The First Week: A Quick Rerview

The campus is alive again!

A series events led to a rather inspirational realization this week, but since it's the start of the school year, I felt it's probably better to give a brief synopsis of my semester. This way, you'll have a better perspective to the things I will write about for the rest of the school year.

Due to my insane schedule in the last year of the medical laboratory science program, I'm limiting myself to four to eight posts per month. However, this past summer, I've made a goal to write meaningful posts instead of mere summaries all the time, so I won't necessarily meet the minimum four posts each month.

I have two exams each week! This may sound ridiculous, but it's TRUE! I knew what I was getting into when I signed up for my major. In addition to that, I'm in class from 08:00 to 18:00 Monday through Thursday with anywhere from two to three hours of break in between. I'll spend at least three hours each day in the labs. Fortunately, I like all my courses. It is just daunting to remember all the facts for each week's examinations. Perhaps the only saving grace is that the things I'm learning are not super difficult concepts.

As much as my department discourages me working 17 hours a week, I have no choice if I were to support myself. I would rather not be in the red for the next four months. At least I got a raise again, so that should supplement some of the expenses for the next few months until the Holidays hit.

Provo Temple

I finished this week with a rare excursion to the temple. My roommates and I figured that we won't be able to attend the temple regularly when we saw our schedules. It was a soothing experience for me. Of course, the decision to go to the temple was met with some interesting confrontations the night before on Thursday. Luckily, my roommates and I turned a negative experience into a constructive one. I'll elaborate on it in the next entry, hopefully.

When I came out from the temple, I beheld the Utah Lake. I've forgotten how beautiful the lake looks when sunlight is shining through the clouds, creating rays piercing through the sky. A side note, the Utah Lake itself is actually quite dirty, but this just shows how participating in temple activities can shift your perception more positively.

For a first week of school, it was packed. I feel as if I'm behind already. Nevertheless, I know I can get through it. The long soul-searching I've done throughout the summer and the spiritual example of a great friend on her mission has changed my own perspective for the better. I believe it has been a progressive year so far.

It's the Little Things

Yeah, I work here.

As school draws near, I found myself working for 40 hours a week at my current employment. Many of you already know that I work for BYU Broadcasting part-time. Since the migration and consolidation of its multiple departments, BYUB continued to improve its operations and products.

That's not the reason why I'm tired, though. I'm tired because I'm not getting enough sleep. While it's probably easy for me to take a quick nap overnight, somehow that wouldn't end up ethical in the long run. Luckily, the trend will only last for one more week as another semester's new schedule will take over.

I am also participating in New Student Orientation (NSO) again for fall as a Y-group Leader. Due to the understaffed situation during the interim period, finding replacements for your shifts isn't as easy as it normally would. Thus, I am ready for the total lack of sleep next week as I tackle overnight shifts and NSO simultaneously.

That's what it feels like every time!

Why did I do this to myself? There are several reasons. Let's just say whenever when I have to collect serum samples from the mice in Dr. B's lab, I feel like I've lost karma. So, to make myself feel better, I go off volunteering for some things. It's a personal quirk. I don't have any reason to stand behind it beyond that, so there's no debate here.

Fatigue can make me feel unappreciative for the things I have in my life. Fortunately for me, I have housemates that remind me what matters in life. Sometimes it's the little things. Coming back from grocery shopping, I distinctly remember sitting down at the kitchen table and just have the overwhelming feeling of gladness for being able to put food on the table.

Which comes to the point: my life has been pretty good and it can become better if I choose to because I'm currently living in a situation where this is possible with a little effort. I understand sometimes we don't share that sentiments or even the belief that there's anything to be thankful for, but it is a principle that has been passed down through many cultures for who knows how long.

King Benjamin talked about thanking God for all that we have during his discourse (Mosiah 2). More prominently, the account of Luke when Jesus healed the lepers and only one expressed his gratitude towards the Savior (Luke 17:16-17). Like it or not, there aren't many things in this life that's made possible through our own strength alone.

This may come across as insignificant to some of you, but try it for once. Be grateful about something, to whatever deity you believe in, or at the very least, recognizing a convenience you've had that a good portion of the people on this planet don't. Maybe you'll see life differently that way.

I hate comparing my life to less fortunate people just to make me feel good, but there are times we need reality checks. This is especially true for someone like me who lives in the United States where there are less excuses to blame our poor performances and lack of personal accountability.

Being thankful for what you have will hopefully make you appreciate the things around you a little more.

I remember now: we enter into His gate with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name (Psalm 100:4).

