We are all amused at the aged tradition of Christmas Caroling. But where did caroling originate and how does that fit into modern society? Like so many histories in the world some questions will remain unanswered during our lifetime, but that aside, let us look at caroling through a modern lens to determine how it fits into our western civilization.
Imagine yourself sitting on your couch. The warmth of your body has enveloped the couch cushions, those same cushions which have embraced your body with a comfort worthy of a king. You lazily sip the hot cocoa which runs down your mouth and throat sending shivers down you back as your body welcomes the additional warmth to your being. A quiet movie is playing on your TV as your mind drifts into a state of perpetual ease. You allow yourself to get caught up in the moment and think to yourself how perfect things are right now.
Knock, knock…
Your perpetual ease is abruptly interrupted as the knocking continues. “I wonder who it could be?” you think to yourself as you leave the warm comfort of your couch, put down your hot cocoa, and make your way to the door.
As you approach the door you hear the faint sound of songs on the other side of the door. You know what is happening and you are reluctant to open that door knowing full well what the next few minutes will yield. You pause for a moment with your hand on the doorknob. With a deep breath and a heavy heart you open the door.
Immediately you are greeted with the sweet tones of Christmas Carols. The sound resonates in your ears as you take the first step onto the porch. You immediately forget about the soft comfortable couch that stroked your body with warmth as the cold winter air seizes every exposed portion of your body with the vengeance. So sweet of the carolers to be bundled up in their scarves, coats, and gloves heating their bodies as they sing songs of grace, celebrating the holiday spirit, as you stand cornered and powerless on your own porch. The only real comfort being given by the knowledge that if you stand out long enough, the cold will eventually seize your body and send you into a blissful, eternal sleep.
No thoughts are wasted upon the soothing power the hot cocoa could have on the throat that the icy hands of winter have grasped with a choking force as the caroler’s songs of glory are warming your soul.
And who needs to worry about the anxiety created by strangers singing to you at your door when the words they are saying are so sweet. So sweet, in fact, that you ignore the awkward feeling that is only replicated by a person standing right next to you in an elevator smiling and singing to you while stroking your back.
Next time you’ll remember to keep the porch light off.
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Signs
Do we fool ourselves when a series of events happen by saying, “oh, that’s just coincidence.” Meanwhile deep down inside you are thinking to yourself, “Should I be taking a hint?” How many times do things need to go wrong before I actually take one of those hints? When everything at work, despite my best efforts, goes downhill I begin to wonder whether or not I’m in the right business. These unfortunate incidences may or may not have happened more than once consecutively. Due to these and other circumstances, I find myself living on the scraps that I have managed to save up despite spending all my money on ballroom. LAME!! I think I need a new job….
I’m trying this new thing called BYUSA. A student volunteer association that allows students to “give back” to the university. They have a bunch of goals and stuff that I guess I agree with, but I wonder if those ideas get lost in the whole hype of things. I see some students trying to help out, but a lot of the people are living in their own bubble. Caught up in their own titles and whatever. Whatever…I find myself in a great situation of being able to plan a rather spectacular event. But I have all these deadlines of which I am trying to meet, yet find that I am not getting the quick responses I need to help me keep my other deadlines. I turn in a proposal to get it back 2 weeks later with a, “you need to have the revision done quickly, you’re past your deadline.” What the? Well if they would have given the initial proposal back on a timely basis, I wouldn’t be behind nor would I be up until 2am finishing it up! LAME! I think I need to use my time more wisely….
Girls…nuff said....LAME…no point in trying for any relationship.
We have all these signs that tell us what we are doing is something stupid. We just can’t get enough. We just can’t get enough. We laugh when we see someone punching somebody in the face with their own fists saying, “quit hitting yourself!” Is it only funny because we can relate so much? Why the heck do we continue beating ourselves up. Why don’t we take a hint….Read the signs…
I’m trying this new thing called BYUSA. A student volunteer association that allows students to “give back” to the university. They have a bunch of goals and stuff that I guess I agree with, but I wonder if those ideas get lost in the whole hype of things. I see some students trying to help out, but a lot of the people are living in their own bubble. Caught up in their own titles and whatever. Whatever…I find myself in a great situation of being able to plan a rather spectacular event. But I have all these deadlines of which I am trying to meet, yet find that I am not getting the quick responses I need to help me keep my other deadlines. I turn in a proposal to get it back 2 weeks later with a, “you need to have the revision done quickly, you’re past your deadline.” What the? Well if they would have given the initial proposal back on a timely basis, I wouldn’t be behind nor would I be up until 2am finishing it up! LAME! I think I need to use my time more wisely….
Girls…nuff said....LAME…no point in trying for any relationship.
