BoyinSuit

My Favorite Desserts - Day 19 of 365

I LOVE great desserts, but I'm usually not impressed with most I taste.  Only a few have amazed me.  This was not one of them.  I think my favorite desserts, in order, are:

1. Apple Turnover from Albertson's or Smith's (they get the flaking just right)
2. Ding-Dongs from D.Z. Akins in San Diego (to DIE for)
3. Cinnamon Rolls made with love by my mother (they are better than Cinnabon's)
4. Chocolate Cake made by my Aunt Wendy (family favorite)
5. Apple Pie made by my mother (crust is amazing)
6. Chocolate Cake from a box made by my brother (he makes it just right)
7. Peanut Butter Squares made by my Grandmother (fun texture and good memories)
8. Carrot Cake made by one of the clerks in the Utah Third District Court (only had once, but I ate about half the pan)
9. Oatmeal Cookies made by my high school seminary teacher (I used to make dozens with her recipe)
10. Churros from Disneyland (can't go wrong)

Canon SD940IS, ISO 800, 1/15 second, f/2.8

My Wall - Day 18 of 365

This is the wall that is on the right of my desk. 

Photo #1: Norman Rockwell's painting of Robert Kennedy.  It's a postcard that I got somewhere.  Robert Kennedy is one of my heroes.

Photo #2: Photo of Robert Kennedy from the cover of the book, "Robert Kennedy: His Life" by Evan Thomas.  It's one of the best books on Kennedy's life and one of my favorite books in general.  I bought two copies so I could frame the cover photo.

Photo #3: It's a photo of the University of Utah's first football team.  You are probably wondering why I, Jesse, who doesn't even like football, would have this photo.  My great-grandfather, Fred May, played on the team.  (Also in the picture is Mormon prophet David McKay when he was younger, though its not as cool as my great-grandfather). 

 

Canon 7D, 50mm 1.8, ISO 800, 1/80 second, f/1.8

Impromptu Family Photoshoot

I recently shot an executive portrait of a candidate running for office and needed to rent some lighting for the shoot.  After I rented them, the candidate told me that we needed to push the shoot to the next day. 

With time and lighting on my hands, I asked my family if they would model for me so I could play with lighting.  My parents modeled for me in my living room.  When I asked my nieces to be models for me, they screamed in delight!  I had a great time watching two little girls ham it up for my camera.

My parents looking like they've retired.  Frodo jumped into my mom's lap for this shot.

Hannah, my niece to the right, farted while I was taking pictures.  This was the sequence of faces that I caught.

 

How I Spent My Summer: A New Nephew

My first nephew, Brock, was born on June 23rd, 2009.  I went to the hospital the next day and decided to bring along my camera.  I didn't plan on taking many photos, but I ended up shooting almost the entire time I was there. 

When I got home and reviewed the photos, I realized that I didn't take many of Brock.  Most pictures were of the family members in the hospital room.  Seeing an opportunity to do something really cool, I made a book with these photos with the inscription in the front, "This book is for Brock.  He should know what the people that love him looked like when he was born."  I realized that many people have baby pictures of themselves, but they don't have pictures of everyone else that were taken at the same time.  Babies look similar, but the image of my father with his ugly 80's mustache is priceless.

Here are some of the photos that made the book:

If I could have a business where I just took photos of newborns and their families in the hospital, I would be a happy photographer.

Thanksgiving Dinner + Photos

As is custom, my extended family holds Thanksgiving dinner in an LDS church because we are too large to fit in a house.  I brought my camera and tried to get some pictures; the lighting in the church's gym was terrible (not enough light and too much yellow).

Dinner itself was great.  Everyone has food assignments (some more difficult than others).  I was assigned with bringing cans of corn (easy!).  I felt lucky because the food was awesome and I enjoyed hanging out with my family.

My grandpa getting food.

Seconds before this picture was taken, I previsualized what I wanted it to look like.  It turned out 80% the way I wanted it to turn out.  I wanted the focus of the photo to be on my little cousin; however, my Aunt Wendy walked into the frame.  No worries though.  I still like it--it's just not my "perfect photo."

Someone is worried that there won't be enough for him!

After dinner, I walked around taking photos and I found my cousin playing the piano.  He had a window behind him that was letting in tons of natural light, so I thought I'd see what I could do with it and these are the photos I shot:

I really like the light from the window that is backlighting him.

After I got home from dinner, I started editing photos and noticed that most of my photos were of children.  I love photographing children and I think it's because they aren't shy around the camera.  They don't ask to see each photo to make sure they look good.  They like the attention that I give them and I like the attention that they give me.  With the right photographer, children can look so naturally adorable and I try to capture that when I make a photo with a child.

The other thing I noticed when I got back from dinner was that most of the photos I chose to publish include one aunt's children.  I didn't plan it this way; I try to take photos of everyone.  For some reason, my photographer's eye liked the ones with them in it.  I'm going to try to be better about this in the future!

Full Set of Thanksgiving 2009 Photos Here.

65th Anniversary

My grandparents celebrated today.

At The Uncle's

My mom is visiting Utah and she brought my nephew Brock over to the house.  She had been cooking cinnamon rolls and dinner for us during the day, so when we got home, she was in the front yard pruning our flowers.  She put Brock in this baby thing on our front lawn.

Later that night, my mom was changing him and when she lifted his legs, he released a large poop.  This is reason #142 why being an uncle is better than actually having my own kid.  I don't deal with poop.

Little Hippie

I hung out with my nieces and nephew for most of the day.  Hannah started dancing and stopped mid-dance while I caught this pose.  I love it because I captured a moment in the life of a carefree child.

Family Rockband

I found this footage on my camera that I had forgotten about.  My family got together to play Rockband and my mother sang lead vocals.  I think this clip helps show how fun my family is and how much fun I have with them.



Family Playing Rockband from Jesse Michael Nix on Vimeo.

My Perfect Day

You know the popular saying that says you should live your life as if it were your last day?  Today was one of those days. 

It didn't begin like that.  Brian and I brought Titus to the dog park and met our friend Breanne and her dog.  I brought along my camera and took over 200 shots (mostly because of continuous shooting mode).  It was a bit too bright and animals are hard to photograph, so I only got a few that I actually put up on flickr.  This photo was an accident, and although I wish the ISO was lower, it turned out to be my favorite.

After the dog park, I dropped Brian at school (because he has lots of homework) and I went to see "Hotel for Dogs" with my sister and my nieces.  I think it's so much fun to watch children experience the world and they were fun to watch in the movie theater.  They are such good kids and are a pleasure to be around.

