Into the Wild

New Blog

2010-02-16T10:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have a confession to make. This is not Brian. This is Mandy. I have surreptitiously logged on here to let any of you who might check this blog in the hope that it might be updated know that Brian and I now have a new blog, which you are more than welcome to check out. Hopefully it will be updated more often than you are used to with Brian, but I am not making any promises. The link is: http://www.brianandmandyporter.blogspot.com hope you enjoy!

Engagement+Law School=?

2009-09-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

Well it has currently been about two hours since I have done anything productive for school today so I better top this slacking session off by updating my blog. School has been going for a little over a month now and it is honestly kicking my butt! (Maybe because every time I look at my textbooks I'd rather do ANYTHING else than read: how am I going to survive three years of this again?) Its a good thing its not quite as hard as I thought it would be (not yet anyway) because Mandy and I have been busy doing lots of important things like:

1. Registering (not fun: do it online)
2. Playing Zucchini baseball (very fun, do it as soon as you can)
3. Watching BYU perform at a mediocre level again this year (Max Hall has as many interceptions as touchdowns this year: something I learned today while NOT studying).
4. Trying all the Thai restaurants in Utah County
5. Getting depressed on Sunday nights due to the realization that another week of our individual self induced torture (teaching school for her and going to school for me) is about to start

Anyways, I thought I'd at least take the time to set the record straight about the proposal.

First off,. I didn't lie to you Mandy, I just didn't tell the truth: BIG difference. So the day that will live in infamy, the one besides Pearl Harbor will be...crap what day was it? I'm pretty sure it was the 23rd, but I should probably verify that. Well whichever day it was there was supposed to be a Law School opening "drinking wine and looking at modern art" party somewhere up here on campus that Mandy thought I was making her go to. Lucky for her, and for me, I wasn't planning on it the whole time. So I had my brother Jake pack me a picnic basket beforehand, and he left it at my grandmas while we were at church (did we even go to church that day? I can't remember that either.) Well when we got back from whatever we'd been doing (most likely church) Mandy was helping me move some stuff into my Grandma and Grandpa's basement (yes thats right, I live in a relatives basement and im 25).

While Mandy was napping downstairs I loaded the basket into the back of my car, but a blanket over it, and grabbed the flowers Grandma picked for me in their yard. We then drove up towards the U and I was really nervous for some reason and missed the exit and we kept driving up the canyon and we had to turn around and we ended up in a tunnel somewhere and we finally made it back towards the U and I didn't really know what park I wanted to have the picnic at and then I remembered we'd gone to This is the place recently to stargaze and so we went back there and then we had our picnic (whew!). Ill spare you the rest. Just know that it was the most romantic engagement ever, and I'm planning on writing a book on the art of proposing later.

Anyways, thats about all for that.

For the last month I have been struggling to wake up every morning and find some reason to be excited about law school, and Mandy has been off having fun tie dying shirts while listening to coldplay with 7th graders and calling it a job. Life really isn't fair. The next big thing? This weekend we are taking our pictures. Its probably going to take at least 10 hours to get one of me that looks semi-normal, so that should be a good time! After that its fall break which is when the professors up here recommend you start studying for finals. WOW.

No really, if the next two months doesn't kill me I don't know what will.

Two Shocking Revelations

2009-08-26T07:56:00.001-07:00

1. Mandy and I are engaged! More to come later, or go here to find out more (My guess is less than five of you read this, and probably one of you will take the time to check this link out, but hey one person, you go for it anyway.)

2. Law school is really hard. You know that sick feeling you get during finals? Yeah it kinda feels like that all the time.

More to come soon. Maybe I should hire someone to update my blog for me? That sounds like a good use of student loan money right?

I need money

2009-07-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

Well I came to the conclusion today that out of all the things that my parents have nagged me about over the years, the fact that I am pretty terrible with money is probably the one that I should have listened to. At the beginning of the summer I was planning on saving all this money for law school, and having extra to spare for a shiny new Macbook, some new clothes, and to take a chunk out of the ridiculous cost of text books for law students (2,500 dollars for 5 classes?? Seriously?)

Now with less then three weeks left of work I have little to show for my saving efforts besides a newfound love for Asian Chicken at Wendy's (its an aquired taste, but try it sometime you will like it!)and a few more weekends down south backpacking and climbing under my belt. Does anyone have 16,000 dollars I could have? Go ahead and ask around and get back to me. If not I might end up on the streets like this guy...