We have all these signs that tell us what we are doing is something stupid. We just can’t get enough. We just can’t get enough. We laugh when we see someone punching somebody in the face with their own fists saying, “quit hitting yourself!” Is it only funny because we can relate so much? Why the heck do we continue beating ourselves up. Why don’t we take a hint….Read the signs…
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Personality Test
So the other day I was applying for a job online. After going through a rigorous application process that took way longer than I wanted, the application took me to a personality test. Around thirty or forty-six questions like:
Do you easily get angry?
- Strongly Disagree
- Disagree
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
Or
Do you get along with other people?
- Strongly Disagree
- Disagree
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
Or
Have you ever considered taking a shotgun and going postal at work?
- Strongly Disagree
- Disagree
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
Seriously, are we to undermine ourselves when applying for a job? What do they expect us to check? Do I easily get angry? Strongly Agree. Do I get along with other people? Strongly Disagree. Have I ever considered going postal? Oh yes, strongly Agree. Not only do I want to go postal at work, but you should also note that I support terrorist groups, I like Wayne’s World, and taking long walks on the beach while the sun is setting. What do they expect when people are evaluating themselves? As cynical as this may sound, the majority of the people in this world are hard to trust. The natural man is not only an enemy to God, but also to man. Even huge professional corporate giants do not seem as trustworthy as they use to, hence the current economic crisis. People don’t know where to put their money where it is safe. Banks are not loaning out money as easily or quickly because they don’t trust the general public anymore. We all are holding on to the few things we have perhaps waiting, sometimes in vain, for something or someone trustworthy enough to share what we have.
If I were to make a personality test to put at the end of a job application, I think it would save time for both the company and the person filling out the tediously long and boring application by simply asking…
Do you easily get angry?
- Strongly Disagree
- Disagree
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
Or
Do you get along with other people?
- Strongly Disagree
- Disagree
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
Or
Have you ever considered taking a shotgun and going postal at work?
- Strongly Disagree
- Disagree
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
Seriously, are we to undermine ourselves when applying for a job? What do they expect us to check? Do I easily get angry? Strongly Agree. Do I get along with other people? Strongly Disagree. Have I ever considered going postal? Oh yes, strongly Agree. Not only do I want to go postal at work, but you should also note that I support terrorist groups, I like Wayne’s World, and taking long walks on the beach while the sun is setting. What do they expect when people are evaluating themselves? As cynical as this may sound, the majority of the people in this world are hard to trust. The natural man is not only an enemy to God, but also to man. Even huge professional corporate giants do not seem as trustworthy as they use to, hence the current economic crisis. People don’t know where to put their money where it is safe. Banks are not loaning out money as easily or quickly because they don’t trust the general public anymore. We all are holding on to the few things we have perhaps waiting, sometimes in vain, for something or someone trustworthy enough to share what we have.
If I were to make a personality test to put at the end of a job application, I think it would save time for both the company and the person filling out the tediously long and boring application by simply asking…
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Past Few Years with the BYU Ballroom Dance Company
Inevitably when the end is coming I suppose people start looking at the beginning. For the past few years I have been heavily involved with ballroom. More so than I ever
thought. I take that back. After my mission I remember walking through the northwest entrance of the RB. I had a pair of latin shoes and I was going to a dance class or to practice. I don't remember which. At that moment the thought passed through my mind that I ballroom was going to become a really big part of my life. Just a passing thought I suppose, but in hindsight I can see the fulfillment of that single passing thought. That hasn't been the first time that has happened to me...I had never really imagined myself as a dancer, and still can't really. No matter how hard I tried, I never looked as good as I thought I did, most of you know who would watch yourself dance on video thinking, "Really? I look like that? I look horrible!!" Still, I know I have improved tremendously over the past years with ballroom and I don't think I need to be as embarrassed anymore.
So I have performed in front of hundreds, maybe thousands of people of the past 4 years and have gained great experiences and fond memories that will last me a lifetime. Though I have been involved with ballroom a number of years, things really didn't start to hit me with what I was doing until I made the Back-Up Touring Team. Just a brief summary of my entire ballroom experience:
Before my mission, my sister wanted to take a class with me. She, being close to graduating or something similar, chose beginning latin 185 to take together in the summer.
That was the only time since I was going to be leaving on my mission soon after that term. (Incidentally when my call came, I had to wait 4 months before I reported to the MTC, figures) Being a good older sister, she bought me a pair of latin shoes to help me dance better. We competed in the Nevada star ball that year, but 
I really don't ever remember practicing. Maybe she does. We got cut pretty quickly. Yeah, that was short lived.
I got back from my mission on the 25th of December 2003. Yup, Christmas day baby! The following winter semester I was, for whatever reason, determined to not take any dance class. I had completed my time in dance and it was time to move on.