When I left their house, I unexpectedly stopped by my Aunt Wendy's house.  She was glad to see me and said that I could help her in the kitchen.  After I was done helping her, she prepared a piece of her awesome chocolate cake and a glass of milk for me to enjoy.  The situation took me back to my childhood.

By this time, it was 6pm and I had dinner plans at 8pm and I still hadn't gone to the gym (I did eat a piece of cake after all).  I quickly worked out, took a shower, and met Brian and our friend Matt for dinner.

The night could have stopped here and I could have happily croaked, but I ended the night dancing with friends (not Brian--he was at home playing video games).  My energy level seemed limitless, the music was great (techno-Journey is awesome), and I was surrounded by friends. 

I know "how I spent my day" blog posts are quite boring, but today was different.  Spending time with family and friends made me realize how lucky I am to be me.

My Last Day of Freedom

I thought today was going to consist of rest and relaxation before the big day tomorrow. I was wrong. We woke up, ate breakfast (by the way, Brian's made pancakes or waffles consistently every Sunday that it is now a tradition in our home), and pruned roses until about noon. We both have sunburned shoulders to prove it!

The next couple of hours were spent putting up shelving in our front room. Since we got them from IKEA, we thought the “ease of assembly” feature would apply. Unfortunately, the holes on the shelves were pre-drilled ten inches apart. Most (if not all) homes constructed in the United States have their studs sixteen inches apart. Therefore, our studs wouldn't match up with the holes. We had to go to Lowes to pick up drywall anchors which cost more than the shelves themselves. Finally, after two hours of work, they were up.

Here are some before and after pictures of our dining room:

Here are some before and after of the living room that we worked on today:

 

Here are the pictures of our office:

Right before we left to Grantsville to have dinner with my aunt, we realized that we had to pick up Brian's suit from the tailor. It was 4pm and the place closed at 6pm. After frantic discussion, we decided to make dinner quick. We had a great time with my aunt and uncle and their seven children. It's fun to go from our quiet home to their loud and fast paced home with lots of children competing for attention.

We left early from their and picked up Brian's suit. I think he looks great and it will be perfect for our first day of law school. I'll post some pictures of our first day of school outfits tomorrow.

Speaking of...

Tomorrow is the first day of our law school orientation at the University of Utah. While Brian is really nervous, I'm totally excited about being a law student. I'm excited to meet new people, learn a new and interesting subject, and study really hard. Okay, I'm not stoked about studying, but I am excited about the life change. When I told Brian that we should split up the first day to meet more people, he said that he didn't want to because he wanted to be with me. I thought that was cute and told him that my need to meet new people would take second to his feelings.

I think I'm excited because I don't know what to expect. I've read about law school and asked people about law school, but I know I won't “know” law school until I experience it for myself. I think the “not knowing what to expect” is exhilarating! People get so used to their lives and comfortable about how they are living it. I think it's fun to get a jolt of newness!

Since we're now on a law school budget, I had to give myself a haircut tonight. I used to cut my hair in high school and throughout college so I do know what I'm doing (I stopped when I went to Mexico and haircuts were only $4).

Although I write this at 10:30pm, Brian and I still have laundry to get done before we go to bed. We'll have to enjoy rest and relaxation another night.

Two More Days of Freedom

I went to my old Convergy's job and said hello to my old friends. The place has become sad due to the fact that only about 10 people work there. When I was there in it's heyday, we had a team of over twenty. Convergy's put me through college and I made some good friends there. I miss the people there, but I sure don't miss the work.

Besides that trip in the morning, we spent the bulk of our day installing baseboards. It wasn't hard, but it sure was time consuming. We had to get everything done because my grandparents and Aunt Wendy came over tonight and we wanted to have everything finished for them to see.

Wendy and my grandma have been especially interested in seeing our house. Before they came, I told Brian that he and I needed to hide all the pictures of us together, especially the ones where a kiss is involved. He asked if I was serious and I laughed. “Of course we don't have to! My grandparents know I'm gay.”

They did come and we had a great time (”a pleasant evening” my grandma called it). They were impressed with all the work done on our house and I was proud to show it off. They all laughed when they saw our food storage room (my grandpa especially liked my canned food rotator). My grandpa was a little quiet throughout the evening because I think he was weirded out that his grandson is in a loving relationship with a man (the pictures proved it). I think he thinks that someday I'll change and like girls, but I keep telling him that boobs are gross (not in those exact words though).

Oh, and as the picture indicates, my brother is visiting us!

Best Dancer Ever

I went to my niece's dance recital tonight. The idea of a bunch of three-year-old's dancing doesn't excite me, but I wanted to go and support Carly. I actually had a good time watching dance after dance after dance... But the best moment came when Carly received a medal for participating. I asked her what it meant.

"It means I'm the best dancer ever."

New York Day 6

Brian and I woke up early to make breakfast for the family (standard pancakes, strawberries, whipped cream, and bacon). It was fun bringing a tradition from our family (Brian, Titus, and Me) to my family.

I wish Mom was there for church, but she's still in the hospital. I was interested in seeing how people would treat Brian and I (seeing as everyone knew I was the gay son of my father and I brought my partner to church), but I can't say I was surprised at how we were treated. Everyone who we talked to was welcoming, nice, and genuinely interested in saying hi to me and meeting Brian. I think Mormons can be the nicest people on the planet.

After sacrament meeting, Brian, Jennie, Russell, and I went to Rochester to visit Mom. We watched the first two hours of the HBO miniseries "Elizabeth I" with Helen Mirren because Mom really wanted to see it. It was nice being together, especially doing something that Mom wanted to do.

Mom complained that the lady sharing the room with her screamed all night. Mom held up some earplugs that the nurses gave and said that they didn't work. I took them and showed her how to use them so they would work. Being silly, she did this:

As we left the hospital, she told me not to put a picture of her on the internet. I immediately shot this one and thought it was too cute not to put up:

New York Day 3

I spent the day with my mother in the hospital. Dad had to work so Brian and I took it upon ourselves to entertain her. It was actually fun sitting in her small room and hearing her laugh--just talking with her can entertain you!

She told us a story about a man in their church who went off the deep end and sent an email to all the men in their ward talking about a myriad of things. He mentioned my parents by name, saying that they were ashamed of their gay son. (There's lots more to the story, but I want to respect the privacy of the individuals involved).

The man even went as far as saying that my father had "failed" with his sons.

When Mom told me this, I got angry at this crazy man who slandered my family. While I feel badly for him because he's crazy, part of me wants to do something mean to this guy. That said, I'd never do anything as it would only exacerbate the situation.