Sometimes Needed Self Evaluation

What a summer! It baffles me somewhat to think four months came and went just like that. It felt like yesterday when summer break started for me and my housemates. I can hardly believe this will be my last school year here at BYU. It's about time, really. Time to move on to other things in life. Since it is also my half birthday today, I figured I should contemplate about my life for a bit. After all, having a quarter-life crisis is the big thing in the 21st century.

Despite of all that I did this summer--household projects, trips, etc.--I still felt somewhat unproductive. It's perplexing at first because I even kept up an exercise routine and even worked for free in the research lab (thanks a lot 29-hour rule that prevents me from working another on campus job). Then again, my sleep schedule has been so sporadic, the fatigue gets in the way of optimal function. It is difficult to appreciate all that you do (or have) when you are left wondering why you've committed to make your life uneasy.

Remember this?

As part of my summer goals, I've also implemented progress for spirituality. Sometimes, the secular world just doesn't make you feel good after prolonged exposure. I took some time and revisited the Attribute Activity found in Preach my Gospel. I'm sure most of you who have served a mission understand what I'm talking about. Oh, and it's on page 126 in case you are not sure where to look for it.

I'll admit, I actually uses this page to reevaluate myself from time to time to see where I stand, and I try to improve myself over time. The efficiency of that is another story.

I don't want to sound pretentious or prideful, but watching one of my best friends on a mission makes me want to be a better person because of the progress I've witnessed thus far in her character and development. It's not a competition, but it's always nice to have a bar, a standard, to set for short-term or even immediate long-term goals.

Granted, I've been off my mission for over three years and the spiritual high has not climaxed in comparison since then. I know I am still a better person than before the whole experience. Going through my scribbles and whatnot, there's still a long journey ahead of me. Fortunately, there has been some improvement along the way.

Discipleship is a journey in itself. We are commanded to be perfect, even as our Lord is perfect (3 Nephi 12:48). I'll probably feel like a lesser man until the day I can carve out something for myself, but I have no doubt that I can achieve whatever necessary through His blessings. Patience is a virtue (Romans 8:25).

Till I blog again,

Adieu

Cleanliness

A clean kitchen...for now.

I've been busy with other things lately, so I haven't spent as much time documenting my life and thoughts over on the Internet. Fortunately, I still do mini-snippets of journal entries on my phone since I last mentioned the Day One app.

As far as work and studying goes, I work for 40 hours a week for the rest of the month. I delayed taking the MCAT because I didn't feel ready, but got lucky and received more review materials instead. Needless to say, the new found sources contain information I did not know before; therefore, gladness filled my heart.

My other venture was attempting to finish Fallout: New Vegas, which I managed after putting in 150+ hours in the past six weeks I owned it. It's a once-in-a-while hobby, so don't judge. I certainly don't look down on the other things you do for fun. Since I finished it, I am certain the gaming streak won't return until this winter break.

As August presses on, school is inevitably closing in. We will have a late start this year, and this is supplemented by a much shorter winter break at the end of the semester. Like most housing management, my housemates and I received the lovely notice of a cleaning check a while back. We aren't too worried because we keep the place clean for the most part.

I did some cleaning in the upstairs kitchen this afternoon. I remembered the days on my mission when I moved to a new area, I always clean the place out first. This was followed by the area books. Back in high school, I wasn't the biggest about cleaning up around me, especially when they were chores required of me. However, I must note that most of the filth I had to deal with back home was dust, which seemed trivially menial compared to the clutter that was around the house.

Anyways, I dislike a dirty environment. I firmly believe the saying "cleanliness is next to godliness". I'm not going to pretend that I expect my current dwelling with my friends to be spotless and sparkling new, but there's still a standard to the amount of clutter and filth I can stand before I take action and "convince" one of two of the guys to assist me in the matter. After all, I am the "angry uncle" in the house.

This leads to a talk given by President Gordon B. Hinckley back in 1996. It is said that those who bore the vessels of the Lord needed to be clean (D&C 133:5). This not only includes outwardly appearance, but also our conduct, mind, etc. Obviously, it's not always possible to remain physically clean. The point being the principle of that desire, that drive, that allows us to pursue that cleanliness through the atonement of the Savior.

If you are interested, you can find the talk here.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. A lot of it has to do with the future. I don't have fears for the future per se. I do, however, have wondered how I would handle certain situations if I were to have a career, family, spouse, etc. Well, imagination can only get you so far, but I do believe having an idea is totally better than jumping into the unknown all of the sudden when the time arises.

From my little cleaning experience today, I know what I want my living quarters to be like down the road. An outward manifestation that should also include an inward devotion. I remember why I made the choices I've chosen and I think they have worked out pretty well so far thanks to divine providence.

