March Madness

Dear Family and Friends,

The first few weeks of March have been more than crazy as I spent two of them in AZ and the last one struggling to maintain my sanity while playing catch up with school.

On February 28th I made arrangements with my professors and took off for AZ for the next two weeks. Two days previous I received a voicemail from Alexis, my little niece, asking me if Amy or Derrick had talked to me and if not that I should give them a call. Unable to contact Amy Saturday, I finally got the details Sunday. I respect Amy and Derrick highly for the fidelity they maintained in their marriage by keeping their marital strife between themselves. But, as a consequence the seemingly sudden decision to separate took all of us by surprise. I felt strongly that I needed to go down and help out as best as I could. Fortunately, I decided to take last semester off work so I could concentrate on graduate school applications and thus missed the opportunity to apply for winter semester jobs as well; this situation made it possible for me to leave immediately for AZ.

I set a personal best for travel time to Tempe – over the years, and many trips back and forth, I have found that maintaining a consent speed is much more effective, and less risky, then occasionally pressing the pedal to the floor. My strategy is merely to maintain an average speed of approximately 5-9 mph over. Since implementation I have made the trip faster and had zero encounters with the police. Anyways, once in AZ I spent the following days playing house dad to the kids, walking them to school, cleaning up in the mornings,

and playing with them as much as possible. Which included taking them up Flat Iron; Erin, Randall, and Glen had never been. The time also allowed ample opportunity to talk with Amy. I think it was good for both of us to hear what the other had to say and merely to be there for the other. I did not tell anyone that I was coming to AZ out of respect to Amy and Derrick. They had yet to break the news of their separation and despite being able to help

I wanted to maintain their desired level of privacy. Thus, I apologize to all of you for not contacting you while in AZ or informing you of the trip. I literally spent the entire trip with Amy the kids; introducing them to the possibility of Netflix on the Nintendo Wii and other fun things.

I drove back to UT on Friday. I spent most of the drive in complete silence; I think the calm was a bit over due. I went out and bought groceries that night and got the car ready for my brother Jared to use the next day. He had an interview in Pinetop, AZ, and asked to use my car seeing as his little Suzuki Samurai might not make the trip, especially in the time frame he had open to him. I spent the weekend at the Quarry, an indoor climbing gym in Provo, letting my mind and body relax as I let everything go and concentrated on the new problems (climbing routes) set up while I was gone.

I spent all of last week trying to finish my Great Work Responses for my Honors Portfolio. One of the requirements to graduate with honors from BYU is to complete 12 great works in six different categories: Music/Dance, Art/Architecture, Science, Theater, Film, and Literature, and then write a responses on two from each category including a historical contextualization, critical response, and personal application. I made the mistake of procrastinating the assignment of writing the responses and am now trying to get all 12 done by tomorrow. Wish me luck.

I am also attempting to put the final edits to my thesis, which will be defended on April 12th. This is one of the final items necessary for my undergraduate degree. Speaking of which I will graduate in August of this year. Convocation and the other ceremonies will be held August 11th and 12th.

On a good note I just received word that I have been accepted to the graduate program in Sociology here at BYU. If they offer me funding, which they should I will be here for another two years. On a sad note, I already heard back from one graduate school scholarship which I applied for and was turned down… and there goes another potential $15,000. With that news it appears that I will be living at an even further decreased income level seeing as there are no university funded scholarships for graduate students. But, as always I have my ear to the ground and am looking for ways to finance my studies… I guess it is time to start looking for research grants with the key being, what can I research that other people are interested in, or how can I take what other people are interested in, and willing to fund, and twist it to apply to my desired field. Bring on the convoluted task of academics.

Despite it all I remind myself that God is good and that he loves each and every one of us; may we all see His hand in our lives. Yet beyond that, I hope that we will extend our own hand to lift those around us. There is no reason to watch another fall and do nothing. I pray that all is well with you and your loved ones.

Love,
David