Here are some pictures from the things I've been doing this summer when I should have been working.

I ran the Wasatch back. Don't worry my dad made me run all the hard parts. I'd put a picture of me running online, but I promise no one wants to see that..

I drove to see this girl. Not just a little driving, a whole lot. Here's some pictures of us doing what we do best. Hanging out pretending like both of us don't start real life in less than three weeks.

I played keyboard/piano with these guys quite a bit. You may recognize our now semi-defunct band Karate Prom from such shows as the basement of the Museam of Art at BYU.

Of course I've been busy supporting our trusty president. My friend Clark took this picture in L.A. Everyone worshipping Obama won't ever get old right?

Who said I can't make a major life decision?

2009-04-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well, after keeping everyone on their edge of their seats literally as long as possible, I finally decided on a law school. As of August 2009 I will be attending the S.J. Quinney School of Law at the University of Utah. That gives me approximately 4 monhts to figure out who this S. J. Quinney fellow is.

Thats not the crazy part: Here is a picture I took of the stack of junk mail that I received since taking the LSAT in December.

I'm pretty sure some of these must be made up. Yeshiva University of Brooklyn? The Ottawa College of Legal Practice? Come on.

Now I have the rest of the summer to fulfill my wildest dreams including:

1. See how long I can go without eating. I've had this dream since one of my friends told me he was doing it yesterday, and I'm pretty sure I won't make it past 2 days. Sorry Ghandi.

2. Run a Marathon. If you don't understand why, please refer to Stuff White People Like here:

3. Read a giant book by a dead Russian novelist like Crime and Punishment or War and Peace just to say that I did.

4. Come up with a better list of things to do with my life.

Why I love snowboarding

2009-02-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

So this winter I got a pass to the Canyons in Park City with my friend Drew on a last minute whim. We purchased them out of the back of a black SUV in the law school parking lot, and I'm pretty sure it looked like a drug deal was in the process to everyone who walked by. So far this season I have gone close to 10 times, and I only managed to dislocate my shoulder once! Given my intense accident prone-ness, I'd say that is a decent record. This past weekend the snow was particularly great. On Saturday, it was snowing the entire day, and Drew, Mandy, Kati and myself spent alot of the time on the Dreamcatcher lift. On that lift there is a jump that the local weed smoking ski bums informed me is known as The Wall. We practiced going over it repeatedly, and managed to stay alive. After watching a video of myself go over it taken with a camera, I realized that I might not be quite as hardcore as I wanted to believe I am. Although one of the guys that tagged along with us did notify me that my tail-grab was wicked-awesome so maybe I have a future as a professional Burton rider after all. I'm not sure what either of those italicized phrases mean, but apparently I was doing o.k.

After a full day of snowboarding Saturday, we followed it up by a repeat on Monday. That day we headed up the ninety-nine ninety chair which has a surprisingly brutal fifteen minute backcountry hike up at the top. When we finally made it we were greeted by this sign:

After all taking a minute to re-evaluate our lives, we began the descent down the peak. The fresh snow was really deep, and carving down it made the entire day worth it. Although probably not in any actual real danger, I definitely felt like a rebel trying to "shred" some "epic" "pow-pow" (everything I put in quotes comes from real phrases I heard from snowboarders during this season).

Best Blog Ever

2009-02-03T07:19:00.001-08:00

Besides mine of course. Make sure you check this one out, when you have a lot of free time.

This blog finds random pictures on the internet that fail at whatever the person in the picture is trying to do. Here is an example:

Hunting Fail:

see more pwn and owned pictures

Its funny because he's riding a bike with a dead deer.

Buffalo Soldier

2009-01-22T22:50:00.000-08:00

A few pictures from my trip to the Virgin Islands. I know it deserves a full blog, and I will get to it someday. Lets just say I basically sat on the beach for a solid week. What can I say, I'm the worst blogger ever.

Megan's Bay: St Thomas

Trunk Bay, St. John.

This octupus was kind a sissy looking in really life, but the picture turned out cool! Cinnamon Beach, St John.

No wonder people like islands so much. Red Hook, St Thomas.

For All You Stalkers Out There

2008-11-16T14:22:00.000-08:00

Ok hopefully this will save a rather boring post, but AFTER I filled the list out, I realized that it is pretty heavily biased towards middle aged moms. So enjoy.... Your Welcome Aunt Jane.

