip less and the snowball effect happens.

Please people! Don't get scared! Spend your money! I am spending mine. I am also saving mine and trying to use it wiser. I again want to emphasize that I DO NOT want people to over extend themselves and get into debt over their heads. That is BAD. Looking for good deals and being a little more cautious it GOOD!

This is my rant.

The end.

Integrity. I am beginning to believe that it doesn't exist.

2008-09-25T13:04:00.000-06:00

You know how when you read a news article about some horrible killing or raping and it just leaves you with a empty yucky "how can people like this exist" feeling? Yeah, I sorta feel like that about humanity right now. I am having a hard time believing in people as of late. It seems so many people are out for personal gain that they will lie, cheat, and steal to get it. I am talking about my working life not so much my social and personal life. So rest assured that you who are reading this have NOTHING to do with what I am talking about. I am mainly talking about some of the people I have come to know through being in sales in the last number of years. UGH. I just had to do a quick rant.

I believe there ARE good honest people and I try to model myself after them but occasionally I come across some who manipulate and lie to get personal gain. That does not bode well with me.

The end.

More happy blogs to come I promise.

Should I blog?

2008-09-15T03:24:00.000-06:00

If yall think I am lacking in my blogs as of late raise your hand.....er......comment here and I will blog you some great stuff.

Take advantage of those days

2008-06-16T16:19:00.000-06:00

Today is a day I just seem to be in the mode of writing! Yikes! Has it really been that long since I have updated my blog? Me a bad kid.

Okay, update on life. I am single. The end.

Just kidding. I am actually embracing my single life a lot right now. I do wish to be married at some point and I know I will but for now I am very content in the life I've got. I recently moved up to Centerville into a new townhome and I LOVE IT! I am still renting but MAYBE once my lease is up the family will want to sell it. I am hoping so. This seems like a place I could stay in for quite some time. The landlords are fantastic! they let me paint all I want and they will even deduct it from the rent! WAHOO! Now that is cool.

Danny James and Aaron For are my roommates and they keep the place rockin'. Why just last night the three of us and a bunch of friends had a scary video game party and we about shat ourselves like 10 times. I love friends.

I have met many many new friends and am excited to see where my new found friendship takes me. I definitely have my hopes with how things will turn out. I have even met new people to date! YAY! I love dating. I have come to the conclusion though that I am too silly for anyone to take seriously and date exclusively at the moment. I just need some really good friends. If there is a love spark that comes from these new found friends then I may take it.

I think moving out of my old Winder 14th ward has been a very good decision. I have many a good memory from that ward but also things in the past year have given me an itch for a change. That is exactly what I am going for. The best things that came out of the Winder ward was I definitely feel that my testimony about the gospel has grown. At the same time I have found life to be a lot harder and have done some pretty stupid stuff but God has been there to remind me and smack me back into place. *SMACK* I really enjoyed having a calling that would involve me during the week rather than just during the Sunday block.....but at the same time it drained me. YIKES! I felt like I was back on my mission. Actually......come to think of it I have never really been released from my position.....well I sorta kinda was when I told the Bishop I was moving....so I think my counselors have things under control. :D Anyone know an update of the EQP in the Winder 14th? Okay....I am rambling.

All in all I have a very positive outlook on life. I foresee great happiness and fun days to come!

Oh, but I do have a bit of venting to do. Isn't that what a blog is for?

I have auditioned for a lot of shows lately. Into the Woods and BIG the Musical at the Hale and also Pirated at Rodgers Memorial Theater. Well, I sorta made 2 of the shows....sorta but didn't get any of the parts I wanted. I didn't get cast in Into the Woods and I worked HARD for that part. That is the show I have never been able to get into. I call it my "back to reality" show. I DID get cast in BIG but they forgot to look at my conflict schedule so after actually looking at it they uncast me. HA! the last one I auditioned for was Pirated. It's basically Pirates of Penzance meets Sound of Music. I am pretty darn familiar with the show and I have been aching for the chance to work with Jim Christian. I didn't necesarilly think I was a shoe in for the role but after numerious build up from friends and having played the part of Frederick twice I figured I had a pretty good shot. Right? Well, I didn't get the role I shot for but I still got cast. I am okay with the role I got but I can't help but feel a little discouraged with myself. *sigh* Now, I don't really have any reason to complain cause I have been lucky in getting the roles I audition for. It still can be frustrating though. :P With all of what has happened in the last few months I sorta want to try out for the big stuff. Like Broadway Across America or something like that. I just wanna see if I could do it. Me NOT getting the parts I auditioned for has actually re-motivated me. :D It reminds me of one of my best friends Joseph Warden. When he sent his apllication in to a bunch of very well known schools for college and he received notice that he was NOT accepted he didn't let that discourage him too much. Actually, if I remember right it DID discourage him quite a bit. Even to the point of him framing a rejection letter from Julliard so he could see it and be reminded. He didn't look at it and wallow in rejection, he used it as motivation to try harder and achieve greater things. THAT'S what I wanna be like.