So the year is 2004 and it is summer again. My best friend growing up decided he wanted to take summer classes. What's more is that he wanted to take a class together with me. Of all the classes he chose, beginning latin 185 would be the class he wanted to take together. After about 2 weeks of fighting this idea, I VERY reluctantly signed up for the summer term class. It was sometime during the first week of this summer term that I had the experience with walking down the RB that I mentioned before. Within the first week of being in the class I decided that it was something that I really enjoyed doing, consequently I signed up for 2 more dance classes. With the intent of trying out for the ballroom team.
Fall finally came around and I tried out for the team and made it!! As amazing as that sounds, when put into perspective, I was 1 out of about 23 or males that made it that semester. So nothing too special. So I was on Brent Keck's team for the following 2 semesters in which I experienced a sensation I had never had up to that point in my life. I was performing in a church building what we would call one of Brent's "Tango Dobles". There were 3 couples during that dance who did a "solo" part together. I was part of those 3 couples. I was dipping my partner when all of a sudden I hear a loud explosion. BOOM!!! Came the sound from my bottom back side and my face froze in horror. I wish I was on stage a part from the audience, because I'm sure then, nobody might have noticed the big flapping fabric located on my butt region. The noise the explosion made was so loud that the girl I was dipping (who had her head back for the dip) immediately raised her head and stared at me as though I had passed gas or worse. For the rest of the dance I remained in the front and hesitant to do anything to expose myself any more than I already had.
Besides that horrifying and traumatizing experience, the experience I had was great and I quit team that year for another opportunity I had in teaching junior high science. I left that winter semester having advanced to the 1 o' clock team.
After teaching a full year of junior high science, I came back to BYU and walked to the dance office. I wanted to be on the dance team again and I was wondering how to go about doing so. I ran into Curt Holman who told me that I didn't have to try out for team, they would just put me on one. Sweet!! So I started off the semester, grateful that I didn't have to try out on Brady Stevenson's team. I was only there 1 week when I was asked if I could move up to the 1 o' clock team. Of course I could!! So I danced that entire semester on the advanced back up team with Marci Edgington being the director, and I was grateful to be there.
I hadn't given it much thought to being moved up. I had hoped to maybe the following fall to be on back-up
. So I was very surprised and excited to recieve a phone call at the end of that fall semester to be placed on Curt Holman's back-up tour team. Little did I know what I was getting into. It was a whole new ball game being on the back-up tour team, we actually did full shows and were expected to perform, not just dance. I don't think I relaxed that entire semester. We went to Nauvoo that year, an experience both fun and memorable. By the end of the Nauvoo shows (we performed EVERY night for 2 weeks) I finally felt comfortable with performing and enjoyed it a lot.
I didn't dance again for the summer, and I wasn't planning on it. I did, however, receive a surprising email that changed my commitment to ballroom for the next couple of years. I was working and asked my boss if I could quickly check my e-mail. I did so and found out that I had made the BYU Ballroom Touring Team!!! I was blown away. I had known the guys who danced on that team. They were good dancers and there was no way that I was even close to being that good. But I humbly took the challenge and was determined to do my best to try and at least not look bad and make the team look bad. My hope was to at least blend in. I don't know how I really did, but I felt that after the first year I didn't stick out. There were many experiences that helped me to learn and grow over the next year on the team. I learned that the touring team takes a lot more time, commitment, and money than I had initially given them credit for. They danced a lot more shows and practiced harder than I ever would have imagined. We toured China that year which is a place I had only imagined going to. It is so far away that it had never even crossed my mind to go there, and with a ballroom team at that. There were some great performances, places, and experiences that I enjoyed while in China.
Then next year on the tour team would prove to be my final year on the team. It wasn't an easy year due to being ill on mid-semester tour and trying to cram in all my classes with what seemed like an unusually busy semester. Still, there were some great experiences that came and went with each performance. During World of Dance that year I started talking to Shani, the director of the Ballet Company. While being on the Ballroom team I would later help out the Ballet Company with Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. I don't think Lee was too happy with that. I was trying to figure out whether or not I should stay on the team for the following semester. After a lot of pray
er, fasting, and temple attendance, I decided that Heavenly Father wanted me to stay on. It was that assurance coupled with the help of friends that helped me stay on the team during the winter semester. Being 26 and still an undergrad, I didn't feel like I was where I necessarily wanted to be at this point of my life. Still, the decision to stay on team was for the best, I knew it, and I didn't regret it. My last tour was through all the church history sites and a few historic American sites. It was a good tour to end on.
