Todd’s Life

Today was spent shopping and relaxing.  I have been feeling a little bit sick, so I decided that I needed to just rest so that I can make the long flight back to Chile tomorrow.  We went to Old Navy, Barnes and Nobles, and Target.  I couldn’t believe the cheap sales that were at Old Navy.  I got 3 pairs of pants and 2 polo shirts for $50.  You can’t beat that.  I never intended to get so much stuff while here, but I bought for the future because it was so cheap.  I definitely don’t that many pairs of pants and shirts and shoes that I bought.  Then I bought a bunch of Spanish grammar and verb books.  I happened to have $60 in Barnes and Noble gift certificates left over.  Other than this, I’ve spent the rest of the day just resting so that I can make this trip back successfully and not get much sicker.  I really wanted to go with the family to my cousin John’s for dinner, but thought it would be better if I just rested at home.  I don’t want to be sick for this flight tomorrow morning.  Time has sure flown by fast.  Where did the time go?  Now it is time to go back and work hard and see where my life in Chile takes me, etc.  I’ve decided that I need to open myself up to more experiences while there and take a few chances while I am there.  It basically boils down to whether or not I’m committed to living there for a lengthy period of time and I’ve decided that I need to live like I am.  It is such a big change to be in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language.  I think that often people that I am around forget this little fact and so they fail to go the extra mile to help me out.  They just assume that life is normal.  So I’ve got to step out of my comfort zone a bit while I am there.  I’d like to play some soccer, basketball, maybe take a dance class, etc. while I am there.  Anyway, I’m going to rest.  I just finished packing.  I think that I’ll read my scriptures or something for a few minutes, then watch some football.  My batteries are recharged in the USA and now it is time to go back to Chile.  I’m hoping that that girl that I’d like to date will be available when I get back.  We’ll see if they are really broken up or not. 

Today was an extremely lazy day.  It’s just too cold to be doing too much outside.  I did walk around the corner today with  my Mom to go shopping at Fred Meyers.  They had some incredible sales.  I ended up buying 5 pairs of shoes, just because they were so cheap and I figured that I could buy them for the future.   The strange thing was that there weren’t that many people shopping.  It was calm, no lines, no nothing.  I guess the economy must be hurting.  That is what happens when people get into too much debt.  There comes a time when they can’t take out any more debt.  Why Americans thought that wealth came from debt is beyond me.   I guess they were deceived by the people that make money off of debt, banks and the Federal Reserve.

The rest of the day was spent indoors just relaxing.  I felt a little short throat coming on and I felt a little sick, so I need to be careful because Sunday I fly back and I don’t want to be sick.  I’ve had a great time spending time with my nephews and family here.  Sammy and I colored in his coloring book yesterday.  Joshua is so cute and so much fun too hold.  He is such a happy baby.  We haven’t done too much on this vacation, but that wasn’t necessary.  It’s just nice to spend a little time with family before I head back to Santiago.  Oh yeah, and I beat my brother twice in Scrabble.  We’ll have to go for three in a row today.

Well, I made it to Portland Oregon only 2 hours late.  I was suprised that it all went so well.  I was a little worried because of the storms that they have been having up in the Northwest.  It was their worst snowstorm in 40 years up here and many flights were cancelled the days before I arrived and there was a threat that my flight might be rerouted to Seattle, but thankfully I made it through.  It was a long 24 hours of travelling.  But it is good to be here and hard to believe that in a little over 48 hours I will be heading back.  I’m glad I came though.  It was nice to see my family and my little nephews.  They are so cute. 

I have two days until I leave the country for a planned 9 or 10 months.  The last time I did this was eleven years ago this August when I left for Japan to teach English.  The circumstances were similar for that move to another country.  I was bored with work and looking for a change and I’m not talking about the fake kind of change that Barack Obama offers.

I am looking forward to the chance to study Spanish full-time and just be in the educational mode full-time once again.  Often life gets so busy that it is impossible to just take a break and pursue the things that  you love and want to pursue.  I am blessed to be able to have the time and money to do this.  I will take advantage of it as best I can.  I will be patient and take advantage of all the experiences and opportunities that I will have.

On another note, Clayne left this morning.  He beat both Jared and my scores in golf.  He’s got a weird swing, but he can hit it better than we can.  It was fun to be out there hacking away on the golf course with my brothers.

