Thanksgiving Service

I enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday break with my family up in Salt Lake this week. My brother and I stayed with my other brother and his wife and we were able to help them out with a few service projects they needed help with. We emptied out their sand box and took out 5 huge bushes, which was a huge help to them, especially since they're busy preparing for their first baby that's due in 2 weeks.

My family has always had the habit of 'vacationing' at different relatives' homes and spending a good portion of the time helping out with different projects around the house/yard. My dad is the main reason for this tradition and as I get older I realize more and more why, it's fun and it makes you feel good! Just because you're on vacation doesn't mean you have to lounge about not doing anything.

So now I won't try to avoid all the service projects on our family vacations. And I think I'll start this Christmas break by fixing up my dad's rental house in Colorado! :)

Gary during dentist

So went to the dentist this morning to get some fillings done and the dental assistant asked me if I wanted to get 'happy gassed' and watch a movie during the procedure. Now I had never tried happy gas before but she said it was free so I decided to go for it. She strapped on the nose-mask and after a few deep breaths through my nose I started feeling weird, and I didn't like it! :) I'm not a fan of drugs in the first place, so I started to get worried and almost ripped the mask off. But then I got tipsy and a little giddy, so I just rolled with it. :)

I learned today that drugs are powerful things and can totally mess with our brains! Whenever I thought about the fact that I was breathing happy gas I would just start laughing, then I would laugh because I realized that I was only laughing because of the drug, and my meddled brain thought it was funny.

So my take-away from this experience is that I still don't trust drugs and I while it did feel kind of cool/fun to be a tipsy, I think it's a little dangerous. So I probably won't take the happy gas the next time I go to the dentist, I prefer to not have chemicals messing up my mind.

Mini-Conference

This week I took part in a business conference about technological business tools. The first day I learned about LinkedIn, how to dress for success, how to manage my email, etc. It was pretty valuable information to help me use technology to be more efficient. The second day I presented about Personal Websites, I learned a lot about how to make a great personal website and why it is so important. I also learned how to effectively do a flip-chart presentation (after 4 attempts).

This knowledge and these presentation skills are important for me because they will help me communicate better in the business world and different professional settings. And all of the technology/internet tips will allow me to work much more efficiently.

So I plan improving my LinkedIn profile so I can better network with other professionals that can help and that I can help. I also plan on making my own personal website because it is a great personal branding tool and one of the best ways to establish a personal web presence.

Basketball Referee

This is my newest shirt. I just started this week as a basketball referee for the Provo City Recreation Center. I've learned a lot these past few days, mostly about how much I don't know! :) I've learned that NBA referee earnings are in the 6 figures for 6 months of work. I've also learned why, because it's a really tough job. You have to worry about 1001 different things all while running up and down the court with players and fans yelling at you, all with whistle in your mouth.

So this means that I have a lot of studying to do so I can officiate a game with confidence. It's important to me because the hourly pay is really nice. :)

In order to improve how I want to, I decided to become a certified High School Arbiter in the state of Utah. Hopefully the certification will help me learn the rules better and thus be able to officiate games more accurately and more confidently.

Mock Interview

I participated in a mock job interview today. It was conducted via Google+ and was quite enlightening. After overcoming some technical difficulties on both ends, I was interviewed by the 'Banzai Hiring Manager'. I feel that I was able to connect with the interviewer and answer his questions well. One thing i noticed and that the interviewer later told me is that I need to quantify my accomplishments. I need to play up my strengths and not be as humble, I need to sell myself better to the company I want to work with. Overall, it was a great learning experience.