To Thailand

Last month I planned a cruise for 80 friends and friends of friends. One of those friends of friends was Rob Clarke. Pretty much the first time we met we decided that we needed to backpack together. One day while sitting on the deck of the ship I turned to him and said, "Rob, I really think we should go to Thailand." A little over a month later, here we are!

2 hour flight SLC--LAX
14.5 hour flight LAX--Taipei
4 hour flight Taipei to Bangkok, arriving 1:10 am

Light House Love

The Possible Dream

I have officially found Heaven. Actually, it is a beach house in Duck, North Carolina. Complete with 7 master bed rooms, 6000 square feet, dinning room for 20, a pool, hot tub, hammock and a private 15 foot board walk directly onto the beach, it's not wonder how it got its name "the possible dream."

Now throw in 25 co-eds from North Carolina and 800 other young single LDS adults from the East Coast staying in other beach houses, and you get a feel of this annual tradition.

The Return of the Traveling Summer

High Rollers

high roller: n. Slang

1. One who spends freely and extravagantly, as for luxuries or entertainment.

I guess you don't know what the high life is until you actually get to live it. This past weekend five of my college friends and I spent went to Vegas to party for my roommate's 21st birthday. I learned two great lessons:
#1: it pays to have a friend with a dad on the board at the Hilton, and
#2: Even unlimited money can't guarantee good room service in the middle of the night.

My friend Zack Oates happens to be the son of a former NFL player who now happens to sit on the board at the Hilton in Las Vegas. Zack told us he could get us some discounts on rooms, so we decided to plan a Vegas trip. Little did we know just what it means to be an Oates.
After we had some car trouble on our way to St. George Zack placed a call to the Hilton explaining how difficult it had been for us to make it. "If there is anything at all you can do," he said, "to make our stay more comfortable, we would appreciate it." Well, that line apparently doesn't just work in movies.
When we got to the hotel Zack walked past the check-in counter lines to the VIP lounge where he was greeted by name by one of the employees. "Hello, Mr. Oates. We have been preparing for your arrival for a while." Zack emerged from the lounge with two VIP suites, VIP passes for all of us, and a little buzz word that made all the differnce in the world: "Comped."
Comped . . . yes . . . our rooms and anything and everything that we charged to our rooms was completely comped. All of the hotel's shows, restaurants, roomservice, etc was on the house. It's good to be an Oates.

Diet Cokes and Chocolate-covered Strawberries . . .

Sandy and I decided to add a little comfort into our beautification on Friday night before we went out for dinner and clubbing. Love that word, comped.

Party like a Rock Star . . .

We spent two days in Vegas partying like rock stars, VIP passes and all. We ate the Bellagio, went clubbing at the Wynn, ordered a cart of room service at 3:30 am, shopped, saw a show, and basically had the time of our lives. You know, if this really is how the other half lives, I might need to reconsider my profession. :)

All That Korean and a Bag of Chips

This is my token foreign roommate--Sun Hee Kim. She's a 1984 from Korea studying Property Management, one of the coolest girls I know, and the only person I am aware of who spent Thanksgiving break watching Titanic ten times.

The other day we were coming back from the store after buying chips and dip for a party. Sun Hee was getting the last groceries out of the trunk and somehow managed to accidentally close the trunk right onto a bag of tortilla chips. Forget the munchies, this was one of the funniest moments of the semester, and I almost died with laughter right there in the parking lot (and by "died with laughter" I mean that I almost wet my pants.)

This just really got me thinking about how happiness in life is all about the people you know and the small moments you share. It was Thoreau who said, "That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest." Amen to that. I hope that I am always easily pleased by the small and simple things in life, like a bag of chips shut in a trunk and a quirky Korean roommate. Cheers!

Changed Men Can Change the World

“When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed. The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature . . . Yes, Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world.” --Ezra T. Benson

Last year when I called my mother to tell her that I had been called to serve as Relief Society President, her response was, "Good. This will be good practice for the real world." I have to admit that I was a little taken back. It seems that the bubble that exists in Provo, Utah is often viewed as a mere training ground for young people who one day want to do great things. You know, one day we'll be in REAL wards and in REAL situations where people REALLY need help, right?

Well, my experience in Happy Valley has lead me to the firm understanding that I am living in the REAL world, zoobies and all. The people and experiences surrounding me right now are as real as they will ever be, and I can not wait for a future moment to start making a difference and changing the world. I would submit to all of you (yes, all two or three of you who love me enough to read the thoughts of my soul) that the real purpose and work in life which each of us needs to be engaged in is most vital right here with those people immediately surrounding us. BYU is NOT simply a training ground. We are not here simply to learn and then one day go forth to serve. Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ can not wait until we have a degree or land the job we want. God needs good men right now to change the world, even in Provo.

What good is it to study to become a world-shaking leader or humanitarian if I can't push aside my own agenda today to help those around me? How can I expect to change the world one day if I'm not flexible enough today to change my busy schedule in order to serve? It all starts here and now, and it starts with Change. It's not enough to solve my own problems or to help to solve the problems of others. Solving problems isn't the long-term goal; Change is the long-term goal.

So, get out there and serve. Reach beyond yourself. Open your eyes and see that every single day the Lord needs people to make a difference. He needs you; He needs me. We can not afford to be caught up in the common self-absorbed culture of college life. Yes, school is important, but even a college degree can not trump the importance of serving a child of God. I hope that I am never so busy or so important that I can't push my personal or professional life to the side for a moment to help someone.

So, let's start. Christ changes men, and changed men really can change the world.