For instance, this morning I spied my beagle, Elli, lying in the grass. Not that this is out of the ordinary, but it made me wonder what she felt while in the grass. So I took off my shoes and socks and tip-toed across the cold pavement. When my left foot touched the grass, I instantly knew why Elli does what she does.

It was a purely magical feeling!

The grass was warm from the sun and felt like it had been washed in fabric softener. Elli and I laid in the grass for a while, soaking in the Spring sun and enjoying the moment, then we returned inside to tackle the necessities of the day.

Don't be so occupied that inspiration can't take root...and remember that inspiration doesn't always have to be world-changing, it just has to be seized.

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

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This sad day has finally come.

No more eating kids' cereals! Actually, the day came back in October when I swore allegiance to my nutritional lifestyle plan but the truth of it sunk in last night at the grocery store. I've been eating my weight in Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat, and Grapenuts and truthfully, I've gotten a little bored with my choices. So when I saw the giant display for Golden Grahams sitting comfortably next to the Shredded Wheat, my heart sunk deep into my chest. I so wanted to buy a box and consume it in one sitting. I flirted with danger as I picked up the shinny rectangle. I tried to justify purchasing it by repeatedly looking over the colorful banners emphasizing its nutritious minerals and vitamins, but my conscience shot back with "stay true to the course" logic.

I put down the box and shuffled over to the Shredded Wheat section... "looks like it's just you and me", I thought as I added the rusty-brown cereal to my cart. {sigh}

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Today I am still in my ignorant  20's... so why not enlighten everyone with some random wisdom I've seemed to have picked up over the last three decades.

1. If something smells like mothballs, throw it out. There's no chance in Hades of ever getting rid of the horrid stench.
2. To make friends, be the friend you want to have.
3. Emotions are not bad, just tricky.
4. Surround yourself with a variety of people. Variety is DEFINITELY the spice of life.
5. Own at least one dog in your lifetime.
6. Baseball games, fishing trips, taking an interesting your child's interests, seen & unseen acts of love, and a lot of self-sacrifice are the keys to being a good father. (Thanks dad.)
7. Do things that force you stand out. Especially if you just want to blend in.
8. If a kid dares you to do something, do it!
9. Chunky chocolate milk means you shouldn't drink it. No matter how thirsty you are.
10. Things in life are more existential than I originally thought. Things like: success, life and death, music, love, and (I have to admit) God.
11. Really enjoy your grandparents if you are so fortunate to have them. Talk and talk and talk and listen and listen and listen.
12. Don't mess with the IRS.
13. If someone gives you the chance to be really great at something, check the yes box. (Long story.)
14. Learn how to read whole books.
15. Praise your mom for her cooking and always ask her to make your favorite meal. She gets joy, you get fed...what could be better?
16. Try to get past small talk. Even with strangers.
17. Don't take revenge on your sister, even when you're young. Life has paired you with your siblings for some mysterious purpose.
18. Sleep in your car overnight at least once a year.
19. Luck favors the prepared. ("The Incredibles")
20. Be glad that others can do and create some really cool things.
21. Greatest two words ever paired together: ROAD TRIP!
22. Learn to love a beverage. Preferably coffee.
23. If your grandma makes you a pair of Zubazs for your birthday, wear them more than once to school. Even if it has a giant "Made by Grandma" label sewn on it.
24. Everyone has vices, sins, and regrets, therefore, be merciful to others since everyone includes me and you.
25. Blush on occasion.
26. Don't howl like a wolf when you're deep in the woods of Northern Minnesota.
27. Always write more "thank yous" this year than last.
28. Simple living is just fine. Preach to yourself contentment.
29. It's OK to have unanswered questions in life. See the beauty of mystery.

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The article brought in a flood of memories for me going all the way back to learning how to play the game from my Grandma Rust. I still remember the emotions of finally winning against the greatest chess player alive (she was the only one I knew who played chess). My grandma learned the game from her brothers and would tell me that the only way to advance was to play better players like she did.

I also remembered taking my first chess board to West Elementary where I spent many of my free times engaged in playing against friends and foes. I found out that most people are non-intentional in their play and just move the pieces without calculating the next series of moves. Doing the opposite is the key to becoming a better chess player. It served me well until I arrived at high school. (Dr.) Dan Harris and (Dr.) Brent Heeringa were the two people I dreaded playing because they never seemed to lose. Many band trips would be spent in the back of the bus trying to win (or in my case, force a stale mate) against these opponents with a crowd of overseers coughing and twitching, trying to drop hints. But my grandmother's words kept me coming back as I got trounced again and again.

I suppose my favorite loss came during a ski retreat at Camp Forest Springs in Wisconsin. My youth pastor, Greg Loy, was rumored to be a decent player (given his age, j/k). I pestered him to play and when he finally gave in, he took me to town and cleaned house! The thing I remember most about the match was after it was over and Greg said he would never play me again. His exact words were, "now I can always say that you NEVER beat me." Let's just say I lost sleep over that phrase.

