Raytown & My Second Blog

Well, its been a couple weeks since we moved into Raymond and things are awesome so far. Its nice to have a house instead of an apartment; there's definately something to be said about not having loud kids running around upstairs. The driving back and forth to the University (roughly a 45 minute journey including walking from the Institute building) has not been a big concern either. Its nice to be near family, and we have seen quite alot of them since moving back. Since our internet connection won't be there for another couple days, we've been using my parents' internet for homework. Not to mention their cable to watch our weekly shows (Heroes for me, Grey's Anatomy for Hilary).

As school draws to a close, I am actually finding myself a bit sad, strangely enough. I have begun to enter into a field that I actually enjoy, and so, following the example of a friend of mine (see www.bradycahoon.com), I have started a second blog: scholaria.wordpress.com. Basically, it will be a place for me to write about cool stuff I learn or feel like blogging about that interests me on a more academic level. I also discovered that wordpress is a much more powerful (and technical) blogging site, but have decided to keep this blog where it is for now and juggle the two.

As far as Christmas goes, its coming soon!!! I'm really excited to get together with friends and family that I havn't seen in a while, crack open the Egg Nog, and spread some good ol' Christmas cheer. Of course, the 3:00 AM viewing of Tim Allen's The Santa Clause will be in order, as well all other wonderful Christmas traditions.

Like A Tractor Beam, Sucked Me Right In...

Well, this weekend we're moving back to old Ray-town! That's right, I thought I'd never go back, and yet once you're married it seems to draw you in like a mouse to some sweet, sweet cheese. Its going to be really awesome to be back just in time for Christmas. The second we get our stuff in the house we're going to be setting up for Christmas too: setting up lights, the tree, and Hilary's got all sorts of crafting shinanigans up her sleeve that we'll be drowning in holiday cheer in no time! The house is going to be a bit of a downgrade as far as space goes, but luckily there's a shed and garage, so we've got plenty of room to cram stuff away.

Its going to be cool to be back in ol' Raymond 2nd Ward too, since I havn't been there since 200...5? Yeah sure. I grew up in that ward, and although I'm sure its changed alot over the years, I'm excited to come back to some old (and new) faces. Our last ward was...dece. Students/newlyweds are a dime a dozen in our old ward, and they were really used to having them leave before they got a chance to fellowship them, so for the most part it felt like we were ignored. Then again, we bailed after six months, so its not like we gave them any reason to change their ideas about newlyweds! Haha.

School is wrapping to a close. After a long battle with Organic Chemistry, I realized that I absoutely hate it, and decided that any future that would be shared with Chemistry would not be shared with me. I'm now focusing on Psychology, and hoping to go as far as possible in the field and become and leader in research one day. As far as a narrower scope within psych: I havn't decided yet, but I intend to completely drown myself in the field until something really catches my interest (more than the others, its all interesting). Luckily, I don't have to make that decision for several years. In the mean time, its just school, family, and work.

Working towards the light at the end of the tunnel of final exams,
Zac

Tagged and Moving

Well, turns out I put our apartment upon Kijiji to avoid being nailed with fees, and it was rented within two days! Haha. Our management company actually called me and asked me to take the add down because they were getting bombarded by calls. So, anyway, at the end of the month we will be moving to Raymond, which will be great! Just in time for Christmas too.

So, this is short but I spent all night writing an essay, and I have yet to sleep. This should be good: seven randoms about me.

1. I am very much a huge geek. Video games. Comic books. Superhero movies. All HUGE past times of mine.

2. I have hopes of one day getting a PhD in Psychology, conduct experiments on people, and teach.

3. I have a great interest in alternative health methods as well as self-help/psychology theories and methods. Hilary has accused me of thinking I'm in someones head.

4. When I sleep, somehow all of the sheets (including that one that is fitted to the mattress) become untucked and completely messy.

5. I have been working either part or full time in the retail industry since I was in Grade 12 (apart from the mission). Some people would say I can sell a drill or two.

6. I love to write, either fiction or non-fiction. Fiction, however, is where I really enjoy it. I am involved with a couple interactive stories online.

