Signs of the Times, Issue No. 119 - 08/24/10

Hi, I'm Aaron.

Greetings to one and all. This is A-Town coming to you live from behind a large plate of Kung Pow chicken. Mmmmmmm, delish. Well, it's back to school time for all of us peeps - and a new semester at the University of Utah means a whole lot of stuff on my mind. Topics to be discussed: The start of my final semester at the U, looking in the right places, people who are actually more offensive than I am, a Two-Minute chat with Junior, and "The House that A-Town Built." On we go!

Yes, it's true. My final semester of school is now underway. School at the University of Utah has been interesting for me, to say the least. As most of you know, I have found the transition from Snow College to the U to be very difficult. People aren't very friendly. Nobody makes eye contact on the streets, they discriminate against Mormons in many instances, and they really hate it when you try to sit right next to them in class. The first two days of class this week have been no different. However, I did see a miracle - an absolute miracle - come to pass in the hallway of the communications building today. Three people introduced themselves to one another as they were walking. Simply unbelievable.

No. Not on Facebook. No, no, no.

I always joke with my parents at the beginning of the semester that this could be my opportunity to meet my future wife. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to happen this semester either. Not with any of the girls or 45-year-old women in my classes, anyway. Lots of nose piercings, lots of tattoos, lots of swearing... Doesn't really float my boat. You never know, though. People keep telling me that I'll find someone when I least expect it. Well, seems like that would be right about now. If I magically found somebody to date at this point, I'd be shocked. There have gotta be some good girls out there somewhere! As far as "looking in the wrong places" goes, though, I don't want to hear it... because EFY is definitely not a bad place to look, but I found some real doozies down there. Not in a good way.

Here's my dilemma: I've been shut down hardcore multiple times in the last three weeks. Interestingly, the ones who have shut me down the hardest have been EFY counselors, the ones you would think would be the good girls. (Insert buzzer noise.) Where to begin? Where to begin? - and these are all true stories, mind you... One EFY counselor told me (via Facebook, of course) that she only talks to her very best friend once a week - and that I wasn't her best friend. DELETED FROM PHONE!! If you don't want to talk to me, don't. More recently, another EFY counselor told me that I failed her personality test that she secretly uses on guys. Not only did she imply that I was not attractive nor spiritual enough for her, she also trashed my hobby of watching TV by saying that it takes no talent to do so. That's not necessarily untrue, but I would never get to know a girl, find out that she loves reading or painting or cooking or sleeping in or anything like that, then tell her (via Facebook, of course) that I hated that hobby and that I refused to accept the fact that she likes doing it. Kind of strange to me. Oh, the list goes on and on. Am I too pushy? I wouldn't think so. In fact, I'd say that I'm not very pushy at all. At the U, I hardly talk to anyone at all. At EFY, I would probably vote myself as the least-social Building Counselor (not that I wasn't social, but hopefully you know what I mean). There's a fine line, I guess. My worst breakup of all time (last summer) happened because I didn't compliment the girl enough. I didn't tell her I liked her enough. I didn't take her out on enough expensive dates, I guess... But then, on the other hand, if I compliment a girl now or tell her I like her now or try to take her out more than once now, I'm considered pushy and clingy? Hmm... Where is the line? I got a fortune cookie yesterday that said "Flowers would make a nice gift for a friend tomorrow." I just read another one that said "Your friend thinks you're creepy."

Great. Well... they don't love you.

By the way, have you ever looked back on girls (or guys) that you were once interested in or dated previously and ask yourself, "What the heck was I thinking?!?" Well, based on some things I've seen on Facebook in the last few days, I'd just like to inquire, on behalf of all of us here at "Signs of the Times," WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING?!? Thank you.

Yeah, man. I know.

I don't have depression. I'm perfectly fine. My mom wants me to be more positive in my Newsletter and wishes more good things would happen to me. I'd gladly welcome more good things in my life... but until that happens, I hear some of my readers were upset that there was no Boo Box in Issue No. 118. My sincere apologies. Here's a Boo Box candidate for you. I've got a couple teachers that are real ding dongs this semester. Trying to be controversial just for the sake of being controversial is lame. Swearing during your lectures to make yourself sound like a liberal is ridiculous. Many of the students laugh. Many of the students swear when they respond to the teacher, which I find inappropriate and childish. I had a history teacher in high school once who really pushed evolution in what seemed to be an attempt to challenge my "core beliefs," I guess is what they call them up at the U. Again, unnecessary. The University of Utah is a great school. The campus is awesome. I like being there. But sometimes I just think they try too hard not to be BYU. For all those intentionally profane and controversial professors out there, we have something to say. Everybody together now - BOOOOOO!!

**QUESTION TIME!!**

Q. "Dear Aaron,

The masses want to know - what's up with your brother, Austin? He used to show up pretty frequently in your Newsletters but we haven't heard much from him in the last two years."