Even with all those notable losses, I still kept my chin up and enjoyed playing the game with whomever sat in the chair across the way. With this all said, I have a deep gratitude in my heart for my grandma teaching me the game. I know this comes across as a bit cheesy, but I really wouldn't be the same without her taking the time to pass on the gift of playing chess to me.

If you have the ability to play the game of kings, make sure you share it with others too.

P.S. - While writing this, I thought of five other memories associated specifically with the game. I'll have to share those with you some other time. Would love to know if you have any memories of the game?

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But the real story of the day was my trek back and forth from the service center. You see, everyone I know in Idaho is working during the day and are not in jobs that allow them to take off an hour here and there to go help a friend. I thought, for a small time, about how I missed my dad not picking me up, like he normally did in Arizona, but then realized that I would not get to experience something that so many do every day -- riding the bus.

The buses on State Street run every half hour which meant that I had some waiting to do before my ride would pick me up. I brought a Sodoku book along with me (thanks Kay!) to help make the best of the time. While I was working on my puzzle I would constantly get distracted by the sweeping wind as cars, pickup trucks, semi's, and school buses whizzed by. The smell of gas and diesel were thick and choking. Short breaks of clean air were harold with silent praises in my brain. There was an abandoned gray sweatshirt next to me on the bench. Two women and a child walked passed and greeted me as a regular to the stop. They waited for the walk sign on the corner and hussled across to the bench on the opposite side of the street.

There is such anticipation waiting for the bus. When I drive by the stops, I always notice the one person looking at their watch, thinking the bus should go according to their pace of life. When the bus pulled up, I felt like a kid who had never ridden one these things before. I panned my eyes quickly through the bus to see who my new peers would be. As I fumbled for my change, I asked the question, "do these go here?" "Yep," said the driver as if he had said that a million times before. And before my last quarter was in the slot, I felt the jolt of the engine and shuffled backward to find my seat. There were only four other people (including the driver) on this whale of a machine. An older gentleman, an empty-nester, and a girl in her early twenties.

The man and woman across from me were discussing the economy and the girl had her iPod on, paying no attention to her surroundings. As the bus roared down the street, we gained one. It seems everyone was riding the bus to the same destination -- Wal-Mart. It just so happened to be the end of the line and my stop too. I interrupted the couple and asked if the bus went any farther and they replied that I would have to walk the rest of the way. The younger girl took her iBud out of her left ear and told me that she had to walk too. As we all exodused the bus at Saxton Avenue, the older man grabbed my right elbow and told me to get a day pass to save money in the long run. I thanked him and began my two mile stroll back to the house. I realized the girl was walking in the same direction and asked her how far she had to go. She said the name of her street and then followed it up by saying, "that's what I get for getting a DUI! And boy, have I learned my lesson!" I wished her well on her way as I passed her with my lengthy strides.

I made it back to the house, covered in dust from the side of the road, let Elli out, and did some work. When I found out my car was done, I set out again. By this time, I figured out that I could walk and do my Sodoku puzzles at the same time. On occasion I would glance back up to make sure I wasn't drifting into traffic (no sidewalks on State St.). I made it to the stop across from Wal-Mart and waited with a very nice Iraqi couple and their son. While sitting on a small wall near the sign, I noticed the sharp smell of booze coming up from the ground. The area was littered with all kinds of things: cheetos, cigarette butts, chicken bones, aluminum foil, and lotto scratchers to name a few. During my wait, I snapped the picture above of the overturned shopping cart that wasn't there when I got off the bus the first time.

I waited for about 15 minutes. The bus came rolling around the corner and was much fuller this time around. I sat down and just listened to the conversations. On one of the pick ups, the driver started talking with a women who just got on about her kids and the college classes she is taking to become a "surgery tech". I got a kick out of the bus driver pulling over at a scheduled stop to get out and stretch for a while. I wasn't going to ask questions. Anyway, as the trip went along, we kept adding more and more passengers. Each person had their very own brand of cigarette smell as they walked past my seat. I tried to guess at them in my head, but I have a very low number of cigarette companies and their products in my vocabulary. I must admit that none of them smelled good. So be it.

About four stops before mine, the bus driver started singing the Mass Transit Union's song which goes to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". She then looked in the mirror and asked if anyone would be offended if she told the history of the unions in Idaho. No one objected and she began talking about Nick So-and-So from Sweden. I pulled the cord to signal a stop at the Veterans' Memorial Parkway intersection and when the light turned green, she steamed ahead and darted into the small harbor curve to let me off. As I walked off the bus, I thanked her and told her that I would have to catch part two the next time.