....and on that note I will bring this blog entry to a close....and I say these things in the name of... amen;)

Hello to a new car and goodbye to an old friend!

2008-03-04T18:17:00.000-07:00

I have owned one car in my life. It was a car I got right after my mission. It was only 3k and I had it up until this last fall when I sold it. It was a big time beater and a junker and the doors had problems opening and it was practically falling apart by the time I parted from it. I made very good memories with that car. Kissed a few girls in it and took a few out of state trips. If that car could talk, and it frequently did with a whine, it would tell you a LOT! His name was Bubba. He led a simple little life. He paid me back time and time again. He was well worth the 3k I paid for him. I sold him for uber cheap cause he had just been sitting collecting dust and rust for about the last year and it would have cost quite a bit to get him up and running like his old self. I sold him on Craigs list within a few hours. I'm gonna miss ya buddy!

Now on to my new car. Well, it's not my new car YET. It is a car I just took in on trade at my dealership. It is a 2003 Oldsmobile Alero GLS with only 36k miles on it. Super low mileage for the year. I am buying it pretty cheap and putting a good 4 year warranty on it for WAY cheap. My goal is to re-establish my credit (I have made some STUPID mistakes in the past) so that when I choose to buy a house I can do so. :D With what I am paying right now on the demo program at work it figures to be about the same. Except now I am adding the cost of insurance but even that is way cheap. It's surprising seeing how a year ago I was required to be on SR-22 insurance (again from stupid mistakes I had made). Anywho, this car is a 2 door sport and it is very clean. It is not anything close to my dream car. In fact I am not extremly in love with it but it just seems like the right car for me to buy right now. I can pretty much have it paid off within a year or so and then once I have done that I may choose to sell it and get into something newer/nicer or hang onto it till I drive it to the ground. One thing that is kinda a bad thing about it is that it's a 2 door coupe. I wish it had 4 doors. When I have a family it will be nice to have something that will be a little easier to get the little Fredlee's in and out of. I probably won't be driving this car by the time I am married with kids anywho. Hmmmmm maybe buying a car that ISN'T family idealistic will actually help me get married. Hahaha. Maybe a little Murphy's law?

Here is the car! I am thinking cause of the gold champagne color I am gonna name her Champ. It's a girl. She is wearing a bra.

Okay my friends what do you think?

Republicrat

2008-02-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

Oii......The Primaries were very draining for me. I got soooooooooooooooo extremely frustrated with Huckabee and with McCain that I have seriously been thinking of switching to Democrat. WHAT???!!! IS IT POSSIBLE? Sad day huh? I just don't think I can support anyone *cough cough McCain* who is just so sleezy *cough cough McCain* and does not play the game fair. The whole delegate give-away to Huckabee? That was a complete joke.

After much thought and even looking into Obama and Clinton I have decided it would still be better to vote Republican........How would voting for a democrat help the situation?! I am not saying I am supporting McCain now but I am most definitely not voting Clinton. Maybe I will just not vote. If anything an Independent could win my vote right now. Someone who is still conservative enough but strong enough to help our economy.

The other night I was listening to the nightside project and I text in a response. They praised what I said. I thought that was kinda cool. My claim to fame.

I just have to say that with the news of Mitt Romney dropping out I feel a slight sense of relief. I have been stressing so much lately over what was going to happen that I am glad that he at least gave a strong fight and he is doing a good thing for the country. Perhaps he is back at the drawing board.