We watched my mother go into surgery and kept her spirits up. When we went to the basement where surgerys are performed, I said, "Mom, they're taking you to the morgue." She said she was glad that Brian and I were there for her.

A Perfect Day

After mowing the lawn and pruning our roses early this morning, I ate a delicious breakfast that Brian made from scratch. Then he left for work and Austin and I became bakers! Actually, I'm in charge of the dessert for FHE so we made banana bread and brownies. As they baked, Austin and I watched "Little Children." The movie is quite good and I recommend it.

Once the movie ended, I finished work on some shelving by installing carpet.

Then, because I wanted to see how the festival was setup, Austin and I went to the Utah Pride Festival. Being so involved last year, I really didn't feel like spending a good amount of time there. Plus, I don't like crowds. Austin and I decided to wear matching tshirts, and although people probably thought we were a couple, we didn't care. We did get lots of comments of, "You guys have the coolest shirts ever!" Yes, I agree.

We only spend 30 minutes walking around the park, guided by our wonderful guide Megan! It was fun comparing what we did last year to what was not done this year (like garbage cans!).

As Austin and I left the festival and got into my car, I noticed three women arguing about how far their car was. One of the women was on crutches and another one was telling her that the car wasn't far. Feeling badly for them, I offered them a ride. Now these women weren't petite, nor were they "truly" women. They barely fit into my backseat. I thought about having Austin take the place of the largest woman in the back, but I thought he might feel weird being smashed into the large arms of a former man.

Their car was only about a minute away, but they were very grateful (especially the woman on crutches). As we left, I said, "You ladies have a nice evening." Transgenderism is something I don't understand, but it doesn't mean that I treat a transgendered person any other way. They are discriminated against and stared at everyday; I make it a point to go out of my way to be extra nice to them because they probably don't get the "extra nice" that most of us get.

We went to FHE (after changing shirts) and played a church history game. It was fun, though I could tell Austin thought it was a little weird singing a song about Joseph Smith.

We finally went home where Brian was cooking dinner.

I told Austin that I had such a great time hanging out with him and doing fun things. I wish more weekends were like today.

A New Baby

Brian's dad as his new wife just had a baby. We went over to their house tonight and later went to dinner. But while we were talking at his dad's house, they were talking about their new baby, Ray.

Then, Brian's step mom, a tiny Fillapino woman, said in her accent, "He pee in my face."

As I started to hysterically laugh, Brian dad added, "Yeah, he peed in her mouth too!"

After I finished laughing, Brian's dad talked about giving their dog Silver away for the summer (since she doesn't get the attention she needs). Since Silver is Titus' daughter, I felt an obligation to say that we'd keep her for the summer.

We came home with a dog tonight:

You Won't Find Me

Brian and I had pink pancakes with Carly and Hannah this morning! I had a blast, especially playing hide-and-seek with Carly. After she'd hide, I'd say, "Where is she?" and she'd start giggling, immediately disclosing her hidden location.

One time, I facetiously said that I couldn't find her.

"I'm in here Jesse!"

I opened the door and she was sitting on the toilet. I guess peeing and hide-and-seek can be a combined game.

My Family and My Future

I left work early to take Brian to work since he can't drive because of the vertigo. After dropping him off, I went over to my sister's house to hang out with them. I originally wasn't going to stay long, but they invited me to dinner and I never say no to free food.

We went to the Mayan to eat, but the wait was an hour and a half, so we instead went to Village Inn (classy, I know!). It was fun to be with them and watch Carly act like a three-year-old.

I picked Brian up (he had a miserable time) and headed home. On our way there, we got into an intense argument over our future plans. I told him that if I don't get into law school, I want to get a job with Barack Obama's campaign. He became upset, saying that if the situation was reversed, he'd support me through law school. He was mostly angry because he felt that my future plans didn't include him.

I can't say that he's entirely wrong. I never want to desert Brian. That said, I want to do what's best for me because I want something more. I don't want to live with regrets.

I just hope that I get into law school.

An Evening in Happy Valley

Brian and I drove down to Provo to have dinner with Russell, my mother, and a friend of my mother and her children. We went to Provo's famous Mexican restaurant: Los Hermanos.

Barf! The food was disgusting and tasted much different from previous times I've been there. I think I've become very sensitive to Mexican food and find less-than-par food disgusting!

After dinner, we all went to the BYU creamery and it almost made up for a gross dinner. As we sat there, Brian and I noticed a group of eight girls and two boys. The boys acted feminine and I'd bet they were gay. However, I could tell they were BYU students.

Seeing them took me back to my time at BYU. I hope those boys will turn out okay.

Pink Pancakes!

What do good uncles do for their nieces? Make pink pancakes! My one niece loves pink, so naturally, Brian and I (mostly Brian) made pink pancakes and throughly enjoyed them. I'm hoping to go to their house once a month and make breakfast for them.

Pollinated Cheer

I knew my aunt Wendy wasn't going to get a valentine, so I sent her flowers today. (It helped that they were discounted since it was the day after Valentine's Day).

I wrote on the card, "Even though you can't be my valentine (that would be weird), I wanted to send you flowers to let you know that I was thinking about you."

I love sending flowers to people because I know how it feels to receive them. I hope when I'm rich I'll be able to send flowers to people all the time, especially people who are least expecting them.

Hannah's First Birthday

Russell and I went to Hannah's first birthday party. Instead of getting her a present that she's surely forget, I bought her one share of Disney stock. When she's older, I want to be able to teach her about money so she can be familiar with it. I wish I had been taught about interest, savings, and the stock market when I was younger.

Christmas Eve

Brian and I spent Christmas Eve with my side of the family.

First, we went to my Aunt Janice's house to have dinner. Though we were 15 minutes late, we were the first ones to arrive. We had a good time there and laughed alot. My favorite times with my family are when we laugh.

After dinner, we went over to my sister Amy's house. Earlier in the day, my niece Carly called me and asked me when I was coming over to see her. I was really excited to give Carly her present because it was a puzzle I ordered with her name in it. It cost me a fortune, but I figured it was okay since I didn't give her a birthday present (bad uncle!).

Most of the time was spent watching Carly and Hannah being cute. Carly called Brian, "Uncle Brunch" and Hannah was being crazy (as in getting into as much trouble as a one-year-old can). Probably the cutest thing was Amy asking Carly how to be a pirate. She smacked her hand on her right eye and started laughing.

Nix Family Christmas Party

The family Christmas party went well. Here are some highlights:

• It has become something of a tradition that Brian and I bring Xbox's and television's and have up to 16 people play Halo. We usually set up in the primary room of the LDS church and commence killing one another while pictures of Jesus hang on the wall.
  