7. I am so tired that I can't even think straight. I'm going to bed...

Apartment Blues

So, I finally got that mosaic up! :)

Anyways, so let me tell all yallz a story. Never rent an apartment from a management company. They suck. Since being married we have been renting from a company known as Braemore Management in Lethbridge, and though I don't really want to go into the details of why we are sick of them, we are. And thus we put in our notice on Monday. We were told we needed to have it in by the first of the month, but since Nov 1st fell on a Saturday, we figured we'd be safe putting it in on Monday (the 3rd). Yeah, like I said, management companies suck. They told us our notice was late, and if the place doesn't rent next month, we'll be responsible for the rent next month as well. Ugh, so retarded. Anyway, I figured I'd take the situation into my own hands and placed an add on Kijiji.ca referring anyone interested to their website and phone number. I had to have my email address linked to it, and I've had around eight people so far show interest. Haha! Within six hours of having it on the site, Braemore called and said they wanted to show the property.

Ericksons: 1
The System: 0

We're hoping to find a place out in Raymond, and we're going to look at a place on Saturday. It will be really fun to live out there with family. My only regret would be having to quit teaching seminary.

Other than that, finals are creeping up, and for the next two weeks, midterms will be all up ons. Did you ever notice that mid-terms are not in the middle of the term? Sometimes you have like...two or three mid-terms! Like...quarterly-terms or something. Moving will be crazy during finals, but whatever. :)

Mosaic

Jessica had a cool mosaic on her blog, so I made one of my own. The following:



1name: Zac
2favorite food: Pizza
3favorite color: blue & orange
4nickname: Zacko
5favorite drink: fruit smoothie
6celebrity crush: Rosie O'Donnell
7dream vacation: Philippines
8one word to describe you: Creative
9what you love most in life: My wife, but since there wasn't a pic on the website, my second love is Midas
10favorite song of all time: Super Massive Black Hole, Muse
11current location: University of Lethbridge
12what you want to be when you grow up:Scientist

Seminary Shoebox Video: My Love For Making Movies

Over the past two weeks or so, Lethbridge Seminary has been doing the classic Operation: Christmas Child shoebox drive. This, for those of you who don't know what that is, is where you fill a shoebox full of fun stuff that is then sent to 3rd-world-countries around the world in time for Christmas to be awesome for them.

However, so far things have been...sluggish at best. So, last night I sat down at my laptop, poured over mission pictures & videos, and put together a five minute video/slideshow. I threw in a number from the Primary Choir from October's conference, as well as a quote I found from President Monson in a Oct 2003 General Conference. Hopefully the video loads (the University internet has horrible upload speeds).

I showed it to my class this morning and they loved it. It will be shown to the rest of the students if their teachers choose to use it as well. I'm really glad that I've been able to use my love and talent for creating movies in this way. Its really fun and its nice to be able to go back and really see that you've made something good in the end.

As for my regular movie making love, we've made Saving Kenya and Saving Kenya II (secret agent spoofs), both of which can be found on my Facebook profile. Next movie you ask? Well, after Saving Kenya and Saving Kenya II, I want to try out something else we've joked around with for a while: Free-Style Walking, a trailer for a mockumentary of extreme walking. I don't really feel like making the whole thing at this point, but if it turns out super well, who knows what will happen? After that, another Saving Kenya type movie would be good. :)

If You Own a Wii, Go Steal $23!

So, its been a while since I blogged about some geek stuff that I oh so enjoy. So, I read on IGN about two great games that became available for download on Wii: World of Goo, a construction puzzle game, and Secret of Mana, an RPG that was originally released on SNES.

World of Goo is a great puzzle game where you use little goo balls to build jelly structures to carry other goo balls to a pipe. Sound simple? It is! The style, challenge, and humor in the game is incredible though, and there are levels that can really challenge you. Its awesome. For only $15 on WiiWare, its one of the most "bang for you buck" packages that I've seen available. Absolutely incredible.



