Triathlons and a Graduation

Today I wanted to just write about 2 things that have happened this summer that are of big importance in the Sponbeck household.  Firstly I needed to take the time to recognize a commencment into a new stage of life.

Macy is graduating hair school!  I know, I know, I can just hear Macy telling me "Josh it is not a big deal!"  But you know what, it is a big deal.  My sister Collie went to hair school so you would think I had some idea about how tough it actually is, however I must have forgotten how long and grueling hair school actually is because I am once again deeply impressed by these girls ability to finish through and finish strong.  There are a few requirements you have to fulfill in order to graduate from hair school and they are as follows

1)  a)-- Finish 2,000 hours in the school cutting hair and learning to cut hair!  First of all that is a lot of time.  30 hours a week for 78 weeks to be precise.  It has taken Mace a long time but she is doing it and she is doing awesome.  (Who would have though there would be that much to learn about hair too, but there is.  Just ask, there is a lot to know)

5d)-- Have good enough grades to be eligible to graduate.  I think Macy is a straight A student!

b)-- Pass your two state boards which are very strict and tough to pass.  When I was reviewing the book that Macy got to study with I was suprised at how much general chemistry she was expected to know.  Things that I learn in Gem Chem 2 she could tell me and it was fun because I had no idea she knew so much about pH, and compounds.

c)-- Complete a service project for a charity of your choice.  Yes that is right, a service project outside of class time.  I know right?  Who would have thought.


I can't think of the other ones right now, but i'm sure there is one or two things I am forgetting.  But anyway just wanted to send a shout out to Mace because she is doing awesome and i'm proud of her.

 Oh and P, just so you know once she is graduated she can still cut hair.  Except better because now you can have a real friend and family discount.  Just sayin'...


 Next up, next up.  Now I wish I could say that I had put in all my work to be able to be graduating but I haven't.  But I can say that I now have, and will have another check mark on my Life's to do list.

I ran a triathlon.  Now I say I do have but will have the check because I only have it halfway completed.  On June 2, 2012 I completed the Salem Springs triathlon.  It was so much fun and I really did enjoy it.  (Weird I know)  I competed in the Tri, with my sister Collie who swam, biked, and ran with a broken arm.  She is awesome.  But we did great and I am so happy.  Now for the rest of the check mark, in approximately 4 days, I will be in Burley Idaho to finish a full olympic triathlon.  Which is about a mile swim, 30 K bike, and 10 K run.  It has been a long time coming and I have been training for it since January.  It is actually quite time consuming, and I will be happy to have done it.  I really like to compete and it's fun to be out there pushing myself in new ways that I have always wanted to try.

It will also be fun because the whole family is going to be up there supporting us in Burley.  So who knows what Idaho will through at me, but bring it on SPUDMAN!

So I guess all around we could call this a commencement.  On to bigger and brighter things.  Hoorah.

Elevator Equality for All

I work on the 5th floor of my building.  Technically it is really the 6th floor, because there is a floor A, then it starts with the actual floors 1, 2, 3, 4, and finally 5.  I take the B elevators to the fifth floor most days.  I say most because some days I take the stairs because I remember a comment made to me one time by a friends Dad that elevators were just a waste of energy.  But on days that I can't seem to muster up the energy to walk those flights of stairs I take the elevator and boy am I grateful for it. 

On the elevator there is a certain heirarchy of importance.  You see as you step on the elevator at work you never want to be the one to be riding the shortest distance.  I can always take a certain pride in punching the 5 button because that means I am more entitled to the elevator than the person riding to the 3rd floor.  Those 4th floor kids, they have a lot pride when they step in and hit the 4 because they know just how difficult it is for them to be beat, unfortanately for them it can be done and I do it often. 

Today's post though goes out to the one floor rider.  One measley floor.  Come on we have all done it.  You just can't bring yourself to the stairs that day because you are too tired.  So you just think i'll just hop on the elevator.  I know i've been there.  And i'll definitely be there again.  Probably this week for that matter, maybe. 

