June 30, 2008-2014

June 30 is my mom's birthday, and a few years ago I made a post about the times when I saw her on her birthday, but I didn't include other years. This post will include all other memories I have of June 30--not just because of her birthday but as part of Fourth of July week.

2014. In the morning I was in my apartment doing work at my desk. I had a Facebook tab open, and I was shocked when my news feed showed that my old roommate Cameron had commented on a Buzzfeed article using the most unnecessarily profane language. I decided that during my lunch break, I would run my rent check over to Aspen Ridge Management, so I did so, and while running I was disturbed that the Cameron I knew apparently was not the real Cameron. Running the check and then taking a shower took me a bit longer than I had expected. Our apartment was getting painted, so I also had to pack up a lot of my stuff, which I would be taking home that night. I loaded up my car, and then that evening I headed up to a ward activity at a park in American Fork. I was wearing light blue shorts and a Fourth of July shirt. I wasn't sure if I was in the right place, but I saw my roommate Jordan playing tennis in a bright green/yellow shirt, so I knew that's where we were. I had lots of watermelon and a cheeseburger made with spicy cheese. Brother Clasby (who was about my age) complimented my shorts and said he had green ones. I was looking along the fence to see if there were any goatheads for me to pick, and I declined playing many of the sports. I remember talking to someone about what I did for work. At some point, they were saying that they thought San Francisco had originally been founded by Mormons. I thought they were confusing it with Las Vegas, but I didn't say anything because I didn't know. (It turns out they were somewhat, but not completely, right.) Then I left, and I walked by a Michaela Miller, but I didn't say hi. I drove home.

2013. We loaded up our cars to leave the cabins where we'd been staying in Kings Canyon National Park. Preston and Franklin wanted to ride with me and my parents. Nathaniel (who then was still called "Baby") initially wanted to go with us but then changed his mind and went with his parents. Preston was in the middle row with me and Franklin was in the back. Before we left the park, we drove to a place with a short hike. My dad and brother and I went further, going to a massive tree stump where early California folks held dances. I took my mom's camera but took blurry pictures. At some point that day, the boys wanted chips, and Franklin got really mad when I said he couldn't have Doritos because they would make him throw up. At one point, Preston and I were amused at Franklin's sleeping position.

My parents didn't believe in keeping the Sabbath holy on vacation, so we stopped at a fast-food place for lunch. It was discovered that Franklin had peed his pants; his mom asked him if he was asleep, and he admitted that he had been awake--he was apparently too shy to tell us. Ya-ping took the carseat out to dry in the sun. At another point we stopped at a gas station and my mom let the boys get candy. Preston wanted candy corn; my mom was skeptical that he would like it, but he really wanted it. He had fun sticking one candy corn into another. The boys used their travel DVD player to watch Batman cartoons and The Incredibles, which they were watching when we arrived at their house. Ya-ping made my mom a fancy pink cake for her birthday, but since it wasn't patriotic I couldn't eat it. I was sitting at their table doing something when a girl was dropped off by her grandma; she made some comments about her grandma being a little nitpicky, but she was essentially being raised by her grandma. David asked her how old she was and she said 15; she looked older than that. I pulled out my flashdrive and used it to post an essay for my blog that week. It took a long time on my dad's little pink laptop (the girl was using David's desktop computer). The boys wanted to watch a movie, and David recommended Spirited Away, which the teenage girl liked. The boys had an obsession with nipples, and one character was a vegetable-esque being, and Franklin said, "Nipples!" My mom said, "I think they're supposed to be roots on that guy," but she didn't realize that the character did have nipples in addition to the root structures. When the movie was over, David told them it was time to go to bed, and Franklin started crying, "But I didn't like that movie!" as though he was entitled to watch another movie because he didn't like that one.

2012. In the morning I went and took a Book of Mormon test; then I went to the electronic piano classroom and played some hymns, I think the patriotic hymns. When I was coming home, I found a goathead plant growing in the sidewalk near my house, so I plucked it up. I went in my apartment and showed it to my roommate Cameron. Then I took a small plate and a knife and began cutting its green seeds. I dusted our laundry room and found a hotel "key"--the card you use to get in the room. I considered returning it, but I realized I had no idea where it came from, as it could be from anywhere in the country. I started fasting, and my friend Kat knocked on the door. She had a cupcake with blue frosting and an American flag-wrapped Tootsie Roll on it. She said, "I saw this and I thought of you." I thanked her but told her I was fasting, but I would save it, so I put it on top of the fridge. She was leaving that night, so that was the last time I saw her until that December.

2011. I know I would have gone to my history class in the morning, but I don't specifically remember it.

2010. I think I had gone into the library to study for my Dinosaurs! class when I logged onto Facebook and shared this story, which I still find quite funny. (Most of my Facebook posts from 2010 make me cringe, but I like this one.)
"I thought my milk expired on July 10. Then I discovered it was actually June 27. What confused me was that there was a name on the milk (who knows why), and the name was JULIO, which looks very much like JUL 10."