Ugh......not again

2008-01-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have a habit of starting a journal entry and then letting it all go to pot. I was really good at my bloggyness but then pretty much just got lazy with it, and now I feel as if I have so much to catch up on but don't know how to sum it up in one blog entry!

Oh well. Here goes nothin'.

I am still working in car sales and I make enough to do what I want and to pay the bills. Things HAVE changed since I have moved into the new building. Not really for the better, actually I feel another change coming on. I am not sure if my career will take another turn or not very soon but it very well could.

I am dating Gretchen Hess from Logan right now and we have been dating since October. She's great! We will just have to see where this one leads. :) More on that later.

My holiday season was faboo! I loved spending all that time with family and friends. I also played a lot of Rockband and Guitar Hero over the past few months. I loved it! It is definitely a new favorite past time.

I have spent many days being angry, sad, glad, giddy, bleh, wanting more out of life, feeling very fulfilled with life, upset over tiny things like my favorite football team losing, acting spastic, mourning, feeling so much love for all those around me, despising my boss and my job, loving how much money I can make, shocked at how fast my money disappears, realizing I need to get better at budgeting, wishing I did more traveling, wishing I read more books, wishing I watched more tv (jk.....well sports maybe), actually wishing I made it to more sporting events, wished I had more time for sports, and many other moods up and down. It has been quite the ride. Actually, it has been the BEST ride! I plan on doing it again this year!

This last week I set a bunch of New Years Resolutions. I shall list them below:

-Sell more cars than last year (providing I am still working in that field)
-Do more camping. snowboarding, skiing, outdoor activities than last year
-Go to Disneyland
-Get paid for acting
-Attend BYU games (football and basketball)
-Send birthday cards to each family member
-Read minimum of 1 new book a month
-Get a pet
-Visit my brother Dean in Texas
-Help my sister out each month financially
-Go to the Nickelcade more
-Consistent exercise
-Contribute the maximum amount allowed in my Roth IRA ($4000)
-Go fishin'
-Decide what I am doing with school
-Temple attendance once a month

Okay. There it is. Those are in no particular order. Some of them are not so much resolutions as much as they have to do with just having more fun this year.

I think I can just about wrap this entry up. Thank you blog for not disowning me. :)

The day has come...

2007-08-28T22:16:00.000-06:00

The day I have been dreading for awhile has finally come. They tore down my building where I have been working for the last 14 months and have tossed me out on the street
....okay not entirely true but I think I would rather be on the street than crammed into a separate building they have offered us. You see, there are two separate departments where I work. There are those who think they are better than everyone and then there is Used Cars. The outcasts. That's us. It is almost as bad as putting a van full of BYU fans into a hoarding pit of U of U followers. Bad idea.

As you can see in the pictures the place I use to call home away from home has been demolished into a pile of rubble. The good part is that I came away with some pretty cool stuff! On Saturday last they told us that anything not moved out by Monday morning would be demolished and trashed. I didn't plan on taking anything home with me but when I arrived on Monday morning I saw that there was still quite a bit left there. A garage sale goers paradise! I looted (or inherited as I prefer to say) the following:

-A nice oak TV entertainment center (furniture only) that I donated to my recently married brother.

-A Sony VCR

-A whiteboard (what I am going to use it for I do not yet know)

-A slightly used and slightly torn leather desk chair

-Four nice softly cushioned chairs

All of this stuff would probably go for like 500+ dollars and I got it absolutely FREE!!

A trip of woes? I THINK NOT!

2007-08-09T19:44:00.000-06:00

It has been a long while since I have gone on a trip. The last one I can think of that wasn't just a 4 hour ride north for a baby blessing or baptism was when I went to Sweden. That was over a year ago. It had been far too long.

A few months back I had received a phone call from my brother in Bristol Virginia saying that he was moving from Virginia to Seattle, Washington. He asked if I would like to come on out and help them drive back! Uhhhhhhhhhhh.......that doesn't seem like much of a vacation but I said yes. As the weeks grew closer I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to visit my father and my step- mother on their mission in Nauvoo! I found the easiest way to meet up in Nauvoo was to fly in to St Louis and rent a car then drive the remainder of the way. I thought to myself "why don't I make the most of it and do something fun while I am out there?!" So, instead of flying out to St Louis I decided to fly into Chicago (after all it was about the same distance in driving and I could hop aboard a bus that would take me straight to Nauvoo) and spend a few days out there before I met up with my brother and father.

