The Dating Chronicles: Post 1

The Single's Ward:

The Utah State Fair, like most other state fairs (I assume) has the livestock competition. Cattle, sheep, swine, rabbits, goats, and other animals are put on display so spectators can admire their size and appearance. After a period of a few days, new animals are brought in for the same purpose. Eventually winners are chosen and ribbons are awarded to those who have the most impressive "performance."

So it is with a singles ward. Hundreds of young people flood the chapel, each claiming their desire to be spiritually lifted, yet other motives are afoot. The first few minutes of sacrament meeting and Sunday School are spent scanning the room for the fresh "livestock." Men and women alike are drawn to church each Sunday with the hope that they'll find their blue-ribbon partner. There's no secret - single's wards perpetuate an atmosphere of competition. Your best friends are your toughest opponents.

The elephant (or in this case, the large pig) in the room is MARRIAGE. Jokes are made in every talk, lesson, and testimony, and although we all laugh, it's everyone's worry. A ward full of singles, you would think, should be a petri dish of love. Marriages should happen so much more frequently than they do. It so often seems that we enjoy walking between the pig pens trying to decide which one we like best. We're afraid to give away our blue ribbon, because we only have one. We're all awaiting the day that we finally award the ribbon and take home our prize pig.

Until then, we're confined to walk the stinky pens of dating looking for our favorite pig*.

*The word "pig" in no way represents the way I feel about women. It is simply congruent with my analogy. No ill feelings intended.

Barrett Movie Classics

Growing up with a very cultured mother has been a huge blessing in my life. Much of what I do, like, and desire comes from the way Ginger raised me. One thing, for which I am so giddy, that Gigi has given me is the love for old movies - movies I never would have seen without her encouragement.

These are some of the best movies of all time. Doris Day, John Wayne, Robert Redford, Don Knotts, James Garner, Rock Hudson, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby (what kind of a name is Bing?), Howard Keel...the list goes on and on. I love these movies. I'm painfully aware that no one reads this blog, but if you happen to be reading this and you want a Brady Barrett review of any of these films, or others of the same genre, let's talk about it over lunch. Or dinner. We'll have our own "dinner and a movie" experience.

Coming together

Life is coming together. A few thoughts:
Bing.com is my new internet lover. I never thought I could stray from Google, but Bing just may have stolen my heart. Bing is like Google, but a step above. It's simple - simpler than Google. It's attractive - the background changes every day. Today there's an cute sea turtle looking right at me as I do my online searches. The never-ending scroll bar as I go through pictures is genius, as is the 7-second preview of videos just by placing my pointer over the image. Just when you thought the best couldn't be beaten, Microsoft releases Bing.
The end is in sight! Feeling somewhat overwhelmed for the last couple of months, I finally visited a school advisor to see where I was academically. Turns out, I have a mere 4 semesters left. As if that wasn't good news enough, he planned everything out for me. I cannot be more pleased.
We rented waverunners a couple weeks back at Deer Creek. What a blast. My last jetskiing experience was about 2 years ago in Hawaii, where we were constrained to a big clockwise loop. There were no limits at deer creek. I managed to throw myself off 7 times in total, the best of which was when Brandon and I were riding together. We were so heavy that every little turn almost capsized us, so when we finally fell, we fell hard. The the waverunner shot about 40 yards in front of us. It was hilarious.
I failed to mention that Daniel Summit Lodge, minutes away from Strawberry Reservoir, is awesome. They had arcade games that cost only 25 cents, including Ms. Pacman and Pinball. Tawni and I about wet our pants playing this submarine game. We probably spent at least $10 on that machine alone, but it all paid off when we were able to put our initials in as the Number 1 top score. I can't wait to go back to see our victory.
Our ward is heading to Jackson Hole in a couple weeks, which should be awesome.
Dating? Blah.
Brittany comes home from Kansas after 4 weeks; my mother after 2. And it's good to see Brandon starting life with his wife and almost baby. They're taking off to Iowa next week. Sad, but good for him!

Water Balloon Toss

Bonneville Radio held their annual 4th of July BBQ at the Triad Center last week. The Carriage Cafe provided their grills for our hamburgers and hot dogs, and we all enjoyed a favorable lunch around the rushing waters of the Triad Center fountain. Tickets were dispersed and prizes were given to celebrate the birth of this nation.

The best prizes were yet to be given: satisfaction, victory, and $25 to use at the Gateway.

Yes. We had a water balloon toss.

The principles of the water balloon toss are simple. There must be one or two referees. Participants are divided into teams of two (the number of teams is limitless). Team members face each other, standing a few feet apart. Each team has one water balloon. All balloons must start in the same side. At the referees signal, the team member with the balloon must toss it to his teammate. If the catch is successful, mild cheering is allowed. Both members must take a step backward. Then repeat, each time taking a step back. The team who doesn't drop their balloon wins.

