Thanksgiving Weekend

So as last weekend concluded I certainly had a few things on my mind. Last week was the infamous rivalry week of BYU vs Utah in the Holy War, friday was Black Friday, and Thursday was good ole Thanksgiving.

To start the week off, I made sure to put my Red Univ of Utah U magnets on my car, my Utah flag on my car, and I tried to wear as much red as I could. I know it sounds excessive, but I hate BYU fans way more than I hate the Y itself. I don't really have that much hatred for the Y. They recruited me out of high school, I went to the games, and I competed in the Y kicking camps my junior and senior years and won MVP both years. But the fact that they never formally offered me a scholarship and asked me to just walk on really doesn't bother me. Its the attitude of the BYU fans that chaps my hide. They act like 13 yr old kids that have a new game given to them, and then are punished when their parents take away their privileges. Its the whole holier than thou attitude, the god's will, the immature pouting, and lame irrational comments that get made by them.

So the game ended up 17-10 with BYU once again driving down the field with less than 2:00 min left and scoring. I'm only gonna say 2 things about this game then move on. The defensive coordinator did the same thing as he did last year on the 4th down and 18 to go. Lets not bring the same pressure we have brought all game that has worked, but lets drop back into coverage and let the BYU quarterback pick us apart. He didn't necessarily make an amazing play, but the cornerback bit on the QB scramble and didn't have the deep help he should have. Either way a bad decision on the Def Co's part. And last of all, and I know how this is gonna look and sound, but I would have gracefully conceded a win to the Cougs had they marched down the field like last year, and kicked a field goal on us. But to get another 30 yds on questionable calls (possibly make up calls from earlier in the game), and then win does indeed piss me off. They weren't that impressive. They didn't earn those yards. If they had than I would be okay with it. But when Bryan Kehl goes into our WR helmet to helmet, and our guy slams into the ground back onto his head, and no call, nothing, of course a personal foul call that late into the game on us that was no where near the extent of a foul that Kehl did to us, it upsets me. It bothers me. But.....its over. Next year I guess.

Now on Black Friday I have to admit is quite the interesting event in my life circle. I have friends who just take this as an excuse to blow money. Its okay, there are tons of savings, so lets spend absurd amounts of money on questionable things. Yeah, okay, there are good deals. But good deals can be found anytime. Just a little patience and research will do wonders. Great deals can be found on Black Friday, but to a select few. The first people in line. The ones who have camped for over 24 hours. I just think its rediculous. I looked through the ads, found of a few specific items that I wanted to give to specific people, and I woke up and drove to Shopko at 5 a.m. and bought the items and drove home. I saved money on those items, didn't buy anything that I really didn't need to, and I'm happy.

But while at Shopko I witnessed something that I have been itching to get off my mind. Obviously its early in the morning with lots of crazy people wandering around. Well at Shopko once you picked out your items and wanted to check out, they had a designated winding route that made it organized so the checkers wouldn't be overloaded. There was one worker telling you which checker to proceed with. The rest of the surrounding areas were blocked or barricaded off from access to the checkers. Basically there was only one way to buy the items. Well as I'm getting checked out, I here this lady yelling at one of the workers standing on the inside of the barricade to let her in. She's yelling, "you better let me in right now, I'm handicapped". The employee stated to her that she need to go to the designated line and wait like the rest of us and that she would be accommodated over there if she need it. Well the lady started yelling at the girl one more time, "Let me in, I'm handicapped. If you don't let me in I'm gonna force my way in". Well she did. She pushed her cart through the barricade and was flying to the shortest checker line. She was a fat lady who was booking it with her cart full of whatever. This really irked me, I mean seriously what right does she have to claim being handicapped? Was she born that way, was she born fat and doomed to have problems, or was it rather a self-inflicted disease that she basically did to herself. By the way she looked, the things she said, her unwillingness to do as the rest of the Shopko customers were doing, I would wager that she is just a flat out lazy obese individual who happens to have health problems with no one to blame but herself. She could walk around and stand in line like everyone else. I even wonder if she parked in the handicapped parking at 4:55, walked to the front of the line before the doors open and said to the people who had been camped out for hours and said, "I'm handicapped, so I'm first". When what she should have done is parked her fat butt on the opposite side of the parking lot, walked all the way over, carried all of the items she was getting with her hands, and then stood in line like everyone else. This might have helped her reverse her inevitable doom. Lazy people drive me crazy........