1. Started your own blog....duh. next.
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band-tried to start one in high school, but we never actually got past MXPX covers.
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity-i've done it once and my 10 dollars made me overdraft; therefore it was more than I can afford.
7. Been to Disneyland (also Disneyworld)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo-haha only once and never again.
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (does my mom forcing me to play piano count as art? How about burping the ABCS?)
15. Adopted a child-this is when I first started to wonder about this list....
16. Had food poisoning (stupid Taco Zamarano and your delicious burritos.)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables-my mom made us weed for hours and hours when I was little, so maybe kinda. Also I planted a Tomato plant on a garden in my mission and then the wife made it into Salsa for me. MMM salsa.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train-China; 4 people to a room the size of a closet. Yikes. Also one was Chinese and couldn't talk to us. Good times.
21. Had a pillow fight-Ok seriously if you haven't had a pillow fight you might not be human.
22. Hitch hiked (running out of gas four wheeling with Jake before his mission....good times)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort-again who hasn't done this?
25. Held a lamb... second time I wondered about this list.
26. Gone skinny dipping *unless my mom reads this, in which case the answer is no.
27. Run a Marathon (half?)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (go 6th grade baseball!)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke-who made this list? Where they serving a life sentence?
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain-seeing the bias?
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class-best 5 year old karate kid ever.
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies-Ok no doubt now. This list is for girls.
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason-yup definitely for girls.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp-Nope. I did go to the Holocaust museum 4 separate times last year in D.C. though (just for you Steve).
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar-first class flying thats all i gotta say.
72. Pieced a quilt-haha actually this might be for 70 year old ladies, not just moms.
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper-Eagle Scout. Thats right.
85. Read the entire Bible-well more than enough to get the idea... 90% of the old testament made me sleepy.
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating-what the?
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life-your welcome Sean Crabb.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous- Thomas Kinkade the painter guy, and I almost talked to Conan Obrien when we saw him at the Macey's Day Parade in New York.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one- Tara my dog.
94. Had a baby -the male version should read, fathered a child, in which case the answer is....um.
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit-soon enough haha.
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a be. Wow the last question is anti-climatic huh?

If you made it through this list, congratulations. The moral of the story is, only respond to giant blog lists if you are sure that they apply to you.

Politics, Shmoloticks.

2008-11-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

So maybe it took until 10 PM on November 4th, 2008 to realize something, but I decided that I really don't hate John McCain. Not at all, actually. In fact, although I still absolutely wouldn't have voted for him, I felt a tiny corner of my democratically- inclined- heart open up to him as he gave his concession speech on Tuesday night. For the first time in my rather young and inexperienced life, I realized that even though I don't agree with most (or all of the) things he stands for, he really does care about the country; and thought that he could provide the change it needs. I adamantly disagree, but hey its America right? I can do that.

In other News, I found this on the Onion and thought it was pretty funny. I really can picture this scene.

" Bush: 'Can I Stop Being President Now? "

"In a press conference held this morning on the White House lawn, President Bush formally asked the assembled press corps and members of his own administration if, in light of today's election, he could stop being the president now. "So it's over, right? Can I stop being president now?" Bush said after striding to the podium in a Texas Rangers cap and flannel shirt, carrying a fully packed suitcase. "Let's just say I'm done as of now. Presidency over." When informed by Washington Post reporter David Broder that his presidency would continue through early January, Bush stared at him quizzically, sighed, and shuffled silently back into the White House."

P.S. Now that the Presidential race is over, and BYU football is most likely headed to the Vegas Bowl, what am I supposed to care about now again?

I am Slow Starting To See Why Cubs Fans are so Angry

2008-10-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

So I meant to blog about this last week when it would have been more relevant, but again, I put if off until its been so long thats its kinda beside the point. So feel free to skip this one if you find yourself not caring, but apparently I'm still bitter.

Anyways, I know BYU played much better this Saturday compared to last weeks embarassing TCU game, (probably the hardest BYU game to watch since Mendenhall has been around) but if I don't get this out of my system now, I dont think I will ever be able to get over that game and move on. So here goes....

REALLY BYU really?? You were scored on twice in the first quarter? Really. What happened to your top ten offense? What happened to pass coverage? WHAT HAPPENED? I mean this was TCU, not Texas. You let your BCS dreams go over a conference team that you could've easily out played? Really? 18 straight down the drain just like that?

And don't even get my started on Max Hall. Really Max. Really? You were sacked 7 times. SEVEN. Guess how many times you had been sacked before last week? ONCE. I mean seriously? Also there is NO Way you would have 26/44 on passing if you would have thrown it to someone else besides Collie or Pitta. I mean, they are great, but seriously? There are more than three players out there at at a time. Reed? George? Vakapuna? Anyone? Anyone?