Something I purposed in my heart, a long time ago, was to make the best of any situation and to be a good observer knowing that all humans have worth and a genuine story to tell. I honestly love taking silly little adventures like this and using it as a way for me to grow in character and to be a person of love and kindness to those around.

Seriously, you need to change your routine sometimes. And if your life is adjusted by something outside your control, see it for what it is...and opportunity. Cheers!

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If the show ever gets brought up in conversation, the majority of the discussion revolves around the main characters of Zach, Kelly, Slater, Jesse, Screech, and Lisa. (Usually Zach and Kelly.) However, as much as I enjoyed the corny acting, cheesy situations, and all around nutty solutions, I personally thought the secondary characters made the show great...especially the teachers.

Did you know that you can go to ratemyteacher.com and find fictional Bayside High in the registry? Crazy...huh? Well, I also found a fun little cheat sheet of minor characters that lists all the teachers from SBTB on wikipedia. I'm including an excerpt from that site for you to browse and am curious which teacher you liked best. My allegiance is torn between Mrs. Simpson and Mr. Dewey. (BTW, this list isn't exausitive. Feel free to add others to the list.)

Mrs. Culpepper

Mrs. Culpepper was the school’s art teacher and made appearances in both junior year and the paradoxical Tori season during senior year. She was always involved in comical situations in which she bumped into lockers and mistook inanimate objects for living things due to her bad eyesight. At one point she even accidentally made Mr. Belding think she was in love with him, which completely flustered her.

Mr. Dewey

Mr. Dewey (Patrick T. O'Brien) was a math teacher who also oversaw detention. He represented the quintessential down-on-his-luck, more-bored-than-the-kids depressed teacher. He spoke in a monotonous voice, was sarcastic and also once competed on American Gladiators. He was also Bayside's vice-principal. Mr. Dewey also appeared in the New Class.

Mr. Heimlich

Mr. Heimlich appeared in one episode ("Earthquake!") as the physics teacher. Since the episode revolved primarily around the Mrs. Belding's baby and the earthquake, he did not have a very large part.

Rod Belding

Rod Belding was Mr. Belding’s brother, and stepped in as a substitute teacher during junior year. He initially made a hip impression on the students because of his happy-go-lucky attitude, world-weary demeanor, and tales of defying authority and schoolwork. Mr. Belding was overshadowed by his brother’s connection with the students, which was evident in a minor confrontation they had when Mr. Belding tells his brother he is not to be teaching the kids whitewater rafting on official class time. However, Rod arranged to take the students on a whitewater rafting trip for their annual class trip (ruining Mr. Belding's plans to visit Yosemite Park), and then skipped out to meet a stewardess named Inga. Mr. Belding is furious that Rod would abandon his commitment to the students and orders him never to come back to Bayside saying, "Get out of my school". Mr. Belding then lies to the students that his brother is ill, but the students ask him to chaperone the whitewater rafting and he happily agrees to do so. Zack, who was aware of the incident, confided in Mr. Belding that “we got the better Belding”.

Nurse Jennifer

Nurse Jennifer (played by Nancy Valen) was a school nurse that showed up during sophomore year to replace Nurse “Blind-as-a-bat” Butcher. Zack decided to scrap his plans for a steady relationship with Kelly in order to pursue a romance with Jennifer. However, Jennifer was aware of the plot and managed to frighten Zack away by coming on to him and saying that she needed to escape her violent husband who is a professional wrestler (which may or may not have been true). Nurse Jennifer was never again seen in Bayside after this episode.

Mrs. Simpson

Mrs. Simpson was the nearly-deaf, British-accented teacher who taught English class. She also appeared at the beginning of junior year and embarrassed Kelly and Zack by referring to them as “Bayside’s Most Beloved Couple” just a short while after they broke up. She said she didn't like Zack, and once wore a hearing aid that she discarded because the titual bell caused painful sound waves to assault her. She also made an appearance in “The New Class”.

Coach Sonski

Coach Sonski (played by comedian Monty Hoffman) was the wrestling coach at Bayside High. Slightly overweight and with a testosterone-laden personality, he was generally a good coach, if a bit sexist. He depended on Slater as his star wrestler.

"Coach" Sonski was also shown as Bayside's autoshop instructor in the episode where Jessie's new stepbrother comes to California. He retains his sense of humor as well as his testosterone-laden personality throughout the episodes.

Mr. Dickerson

Played by Raf Mauro, Dickerson was a history teacher known for his unfriendly demeanor and an impossible midterm that no student had passed in three years, something which he stupidly referred to with pride instead of noticing it meant he was a horrible teacher. In the episode known as "The Fabulous Belding Brothers," Dickerson has a nervous breakdown and is replaced by the very popular Rod Belding.

