All posts by Ryan

Robbins Vs. Colbert

Let me take you for a brief moment inside my head. Let me take you inside my dreams…

…enter puffy dream sequence cloud and harp arpeggios…

In the early morning or late evening, I couldn’t tell which, I found myself at a small round kitchen table where two bearded jolly men were going to teach me how to play Knights and Pokers (apparently the “poker” referred to the knight’s joust). There was a young lady there who seemed just as excited as I to play this game of strategy. She was excited for this was a game of intense strategy and popularity. It was bigger than “The Office”.

Sometime between setting up the board and me shuffling the card that weren’t supposed to be shuffled together I saw a big grin on the face of the lead jolly. He had a mission for me that seemed rather odd, but the jollies together convinced me that it was not only necessary, but urgent.

The next thing I knew I was talking to the front desk clerk of 24 hour fitness. I heard in my head the instructions as I head myself telling the clerk that I needed to see his bosses, two gentlemen I was pretending to know well. The mission monologue played in my head as a loudspeaker announcing the day’s school lunch menu.

I ended the conversation with insisting on my usual accommodations including luxury room and board. I told left and told him that I’d be back at 8 and to make sure that everything was taken care of.

I walked away confidently as the desk attendant seemed obviously abashed, yet making arrangements for this insistent and confident man.

When I returned my bags where taken and the same clerk showed me to a car. He asked me where I was from. When I said Boston he seemed to know the area and followed up with, “Oh? What part?” I told him the northeast part. Again he asked where. With my best Boston accent I tossed out a made up county name. “You heard of it?” “No,” he replied.

Now in the car I felt that something was up. We pulled up to the entrance of what looked like a junk yard. The driver clerk casually locked the doors and tightened the windows.

Now entering the yard I could see that amidst the rubble and piles of dirt was a very nice patio encased with glass walls. Within the walls of the patio was the man I had insisted on seeing. He was lounging in a jetted jacuzzi.

Obviously annoyed with the interruption from the attendant he looked up as I walked in and began to act as if I knew him. After fumbling a little to search his thoughts and after realizing that I was an impostor he smiled as if to say, sure I’ll play your little game.

Some words were exchanged and before I knew I was banging their heads together and taking off in the car we had come in. I’m not sure why seemingly smart men leave the keys in the car in movie scenes like this. I guess it’s so the “good guys” like me can escape when they’re found out.

Anyhow…So after I drove through the fence that had been closed behind us and a high speed automobile chase I found myself in an arboretum of sorts. I felt safe from my predators there as I biked quickly around the lake at the center of this forest.

I’m not sure where I got the bike I was riding on. I guess my attention was more focused on escaping those that sought the destruction of me and those I loved. I’m also not sure where I caught up with a pretty girl and how I had become responsible for protecting this new friend, but is was so. And lastly, I have NO CLUE when the the one dedicated to hunting us had turned into Tony Robbins. Bizarre

After rounding the arboretum several times and realizing that we may have been led into a trap, sent in circles until Tony Robbins catch up, I suggested retracing our steps to find our way out. Upon doing so we came upon a dried storm drain that we hadn’t seen before.

After climbing up the loose rocks to the top of the drain we walked around a cement slab. There I was accosted by a man. With my back towards him I assumed that it was the dreaded Mr. Robbins. On the contrary. It was my pleasure and relief to see Steven Colbert greeting me, saving us from the anxiety and fear that had griped us just moments earlier. The first thing that I told him was that I was going to vote for him in the Presidential Election. We smiled and talked some. He was nice in person.

Looking back at it all, I’m not sure what this adventure had to do with the game Knights and Pokers, but in the end I’m sure that there something to learn from this. If you have had any lessons on the interpretation of dreams, it’s time to shout them out! Leave me a comment and let me know.

Peter Jay on “Making the Grade”

How can a student not known for their academic prowess perform seemingly miraculous feats of success in college? In this monsterously in-depth interview Peter Jay tells it all. How do I make the most of my time at school? How can I shift my thinking ever so slightly to see that even I can achieve great things? What’s at the heart of scholastic success? Join us now to get the answers to these vital questions!

Peter: Did you finish UVSC yet?
me: ha!

will I EVER finish UVSC?
we’ll see.
no, I’m slated to graduate Fall 2008
and I’ve also started some premed classes.
it’s a lot.