Now it is all over and I can move on with other things in life. When I think about it, I wonder if quitting now is really the best thing I can do for myself. I am dancing ballroom better now than I ever had. I believe that I am improving at an fast rate and could be as good as a lot of dancers at BYU if I hang in there. You might say that I am in my prime even though I am 26:) However, although ballroom is fun and I would highly recommend the experience to all...the atmosphere and environment created by it, isn't something I necessarily want to be around constantly for the rest of my life. Although I can see myself enjoying concerts and Dancesp
ort all the same:) Like Henry David Thoreau, after being at Walden Pond for 2 years, decided that it was time to move on. He learned what he needed to and there were many other experiences that awaited him in his life. I'm excited to see what the future will bring and hope that I will have it in me to some how catch up with to all the goals I had set for myself a few years ago before I got into ballroom. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities and blessing I received from being on the ballroom team. Also, I am grateful for all the friendships and people I met while being on the team. All of you are amazing! Thanks for everything!
thought. I take that back. After my mission I remember walking through the northwest entrance of the RB. I had a pair of latin shoes and I was going to a dance class or to practice. I don't remember which. At that moment the thought passed through my mind that I ballroom was going to become a really big part of my life. Just a passing thought I suppose, but in hindsight I can see the fulfillment of that single passing thought. That hasn't been the first time that has happened to me...I had never really imagined myself as a dancer, and still can't really. No matter how hard I tried, I never looked as good as I thought I did, most of you know who would watch yourself dance on video thinking, "Really? I look like that? I look horrible!!" Still, I know I have improved tremendously over the past years with ballroom and I don't think I need to be as embarrassed anymore.So I have performed in front of hundreds, maybe thousands of people of the past 4 years and have gained great experiences and fond memories that will last me a lifetime. Though I have been involved with ballroom a number of years, things really didn't start to hit me with what I was doing until I made the Back-Up Touring Team. Just a brief summary of my entire ballroom experience:
Before my mission, my sister wanted to take a class with me. She, being close to graduating or something similar, chose beginning latin 185 to take together in the summer.
That was the only time since I was going to be leaving on my mission soon after that term. (Incidentally when my call came, I had to wait 4 months before I reported to the MTC, figures) Being a good older sister, she bought me a pair of latin shoes to help me dance better. We competed in the Nevada star ball that year, but 
I really don't ever remember practicing. Maybe she does. We got cut pretty quickly. Yeah, that was short lived.I got back from my mission on the 25th of December 2003. Yup, Christmas day baby! The following winter semester I was, for whatever reason, determined to not take any dance class. I had completed my time in dance and it was time to move on.
So the year is 2004 and it is summer again. My best friend growing up decided he wanted to take summer classes. What's more is that he wanted to take a class together with me. Of all the classes he chose, beginning latin 185 would be the class he wanted to take together. After about 2 weeks of fighting this idea, I VERY reluctantly signed up for the summer term class. It was sometime during the first week of this summer term that I had the experience with walking down the RB that I mentioned before. Within the first week of being in the class I decided that it was something that I really enjoyed doing, consequently I signed up for 2 more dance classes. With the intent of trying out for the ballroom team.
Fall finally came around and I tried out for the team and made it!! As amazing as that sounds, when put into perspective, I was 1 out of about 23 or males that made it that semester. So nothing too special. So I was on Brent Keck's team for the following 2 semesters in which I experienced a sensation I had never had up to that point in my life. I was performing in a church building what we would call one of Brent's "Tango Dobles". There were 3 couples during that dance who did a "solo" part together. I was part of those 3 couples. I was dipping my partner when all of a sudden I hear a loud explosion. BOOM!!! Came the sound from my bottom back side and my face froze in horror. I wish I was on stage a part from the audience, because I'm sure then, nobody might have noticed the big flapping fabric located on my butt region. The noise the explosion made was so loud that the girl I was dipping (who had her head back for the dip) immediately raised her head and stared at me as though I had passed gas or worse. For the rest of the dance I remained in the front and hesitant to do anything to expose myself any more than I already had.
Besides that horrifying and traumatizing experience, the experience I had was great and I quit team that year for another opportunity I had in teaching junior high science. I left that winter semester having advanced to the 1 o' clock team.After teaching a full year of junior high science, I came back to BYU and walked to the dance office. I wanted to be on the dance team again and I was wondering how to go about doing so. I ran into Curt Holman who told me that I didn't have to try out for team, they would just put me on one. Sweet!! So I started off the semester, grateful that I didn't have to try out on Brady Stevenson's team. I was only there 1 week when I was asked if I could move up to the 1 o' clock team. Of course I could!! So I danced that entire semester on the advanced back up team with Marci Edgington being the director, and I was grateful to be there.