And so it was with Brandon and I. Being brothers at the same workplace, it was natural for us to be a team. As the toss progressed, I knew we'd be tough to beat. Our lobs were perfect - soft releases yet with enough force to reach each others hands. Our catches were delicate - extended arms and wide hands initially cup the balloon, then a quick step back and a swinging motion help to cradle the water-filled latex. Throw after throw I was astonished at our success, until we finally defeated the competition. With sweat running down my back, I gratefully accepted the well-deserved Gateway gift card.

Pointless.

I'm beginning to wonder why I even have a blog. I have about 85 views, and I'm certain at least 82 of those are from me.

Summers...

As I've thought about all the summers I've lived through, I can safely say that I've been overall pleased with only 3 of them.

Summer 2005:
I entered the MTC on June 15, 2005, in preparation for my adventure in Portugal. I grew tremendously in those 9 weeks in Provo. I had never been so entrenched in the gospel before this time. Learning to live without my siblings, friends, and parents was somewhat difficult for me, but I couldn't be more grateful for this opportunity. Some of my closest friends were made in the MTC. I think friendship is kindled there because there are thousands of young people in the same position you are in: learning new things and experiencing a different kind of life. I still remember watching the hot air balloons and fireworks on July 4 and really feeling like I was exactly where I was supposed to be at that time.

Summer 2006:
By this time I had spent about a year in Portugal. The language was no longer an issue, and I was simply loving missionary work. The summer was somewhat split between two areas. I had been on Madeira, a Portuguese island off the coast of Africa, for about 4 months, so I essentially had skipped winter. Madeira was excellent, and I really didn't want to leave. Especially for Maia. Maia is close to two other areas I had served in, and I had heard that missionary work was dead there. Reluctantly I obeyed my mission president and went to Maia. The next six months were the hardest of my mission - knocking and contacting with little to no success. Scorching heat. Sticky humidity. Tough companions. But I loved it. Even though outward success seemed to be nonexistent, I felt that I was giving a very valiant effort. Maia became my favorite area because I truly felt I was in the refiner's fire.

Summer 2009:
I had become so accustomed to relaxing during the summer (except for my mission) that even thinking about attending school was horrendous. Walking across campus in the hot sun definitely did not appeal to my vision of a terrific summer. But, feeling that I should take advantage of the opportunity to take summer classes, I enrolled. Full time. Awkward schedule. No friends in any class. I did not want to be there. But as classes have ensued, I couldn't be happier with what I am doing this summer.

School. Work. Making friends. Family. Managing time. Book of Mormon Blitz. Institute. Dating. Outside. Trampoline. Basketball twice a week. Picnics. Reading. I love the feeling of productivity. I'm glad that I don't get to sleep in. Although I cherish an occasional sleep in, I mostly consider it a waste of time. I love exercising in early morning or late night. I've made some great friends in classes, and being more involved in the ward has been super. This summer is going great.

I won't say that my other 20 summers have been wasted or unappreciated, for I definitely have great memories from each one. But it's interesting to note that my hardest, most productive summers have been my favorites.

Forgive AND Forget?

I've thought a lot about the phrase "forgive and forget" lately. I personally find it difficult to do. Forgiving is something I do not struggle with - it may take some time and some work, but eventually I reach the point of total forgiveness, and I hope I deserve the same in return. Offending anyone, for any reason, is definitely not part of my life's agenda. I don't mean to do it. And, when needed, I always apologize for the wrongs I've committed. Actually, many times, I over-apologize which usually makes things worse. Since I was born I've wanted to be a friend to everyone, and make everyone I come in contact with happy. This results in a lot of unnecessary stress that I must deal with. Even when I am not outright responsible for some occurrence or activity, I take it upon myself to make things right, even if I have done no wrong whatsoever. I've struggled with this my whole life. I am very appreciative that most people have been forgiving towards me throughout my life.
Forgetting is something apart from forgiving. I think we try to forget too much. How are we to forget when someone offends, or when something happens? Wouldn't it be nice to simple erase our mental hard drives and honestly forget that something happened? Deleted. Recycle bin. Gone. Our minds don't work this way. There is no limit to what our memories can hold. Images can stay fresh in our minds throughout our entire lives. I think there is a reason for that.
Although it is true that our bodies make us up physically, it would be nonsense to say that is "who we are." We are much more. We are made up of everything we've ever done, said, thought, seen, etc. Experience makes us who we are. If we've done something we shouldn't have done, we remember it so we don't do it again. We shouldn't delete it, or we'd probably fall back into it over and over.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we shouldn't try to delete our memories or things that we have been a part of. I'm certainly not proud of everything I've done, but I'll always appreciate what and who has made a significant impact on my life. Those are things worth remembering.