My next steps were to find the most economical way to get there and then to plan what it was I was exactly going to do while there. I booked a hotel in the heart of Chicago (about 3/4 a mile from the theater district) and purchased myself a ticket to see Wicked. GHEE!!! :D I also found I could save myself about $80 by taking a red eye flight on Jet Blue. The catch was this though:
I would have to leave at 11:45 on the 31st of July and fly out to JFK airport (New York) then backtrack to Chicago. Strange, but I figured I could just sleep through the flight and then arrive in Chicago bright and early to have the whole day to myself. Here is what my schedule looked like for my whole trip:

-Tuesday July 31st at 11:45 fly out to JFK airport
-Wednesday August 1st 3:45 am transfer from JFK to O'hare (Chicago)
-Same day 8:15 am arrive in Chicago and play the whole day
-That evening 7:30 pm see Wicked
-Thursday August 2nd 12:45 pm board Greyhound to Nauvoo (with one transfer stop in Davenport)
-Thursday evening meet up with family and attend Nauvoo Pageant and participate in other activities
-Saturday August 4th leave from Nauvoo and drive home with expecting to get back on Sunday August 5th in the evening.

Well, the trip did NOT go quite as I planned. Things started off wrong when I had my sister drop me off at the airport and I realized that the ipod I had brought had only sync'd up 1/3 of the music I wanted to. DOH! Oh well. It wasn't the end of the world. I was actually extremely excited to be traveling on my own that I soon forgot I didn't have all my music with me. In fact as I was walking through the airport I was listening to "With a wink and a smile" by Harry Connick Jr. and I actually found myself doing a little ditty as I was walking to the terminal. I made myself smile. I waited for my plane to board by reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azcaban (wait for my next blog about my HP experiences). What I thought was going to be a breeze of a flight turned out to be awful. I discovered soon that I cannot get comfortable on leather seats and it is very difficult to sleep between 2 people. I think for that 4 1/2 hour flight I slept for maybe 20 minutes. I ended up sleeping better on the second flight cause I had a whole row to myself and I could lay down.

I arrived in Chicago a few minutes early and went to pick up my luggage. Guess what? My luggage was lost. Turns out it didn't make the transfer. After talking to a very unpleasant lady who made it feel like it was the biggest burden in the world to do her job and fill out a claim of lost luggage I decided to head into the city to explore. I did have my backpack with me with my camera and the main things I needed so I wasn't too distressed.

Chicago was beautiful! So very big and exciting! I got off the L (train) at Washington and just started exploring. I was just beaming to be on Vacation that I had really disregarded the little sleep and lost luggage. I found myself quickly being attracted to the strangely shaped buildings and I became very camera happy. I wanted to see the city better so I took a river boat tour and took many pictures. Let's see......what else did I do? I ate in a mom and pops shop for breakfast, I visited the Sears Tower, I went to the park and visited the gigantic silver jelly bean, soaked my feet in a stream, took a taxi just cause, visited each theater in the theater district, went to the zoo, and took time to visit the art institute of Chicago. I didn't have much time at all to stop and rest. I really didn't want to! I did start to get nervous however in finding that I still had no word on my luggage. I didn't really want to attend Wicked that night in jeans and a t-shirt. Turns out that at about 6:45pm I got a phone cal from my hotel saying my luggage had been found and delivered. I RUSHED home and took a quick shower and put my suit on and made it back to the theater in record time!

Wicked was better than I could have imagined! The set and technical aspect was what I was most impressed with. The cast did a fantastic job and especially the leading ladies. Glenda (Guh-lenda) especially. After the show I walked back to my hotel for the night.

