black slacks

I think I may have a black pants fetish. I love black slacks. I hold that they are one of the best articles of clothing ever, definitely the best pants. A good friend of mine used to get bothered by the fact that I always wear black slacks. Almost every time she would see me I would be wearing black slacks. At that time I was working for a company that required black pants or shorts as uniform and when I saw her and her family it was usually before or after my shift at work or even during work. I am not an avid changer of clothes. If it is dirty yes I will change it but other than that, if I put it on in the morning you will find that same article being taken off in the evening when I go to bed; unless my activity changes drastically somewhere in the day requiring a different outfit. Many places I have worked require black pants as uniform. I wounder why that is?

Many people like Levi's or Denim, I don't own a single pair of Jeans. If you have to wear pants I would attest that a loose fitting pair of black slacks is the way to go. Interwoven in that first paragraph are many reasons why I love these pants so much but to further explain I have listed several key points below.

Versatility- Black slacks are extremely versatile and can be used for so many different activities comfortably. Some activities may be more comfortable in something else but that doesn't mean that it is not comfortable to do it in a pair of black slacks. I have worked out, rock climbed, hiked, worked on cars, landscaped, gone to church, repelled, cooked, played sports, proselytized, and so many more activities all in black slacks.

Cleanliness and Durability- Black slacks do not get dirty as easily as other pants, and they do not show dirt as vividly when they do get dirty. Have you ever seen a grass stain on a pair of black slacks? When they do get dusty (which is what shows most vividly on black all it takes is a pat down and a little bit of water to clean them off. I split some pipe glue on one of my pair of pants the other day and thought that I just lost another pair of perfect pants. But wait, they are perfect pants, and I have a Sharpie. Rub a little black Sharpie on the spot and everything is better in a flash. You can't even tell that I split the pipe glue on them; and after a run through the wash the Sharpie remains. This same pair of black slacks that I have had now for over six years. That is product satisfaction.

Protection- So why pants as opposed to shorts? I am a pants man. Much of it has to do with the other points mentioned but it boils down to protection. When hiking or camping or doing adventurous outdoors activities pants provide tremendous protection from scraps, cuts, bites, and the sun, and is wiser choice than shorts. They also do a good job at keeping your legs warm when it is cool out but are not uncomfortable when it is hot out. You can even get them a little wet on a hot day and will act in much the same way sweating does to keep you cool.

Appearance- I believe part of the reason many places require black pants as uniform is because of image and class. Black slacks are just classy.

on cheese

As I sat eating my grilled cheese sandwich I thought, “this is the third cheese centered meal I have in the last two days.” The morning before I made myself a cheese omelet; cook an egg, grate a bunch of cheese onto it, fold it in half and vuala! For lunch that day my choices were limited so I whipped out the tortillas and made my dad and me several quesadillas. Mmmm… And then there is my grilled cheese sandwich. That does not include the cream cheese smothered bagel half I ate this morning. It can’t really say it was cheese centered, just cheese smothered. I love cheese! Cheese makes everything better. Like a Root Beer Float on a rough day, or a Band-Aid on a my nieces scraped knee. Cheese just takes food and says, "I make this taste good!" It is like a man and a woman, they are cool by themselves but put them together and they are so much more. Apples are good and tasty but when you take an apple wedge and a slice of cheese and eat them together you really have something, or some feta in a garden salad. And there are so many cheeses to choose from, if one doesn't suit you then there is still a plethora of choices; cheddar, Gouda, Havarti, Swiss, Mozzarella, nacho cheese, pepper jack, feta, blue cheese, Gorgonzola, Cotswold, Parmesan, wensleydale, string cheese, ricotta, Colby, and (if you must) "American Cheese," to name a very select few.

You can have it as h'orderves (cheese and crakers), appetizers (asiago cheese puffs), main course (cheese enchilladas), and dessert (cheese cake); and you wont get cheesed out. Oh ho ho, cheese cake; who can deny that Cheese cake is the best cake out there? In the cake world cheese once again takes first. And with frosting, why settle for plain chocolate frosting when you can have chocolate cream cheese frosting? cheese is everywhere and it is everything great! Cheese makes everything better. I love cheese.

warning: do not read this

There is an interesting anomaly that occurs in human nature- generally, humans are inherently stupid, and curious. This is a more complex problem than I have given it credit in the past.

There is a hole in my bathroom floor at the moment. I am working at replacing the drain in the shower and finishing remodeling it. Because of my brothers wedding recently and having guests coming over I felt it a good idea to straighten up the area and clean the floor to get it looking presentable to guests and a friend who would be camping out on our couch for the weekend. As part of my tidying up I advanced the project to a good stopping point, got rid of the mound of dirt that I removed from the floor and then placed a large sheet of butcher paper over the hole to make the room look nice. Now for the human element; I had a choice to make, I could either leave the sheet blank hoping that no one would step on it and fall through, or I could write a cautionary note advising not to step on it. I decided to write the note. “No Step” and “Hazard: Do not step on brown paper.” Simple enough, however with signs and advisories comes curiosity, it seems to be a natural consequence. Signs invite curiosity. “Hey look, a sign- It says stay out, I wonder why? Let’s go find out!” Why do we do that? We are all guilty of it. If you are reading this right now you are guilty of it. ‘Why should I not read it? Is there something I shouldn’t know? What is it?’

