If you have ever seen Back to the Future, you may know that Doc Brown's preferred time period is the wild west. Well, coincidentally, that is mine, too. If I had to pick any time period to live in, that would be it. I like guns and not having to shave and riding horses and just the overall feel of the wild west.
Flash back. Not wild west back, just summer back. I went on the Trek. People learn a lot about themselves on such journeys, like their physical limits, their strengths. I only learned one thing. I learned that I would look so good in the wild west. I mean look at this:
So my ward is doing missionary month. We have three weeks of three different challenges, but I am just doing all three challenges all three weeks. One of the challenges is to stop using social networking sites, and I think blogger counts for that. However, missionaries can write home once a week via email and that is usually on Preparation Day, which is typically Monday, so I am writing a letter on P-Day via my blog.
Hey everyone!
Life has been great. I haven't written on here in a while, but that's just because I am lazy. Oh and missionary month. Anyway, I am having a great time with missionary month. I haven't watched TV and I've only listened to church approved music and I haven't networked socially for five days, and will continue in a like manner for another 16. It really has increased the amount of the spirit's influence on my life.
I am so grateful for the gospel. I wish I could write everything that has happened that has strengthened my testimony in just the last two weeks, but I can't because I only have a half hour (the amount of time you can be logged into LDS mail).
We can go for just today, if you'd like. Today I started out with a great lesson in seminary. It is so good to just enjoy the influence of the spirit while messing around with a bunch of other kids while learning the gospel. Then, when my friend got stuck in the snow, one of the biggest spiritual giants I know, Brother Joel Wright, came and pulled her out. He didn't even wait for me to ask, he just did. Then when he left, he didn't wait for a thanks. He just did what he knew was right then kept traveling on.
Lately I have felt at a spiritual decline, but the past two weeks have been so great. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and beyond that, I am a firm believer of Christ's gospel. I am so grateful for the atonement that gives me a reason to hope.
I am going on a mission and really, I can't wait.
I can't wait to leave everything I've ever known behind.
I can't wait to move out of the only house I've ever lived in.
I can't wait to go to a foreign home and feel out of place but then make it my home.
I can't wait to work and walk until my feet are sore and my skin is sunburned.
I can't wait to be free from the stresses of school and girls and family and media to take on a stress of eternal significance: bringing others to Christ.
I can't wait to be yelled at, mocked, spit upon, threatened, and rejected.
I can't wait because this gospel is true and what else would matter?
Where I am when I am a missionary is where the Lord wants me. I will be a true, complete, full-time missionary. I want to lose my life in the service of God (I don't mean I want to die, just that I want to forget myself). The gospel is true. I am called of God to be a representative of His son, our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ to preach His gospel to the world. To be hated and loved by those I serve with all my heart. To be a beacon of truth and a guide to eternal, real, almost tangibly full happiness.
I just had a crazy night. It all started at 5:00 when my friend, Cora Owens, took me on a date. We went to Taco Amigo then went to see The Hobbit. When we got back to the car and she turned on the radio, we heard the words, "PG" and "Triple overtime." All thoughts of the beautifully written and emotionally moving film I had just seen left my brain. Pleasant Grove played against Lehi High School last night and won in quadruple overtime 109-107. I listened to the rest of the game and then called Trevor who was there. We talked a bit and it was great. Awesome job, Vikings.
But that was just the beginning.
After I hung up the phone with Trevor, I get a text from my good friend and Pleasant Grove Sports Network's play-by-play commentator, David Brinkerhoff. It read, "Hey so Jeremiah Jensen from KSL wants us to edit the film for him. Want to come to Russ' room and help us edit? Plus you can turn Kurt's music off." In my defense, Kurt's music is about as tasteful as this.
I was in my underwear watching Saved By the Bell when I got offered the chance to edit something that would actually go on television. I am not going to lie in saying that that is one of the coolest things that has ever been offered to me.
The only problem is that it was already 11:00 and I was planning on going to bed soon. Of course within minutes I was fully clothed and at my mother's bedside begging for her approval. She said yes as long as I updated her on how long I would be (I figured it would be two hours, tops).
After making a quick Wendy's run, we started into the work of editing the footage for a highlight reel.
Five and a half hours I worked.
From 11:30 PM to 5:00 AM I edited, searching through over an two hours of footage and separate footage for a total highlight reel time of 3 minutes. And right now, I am finally editing my masterpiece.
This is my biggest break in the field of editing. Forget that Wednesday the school played the copy of Ferris Bueller's Day Off that I edited, this actually will have my name attached. I am going to make it big. Just watch.
Typically I don't like posting stuff like this (or reading posts like this), but this song is really easy to relate to for me.
Ha. I am such a dork. I did the numbers last night; I am 0 for 25 of significant crushes that amounted to anything. I am so glad I get to go on a mission and forget all this girl stuff.
