Feeling the Pressure, One Hose (and One Job) at a Time...

Move over doggy! Man's found a new best friend in the mechanical world! So today, we were doing some yard work projects with the family; and did I mention they were all dirty jobs??? Now whoever invented the pressure washer is a GENIUS! One of our projects involved using one that my dad recently bought. Now, for those of you KNOW what living in Oregon is like, you would know that it is wet and rainy for about 25-30% of the year. Because of the abundance of trees (especially more towards the coast) creating shade combined with the lack of sun light from the seasons and moisture added into the mix, mold and moss have been know to grow just about anywhere from rooftops to patches of baldness where grass SHOULD grow, and EVEN in cracks of driveways and sidewalks. It also makes our sidewalks and driveways dark in color (which in my opinion was ugly anyways)...

But as I said, we used the pressure washer and we made short work of the moss and mold, and as a result, we got the driveway and the sidewalk running along the property BACK to its natural color and it made a huge difference. Now, my dad said he would not dare to use the pressure washer to wash the cars (for fear of whacking off the paint job!) but it is also another use for it; you just gotta be careful. When I was in Japan, I saw that most service stations had car washing services and most of the ones I saw use (most likely) industrial pressure washers exactly for that purpose. Now ours is a decent but cheap one (especially since ours can only run on a quarter gallon of gas per tank) so we can't compare to what other styles there might be out there. Now if you live in a place as dull as Oregon, or any other place where moss and mold could be a potential sight, I would highly recommend getting a power washer; trust me, you'll get your moneys worth of work done on your first time using one.

And guys, let's be honest here; aren't we just crazy about tools and workshops and our work benches ? We all love our "new toys" and as a guy who does his fair share of the yard work, I sure do love my new toy!

"The Expectation"

Since returning from Japan, I have seen wedding pictures on peoples Facebook profiles and friends of mine are either engaged or already married. On the Facebook News Feed, all I've been hearing about is the topic of marriage. Marriage is something hoped for; we all know that. It's not a bad thing; it's supposed to be a happy time and I'm all for it.

But I must speak my heart and mind here and this one is kinda aimed at my fellow LDS friends and acquaintances. But everyone is welcome to read this.

In my opinion, I think marriage is sometimes rushed among the LDS culture. I'm not saying it's a bad thing; that's not what this is all about at all!  But especially for the R.M.s (short for 'Returned Missionary'), getting married is something that's expected out of them. Now having served a mission for the LDS church myself in Japan, I fall into this category. But this is how I feel right now after seeing what I mentioned above on Facebook the last couple days.

Here's my take on the topic of "expectation":

1.) The only expectations that matter, out of everyone one can know is oneself.
2.) Other peoples expectations (ie. family, friends, acquaintances, everyone else around you) shouldn't matter.
3.) We need to align our own expectations with Gods will for us; that's a hard one because it can take time (or even a lifetime) to really figure out what Gods will is...

So, as an R.M., I want to say this:

If you expect me to be the type of R.M. obsessed with dating and focusing towards marriage, you're sadly mistaken. I have no intention of rushing the process and quite frankly, I could care less about any expectations you might have of me considering the matter... Priorities come first. And the last thing I want is getting pressure from anyone about it nor hearing the stereotypical "LDS jokes/sayings" such as "If you're 25 years old and unmarried, you're a menace to society." Consequences of rushing the process in my opinion will probably result in higher probability to failed marriages. And let's be honest here and ask yourself this: If you're rushing to get married, are you really following your heart???

Now I'm just gonna say it straight say that I am NOT a menace to society and I am NOT gonna rush the process! I WILL however, follow my own heart!

Video Game Music for the Win!

For those of you who are like me, and you like video games AND music, I thought you might like reading this blog post from a fellow blogger who I never met before. Enjoy!

http://holtcoloringbox.blogspot.com/2012/01/here-dadlisten-to-this.html

Oh, you finished reading already? Well, one thing's for sure: the Classical music genre is definitely gonna be kept alive so long as popular scores from popular video games are orchestrated and symphonized (Is that even a word?!).

Video game music: the way to my heart!

By the way, you like video game music? Check these sites out!

http://www.zreomusic.com/

http://diggidismusic.com/

Dear Readers...

I'm back! And I'm ready for more blogging more than... well, let's back up. I've been going through my blog contents recently and lo and behold, I have discovered many typos and slight errors to what's been said in the past. So for the time being, I will be going back and fix these mistakes. But I have an announcement: After my (approximately) two year grind in Japan, I have decided to keep my "Yellow fever" burning by starting up another blog. This will be a blog dedicated entirely to Japan. I'm excited as heck to get it started; I've already been to a few places there so that's enough to get me started. Here's the link:

http://mwithakhavingyellowfever.blogspot.com/

As a freelance writer/blogger I thank you for your continued support. It is great to be back!

Sincerely,
Michael with a "k"