  When I got to the church, a guy was opening all the rooms for our party. I polietly said, "Sir, we have a Christmas video presentation. Do you have a TV that we could use?" His answer was yes. Sure, I may have told a fib, but my Aunt Julia saved me from going to hell by actually having a Christmas video presentation to show! Isn't she great?!

• My grandpa asked Megan, "When are you going to convert Jesse [from being gay]?" She replied, "Once you convert to being a Democrat."
• Allison, Megan, Brian and I served the food. When people came to get their tacos, we'd all yell "hola!" loudly. I only spoke Spanish to them and it was fun seeing children's faces wondering what the heck I was saying. In the background, I played "Feliz Navidad" and Ricky Martin's "Aye Aye Aye It's Christmastime" to get people in the Latin mood.
• During the Christmas program, my grandma pretended to be an elephant using a breathing tube she uses when she sleeps. I didn't have my camera, but it was really funny.
• When Santa comes, he "brings" presents that parents have given him beforehand. To be fun, I put two presents into Santa's bag. When Megan and Brian were called, everyone thought it was hilarious. They ended up being the only adults to sit on Santa's lap.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Everyone commented on how nice it was to have all the food prepared. I had fun because I wasn't sitting around doing nothing. I'll probably make the food next year.

Tacos for Fifty

The family Christmas party is in ten days and I volunteered to make all the food for it. Usually, around fifty people show up--half an hour to an hour late. Normally, this would be okay because it IS just a party. But when the food is potluck, only having lettuce and beans on your plate is disappointing. I come hungry to parties where food will magically appear and I like the magical moments to occur on time.

Needless to say, I've thought a lot about this and decided to do something about it. It wasn't until today and I really starting thinking about cooking for fifty people. Aunt Wendy and Aunt Janice called me to make sure I had everything under control. In a very nonchalant voice, I said everything was great.

Tacos for fifty will be easy.

Florida Day 6 - Universal Studios

We went to Universal Studios today and had a great time. Well, it went from a crappy time, to a great time, back to a crappy time.

From 11am to 1pm, we had only ridden two rides. It was hot, the lines were way too long, and it made for a miserable time. Erik and I got on each other’s nerves and Mom had to make a safety word: tornado. Everytime we started fighting, she’d say it and we’d start laughing.

After we waited in line for the Spiderman ride for an hour and enjoyed the ride (very cool by the way), we bought an express pass. The pass allows you to skip the regular lines and go right to the front. Even though she bought them, Mom called them immoral. “You pay $73 to get it like everyone else and then they want to charge you $30 to skip the lines? That’s immoral! Everyone should be equal.” While she didn’t like paying for them, she did enjoy the benefit of skipping the lines. We had a much more enjoyable time with the express pass and rode all of the rides with minimal waiting times.

My favorite ride to go on was the water rapid ride where people sit in a circle (they have them at most theme parks). Seeing everyone laugh, get wet, and scream was totally worth the price of admission. Near closing time, everyone started leaving and it allowed us to ride any ride quickly and repeatedly. We rode the rapid ride twice in a row without getting out of our seats.

The crappy time reappeared as we tried to get back to Lorena’s house. Although we were lost, Mom and I didn’t want to say we were lost and Erik got frustrated because he knew we were lost. We finally did get home after wandering various roads for an hour.

Florida Day 5 - Driving to Orlando

We left the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area and drove to Orlando where my Tia Lorena lives (actually, Kissimmee).

When we were younger, my family owned a Dodge caravan that we used to take our family vacations in. (We actually still own it and Erik is taking it to college with him in the fall). We never flew anywhere and even made Texas to Utah road trips.

A minivan provides a little more room than we had today. Ben, Erik and I crammed into the backseat of our Mitsubishi Diamante that provided almost no leg room to us. I enjoyed teasing Erik by being a brat, like just staring at him and having him yell, "Dad! Tell Jesse to stop!" I really wanted him to say, "Dad! Jesse is looking at me!" I stopped once Dad did yell at me for annoying Erik.

The weather in Florida is quite weird. Before I arrived, the weather reports said that it would be raining the whole time. Now I know that means that storms come and go and during the whole day, you can have strong rainstorms and clear skies.

We experienced the weirdness of the weather as we drove north toward Orlando. It started pouring and the windshield fogged up so badly that my Dad couldn't see the road. He kept on driving just so he wouldn't be hit from the rear. My mother, in a panic, took her shirt off and wiped the fog off the windshield. We laughed and laughed because the situation was so funny.

We took my dad to the airport (since he has to work) and then drove to Lorena's house. After we parked, I went to the trunk to take stuff out and saw my mother's credit card on the rear bumper. I don't know how long it had been there, but I know for a fact we drove all the way from the airport to the house with her credit card on the bumper.

Florida Day 4 - Sunday with my whole family

My parents were going to church at 9am, but they missed it because the alarm clock in their room had the wrong time. This afforded my mother the opportunity to ask me if I wanted to attend the 11am service, and being the dutiful son that I am, I obliged.

It was a Spanish speaking ward so I got to use my Spanish skills in understanding what people said. I was able to understand about 80% of what they said when I didn't tune out and think about other things. Unlike English, I have to pay attention to what someone is saying in Spanish to understand them.

The whole day was a relaxing Sunday. My Tio Jose and Tia Lorena arrived in the afternoon and Rodrigo and Natalie arrived a little after them. It was fun to be around everyone for the afternoon and hang out.

My grandparents finally arrived at the house at 8:30pm and we were all excited to see them (and also excited because we could finally eat since we'd been waiting for them). My cousin Enrique cooked some awesome food that reminded me of the food I ate in Mexico.

It was so nice to see my grandparents, especially my Grandpa Arturo who I haven't seen since 1993. When we hugged, he held me tight and I savored the moment. He's deaf so the first thing I heard was "Jesse!" in the loud voice that deaf people usually have.

Ben and Erik playing soccer.

Isabella being chased.

Ben and Grandpa.

L-R: Jose, Erik, Ben, Rodrigo, Grandpa, Grandma, Jesse, Dad, Enrique

L-R: Elizabeth, Rebecca, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Isabella, Lorena, Natalie

At about 11pm, Ben, Erik and I took the car to drive to a hotel where we were staying. There wasn't enough room at Enrique's house so Rodrigo hooked us up (he works for a hotel company). It was fun to spend time alone with my brothers and fight over stupid stuff (like what channel to watch).

A funny moment happened when Erik went to the bathroom and came out. After about 15 minutes, he walked back into the bathroom, flushed the toilet, and said "Why didn't you guys go in there! I wanted to leave a surprise for you!"