Then today, I attended church in Spanish with Jared and family.  I understood some of it, but for the most part I tuned it out, because I couldn’t follow it well enough.  I will have to say that Spanish is the easiest language to learn.  I can’t imagine it will take a long time to learn it well enough to be conversant.  The vacation is about over.  It has been great to spend time here in Portland.  The weather has been absolutely gorgeous.  The skies have always been clear and just perfectly sunny.  It is abnormal for this time of the year to have weather like this.  Portland is a beautiful place.  Too bad they are going to vote for Obama and socialism:)

Here’s a couple of more pics of Jared’s family.

Wow!  What a Friday it was today.  Since I came to Oregon, the weather has been clear skies and 80 plus degrees everyday.  We couldn’t have asked for better days to be out and about.  This morning I got lost running and ended up running 7 plus miles through Hillsboro.  Then Jared, Clayne, and I went to the Portland Rock Climbing Gym (http://www.portlandrockgym.com).  Take a look at their site and their rock climbing gym.  It was awesome.  I’ve never seen a gym quite like it.  I would join that gym in a heartbeat.  The workout is incredible, much better than lifting weights.  We climbed for a couple of hours until our forarms hurt.  I wish I had taken my camera, but I keep forgetting to do that.  I’ll have to remember tomorrow.  We did some 5.6, 5.7, and 5.8 climbs.  We all our out of climbing shape.  I don’t think I’ve ever been in climbing shape.  After climbing, we went golfing.  Why we keep golfing is beyond me?  I guess we just enjoy hanging out.  The loser always buys Dairy Queen ice cream.  I didn’t lose this time, although I certainly played like a loser at time.  I eventually just put away my driver and hit my 3 hybrid club.  I think that will be my strategy from now on.  Now more driver.  My slice just sucks.  Clayne won the overall title.  I finished second and Jared bought.  He had a 15 on the final hole.  It was funny.  He’s actually pretty good, but if you end up in the trees on this course, you are pretty much hosed.  Tomorrow, we will golf for the final time.  Hopefully that goes better.  How Clayne keeps beating us is beyond both Jared and I?  He never golfs.  He just shows up and hits it straight and beats us.  It’s amazing.

That was a full Friday.  I’m sure that I’ll sleep good tonight and that my forearms will be sore tomorrow from climbing.

Today I got to take care of Joshua who is a couple of months old.  I’ve never held such a dense, heavy child.  He sure feels heavier than 16 pounds.  He’s such a happy baby, smiling a lot and looking content most of the time.  Somehow, I ended up watching him for a couple of hours.  I just put him to sleep.  I tried to feed him, but that didn’t work.  He wasn’t hungry, but he was sleepy.  He fell asleep in about 5 minutes just rocking him.  I thought he would have been hungry.  Am I the new Mama Chella?:)

Well, the first leg of my trip has gone well.  My flight from Hawaii was delayed about 2 hours, so we arrived in Portland Oregon at 9 am or so.  I rented my car and drove up to Seattle.  This part of the U.S. is so beautiful.  I wouldn’t mind living here someday.  There are so many beautiful places in the world.  Reflecting upon my experiences recently, it is certainly liberating to walk away from a job and set off on a adventure.  It isn’t for everyone, but for me, it just feels good to do.

I am currently staying at my Uncle’s house.  Last night, I visited my 91 year old grandma and we talked for about an hour about life.  I asked her about the Great Depression, FDR, and all the historical things that I was interested in.  She mentioned that the Great Depression was difficult, but somehow they made it through that period of our history.  It was nice to come up here for a day and visit family.

Today I’m going to visit my good friend Michelle and we’re going to go on a Duck Tour of Seattle and out to eat with her boyfriend.  I haven’t seen her in a long time, but once friends with Michelle, always friends with Michelle.  You could say that she the female version of Todd.  Now if I could just convince her to quit her job and write a book with me.   We could be rich.  Ha.Ha. 

Then it will be back down to Portland to hang out with 2 of my brothers for about a week before I fly off to Santiago and the real start to my adventure.  I’m sure that when I step off that airplane that I will be wondering, “What have I wrought?”  But isn’t that what adventures are for.  Ultimately, we all have the same time in life.  It’s how we spend that time that determines what we get out of it.  No matter the circumstances that we experience in life, we can always make it adventurous in one way or other.  We can always take classes in something new.  Life is meant to be lived.  I guess that is what I am doing.  I wish all of you great adventures as well.  As I always say, “Life is only lived once.”

Finally, people keep asking me if I am afraid to go on this adventure.  I admit to a little hesitation, but that if I was going to go to South America and learn Spanish, this was the perfect time.  You can’t let fear hold you back from experiencing something different.  Fear is a powerful creature, but it must be overcome and sticking to your dreams and beliefs is one way to overcome it.  We all have fears, but those who succeed the most in life are the one’s that conquer their fears.  God bless all of you.