Secret of Mana, one of the greatest roleplaying games on Super Nintendo, also was available for download on Virtual Console (Wii's service for downloading games from past systems). I havn't gotten too far, but I've played the other games in the Mana series (Final Fantasy Adventure/Sword of Mana). So far it feels alot like the other games in the series. Aparently you can play up to three people in the game, but unless I can convince Hilary to play a game where she swings a sword around and casts spells, I think I'll be playing by myself! :) Not that I mind.

So, if you own a Wii, go out and steal $23 bucks from someone! You would get two incredible games for Wii, and hours and hours of gameplay!

I wanna be a loser!

First off, I wanna make a plug to my wifey's blog. She seems to have better insight on our lives, and if you're really feeling religious on following our lives, you might to well to stalk her blog as well as mine. :)

Well, midterms have come and gone, and so I'm finally able to blog again. Over the past two weeks, I have had five exams, a huge bio report due, as well as various assorted assignments. Oh yeah, and work. :) So, its been crazy.

So, back at Thanksgiving the fam got together and had dinner. After we all were ridiculously full of poultry delight, we collaborated and decided to start the Biggest Dudley Loser, i.e. everyone pitches in $20 and at Christmas, the one who loses the most weight (in percentage of body weight) gets the pot. So what have I done? So, Zac's game plan?

#1 Put it a little time on Wii Fit every day - I've been trying to convince Wii Fit that I'm not obese, but to no avail...it appears that I have some work to do to prove myself otherwise. However, the mere fact of weighing myself and doing a few simple exercises 3ish times a week is going to help.

#2. Cut the crap. Basically, I have decided to stop making excuses for not losing weight, such as "I'm too tired to take the stairs" or "its hard" or "I think being fat is cool." So far, its going alright, although weight loss is really is mind set and a life style, and the healthier your mindset, the more you'll lose.

#3. Be patient. It takes time to lose weight, so I can't expect to see results overnight. It will take time, but I'm convinced that if I ramp up the exercise a bit and watch what I eat, six months or a year from now, Mr. Wii Fit will be telling me that I'm merely overweight, and not actually an obese lard.

Well, I've got class, and then I'm gonna go swimming. Ah, sweet swimming...

Election 2008

Well, it was a great election that we saw come and go here in Canada. Although I am not a heated, passionate contributor to politics, I try to do my part to stay informed about, as the Flight of the Conchords would say, "the issues." It seems to me like this election was all about the leaders more so than the platforms of the given parties. Personally, I believe that Stephen Harper is very trustworthy and has never really given Canadians reason to doubt him. He is a very wise, humble leader who stands firm in that which he believes. To me, it seemed like there were too many flaws in the other campaigns. Carbon Tax? Uh...yeah, no. Seems to me like forcing a tax to have people be green is ridiculous. Slam the economy so that Canada has a greener thumb. And NDP? Well, the big thing for me was "we're going to get more doctors and nurses!" Have you heard the ads that are on the radio that say "if you have ever been a nurse, you are needed now more than ever." Its not like doctors and nurses don't want to work, or that they can't find work, and its the government's fault. Its the fact that there aren't any! What are you going to do, import them from 3rd world countries so that Jimbo James in Welling can have his own family doctor? Yeah, no. Dear NDP: research the areas of your campaign before using it as a cornerstone. Personally, I'm pleased with the results. It would have been nicer if the Bloc Quebeqois decided to be Canadians and stop insisting on seperating so we could have a majority government, but whatever. Anyways, politics! My rant for the day. Til next time...SMARF!

NEW BLOG!

Blogger - an Internet journal that crosses the busy streets while attempting not to be run over by oncoming traffic.

Well, since it's been forever since I've entered a blow into the vault, I think I'll do it. So, quick recap of my life. It consists of four things: school, seminary, work, and home.

1. School - After a month of classes now passed, I am once again drowning in wonderful midterms and the like. Apparently, if you want to be a scientist, you have to be molded into one through an intensive, highly stressful process including piling on an impossible amount of work from a number of different classes. Yeah...not a fan. With classes on genetics, organic chemistry, neuroscience, academic writing, and the history of European civilization from the years Umpteeen Fiddy BCE to the present day, I'm more the swamped at any given time. Over all, however, I enjoy what I'm learning, which is nice, considering the generous donation I've made to the school so far this year.

