Week Fifty Three and Fifty Four

I forgot to post Eric's message from last week, so you get two for the price of one this week.

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In response to Molly's suggestion that Eric keep a small notebook or scrap of paper to write down things as he thinks of them:

I got that idea even before you told me somehow so I got some little notes organized in my planner here.

The keyboard box was gigantic so carrying that home was really fun (yes I had to get it at the JSMB.)  But the good news is we have a gigantic box to play in at the apartment now.  (I was able to fit myself in it with the lid closed to give you an idea about how big it is.)  It's harder to play than my roommate's keyboard but it's still much lighter and easier to carry around. 

Yes I got some pictures now of the quilt because I forgot to send them before:

I look so happy.

I somehow managed to create this mess, both those knots were tied without pulling the yarn through, that's Elder Andersen trying to help.

This one was during the night and everyone was dressed casual because they were playing sports.  A few of us were still diligently quilting like real men because they hadn't been finished yet.  I'm doing this on purpose this time.

Also a couple of Saturdays ago was my year mark in case you noticed, because I didn't until the people in my group told me we were going out to eat to celebrate it.  (Well I sort of did but then I forgot on the week of.)  We went to eat at some place called JB's which happens to be right next to the library.  Here's a picture of our group:

Left to right: Elder R. Smith, Elder Earl, Elder Me, Elder Liddiard, and Elder Ungerman.

Our companions were there but we wanted a picture with just us.

I took notes so I'm looking at them now...

There was another Hail and Farewell yesterday.  Elder Davis is leaving next month and I'm kind of sad about that but here's a picture of us and a photo bomber:

On Sunday my apartment and another apartment got together and combined two Monopoly boards and played it like it was one big one.  It was kind of weird because one of them was a Beatles themed Monopoly (The Yellow  Submarine Movie to be exact) and a Sonic the Hedgehog Monopoly board.  So we had to come up with a crazy system so that we didn't mix up the money.

Elder Pickering's Mom sent him two more Piano Guys CDs to match the ones she already sent him because she evidently forgot that she bought some for him already, so my companion gave them to me which was nice of him.

I keep forgetting to tell you that I've been teaching classes about British Genealogy lately for my zone.  We have a different topic every week like Ireland Church Records or whatever and I have a power point presentation and that's how that works.

I actually wrote this part on Thursday because I had an adventure with a chiropractor on Thursday:

Today I had an interesting experience at the chiropractor.  On Thursday morning right before my leadership meeting I told Elder Andersen that my shoulders and neck were in great pain and that I probably needed to see a chiropractor.  He surprised me when he picked up the phone right there and called the chiropractor he takes some of the other elders to, and then told me we would be going that day at 3:00.  The first initial problem with this is that I still don’t have an insurance card so I keep having to write it down on a piece of paper and then when I bring it it never seems to work.  But whatever.

When we got to the chiropractor (lots of snow, it was Thursday), I gave the information on the card and was told that they can’t get it to come up but don’t worry we’ll figure it out later.  Since this was my first time I had to fill out loads of paperwork which is the norm these days so it wasn't anything new to me. 

Anyway, after filling out roughly five pages I gave it to the receptionist and she brought me into the back into this little room with a little tv.  She said that I was just going to watch this little video and then the doctor will come in to talk to me.  So I watched this 15 minute video from the 90’s about how  chiropractic work is safe and that chiropractors are very well educated and that chiropractic work is very popular these days, and the good news is that most insurances cover it (but if it doesn't then get out.)  Then I got to watch lots of people with bright smiling faces get their backs cracked. 
After the video ended the doctor came in.  Spiked hair, rolled up sleeves, a beard, he’s not just a doctor, he’s a cool doctor!  He then proceeds to ask me what’s wrong and gets me to go through all the information I had just previously written down.  I saw him holding the papers that I filled out but meh who reads those?  He then tells me that his assistant is going to perform several tests on me because he wants to help me, but they got to figure out exactly what’s wrong with me.  Here I’m thinking, “My neck and my shoulders hurt what more do you need to know?” but I went ahead and did it because I remember something in the papers about how I consented to let them test me or something. 

I had to then move my neck around and then say where it does and doesn't hurt, get my reflexes checked, and then I had to put on a gown so they could take x-rays of me.  Yeah.  This all took about 45 minutes.  After it was finally all done the doctor came back and said to come back within a week because they need to analyze all the tests they did on me.  Yep, that’s it.  No adjustments whatsoever.  Just come back in a week and be sure to bring your insurance.