I hadn't given it much thought to being moved up. I had hoped to maybe the following fall to be on back-up
. So I was very surprised and excited to recieve a phone call at the end of that fall semester to be placed on Curt Holman's back-up tour team. Little did I know what I was getting into. It was a whole new ball game being on the back-up tour team, we actually did full shows and were expected to perform, not just dance. I don't think I relaxed that entire semester. We went to Nauvoo that year, an experience both fun and memorable. By the end of the Nauvoo shows (we performed EVERY night for 2 weeks) I finally felt comfortable with performing and enjoyed it a lot.I didn't dance again for the summer, and I wasn't planning on it. I did, however, receive a surprising email that changed my commitment to ballroom for the next couple of years. I was working and asked my boss if I could quickly check my e-mail. I did so and found out that I had made the BYU Ballroom Touring Team!!! I was blown away. I had known the guys who danced on that team. They were good dancers and there was no way that I was even close to being that good. But I humbly took the challenge and was determined to do my best to try and at least not look bad and make the team look bad. My hope was to at least blend in. I don't know how I really did, but I felt that after the first year I didn't stick out. There were many experiences that helped me to learn and grow over the next year on the team. I learned that the touring team takes a lot more time, commitment, and money than I had initially given them credit for. They danced a lot more shows and practiced harder than I ever would have imagined. We toured China that year which is a place I had only imagined going to. It is so far away that it had never even crossed my mind to go there, and with a ballroom team at that. There were some great performances, places, and experiences that I enjoyed while in China.
Then next year on the tour team would prove to be my final year on the team. It wasn't an easy year due to being ill on mid-semester tour and trying to cram in all my classes with what seemed like an unusually busy semester. Still, there were some great experiences that came and went with each performance. During World of Dance that year I started talking to Shani, the director of the Ballet Company. While being on the Ballroom team I would later help out the Ballet Company with Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. I don't think Lee was too happy with that. I was trying to figure out whether or not I should stay on the team for the following semester. After a lot of pray
er, fasting, and temple attendance, I decided that Heavenly Father wanted me to stay on. It was that assurance coupled with the help of friends that helped me stay on the team during the winter semester. Being 26 and still an undergrad, I didn't feel like I was where I necessarily wanted to be at this point of my life. Still, the decision to stay on team was for the best, I knew it, and I didn't regret it. My last tour was through all the church history sites and a few historic American sites. It was a good tour to end on.Now it is all over and I can move on with other things in life. When I think about it, I wonder if quitting now is really the best thing I can do for myself. I am dancing ballroom better now than I ever had. I believe that I am improving at an fast rate and could be as good as a lot of dancers at BYU if I hang in there. You might say that I am in my prime even though I am 26:) However, although ballroom is fun and I would highly recommend the experience to all...the atmosphere and environment created by it, isn't something I necessarily want to be around constantly for the rest of my life. Although I can see myself enjoying concerts and Dancesp
ort all the same:) Like Henry David Thoreau, after being at Walden Pond for 2 years, decided that it was time to move on. He learned what he needed to and there were many other experiences that awaited him in his life. I'm excited to see what the future will bring and hope that I will have it in me to some how catch up with to all the goals I had set for myself a few years ago before I got into ballroom. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities and blessing I received from being on the ballroom team. Also, I am grateful for all the friendships and people I met while being on the team. All of you are amazing! Thanks for everything!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Lacking Answers...
Elder Boyd K. Packer:
"Sometimes you may struggle with a problem and not get an answer. What could be wrong? It may be that you are not doing anything wrong. It may be that you have not done the right things long enough. Remember, you cannot force spiritual things. Sometimes we are confused simply because we won't take no for an answer....Put difficult questions in the back of your minds and go about your lives. Ponder and pray quietly and persistently about them. The answer may not come as a lightning bolt. It may come as a little inspiration here and a little there, 'line upon line, precept upon precept' (D&C 98:12). Some answers will come from reading the scriptures, some from hearing speakers. And, occasionally, when it is important, some will come by very direct and powerful inspiration. The promptings will be clear and unmistakable" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1979, 29-30; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, 21).
Sometimes everything you do never seems to be enough...Thankfully we have Prophets and Apostles to help us stay on the straight and narrow.
"Sometimes you may struggle with a problem and not get an answer. What could be wrong? It may be that you are not doing anything wrong. It may be that you have not done the right things long enough. Remember, you cannot force spiritual things. Sometimes we are confused simply because we won't take no for an answer....Put difficult questions in the back of your minds and go about your lives. Ponder and pray quietly and persistently about them. The answer may not come as a lightning bolt. It may come as a little inspiration here and a little there, 'line upon line, precept upon precept' (D&C 98:12). Some answers will come from reading the scriptures, some from hearing speakers. And, occasionally, when it is important, some will come by very direct and powerful inspiration. The promptings will be clear and unmistakable" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1979, 29-30; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, 21).