The other day there was a guy who got on the elevator holding a lot of stuff.  I was headed down from the fifth floor when the elevator stopped on the third floor, the man stepped in, and punched the two button.  Just to settle the matter he turned to me and said "usually i'm not this lazy, but it's hard to carry all this stuff down the stairs."  I laughed about it, and said don't worry it's not like I make terrible judgmental comment about every person who hops on the elevator just to go one floor.  He turns to me and says I sure do.  Why can't you just take the stairs buddy?  You have interrupted my whole elevator riding experience just so you can go up or down one floor.  With that the elevator opened and he stepped off.  I was still laughing as the elevator door closed.

So today is for elevator awareness, to everyone.  Because there will always be a time that we are all one floor riders.  

96 DAYS! 96 DAYS! 96 DAYS! 96 DAYS! 96 DAYS! 96 DAYS! 96 DAYS! 96 DAYS! 96 DAYS!
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96 DAYS TILL BEAR LAKE! I can't wait. :)

Joy in the Journey

Have you ever heard anyone say "that person just really get's life"? Or "This person is just really successful in life."? I often wonder how I can become like that. I want someone to be able to say that about me someday, man he just really gets it. Or boy he is just so successful in life. I think that would be one of the biggest complements that one could ever receive. To truly just get life? Wow, I can't even begin to think what that would even mean for a person. To understand what it takes to be successful in life? How do you do that, how do you begin to start down that road. For me?

The thing that I think is, I have never really heard that about rich, powerful, or famous people. Macy and I were discussing Kobe Bryant the other day, because of course his big face was plastered all over a billboard advertising his "success" campaign. I told Macy, I feel bad for him. Because in a few more years he will have nothing left. He has given everything up for basketball, literally everything. In just a few short years he will be just a name on a chart, or a statistic that they will bring up someday when someone else breaks his records. At the end of his life, what will he say he has amounted too? So would you argue that he is someone who really just "gets life?" Are money, power, and prestige, all that matter in this life? That is the question.

In my life I think that I have had about 2 days go according to my plan. And I think both of those days happened in the second grade. The weather was perfect, I had no responsibilities all day, I caught every frisbee that was thrown to me and everything was bliss. Besides those 2 days in my life I have had to do something I didn't really want to do. I have had responsibilities, tasks, assignments, or obligations that needed to be fulfilled. Things that needed to be done. Life just wasn't perfect. Here is also the thing that I am starting to recognize, these days come every day. Despite what I do, or how I do it, trials, tribulations, and troubles come. Unexpected happiness seems to come, and successes in areas that I hadn't even been working on seem to come. It is what we call life. Now here is what I think that it takes to be someone who just get's life.

I think someone who just "get's life" is simply someone who is able to learn from the things that happen to them, and finds joy in the imperfection of what we call life. Because the other thing that I am learning is that there is joy to be had in the imperfection. There is a whole lot of joy to be had. You just have to learn to find it. And as I look around the world, I see that this learning process is a hard one to go through because all around us we see people unhappy with the imperfection in life, myself included. We get frustrated and mad, that not every single tiny, little, detail, goes exactly how we would want it to. We don't get 100% on a test, or we have to fill our cars up with gas. We have an assignment that is late, or we are more tired than we feel we should be, before the day is over. It might be raining, or windy. Someone might do something to offend us or be rude to us. So many things happen in one day it is hard to mention everything that might happen. However I am sure something will happen today that doesn't go according to my plan.

So I just got married. :) I just was married to the love of my life. Que: Macy. I wanted to mention Macy specifically in this post because I know many people who are on the road to being "successful at life" but she is source behind these thoughts that I have. Not that Macy would ever admit it, and she would be the last to say that she is even good at it however Macy is someone who is well on her way to just "getting life." This is one of the things that I love about her. I have known Macy for 18 months almost too the day and in those 18 months I don't think one day has gone according to her plan. As these days go by I have seen an amazing thing happen, she seems to find joy even in her toughest trials. Trials that I would not be able to go through, myself, she has learned to laugh at, and truly be happy in the midst of them. Now I say she is on her way to getting life for two reasons.

1) She would probably be really mad at me if I said she "got life" and she would say No I don't!

2) Because also I recognize that even she has grown since I have known her.

I am so glad that I married someone who gives me such a good example of something that I want to be, and become.