I called my bro the next day to find out how things were coming along and it turns out that he was more than a day behind in leaving from Virginia so they would not be able to pick me up from the bus stop that evening. My dad would probably be able to I figured so I didn't worry. As I got onto the Greyhound I realized why I don't really to travel by bus. It really was my only resort unless I wanted to pay out my ears for a car rental. The bus was supposed to leave at 12:45 but was an 1 and 1/12 hours late in leaving the terminal. If that wasn't bad we blew a tire in a city called Dekalb. It took 2 and 1/2 more hours to fix. I started to realize there was a problem. I was supposed to be in Davenport for a transfer to my final destination and we already were almost 4 hours behind. Greyhound had to put me up for the night in a hotel (I was surprised to find they would offer to do this) and then put me on the bus in the morning to my final destination. I didn't want to chance the bus again so after my nights stay in Davenport I had my dad pick me up there. It took a few hours to drive to get me but had he not been able to I would have been stranded most the day.

I am going to just get to the end here pretty quick because I am not feeling the need to be any more long winded than I already have. HA! I will tell you that I loved my visit to Nauvoo and it was one of the more uplifting and spiritual experiences I have had since my mission.

My brother finally got to Nauvoo on Saturday night (2 days late) and we were able to visit with my dad for a time. The next morning after church we set off on the road. We really didn't get away till about 5:00pm (we also took a detour to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa to visit my aunt). We drove most into the night and stopped in a place in Nebraska for the night. The next morning we set off and drove all day and into the night. I drove a good majority of the time. Just a few miles out Evanston Wyoming we blew a tire on the Uhaul truck(I don't know why I have difficulties with tires). Oh, I DO have to share something that I thought was pretty interesting. For most of the drive through Nebraska and Wyoming I was the ONLY one that did not have service on my phone. It ticked me off a bit because I am an avid texter and I was being denied thumb exercise. It turns out that when we blew a tire however that everyone else's phone did not have service but mine did! That allowed us to call Uhaul to have them send someone out to fix the tire. It is funny how things work out that way. I felt stupid for complaining about no service until then.

At 6:00 am on Tuesday the 7th we pulled into our final destination. Home at last! What a trip! Even though lots and lots went wrong I would do it all again in a heart beat!

Thank you for reading.

What is it about dating?

2007-07-17T11:15:00.000-06:00

Dating. What a weird word. Thats the thing where you plan a thing with another person and you do stuff.

According to Wikipedia Dating is: any social activity performed as a pair or even a group with the aim of each assessing the other's suitability as their partner in a relationship or as a spouse. The word refers to the act of agreeing on a time and "date" when a pair can meet and engage in some social activity.

So, it's basically just a tool used to see if you are compatible with the other person right? The guy normally asks the girl out and then she says yes and then they date and get married and have kids right? Happy ever after? Isn't that how it works? I guess it all sounds pretty simple. It is not always just that simple.....at least for me. I guess if we flash back about 10 years my views on dating were very different. I was still in High School and a date to me was prepped by asking a girl out to a dance in a crazy way. Like sending her on a scavenger hunt or making her pop balloons full of shaving cream to find out who was asking her to Prom. This was then followed up by her responding in an even more creative way! Oh, the fun of dating in High School. The funnest part about it was planning with my friends what we were going to do. There was the activity during the day then the activity/dinner dance at night. Sometimes even followed up by an after dance party. Dating was stress free. It was casual. It was fun. I always looked forward to the next date. Then I graduated and dating became a bit different. Not too different mind you because I still had a mission to consider. I would call up a good friend for a family activity or a friends play and we would go together. Maybe that was not so much what you call dating by just a casual hang out. Except that I did pay for things mainly. I felt that if I had invited them then it is my responsibility to pay for things.

I guess "dating" for me really changed after I got home from my mission. I wanted to get right back on that band wagon and start dating. In fact, I think I was so anxious to take the next step in my life that I had no problem calling girls or even asking them for their phone number to take them out. If I met a cute girl in line at the grocery store I would usually walk away with their digits in hand. I was not a pro but I was confident enough at the time to get a girls number. Something started happening though. When I would ask the girl for her phone number she would give it to me but then I could never quite get her to commit to a date. This just didn't happen once but almost every time I started asking. I found that my tactics where not working. I of course adjusted and found other ways that worked for me. The best way I found to "date" was to meet people through friends cause that way the girl already had reference of who I was and she felt better about dating. This worked for a time and I did date some people for extended amounts of time this way but I found myself single again and was back at the drawing board. With going to school part time and with holding a full time job I soon found myself in a situation where I was meeting very few new people. This became a problem in my dating pool. My pool had been emptied! I soon discovered the dating via the World Wide Web. Lds Linkup was the site for me. I could meet plenty of new people and I could do it while at work or while working on a paper for school. It was so very convenient! I probably went on a dozen or so dates from online and hooked it up with a few. Nothing permanent, obviously. I was dating a new person every week though. Sometimes in a given week I would date 2 or 3 different people I met. I was loving it. I couldn't say my pocketbook was loving it so much though. Dating was expensive.