It's near the middle of August. It is my goal to also share my thoughts with the Internet at least four times a month. I believe I can reach that goal. Thank you all who have been reading my musings thus far. There will be more to come!

Weeks Notice

After a few weeks of absence, I'm glad I am back on the blogging world. I've worked some long hours and hit the wall while at it. For those who don't know my day-to-day routine, I haven't stopped working during and between the school year in order to support myself in all my expenses. Naturally, this also means that there would be the eventual fatigue-induced scenarios some time during the year. When that happens, I simply sit back and stop doing things that are not related to work, church, etc. Usually, I recuperate just fine like today.

237 years old!

Since July is a month of celebrations, I took some time to think about what it means to be American and a pioneer in the latter days. In case you are not familiar with Pioneer's Day, it's a state holiday that happens in Utah.

Let's face it, America is not perfect, but it has come a long way to provide the opportunities for social, political, and even economic mobility. Being an American should have been an ideal. It is unfortunate that many harbor the feeling that immigrants are not welcome when their ancestors were immigrants, malicious ones when you look at the treatment of Native Americans, as well.

I'm not going to deny the fact that discrimination still exists. I certainly wouldn't put it down as the first reason why someone has something against me. Your life is a lot more miserable when you constantly believe that every person has some sort of prejudice against you. In fact, you would be the one with bias and intolerance towards others. I would like people to remember that discrimination happens in all countries. No single ethnicity is solely responsible for the hate.

Also, USA can only be as strong as the people who live in it. If you have bad work ethics and low aims in life, when majority of the people think like you, it's over for this mighty nation.

Proud to be an American! Although it still baffles me why we vote in idiots into the office all the time. I believe that's a social-political discussion for another time.

As for being a pioneer, it is not only fitting figuratively for the themes of the month, but also literally in the 21st Century. Much of the world believes that most, if not all, traditional values are now obsolete. There are also many members who find fitting into the world today is a great challenge. They are correct. It is when there are so many pressures to steer us away from values we hold dear.

The point being, our generation is trying to adapt and discover ways to be in the world, but not of it. I can honestly say that I haven't gotten that figured out because I live in the bubble known as Provo. While I dwell on the issue, I will also enjoy the fact that I don't have to deal with the complexity of the real world yet.

While we are on the subject of values and whatnot, I would also like to take detour to talk about the recent changes to missionaries having access to the Internet to spread the word. I was initially skeptical about the idea because we know there will be goofballs that screw up. After all, we are only human and we make mistakes. If anything, I thought it would have been a distraction.

After observing the trend for about two months, I realize it can do much good. I'm not talking solely about the impact on investigators. I've personally found some of the inspirational LDS messages from one of my best friends (yes, she's a missionary) very timely and useful. Then, I realized little things like this can actually allow missionaries to not only preach the gospel, but also strengthen the saints at the same time.

It could also be laziness on my part. The more likely story, however, is how we've been conditioned to filter out "spam" when our friends share something over social networks. I think having the status as a missionary may have a different tone. I'm not sure, I'll let you know when I collect more data.

I was going to talk about Mormons in the media, but this post is getting too long. I'll have to fill you in next time!

Day One: A Brief Look

Recently, a friend of mine, Jarrod, shared the app named Day One on Facebook. After learning that it is a journal/logging app, I decided to give it a try.

For non-Mac users, the only other way to obtain this FREE app is through iPad and iPhone.

Being part of the Mormon culture, journal-keeping is a common trend among its membership. I didn't start keeping a journal until my mission. Frankly, that ended soon after the mission. It was then picked up during the summer of 2011 when I started this blog, but the contents and direction of this blog have since changed to be less and less of a weekly journal.  Given that I currently own a smart phone, I've been digitizing many of my daily routines.

I've been using the iOS version for about a week now and I'm just going to briefly show you its features.

The main menu is simple. Just looking at the screenshot to the left, it is very straight forward. Either large button allows you to start a new post, it's just that one starts you off with a photo and the other starts you off with text. You can choose photos from your library or take one yourself and paste that onto your new entry.

The rest of the lines are self-explanatory as well. The Timeline allows you to scroll through all the entries you've written from a chronological basis. There is a search function at the top of the Timeline as well!

Photos show you all the pictures you've used so far in a two-column fashion.

Tags can arrange from alphabetical to most frequently used. I personally find the "most used" feature interesting because I can then figure out what's on my mind the most.

Calendar offers a different view of the Timeline feature. Similar function goes to Years. As for the Starred section of my journals, I save that honor for my favorite posts.

Some other neat things I would like to point out are the weather and location displays. If you allow Day One app to access these types of information, you can add more details to your entries. Personally, I prefer my location to be general, i.e. Provo, Utah at the moment. The app can go as far as putting up the exact address of where you are drafting your journal entry.