So fortunately for all of us who aren't rich, powerful, and famous that is not what life is all about in my opinion. At the end of our lives even if we aren't rich and famous we can say that we accounted for something. And luckily for rich, famous, people we can all amount to something in our life more than just money. We can become someone who just "get's life." I think from my very limited perspective that life truly is simply about finding joy in the imperfection. About finding Joy in the Journey.

21 hours later this is all I can think of...

If I had a wand I wouldn't be like Lord Voldemort, I would be more like Neville Longbottom. I don't want to say I would be more like Harry Potter because that would be very presumptuous of me. After all I am no "Chosen One". But I do like to play the pivotal side role, that in the end has kind of a big part, but still can fade into the background with ease. If I had a wand I wouldn't be like Crabbe, and use spells that I can't control, like fiend fire. I think I would be responsible with a wand and all around a good person. I wouldn't put people under the Imperius curse, and I would never use the Crucio curse. I wouldn't make horcruxes, and desire to live forever. I wouldn't duel unless Draco Malfoy was trying to hex me. I wouldn't apparate into people's house, I would politely apparate outside and knock on the front door as would any good common citizen. I would always practice care and caution when it comes to spells that I find in books. And I would never, ever, use my wand around muggles. I would proceed with all caution and care when it comes to my wand. My wand would probably not be made of Elder Wood, and it probably wouldn't have a phoenix feather in it, but after all who knows because the wand does choose the wizard. My wand would be awesome, just sayin'.

Good Grief CHARLIE BROWN!

You know the feeling you get about 3 weeks before the end of the semester? That feeling where all you want to do is hang on. You can't absorb anymore, and you think that your brain might go on an emergency shut down at any moment?

Fact: I still have not recovered from the feeling from last semester
Problem: The new semester has already started today
Solution: I don't know

Resources: Luckily I have a few to help get me through until I have recovered from this -I don't think I can do this- feeling.

*Macy, probably one of the biggest supports that I have right now, thank goodness for Macy
*The Jazz, thanks goodness for the NBA and our Utah Jazz. It is pretty much heaven sent that the NBA lockout ended when it did. If I didn't have the Jazz I would be in deep trouble
*Nolan, this cute little nephew of mine who lives at my house, can always make me smile and help me solve my Chemistry problems.
*The thought that this semester can NOT be worse than last spring semester, true it may not be as fun, but it can not be worse. I promise.

All of this said and done, I am actually really excited for this semester, I guess you could say just not quite ready for it to start. But ready or not here I come. I love my life. :)

Don't you just love Calvin and Hobbes? I think one of my nephews should be named Calvin and Sammy should be renamed Hobbes.

In the old west Texas town of El Paso

There is something special about following a team with your whole family. It binds and bonds you because of how you spend time, and energy, you live together, you suffer together, and it feels like sometimes you die together. But you are together none the less. Things only get better when they are in El Paso, which is where the whole family just came back from after following our Utes there. (That is in Texas for those of you who don't know) It was such a fun trip, and I wanted every one to be able to experience it just a little bit. Here are the most memorable moments of the trip.

*You threw up 5 times, but it was with class -Ryan*

*What's for lunch? What's for breakfast? What's for dinner? -Vickie*

*Wasn't me. -Dad after taking out a subway sign*

*There are a lot of things that have to give in a marriage, and control of temperature in the car is one of them. -Ryan*

*Josh my nose is like an ice cube. -Macy*

*I have to go potty. -Easton*

*Ba, ba, ba, argggg. -Corbin and Nolan*

*Vickie i'm going to buy you some Cortez milled flower. Oh wait I don't have my wallet. Vickie Ryan is going to buy you some Cortez milled flower. -Craig*

*Josh you need a lesson in passing. -Zach*

*You almost got in a head on collision, and the other time you left me behind. -Collie*

*It feels great in here. Maybe we should turn the heat up. -Staci*

*It's eighty degrees in the girls room. -Dad*

These are a tiny snippet of the highlights, but there were many, many more. It was just a great time, with the family and the Utes won in a thriller which always makes the drive a little quicker and makes the trip more fun. Also just to report, there are 8 eye witnesses that UFO's really exist. We promise, they are out there. We saw them in New Mexico. All in all this was such a fun trip and we all loved it.
The whole crew, Dad, Mom, Ryan, Staci, Nolan, Zach, Collie, Nolan, Corbin, Josh, and Macy. We are all there. I promise.