Everything Will Be Okay in the End

This weeks post is inspired by a quote on a friend's facebook page. The quote simply says,

"Everything will be okay in the end, if it's not okay, it's not the end."

This quote has been on my mind a lot lately, as I have been struggling with some things. The big thing that I have been struggling with is school, but not in the traditional sense. I owed the school some money, so I couldn't sign up for classes. I couldn't apply for my loans to pay the money I owed the school because I couldn't sign up for classes. It was a ridiculous and terrible cycle. Eventually I was able to find the people I needed to talk to, and started to get things sorted out. Holds were supposed to be removed so I could register for classes, but they weren't. The deadline to add classes passed, so I had to petition to add my classes. The petition passed, but there was still a hold, so I had to get in contact with the collections folks at school and get the hold lifted. Then I finally got into the classes I needed, then we were able to get the ball rolling on the financial aid, and hopefully after all the back and forth everything will be squared away. The point of the story is this. It was a struggle that lasted a month and a half and there were several points where it felt like nothing would work out. It was difficult to keep pushing and I was worried that I might not make it. I thought I was going to lose my financial aid, get kicked out of school, and still owe the University a couple thousand dollars. But those times that I felt that way, I knew that it wasn't really the end. There was still more that I could do and I could keep persevering. It couldn't be the end because everything wasn't okay yet. Now as things are finally coming to an end, I know that the stress and frustration I felt during the whole process were just a passing thing. The end must be near, because, at least in regards to this ordeal, everything is turning out okay.

On Sunday, I took a little trip up into the mountains east of Heber City. There is a national forest and several trails that go all over the place. I took a trail that went up Heber Mountain and was rewarded by an awesome view of Heber Valley that stretched all the way to Mt. Timpanogos. Here's the picture:

For more pictures from the trip, here is the link to the Picasa Album.

The Abydosaurus Dig

In the summer of 2009 I worked in Dinosaur National Monument outside of Vernal, Utah. The team I was on was responsible for the discovery and extraction of several fossils belonging to the brand new dinosaur species, Abydosaurus. It was a pretty awesome experience and the fulfillment of a lifetime dream. When I was two years old I said I would dig up a dinosaur and it took me 23 years, but I did it!

For more pictures check out my web album:
Abydosaurus Album

Let's Get This Blog Started!

I recently had a fake graduation from BYU, fake in that I haven't really graduated yet. But I went through all the pomp and circumstance, which was kinda fun. For now, that puts me in a weird limbo where I feel like I've graduated but I am still taking classes. The moral of this little story is that, though I am still in school, I received most of my Graduation Presents already! My parents gave me a pretty sweet camera, a Nikon D5000 to be specific. I have really enjoyed the camera and have taken several trips up into the mountains and just around town to put the camera to use. My parents are now complaining that they never get to see any of the pictures I take. I guess that's one of the hazards of attending a University several thousand miles from home. In any event, I guess one of the purposes of this blog is to share some of the photos that I take. I'll also try to use it as an outlet for some of the random thoughts that come into my mind, and, trust me, there are a lot of those. I'll try to write the funny things that happen to me as well as some of the more serious thoughts and reflections that I may have. So yeah, that's my goal for what this blog will be about, who knows if I'll keep things up on my end or not. Wish me luck!