Go Utes!

So we just got home from the Utes game, and once again I have to say, GO UTES! Our defense was downright lookin good, just in time for the lame Cougs, those nin-com-poops, jerks, fart faces, or whatever else I was called when I played in Lavell Stadium. Man BYU fans are weird. They are festering in their own little bubble and talking trash to the rest of the world and laughing at their own pathetic jokes. They are like those Alltell cell phone commercials with the cell phone companies, all wearing the different color shirts. They sit there and crack jokes to each other and laugh and give each other high fives why the rest of the world is looking at them and wondering how long they have been staring at the TV, playing Dungeons and Dragons, in the last 24 hours. Seriously.....

But I really enjoyed this game cause Brittney actually was getting into the game, cheering and yelling, and rooting right along side of me. Normally I am the only person with a 20 ft circumference to even make a sound where our tickets are. I hate it. We have some sick seats, the 30 yd line, 5th row behind the offensive line bench for the Utes. But we got these season tickets from Brittney's dad, cause he was a Crimson Club member and season ticket holder for 23 years before he moved to Arizona. So we bought the tickets from him. But with that tenure comes all of the old fogey's who sit around us and they are a bunch of grumpy old men it seems like. I only hear negative things come from their mouths. They clap instead of cheer, they clap instead of yell when the rest of the stadium is yelling. Its kind of annoying. It kind of makes me laugh cause I remember being a player and thinking we had the worst fans. I hated playing home games. All they ever did was boo our team. I have even wondered what Britt's dad was yelling at me when I played. The kicker practice net, is right below us, so....hmmmm.....

But BYU sucks, we are gonna spank those rascals, those booger faces, those silly sally's.....Whatever...

Making Professional Changes

So today I got all of my paperwork done to finally make the switch back to RealtiCorp. I have been with Ulrich Realtors for 2.5 yrs now, but I was at RealtiCorp for 3 years before that. I have to admit that I am having mixed feelings on it. I really enjoyed working at Ulrich. I was never too involved with the company, but I made some good friends, enjoyed conversing with many of the other agents, and really looked up to a few of the hard working agents that were there. Now at the same time I have never wanted to be a robot realtor who is just go-go-go all of the time, but I have learned a few very solid things from my time at Ulrich.

There was a very old way of thinking at Ulrich. The company is comprised of many old school realtors who have been in the business, many young ambitious go-getter types, and the usual housewives with their licenses. I admire many of the hard workers at the company, but at the same time would never want their lives. Some of them work so much and devote all of their energy into work, they have became in my eyes like "robots". For example, while speaking to one individual at the company, it seems like I'm basically talking to joker. His smile is glaring at me even though nothing I'm saying is remotely comical, his responses are to the point, but in my eyes not genuine. I thoroughly enjoy my profession. I really and truly get a lot of personal satisfaction from being a facilitator in this important life decision that so many families and individuals make. But not at the sacrifice of my character or individuality. I want to be sincere in my actions, not portray that I'm sincere.

I've been in the profession for 5.5 yrs now and I still feel guilty or for a better word struggle with some of the difficulties that some of my clients have to deal with. Whether it be possible foreclosure, divorce, pending bankruptcy, or even just wanting a good deal, I try to take that into consideration every time and become a part of that. I hope that doesn't lead to my eventual demise in the industry, for becoming too involved. I think it is important to maintain my character and love for helping people rather than looking at every possible situation as just money. My broker at Ulrich really was an example of the type of realtor I really would never want to be. He is a fantastic realtor, sales tons of homes, and was once Realtor of the Year in the state of Utah. But he is also known amongst his peers and coworkers as greedy and deceiving. He was not honest with me on my own home.

