Hair Aftermath

Long time, no blog! I have a bit to catch up on, I'll keep it brief. First, as many of you know, I cut my hair. This was a bigger decision for me than you may care to contemplate! Living in a culture where you're expected to be a cookie cutter human being has its perks-- one being that doing something as benign as growing your hair long makes you the resident hippy rebel. I had no idea to what extent people noticed my unconventional hair length until I cut it. I was especially surprised that when I went to church many people commented that they liked my long hair and that it brought a good and needed vibe to the congregation. It was especially good to hear how much they liked it... but they assured me they liked the new cut, too. That is, once they figured out that the guy Britnie was sitting so close to was not a brother with whom she shared an unnaturally close affection, but just a transformed Justin.

Besides the shock of it all, I have been enjoying the new hair cut. It is much quicker to dry and now that I'm in Vietnam, it is much cooler. Last year when I was here, it was like a little heat insulator that kept my head hot at all hours of the day. Also, back home I kept getting told how young and skinny I looked, so I guess that's a good thing, too. Interestingly, I was also told I looked like a young Robin Williams... I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I'll take it. My wife's little 3 year old cousin told me I looked like Harry Potter. I totally took that as a compliment. Duh, who wouldn't?

From Posh Legs to Super Attractive Vein

I am ashamed to admit that in high school for Halloween one year I was a Spice Girl with a group of my friends. I was Posh Spice, the sexy one that wore very small clothes. My distinguishing feature as Posh Spice were my long and skinny legs (this is according to my wife who witnessed this embarrassing phase). There is even a picture of the group of us posing as the Spice Girls (which you'll see below). Britnie, way back in high school, even took this picture to school and showed some of my teachers and they teased me about it after that. It was all in good fun and honestly, who wouldn't get some kind of twisted enjoyment out of wearing pantyhose and fake knockers?





Fast forward thirteen years. I am no longer the attractive spring chicken I once was. Now one of my legs is a gnarly mess of ugly old man. Observe this photo and notice what looks like a basilisk weaving itself through my calf muscle:

Last weekend my in-laws saw this delightful, bulging vein and starting filling my mind with paranoia about blood clots and pulmonary embolisms. Ever since my dad got a subdural hematoma in his brain after one too many rides on X-2 at Six Flags, I've been scared of brain bruises and blood clots. So, I figured I'd have a doctor check it out to see if my life was at risk.

Finding a doctor was an adventure in itself. I hadn't been to a regular family doctor since July 2003 when my mom forced me to make sure I hadn't picked up a parasite on my mission. Whenever I've needed a doctor during the past 8 years, I've just gone to Urgent Care. I knew the last regular doctor I went to was long gone because his office was in the old Cottonwood hospital. I ended up calling up the place my wife's family goes and made an appointment there. I met first with the nurse, who repeatedly kept telling me what a cool vein I had and it was the highlight of her day since usually all she sees are sore throats. Once the doctor arrived and he looked at it, I sat through a long explanation about veins, failing valves, and my doctor's consternation over his son's desire to major in theater at college instead of pre-med. Long story short, it turns out I just have a disgustingly huge and unattractive varicose vein. Yep, I've now been deemed old and gross-looking by a PhD. Goodbye calf-modeling career. Hello twisted face-stares from statuesque young people.

Bike Riding

My wife and I bought bikes a few weeks ago. We bought them for several reasons:

• They are a good way to stay healthy.
• They keep us from driving our cars as much and cars kill the earth and we don't like earth murdering. We're not your typical Americans (or at least we like to think we're not)!
• Britnie's parents bought some so we had to, too. :)

We both got Diamondbacks, which are, from what I was informed by the bike salesman, a quality brand. I liked how smooth mine moved, and Britnie liked the color of hers. You would think you could sell her the worst quality thing on the planet if it was cute enough, but she also has this amazing talent for finding the cutest AND most expensive thing at every store we walk into. To give you an idea, her favorite store is Anthropologie at the Gateway Mall... if you know that store, then I need not continue explaining anything.

So far we're getting good use out of them, especially considering that the weather here in Salt Lake has been quite unpredictable lately and winter won't seem to go away! Ah the joys of Utah weather. I'd blame global climate change, but this craziness in our weather has always existed, I think.

Today I rode mine 3 miles to my grandma's house (no I did not wear any kind of red cloak and Idid not have a basket of goodies) and we went to lunch. I thought about having her sit on my handle bars and pump her to Arby's down the street, but I thought better of that since I didn't want to be responsible for breaking her. We took her car instead. We had a good time chatting and after lunch I cut some of her rose bushes for her. After our visit I made the trip back to my house and took a small detour down the Jordan River Parkway and enjoyed watching the random wildlife down there.

This evening, when Britnie got home, we went for a ride around the neighborhood and I got TWO flat tires! Yes, I know, I have amazing aim when it comes to hitting every thorn on the road. I bought some green slime stuff and injected it into my tires and I'll hope for the best that does the trick!

First Post

Hello Blogworld,

I'm writing the awkward first post while watching one of my favorite TV shows. If you know me at all, you've probably already guessed a few possibilities... and it is Castle! Funny, has good action, good chemistry between Castle and Beckett, and of course, airs late enough at night that I'm usually home to catch it live instead of having to download later and watch on my small computer screen.

Today I also just finished my seventh final project/paper for the semester. I have 8 total due (for 7 classes) and only have one to go! Woot woot! 22 credits is not a cake walk, but it has been rewarding to be back in school and I am lucky to have a cute sugar-mama wife making it possible for me to be back in school. This Spring, I've finished a second Bachelors degree at the University of Utah (in English, my first one was in International Business at Westminster) in 2 very chucked-full semesters and will start a Masters & licensure program in the Fall in secondary education. I'm currently trying to decide whether to pursue the Masters degree at the U or at Westminster. I'll decide eventually and will be sure to make that known to the world.

This summer, Britnie and I will be traveling abroad again. I'm leaving for Vietnam at the end of May for a couple of weeks before Britnie and the Youthlinc humanitarian team arrive in Cambodia in June. I will be sure to jabber away about Youthlinc and our work in preparation for Cambodia more later, but I'll spare you right now. After we are done with Youthlinc in Cambodia, Britnie and I will take some time to go explore the jungles of Northern Thailand, then down to an island in Malaysia, then to India to do a 2 week yoga retreat. If we come home weighing 12 pounds each after the yoga retreat, don't be alarmed.

Anyway, that's what's coming up for me. I intend for this blog to be a place I can record the adventures I'm having and share my opinions on topics I feel strongly about (you know, like global climate change). If you get offended, then start your own blog at Fox News. :)