Anyway after I told all this to Elder Andersen he was not happy.  I don’t know if this is necessarily true, but was a lawyer and therefore thinks like a lawyer and he’s convinced that the clinic is just putting me in a cycle so they can milk my insurance.  I’m going to go back in two weeks to see  them once more to see if the tests prove I have scoliosis or something and to see if they actually mess with my neck but if they don’t then we’re going to find a new chiropractor.

So I think that's all I got and hopefully it's enough.

Love,
Elder Larson

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In response to Molly's question about the box being a toy:

No we're currently using the box to toss all our recyclables in it. 

Elder Ungerman told me that my friend Christian said hi on Sunday.  I still haven't gotten anything from him in written form yet.  And he didn't run into me because he wasn't on B2 I assume because I spend all day locked up in the dungeon. 

I don't go back to the chiropractor until this Thursday.  Elder Andersen was out of town last week so I had no one to take me and I had to reschedule. 

I really want Adventure Time Monopoly because that exists apparently.  Elder Pickering told me that the cheapest property you can buy is LSP's Hobo Camp. 

I haven't seen Dr. Yamashiro since I got my retainer.  I probably have a follow up appointment but it wasn't going to be until for a while I guess. 

Everything was closed yesterday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  (The sign on the library said it was going to close for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Which I find kind of inaccurate because I'm pretty sure he was a Dr. Reverend.)  On Thursday during our leadership meeting President Workman surprised us all when he told us that we were all as a mission going to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit going on at The Leonardo right now for MLK Day.  (DRMLKJR Day)

So that's what I did yesterday.  The exhibit mainly consists of a ton of clay pots dated from the time of the Kingdom of Israel, or the Babylonian Captivity, or the Persian Captivity, or whatever.  There are some more interesting things like a bunch of clay figurines of idols found kind of proving that the Bible was right when it says that the wacky Israelites were always  falling into the temptation of idolatry.  And they had some pure silver Roman coins found in Jerusalem around the time of Christ, which I kind of found the most interesting.  The scrolls themselves were only about ten or so tiny fragments which had been translated as various passages from the Old Testament.  The rest of the actually good scrolls are currently in Jerusalem because they're still analyzing it and finding new things about it.  The handwriting on them are surprisingly legible and meticulously written and it's amazing that we have records this old that you can actually read.  (Well I can't read it because I don't understand the language but you know what I mean.)  I don't have any pictures because The Leonardo doesn't allow any photography for whatever dumb reason.  (Probably because they want you to pay the $20 per person fee first so you can find out that the exhibit is mostly just a bunch of boring clay pots for yourself.)

During Music and the Spoken Word on Sunday I'm pretty sure I caught myself on tv a couple of times in the background.  Even if I wasn't in it I definitely saw Elder Pickering.  He was caught in a really embarrassing shot because he was like tucking in his shirt or something.  I sit in the corner where the upright basses and the piano was so there was a lot of camera attention there.  I like sitting there because there's a tv there that shows the broadcast and I like to look at the visuals. 

You know I'm still debating about whether I should play the cello or the bass.  I think I like the bass better because the sounds it make are more epic to me.  The Piano Guys are cool but me wanting to play the cello has nothing to do with them.  I just really like watching the orchestra and I just think it's a beautiful instrument is all.

I do have a [few] pictures though, I got some pine cones:

These aren't just any pine cones, these are pine cones from the Cedar of Lebanon in Temple Square.  I've been wanting to get some pine cones from it for some time but they were too high but they put lights on the cedar this year and as they were taking them off some fell down so I was able to get some.  I want to see if I can open them and get the seeds and then attempt to make a sapling.  Then I can begin trying to grow a biblical tree.

The air in Salt Lake City is so terrible right now.  The Church told all employees and missionaries on campus that we're currently #6 in the top polluted cities in America right now, and that the air level is estimated to shorten our lives by about two years.  So I took a picture of it:

And while I was at Walmart today I took a picture of the pigeons

 

They usually perch on the ledge lower but I guess enough customers complained recently about it so they put some spikes there.  The pigeons response?  Perch on the higher ledge.  I found this funny I guess.

Love, Elder Larson

P.S.-  My CD player broke.