Grilled Cheese with Onions

Sunday was the start of something wonderful. And by that I mean, my wonderful roommate, Emarie Swenson and I did weekly planning. And it worked out so well. I downloaded a To-Do List App and put all my assignments on there with time frames. Every day I get to check off boxes as I do things and I actually accomplish them all with plenty of time to spare. Holla. Emarie and I also went on a short walk to the swings while she read me Isaiah. She's the best.

This week is my last week where I actually have to go to work every night at the Cougareat. Which is good, because next week I have a plethora of tests to take care of and would otherwise have zero time to do so. But I hurried home Monday so I could make it to Callings Night. What is Callings Night, you may ask? Good question. There was a table with ice cream and plenty of toppings that the ward enjoyed while waiting for an interview with one of the bishopric to get a calling. This happened to take place in my friend, Matt's, apartment and I had my interview in his room. Scandalous.

Moment you've all been waiting for: I am on the Spiritual and Temporal Welfare Committee. What does that mean? Another great inquiry. (Because not even the interviewer could grant me a satisfactory answer.) However, I had my first committee meeting today, so I can tell you our main responsibilities are employment specialization, ward prayer, and emergency preparedness. I am the latter. Which means get ready for the 12-part series How to Pull a Handcart 101, including (among others) the following courses:
     1. How to survive on only dandelions and watermelon rinds
     2. How to fight off a zombie attack
     3. How to win allies and influence them to feed you
     4. How to organize a last-minute 3v3 basketball tournament
All emergencies. All my strong suits. Welcome to the ward.

Here's the twisted web of my life. Ryan Sagers (my old AP) and Abby Luthi (a lovely mission companion) are married. They set Emarie Swenson (my spectacular roommate/MTC companion) up Christian (Ryan's cousin, who's great). And they set me (the greatest human) up with Corbin (Christian's best friend, who is delightful). It was a blast and I was glad Emarie set it up.

I discovered that Christian, Ryan, and Corbin used to make movies when they were kids. And they're hilarious. So Team Hutchfilms and Team Timpview (and also Emarie, who has awesome ideas all the time!) are teaming up to make some memories. Little do they know. We're just as crazy as they are.

Friday I got to Skype Lauren in Italy and she told me all about her adventures and all the chances she has to teach people about the gospel. Jealous. Next time, we'll go on a foreign adventure together. I also practiced my accordion skills, which remain dismal at best.

The athletically gifted Emarie Swenson convinced me to run the Dirty Dash with her. As a 10K. As Kevin says, I would 10 kill myself. It was awesome and, as usual, I was glad Emarie convinced me to do it. We climbed through trenches of mud up to my waist and then it would dry up, and then back to the trenches. And at the end, we went down the longest slip and slide ever. Emarie was cruisin' the whole time like a boss and I did ok. We're good partners.

I took the longest shower of my life and washed all my clothes several times and long boarded over to Derek's house. I chatted with him and my arch-nemisis David Monson for a while before hanging out with Christian/Emarie/fam for a football extravaganza. We were simultaneously watching the BYU  and Utah games (because Christian's brother Britain is #18 for the Utes). Again, great fun.

As a result of the race and also the goodly number of straight-legged dead lifts I did during my Friday workout, my hamstrings were so tight I could barely walk to church today. Good thing I have connections and also a charitable friend in my program. Matt came over and graciously rubbed out my hamstrings, an experience I hope never to repeat despite its beneficial long-term effects.

Just in time to go back over to Derek's to Skype the family, catch up on the dating lives of Alexis Carre, Steven Kunz, and Styrofoam, unofficially athletically train V Taua's injured rotator cuff, and retrieve my longboard. And back in time for waffles.