Life is hard, but life is simple

A lot of things have changed.

Last week I had a strong confirmation that I should quit running Cross Country. After thinking and praying hard about it, I talked to my coach and have officially quit. I didn't necessarily want to. I loved running and running in college was a wonderful experience; however, I guess sometimes the answer you get isn't always the one you want. But I know that there is a reason for it. The hardest part for sure has been seeing my teammates on campus. I have a hard time explaining why I quit, because I never really wanted to. But change happens, and life has still been great. I will still be able to run on my own, but it is going to be weird being in school and not being on a cross country or track team.

I thought that after quitting I would have more free time, but since I have quit, school has gotten a lot harder and I have spent a lot of time studying. My one physics class is very time consuming. I don't how I will do physics and organic chemistry next year, but I need to focus on finishing this semester first anyway. I'm still trying to decide what I want to do in the future, but I am still leaning towards medical school. I'll admit though, school isnt the only thing I have spent a lot of my extra time on. I've been able to be with Cortney more and have loved it; however, this week we probably won't get to see each other much...

General Conference was amazing. There were some great talks. I still havent seen the last session on Sunday, but will when I get a chance. I really liked Elder Lawrence Corbridge's talk. It was amazing. I loved the part when he said the Life is hard, but simple. Experiences and opposition in life make it hard, but it is simple, because we have one choice to make: to follow the Savior, or not. Great talk.

I'm trying to get better at the little things that I should be doing all the time like more effective scripture study, attending the temple, and even little things like service. I've found that when I start getting lazy with some of this stuff, life just isnt as enjoyable. I'm doing okay, but I could be doing better.

I'm trying really hard to find a job, but so far have not had any luck. I would like to work close to ASU, but its starting to get to the point that I'm caring less about the location. I'm sure I'll find something.

So that is what is going on. A lot of changes, but I feel good about it, and that is all that matters.

awwww, look how happy we are!

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Sometimes life is just overwhelming. My brain seems like its going to explode. Its hard trying to do everything including school, cross country, callings, and missionary work, and then stay caught up with social life.. There are so many little things I could be doing. I wish I could do all of them, but there is only so much time in one day. It is hard to determine which things are most important. Like Elder Oaks has said, there are good things, better things, and then the best things. What's hard is that when I finally think I should stop something because its just 'good,' I get a strong feeling that I shouldn't stop. Its times like these that I have to go back and read Alma 26.

4 weeks in

Life is great! Nicci and Keith and Austin came down to AZ yesterday and I got to see them over at Todd and Jacy's house. That was tons of fun. I wish I could see my parents and Tirb here too. I miss them a lot. Skype is awesome though.

School is going. Things are starting to pile up more than before. Everytime I want to go get a job, I get a ton of assignments that take over, so I stop wanting to get a job. I think so far though, I've been keeping up. Last week was crazy, and because I had some tests, I started falling behind a little on homework, but this week I should be able to get caught up where I'm supposed to be.

Cross Country has been fun. I had my first meet last week down in Tucson. The team did well, we won both mens and womens. Personally, I felt I could have done better, but I feel that I will be more prepared now for my next race. Its hard to get used to it again. It was a lot harder than I remembered, so I'm gonna have to step it up. I feel good about my next race though. Now that I remember what its like, I think I will be more mentally and strategically prepared.

It has been great hanging around Cortney. Last week we had really busy weeks, but we were still able to hang out every day. She is awesome. She helps me a lot when things get stressful. Things are going great.

Teaching with the missionaries has also been a huge blessing lately. I have been able to help translate for a lady from thailand this past week as she is learning with the missionaries. I love beginning my day with institute and finishing it teaching with the missionaries. It is such an awesome feeling. Lynn is an awesome lady. She reminds me a lot of being around the Thai members. The Thai people are amazing.

That's whats been going on. Life is awesome.

Spits and Swiffs

So finally, I am updating my blog.

School has started and so far everything is going as expected. I have a good schedule that keeps me busy. Classes have started off well. Physics is crazy, difficult, and intellectually fulfilling all at the same time. Most of my days include study sessions that last for hours with some friends in my class, where we try to imagine that we understand what is going on. It is fun.

Cross Country has been good. I've been doing workouts with the team finally. When I got back from my mission, I was just running base milage to get back into things, but now I am working out with the team nand participating in Tempo Runs and speed work. It has been fun trying to get my speed back to where I was. I am way excited for the Georgia vs ASU football game though. It will be an awesome matchup, but also, I get to go out on the field at half time because they are recognizing the track team for winning the national championship last season. That should be sweet.

There are other things going on in my life along with school and cross country though. I am lucky to have started dating an amazing person. It has been a blast. Despite our busy schedules, we find time to get together and do stuff fairly often. I'm so happy right now. The end.

One more week

I am really excited for today. Sundays are always nice. What I love about Sundays is that even though it might be one of the busiest days of the week, it is definately the most rewarding day of the week.

I feel that I have lost some of my focus the past couple days. Maybe its due to the fact that I already miss my family a lot. Its only been 2 days, but the fact that I wont see them for a while is what is hard. Also another factor contributing to my lack of focus is my attitude toward my upcoming schedule. Jet-lag doesnt help either. But today is Sunday and a great day to change my attitude and begin the week off right.