Now lets talk about the team in general. Really guys. Really? We were held to under 300 yards! Really you think you are going to win with 7 turnovers, including several fumbles and interceptions? And every single time there THIRD string quarterback through the ball there receivers beat us. Every time. REALLY?!? Is it too much to ask for a team to start out playing like crap and then get better? Byu this year started out playing AMAZING and has not been able to put it together like that since then. SO sad... so sad.... I will hope for the best and I am not trying to be fair-weather, but REALLY?

The best part was after the game my friend Nephi, who has been a life long Cubs fan let me knwo that at least you are starting to understand the pain that is my life. I'll just start counting on the jazz to let me down because it is hard to expect too much from your teams if you are from around here.

Whew. I feel better. I am done ranting now.

In other news there is approximately 6 weeks left until D-day.
Thats right the LSAT. If you have been wondering why I
have not been posting/coming out of the library/
returning phone calls/eating on a regular schedule,
studying for that test explains all these things.

I'm not done blogging, I'm just lazy.

2008-10-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would get that out of the way for everyone. So now that school has been going for a couple months, I've realized how nice summer really is, and how much I hate being stuck inside all day researching and studying. So I guess now is a good of time as any to procrastinate studying while I fill everyone in on the best camping trip of 2008.

At the end of August, some friends from high school and myself went up to St. Mary, Montana to stay for about a week and go camping/hiking/cycling. On the Way up we managed to make it to Rexburg the first night, and I had the privelage of driving us half away across Montana the next day in the Dark. A attribute my survival to a steady diet of Mountain Dew and a healthy dose of Coldplay's Viva La Vida. Despite leaving Idaho super early, we didnt manage to get there until ridiculously late. We camped just inside the east entrance to Glacier National Park, and had to set up our tent as the sun was going down. That night it was super cloudy and cold, and it actually snowed on Logan Pass in the park. That's right: in August. At 8000 feet. Not the typical summer get away, I admit, but hey what can you do.

Our first day we went to Alberta, Canada to explore the great white north a bit. The was my first rip to Canada and I was more excited than I should admit. The drive over the border at Babb, Montana is really pretty: rolling prairie and big open sky. Our first stop was Cardston, where we stocked up on really good Canadian candy (Smarties there ar amazing), and checked out two local thrift stores where I found a couple ties I probably won't wear and some used books I have yet to read.

We then spent the rest of the day at Waterton Lakes Provincial Park. The park was incredible: I really wish we would have had an extra week to really get a feel for this side. We hiked a bit, drove around, and soaked in the atmosphere. One of the highlights from Waterton Lakes was the Prince-Of-Wales Hotel there in the Park. The hot chocolate there looked super good, but was 6.00 Canadian dollars ( I refused because I'm a cheapskate.)

The next day we tried to hike up Survey Peak in Glacier National Park, but the visitor center at Logan Pass was really fogged in, and the hippie guide there told us we might die. Instead of risking death, we drove over into West Glacier, and hiked up to a couple different waterfalls and lakes, playing frisbee along the way. My friend Adam also impusively bought a 300 dollar camera which we used the rest of the trip. Good work, Adam.

The last day we hiked along the highline trail to a chateau that was built in the 1920s, and then up to Survey Peak. The view from the top was incredible. We also saw a mountain goat, and its kid. Pretty sweet.

That night we ate at the best Lesbian-owned hamburger restaurant in the world: The Two Sisters. This dinerwas painted a rainbow assortment of colors, and had really good sweet potato fries. It was about the last place I would have expected to see a restaurant like this, but it was really crowded, and came highly reccomended. They also had a huge banner supporting Kucinich Who knew the Intermountain West could be so liberal?

Later that night I went on a night cycling ride along the Going-To-The-Sun-Road. I made it about 10 miles before my fear of a mountain lion jumping me overcame me and I went back to camp.
When deciding whether or not a trip was sucessful it is important to add up how many wild animals you saw. This trip we saw 3 bear (one of them right in front of our car), dozens of deer, a few hawks, a herd of bighorn sheep, and the infamous mountain goat. Also we manged to make the whole trip while spending less than 300 bucks! The only real downside to this trip was that it was only 5 days (stupid responsibilites) and my transmission officially died on the way home. Who needs a car though right?

