Christmas in July

So July ended up being a super busy and fun month. So many things happened that I don’t even know where to begin. My classes went well. I had a lot of reading for my history class, which was really interesting and I learned a lot. Tennis and bowling went really well as well. I improved a lot in both areas. For my Doctrine and Covenants class, I ended up reading the whole thing, in less than two months, which really helped me to put a lot of things in perspective.

So, some exciting happenings include going to Park City. I had never been to Park City before so, it was super awesome to go and visit. It was amazing. Really pretty. So not Utah that it was almost refreshing. We walked around the stores, sat in the grass, went outlet shopping ( I got a nice pair of gap jeans for 17 bucks which was awesome).



On the way home, we were hungry and craving fried chicken so we stopped at KFC. I had wanted to try a double down sandwich for a while now, so I went ahead and tried it. It was way delicious and filling. They could have put more bacon on it, but other than that, it was awesome.



Pioneer Day weekend was busy as well. For those of you who are not from Utah, Pioneer Day is on the 24th of July and commemorates when Brigham Young and the first settlers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. On Friday, our good friend Rachel Davis had her wedding reception. It was way nice. Very simple, but elegant. They had a cheese bar which was good, with fruit and chicken. Instead of cake, they had cupcakes. The raspberry ones were the best.



It was probably the best wedding reception I had ever been too. Rachel made sure she spent a lot of time with us which made me feel loved. Probably the most loved I had ever felt at a wedding reception. I’m grateful for awesome friends like her and wish her the best in her marriage with Brad.



Then on Saturday evening I went to the Spanish Fork rodeo. It was impressive. The bull riders were actually able to stay on at this one which was nice. The fireworks were a perfect ending to a perfect day.

The last weekend in July found me on a road trip. My friend Abby has a sister in Logan, and I told her if she ever goes to visit I would like to go with her. So, she went and so did I. We left at 9:00 on a Friday morning. We made a couple of stops including at that Super Europa Market where I was able to pick up some food from Europe including peach juice, Milka Bars, cookies and Kolbasz (aka Hungarian Sausage). Then we drove up to Logan, which was a really nice and not-so-long drive. We met here sister at Rumbi Island Grill, which was really delicious. I had never eaten there before but it was really good.



After lunch we went to the Logan Aquatic Center, which is a really big pool with a couple of slides. It was a lot of fun. I haven’t spent a full afternoon swimming in the longest time. The best part was the fact that we used SPF 70 sunscreen. Needless to say, I’m just as pasty as I was before. Good time with good people.



After we got cleaned up, I went and met my favorite mission companion Elder Wilkins. We spent 18 weeks as companions and really had a lot of fun serving with each other. After some fruit soup, we took a ride up to porcupine reservoir to meet his family, who was having a family reunion. They made me feel like part of the family from the very beginning. They had an amazing dinner of hot dogs, hamburgers and Dutch oven potatoes, which were amazing by the way.





Then after dinner, we spent most of our time around the campfire making smores. I got to hear a lot of really funny family stories. It was a good time. They also had a cot for me to sleep on. I was amazed at how well I slept. I don’t think that I can go back to sleeping on the ground. In the morning we woke up and had pancakes and bacon. So good. Wilkins had to work and I didn’t feel like being outside all day, so we came back to Logan and I just hung out at his apartment for a while and got some reading done that I needed to. I took a walk around Logan got some bagels for Lunch, visited the Temple and did some looking around. This was one of the funnier things that I saw. Who knew they had parking spaces specifically for Utards?



Once Wilkins got off work, we just kind of chilled. We played cities and knights and ate our Kolbasz, which was so good. The next morning we woke up and moved all of Wilkins’ stuff out of his apartment and to his parents’ house. I was glad I could be of service. Then we had Church in the afternoon. It was nice not to have to be in charge of anything, and I really could just enjoy the meetings, which was nice. The funniest moment was the fact that the lesson in Elder’s Quorum was about Finding Joy in the Journey. After church, we went back and had some hotdogs. Then we just kind of hung out until Abby came and picked me up. Wilkins’ family was so nice. They really made me feel like I was part of the family. They sent me home with fresh squash, green beans and poppy seeds. So delicious. I thought this picture kind of summed up the weekend and our companionship for that matter.



Overall, it was an awesome July. Finals are coming up and then it is off for family vacation. This is the first real family vacation since I got back from the Mission, which has been for two years, by the way. Anyway, it should be good.

Happy Birthday America

I’m a big fan of America. I think it really is the greatest country in the world. I normally do a low key celebration with the Family, but this year I was in Provo and decided to live it up! Friday it started with some Thai food in honor of Steven’s friend Echoe coming into town. It was way good, especially for my first time trying Thai food. I was pleasantly surprised.



Then that evening I had my first blind date ever. We went bowling, which was fun. My bowling class is paying off. I won and was the only person to score above 100. Bowling is so much fun. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Then Saturday, I did some homework in the morning. In the afternoon, a group of us got together and went up to the Canyon to make foil dinners. They were so good. The weather was perfect. The food was so delicious. The company was great too.



In the evening, we went up on the mountain to watch the fireworks. It was really cool because you could see a lot of the fireworks being set off over the whole valley. It was a really good day. I’m so glad to be an American. The good news is that there is still another day left of the holiday weekend. I think I’m going to infinity and beyond tomorrow!