Today I am still on the linkup site but it has probably been 5 months since I have dated anyone I have met online. I have gone back to meeting and sorta dating people I meet in my social circle. In my ward, and in the plays I am in. Except the problem is I have not "dated" any of them. Or better said I have not gone on any dates with them. I suppose I have done plenty of hanging out and flirting etc with them but not once have I really taken them to dinner.....ok I lie....I have. But not a planned out date. Just sort of a spur of the moment thing. What can I say? I am very spontaneous and I just do things on a whim. It has also come to my attention that a good majority of the time when I DO try and plan a date out that either the girl backs out last second or something goes wrong with the alignment of the stars or something and the date just does not happen.

I have decided I am scared of the word "date". Here is why:

-I am afraid of the girl canceling.

-When it is titled "date" I think I lose self confidence because I know that it will put me and the gal I am dating in a possible awkward situation. You know, the awkward moments....*sigh*

-I sometimes think it is just a waste. Especially if I know it on't go anywhere.

Ok, there is probably more but I know I am rambling. I have gone on far long enough with this post.

Morale of the story? I need to learn to love and use the word "date".

Time for a nap.....WHAT? WHILE AT WORK?

2007-07-12T13:12:00.000-06:00

Yes, I nap a lot at work while on the clock. It's not like it's such a big deal though cause I am not an hourly employee nor do I have to worry about a time card. When I have had my late night outing with my latest lady friend or have seen the most recent movie release or have played video games again till all hours of the night and then have to be at work at 8:30 for morning meetings you can pretty much be sure that I will be found in the building next door taking a nap (wow that was a very long running sentence). Right next to the Used Car building at Murdock Chev. there is a building known as Van Village. Apparently it got its name years ago when as dealers we use to lease new and used full sized and mini vans. A few years ago it was abandoned and it became the storage for our helium tanks and a few other trinkets and items we would use around holidays at the store. Oh, and it was also the Internet Managers office.
Well, because the AC worked really well and it was deserted 99% of the time it was the perfect place to go for a quick nap. Using a stuffed animal backpack that was yellow and shaped like a puppy dog face as a pillow you could easily drift away into sleep and wake up refreshed to continue your day. Life was good to be able to take naps while on the job.

Yesterday all that changed. With the new changes happening for the company Murdock has chosen to destroy the building. A dozen or so construction workers began gutting the place yesterday in the afternoon. They took out all the desks and filing cabinets that could be salvaged before they used the wrecking ball. After the men at work did their duty it was left to us salesmen to go over and break/take/destroy/claim/blow up whatever else was in the building.
It didn't take long for Van Village to be a war zone. We each took our turns at knocking down the cubicle walls and breaking windows and punching through the sheet rock with our fists and feet. I think my favorite part was breaking all the florescent lights. Those things explode! It was a dream come true to be able to just wreck things. We used anything we could get our hands on to destroy the inside of Van Village. *sigh* Sometimes I love being the testosterone enraged guy that I am.

Anywho, back to my napping story. The building is going to be destroyed either today or tomorrow completely but Tuesday the 10th of July was the last day I could have slept peacefully in Van Village.....well at least without sleeping on broken glass and broken cubicles and rubble.

I will miss you greatly my friend.

What's your next project?

