POWER PLAY!!!

I hope at least some of you remember Briton's infamous call for a Power Play during those great 500 South backyard badminton days. I know I do. I would like to say, though the Power Plays are not as frequent now, that I have taken up once more my childhood obsession with the shuttlecock. Thanks once again to Abram's genius, and some online legal research site called Westlaw that he uses A LOT and gets magical points for doing so, we have acquired an official Wilson® Badminton Tour Kit.


Or in other words, we have a badminton set now, purchased with his hours of doing legal research. (And I thought the fruits of all the current toil were not supposed to pay off for several years to come!!) Anyway, we play at least a few times a week just a block up the street at the elementary school playground. Sometimes it's just the two of us, sometimes doubles with Autumn and Leslie, or our new badminton converts, the Sekaquaptewas. They are all worthy foes. We are also glad to report that we can set up the net north-south instead of east-west, so that no one can claim the sun was in their eyes, haha. It's proven to be quite good exercise and I'm feeling muscles I didn't know I had.

From Shotokan to Law Clerk...Congrats Abram!

So here he is ladies and gentlemen, the man of the hour! Our very own Abram K. Hardy is moving up in the world! No longer a mild-mannered law student, but a true super hero!

We just received word today that Abram was selected to work part time during the school year as a law clerk in a local firm here in Provo: Ascione, Heideman & McKay, LLC. They specialize in business, estate planning, construction and other types of law. Feel free to check them out: www.ahm-law.com.

So I guess you're wondering about the Shotokan, right? I suspect many of you are wondering what Shotokan is! Believe me, I was unaware! Well supposedly, according to Abram, when he was just a lad of 10, and his mother was teaching at BYU, he was a member (though a slightly shorter one) of the Shotokan Club (a Japanese martial art form from Okinawa). As it turns out, a young student by the name of Patrick Ascione was a part of said club. This is the main dude at A, H & M. But don't think this little "in" helped him in! In fact, he never even met with Patrick. It will just be something funny to bring up when he does. Congratulations Abram!!!!!

Extracted Extracts

So don't be fooled by this ever so innocent looking little box of vanilla. I've learned now not to take it's powers for granted. No really, I thought I'd just share a rather ludicrous and quite humorous occurrence at our local Provo Macey's (a grocery store) this past week.

Since I've started making Robin's recipe for granola by the ton (thank you so much Robin and Autumn for passing it along. It has truly changed my life!), I've been using my vanilla extract a little more than usual, and hence was running low and put it on my shopping list. Whilst at Macey's, I found myself scanning the baking aisle for the desired little brown bottle (mine didn't look like the pic, I go for the Western Family crap). Anyway, after going up and down the aisle at least 5 times I threw my hands up and said, "Could they have moved it??" Enter taller, and in this case, more observant Abram who noticed an orange sign on the uppermost shelf. "Hey look! It says that all extracts are now available only at the Service Desk." What? So we continued with our shopping, puzzled as to why they were moved. After we had collected all our desired items from the regular part of the store, I walked to the Service Desk and asked for my vanilla, which was promptly handed over, no explanation given. I wasn't asked for my ID or anything. So I walked to the check out to join Abram who was already in the check-out process. Suddenly, the curiosity got the better of us and I asked the checker, "Why is this behind the Service Desk now??" He smiled slightly and said, "Oh, that? Well, some of them contain just a little bit of alcohol. We were having problems with people taking them off the shelf, drinking them, and putting them back. So we moved them to the desk." Drinking them??? First of all, I cannot think of a more disgusting way to raise one's blood alcohol level by insiginificant amounts. Secondly, all I can say is, only in Provo. So next time you're looking for the powdered sugar, don't fret, it's at the Service Desk!

P.S. I do realize of course the darker, more serious side to this tale, that is, people with serious problems. This light-hearted rendition is in no way designed to make light of that. Thanks for reading!!

Ode to Netflix

So I haven't blogged in at least 2-2.5 million years, so I decided to make up something to blog about. Perhaps it won't make too big of a difference considering no one will likely read this having given up after waiting 1.99 million years to see something new, and finally giving. So I guess I'd like to start by thanking all my hardcore fans for coming back.