South Jersey Whores

So, I started summer classes this week. I'm taking a bowling, tennis, Doctrine and Covenants and a history class. I think it is going to be a fun semester. Another great part of this week was an e-mail I got from my friend. It brought back a memory from High School. Sometime in my ninth grade American History class we talked about hookahs, the drug paraphernalia. One of my fellow classmates Tyler Oliveros made a joke. He was like "Hookah, also know as a South Jersey whore." (Get it---hooker with a New Jersey accent). It's one of the few jokes I remember from high school. Anyway this picture cracked me up when I saw it.



On another note, Provo actually has its own South Jersey Whore store, "The Hookah Collection." I just think its funny that Provo has a hookah shop. I guess all of the UVU students need somewhere to get their drug paraphernalia.

That Damned Old Rodeo

Nothing says the American West better than a Rodeo. A group of friends and I decided that going to a rodeo would be the perfect way to celebrate Memorial Day. We went to the Rodeo in Eagle Mountain. It was the first one ever in Eagle Mountain, which was pretty cool.



They had all of the standard events like bronco riding.



Bull riding



And who could forget the rodeo clown.



All in All it was a fun evening. On the way home we stopped at IHOP for some pancakes. They were really good.



Then we came home. So, really it was an inspiring evening at the Rodeo. I just hope I can be successful in the arena of life now, so when I reach the other side my entrance fees will be paid.

Jeramy Does Dallas

So, I applied for an internship with Southwest Airlines in their legal department back in March. I hadn’t heard anything and I just thought they didn’t want me. Then I got a phone call to set up an interview the beginning of May. The phone interview went well apparently, because they invited me to come to Dallas at their expense. So I left Thursday afternoon, ready to conquer Dallas!



I had an awesome driver to the Airport in Conner Castagno (a former Mission Comp).



My first stop was in New Mexico. I had never been there before. I’m going to be honest and say it didn’t look that exciting. This statue was cool though.



After another hour and a half flight, I arrived in Dallas. It was a smaller airport, but super crowded. I got my luggage and caught a shuttle to my hotel, which was way nice.



I then decided to explore Downtown Dallas. I was originally going to take a cab, but they were super expensive, so I took the Bus instead. Luckily, the Bus Driver was really cool and helped me get to where I needed to be. Being the Poli-Sci major that I am, I went to the JFK memorial in the square where he got shot.



After finding my way back to the Hotel on the Bus, I went to bed. I woke up super early because I didn’t want to over sleep. After getting ready and eating breakfast, I got a shuttle to Southwest Headquarters.



When I arrived I had to give them a ton of paperwork that they wanted (transcripts, letters of recommendation, essay, applications). After a while, I went in for my interview. They interview candidates in teams. My team was made up of three people. It was Karen from HR (she is the one that I had the phone interview with) and two people from the legal department with whom I would be working. They asked all of the normal questions and I think it went pretty well. After my interview, I went to the Airport to catch a plane back to Salt Lake. My flight went from Dallas to Tulsa to Denver and finally to Salt Lake. Owen, was super awesome and gave me a ride home. I was grateful for that.

Overall, it was an awesome experience. Texas was amazing. That was my first time in the Lonestar State and I was impressed. All of the people I met were super nice. All of the people at Southwest were so incredibly nice. It would be awesome to work for them. Even if I don’t get it though, it was still a beneficial experience!

A Smashing Success

So, I’m back in Provo after a two week vacation home. Life is really boring because I am only working 15 hours a week and studying for the LSAT. But, other than that life is good. Owen and I have this goal to visit a lot of the restaurants in Utah. We thought we would start it off with a smash, a smash burger that is. I have to admit, I was kind of skeptical about how the quality of the burger was going to be, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a nice sized burger and very delicious. The fries are covered in olive oil, rosemary, garlic and other “herbs”. Owen had the classic SmashBurger.



I had the Beehive SmashBurger which had onion straws, BACON and barbeque sauce on it. So delicious. It was really good, only it needed more barbeque sauce.



So that is one restaurant off of our list. Our goal is about one a week! Stay tuned!

Made With Love

When I was on my mission in Hungary, the people there were predominantly Catholic. They took the Easter holiday very seriously. On Good Friday, Catholics aren’t supposed to eat meat. So, on Good Friday my companion, Elder Howe, and I went to McDonalds (twice) and had burgers to celebrate what we called Proud to Be a Mormon Day because we could eat meat (ironically enough though McDonalds was packed both times with people eating a lot of meat). So, I have carried that tradition on since I have gotten back from my mission. I always make it a point to eat a hamburger on Good Friday. Last year I went to Wendys, this year I decided to take it up a notch.



Owen, the restaurant aficionado in our Apartment, talked about how good Sammy’s was in Downtown Provo. We have wanted to go there for a while and after Owen got off work we girded up our loins and went there. It was a really neat place. Just a cool burger joint on a side street. They are known for their pie shakes. I had a Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake one and it was amazing.



I had the Masterpiece Burger and it was super good. Bacon, cheese, grilled onions and barbeque sauce with sweet potato fries on the side. So delicious! Anyway, it was a good time. Perfect way to celebrate Good Friday.



(P.S.---It became an even better Friday when I found out Jimmer Fredette has the same major as me. Props to the American Studies major!)