2. Seminary - Yeah, that's right. Zac Erickson is a bonafide seminary teacher. Like...for real. It been great so far actually. I teach 15 Grade 9 kids at LCI the early morning seminary class. They have presented several challenges, the least of which has not been inspiring them to muster up enough enthusiasm to sing the opening song above a high volume whisper, or to actually answer questions and spark discussion. Most of them ate there every morning though, so it great. Getting up at 6:30 am has proven an interating curveball into my life, but it definately helps me to be to my classes on time. :)

3. Work - I'm still chuggin away working at Home Depot. I'm averaging around 13 hours a week there, which is nice. I work in the Hardware/Tools department, and over the past few days have been able to help out the boss by fiddling around with their new computer system. In attempt to optimize sale potential and operation efficiency, they've adopted a new program, which so far has proven nothing but slower and more of a headache. Most are clinging to the hope that "one day it will work," but I am simply sitting back, thanking the Occupation Gods that I don't have to spend 40 hours a week there luke I did in the summer. Blegh.

4. Home - Ah, whoever said "home is where the heart is" sure was on to something. I mean, really, every day I come home to my beautiful wife and life is good again. We are currently living in Lethbridge in a little green threeplex and couldn't be happier. Hilary is also in school (in her third year of nursing) and the two if us love going to school together at the University of Lethbridge. We were considering on bringing a puppy into our home a while back, but after careful consideration, we decided a two bedroom apartment isn't quite big enough for a puppy. I mean, come on, we had goldfish and all three died! In my defense, however, I think the lady at Petcetera never gave us filter.

So, anyways, life is good. I'll attempt to write more on here. Blog power!!

Wii Fit: The Perfect Gift For Your Obese Husband

Well, its been quite some time since I made a blog! I mean...a really long time. Anyways, for those of you who havn't figured it out yet, the wedding happened! It was really nice to see everybody out, and thanks to all who showed us support. Its been nice to start married life. Hil and I are both working, so its nice to just have time to spend with each other.

My birthday was June 19, and Hilary got me a great new gizmo for the Wii: Wii Fit! Its a pretty awesome game, but its also an exercise program on the Wii. With the Balance Board that comes with the game, it initially measures your weight and, in combination with your age and height, gives you your BMI. However, because BMI in general does not take into account various body types, it can be inaccurate. That coupled with the fact that the game is very...blunt...ended in the comment that I am obese. Fair enough, I suppose, but still...it hurts.

So, there are four different types of exercises. Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics, and Balance Games. Each is really cool in its own way, and does what it sets out to do. Personally I like to warm up with the yoga and aerobics (rythm boxing!), do some strength training, then cool down with the balance games (ski jumping!!). Its been a good motivator, and it tracks your weight on a day to day basis on a graph, so you can see your progress (or lack thereof). Infact, when you gain weight, the Wii will ask you, "Why do you think you gained so much weight?" You are then given a variety of options including, "I didn't exercise," "Snacking," "Late Dinner," "Unhealthy Eating." Its a very blunt, to the point program, but if you're willing to let it teach you, it can actually make a difference in your lifestyle habits.

The only real concern with Wii Fit is the whole gimmick factor. Sure, you can say that its going to help you out to be mindful about your health, but once seeing your little Mii explode into an obese form every time you weigh yourself is no longer a novelty, interest may fade and your health will decrease. My personal opinion: Wii Fit is like Froot Loops. Its only part of a balanced diet, or in this case, exercise program. Don't rely on it to get you that body and physique you've always wanted. It should be one more way to do what you should be doing anyways. If you take it in that aspect, its great.

The Waiting Place

Well, we finally have things moved into our new apartment! Let me tell you, it was quite an ordeal getting the place cleaned up and made into a place we will be able to call home. I have been working alot, so Hilary came over while I was at work and did most of the organizing. Okay, she pretty much did all of it. :) I helped where I could, but she's a pro star and had most of it done before I had a chance to do anything. She's awesome.

