My Writings. My Thoughts.

Unnecessary Quotation Marks

December 26th, 2008 - 8 Comments

I think I just found the greatest website ever. Here are two pictures from the site. If you don’t think they’re as awesome as I do… go make a snowman or something.

One thought at Christmas has always impressed me the most–the thought of the selflessness of the birth of Christ. I am amazed what the savior was willing to give up to come down here and to help me. I think Tad Callister says it best in “The Infinite Atonement”:

That night, God the Son traded His heavenly home with all its celestial adornments for a mortal abode with all its primitive trappings. He, “the King of heaven” (Alma 5:50), “the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth” (Mosiah 3:5), left a throne to inherit a manger. He exchanged the dominion of a god for the dependence of a babe. He gave up wealth, power, dominion, and the fulness of his glory–for what?–for taunting, mocking, humiliation, and subjection. It was a trade of unparalleled dimension, a condescension of incredible proportions, a descent of incalculable depth. And so, the great Jehovah, creator of worlds without number, infinite in virtue and power, made His entry into this world in swaddling clothes and a manger. (pg 64)

He didn’t have to come… He’d already accomplished what we are here to do. Christ had somehow achieved in the premortal realms a state of omnicience and omnipotence, with no need of this sometimes difficult and painful experience of mortality. But He did come; how much more a difficult and painful journey it would be for Him than for us.

Did He remember His sacred mission as He lay there between His mortal parents, or did the veil of forgetfulness allow Him a few years of peace, unburdened by what lay ahead?

Did He know that the world around Him, the stars above him were crafted by His own tiny hands? That He, inside a tiny and helpless mortal body, was yet the creator of the universe, the Lord Omnipotent?

Some time ago, pondering this last thought made “Away in a Manger” my favorite Christmas hymn. There’s a line in that sacred music that has always brought to me a feeling mixed of wonder, irony, and helpless gratitude:

The stars in the heavens looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

Things That Are Weird

December 8th, 2008 - 4 Comments

These are a few random things in life that make me laugh. Or at least smile inwardly and think that humans are weird. If you have one you saw today, feel free to throw it into the comments.

1. The avoidance of eye contact with a stranger when you’re walking down the sidewalk–Every one of us kind of looks around until we get within ten feet. Once we’re there, we’re allowed to look at each other and maybe nod or something. Weird.

2. Dancing–I know, I think it’s fun too. I just don’t get it.

3. Facebook status updates–Sure, I do it too. I don’t know what it’s for, though. “Britton is writing this blog.” Did your life just change? Maybe a little? Are you more happy or less? Any taller? Check your back pocket, is your wallet still there?

4. Roll along backpacks–What in the world?

5. The fact that there is a show on NBC called “Dirty Sexy Money”–Wow. That same title would attract apes straight out of the rainforest. Welcome to devolution.

6. People that have Macs and think they’re better, but don’t know why–You just spent a lot of money on that shiny plastic. (PS I have a Mac… I’m just saying that you ought to have a reason to buy your laptop for the price of two).

7. The idea of not acting interested in someone when you go on a date–Like you’re trying to send the message “Hey, I was thinking maybe I would go to dinner and then miniature golfing tonight. You can come. If you want. I don’t really care. I’m far more interested in things like textbooks and superballs. But hey, you can come. Person. That I’m not interested in.”

8. The fact that we all want each other’s approval–Admit it. You do. Even if you hide it, somewhere deep down inside you’re happy when someone approves of what you do or say. I don’t get that one in the least. I should to wear my clothes inside out tomorrow or something just to see if I can get my brain not to care. (The picture is a seal of approval. HA!)

9. Movie critics–That’s a job? Holy crap!

10. Fretting about gas mileage–Say that I handed you about a ton and a half of metal and told you to get it to take you (and the entire pile) ten miles away with just a milk jug full of flammable liquid. Wow. I can’t even imagine how in the world that works so efficiently. Much less a car that gets 30 MPG or more. That’s from here to sandy. With one gallon of gas. I can barely start a camp fire with that.

I’ll probably add more some time… for now, that is my random thought of the day.

Quirkopottamus

November 28th, 2008 - 5 Comments

Apparently there’s a game going around the mighty world of blog that goes something like this:

Write a blog about six things (only six) that make you quirky
Tag six people (only six) that you want to do the same thing
Link to the person who tagged you, as well as the six who you’ve tagged
Smile at your cleverness and hope that everyone else plays along

My good friend Ashley Nimer recently wrote one of these blogs, and has tagged me to blindly follow. I will now do so.

Many fond ideas come to mind when we think of the word quirk. There’s the group of subatomic particles that, along with strings, help to make up our universe. There’s the majestic sound of the common duck of which we have all grown so fond (your own pet duck might be loyally waiting outside your door, as is mine). Or perhaps, like me, the first thing you think of when you hear the word quirk is the famous “quirk molding,” pictured here.

Today, though, I’d like to tell you about something different. Wikipedia tells us the following:

A quirk is an odd habit. Most dictionaries list this word’s origin as “unknown”. However, as the surname arises from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, and because the island is somewhat notorious for idisyncratic behaviors, we may find the word’s origins there.

Therefore, with the permission of the inhabitants of the Isle of Man, I’d like to tell you about six of my quirks.

Sense of Humor

I think things like that definition from Wikipedia are funny… but I’ve never been able to explain why. Even my closest friends will tell you that they’ve figured out only about half of my sense of humor (and the other half has usually been dismissed as me being up too late the night before). The best I can do to describe it is this–it’s something of a mix between a British comedy, your English teacher, and an inability to shut my mouth.

Obsession With Planning

My phone is a palm pilot. And I know how to use it. When there are things on my to do list for a day, appointments I have to make, or obligations I need to meet, I go crazy if I don’t have every one of them written down on my calendar complete with the time I will start the task and the amount of time it will take to complete. I think it’s a mission habit that’s just stuck around.