Sometimes everything you do never seems to be enough...Thankfully we have Prophets and Apostles to help us stay on the straight and narrow.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
25 Things of Randomness of Myself...
25 Random Things about me:
1 – My full name is Eduardo Roberto Nunez, and I have no idea where my parents pieced all those together. I don’t think they do either, because I didn’t have an official name for the first 2 weeks of my life.
2 – I have a scar on my left bicep from when I dropped a burning pizza pan on it…details of the story can be given later if you really want to know…
3 – I played all low brass instruments in high school. Specialized in the tuba, and haven’t picked up the instrument since I graduated.
4 – I dance ballroom. Growing up in Texas and thinking dancing was gay…I NEVER saw that one coming…
5 – My left thumb is double jointed, something I didn’t realize until junior high or high school. I just assumed everybody was like that…
6 – I am positive. In elementary school I was asked if I was positive. Confused, but knowing I’m not negative, I said yes I’m positive. The little boy ran away laughing saying I was HIV positive…I still don’t get it…
7 – I don’t watch TV really, though I like a lot of shows such as the Simpsons, Mythbusters, Man vs. Wild, the Food Network, Discovery Channel, etc…I usually stick to movies.
8 – I served a mission in Spain. I guess this isn’t really random, but I thought I was going to go to South America for the longest time. I had to report 4 months after receiving my mission call because I was going to Spain. Something with the visa, I don’t really know…
9 – I currently work as a loan officer as well as being a full time student. Due to the crisis in the economy, I am now considering getting a masters degree.
10 – I have eaten a variety of foods including: King Scorpion, Sea Cucumber, Bean Curd, Starfish, Seahorse, Pill Bug, Dung Beetle, Locust, Goat Testicle, Frog, Pickled Chicken Feet, Pig Skin, Squid in its own Ink, among other things…
11 – I have a bald spot on my right eyebrow. I don’t remember how I got it, but I’ve been told my cousin and I ran right into each other’s heads. Apparently she has a similar scar…
12 – I have a full set of memories from a school I apparently never went to. At least that is what I’m told. These memories are extremely vivid to me and I swear it was all real…
13 – Nobody bothered telling me about what my GPA was in high school and its importance in getting into college. When my friends told me they had a 4.0 I laughed. What a small number!! Turns out I had slightly under a 4.0…I blame my high school counselor for my ignorance. I didn’t even know I was graduating with honors until a couple of days before graduation.
14 – I started cutting my own hair while I was on my mission. I don’t want to get into the gruesome details, but ultimately I found myself in a situation with no options, so I had to cut it myself…
15 – In junior high I had dreams of being an NBA superstar…In high school a famous musician…In college...how did I get into ballroom???
16 – I once got detained in L.A. for about 30 minutes in the airport on my way back from China. Turns out I had a warrant for my arrest. Ask me about the details, it is quite the story…
17 – I love lamp.
18 – D’s get diplomas…Not that I have anything against getting good grades. I learn because I enjoy it. And I only say that because it seems everybody I know stresses about their classes. Maybe because I have found I can pass a class without over-stressing myself...this is probably a character flaw of mine…
19 – I shot a mall cop with a rubber bullet one time after he told me to put my toy gun away. I don’t know why I did it, it seemed funny at the time…
20 – I don’t have to play a video game for very long before I become decent at it. (“very long” being somewhat relative) This skill was discovered and developed during my misspent child and youth-hood.
21 – I love to play sports. Ultimate Frisbee, racquetball, football, basketball, etc…I use to be decent at all of them, but I pretty much suck at all of them right now.
22 – I still have all four wisdom teeth. Apparently there was enough room for them to stay without crowding my big mouth.
23 – I’ve had the same leather wallet since jr. high which functions perfectly. When my mom original bought it for me I remember expressing how much I didn’t need it and why did it have to be leather. She told me because it will last a long time. In hindsight, I think she was right…
24 – I’m pretty sure I’m scared of heights. I’ll do crazy things from really high up and not freeze up. I’ll jump off the high dive and cliffs. I’ll walk to the edge of a 500 foot drop and not flinch. But inside I’m screaming. I’m pretty sure I’m scared of heights…
25 – I was mostly deaf as a child and I have popped both of my eardrums. I don’t remember how the first one happened, but the second happened sometime during or just after recess in elementary school. I was wiping the sweat off my face and noticed I was sweating a lot on one of my ears. After a little while I realized it was some sort of ooze and not sweat coming from inside my ear. Baffled, I kept on wiping it away as I walked back to class and sat down. Without warning pain shot into my inner ear, like an ear-ache, but much worse. Later I was told they put stitches on my eardrum or something. So I have a scar in there somewhere…
1 – My full name is Eduardo Roberto Nunez, and I have no idea where my parents pieced all those together. I don’t think they do either, because I didn’t have an official name for the first 2 weeks of my life.
