The End Is Here Only To Be Replaced With A New Beginning

This will be the last post on this blog. It does not, however, mean that the babbling blabbers are over, it just means that they are moving to a new site.

Here is a little shortcut to what will take you to the new adventures of what is now The Parry Family!

The new site is still under construction, but you can still get the latest babblings.

PEACE IM OUTTA HERE!!

Anxiously Engaged In A Good Cause

On July 3rd I got engaged to Laura [lah-rah; Eng. lah-ruh](no middle name) Riddle

I'm sure that all my devoted followers are just dying to know how I proposed to my bride-to-be. Well, here is the story:

In order for you to understand and appreciate the awesomeness of this story, you have to get a little background story, which I am happy and willing to give.

Laura and I have been dating (on and off) since our first date on October 31st of last year. In fact, I had my eyes on her since a couple of weeks before that. Here is a little excerpt from my journal dated October 29th:

"Laura has always been able to grab my eyes a little longer than everyone else, but I never noticed before. Now that I am aware of my staggered attention I am curious about where things could go if I try and insert myself into part of her life."

We became an official couple on the following Thanksgiving, which also marked the day of our first kiss... Two weeks later, she broke up with me. The details of the breakup are boring, so I will leave them out.

For the next 3 months I tried to get her back. She kept telling me not to hold on to the false hope of us one day getting back together. I told her that I wouldn't, but in secret I always did. We still spent a lot of time together, we called it "fake dating," which was just what I called it to trick her into thinking that we were "kind of dating" :)

We finally got back together and lasted another 3 weeks before I broke things off. Isn't that weird? I had been trying to get her back for months and months and finally when I got what I wanted I had doubts. I was really confused on what was going on. I couldn't understand why I broke up with her. I finally came to the conclusion that I just had to take some time to really ponder on the situation. That was on March 22nd. On May 24th we got back together for the last time.

I was anxious to get a ring on her finger. She was a little bit more hesitant. I finally convinced her that I was the best choice and a week before the proposal she designed the ring that she wanted and gave me detailed instructions on how the proposal was going to happen (time, place, date) I had little to do except put the ring on the finger.

On July 3rd I drove down to Provo and picked up the ring. I then took Laura to Sundance. We took the ski lift up to the top of the mountain and found a little trail that took us around to the south side of the mountain. We stopped in the middle of the path to enjoy the sun setting over the peak and the plant and animal life. I was a little nervous even though I knew that she was going to say yes to what I was about to propose. She set her purse down so we could take some pictures. As she walked back to get her purse, I pulled the ring out of my pocket. Right when I got it out it fell out of my hands and landed on the dirt by my feet....I dropped to the ground fumbling for the case trying to get it before she saw that I had dropped it, but it was too late. She turned around and saw me on my knees trying my hardest to look casual. I finally got hold of the ring and while on my knee I held it up to her. I opened it and while she looked at it and smiled I sat there silent wondering what was going to happen next. After a few seconds of silence I realized that I still had to ask the question. "Will you marry me?" I barely finished asking when she said "yes" and pulled me up for a kiss. Yummy.

We hugged and kissed and then got off the mountain. We went and visited her family to share the news and talk a little bit about wedding plans.

That was just over 2 weeks ago and things are going great. I am happy happy happy. I'm pretty sure she is too... :)

We are getting married on October 10th.

I love her!!

I'm Much Older Now!

CXXVIII Days Later...

After a mere 128 days without updating my blog... I am back. This moment has been waited for by many people anxious to hear the next exciting babble that I have to blabber. For others, it wont be so exciting.

My apologies for all who have gone to my page looking for another update and have found nothing...sorry.

