Running 2016

Since running was one of my hobbies last year, I thought I would write some about my experiences with that.  It all started July 2015, when Dave Yung invited me to run Ragnar with him the following year.  I knew some of my friends had run Ragnar, so I agreed to do it.

Prior to this time, I hadn't really run at all.  I was on the track team my Senior year in High School, but I think the coach forgot that I was on the team, so I didn't compete very much.  I ran maybe a couple 5Ks prior to this, once through a park with the YSA stake, and at least once on the treadmill at the gym.  I'm more of a biker, I rode my bicycle tons of times, and riding long distance doesn't bother me at all.  But I figured a full year would give me plenty of time to practice and train myself up so that I'd be able to do it.

My Adventures in Pokémon Go

For those that know me well, they know that I go against the stereotypical nerd playing video games all day.  People are often surprised to learn this.  But there is one video game that I'll play, and that is Pokémon.  So of course when I heard about the Pokémon Go app, I knew that I'd have to break down and get my first smart phone game.  This is a summary of my thoughts and feelings about it over the last year and a half.

2016 -- A Year in Brief

This year, even though I did a lot, it didn’t quite feel like a lot. I had a lot of adventures, but they were similar to each other, so they kind of all got grouped together.

• Worked with my new church calling for four months straight -- building cleaning chair. Next year, the three wards will switch off each month, and that should be better.
• Broke a filling, but didn't notice.
• Later broke a different filling and did notice.
• Learned I have a pretty high pain tolerance.
• Stepped it up a notch at work, highlight being creating some intense formulas to convert coordinate systems.
• Switched payment systems from “time-in-grade” to a contribution-based system. I’m optimistic about this.
• This was the third time I went to the board game convention, but the first time that I went with a friend. He wasn't sure at first, but he got addicted.
• So in that vein, he talked me into joining him at the Salt Lake Gaming Con, and the Saint George board game convention.
• Won a Catan tournament, and won an Agricola tournament.
• Went on some fun dates with some beautiful women.
• A bunch of people attempted to set me up on blind dates. I’m sorry things didn’t work out with that.
• Volunteered to answer questions about Mormons on message forum for Christians. It wasn’t as crazy as last year, but it was still somewhat disappointing.
• Ran Ragnar for the first time, both Wasatch Back and Las Vegas, each with a different group of friends.
• Went backpacking into the Uintas twice, each with a different group of friends.
• My favorite compliment this year was during the backpacking trip from the coworker who set it up, that I was one of the most manly men he knew. He didn’t say, but I suspect that it was because a lesser man would have spent more time complaining instead of getting stuff done.
• A coworker didn't remember a password, but I was able to guess it for him.
• Breathed in helium for the first time.
• Walked through Las Vegas for the first time.
• Started going to NUGG game nights a lot more.
• New Board games I got this year: Concept, Codenames, Dead of Winter: The Long Night, Widow’s Walk, Terra Mystica, and Punderdome.
• Fixed my swamp cooler all by myself.
• Got a new niece.
• Defeated the Elite Four in Pokémon Black. Later in the year, I bought Pokémon Moon.
• Got my first game for my cell phone, and started spending a lot of time running through the streets at night. (Which helped me maintain stamina between Ragnars.)
• So you could say I had some well-spent time celebrating the 20th anniversary of Pokémon.
• Finished watching the Twilight Zone.
• Watched Star Trek, both original series and animated series to celebrate it's 50th anniversary this year. Started watching The Next Generation, and I plan on watching all the others eventually.
• Also got myself a Star Trek shirt.
• Paid off my car, and so became debt free.
• Major wind storm cracked my windshield.
• Watched in Theaters: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Saturday's Warrior, Magnificent 7, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
• Read: The Hunger Games, and The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon.
• Three crazy drivers (or possibly the same driver on three different occasions?) intentionally tried to intimidate me. Not sure what's going on there, or how I should feel about that.
• Met a bunch new friends as I'm transitioning away from my YSA ward to the SA ward.
• Also met a bunch new friends in relation the the board games and running that I did this year.

I feel like this was in many ways a better year than last. Although some goals for the new year I need to recommit myself to, I’m not stuck feeling sorry for myself like last year. It has also been one of transition. I am grateful for my old YSA ward in letting me keep crashing their FHE activities, that has helped me a lot, but it’s time I move on. Though I hope you still consider me a friend and will still invite me to stuff.

It was also a year for getting more involved with my board game hobby, spending more time with my interest in camping, and developing a running hobby. Well, maybe that one’s not a hobby, not sure what you’d call it....

An adventure, that’s what you call it. Yes, in fact, I’d say this whole year has been an adventure, and I’ll look forward to the adventures of 2017!