I've had the chance to talk with some Thai members this past week that I served with on my mission and I loved it. The members in Thailand are awesome. They are such an inspiration. Of course we all have different trials, but I cant imagine going through what some of them go through. I am really looking forward to going back in December and seeing my mission again. I can't wait!

So while I was gone to Japan, we got a new roommate. I never know what to expect with roommates. They just come and go. Its fun meeting with new people though.

The Cross Country season is right around the corner and I got our schedule.

CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE
September 6 - George Kyte Invitational - Flagstaff, AZ (There will only be a few guys from the team running in this race)
September 19 - Dave Murray Invitational - Tucson, AZ (4K)
September 27 - Roy Griak Invitational - Minneapolis, MN - (6K)
October 3 - ASU Invitational - Kiwanis Park, Tempe, AZ (5K)
October 18 - Pre Nats - Terre Haute, IN (6K)
November 1 - PAC 10s - Eugene, OR (6k)
November 15 - NCAA West Regionals - Stanford (6k)
November 24 - NCAA Championhips - Terre Haute, IN (6k)

Im still not postive whether I will be red-shirting or not this year, but chances are that I will. If I do, then I will only compete in a few of the races. I'll just have to see what happens. It will be good to finally get out and compete again and see where I am at. I am excited.

Back from Japan

So I got back to AZ today. It was a long flight, and the airline sent my bag on the wrong flight, but hopefully i get it sometime soon. We'll see...

I had such a fun time in Japan. My family is the greatest. It was so nice to be able to spend time with them 24/7 and just be together. I will miss them a lot, but I will get to see them again in December when I go back. It is nice to be back home too and to see friends one last time before they take off for school.

This next week is gonna be pretty crazy. It is pretty much jam packed with ASU Cross Country. On Monday, I have a compliance meeting with the rest of the team. Afterwards I am going to walk around the campus and find out where my classes are. Then on Tuesday, I go in to get all my ASU equipment and gear for the year. I'm actually really excited for that. It will be nice to have some new clothes to run in and wear around rather than use the ones from before my mission. After that, I will go and buy my books. Then on Wednesday, I take off with the team to Pine-Top for our team camp. We will stay there until sometime Saturday afternoon. It should be fun to get to know the guys more since I havent run with them much. I think its also pretty awesome that coach changed the dates so that we come back on Saturday instead of Sunday.

Then on Monday, school starts. And then I will pretty much be gone all the time.

JAPAN trip!

So I thought that I would finally update my blog so I could let my family/friends know how my trip to Japan with my parents and little sister has been. So far, if I had to choose one word to describe it, it would be AWESOME.

So I arrived last week on Monday evening. We were a little jet lagged, but it was cool seeing where my parents and Brittany lived. The next day took easy since we were all still a little jet lagged. My mom and sister biked over to a park near the house where I ran, and that has been where I have done most of my runs since I have been here. It's a really pretty park in the middle of Tokyo. One thing I have noticed about Tokyo is that it is ridiculously crowded, but then all of the sudden there are these large open garden areas around shrines or parks that make you feel like you are in the middle of no where. Its pretty cool.

Since then my trip has been jam packed with all kinds of fun stuff. We have done some shopping in the crowded areas of Tokyo and there are tons of people! Also, I had the chance to hike Mt Fuji with my dad. That was an awesome experience. It was probably one of the hardest hikes I have done because so much of it is uphill and its really rugged. It was cool at the top though to look over the top of the clouds. You don't get to do that very often. When we were near the top, it hailed on us a couple times, but luckily we had ponchos with us to help cover our heads. Right when we reached the bottom, a huge thunderstorm came in and was crashing lightning everywhere as we got into the car, so we made pretty good timing. The following Monday after Fuji, I went with my mom and little sister to this mini-city type place right outside of Tokyo. It was awesome. We got body and foot massages and then put our feet in this water while fishes ate the dead skin off of our feet. It was way nice especially after hiking Mt Fuji. We got to wear japanese robes too, so that was a definate plus. At nightime, we have spent our time playing card games such as nertz, Egyptian Rat Screw, and extreme nertz . Extreme nertz is amazing by the way. Brittany and I also spend some time playing Mario Kart on the Wii. Oh, and I guess I should mention that Brittany beat me twice in a row at Egyptian Rat Screw, ending my undefeated summer streak. She has quite the reflexes. Good job Tirb. I also had a chance to go to church on Sunday and meet a lot of the people in my family's ward. The church is cool because it is right next to the Tokyo Temple.

I am here until Friday. We still have some fun stuff planned for the rest of the week, so I will post pictures and talk about it in another post. I also have to say that I am impressed with my mom and sister and their ability to speak japanese. It's cool to see them ask directions and get around by using another language.

ps. also, just an update on my sister-in-laws status: we talked to them earlier today and found out that after 3 weeks in the hospital, Jacy has returned home! I guess they are monitoring her status now at her house and she has to take a shot every 5 days while there. Its awesome to know she is back home and still healthy. All the prayers and fasting paid off!