2009. I think we got in late because we were teaching Nick Montez; hence I didn't write in my journal.

2008. I think I was on exchanges with Elder Major in East Wenatchee, and I think when a member picked us up to go to his house for dinner, Elder Major asked him whether ribbon or string floss was better, since the member was a dentist. They sent us home with some sort of Reese's dessert. Then I think we were tracting 11th Street. Elder Major wanted to talk to someone who was in his yard, but I knew that Elder Bramall (my companion) had already tracted that side and therefore likely talked to him already. The guy wasn't too happy to talk to us. We knocked on one door and this lady very happily said, "Would you join us for dinner?" We had already eaten, so she invited us to have chocolate cake, and Elder Major accepted. When people are that friendly, they are either (1) members or (2) trying to set you up for a bash. I looked around their house nervously trying to get clues. I saw a "House Rules" with Bible verses, which I have seen in Mormon houses, but that was all I saw. It turned out they were evangelicals wanting to bash, telling us what we believe about pregnancy and eternity and things. (Just because a past leader said some uncomfortable thing in the past doesn't mean that it's our doctrine or what we believe.) We left without any chocolate cake. I think when someone slammed the door on us, Elder Major laughed, but I wasn't as charitable. This is my rather melodramatic journal entry for the day:
"I hate exchanges. And I hate people who are wolves in sheep's clothing who want to bash. And I hate people who slam the door on you. And I hate biking in hot weather. And I hate losing my pant clip. And I hate realizing Elder Bramall is like Elder Chun because that means he hates me. Therefore, I wasn't too fond of today."

Latest and earliest snows

We're done with snow for the season (most likely), but it got me thinking about the most unseasonable snows I've seen. I love unseasonable snow.

In 1995, I remember spending a summer vacation day in early June playing cards (probably Crazy 8s) with my mom and siblings while we were amazed that it was snowing in June. It stuck to the grass, but it didn't last long. My memory tells me that it was the first day of summer vacation, but the internet tells me it was Tuesday, June 6, which probably was the second day of summer.

In 2000, my eleven-year-old scout troop went early in the morning to the Bountiful "Bubble" to practice saving yourself from drowning. I believe it was September 23. We all wore long-sleeve shirts (because apparently that's what you wear near water) to do the training for the merit badge. Afterwards in the locker room, an old guy was talking to me. I didn't understand what he was saying, so I just smiled, but our leader, Austin Anderson, answered his question (I think about why we were there). The old man was saying he could warm his hands on Ryan Jones's red hair. We went out to the lobby (we might have gone to the skating rink and/or gotten food), and I looked outside and saw that it was snowing. I got really excited: "Hey guys! It's snowing outside!" Jaydon Bean said it was probably just raining. But then when everyone looked outside, they saw that it really was snowing. Then I went home. I believe my mom was in Iowa at the time, but she had left hidden toys and things in the house. The Olympics were on; David and his friends watched them, and they were saying that they thought the abbreviation for Brazil ("BRA") was simply an identification of the apparel for the women's beach volleyball, and they thought the Brazilian flag was a logo. That night the news did a story about the early snowstorm; one interviewee from New York said, "We get big snow storms in New York, but we don't get snow this early." However, I didn't actually see any snow on the ground; just falling from the sky.

The earliest I've seen snow on the ground was my birthday, September 29, 2007. You can read about that here.

My aunt's maroon van

When I was a kid in the early 1990s, my aunt had a maroon van. I saw and rode in that van many times, so it has a moderate presence in my childhood memories. I always knew when my cousins had arrived at our house because I could hear it moaning up the driveway.

I always thought it was really cool because it had lots of little pockets and things where you could store things. It also had a means to control the radio from the first row of backseats. I remember my cousin Joey annoying his mom by switching the radio to rock 'n' roll instead of whatever she was listening to.

I remember going to a Saver's store when I was four or five (I always thought of Lifesavers when I heard of Saver's), and on that same day I got a watch that came with a stick full of candy. It was very rainy that day.

On another occasion, I remember singing along with Billy Joel on the radio (of course, I had no idea who was singing): "In the middle of the night, I go walking in my street." My cousin Jesse corrected me: "Sleep!" In fact, when I hear early 90s music, I often think of this van.

One time (I was probably about six) my aunt drove me to the zoo, and when we got there, my cousin Peter threw up on the sidewalk in front of the van, so my aunt had to tell the person when we got our tickets that he had thrown up in front of the "maroon van." That was the first time I heard it called that. (It may have been the first time I ever heard the word "maroon.") When we got done for the day, we saw a wet spot in front of the van where Peter had thrown up.

Then I think I was probably seven or so when my mom got a call that they had been in a wreck. I was jealous that my cousins got to be in a car wreck, since I had never been in one.

"Good People, Bad People"

This is a short, rather random memory.

When I was six years old (perhaps seven), I was at my cousins' house, and my cousin Joey showed me how he had put water in a bottle that had contained root beer, which turned the water a yellowish color. He thought it was really cool that he had invented a new drink, saying, "I call it 'Berry Juice.'" His brother Jesse was saying it was gross.

Well, that gave me an idea. I took some off-brand Sprite (I don't remember why we had it; I might have asked my parents to buy it for me) and mixed it with water in order to make a new drink. I called it "Good People, Bad People" because I figured it would taste good to some people and bad to others. My siblings weren't too anxious to try it, but my dad did and said, "I only taste the good people." I remember thinking he obviously didn't understand my naming conventions. I remember touting how it tasted good even though it was better for you than straight soda. I even began creating my own label for the drink, drawing stick figures to represent the people. I think that on one occasion I even tried to take Good People, Bad People to a family party, but I don't remember if that ended up happening.