We all laughed, watched "Gone in 60 Seconds", and went to bed.

Florida Day 3 - The Keys, Snorkeling, and Downtown Miami (plus a funny Mom)

My family wanted to go to the Everglades this morning, and since I already went yesterday, I got to sleep in while they did the tram tour.

When they got back, Mom, Dad, Ben and I left in a car because we had to take Ben to the hospital. He wasn't feeling well and needed to see a doctor because he couldn't swallow any food. Plus, he was really getting ornery and everyone wanted him to get better. While Ben and Mom were with the doctor, Dad and I sat in the waiting room and talked politics.

After our hospital visit, we started driving toward the Florida Keys. On the way there, it rained hard and I thought our trip to the Keys wasn't going to be great because of it. The weather did, however, provide for a funny story.

My father doesn't like to use his wipers on the road because, he claims, he can "see better" without them. We argued for a few minutes about how stupid and Mom gave him a reason he should have them on: "We're Christian!"

Huh?

"We're Christian so you shouldn't be selfish and keep them off." It didn't make any sense but it did keep us laughing for the next ten minutes.

The weather cleared up and became more beautiful the farther south we went. The drive on the one highway that takes you into the Keys provided for some beautiful scenery.

Mom made us laugh again when she looked at the water and said, "Are there alligators in the water? Is it salt or sugar water?"

We met up with Enrique, Elizabeth, and Erik who had driven separately and went snorkeling. We all had a good time and I thought it was pretty cool that I saw tons of fish and a blue manta ray.

After snorkeling, we went back to Enrique's house to shower and get ready to go out. By this time, it was 10pm and we ended up in downtown Miami at 10:45pm. As we walked around, I saw tons of people. It was also interesting to see lots of gay couples holding hands and groups of gays. I text messaged (or as Mom calls it, "Tex-Mexed") Brian and told him that Miami is becoming the new San Francisco.

We ate some Cuban food and got back home at about 1am. My Dad wasn't too enthusiastic by the end of the night, but neither was I. When I got home, I went straight to bed because I was exhausted. I had tons of fun doing tons of things today.

All Photos Here.

Florida Day 2 - Dinner with Family

My family arrived tonight and it was nice to see them. We decided to go out to eat at a Salvadorean restaurant and they had really good pupusas.

Florida Day 1 - Alone on a Beach

My cousin Rodrigo gave me his car to drive around town since he and Natalie had to work. He gave me directions to the beach and I was off to my first vacation by myself.

I arrived at the beach, set up my chair, and called Brian to tell him that I was on a beach and he was not. Yes, it would be nice if he was with me, but I was excited to be on my own. It's very rare for me to be by myself, even rarer for me to go on a vacation. I loved being able to enjoy the sun, sand, and water with no one there to bother me.

Since I didn't have any sunscreen, I told myself that I could only stay in the sun for 45 minutes. I read my National Geographic and ended up staying out for one hour. I didn't feel burned and thought I was fine. I later realized that I had slightly burned my shoulders and the back of my neck. I felt so stupid as I got a sunburn the first day here.

 

 

I walked around to see the lively happening's going on. I ate lunch by myself (a first!) by the beach and had a good time. Eating alone wasn't as weird as I thought it was going to be. It was nice to eat, read, and have my food come out extremely quickly. Although it was nice, I like eating out with other people more than going by myself. I found a surf shop called "Maui Nix" and bought myself a shirt. It's not common to see my last name anywhere but the top of my checks.

It was cool being by myself and having only my thoughts to interact with. Okay, I admit, it was also nice to be by myself cause there were lots of hot, shirtless guys walking around.

I drove back to pick up Rodrigo from work, picked up his daughter Isabella from daycare, and we went back to his place to meet Natalie.

We drove over to my cousin Enrique's house to meet them because we were going to dinner together. We went to a Cuban restaurant where I ordered something that I had never had before and it was so good! I love Latin American food! We spoke some Spanish, some English, and it was just nice to be around my Latino family.

You'd think that since I went to Mexico, I'd be able to speak better Spanish. When ordered dinner tonight, I ordered in Spanish and had a hard time with the Spanish word for rice, "arroz." I totally pronounced it like a gringo and everyone laughed. It was embarrassing, but it was suitable punishment for not practicing my Spanish in Utah.

Going to Florida for Family

Megan picked me up to take me to the airport.

My Grandma and Grandpa from El Salvador are flying to Florida (my Aunt Lorena lives in Orlando, my cousin Rodrigo in Ft. Lauderdale, and my cousin Enrique in Miami). Since now I speak Spanish and don't have to fly all the way to El Salvador to see them (though I still want to go in the future), I thought this was a perfect time to see them. Plus, I don't know how long they will be around and want to take every opportunity to see them.

And talk to them! I've never been able to talk with my grandparents because of the language barrier, but this time, I'll be able to have lively conversations! Well, maybe not lively conversations since my Spanish still needs work, but its better than nothing!

My flight was long and I didn't get the seats that I booked on Orbitz. Instead of two window seats, I was lucky and got two middle seats. On the first flight to Phoenix, my seat didn't lean back because it was in front of the emergency exit. When I got off the plane, I went to my next gate and asked a worker if I could be moved to ANY seat that would lean back. I wasn't going to board a 4 hour flight and not have my seat lean back.

Once that was settled, I started looking for food in the Phoenix Airport. I was amused to see that I was exactly in the same place where my flight for Mexico left in January. It was weird to think that only a few months ago, I sat in a place getting to know people who are now my friends. It was an interesting feeling.

Then it hit me... I didn't have my camera on me. I left the camera under my seat and when I deboarded, I didn't bring it. I rushed back to the gate where my plane landed and the whole time I ran, I thought about how I was going to tell Brian that I lost my camera on my first flight. You think I could have waited until I was in Florida to loose something so important.

Luckily, an airline worker found my camera and I was more than relieved! I called Brian to tell him the good news and when I asked what he would have done if I lost my camera, he said he would have killed me.

My next flight landed in Ft. Lauderdale at 11pm where my cousin Rodrigo picked me up. I was a little nervous since I haven't seen him in forever and we've never been really close, but the ride to his house was nice and we caught up.

One of my goals on this trip is to close that "gap" that has always existed between the Latin side of my family and me. I'm very familiar with the Nix side, but not at all with my mom's side. I hope I can get to know them well enough that I can come back to Florida by myself and visit.