I have never had this discussion with him, but I would wager that if I were to bring it up he would not think anything that transpired was dishonest in any way. Let me explain. When I moved my license over to Ulrich, I mainly did so for the opportunity of expanding my knowledge and inventory into the new construction market. I came to work on the Ryan Pool team. Now Ryan is not who I'm talking about. I have tremendous respect for him and will miss the few conversations we would have and the advice he would offer to me. But on my first week in the office, I was introduced to my broker. I was familiar with him cause his name is everywhere and I knew of a couple of the builders he represented and some of their new subdivisions. Well I approached him and introduced myself and asked him about an upcoming subdivision that Kehl homes was going to be building in Taylorsville. Brittney and I had driven through another of their subdivisions in West Valley and had considered buying a house there but ultimately wanted to live in T-Ville. So my broker sits down with me and we start talking about this subdivision. Well it all sounds good to me, and I want to be one of the first people in the subdivision cause I don't want to lose out on my pick of the lot and I'm going to be proposing to Brittney fairly soon, so we fill out a lot reservation and contract. I had already known what floorplan I was interested in because of the WVC subdivision. I think I was the 2nd person to fill out a purchase contract, cause I had my floorplan picked out. Others waited to pick their plan. Well this was a blessing because I locked in my price in August of 2005 right before the big boom in prices. So after signing all of the documents, I ask my broker about receiving a commission on my own house. He looks me square in the eye and says, Yeah I think we could work out giving you 2%. I was a little taken back by that as the standard buyers commission is usually 3%, but I thought to myself, maybe he's only getting 3% total, maybe 4% and splitting it with me. So I didn't bring it up again.

Well during the construction process, I found it easier to talk directly to the builder instead of third party through my broker. While being there I was waiting in the lobby talking to the secretary about random things. She asked me why I hadn't just came straight to them to build the house and why I went through my broker. So I said, "I thought he was the listing agent". Her response was to me, not on that subdivision. That subdivision would sale itself, and I could have circumvented him all together and got the full 6%...........What?...........That shiece of pit........if you know what I mean. He said, "I could work out giving you 2%", on my own damn house. On my own house. And.....I would have to pay my commission split to his company for THAT portion. What the hell? As a newlywed do you have any idea how much I really could have used that money? Furnish my new home, honeymoon, expensive ring, putting in a yard, etc. I was livid. I wanted to give that dude the piece of my mind that I have no problem offering. But I tried to be professional with it and not let it jeopardize my opportunity at the company. So I did not ever say anything.

Here was this multi-millionaire, deceiving me by not disclosing the full commissions paid, taking an extra 1% on my house, $2500 or so. Who could have used it more? Did that money really make even a dent in his wallet, or bank account? Would I have appreciated it any more than he did. You betcha, and I have never looked at that man the same. He can go ahead and preach to the whole company with his hypocritical 'holier-than-thou' fake religious B.S.. His time will come when he has to pay the piper, and deception is no different than straight up lying. His salvation will rest on his dealings with his fellow men, and in his clouded vision he doesn't realize the stain on his integrity will come back around. Its men like him that kept me from being an active member of the church in high school. I cannot stand fake, superficial, hypocrite's like him. I know I'm not perfect, but I sure as hell don't go around preaching to everyone about what they need to change in their lives or be like me.

Either way I'm excited to take what I have learned at Ulrich and applying that at RealtiCorp. I have missed my daily camaraderie with my friends at RealtiCorp and am excited to make more money per transaction. Actually get paid for what I'm worth. I already give too many discounts as is.

Excited about having a Blog

I would have to say that I have had this blog on my mind a lot today. I told Brittney that this was a way I could get my thoughts out without writing in a journal. I'm not good a journals, plus I feel like I'm not just talking to myself which makes it easier.

I am currently playing soccer 4 times a week and am really enjoying it. I would say that I'm about 90% healed from my groin tear that happened in March. It has been frustrating not being able to do certain things on the field that I used to but I'm also adapting to a different kind of play in my style. I have always been a power player, utilizing my strength, size, and quickness with soccer. Well that has had to change a little. I can only kick about 70% with my right leg. That is my power leg, the leg that got my college education paid for. I used to down right scare the hell out of people playing indoor soccer just by cocking my foot back. I used to utilize that fear when I would play. A typical attack that I would do in indoor soccer would be, get the ball and attack directly at the defender. Make him respect the speed at which I was coming. Try to get him on his heels, or at least force his momentum in that direction. When I would get around 10 feet or so from the defender, I would feel him out as a defender. A stepover or faint to the right or left, to see how hard he would bite for it. From their I can usually tell if I can get him off balance and blow the opposite direction past him, or whether I need to use strength or subtle movements to get around him. A good player will not go with any of my fakes but shadow my body. When this happens I can usually can use my ability to kick fairly accurately with either foot. If the opposing defender has noticed I can then it helps me cause he normally won't try to force me to one particular side. But now I am having to favor my left leg because of my groin. I can still take people on and go the right side, but it hurts like hell to shoot with my right leg. I get the throbbing and sharp pain shooting through my right leg, and the kick was still pretty pathetic. Thats shooting. I can pass, trap, and cut still with my groin still partially injured, but shooting it entirely different. Oh well, I'm hoping that by the spring, I will be back to 100%. I'm getting excited about playing football again for the Utah Wolverines.