Anyway, I will start from the present day and work my way backwards as far as I can remember:

I just started school again this week. For those of you who aren't in the know, I have been trying to get back into the student thing for the last year. I have literally registered for classes every semester for the last 12 months and later having to withdraw from classes for a different reason every semester. I have finally gotten my status as a resident and am now a full-time student once again at the University of Utah. My class schedule is quite fun really...I am taking a Political Science class where our focus is the U.S. Government. I am also taking a writing class that hasn't really sparked my interest yet. So far this class has given the impression that we are going to be interpreting the writings of other people more than just writing out own stuff. I'm not really into critiquing the work of others. I prefer getting my own work critiqued. The other two classes I am taking are Basic Drawing and a Nutrition and Health class...fun.

I have taken up the art of swimming as a way to exercise. Every Tuesday and Thursday I make my way up to the pool that is so conveniently placed near my first two classes and swim until I either can't breath anymore or my muscles don't keep me afloat, then I get out and head over to my last class of the day. It is quite a workout. My goggles are sweet.

(This picture isn't recent)

I am still working as a valet at the Hotel Monaco. We just got new uniforms for the summer. Tell me if you think this is smart: For the winter we had white shirts and black pants, for the summer we just switched to black shirts with black shorts (the shorts look like black dress pants cut to be shorts. They are pleated and cuffed.) We also have to wear white socks. How gay (bad [gay meaning bad, not gay being bad, even though being gay is bad {bad meaning bad not

 bad meaning cool}]) are we going to look?

I recently went to Champaign/Urbana Illinois this past weekend. My older brother gradumacated from law school. Congratulations to him!! I got the opportunity of hanging out with my little niece Cadence and her little brother (my nephew) Jack. I will include some pictures.

I got to Chicago on Friday the 15th at approx. 11:15am. I knew that I was going to be waiting for my parents for a few hours before they would show up so I decided to do some site seeing. I got on a train from the airport and heading downtown with the idea of walking a couple of miles to The Navy Pier, which is a big touristy spot on the edge of Lake Michigan. When I got off the train it was raining, so after hoofing it for the two miles I was soaking wet. I got inside and found a bathroom where I spent 15 minutes drying off with the paper towels that were provided.

I walked around and found a nice little hotdog stand where I decided to have lunch. They messed up my order.

I was very bored, for what seemed to be a long time. I knew exactly how long it was, it just seemed longer.

After talking to my dad, we decided to meet at the Union Station, which we did. Then we got aboard and rode for what seemed like a long time. I knew exactly how long it was, it just seemed longer.

We spent the rest of the time at Zach's place where we enjoyed the company of everyone that was there. Then, after what seemed like a long time, we went home. I knew exactly how long it was, it just seemed longer. Just kidding, it was fun. It didn't seem that long.

Chicago is a really cool place. We walked right by the Sears tower, which seems to be really tall. I know exactly how tall it is (1,450 feet), it just seems taller. 

Okay, enough with the "seems like" jokes.

So, I did the math, and it turns out that if I go to school every semester until I am done with school, I will be done in the Spring time of 2011. That is better than I thought it would be. Well, that is for my undergraduate, its another 2 years after that to get my Masters. So, after all is said and done I will be 27 years old when I am totally done. That isn't bad considering it took Zach until he was 29 to finish. I am feeling pretty good.

I am taking a drawing class right now. For our first assignment we were asked to draw the person that we had previously chosen to be partners with while keeping our eyes off the paper. It is a form of art called "blind drawing." The guy next to me named Dan asked me to be his partner and I accepted. We each had 10 minutes to draw the other person while at the same time trying not to look down at our paper. It was pretty hard at first but after being told that the point wasn't to be accurate with the positioning of each facial feature, but to get the details, it got easier. Here is an example of what I am talking about:

After drawing with your first partner we were to switch and do it with somebody else. The rules changed the second time, now we were allowed to look at the paper occasionally to put the pencil in the right place. It didn't make the drawing look great, just a little better.