Mr. Tuttle

Played by Jack Angeles, Tuttle was an enthusiastic, overweight teacher (perhaps a foil for the thin, dour Mr. Dewey). He also oversaw, among other things, Driver’s Ed and the Glee Club. His relationship with Mr. Belding was strained and confrontational--with Belding mainly on the receiving end of his barbs. It was revealed in the "Driver's Ed." episode that Mr. Tuttle was next in line to Mr. Belding for the principal job and even had "the colors for the office all picked out," thus creating tension between them. He once dubbed the principal "Mr. Balding".

He appeared sporadically throughout the seasons and was on the forefront of the teacher’s strike during senior year as head of the teacher's union. It's also worth noting that Mr. Tuttle was one of the few teachers who actually liked and admired Zack Morris, often delighting in Zack's clever schemes (e.g. "Wow! Good plan!").

Ms. Wentworth

Played by Carol Lawrence, Ms. Wentworth was the Social Studies teacher during sophomore year who piqued Zack’s interest in his family heritage by assigning a family research project. She also taught the class about subliminal advertising, which led to a predictably hair-brained scheme from Zack. Ms. Wentworth is one of Bayside's more enthusiastic and unorthodox teachers, climbing on desks and cracking playful jokes in class.

Like Mr. Tuttle, she is one of the few teachers who genuinely seems to like Zack--even as she teaches him a lesson.

George Testaverde

Mr. Testaverde taught a history class in the episode "The Gift". He was nicknamed "Terrible" Testaverde by the students because he was one of the hardest teachers at Bayside. Not only was he tough on grading and exams, but he gave lectures in "speed talk", causing Jessie to almost set fire to the papers she wrote on, and Screech to write with both hands. Both Jessie and Screech actually tried to keep up, but Zack totally ignored the lecture and listened to music instead. He was played by John Moschitta.

©Wikipedia 2009, used in accordance to the GNU Free Documentation License.

I woke up to phantom-style weather this morning and made me feel a little bit more like Henry David Thoreau. Honestly, I despised reading Walden in high school but have now grown up to appreciate his work and passion. And though I am DEFINITELY no Thoreau, I did jot down a free verse poem as I was driving through Utah (St. George to Beaver). It's hard not to be inspired by the landscape. Enjoy.

“Utah's Being”

Winter brings no nakedness to Utah's being;
how can this place wear death so well?
Landscapes adorned with auburn colors:
dark greens and rugged tans;
white shawls cover mountain peaks.
Pillows of clouds comfort them
and brings security to all who dwell within.

The moon grows jealous of Terra's beauty
and rises low to captivate eyes.
Yet in turn, it adds to the earth
and becomes an ornament to horizon's glow.
High corrugated clouds rush in
as the sun begins to set,
casting long shadows into the cab.

The warmth is welcomed.

I know this belongs in drewbe.ments but I just had to put it into drewbe.log for the sake of exposure. Here it is, a genuine “progress report" from 7^th grade, Mr. Bruggeman’s social studies class. This dates back to 1991 and includes the most frequent comment found on almost all of my report cards: “…He sometimes talks too much…”

Honestly, I think that comment is way too polite. I would talk all the time and I’m guessing that I was the talk of the teacher's lounge when it came to chatty students. I even found a yearbook from 7^th grade where a fellow student thanked me for talking so much that we got out of our math homework. The teacher was too busy answering my silly questions to give the assignments out...but he caught on later in the year.

Amazing how some things we never grow out of. Thank goodness we don’t get written progress reports at this age…

…maybe we should.

My intention is not to be book report-ish, but I do want to give praise to A.J. Jacobs. He was so very honest throughout the entire experiment and his transparency is what made this book so easy to read. His childlike approach to the experiment makes you want to see what is going to happen next, especially since he visits many fringe groups in the wide spectrum of the Christian and Jewish faiths. (The Amish, snake handlers, his cult leader uncle in Israel, a homosexual bible study lead by a Bob Jones graduate, etc.)

The journal entries I found most thought provoking, funny, or disturbing were: 34 (impurities namely menstruation), 133 (animal sacrifice and the Kaparot), 140 (concerning food laws), 148 (generosity), 169 (uncertainty of faith), 187 (finding out the sex of his twins), 215 (Cecil B. DeMille's version of The Ten Commandments), 247 (experience at Thomas Road Baptist Church – Jerry Falwell's former church), 297 (snake handler's experience), & 366 (circumcision).

Overall, Jacobs addresses some of the major themes that modern Christians and Jews still wrestle with. The one that dominates the entire conversation of this book is: how do you and I interpret and understand the Bible? (If everyone could somehow agree, imagine how different the world would be.) From a former pastor's perspective, that is one of the hardest questions to answer because ALL questions in modern Christianity and Judaism lead back to the Bible and it's authority over the believers.

So bravo A.J. for doing such a great job with this book and thanks for the fun read that will inevitably lead me to many, many discussions.

Visit A.J. Jacobs website for a short snippet of the book along with other goodies to entice you to read this book.