Long time, no email

So I didn't do an email on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, and thats because I
was actually busy for once. I wasn't even home on Friday or Saturday
because I went camping in the desert. It was rockin cool, we messed around
on some cliffs and threw rocks and stuff and then we played Monopoly. It
was extreme. I have never played Monopoly in such a scenic place in my
life. Then Saturday I got home and I don't even remember what time it was.
Possibly 3? And I showered and looked for food but there was none because
my family took it all with them on their trip to northern Idaho (I'll get to
that in a bit), so I went to A&W's because I hadn't been there in years, and
when I got home my family was back, so we played Settlers of Catan, and I
won for the first time and I won both times we played. So that was pretty
snazzy. And then Sunday I spent all morning sleeping, and all afternoon at
church and choir and my mission interview and more singing with the Calls
and Fagers, and then I went to ward prayer and I only knew one person there,
so it was a little bit lame. And by a little, I mean a lot. But I no
longer have any mission papers in my possession, so that makes up for the
lame ward prayer. I guess. So that was my weekend, I actually did stuff,
and now I think I'm due for a long long period of sitting around again. Too
much fresh air could kill me.

So my brother Michael was on this team in the Mars Rover competition, and
for those of you who don't know anything about this, they build little
robots that are supposed to act as Mars rovers, and collect rocks, handle
the extreme terrain, etc. And so my brother's team took first in regionals,
so they got to go up to Moscow Idaho for the state competition, where they
took first again (by half a point). Way to go Michael!

And uh, I'm going to report on the Holidays that I missed in case you want
to celebrate next year (when unfortunately I will be unable to send these
emails). Friday was Hairstyle Appreciation Day. Which reminds me of my
hairdo just a few days before leaving Provo. That was wicked cool, but I
don't know how many people saw it. I know Cambell did, and possibly whoever
I ate with that day. Anyway, Friday was also National Honesty Day. And
Saturday was May Day, Loyalty Day, Mother Goose Day, Save The Rhino Day,
Space Day. Sunday was Astronomy Day (I think its definitely time to
celebrate astronomy, because I PASSED!!), Baby Day, Brothers and Sisters
Day, International Space Day (enough with space though, seriously. no one
cares), Fire Day (no, Andrea I didn't do anything foolish :) And today is
Lumpy Rug Day (rock on!), and National Day of Prayer.

This month is Date Your Mate Month, National Barbeque Month, National Bike
Month, National Blood Pressure Month, National Hamburger Month, National
Photograph Month, National Recommitment Month, National Salad Month, and
Older Americans Month. Start the grill, have some burgers w/ salad, and
invite your grandparents. It should be fun.

Happy Birthday to:
Johann Valentin Meder, 1649
Florian Leopold Gassmann, 1729
Freidrich Wilhelm Weis, 1744
Giuseppe Acerbi, 1773
George Thomson, 1892 (won Nobel prize for discovering electron diffraction)
Zoltan Korda, 1895
Walter Slezak, 1902
Bing Crosby, 1903
John Rhea "Yank" Lawson, 1911
Sugar Ray Robinson, 1920
James Brown, 1928
Frankie Valli, 1937 (Name that band!)
John Costello, 1943
Peter Staples, 1944 (hahaha! he played with the Troggs!! what a
loser-band!!)
Bruce Hall, 1953 (bassist for REO Speedwagon, now there's a real band)
Ron Hextall, 1964 (goalies are the best!)
Vyacheslav Kozlov, 1972 (I think its about time he retires. Stupid red
wings)

Happy Deathday to:
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, 1704
Frank Hoyt Losey, 1931
Otto Winter-Hjelm, 1931
Bruce Cabot, 1972
Hugh Beaumont, 1982
Milford Dolliole, 1994
Richard Scarry, 1994 (awww, the memories)

And famousish things that happened today in history:
Columbus discovers Jamaica, 1494 (he called it St. Iago, which is cooler,
really?)
Francis Bacon accused of bribery, 1621 (I wouldn't doubt that he was guilty.
Very hypocritical man)
Royal charter granted Connecticut, 1662
Lord Byron swims Hellespont, 1810
1st regular steam train passenger service starts, 1830
1st black lawyer (Macon B Allen) admitted to bar (Mass), 1845
1st nonstop transcontinental flight, 1923
Luftwaffe bombs Exeter, 1942 (both incredibly awesome names too, if you ask
me)
All Things Considered premieres on 112 National Public Radio stations, 1971
(MY FAVORITE!!)
Garry Kasparov begins chess match with IBM supercomputer Deep Blue, 1997

Thats about all I have for today, and now I'm off to chill in my high school
Japanese class. Sorry I can't write personal emails to everyone, but I will
try and do two or three a day at least, and if you write to me first, I
promise I'll write you back. Its so hard trying to keep up with everyone
all the time. Well, have a good day/week. Best of luck to everyone.
B'arris