My second partner was a girl that was semi-attractive (6.5). She started by drawing me. I didn't mind that she was staring at me for 10 minutes...I'm pretty sure I knew what she was thinking anyway, right? Her drawing was pretty good, except for the undeniable fact that she over-exaggerated on my front teeth. At any case, I was next. While I was drawing I struck up a conversation with her and found out that she was from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. That isn't really important to the story, but it is important to know that we were having a pleasant conversation (you know, one with few awkward moments). Remember that I wasn't looking at the paper the majority of the time that I was drawing. I started with her eyes and then went on to her nose. She had big lips so I made sure to take my time in making them look 10 times bigger. Then, as I was drawing her left cheek I looked down and realized that my pencil and strayed from the line I had intended to draw which made her look bigger than she actually was, I just looked back up at her and said "oops, I made you a fatty." She just looked at me. I think she might have half smiled...or maybe she gave me a dirty look, I don't really remember. I do remember that the "pleasant conversation" turned into no conversation. What made it worse was that I still had 7 minutes left to finish drawing her. I had to stare at her while she modeled for me. It seemed longer (j/k).

I couldn't remember further back than last week. So, when I said that I would start from the present and work my way back...I lied.

Out With The Old; In With The New

Two weeks ago I hit one year of living in Salt Lake City. I have spent the last several minutes thinking about what kinds of things happened during 2008 and I'm pretty sure it was the worst year I have ever lived. That doesn't mean that the whole year was horrible, it just means that most of it was. I don't need to go into detail about it because most of the people that read this blog already know what kinds of crazy things I had to deal with the first several months of last year, but I do want to express some of the great things that happened while I was here in Salt Lake.

I got a job with the biggest valet company here, Valet Parking Services. On Sunday I reached my year mark in being employed by them. I have really enjoyed my job managing the valet at the world famous Hotel Monaco. I have made friends that are fun to work with and have also helped me learn certain things about myself that have aided me in improving my

 "people skills." I only say this because my "people skills" haven't exactly been great in the past. I am a very patient person most of the time. There are just a few things that I still need to

 work on. I hate it when people ask me if I know how to drive a Toyota Prius.

 

I also get annoyed when people ask me if they can trade their 1993 Geo Metro for the brand new Chevy Camaro.

I went to school for a semester last year and really enjoyed my time there. I attended the University of Utah in the Communications department studying Public Relations. After

 going for a semester paying out-of-state tuition I decided that it was way too expensive to attend as a non-resident, so I decided to wait until I reached all the requirements to become a

 resident before going back to school. I am still waiting for those requirements to be met but am hopeful that this coming summer I will be a full time student once again.

There is a billboard here in Salt Lake that has a picture of Albert Einstein on it...

When I see it I think about how I am as a student. I don't really consider myself to be a dummy, and even though I don't think I would ever make it in this world without an education, this billboard makes me feel like I could just drop out of school and build atom bombs. Confidence: Pass it On.

Anyways, something else happened last year that was awesome. Audrey got married to a guy that really knows how to handle her very rambunctious (adj.-difficult to control or handle; wildly boisterous) personality. I am really glad that she is happy and has found someone that can take care of her, so that I don't have to anymore, he he.

The year ended really well. I got to go home for a week during Christmas. It was really great to be able to see my family. It isn't often that I get to do that anymore. Zach and his family were down there for a few weeks so I got to spend a little time with my niece and nephew, which was good. They got to meet Santa Claus, who I just recently learned is my dad...cool huh?

The new year has brought me a new opportunity to change. 

I have really wanted to become a nicer person. I read through all the journals that I own and found that being nicer has been a goal of mine every year for the good part of the last decade. A code has been put in place for all who want to help me follow though with my goal this year. If I am ever being mean to you, all you have to say is "2009 is your year." When I hear this phrase I will do one of two things, I will either explain why I think you are wrong in thinking I am mean, or I will instantly apologize.

I spent the first few hours of the new year with friends that I have made in my ward. Some of those that were present were Bitty Engstrom and Carlee Jenkins, who have found themselves on my top 5 list of people I enjoy spending time with. Now that I have announced that I have a top 5 list of people I enjoy spending my time with some of you might be asking yourselves who is #1 on that list...well, it's no riddle.

...or is it?