The Truth About Car Payments

I just shared this with a friend who desperately needed to hear it. Thought it might be thought provoking for some of you.

The Truth About Car Payments

I think that Dad would approve.

#3 - Free WiFi at CMH & Friends

This morning my good friend Brandi took me to the airport to make my morning flight to SLC. During check-in, I realized my phone was missing. (It was sitting in the passenger seat of Brandi's car). I blame my shallow slippery shorts pockets. I should KNOW by now not to wear them during travel.

First order of business was to call my phone (thank you random airport employee lady for lending me your phone). Since it was on vibrate, Brandi didn't hear it.

Next item was to get checked in: SUPRISE! My flight is delayed several hours. (side note to never pick a layover through Detroit again).

On the positive side, and my reason #3 why I love Columbus: the Columbus airport has FREE WiFi throughout the entire airport. I was able to contact Brandi on facebook, and she was willing to drive all the way to the airport again to drop off my phone. Here is a picture of me on the internet in the airport writing this blog (you can see my culpable shorts in the pic):

In conclusion, I LOVE that we have free WiFi at our airport (a novel idea!) and LOVE having awesome friends who are willing to help me out on occasions that I admit that I need help. Thanks Brandi! And thank you CMH for giving me the opportunity to blog and watch my favorite shows on Hulu while I wait for my delayed flight!

#2 - Red White & Boom

Last night was Columbus' annual Red White and Boom celebration. Me and 499,999 other people gathered for the parade, the fireworks, and other festivities in downtown Columbus. I did a half-way decent job of documenting the event via my phone camera. Enjoy:

A few members from the singles ward arrived at noon to stake out a position on a hill right by the point on the Olentangy River where the fireworks were to be set off. You can see Curtis playing his guitar:

We were very close to the full-size replica of the Santa Maria.

The parade started at 6 pm. I think the Freedom Festival parade in Provo is better than the parade here, even though there were more people. I caught a picture of Jim Tressel, our famous OSU Football coach. He received more applause from the crowd than our mayor. One lady standing next to us referred to him as Columbus' "Walking Jesus". (Sorry the security officers block the view of Tressel, but it's the only shot I got):

After the parade, we walked around the crowded streets and ate gyros and fresh squeezed lemonade (Mmmm!). A few crowd shots:

After a long parade and walking the streets, I was tired, so I took a nap on the lawn in preparation for the fireworks.

Beautiful sunset by the Santa Maria.

FIREWORKS!!! The fireworks were incredible! Of course a picture could never do them justice. To compare, they were at least as good as Stadium of Fire. Maybe it was company, my general attitude towards life, or simply being in a new place... but this was one of the most enjoyable firework shows that I can remember.

I LOVE Columbus' Red White & BOOM!

#1 - Columbus Water

I LOVE Columbus water!
I love having to filter all the chloride out of it before drinking it.
I love how it rains all the time, and then rains some more.
I love walking down the street in 80% humidity 84 degree weather.
I love the Olentangy, Scioto, and other large rivers that dissect the city and make for interesting road connections.
I love how people in Columbus drive in a light rain at noon like Utahns drive in a heavy snow storm at midnight.
I love how I did a 180 off a slick freeway exit and got my first flat tire and car tow in Columbus:

100 Reasons Why I Love Columbus

Dear Family and Friends:

In my battle to become a better blogger, I've decided to focus on frequency through my new series... (drum roll......)

100 Reasons Why I Love Columbus

This new series is designed to inspire me to blog more often about daily life here in Columbus, and to give you guys a chance to learn about what's going on in my life a little more often. Aren't you all so excited!? I know, I know, you all just can't wait for this series to get started... Get ready to hear some amazing things. Look for my posts with the "100 Reasons Why I Love Columbus" label.

Love,
Kyle

Kyle & Kim Forever

For Spring Break Curtis and I and several ward members caravaned 3.5 hours away to good ole West Virginia for a Young Single Adults conference. Needless to say I was aquainted with many interesting individuals, such as, say, my future spouse. Everybody, meet Kim:

I was sitting with my friends in sacrament meeting after an interesting, yet oddly enjoyable weekend, when Mustache Man, Kim's wingman, came over to me and Dwight-Shrewt-ishly said:

MM: "Hey, would you like to come sit with us in the front row?"

me: "I'm fine, I'm already sitting here with my friends." ("Oh, and who are you? Have we met before?")

MM: "There's a girl that really wants to meet you."

me: "You mean her?" I pointed to a girl in a green shirt. MM nodded and I mentally placed my hand on my forehead. "Ooookaaaay."