So either way you are going to have someone end up in the hole. No advisory and someone might end up falling in on accident; put up an advisory and everyone gets courious as to why to avoid it and end up in the hole. So is it actually better to leave the paper blank? to not place a warning? You might argue that there is less of a chance of someone falling in by accident than from curiousity but experiance shows that not matter what you do you lose. I am not exactly sure how that happens but somehow, even with a clear warning, you are to blame.

tall people and kissing

I am tall. My whole family is on the taller side of the spectrum. Often times in a crowd I can easily pop my head up above the majority by standing on my tippy-toes to locate a brother and make my way to him. Frequently at social gatherings (parties, dances, or mixers,) I can remain within eyesight of any one of my brothers heads as we individually make are way around. This comes in quite useful. How do sort people do it? I can't imagine how long it would take to find a particular someone in a crowd in which everyone is taller than you. One might have to bust out her handy-dandy cell phone and throw down a text message as a kind of 21st century, cellular radar; bounce a radio signal off a couple of towers and a few bounces later it returns in a convenient textual form giving the precise location of the individual, relative to the surroundings . So anyway, being tall has its benefits after all.

You may be wondering by now where kissing plays into all this. Let me expound. My brother has a tall girlfriend. They are quite the couple and very cute (and tall) together. It hasn't been until recently that they have started showing there love for each other publicly. Most people know it as PDA. As they have however I have discovered something, EVERYBODY CAN SEE YOU kissing! It is like standing on a tower with a bull horn shouting "look at us, we love each other and we are going to show you." I don't know why I never noticed it before, as it is so right there in front of you, perhaps it is because my oldest brother is shorter than me and my other brother married a short girl, but this brother and his girlfriend are both taller than me (and I am not short). I gained a new perspective. I really don't care about PDA as long as it is not overly excessive, which I know this brother is not about to do. I just find it noteworthy.

proposition eight

I have been thinking lately about what I want to say here regarding this particular issue; there are so many sides to it and so many sub-arguments, where do I begin? I feel very passionately that marriage is between a man and a woman. I have just been unable to sort out my thoughts that would make sense to the reader. Politics are not really my thing. Fortunately, I read this blog the other day written by a friend of mine and he says it better than I ever could.

http://poachedfrog.com/blog/index.php?p=583

Take the time to READ these comments, then take time to SHARE them with others. As is said in the article, defining marriage is an issue for us all, not just those who live in CA.

I have also found several other sites regarding the Proposition 8 that may provide further understanding.

The Divine Institution of Marriage

ProtectMarriage.com

Family: A Proclamation to the World

Ballotpedia.org

NPR News Story

Interview with LDS Apostle Dallin H. Oaks

Two Reasons to Vote- PoachedFrog

a toast is in order

To more fully understand the type of relationship my brother Darren and I have I wish to share a few of his own words, as written while I was away on my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a blog post of his titled "Devon."

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Devon makes me smile.

He is four years younger than me but we once convinced our stylists at a barbershop that we were twins. Same last name similar first names, same height, similar eyes, they bought it.

I love him like nothing else in this world. He…shares with me in the joy of riding bikes and simply being outside. Even if it was doing chores, if we were doing it together it was fun.

We didn't need words, Devon and I, a look and we could tell by each others eyes what we were about to do, how we would do it, and who we would do it to. The random clever remark and frequent Douglas Adams quotes were bonuses.

We are very different people, he and I. I call him my evil twin…because where I am outgoing and an aspiring leader he is fairly reserved, where I am always distracted by something new to do or learn, he patiently masters complex skills. But this is what makes him perfect, he balances me out and makes me smile.

This week is the half way point Devon has been gone one year, one more year until he comes home.

One more year until I am whole again.

I love my brother Darren! A lot has happened since Darren wrote this, he has grown, I have grown, and we have both change, as well as many other parts of our lives. Change is a certainty of life.

I have been a catalyst, a temporary fill in until he found that perfect someone, that girl that might 'balance him out and make him smile.' He has finally found that someone. Ryann is that someone. And they sure do a good job at balancing each other out; Darren is tall, Ryann is short. Darren manages with little sleep and copes with early morning activities, Ryann could easily sleep through lunch if she got the chance. Ryann is meticulous and selective, Darren can often care less. But there is much more than that to their relationship. I have spent much time with the two of them as they would do things together, and often told of other times when I wasn't there. Darren and Ryann have fun together, they create together and have from the beginning cared for each other. What ever they do, when they do it together they fluently submerse themselves in a sea of buoyancy and cheer.

Ryann completes Darren in a perfect way; in a way that I never could. I joyously welcome her as my newest sister-in-law. I willingly, and lovingly, relinquish my standing in Darren’s life to Ryann, the love of his life, his better half, my friend. I may remain his evil twin but she is his saving angel.

Ryann and Darren- Fight change. If you must change, change together. Laugh together, Love each other, and Share that love with others.