Hatred of Planning

Ironically, I hate having every second of my day planned. I plan out everything that I need to do in order that I can know exactly how much time I’ll have free. Once I have that time laid out, I detest having to plan what to do with that time. Planning dates drives me crazy (though I do it every time)–I’d rather let the time roll around and do whatever we feel like. Why not just go for a scooter ride, throw a tennis ball at a wall and talk, then go back to the apartment and finger paint with Bob Ross? That’s what I would do on a date right now.

For another example, I’m on vacation in Cali for thanksgiving right now (and blogging! What in the world…). The first thing I did as I sat on the plane heading out here was move everything on my to do list to the day after the trip just so that I could look at 5 blank days on my phone. That made me happy. On the flip side, whenever my family goes on a trip where the activities are planned and scheduled throughout, I want to go home.

Schizophrenia

I talk to myself. Maybe everyone does… but I’m pretty sure I do it more than most. When I’m around others, I’m often silently debating some random topic with myself in the back of my mind. When I’m alone, the debate gets more heated and the side that I agree with most usually gets to speak aloud. I give a short speech (while I put on my socks) about why I’m right, then my mind makes up some rebuttal. While I proceed to brush my teeth, I get back on my soapbox and do my best to tell my brain he’s an idiot.

Love Solitude and Silence

I know this is a more common quirk, but it’s a big part of my personality. The majority of people my age, whenever they have free time, will immediately go and find friends to talk with. If they have to be alone (say, driving to work), they switch on their iPod as loud as it goes. I’ve got the other personality type–I love laying in my room, looking out the window, and thinking. When I drive around, when I walk to school, and virtually any other time that I’m alone, I choose not to turn on music; I love listening to the sounds around me and being able to listen to my thoughts.

Inability to Keep Thoughts to Myself

Sure, I already mentioned this in one of my other quirks. However, I think it deserves its own paragraph. My blog ought to be a dead giveaway that for some reason, I love having others know what I think and feel inside. For some reason, I feel more honest with life if I’m open. This quirk means I’m easy to get to know. It does, though, apply to all things including stupid jokes, awkward comments, and incomplete thoughts. Therefore I sometimes come across as one part normal, three parts confused.

Alright. That was fun. I hereby declare those people that I tag to do the same: Blake Bishop, Tyson Call, Matt Showalter, Chad Waite, Jen Adair, Michelle Ziser. I’m leaving comments on all of your blogs, so don’t pretend you didn’t hear about it.

Love, Britton

PS if anyone wants to help, I think we should start replacing the Californian slang word “snap” with “spank.” Try saying it out loud. I’d say it’s about 50 percent more fun.

Life is Neat.

November 9th, 2008 - 8 Comments

I’m going to start this one off with a quote; this one happens to be on my facebook page, and is one of my favorites.

“Sometimes during solitude I hear truth spoken with clarity and freshness; uncolored and untranslated it speaks from within myself in a language original but inarticulate, heard only with the soul, and I realize I brought it with me, was never taught it nor can I efficiently teach it to another”
-Hugh B. Brown

I believe I learned one of these truths this week. Most of the time, I feel pretty confident in my ability to put down my thoughts in words; this idea brings a very different feeling. I hope by telling the story something sufficient will get across–this idea has already really changed the way life looks. Here goes.

Most of my thoughts that on this blog are related to dating and relationships. If you haven’t noticed that and have read more than one of my posts, you might not speak English. Therefore, I wonder why you’re reading… Anywho, I admit I’m one who enjoys analyzing the emotional side of life (and subsequently writing about it to people on the internet).

Well, this week I had an interesting experience. I went on a few dates with a great girl and was starting to think that maybe I’d like things to go somewhere. Then came that ever so frustrating declaration–”I just don’t feel like this will work.” Like any rational, mature person, I promptly went home and thought about how life is a big dumb stupid and I wish girls would stop being dumb.

It was one of those moods–the future was full of nothing but oppression and struggle, it was raining outside… there was even a suspicious looking hobo walking by outside that I was sure was going to steal my wallet somehow. The little man on my shoulder turned to me and said “well, Britton, just thought I’d let you know that you’re ugly.” What in the world did a lump like me have to offer the world now that my two dates had ended in failure?

I think we all have those moments. After a bit of thought, I started realizing my total lack of logic. It didn’t help much with the feeling, but at least the thought drove me to my knees to talk to God about things. As I pondered and prayed, a strong impression came to my mind–”well Britton, who would you like to trade lives with?”

Seems like a simple proposition–at the moment, I’d have gone for anyone who seemed more successful with women than I felt. While I was at it, I’d choose someone with a Porsche. But then again… this wasn’t about thinking of someone who has a few attributes I want. The somehow unspoken rules were that I get to keep the preferences and motivations that make me who I am, but I switch bodies, talents, jobs, families, schools, and everything else.

I thought. Hard. And over and over, I was wrong. Every time that I thought of a person who I’d trade with, I realized seconds later the things lacking in their life that I could never live without–a supportive family, the gospel, my loyal friends, a great school, a stable life, a schedule that is neither too lax nor too busy… a picture on the wall even reminded me of the memories that I could never stand to trade.

I came to a realization–we all have trials. We all have a list a mile long of the weaknesses that we wish were not ours to deal with. But I have a theory that each of us is building around ourselves a life that is exactly what we need, trials and all. With God’s help, we have a unique combination of blessings and trials, memories and potentialities, stresses and freedoms that make our lives perfectly suited to the one who lives it–ourselves. Give it a try; I think you’ll come to the same conclusion.

For the first time in my life, I’ve realized just how much I love being me. And that makes me glad.

Derailed Thoughts