2007-07-11T09:54:00.000-06:00

I just recently finished back to back plays (kinda). I did Forever Plaid in the beginning of March and then had a few days off then I auditioned for Damn Yankees. I wasn't planning on even auditioning but my dearest friend Hilary convinced me otherwise (thanks Hil)!
My nights for as long as I can remember have been filled with bat juggling, seen blocking, and stage kissing. I really can't recall what I did with my free free nights before February. What DID I do? I have a vague memory of video games and watching movies with friends
at night but other than that I am totally drawing a blank. Oh well.
Now that I am done with Damn Yankees people have been asking me what my next project will be. "Are you going to audition for any more plays Fred?" or "So, what's next on your list Freddy boy?". The answer I always give? "Oh, I am gonna take some time off for awhile....just work throughout the summer. Maybe go back to school." This is the classic answer I give to people. I guess I could just come forward and say "HOW SHOULD I KNOW PEOPLE??? I AM SPONTANEOUS!!! WHY DO I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT I AM DOING RIGHT NOW???" Of course if I did tell people that I wouldn't yell it like that.....actually come to think of it I think that WOULD be kinda fun. After all I am kinda dramatic at times. I think the next time someone asks me "what is your next project Freddy my lad?" I will look them in the eyes and scream out the phrase from above and then kick them in the shins!

I am really not upset that people ask me that question or anything but it I guess it just gets old after, oh....say the 3rd time it has been asked that day! Kinda like when someone asks you the basic "so how is work?" and "what are ya doing this summer?" or the infamous "How has your mom been?".......okay, maybe not that last one but you get my idea.

Okay, so what is my next project? Probably a lot of video games and reading. Oh, and see lots of movies! That sounds like a good idea. That is what I am gonna do. Of course until someone convinces me to do another show.

The end.

Changes in the wind

2007-06-26T10:01:00.000-06:00

For just over a year now I have been a used car salesman at Murdock Chevrolet in Bountiful. I have enjoyed my past year being a shady salesman. All my life I dreamed to rip people off and pull the wool over their eyes so that I could steal from their pocketbooks. Ever since I was a young tike my parents taught me the art of cheating and stealing from people. I really feel as if i have finally made them proud!

Ok, so all that I wrote above was a lie.....all except for being a car salesman for the past year. It has not made me a dishonest person but actually made me a lot more honest and upfront with people than I expected it to be. You see, these days people do enough research to know whether or not someone is trying to lie to them or trick them with old fashion car selling tactics. I have witnessed where people have been lied and cheated to in sales (not only car) so their salesperson could make a few extra bucks. I guess I have too much of a conscious to be able to do that. When I sold my own father his truck when he was in the market I felt a little bit guilty making a commission off of him cause I just wanted him to feel like he got a good deal! Oh, and by the way he did!

Since I have been here at the dealership for a year I am feeling like I have found my groove. I am no longer looked on as the new guy but as a salesman who has a bit of experience under his belt. I do fairly well for myself. I feel as if the winds are changing things though. I have been comfortable in my position here in the Used Car building where the guys can rally when it's slow and we can even toss around the pigskin if we need a little exercise! However, this building I have been spending my working hours is about to be torn down and the used car department will soon be joined together with the new car department. We will still be our own department but kept under a tighter of a leash now that we will be in the same building as the big boss man.
In our morning meeting I hear other guys state how we will be as a deer in the headlights once we are all together. How our lives and our jobs will be a lot more difficult once the building is all done.

I say bring it on!

To buy or not to buy

2007-06-15T15:39:00.000-06:00

So I just got back yesterday form Lagoon for the second time this year and I rode the new roller coaster Wicked! It was, as they say, WICKED! You start our in a tunnel and you hear a build up as if you are going to take off and then ZOOOOOOOOOOMMM you are launched into a straight vertical 110 feet in the air in a matter of seconds. It is a very big rush! Oh, but it doesn't stop there, oh no. You then pummel back down 110 feet then follow the track on what is a very (wait for it) WICKED experience.

I think when it comes to amusement parks I tend to turn into a 7 year old again. The transformation takes place as soon as they stamp my hand. I see the Lagoon stamp and the inner child is born. I start running through the park making sure I can get on the latest coolest rides! Or at least I want to....I sometimes realize that I am with respectable adults who would look at me strangely to go dashing off to to ride the Swings (which by the way you are required to flap your arms up and down for the duration of the ride). So I can't usually get them to run to each ride but rather move to the next ride at a fast face. I think my favorite rides this year are as follows:
-Wicked
-The Spider
-Colossus
-The Cliffhanger
-The Swings
One thing I am facing the decision is should I buy a season pass to Lagoon? I have basically been twice in the last two weeks and I see myself going a few more times and if that does happen I will have spent well more than the $80 dollars or so it costs to get into the park. I guess it really decides on who else I know is planning on going. I know my sister and my nephews will venture to Farmington again this summer to take part of "what fun is".
So, should I buy a season pass or not?

