This one's For You, Kyle

This week's been pretty busy. Thursday I took a sick day and I didn't leave the house once. By the end of the day, I was getting really antsy to do something. Friday was better though. I went on a date with a really cool girl that I knew from my freshman ward. We went with a bunch of people all the way to West Jordan to do a corn maze and a haunted forest thingy. We had a lot of fun, but I was disappointed in the haunted forest. Everyone else thought it was scary though, so maybe I've just lost my imagination. It's hard to be scared when you remember that all the monsters are just guys in costumes, and they aren't even allowed to touch you. Well, I take all that back, the guys with chainsaws that came out of the corn field were pretty scary.

Anyways, I was having a conversation about money with my roomate, Kyle, the other day, and I decided to make that the subject for this post. Before my mission, if I ever wanted to buy something, I would usually just do it. Now that I'm officially poor though, I don't have that luxury. So instead, whenever I want to buy something, I do the next best thing - I just write it down. The idea is that whenever I look at this list, it will remind me to work hard in school so that one day I can actually afford these things. Here's a sample of what's on my list:

1. 22 inch widescreen monitor - OK, my roomate says it's excessive, but I think taking notes and doing my class reading at the same time on a tiny laptop screen is really frustrating, and having dual monitors would help so much (and movies would sure look better on a bigger screen, too).

2. Invisalign braces - To fix my crossbite.

3. Dave Matthews Band Anthology (guitar tab edition) - I love playing Dave Matthews on the guitar, and sheet music would really help.

4. 8 gig MicroSD card - So that my phone can hold all of my music, and not just a sample.

5. French Cuff Shirt with Cuff Links - What can I say? They just look better.

6. Don't Mess With Texas T-shirt - I used to think Texas pride was stupid, but now I think its kind of funny. I like to pretend like I have it.

7. Body Sculpting Bible for Men - Um, enough said. Just want to make sure my workouts count.

8. Practical Idealists: Changing the World and Getting Paid - My career goal for the past couple of years has been to do something that would make a lot of money while helping people in poorer countries. I didn't know if that was possible, but then the other day I stumbled upon this book while stickering at the bookstore. Too bad the library dosn't have a copy.

9. Wreck This Journal - Another one I stumbled on at the bookstore. If you're ever at a bookstore, flip through it (or click on the link to see what it's about). Basically I have this recurring fear that I'm losing my imagination, and this book is probably one of the best creative outlets you can find.