Not surprising. BUT. I do realize you guys aren't nerds. So I set up some tabs up above. So ask some questions if you have any about things you don't know about. Like Schrodinger's Cat or the ten dimensions or Richard Parker.
It's weird. I am prolly the only guy who loves cooking, writing, calculating, filming, editing, computing, socializing, hiking & camping, scientifically researching, and religious pursuits. I have sooooo many things that I just love. I spent the last hour looking at recipes. I have a blog. I (I can't believe I am about to say this) sometimes enjoy math. I not only love filming/directing, I love studying from the greats. I get in a mode when I edit and I do things I never thought possible. I love computers (I know that isn't what computing means) and I could not imagine what would replace their spot in my heart if they were to just disappear off the face of the earth. I am a social tornado. I am no social butterfly because really that would mean I am graceful. More like a social duck. I am a social duck, but I love it. I have spent so much time living outdoors that I am just as comfortable sleeping in a windstorm as I am in my bed (though the bed is a lot less of a challenge). Then hiking…well if I loved hiking any more I would prolly have to drop out of school to satisfy my needs. I love science. Biology is my pride. Biotechnology is my favorite. I spend my free time pondering stuff like this. When I become famous for my writing, it will be a science fiction novel (then of course I will become famous for directing the film based on my book). Lastly, I have my religion, which is my life. Really, I love studying to become a missionary, which is what I will prolly do once I finish this post. That is what W.R. Duclos means.
I got some good quotes that keep me writing. like:
"You fail only if you stop writing."-Ray Bradbury
That one is hanging in my room. Or:
"If there is a magic in story writing, and I am convinced there is, no one has ever been able to reduce it to a recipe that can be passed from one person to another. The formula seems to lie solely in the aching urge of the writer to convey something he feels important to the reader. If the writer has that urge, he may sometimes, but by no means always, find the way to do it. You must perceive the excellence that makes a good story good or the errors that makes a bad story. For a bad story is only an ineffective story.”-John Steinbeck
One more:
"Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on. It also interferes with flow and rhythm which can only come from a kind of unconscious association with the material."-John Steinbeck
The best part is that it's like John Steinbeck and Ray Bradbury are telling me things that they've learned by being professionals and I already knew them. Makes me feel giddy. I mean manly.
So after I went posthappySaturday, I went on a hike to my favorite area in the world, Indian Springs. Taft and I went up there. As we neared the spring, I noticed a rattler as big as my arm at its thickest point three feet from Taft and about a foot off the trail. Let us just say we booked it out of that area. So yeah, I came a foot away from almost certain death.
Today, I was trying to impress a girl (pretty far fetched, right?). Anyway, we started talking about the hummingbird feeder on my back porch. She was enthralled that the hummingbirds would stop flying to perch on the feeder. For some reason, this conversation reminded me of a story I was once told about my brother, Bob, and him holding a wild hummingbird. All I remember from the story is that he held his hand next to the feeder for a long time without moving and it landed on him. I hadn't much foresight as I said, "This will take a minute." I really didn't have any clue or even any hope that it would work. But sure enough, as the first hummingbird approached, it perched on my outstretched finger. I guess I am really impressive, but it really isn't a big deal. I didn't get a video and when I tried again for seven minutes while recording, I ended up with nothing. But I mean, ha. I am pretty proud of my ability to go headfirst into that. Good educated guess.
I will eventually continue writing the book that I am always thinking about on Friday. It just sucks because as the highest student in any of my teacher's English classes on the CRT (I aced it with 100%), it's hard to believe I have a C-. Actually it's not too hard when you know that my English teacher hates me. But we won't name names because I don't slander people.
School? Stupid. Next year will be better.
Also, this post has a lot of labels. It is just that everywhere.
I went to Prom and felt like one Sir Sean Connery as Agent 007 of MI6. Let's just say my date was aware of how I felt. She may have made it sound better than it really was. I was more accurate.
More Prom stuff will be up once I get pictures. I am mostly excited to see pictures of her because boy was she beautiful.
Today I was put to the task of getting my cousins' cat out of my grandparents' home. Let us just say that I do not do well with felines.
I have an English teacher who I less than like. He told us to write a paper answering a question: How long does one wait before eating Peeps? He deeply implied that he wanted the focus to be patience, but he never expressed it, just implied it. I am such a snairch.
A Philosophical Journey Through and To Peeps
Throughout human history, man has strived for one thing above almost anything else: food. This quest, once it became a constant, transformed into a journey to find the most decadent flavors possible. Man found sugar, one of the most prized palette tantalizers ever to be consumed. Through thousands of years of refinement, mankind created a substance unbeknownst to the world: the marshmallow. A creature under extreme scrutiny, the lowly sugar confectionary sought a higher state of being. In the year of 1953 A.D, 1100 years after the birth of the marshmallow and 2800 years after the use of sugar in diets, the two products melded into one final definitive creation: Peeps.