My little brother Alex had to cover for me last year, as I tore my groin in the 1st quarter of our 1st preseason game. He did absolutely awesome that season. He was 8 out of 8 in his field goals, and had a long of 47. I know he is proud of that accomplishment and I am equally as proud of him. I had a lot of fun being on the sideline with him, or even being his holder for a few games. I could see how much he enjoyed it. I really wish he would take the initiative to play on his own for another team next year. That would be so fun to play on a team against him. He likes to say that he doesn't have the power that I do, but he is accurate. I'm not quite sure if he's saying that I am not accurate but all power, or simply being proud to be an accurate kicker. Either way I think he is one hell of a cool cat when it comes to field goal kicking. He definitely could have played college ball if he'd pursued it. But to each his own. I will give you my take on my college career in another blog. That is one thing that I am looking forward to. I have a lot to say about that and I'm sure there are a few who are curious. It didn't play out like everyone thinks. There were quite a few factors that contributed to my performance at the University of Utah. But until next time.

The Beginning of my Bloggin

I have heard of people blogging their existence, and have even secretly read a few of them. These people do not really know that I am reading them, but I have always had a curiosity with how and why people do what they do, and have always been curious why they think the way they do as well. The psychology of people has always intrigued me.

I have always been a people watcher. Its funny to me, cause I am fairly acute to recognizing faces that I have seen before, and I tend to remember when and where I met them more times than not. Brittney sometimes gets perturbed when we watch movies and I will recognize an actor that is not commonly known, and whisper in her ear which movie that person has been in previously. She really could care less, cause to her the actor is playing a role and she wants to believe in the current acting going on. Me on the other hand, I don't consciously do it. Either way, I believe it to be a good trait. Now there are side effects to this particular trait. I can never remember names, even when I just barely met the person. I don't mean to do it on purpose, but there are certain items I pay close attention to when meeting somebody. If its a male or man, the first thing I notice is his hand shake. Does he have a firm grip? Does he place his hand in a neutral position (straight up and down), or does he open up or close your hand? These subtle differences really do say a lot about a person. An individuals posture would be the second behavior I notice when I meet them. I personally have good posture and have been teased about it since I was a young boy, but it really doesn't bother me. I always wanted to be taller than I currently was, and so I would stand as tall as I could. Now if my chest sticks out because of that, so be it. My chest sticks out. It doesn't mean that I think I'm better, it simply means I am confident in my own abilities, and really what is the problem in that. I will leave that subject for a later blog. I have plenty to say about that. Sorry for the tangent, but after noticing the grip and posture I normally scan the face, eyes, hair, teeth, mouth, eyebrows, cheek bones, etc. I am not analyzing or being critical of everyone I meet, I just so happen to notice differences in people which has helped me in my recognition of people, that's all. I can see how that can be misinterpreted, but I would have to say that I am a very misinterpreted person.

I was called an Alpha-male this weekend and to be honest it bothered me. Now I am a Leo, which are the epitome of Alpha-male's, but I'm not a pureblood Leo. True, I like to be in charge of certain functions, I am a self motivated individual, I have an intense passion for things that I hold close to me, but I have another side to me that isn't always recognized by my peers. Only my closest and aged friends fully understand this side to me. I have to admit I hold a little animosity toward those who are quick to label me, or even those who I think mislabel me. These are all subjects I would love to spill my thoughts about. Who knows, maybe I might gain a closer friend because of this. They might see why I do some things that I do. Maybe I'll offend someone. I hope not, but by worrying about that would defeat the purpose of my blog wouldn't. Well there is my initial entry. I am actually excited to be writing about this. I am not going to tell anyone about the blog, maybe it will be stumbled upon, or possibly spread through word of mouth, who knows. Until next time.