So, I figure that Dr. Suess put it best at how I'm feeling about life right about now. Of course he did! Its frickin' Dr. Suess! Anyways, an excerpt from "Oh The Places You'll Go!"

The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

Gah! If I would have known that moving in here would make me more impatient than ever, I probably would have...okay, well I like this place. I wouldn't have done anything different, except maybe get married this weekend instead of two weeks from this Saturday. Sure, two weeks isn't very long, but this engagement limbo has gone on long enough. :) I know it will be worth it, so I continue with Dr. Suess.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Boom Bands...I like the sound of that! And, you know Dr. Suess, I AM that kind of a guy! I'm totally the flip-flapping banner, playing Boom Bander kind of a guy! For the next two weeks, luckily, I am working nearly non-stop, having only Sundays, the 14th, and the 20th off. I then am off from the 22nd until the end of the month! So, things are happening, its just a matter of patience (something I've never really been good at!). I think I'll be getting a movie review up for Iron Man sometime soon. Dang, that was the best superhero movie in a long time. Until next time...get a hobby...

Moving Out Is a Pain in my Buttocks

Alright, so here's the deal. I'm moving out of my place with 6 other guys this week and into a threeplex where Hilary and I will be living once we're married. Threeplex. Strange word. Wouldn't you think it would be triplex? Or truplex even. I mean, 2 is called a duplex, coming from the prefix di-. I'm pretty sure its a truplex. Anyways, they told us that we would hopefully get in earlier this week. You see, the former tenants have cats, and...well, cats leave their friends behind. SO, we wanted to clean the carpets. That and we have to be in on Thursday, and we both have full-time jobs at Home Depot. So we're busy. Long story short, tomorrow is the day before the first, and we just barely found out that we won't be able to get in until sometime tomorrow, leaving us with very limited time to do the things we wanted to do in there before we move in. Stupid lousy former tenants...taking so long to move out...

Meh, whatever. I'm pretty much ready to move, and but there was still the issue of cleaning before I left. I'm hopeful that we will be able to move all of my stuff in tomorrow, with more of Hil's on Thursday before work, so I figured I needed to make my contribution to the cleaning. So I cleaned the nastiest frickin place on the Earth: the bathroom. Oh my heck. Never before has one seen such caked on everything as...man. It was bad. Anyways, without going into horrific details of a bathroom that four guys shared that was rarely if ever given a good treatment of Vim and a sponge, lets just say that after vacuuming my room and emptying the kitchen of my food, I will have absolutely zero problem with leaving the rest of the mess to my roommates.

Hopefully there is some sort of wireless connection at the truplex. Our internet connection guy is coming over next Monday, but blogs can't wait that long. Well, I'm sure they can, but I won't be happy! *shakes fist* Its going to be weird to live in a house alone for the next three weeks, but it will be really awesome to finally be living with my wife! Just having her in the same house and being able to just be with her that much and everything is going to be so good. The next few weeks should go by pretty fast, considering the fact that we have interviews with the bishop and stake president and still have all our stuff to unpack, and family is going to start showing up in a couple weeks! Oh yeah, and working full time. Ugh, this can't come soon enough!

There was a friend of mine's mom who suggested she could "get me a ladder," as if to say bail out and jump out the window. As difficult and draining as wedding plans are, I can really say that its worth every strand of bacon in the pack. Not that I'm married yet, but just to know that its going to be a day that I'm never going to forget.

Holy frick. Its 4:06 AM and I need to sleep. I have to call my mom in four hours to ask her for a wall washy brush. Until next time, peace!

Movie Reviews?! Be Kind Rewind

So...I was thinking what sort of blogtastic things I could do on here...and I decided that one thing I will do from time to time is write a movie review! Just something cool about a movie I saw so people can read it. You know...so they know if I liked the movie. Because everyone cares what I think. I figure they need to have some sort of structure, so here I go.

Characters: Nothing is worse than a movie with flat characters that you don't care about, and nothing can make a movie absolutely incredible like a protagonist that you love to cheer for. Or a villain that you love to hate. Whether its the wonderfully evil Magneto in X-Men, or the Schizo guy in A Beautiful Mind, a character really can bring a movie to a whole new level. All will be rated out of 10.