So in our new apartment we decided to ditch paying for cable and have invested in a new and dear friend, Netflix. For those still unfamiliar, it is a rocking good way to have the mailman bring you something several times a week! It's like my new version of vendo-mania, for those of you that remember those days. Our most recent faves would include the following:

The Office. The whole world has been talking about this show for a long time now, and we finally just started watching. I confess it to be an addiction of sorts, but of the best kind. For those that work in an office, you'll find someone in this show who reminds you of some nut at your office. I do however find it ironic that I use a spoof on work to unwind from work. (Sigh)


Seven Samurai. This is a must see. I've been apart of many a Kurosawa discussion in my days at BYU, mostly seeing snippets here and there. But finally, for the first time ever, I have seen one of his films. Kurosawa captures a story on film unlike many others can, and the fact that he was making these kinds of films in the 50's when Americans were making sugary musicals and other leave-it-to-beaverish themed entertainment. While set in a more ancient time in Japan, Kurosawa mirrors the hardship of life in Japan in a post World War II world. This film was also the inspiration for the 1960 American classic, The Magnificent Seven.


The Dirty Dozen. Okay, I know there's a number theme going on here, but I'm glad to say that I've finally seen this movie. What started out as dim curiosity stemming from one of the better scenes from Sleepless in Seattle, (and yes, there is certainly room for tears at the end of the film), turned out to be a great experience. I have Abram to thank for this one. He loves old WWII films. It is both humorous and terrifying, not to mention how young and skinny Brian Costello is. (Donald Sutherland for those that don't get that one). I was surprised to find so many moral questions lacing the subtext of the plot. The choosing of the dozen was shady at best, their mission was a questionable one, and how they ultimately carried it out would seem to challenge the glow of the purity of goodness that is so often the portrayal of the American Army. Anyway, I would recommend this to anyone. And it's not a hard old film to watch. In fact, it seems to maintain a very timeless quality, as if it could have been released in my life time.

So there you have it. This has turned out to be more of a copy-cat edition of B&D cinemabon blog (which we all do enjoy), but I haven't much else of excitement in life right now and I think the camera is still packed somewhere. So farewell fearless readers. Good night, and good luck!

The Quintessential Query Queen

Enter your choice, Airie…..

And thus it has begun, finally. It has now been about 4 weeks since the dreaded CONVERSION, and I have finally used DIAD for real, for the first time. Yeah, real thrilling. It’s actually not too bad, but since we’re changing all our processes, people are looking for any excuse to unload responsibility. People in the building I’ve never even met before are now giving me their stuff to do. Apparently, anyone can claim that a problem should be handled by Queries. (I still say Rejections, btw). Anyway, it’s become an interesting study in human nature as I receive more and more things to do. If it can somehow be correlated to the phrase “this needs fixing,” it lands on my desk. Ah, well. We can’t all. We’ve been coming up with some fun acronyms for DIAD. Here’s a few:
Don’t Inquire Again, Dummy
Delicious Inconvenience And Drudgery
Did I Appreciate DOS?
Do Invertebrates Agonize Daily?
I invite you all to submit your own if you wish. It’s kinda fun. ;)

A Most Humble Ode to KSL Classifieds

So in the last 3 days, our lives have changed dramatically. That's right, my friends. No more hand-washing dishes. No more mooching off Autumn for laundry service. This post is an expression of undying love for ksl.com classifieds. Though craigslist is a fine friend, ksl really came through for us this time. For $150 (total) we now have a functioning washer, dryer and portable dishwasher. Oh my yes!! Here's a pic (not ours specifically, but it looks just like it) of our new dishwasher. I used it yesterday, and it was one of the single most thrilling moments of my life when I opened it up to find all my dishes sparkling clean and I didn't lift a finger! Ah, the wonders of modern technologies. My life has changed so much!!!

La Casa Nueva!

Howdy! Just a quick little post to announce that we are moving this week! YEAH!! We found a cute little apartment in a little red brick house just a few blocks from here. (815 W. 300 S. Google it and you can get a great street view.) We're very excited about the new place (not so much about the move, ha ha). We like that we have big wide windows and a huge basement room below us for storage and laundry. Speaking of which, if anyone knows of a cheap washer & dryer available, let us know! We're in the market! We're planning on getting moved in by this Saturday. YEAH!