Construction woes!

2007-06-06T16:55:00.000-06:00

About a month and a half ago after going to the gym one night I decided to stop off at Wal-Mart for a little shopping. As I was heading home northbound on 900 East and 4500 South and as I was crossing through the green light intersection my demo car I was driving was sent flying into the air! They had been doing some construction that day on the roads and had made about a 6 foot wide pot hole on the north side of 4500 South. With it being dark and all I was not aware of the bump. I caught air like you would in a video game only this one wasn't quite as fun and I didn't have the fun thrill of being chased by police. After landing I pulled to the side of the road to see if I lost a tire or the front end of my bumper and I noticed a man running up to me yelling something. His name was Wayne Roberts and he witnessed my death defying event. He told me the same thing had happened to him earlier that night and he immediately got in contact with UDOT to tell them that it was a hazard to the public having such a giant pot hole. He provided me with a number to complain and I did so.
While on the phone I started smelling something funny coming from the front of my car. I walked and looked under the front of the car and it was leaking transmission fluid everywhere. I knew that I had done serious damage to the car and that it would probably be out of commission by the time I had to get to work in the morning. I thanked Wayne for giving me the phone number and proceeded home. I drove the car back home which was only about 2 blocks north and when I got inside I thought that this really should be something I should report to the police for insurance issues. I called the police department and got in contact with an officer Valdez who asked me to give a full report. After hearing my story he told me I was at fault for not obeying the traffic laws and that it was my fault for not seeing the signs that construction was taking place. I then had my roommate drive me back to the scene to see if in fact the roads were marked properly and I did find a sign half way behind a bush about 20 feet before the intersection. I guess had I been looking behind the bush a bit better I could have seen it. I decided to watch for a few minutes to see if anyone else hit the bump like I did. I didn't have to wait long to find people catching air just like I did. I was surprised to find Officer Valdez show up at the scene to see if anyone else had a similar experience to me. We maybe stood out there for 10 minutes before we witnessed 3-4 more people hit the speed bump. Officer Valdez got back on his intercom and called in to try and find out if he could get the foreman on the line to properly mark the roads.

The next day I got into the office at work and watched the Jetta get towed in. After talking to my service manager about what had happened he told me repair estimated would be anywhere between $4000-6000. That's just what a new transmission would cost.
I would not have to pay for all of it but for a deductible if the construction company ended up not paying for it.

Well today was payday and I just had $500 taken out of my check because it is looking as if the construction company is not willing to pay for the damages. My insurance company is going to take them to court so we will see what happens. For now I am down 500 bones.

A new hobby

2007-06-02T15:23:00.000-06:00

I guess I am always in the look out for something new and fun to do in my life. On many occasion I find myself in a rut and wonder what exactly it is I am doing with my life. I guess recently you could say I am in the middle of one right now. The last time I found myself in such a scenario was a little under two years ago when I was living in an apartment in Orem, Utah (yes the bubble of bubbles) where I lived 2 doors down from a girl I had been dating. At the time I was not in school and I had just lost my job due to the fact that they went out of business. I felt the need in my life to branch out to something new. To make what could be an extremely long and lengthy story super uber short I decided to move to Salt lake for a few reasons: to get away from a what was a cycling break up and get back together relationship and to find myself a more enjoyable better paying job. Now flash forward about 2 years. I have loved my life living in Salt lake and I have made many new friends but I find myself in another rut and I want to branch out. I figure I won't move this time but I will try exploring new things. This blog is one of them. I have never been much of a blogger but it is something I have always heard can be very therapeutic. I am not much of a journal writer but I do jot things down into it from time to time to help myself get through some rough points in life. I have found myself going to it within the last few months and it has helped me to get some things out that had been building up. I hope this blog will have the same sort of help.

I will start by saying that I am no English major and that I know I am not very grammatically
inclined so I will make error upon error upon error while posting. Do I care? Not too much. This is just for me and not for an assignment nor is it to try and impress anyone. If it were trying to impress then I would post pictures of my naked body. That would impress all. So, basically if anyone reading this has a problem with my errors then get over it.

Let the blogging begin.