Plot: You need a good plot in a good movie. Something that you really are excited about. This is straight the coolness of the plot.

Filled Potential: Nothing sucks more than to see a great idea go to waste. How well did they do with what they had to work with?

Epic Factor: Also could be called the "Holy Frick!" factor. Did the movie have an awesome epic feel to it at any point? Normally near the climax of the movie.

Humor: Did I find the humor funny or retarded.

Overall: Overall rate out of 10.

Alright, so now for my first review.

BE KIND REWIND

Characters: 6 - Jack Black played his stereotypical role in this movie. Sure, he was slightly different again, but you can always tell its Jack Black because he'll have some sort of diddie where he does his classic singing thing of some sort. It was short in Be Kind Rewind, but I did catch it. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, here's a clip from Nacho Libre. He does it near the end of the song, although the entire song has "I was written by Jack Black" written all over it. Other than him, the characters were likeable, but nothing fantastic. Mos Def and Danny Glover played two very static characters who had nothing going for them. The humor was good, but most of it was delivered by Jack Black.

Plot: 7 - Very cool and original plot. I mean, come on. They erased all the tapes so they filmed new ones to save their business from going under! That's awesome! However, outside that basic idea, the storyline was somewhat stale. The relationships in between the characters were very static and they didn't really contribute to the storyline at all.

Filled Potential: 5 - The only times that this movie was ever really good was when they were either filming the movies or showing the movies that they had made. Take the same idea and polish it up more and this could have been a movie far better than what it was. I mean, come on, the first half hour of the movie is 30 minutes that I will never get back, and that is a sad thought.

Epic Factor: 3 - This movie was very anticlimactic. The ending was seemingly meant to leave you feeling good, but instead it made me feel like "Who cares if they saw their movie?! They're still..." I don't want to spoil anything there, it was just a downer ending, and never really felt epic. I give it a three because of the Ghostbusters and Rush Hour 2 Sweded versions. In particular, the Fisher Price mat to show them falling from a building. Priceless.

Humor: 6 - As long as you were watching the Sweded versions of the movies, it was absolutely hilarious. Other than that, it was dry and stale. The beginning part of the movie is absolute hell to watch.

Overall: 5/10 This was a decent movie at best. Definately a "go once in the Movie Mill to ease your curiousity" type of movie. If you're going to rent it, it will be one that you're glad it was an overnight rental because you don't really want to watch it twice. If it wasn't for Jack Black and the Sweded films, this movie would have sucked alot worse.

Blogs, A Requirement for Married Life?

Alright, people, so here I am writing my first blog in a coon's age. I had a blog way back in the day before the mish, but it was mainly tomfooleries and what not. I have since abandoned my former blog and don't particularly know what happened to it. But whatever. So here I am writing a new blog because Jessica texted me from Hawaii and said that I needed to start a new blog for the following reasons:

1. Blogs are the new Facebook.
2. Blogs are the sweets.
3. Blogs are a requirement to get married.

I think that Hilary would be very unschmeebed if they rejected us for our application for a marraige on grounds of failing to maintain a respectable blog. So...here this is.

Advice to all people thinking of getting married: elope! If that's not possible, make it as short as possible! Thinking of getting married in August? How about June! Thinking about June? How about next weekend! In all seriousness, plans are coming together very nicely. I'll hopefully be moving into our new place on Tuesday or Wednesday and get things settled for when Hilary will be able to move in in a few weeks (after the wedding).

I don't particularly know if Hilary has realized the level of severity my geekiness is. The other day she had a job interview, so I dropped her off and (for the first time since being home from my mission) went to a comic book store. Before my mission, I would buy some sweet comics and what not, so for old times sake I bought one. Yeah...she made sure to let me know exactly how much of I geek I am. I did, however, manage to get her addicted to Guitar Hero, so its nice to know that I am corrupting her sweet innocent little mind. Before long, she'll be by my side heading off to the incredible festivities of Comic Con '09! Ew. Gross. Gag me with a lightsaber.

Enough blog for now. I have chowdering and packing to do. At least now I can still get a marriage.