Even though this is a private thing, I think I'll pass on documenting the extreme details of my life.

If you think this app is only capable of plain text and its functions limited to only inside the app, then you are mistaken. Day One is capable of rich text format if you know how to use its Markdown feature. A guide is included in the Settings section, which can be found when you scroll down from the main page.

The Settings page is where you can change the fonts/styles and other minute details to your personal preference. A noteworthy feature is the Export to PDF option. If you are planning on compiling a book after writing for some time, it's a great way to put things together. As for me, I generally e-mail each individual post to myself. In a similar fashion to my sacrament notes, I have a folder in my e-mail account reserved for journal entries.

The app is also kind enough to add the Passcode option to prevent friends and family members from access your personal thoughts. Scrolling down, you'll see that you can link your Foursquare account to the app and Help/Guides section I've briefly touched on before.

The Help/Guide section contains many helpful tips and tutorials that will enable you to use Day One to its potential. I'm still experimenting with the app, so I can't say I've got them all down.

Nevertheless, this app has gotten me to start a journal again. I highly recommend this app! Like I said before, it is FREE! If you are a Mac user, or have Apple devices such as iPad and iPhone, you are in luck.

Overall, I like the simplicity and versatility of the application. The only complaint I have about the iOS version is that I'm not big into typing on the phone. Fortunately, I don't usually write excruciatingly long posts either, so it evens out.

Happy journaling!

Gospel Library 3.0.1

I prefer the text list

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published version 3.0 of its Gospel Library app for iPhone and iPad (I'll refer to it as GL3 for the remainder of the blog post). I think I'm doing it injustice by writing a single blog post about it because this update completely revamped the previous version. Also, it's FREE!

As you can see from the left, it is the main menu of GL3. You can choose to view between thumbnails or list of items. I prefer the simple text list since it causes less lag when scrolling down. Interestingly, you can also create your own collection of items in this app. I haven't found the use for it yet, but I may try downloading Jesus the Christ or something like that in the near future just to explore the full capability of that feature.

The globe button you see there allows you to change the language on your app. It's not quite obvious unless your curiosity got you there in the first place.

Like the previous version, you have the Search button. I do not believe there's a way to narrow down your search to certain collections at this time, so you need to know what you are searching for fairly well if you are to look for a specific item. The Bookmark and History tabs also returned, along with the same features.

It searches for everything!

In the Settings, you can Sync with the Church's website for changes you made through your LDS account. I don't find too many uses for the Appearance and Reading Options yet because I'm comfortable with the default settings. If you wish to change the brightness and the way pages are set up, you are welcome to do so through those options.

Most people ignore the About page when it comes to programs and apps. The About page is actually worthwhile in the GL3. Aside from the obligatory version history, etc., the page introduces the user to other LDS-related apps in addition to the offer of following on Facebook and/or Twitter.

Overall, I like the new Gospel Library. It has many materials which were available through LDS.org, but somewhat tricky to access due to navigation and laziness of surfer themselves.

I personally find the various handbooks and manuals useful. While I do not believe that e-books can easily replace the gratification of actually holding a book in your hands, the convenience factor is very attractive. If you are looking into past General Conference talks, you can look up all the way back to 1971! It'll certainly take a few years to digest all that information and I guarantee you won't run out of spiritual thoughts for decades! The same goes for the Church magazines. I honestly don't think I will be able to read everything for at least 20 years when I can read issues all the way back to 1971 as well.

Lacking a consistent father-figure throughout my life, I especially find the books on priesthood responsibilities and leadership useful and relevant to my situation. Don't get my wrong, I appreciate the contributions made by the adult males in my life, but I've spent more time living away from family than spending enough quality time with them.

The one gripe I have about this app, however, is the organization of notes from highlighting scriptures, talks, etc. I know I can create categories and headings for my notes, but I still can't place them individually into the desired folder unless I log into the Church's main website. Perhaps there's a way to do it and I just haven't figure out how yet. Needless to say, even if there is such an option, it is not obvious at first glance.

To sum it up, what I like about this app:

• Simple to use
• Organized (may be a bit tough at first)
• Various other apps available for learning
• Deep archives of talks, articles, etc.
• Definitely crashes less often than v2.5

What I think this app could improve on:

• Improvements in note organization; at least, up to par with the same features on the website
• Slight lag issue when using thumbnail view
• Some sort of advanced search option
• For Android, maybe?

Anyway, everyone with an Apple device should try it out. It's FREE! So, happy enriching your lives!

"And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith" - D&C 109:7