Just Curious,

- The Junior Mounties

A. Well, Austin just got back from his mission to Santa Maria, Brazil. He's doing well and it's good to have him back. I could go on and tell you everything about him, but hey, why not ask him? Here's a returning segment that we also haven't used a whole lot lately. It's The Two-Minute Instant Message! Everything I say will be in red. Austin will be in green. Enjoy.

Welcome, brother, to The Two-Minute Instant Message. How does it feel to be home?

Bah... it's decent.

Fantastic. What has been the best thing about being home so far?

Being able to watch Rocky beat the heck out of Apollo Creed whenever I want!

Yeh got speeeeeeed!

Ya gonna eat lightning and crap thunder.

Speaking of [Rocky], many people have wondered if you have seen 'The Big Ticket 2' yet.

I have, and was thoroughly impressed by the impressive skills of cinematography of the director and actors... speaking of which... that was you, wasn't it?

Yeah... well, yeah. It was.

That's right. That Mr. Lloyd was something else, huh?

Out of this world. In fact, you even made a guest appearance in the movie. How did that feel?

I was honored to be remembered by the staff. Truly an honor to be named amongst the best, such as, but not limited to, The Big Ticket.

Would you have any interest in making 'The Big Ticket 3'?

Ya know, if the offer came, I'm sure there would be no way to refuse.

And now look at you - down at Snow College.

Aaron, I have been to Disneyland, but Disneyland takes a back seat to Snow College as the Happiest Place on Earth.

Wow. A bold statement by Mr. Christensen here in the 2MIM. Well, any parting words?

Go! Go get 'em! Badger Blue! Go! Go get 'em! It's up to you!

We'll go! We'll fight! We'll win all right!

Finally today, I'd like to introduce everyone to my new radio show, "The House that A-Town Built." I haven't done a show on the air since I graduated from Snow. I did a brief stint as an intern at X96, but didn't do anything on the air, other than a few humiliating interviews. It's good to be back, ladies and gentlemen. Good to be back. I've got a fan page up on Facebook that all of you should join - it will keep you up-to-date with all the action up at K-UTE, from playlists to pictures, even giving listeners the opportunity to make "The House" the most interactive radio show I've ever done. I'll be facing a few challenges that I'm not used to up at the U. For one, the station is super ghetto compared to what I had down at Snow. Instead of having a legit DJing program, I'll be running the whole show off of iTunes, which will make it difficult to do things that, at Snow, were routine, such as sound effects and background music. K-UTE has a virtually non-existent fan base. The broadcast range for the AM frequency doesn't even make it off-campus, so much of the promotion and broadcasting is done online through the station's website, http://www.kuteradio.com - you can listen to K-UTE live from this site at any time. This is not exactly preferable, but will open up a whole new base of listeners for me. It will give you, my Loyal Subscribers the opportunity to listen to my show, no matter where you are in the world. With "City Council" down at Snow, I had listeners in 13 U.S. states at one point. Perhaps now that my show will essentially be entirely online, maybe we can go bigger. I'll be airing my shows on Fridays from 9 AM until noon each week and I formally invite all of you to tune in and participate. I am beyond excited to start up at the U. I'll have to revamp my entire show since so much of my "City Council" shows were based on wordplay with the station title, the KAGE. I added a "Like Box" to the blog page, so if you're not there already, head over there and "like" me on Facebook. I'd appreciate that. Also, if you have any ideas or things you'd like me to try out with the new show, please let me know! I can't wait to get started and hope you'll all listen in.

Welcome to my new House.

Here's a quick Shoutout of the Week submitted by long-time listener, Jon Blackham. This is somewhat ground-breaking in the sense that this is the first time I've allowed a Subscriber to give the Shoutout. Seemed like a good cause, though, so here it is:

"I know you normally don't do things like this, but could you give a shout out to the Bailey Family for me?
'Emma and Taylor are 3 year old twins that are conjoined, sharing one common heart and liver. They are face to face, from the breast bone down to the belly button. They have their own arms and legs, and certainly their own personalities. Taylor has a twinkle in her eye and always being silly. Emma is more reserved and loves to be cuddled. At age three, they have beaten the odds at survival and we hope to have many, many more years with them.'
(from their blog www.twosistersoneheart.com also see http://www.king5.com/news/local/Conjoined-twins-who-defied-the-odds-die-at-age-3-100445574.html)
On August 10th, 2010 (last Tuesday) their twin daughters died in surgery due to complications.  They were undergoing a series of surgeries that would have ultimately resulted in their separation.  I first met the Bailey Family on my mission in Arizona and their two daughters helped them share the gospel with so many people.  Their knowledge about eternal families is so important to them.  Thanks so much, SotT!"

- Jon Blackham

There you have it. See? I'm not entirely heartless after all. I suppose you'll be hearing from me this Friday at 9 in the morning. And if not, I guess you'll be hearing from me next Feel Good About Yourself Tuesday. In the meantime, would you mind scooting down a seat? You're starting to freak me out.

Until next Time,

Move It. Sell It. And Leave the Door Open.

Aaron