The paparazzi is after me.

I got a text message yesterday from a phone number I didn't recognize. It had this picture attached:

For the first time in my life, I feel like a movie star.

BYU True Cougar Tri

I did the True Cougar Tri race today (it's sponsored by BYU's Triathlon Club). There were around 125 racers and they were mostly BYU students. It was way laid back and a lot of fun. It was a 6.2 mile bike ride, a 1.8 mile run and then a 200 yard swim (in that order - I think they did it that way for logistical reasons). It was all on BYU campus, which was pretty cool.

I blew a tire with a mile to go on the bike portion (right by J-Dawgs), so I took off my cycling shoes and ran that last mile in my socks.

All in all, it was a fun, cheap race. As I always do for races on BYU campus, I took some pictures during the run.

Before the race:

I think I would have beat (almost) all of the women if I hadn't blown my tire. I didn't get passed by any, in any case. This is in the tunnel by Helaman Halls:

South campus:

In front of the Maeser:

I can't wait for next year!

Wearing spandex to prep for my latest date

I went cycling with my friend Jeremy yesterday. We started out here in Provo and biked to the summit of the Alpine Loop. I headed back to Provo and he went on to Salt Lake. It was about 44 miles with a 3600 foot elevation change for me (with almost all of the uphill elevation change coming in 7 or 8 miles).

Things I learned:

-If it's cold in Provo, it's going to be colder up a canyon that's 3600 feet higher (there was snow on the ground the last few miles approaching the summit).

-If it's cold standing still, it's going to be unbearable when I'm going 30-40+ mph downhill on a bike.

-Bike shorts, a short sleeve shirt, and fingerless gloves are not enough to keep me warm.

-Luckily, I sneaked into Aspen Grove for 15 or 20 minutes to warm myself up.

-110 calories in the form of a power-gel doesn't provide enough energy for me on a 40+ mile bike ride in the mountains.

-If I get in bed after exercising for a long time to "warm up my body," I'm going to fall asleep.

-If I fall asleep, I better have an alarm clock set to wake me up.

-Especially if I have a date a while later.

I woke up at 3, still in my bike shorts, unshowered, unshaven, realizing that I was supposed to pick up my date at that very instant. No wonder I'm still single.

I had fun though!

Oh so single

Confession: I'm 23½ years old and I'm (gasp) single.

I know what you folks that don't go to BYU are thinking: so what? But students here at BYU have a different culture. Single women start hiding their age by around 21; men nearing 25 fear becoming a "menace to society." As a sort-of proof, 36 of the members of the BYU football team are married (that's about 35 higher than the national average).

Not that this mindset is right. It's a stupid culture/belief system if you ask me. I don't really worry about being so "old" and single... Most of the time.

Wedding season just ended here in Provo. I was invited to about 1500 weddings in the past month and I ended up going to about 5 or 6, including those of a few of my favorite people ever. Weddings bring out the worst in me - I often feel down because I'm not the one in the tux.

Like when my friend's 60ish year old aunt rested her hand on my shoulder right after a wedding ceremony and said "it looks like we're the only 2 single folks here!"

Or the time when a relative asked me "when it was [my] turn" to get married and after hearing that I'd just broken up with a girl replied "seems like all you ever do is break up!"

Or when I was the last one in the room and looked in the parallel mirrors in the temple, just after hearing the officiator talk about the symbolism of the couple being able to see each other forever in the mirrors, and all I see is me fading back to eternity.

Really, I'm not bitter or anxious. But I sure wouldn't mind getting hitched.

(Unofficial) Stake Dessert Night

I had nothing to do yesterday. I didn't have plans with my family, I didn't have anything to do for my calling, and I wasn't going home-teaching. My ward's dessert night (everyone gets together & eats cookies) was canceled.

So Zack & I decided to organize an (unofficial) stake dessert night. We got the help of a couple girls from the ward. We made signs and then put them up at the various apartment complexes from around the stake. Then we knocked on doors & invited people for an hour or two. It was actually way fun knocking on girls' doors and inviting them (and it was a great excuse to meet some way cute girls!).

About 100 people showed up and I'm pretty sure I saw some flirting. I'd say it was a success.

Saving money by not using BYU bookstore

I saved $153.68 by buying my books online instead of using the BYU bookstore. Around the end of May, I emailed my professors for Fall semester and asked them what books I would need. I needed 4 books for the semester.

I used two sites to buy books: amazon.com and half.com.

I got my math book for about $30 cheaper than the bookstore offers. Even better, I got a new hardcover for that price, while the BYU bookstore is selling an unbounded version with 3-hole punches. That means no resale, and you honestly can't keep the book either. Oh, and then there's the problem of losing pages. How do you use a book that's really just a bunch of loose papers anyway?

I saved $28 on my Chemical Process Safety book. Even though I got it used, I still saved $28 off of the BYU bookstore's used price ($53 cheaper than their new price).

I saved over $73 on my Molecular Physical Chemistry book! The BYU bookstore does not offer it used, so getting the same thing online (almost new) was a huge savings off of the bookstore's new price.

The BYU Bookstore isn't all bad: though the bookstore is more expensive than many online dealers, they have made some improvements. For example: they didn't used to put up the book list (what books you need) until about a week before the semester started. This year, they've been putting up the book list as soon as they've gotten the information from the professors (a few months ago, for most of my classes).

Also, another reason to love BYU: the Chemical Engineering department arranged to have Celanese donate enough books for the Fluids class for all the students this year. The book goes for about $100 online, so free is a huge savings.

Looks like I may end up getting 50 after all

Let's just say that I'm now a lone man in the Garden of Eden...