Yes, it's actually only so I can stay at someone's house and not pay for a hotel. ;)

The "In-Laws"

I'm glad I like Brian's parents. I'd really hate to have "in-laws" that I really didn't like. I like when they visit because we usually eat well (Brian's mom Carol makes excellent spaghetti sauce and his step-dad Richard makes awesome steak), get things done on the house (Carol is a gardening workhorse and Richard is a handyman who does everything), and have lots of fun being together.

I just wish my parents lived closer so we could be together more often.

My Restless Day of Rest

Richard left this morning to buy a cup of coffee, and returned with his cup of coffee and a new lawnmower. He's just that type of guy.

I assembled the lawn mower and mowed our front and back lawn. It was way more fun than normal since the lawnmower was new and I was listening to Neil Diamond on my ipod.

Russell and Jennie were supposed to make the 1:40pm TRAX train, but we left the house at 1:30pm and missed the train by only a few minutes. When they fought over whose fault it was, it reminded me of Brian and myself and I realized how dumb it was to fight over stupid things.

Brian's family came over for a family bbq at 4pm. Brian said the bbq wasn't going to start until 7pm earlier in the week, so I told Austin that I'd help him move out of his apartment. We packed everything up and I tied it down. I was nervous that something might fall out and I'd be responsible, but everything worked out fine.

It's really nice having a truck because I can help offer to help people move. It makes me feel good that I can easily provide a service to someone with something as simple as a truck.

As I was helping Austin, Aunt Wendy called and asked if I was going to make it to Family Home Evening. It's funny because I never miss those, yet I was busy with two things that night. I could have made it by going over to my grandparents house after I helped Austin, but I already told Brian that I'd come home. It was interesting having to choose between my family and Brian's family. I figure that we'll be doing this more often.

When I got home, we all sat on our deck in the backyard and enjoyed ourselves. It will be nice when we have a nice deck and a nice backyard to enjoy.

Family Night at the Movies

Austin and Melissa invited Brian and I to go see "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest", but since we had Russell, Jennie, Carol, and Richard staying at our house, we decided that we'd bring everyone along and make it a quadruple date.

Brian said that we should buy tickets online, but I said that if we went an hour before, we'd be fine. When we went to see X-Men, I bought four tickets an hour before it started.

When we got to the theatre, Brian dropped off everyone and we went to find parking. Brian's terrible at finding parking, and I'm a terrible backseat driver, so we inevitably got frustrated with one another. It's so hard for me to shut up sometimes! After we parked, we quickly made up because it would have been stupid to stay upset at one another.

We walked into the lobby of the theatre and found our family. Carol immediately said, "So we bought the last two tickets for the show." Then she looked at me and said, "You should have listened to Brian."

I felt so embarrassed and stupid and I wanted to get out of there, mostly because Carol gave me that "look" that a son-in-law never wants to get. Carol and Richard decided to go see Superman Returns and were fine with it, but for the next hour I wasn't myself. I hate being so obviously wrong and really just wanted to go home.

I was pretty excited to see Pirates, but it turned out to be so awful! It was way too long and it really dragged on and on. One fight scene lasted like 30 minutes and I got so bored. By the end of the movie, it was so bad that I didn't care about the characters anymore. It didn't matter who died--I just wanted someone to die! Then at the end of the movie, you find out that you've just been sitting through a trailer for the third movie. It was really, really disappointing.

Cafe Rio and Cafe Wendy

I setup a lunch date with Brianna Lange, one of my most favorite people in the world. I always have a good time with her and she always makes me laugh.

We met at Cafe Rio and caught up. Then she said, "Where's Brian? I was hoping he'd come." After I said that this was my date with her, I told her that he was at work. "Let's go see him!" she said and off we went.

Ever since I've lost weight, going to a mall is dynamite for me. I love shopping for clothes! Once we said hello to Brian, we spent the next hour going from store to store finding good deals! I had a fantastic time shopping and bought two shirts "for Brian." We went back to his kiosk and gave him his "presents".

Brianna reminds me a lot of my friend Kristina D. from high school. I've never met anyone as unique as Kristina and she is so awesome to be around. If she lived in Salt Lake, I think we'd hang out every day. Plus, she's Mexican so we get along better culturally. Anyway, Brianna has some of the same qualities that Kristina does and I think that adds to why I think Brianna is so cool.

After my lunch date turn shopping spree, Brian came home and we went to Aunt Wendy's house to pick out cabinets. Wendy works for my Uncle Craig and their company sells, among other things, kitchen cabinets. We took the design that Home Depot gave us and looked at what we could get with Wendy. Home Depot bid us $3500 while Wendy got us everything for $2200. Plus, the cabinets from Wendy are probably better quality. We are getting a great deal and I'm thankful that I have this family connection.

I also mowed Wendy's front lawn and Brian mowed her back lawn. (My boyfriend is AWESOME!). We brought along Titus and he had fun for the first hour. When it turned dark, he didn't like it because we made him stay outside of the house. I think it's incredibly rude to bring a dog into a non-dog owner's house and was going to respect Wendy. Brian felt badly, but I said, as I usually do, "He's a dog!"

Confidential to Benjamin: Happy Birthday! I can't believe that you are able to drive now!

Father's Day

I called my father today wishing him a happy Father's day. I feel badly because he always gets the short stick on days like this. For his birthday, Christmas, and Father's day, the most he ever gets is socks, work pants, work shirts, and maybe (if he's lucky) new shoes.

I feel even more badly because I didn't send him a present or a card. When I talked to him on the phone, I said, "Dad, I haven't sent your present because I didn't want Mom to find out that you got a present on Father's day and I still have Mom's present on my kitchen table." He laughed and said, "Rrrrright."

I think I'm lucky that I have a Dad like I do and have a great relationship with him. Many people (especially gay guys) aren't close to their dad as I am with mine. If I'm contemplating a big decision, I always talk to my Dad about it for his thoughts. If I'm nervous about something, talking to my Dad helps me out because he has so much confidence in me.

That's one thing that I love about my Dad--he thinks I'm the greatest. I always feel very important when I'm talking to him and I know he's proud of me.

I also love the example that my Dad is to me. If I had to describe my dad in three words, I would say honest, giving, and caring.

My Dad is the most honest man I know and I think I've learned to be honest more from him than any other person. When in times of doubt, I can always ask myself what my father would do and make the right decision.

Dad also gives of his time to anyone who asks of it (I think that's why I'm such a great mover). He's full of stories of him helping less fortunate people. Especially where my family lives now (poor area of upstate New York), many people ask my Dad for help and he always provides it.