I think I say this everytime I go anywhere camping, but glacier might be my favorite place I have ever been. It is so choice! If you have the means, (think Ferris Bueler) I highly recommend checking it out.

More pictures from my glacier trip can be found here.

How Am I Still Alive Again?

2008-08-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago at the end of July after watching The Dark Knight on an IMAX screen some friends that shall remain nameless and I decided it was time to drive up to everyone's favorite party spot: Evanston, Wyoming, and take advantages of The Cowboy State and their anything goes fireworks policy. Now back in the glory days in high school you were able to light off the fireworks in town on the police station's front lawn if you pleased, but according to the guy at the counter they have since tightened up security, and I was disappointed to hear that you now have to drive at least 1 mile out of town. We got directions to the "Woodruff Narrows Recreation Area," where according to the cashier at the store all the cool kids would be partying (something along those lines it was kind of hard to understand her.)

After driving around in frustration for over an hour we finally pulled over and decided to just light the stupid things right there in the middle of a small unkempt road. We had several options to choose from and after lighting a few we started working on the 50 or so Samurai's (basically a glorified Roman Candle) that my room mate insisted on buying. 10 seconds after lighting one sticking straight in the dirt, a modest section of desert in front of us was engulfed in flames.

After we put the "burning bush" out we were glad to find out on the drive home that we had successfully stopped what could have been the world's biggest sagebrush fire, and because of this decided that the trip was a definite success. The next time you are in Wyoming, make sure you tell the friendly folks at the phantom fireworks store hello.

Wow.

2008-07-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

No really. The Dark Knight. Go see it. Now!

2008-07-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

Havasupai-

So every summer for at least the past four always involve me going on lots of long expensive trips that leave me nice and broke for the school year in the fall. This summer has been no exception. About two weeks ago, I went with some of my room mates and their family to the Grand Canyon to go backpacking. At a gas station on the way down I noticed this beer and it made us laugh...

The temperature was 117 at the Hoover Dam, and seemed pretty close to that a lot of the time in Arizona. We started our 12 mile hike in at about seven at night. On the way in we saw a dead horse, and it was disturbing on different levels. About 8 miles in we came to an Indian village that is just outside of the campsites. The place was full of wild dogs, who probably also liked to eat baby ponies. We ignored the rather grimey dogs and got to our camp at about 9. For the next couple days we hiked to 3 of the main waterfalls, cliff jumped, played on rope swings, and even had a little NT. (what good is hiking if you dont relax a little).

My favorite storey I heard while down there was about a man who decided to show off and sucessfully jumped off Havasupai Falls only to try and jump of Mooney Falls and not make it. Sometimes I guess you shouldn't press your luck! On the way back home we drove to Kingston, AZ and slept at a very expensive KOA, in a gravel parking lot that was complete with an ant hill next to my head. On the car ride home we also watched Karate Kid 1 and II, and ate a lot of junk food. This trip was definantly a success.

The Beginning: Capitol Reef/Goblin Valley

2008-04-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

So based on my past experiences and my extremely addictive personality, it is probably not the best idea for me to be blogging. I figure summer is the best time to start because it is when I spend as much time as possible connecting with nature and all that hippie nonsense. So i'll sit here with a little Bruce Springsteen going in the background, eat some M&M's with peanuts and get to work...

So this last weekend a few friends and myself made a pilgrimage to Capitol Reef and I must say that despite the fact that nearly everything went wrong that could possibly have gone wrong, it ended up being a lot of fun. Although our cooler full of food smelled like rotting death, the other car hit a skunk, and we had to camp at a KOA outside of the park because we got there so late, the hiking the next day made it all worth it. On saturday we decided to pick a hike that would be long enough that we would feel hard core and short enough so we could still be lazy. We settled on Hickman bridge which ended up being pretty sweet. On the way up it was probably 80 degrees, and yes I got sun burned. After we got to the Bridge Jeffrey decided to climb on top of the bridge and we all followed his lead. On top of the bridge there were a spot where we decided we needed to test if Nalgene water bottles were truly as indestructible as advertised. I think most of the bottle is still in the bottom of the wash where it exploded (I want my money back Nalgene). After Capitol Reef half of our group decided to head over to Goblin Valley and walk around a for a bit. It ended up being my favorite part of the whole trip. I will definitely half to head back there at some point for longer.

Currently listening to: The Arcade Fire

Currently Reading: What is The What

Currently working on: Training for a Marathon

Currently dreaming that: The Jazz will go all the way this year