It has been stated that, although the candy Peeps is delicious in its own right, one must wait a certain amount of time to properly enjoy these heaven sent creations. To these soothsayers and concubines one must say, “Nay!” Since man first roamed the earth thousands of years ago, he has been striving for the ultimate of ultimates: the one delicacy to rule them all. Through the refiner’s fire only one treat has made it: Peeps. Why, therefore, should man wait another few days to enjoy the ambrosia that for so long stayed out of man’s reach? Who are we, the product of generations of struggling mortals, striving for this holy grail, who are we to hold our noses up for any longer than we must? In what world does this ignorance do justice to those who never had the opportunity to enjoy this manufactured goodness? Not the world where you would like to live. To the people who depreciate the value of instant sugar covered goodness, I say, “NO MORE!” We must immediately plunge into the heavenly velvet, the manna from heaven, in order to truly do justice to our ancestors. The instant that seal breaks, we must do more that sit idly by. We must take action. This is my plea. Amen.
I am running for office. The office of Student Body President. I'd appreciate your support.
Here is my letter of intent:
To Whom It May Concern,
I was born in Pleasant Grove. Well, technically I was born in American Fork, but I prefer not to let it be known. Ever since the day I left the hospital in AF, I felt a pride in my community unknown to anyone who lives outside of Pleasant Grove. The first day I had a home it was not my house, it was the City of Trees.
I have since grown to know my community and love it more. I was a Viking before I was anything else. I have never considered the prospect of attending any other high school besides Pleasant Grove High, even if it meant hours of commuting everyday. I put this school’s interests above that of my own in many ways, from attending every football game to painting myself blue (on occasion). I have pride in being a Viking.
This school has had many Duclos’ walk its halls, but is now down to its last. I feel it is my duty as the finale of a series made great by this school to be in a position where I can give back completely what Pleasant Grove High has given us. The reason I am running for student office is because not doing so would put at risk not only my self respect, but my family’s honor. I cannot just leave this school after it made my brothers what they are today: a cancer researcher, a doctor, an airplane pilot, an English teacher (in Taiwan) and a future biologist.
Growing up solely in Pleasant Grove, I have learned characteristics that make up true leaders. As long as I remember, I have been in the garage every Saturday working on neighbors’ vehicles with my father and brothers. I learned self reliance as I walked the mountains we call our backyard. Through church, scouting, and volunteering for the fine city of Pleasant Grove, I learned to lead with a love for my followers that makes them want to follow me.
I have been raised as a member of the LDS church. Through opportunities in my religious community, I have been able to gain qualities I believe will make me a better leader. While attending church one Sunday, I volunteered to be in charge of a youth activity, thinking it would be a simple task. This commitment ended up me putting in over forty-eight hours worth of preparation. Once at the activity, I had the privilege of taking charge of everything from introducing speakers to announcing meals to telling people to be quiet so others can sleep. I feel that this experience, among many others provided to me by my church group, the Pleasant Grove Youth Council, and other organizations, has helped me prepare to become a quality student body officer.
Now, if I were you reading this, I would be thinking, Well, gee, this Wyatt kid sure is full of himself, but I assure you that is not the case. I have many flaws, probably more than most. I spent a majority of my grade school years getting that drilled into my head by my classmates. I know that to be a good leader, I cannot expect everyone to love me or even like me. I won’t expect that because I am not a leader now and I don’t expect that now. I am aware that the title does nothing for a man, but that a man must live up to the title.
I am running for student office because I believe, despite my flaws, I can live up to the expectations set by my predecessors. I am running for my honor as well as the honor of the Duclos name. I do this thing because I believe what Mr. Abraham Lincoln once said of America is true for the school that I love, “How hard it is to die and leave one’s country no better than if one had never lived for it!”
Forever in the service of my fellow men,
Wyatt R. Duclos
Seriously though, voted for me. If you can, that is.
Here is a little disclaimer. I sound like a jerk because I am. In this particular instance, I felt comfortable enough that I knew what I said wouldn't have detrimental affects. So, keep that in mind.
Last night I was at a party at which we were told to dance. I was slow dancing with a friend of mine who knew I thought she was definitely not ugly. I am pretty good friends with her and after a few comments about how beautiful she looked in her semi-formal wear, I told her very flatly that she was ugly.
Explanation. So, I once was writing on my phone (which I do often) and kind of venting about how I had no tact around a certain girl. As I was writing, I stated that I was so smooth, that I could tell a girl she was ugly and by the end of the conversation have her walking away giggling from my charm. Now, it wasn't a lie, but I didn't know for sure that it was true. So in order to put my mind at ease, I put it to the test. You can't say what I write about myself is a lie.
Now, I must admit that the pure excitement (I feel that is the wrong word) of telling a girl straight to her face that her face was not straight got the better of me for a moment and I slightly lost my tact, but now when I say that I can do what I said I can do, it is true. It is because I have skills. But like the Mythbusters, remember, don't try this at home. I am a professional.