Peter: Studying for the MCAT?
me: not yet.

just trying to learn the ropes of keeping up in my classes.
haven’t learned how yet [smile]

Peter: Yea, I didn’t figure out until my fifth year at BYU and then I went from getting a C average to getting an A average

me: how’d ya do it pete? what was the difference?

Peter: There were several things. I decided to treat it like a game, trying to get points, because that made it more interesting to me.

I also decided to make sure I did my homework every day before I did anything else, and I realized I still had as much time to have fun and hang out with people, before I was just being lazy and then hanging out with people

me: keep going…

this is good stuff…

Peter: Then I made sure that I was above the 90 percentile on every assignment and test, and then in the end it all adds up to an A

me: I’m going to quote you on my blog…

Peter: Alright [note: by this one word Peter Jay hereby relinquishes any and all claims to financial compensation or ongoing royalties from the profits of this blog post. That includes anything from AdSense too Pete, though I’d feel cool buying you and Kira a lunch when you come out in December.]

me: [smile]

so, those were the three keys to beating the college game?

Peter: Yea, you just have to make sure you really study and know the stuff. I started spending about ten hours studying for each final where I would go over everything and make sure I understood it from the beginning of the semester to the end

And I would try to memorize everything
But, yea, that’s about it

me: how did you organize all your assignments and make sure you were studying for everything/doing everything?

Peter: I usually tried to take good notes in class and then I just followed that. For the tests I would read through and memorize my notes and I would also quickly review the chapters of the book, if there was something I didn’t understand I would spend more time on it until I did

I really put in a lot of time for the first semester I got A’s, after that I kind of figured things out and it got easie
In Calculus I memorized three pages of calculus formulas and after that it was as easy as algebra, and I got an A

me: Did you work too those semesters?

Peter: That semester I didn’t, but later semesters when I got A’s I did
me: was that any harder?

Peter: It is kind of just a distraction, one more thing to think about. My grades went down a bit that semester I was working on the PlayCroquet.com site because I spent my time doing that instead of studying, I think I let that consume more time than I should have though, since I could sit in front of the computer for hours playing around with websites
me: Right.
Peter: I still get distracted easily by that.

Thank you Peter for opening up so freely about how to succeed in college. Your study strategies, tips and aids are sure to help even the down and out college student.

If you’d like to have Peter as your own personal study buddy, forget it, he’s in law school and doesn’t have time, because he’s using the above mentioned study strategies. However, feel free to post any comments you may have for Peter here. And, if you’re looking for some help getting into college, remember Zinch.com is helping high school students stand out in the college admissions process . There college search feature is reason enough to join the Zinch revolution.

Hinckley Knights Eyring

 I got this email the other day … I couldn’t resist posting it here!

During the Saturday morning session, after President Hinckley went to sit down after the sustaining of the officers of the church, the whole audience started laughing. They didn’t show what happened on TV, so most of us didn’t know what was so funny. Here’s what happened:

After President Hinckley finished, Elder Eyring had moved into his new seat on the stand. When President Hinckley turned around, he stood there for a moment looking at Elder Eyring, then picked up his cane and ‘knighted’ him on his shoulder and head.

President Hinckley knighting President Eyring

I was humbled by the way Elder Eyring assumed the responsibility laden calling of 2nd Counselor in the Church’s First Presidency. He spoke to us once at the Orem Institute of Religion and I’ve been very touched by his love and personal touch ever since. I’m honored to support him in his new role serving the Lord.

Here’s the Press Conference that gathered his public feelings on taking the position that President James E. Faust previously occupied.

Wicked!

So, at the last minute, before heading out for Wisconsin the next day, I decided to just see if there were any tickets for Wicked in Chicago. I’m SOO glad I did. The musical was amazing! I’ve never seen something so fatastcatory. A tale of friendship with a twist! I highly suggest it to anyone. If you see it in Chicago, go at least two hours early to get put into the drawing for $25 front row seats. We missed it, but it may just rock your socks off.

Check it out! Wicked Trailer

Defining Ryan: The Creation Series

Driving to Draper today I was listening to “The E-Myth Manager Seminar: How to Lead with Vision and Purpose”. I have read The E-Myth before, but there’s nothing like listening to Michael Gerber live, as he works the crowd. He’s pretty philosophical. In his excitement he said something very profound to me. He must have known that it would mean something great. After he said it and I had my personal ah-ha moment he said let me repeat that. This is what he said:

“The sanctity of life can only be experienced in the act of creation of it.”

This is the venue that I’ll use to Define Ryan. This is where I’ll crystallize my destiny.