TAGGED!

I was standing on the corner of 200 south and 300 west in Salt Lake City last night and a group of lawless thugs ran up to me and tagged me with their gang signs! It happened so fast that I hardly had time to react. I've now got "West Side Thugs" written - or rather scribbled - across my stomache.

Not really, though.

That would make for an incredible story, but the extent to which I've been tagged is merely in the terms of blogging. Bridgette, over at lifeinredshoes tagged me quite some time ago, so it's high time I do this thing.

Let's begin.

3 Joys

1) Running - It's funny, I never realized how much I enjoyed running and how crucial it had become to my internal well-being (not just a physical thing, but emotionally as well) until I tore my PCL playing football last Thanksgiving. I was out for four months. No running. No sports. Nothing active. And it killed me. I've learned to really love the feeling of pushing myself to the thresh-hold between relaxation and pain - that point where your body is just beginning to groan, but you still feel exhilarated by the fact that you're running. The air swooshes by your face, and you find that perfect posture where the effort-to-speed ratio becomes optimized. Mmmm.

2) Family - Nothing beats spending time with your family. Whether it's spent learning about the "all-important car fluids" with Dad, playing games with Mom, throwing the football and/or shooting hoops with Tyler and Steve, or talking about good and bad design with Shan, I simply love spending time with my family.

3) Hiking - I recently read an article by a professor of film at BYU. He stated that he never feels closer to God than while at a really inspiring theatrical production. I realized as I read this that we all have our "places" where we feel closest to Deity. Mine is on a hike, somewhere far above the expansive valleys, where the air thins away into the endless blue canopy above. I'm no granola head, but I love nature. And the fact that I live no more than 10 minutes from some of the greatest trailheads in the country makes me giddy like a schoolgirl.

I'm going to keep it to one set of three's because I've gotta go finish readying myself for my upcoming Mexican adventure. :) I'll tag a few of you via comments on your blogs, so keep your eyes open! Adios!

-Barry

P.S. Fun Fact - Adios is derived from two words in Spanish, "a" and "Dios" which is literally translated as "to God". It's their way of wishing you well on your way. :) Now you know. And knowing is half the battle. (cue cheesy 80's "The More you Know" theme song)