One of the stories that I will probably tell about my Dad at his funeral is about how caring he is, especially toward those people that no one cares for. (As I write this, I tear up because it shows how great my Dad is). There was a kid in my Dad's high school that was friends with nobody except my Dad named "John". John was very poor, had terrible social skills, and was not attractive, yet my Dad saw the godliness in him. Today, John has grown into the same kind of adult and my father is still his friend. I think my Dad told me one time that he saw John as an adult and said, "Lindsay, you are my only friend."

Because of my father, I'm more honest, giving, and caring and try very hard to live up to my father's name.

I wish everyone had a father like mine. Mine never abused me, always loved me, always said he loved me, and gave me someone to look up to and model my life after.

Confidential to Dad: Happy Father's Day Dad. I love you very much!

A Nix in the Newspaper (but not me)

My grandfather's brother (my great-Uncle) was in the Provo Daily Herald today discussing his view of a constitutional amendment banning flag burning.

Personally, I think the amendment is an overreaction to a few instances of people being stupid. While people are generally stupid, I don't think preventing them from burning the American flag really does anything except make patriotic people feel good.

What the flag represents is more important than the flag itself. The last stanza of the National Anthem says, " And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"

Our land of the free and home of the brave are what should be protected at all costs, not a piece of fabric that only represents these things. The American flag is extremely important, but the freedom it stands for is much more important.

Memorial Day

I planned on waking up early this morning to go to breakfast with Dad. Unfortunately, Russell, Jennie, and I woke up late and that messed us up. When we all arrived at IHOP, the wait was 45 minutes because it was Memorial day and everyone wanted someone else to cook their breakfast. I totally forgot about the holiday and was really disappointed since I didn't spend much time with Dad this weekend. But at least he didn't come during Pride week.

I couldn't wait the 45 minutes because I had a 10am meeting with volunteers to empty out the Pride storage unit. Russell helped out and was his goofball self. He makes people laugh and I'm finally getting over being annoyed because Russell isn't prim and proper like me. Russell is Russell and he's hilarious.

After we did Pride work, we went over to Janice's house to swim. It was fun, but it was cold.

We visited Brian at his store to say hi. His co-worker, Evan (who Brian thinks is gay) touched my butt. It was kinda weird.

Brian and I went to Smith's and Albertson's to buy 12 packs of Diet Coke and Diet Lemonade for $2.00 each. It's the best price that they have and we're always make sure we buy enough to last us for awhile (since we drink a lot). There is a limit of 5 per transaction, so I decided to do multiple transactions. (Had it said 5 per customer, I couldn't do that).

When we were in Smith's, our clerk asked another clerk what the sale price was. When she looked into our cart and saw about 30 packs, she said, "You can only get 5."

Brian pointed out that the sale was 5 per transaction, and then the lady said something like we couldn't do it. I turned to the kid that was helping me and said, "You can just do it. I've done this before." He helped us out while the other lady clerk said something else. I don't remember what she said, but I turned to her and said, "Ma'am, you do not need to be so rude." I hate rude people!

Mormon Church

Since Dad is in town, I decided that it would be nice to go to church with him. Russell, Jennie, and I were supposed to meet at Amy's house at 10am, but we were running late and got to the church right after the sacrament was served.

While I wanted to go with my Dad, I really wanted to be on time for Mormon church because they read their letter in support for the Federal Marriage Amendment. Since we were late, I wasn't able to hear it read over the pulpit. I was disappointed, but it wasn't a big deal.

Russell and Jennie came with me to my volunteer orientation at the Center. It went fine. We went home and vegged out by watching TV. (I watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy where Merideth's dog has to be put down. It reminded me of Lucy and I started crying.)

I got a little upset with Brian tonight. He got off work early, but instead of staying home to hang out with us, he went to see XMen 3, a movie he had already seen. He went to be with his friends, but when he got back, Brian told me that only one of his friends showed up. I guess I was also upset since I felt that I was "stuck" at home with nothing to do. I guess I just felt left out.

Family Reunion of Jesse Henry Nix

The family reunion was fun, mostly because of the unexpected thing that happened.

I saw Aunt Donna, my Grandpa's sister, and said hello. My dad and Aunt Donna were really close and so I feel a certain connection to her. When I used to live in Provo, I used to visit her once a month and have dinner with some cousins. I learned from her to like salad and tell people where to sit at dinner parties.

She looked at Brian and said, "Now, who do you belong to?" referring to a family member. Brian looked at me uneasily and I said, "This is my boyfriend, Brian." It didn't seem to faze her and we kept talking.

Then Aunt Donna asked, "So, how is your love life?"

Me: "It's great."

Aunt Donna: "Well, where is she?"

I was dumbfounded. Didn't I just introduce Brian as my boyfriend? I guessed she missed it.

Me: "I don't know if you know or not, but I'm gay and this is my boyfriend Brian."

Aunt Donna: "Oh!"

Now the gay thing fazed her. At least I think it did. To steer off any feelings of awkwardness, I kept talking and told her we just bought a house and were renovating it. I prevented any awkwardness, but it was interesting. But that's not the end of the story...

The person in charge had each child of Jesse Henry Nix (my great-grandfather) introduce themselves and their families in front of everyone. When Aunt Donna went, she had two men sit next to her. One was her son and the other was married to her daughter. Her son spoke about each of this children and in describing one of them, he said, "Steve and his partner live in California..."

Brian and I immediately looked at each other! There were other gays in my family! Aunt Donna has a gay grandson! I should have found the guy and talked to him about his son, but I was distracted by other things. I'm going to ask Aunt Wendy if she knows anything about this gay cousin of mine!

When it was our families turn to go up, I commented to Brian, Russell, and Jennie that I was interested to see how Dad would introduce Brian. I was hoping he'd say "partner" or "boyfriend". Instead, Dad said, "This is my son Jesse and his friend Brian." That was it. When Russell confronted him about it (I asked him to do it), Dad said, "I was trying to be as discreet as possible."

That statement kinda hurt my feelings and I was kinda upset with Dad. I think he may always have a problem with me being gay and never will fully accept it. Of course he accepts me and loves me and that's the most important thing he can do. He also likes Brian and doesn't treat him any differently. But I know my Dad wishes things were different and he may hope that things will change one day.

Mom's different. I know she wishes things were also different, but has accepted that things aren't going to change. While she can talk to me about gay things, Dad has a hard time with it. I don't think there's anything I can ever do about that.

Also at the family reunion, Amy said to Carly, "Look at Uncle Jesse and Uncle Brian." That made me feel really good.

All pictures are here.

Family is Always First

I had a dilemma this morning. There were two events going on that I needed to be at: a Nix family reunion and a pride volunteer orientation meeting. Being a member of the Nix family, I needed to be at the family reunion. Being the volunteer coordinator, I needed to be at the volunteer orientation.