2 – I have a scar on my left bicep from when I dropped a burning pizza pan on it…details of the story can be given later if you really want to know…
3 – I played all low brass instruments in high school. Specialized in the tuba, and haven’t picked up the instrument since I graduated.
4 – I dance ballroom. Growing up in Texas and thinking dancing was gay…I NEVER saw that one coming…
5 – My left thumb is double jointed, something I didn’t realize until junior high or high school. I just assumed everybody was like that…
6 – I am positive. In elementary school I was asked if I was positive. Confused, but knowing I’m not negative, I said yes I’m positive. The little boy ran away laughing saying I was HIV positive…I still don’t get it…
7 – I don’t watch TV really, though I like a lot of shows such as the Simpsons, Mythbusters, Man vs. Wild, the Food Network, Discovery Channel, etc…I usually stick to movies.
8 – I served a mission in Spain. I guess this isn’t really random, but I thought I was going to go to South America for the longest time. I had to report 4 months after receiving my mission call because I was going to Spain. Something with the visa, I don’t really know…
9 – I currently work as a loan officer as well as being a full time student. Due to the crisis in the economy, I am now considering getting a masters degree.
10 – I have eaten a variety of foods including: King Scorpion, Sea Cucumber, Bean Curd, Starfish, Seahorse, Pill Bug, Dung Beetle, Locust, Goat Testicle, Frog, Pickled Chicken Feet, Pig Skin, Squid in its own Ink, among other things…
11 – I have a bald spot on my right eyebrow. I don’t remember how I got it, but I’ve been told my cousin and I ran right into each other’s heads. Apparently she has a similar scar…
12 – I have a full set of memories from a school I apparently never went to. At least that is what I’m told. These memories are extremely vivid to me and I swear it was all real…
13 – Nobody bothered telling me about what my GPA was in high school and its importance in getting into college. When my friends told me they had a 4.0 I laughed. What a small number!! Turns out I had slightly under a 4.0…I blame my high school counselor for my ignorance. I didn’t even know I was graduating with honors until a couple of days before graduation.
14 – I started cutting my own hair while I was on my mission. I don’t want to get into the gruesome details, but ultimately I found myself in a situation with no options, so I had to cut it myself…
15 – In junior high I had dreams of being an NBA superstar…In high school a famous musician…In college...how did I get into ballroom???
16 – I once got detained in L.A. for about 30 minutes in the airport on my way back from China. Turns out I had a warrant for my arrest. Ask me about the details, it is quite the story…
17 – I love lamp.
18 – D’s get diplomas…Not that I have anything against getting good grades. I learn because I enjoy it. And I only say that because it seems everybody I know stresses about their classes. Maybe because I have found I can pass a class without over-stressing myself...this is probably a character flaw of mine…
19 – I shot a mall cop with a rubber bullet one time after he told me to put my toy gun away. I don’t know why I did it, it seemed funny at the time…
20 – I don’t have to play a video game for very long before I become decent at it. (“very long” being somewhat relative) This skill was discovered and developed during my misspent child and youth-hood.
21 – I love to play sports. Ultimate Frisbee, racquetball, football, basketball, etc…I use to be decent at all of them, but I pretty much suck at all of them right now.
22 – I still have all four wisdom teeth. Apparently there was enough room for them to stay without crowding my big mouth.
23 – I’ve had the same leather wallet since jr. high which functions perfectly. When my mom original bought it for me I remember expressing how much I didn’t need it and why did it have to be leather. She told me because it will last a long time. In hindsight, I think she was right…
24 – I’m pretty sure I’m scared of heights. I’ll do crazy things from really high up and not freeze up. I’ll jump off the high dive and cliffs. I’ll walk to the edge of a 500 foot drop and not flinch. But inside I’m screaming. I’m pretty sure I’m scared of heights…
25 – I was mostly deaf as a child and I have popped both of my eardrums. I don’t remember how the first one happened, but the second happened sometime during or just after recess in elementary school. I was wiping the sweat off my face and noticed I was sweating a lot on one of my ears. After a little while I realized it was some sort of ooze and not sweat coming from inside my ear. Baffled, I kept on wiping it away as I walked back to class and sat down. Without warning pain shot into my inner ear, like an ear-ache, but much worse. Later I was told they put stitches on my eardrum or something. So I have a scar in there somewhere…
Monday, December 15, 2008
Embarrassing/awkward
It’s weird, but a lot of times people will pop the question, “What is one of your most embarrassing or awkward moments?” as an ice-breaker question. First of all, if it was embarrassing to a bunch of people that I didn’t know or care about, why would I want to share it with another person I don’t know who is asking the question and wants a response face-to-face? Secondly, who asks that to someone who they really don’t know? If the conversation is filled with so much small talk that it ends up at this question, hang out with somebody else.