I walked over to the pew only to find that it was jam-packed with bodies. Where was I supposed to sit? On her lap!? Everyone began looking around as though somehow the act of searching would miraculously produce the appropriate amount of space. MM pointed to a Ms. Green Shirt.

MM: "This is Kim. She's been dying to meet you all weekend." Kim stood up and began shuffling toward me from the middle of the pew. We shook hands and I politely told her it was very nice to meet her. By this time it was apparent that she was not going to return to her seat. Being the solutionist that I am, I made my friends move down one seat to make room for Kim.

Of course we didn't say one word during the entire testimony meeting. Afterwards, Kim blurted:

Kim: "Are you on facebook?" She awaited my response with a coy head tilt and a sparkle in her braces.

me: "Yes. You can look me up. You do remember my name, right?" She shook her head, then proceeded to tell me how she had a poor short-term memory and that she had been hit in the head with a metal rod. At this point I was nodding as she mumbled something about her father and laughed. "That's nice," I said. "So it's Kyle." "Kyle Wilson." "W-I-L-S-O-N, you know, like the sports equipment brand?"

After a few blanks stares, I scribbled my name on a piece of paper that she produced and pointed out all the letters to her to make sure she could decipher them. Thinking that my work was done, I continued conversation with others and Kim disappeared.

To expedite our departure home, I decided to repark my car as the line for the final luncheon died down. Hungry and tired I began to puzzle my sandwich together with pieces that were now spread at various lcoations along a block of tables.

MM: "Kyle!" MM motioned to me from across the room and pointed to an unknown location as if to say "She's over here!" Of course neither of us spoke sign language, but I did my best to let him know that I was hungry and that I would be getting my food, and proceeded collecting my lunch, and sat at a table across the room with some friends of mine.

One bite into my sandwich, I felt MM's arm rest on my shoulder. He was sitting with a chair facing the wrong way leaning on me like an older brother would.

me: "I enjoyed your testimony today." MM began to reiterate his experiences that he had shared, when all of a sudden Kim popped right in front of me with a couple of her friends.

Kim: "Can I take a picture with you?" Wanting to get back to my sandwich, I agreed.

Kim: "Can we take it outside?"

me: "Where's the nearest door?" I asked looking around. We took the pic and that was that. She probably wouldn't be able to find me on facebook, anyway, as my privacy settings were in place.

A few days later a friend of Kim's, who I had never met, asked me to add her on facebook, as she couldn't find me. A few days after that, Kim found me and requested the inevitable facebook friendship. A week and a half later (today), I accepted my very first "limited" friendship on facebook. A half hour later, I received the following message:

Kim Reynolds April 6 at 6:39pm

Hi just wanted to say hi and late happy easter i hope that u i a good easter. Next is that where do u live and what city do u live in i really didn't get to meet u up in west virginia i only got to meet u for 15min so i did and i would like to meet u more so i do i hope that u would be friend and not like icaac. Then do u have a girlfriend just courase that all and i hope that u are having a wonderful day and enjoying the weather. Hope to u and do u have a cell phone.

Isaac or icaac, as written above, is a BYU friend of mine that I unexpectedly ran into at the YSA conference, and who apparently shares my story with Kim. In addition to the message, Kim had tagged herself in my profile pic:

Meanwhile, I found Kim's friend, who had asked me to add her, and let her know what was going on, that I was creeped out, and that I was going to unfriend Kim soon. Her response:

Oh yeah I can totally see where you are coming from and I really didn't realize it was going to be like that. I have definitely never seen her be so obsessive, I didn't even know she could be like that. It is really creepy. I'm really sorry about this.

For those of you who have made it to the end of this tragic tale, the moral of the story is that NICE does not always = HONEST. If I had been honest and told MM that I wouldn't sit with Kim because that was weird, or if I had simply told Kim that I really didn't know her, nor did I want to add her on facebook, sure it would have been awkward and potentially crushing for her, but look what could have been avoided.

BE TRUE, NOT NICE

Free Dave Ramsey Class

Dave has a 13-week program called Financial Peace University. Enrolled members meet once a week at a church or community center and go through the steps of getting out of debt, building an emergency fund, investing, life insurance/will/estate planning, etc.

I just heard that Dave is giving away a free class for people who have never been to FPU and would like to check it out. I signed up, and I hope any of you who are interested get the chance to check it out as well.

Click here to register:

Dave's Free FPU Class

Once you've registered, you can choose the date and location near you that you'd like to attend.