I vacillated between trying to attend both events or just one. Most of my dilemma was actually implementing a rule I've made for myself: Family comes first. Throughout my life, I want nothing to come before my family. I've often imagined myself in the future missing important meetings for my son's soccer games or quitting a job because it wasn't conducive to my familial commitments. I never want to be that guy who spends more time at work than with his family.

It was important that I be at the Pride meeting, but it was more important to be at my family reunion. I knew that if I went to the Pride meeting, it would start a precedent of putting other things before my family. I just couldn't do it.

Cooking and Shopping

Before Dad and Brian woke up, I ran to the store to get some eggs, bread, and bacon.

I've made a rule that anytime we have guests over, I'm going to make them good breakfasts. It's part of me trying to remember my motto, "Be like Bree!"

I made French Toast for them and had a lot of fun cooking for them. I hope they appreciated it.

Dad went to Lowes with us to get stuff to tile the bathroom. He made Brian and I laugh in the store by being goofy. I've always loved going to home improvement stores with Dad. When I was growing up, he'd always ask me to go with him and I'd usually say yes. Going today brought back good memories of him and I together.

Picking up Dad

My sister Amy was supposed to pick Dad up, but unfortunately, his plane was late and didn't get in until 2 am. I called Amy and told her that since she has 2 kids and I only have a dog, I'd be glad to pick him up.

Brian and I watched Star Trek: TNG to stay awake for my Dad. I knew that if I went to sleep, I probably wouldn't wake up. At about 1am, I wandered upstairs for something and ended up falling asleep on our bed. Brian woke me up and told me that I couldn't sleep if he couldn't.

We finally picked Dad up at 2 am and brought him to our house. I gave him a little tour and then he went to bed. I thought it was kinda cool that my Dad was visiting and staying in our guest room. It makes me feel all grown up!

"Yes, you were."

I had a Pride meeting tonight, our second to last. I'm getting excited for Pride.

Ross needed envelopes stuffed, so Megan and I met Ben (the intern for the Ross Romero campaign) at Megan's house to stuff envelopes. After tonight, I wondered how many envelopes I've stuffed since being involved in politics. Many stuffing parties have made me near an expert in this political art.

Jennie, Russell's girlfriend, arrived from New York tonight. When I got home, Jennie and Russell were actually painting the wall of one of our rooms. I thought it was really nice of them to do that for us (since Brian and I worked late tonight).

I really like Jennie and am excited that she's staying in Utah for the summer. I think that will mean that I get to see Russell a lot more and we can go on fun double dates.

I was looking at old pictures of myself (read Pre-Mexico) and I was amazed at how fat I was. I told Brian, "Man, I was really fat."

He replied, "Yes, you were." It wasn't an answer I expected, but he said "I still loved you lots!" Now that I've lost a lot of weight, it's okay for people to call me formerly fat.

Random Stuff

I asked Ross about Megan's proposition. Ross told me no because he doesn't want to burn bridges nor give my valuable time to another candidate.

Russell called me today to ask me if he could be put on my insurance. I said yes because it will give me the multi-car discount (plus I'm a nice guy and want to help out my brother).

I talked to Dad about Russell sleeping in the same bed as Jennie. I could tell he was glad that I was enforcing the rule that he would surely have in his house. When I told him that I explained to Russell that Brian and I are different because we live together, share things, etc., I wondered what Dad was thinking. Brian and I have never visited New York together so it's never been a problem. Would my parents let us sleep in the same room? I hope they would because it would seem ridiculous if they made us sleep in separate rooms.

Dad had a grandpa moment when I asked him what he did last weekend. He described in detail EVERYTHING he had done. After he was finished, I said, "Thanks grandpa!" and explained what I meant. He said, "So you were uninterested about a third of the way in?" He and I laughed.

Brian and I sanded and primed until midnight. My arms were killing me because I chose to sand the ceiling that had the nasty texture. It felt so good to finally go to bed.

"You need blood tests"

Usually, a son will call his mother on Mother's day, but I was so busy today that she called me before I called her. We spoke in Spanish for a bit and I apologized that I hadn't sent her gift. I have to go to the store when they are open.

On the way home from Family Home Evening, I mentioned that Russell will have to sleep on the couch when his girlfriend, Jennie, comes to visit. He laughed and then asked if I was being serious. When I told him I was, he got really mad and started trying to talk me out of it. Besides being immoral because they aren't married, I told him that I wasn't going to let my 21-year-old brother sleep in a bed with his girlfriend that he hasn't seen in 4 months.

He argued that Brian and I weren't married so I couldn't use marriage as a reason. I countered that while marriage isn't an option for us, we live like a married couple. We have a house together, share a checking account, and have stupid arguments over the littlest things.

For the rest of the night, Russell only said, "F*** you" to me and was overly nice to Brian to spite me. I blew it off and felt like my father probably did when we were younger.

Family Home Evening Lesson

Russell and I were in charge of family home evening and spent an hour trying to decide what to do. I had the idea of talking about my favorite phrase, "See God in others", but Russell (and Brian) said that it was a rehashing of my lesson last year.

We decided to do the lesson on giving. We had a stack of 40 notecards and wrote an object on each (vacation, Xbox 360, bottle of bleach). Everyone got a card and the goal of the game was to get something you wanted. The point at the end was that it's easier to give something away that you don't like rather than something you do. I related my story about yesterday's food drive.

Usually in a food drive, I've give stuff that I don't use/need. While I was making a bag, I noticed my favorite kind of Rice-a-roni: Cheesy Rice. I didn't want to give it away, but I thought about the recipient.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

(Matthew 25: 34-40)

I felt badly that I was giving the least amount to the least of my brethren. If I were donating food to Christ, Cheesy Rice would be near the top of my list. I put it in my bag and felt better about doing the right thing.

A Homo and his Auntie

I love going to my Aunt Wendy's to mow her lawn. Not only do I get great conversation and food, but I feel appreciated by her. It's nice to help people when you know they really, really appreciate it.

Wendy took me to a Mexican resturant in appreciation for mowing her lawn. Five minutes after sitting down, this is what we heard from the booth next to us:

"That's gay!", "I thought he was being gay", "It was so homo!", "Don't be a fag."

I smiled at Wendy and she smiled back. People never know who is around them and can hurt people by what they say. I was more amused than offended because I don't ever hear people talking like that.

When they got up to leave, I could see what they looked like. It was two teenagers, a mom and dad, and a little girl. It was disappointing that the parents permited that type of language in a public resturant.