There should be an unwritten rule about asking this question. You shouldn’t ask it until you at least know where the person is from, or their major, or what they want to do with their life. Upon asking it, if they feel comfortable enough to answer, ask for their social security number as well. I dunno, it’s at least worth a try…
In any case, I have thought of some random “embarrassing”, awkward, or at least unsettling experiences I have had, or think most people have, that you might be able to say in such an instance where you have to give an embarrassing moment and too much personal information isn’t divulged. At least for me this is the case:
- Walking up to the podium in front of a large crowd (i.e. sacrament meeting or big dinner party where hundreds of people are looking at you at the same time.
- Peeing shoulder to shoulder in a public restroom with another man
- When you are by yourself walking across the street with a bunch of people in cars looking at you. (it might be just as awkward sometimes being the person in the car)
- Walking into an elevator when you don’t know anybody and you all stand in silence for several floors as the elevator creeps up…
- Twitching, snoring, screaming, or whatever when you are sleeping in class
- Drooling on yourself while sleeping in public
- Clogging the toilet when visiting a friend or neighbor
- Trying to be cautious when passing gas and trying to make it silent because you really have to go, and your plan fails…
- Dropping your tray at lunch
- Going to school with a black eye (people are going to ask and you don’t have a good story to tell them)
- Blowing a hole in your pants on stage
- Blowing a hole in your pants and go all day without realizing it until you get home and change
- Walking around with your zipper undone. (the problem is magnified when the shirt you have tucked in is sticking out)
- Smiling with something stuck in your teeth (only a good friend will tell you)
- Waving back to someone you think is waving at you, when, in fact, they are waving to the person behind you
- Showing up to an event either over-dressed or under-dressed in comparison to everyone else there who seemed to have got the memo…
- Passing out when giving blood
- Getting a physical…you know what part I’m talking about boys…(cough, cough)This problem is also made worse when it is a hot nurse/doctor checking doing the physical...
- When on a date you realize you don’t have your wallet or enough money to pay for the activity or food…
This is just a small list of things that can or have happened to me. Some I have only heard from other people and that is bad enough for me…if you have any other ideas, feel free to add to this list! So next time you get asked the question of embarrassing moments, you can have a quick lame response to kill the conversation again…
There should be an unwritten rule about asking this question. You shouldn’t ask it until you at least know where the person is from, or their major, or what they want to do with their life. Upon asking it, if they feel comfortable enough to answer, ask for their social security number as well. I dunno, it’s at least worth a try…
In any case, I have thought of some random “embarrassing”, awkward, or at least unsettling experiences I have had, or think most people have, that you might be able to say in such an instance where you have to give an embarrassing moment and too much personal information isn’t divulged. At least for me this is the case:
- Walking up to the podium in front of a large crowd (i.e. sacrament meeting or big dinner party where hundreds of people are looking at you at the same time.
- Peeing shoulder to shoulder in a public restroom with another man
- When you are by yourself walking across the street with a bunch of people in cars looking at you. (it might be just as awkward sometimes being the person in the car)
- Walking into an elevator when you don’t know anybody and you all stand in silence for several floors as the elevator creeps up…
- Twitching, snoring, screaming, or whatever when you are sleeping in class
- Drooling on yourself while sleeping in public
- Clogging the toilet when visiting a friend or neighbor
- Trying to be cautious when passing gas and trying to make it silent because you really have to go, and your plan fails…
- Dropping your tray at lunch
- Going to school with a black eye (people are going to ask and you don’t have a good story to tell them)
- Blowing a hole in your pants on stage
- Blowing a hole in your pants and go all day without realizing it until you get home and change
- Walking around with your zipper undone. (the problem is magnified when the shirt you have tucked in is sticking out)
- Smiling with something stuck in your teeth (only a good friend will tell you)
- Waving back to someone you think is waving at you, when, in fact, they are waving to the person behind you
- Showing up to an event either over-dressed or under-dressed in comparison to everyone else there who seemed to have got the memo…
- Passing out when giving blood
- Getting a physical…you know what part I’m talking about boys…(cough, cough)This problem is also made worse when it is a hot nurse/doctor checking doing the physical...
- When on a date you realize you don’t have your wallet or enough money to pay for the activity or food…
This is just a small list of things that can or have happened to me. Some I have only heard from other people and that is bad enough for me…if you have any other ideas, feel free to add to this list! So next time you get asked the question of embarrassing moments, you can have a quick lame response to kill the conversation again…
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