One of the things I’m most looking forward to post-wedding is having Hayley live with me rather than downstairs in a different apartment. The status quo presents several frustrations that I am more than happy to be rid of.. No more guessing and worrying about whether or not the other is actually awake and out of bed in the morning (which was a FAIL this morning as I showed up for morning prayer and Hayley was still sleeping). No more “oh crap, I left that pan down at my apartment!” revelations as we’re speedily trying to prepare a meal. No more staying up late so I don’t feel like I’m abandoning Hayley as she does some internety things at my place late into the evening when I would rather be sleeping (NOTE: she doesn’t have internet access at her apartment – she mooches).

All things considered, it’s an extremely excellent thing that she’ll be moving in. There are, however, a few minor concerns I’m trying to wrap my head around..  (Be aware that I’m not directing any of my thoughts/complaints/reflections at Hayley – I’m just trying to get used to a new reality.  And I’m trying to be funny about it.)

(see if you can find the easter egg in the image)

#1) Closets

I won’t use an actual picture of Hayley’s closet, but I think this one is a mildly decent representation of what it looks like. Essentially, it’s full of clothing. Lots of clothing. Take this picture and add in another 50% more and we’re just about there.

Women have clothes. I get that. It may be annoying to me on some levels, but I recognize that women think and function differently than men do when it comes to the amount of clothing they have. Women have skirts or blouses that one work in combination with only one other skirt or blouse – this is not something men deal with, and thus the plethora of clothing can be considered somewhat reasonable for the fashionable woman.  Simply, women have “outfits”..  Men only use that word when referring to military units.

I do, however, have one major concern with this situation.. Where am I going to put all of my clothes? I have 4 pairs of jeans, 4-5 slacks, 1 suit, a couple dozen dress shirts, a dozen polos, and a bunch of t-shirts.. Add in socks, gym clothes, undergarments, and ties; I need a little bit of space as well. Not a cavernous closet of my own, but I do need to hang up something!

Well, once the wedding bells have rung, I think I’ll be living out of boxes for a few months.  We don’t have any bedroom furniture (currently), so I can’t just fold up everything and place it in a dresser.. We will go purchase a bedroom set at some point, but even then I’m a bit concerned about the direction I’m heading in.  I feel like I need a separate storage unit just to manage the SHOES!  OHHHH, THE SHOES!

I’m certainly being dramatic for the fun of it, but I am really curious as to how this will work itself out.

(MAJOR NOTE: This issue of enough space is also a concern when it comes to the bathroom, balcony, and the apartment in general for that matter… It is going to be crowded!)

*sigh*

#2) Decorations

I know I currently live in a glorious bachelor pad, and with a woman moving in things will change. But.. I don’t know that I’m ready for a million pillows on my couches.

Hayley is already excited to start sewing some pillow cases that we can use to have a ton of pillows around the living room…  Then she wants to find some really classy art stuff, work on setting a theme (potentially using a grass-green as the base color), and essentially destroy my soul as a consequence of all this femininity.

I will have a great deal of patience with new decor if our place looks nice (according to my standards of nice), but this is one of the few areas where Hayley and I have disagreements.  Hayley is a little more glamorous than I am, I suppose; I mean, she did request we season pass Gossip Girl on the TiVo… My dream home is a large and spacious lodge with huge windows, wooden furniture, big comfy couches, and lots of earth tones.  Hayley would be much happier in the classic colonial mansion with very fashionable drapes blocking out significant amounts of natural light..

I think there is enough overlap where we can be happy, but we have honestly not yet discovered enough overlap to assuage my fears.  Part of this is just me being stubborn about losing my man-cave of an apartment, so of course I recognize my thoughts as pretty ridiculous.  I do, however,  wonder if I’ll one day wakeup to find ruffles on everything…  This sounds like a potential nightmare for me!

#3) Relaxation Habits

I will keep this short: I don’t like cuddling while I play video games. It’s distracting, I get warm really fast, and someone keeps bumping my arm.. Cuddling while playing Red Dead Redemption is like mixing milk with Mountain Dew – it can be done, but no one enjoys it.

I think this is something every man needs to get used to though – the Mass Cuddle Effect.  I hereby swear that I will cuddle during all chick-flicks, episodes of Community, and before bedtime as long as I can avoid my husbandly duties during game time.  I think this is the most fair thing I’ve ever agreed to.  :)

— And now I will subtly retract my tongue from my cheek region.

It blows my mind that 2010 is coming to an end..  If I really think about it, it does seem like forever since I moved into my new apartment, which was September 11th – not that long ago.  Lots has changed, and I have a lot to be thankful for.  I think we can classify 2010 as a successful year, even with some of the ups and downs.

In order to truly appreciate the year that has passed, I think it’s time for a mini-retrospective…  Well, not a full retrospective – I don’t know that I have the desire to spend the time necessary to do something I would consider complete.

Favorite YouTube Video:

This vid is double awesome because it includes one of my favorite places back at BYU – I really loved the library and worked there for about 8 months…  Funny, Funny!

Favorite Movie:

Even with the wonder that was Scott Pilgrim vs The World and Inception, I think Toy Story 3 was the one movie I enjoyed the most from beginning to end.  Pixar has a magical way of sucking me in…  I doubt it will win the Oscar for Best Picture, but I really think it’s my personal “Movie of the Year”.

Favorite Book(s):

I know I’m two years late on reading this one, but Hayley and I busted through the trilogy within just a couple weeks (well…  Hayley read all three in a single week, it took me a little bit longer).  The concept of the book – a dystopian world where children of the 12 districts are selected to compete in a battle to the death as a demonstration of the central government’s authority – is certainly troublesome.  Luckily, the reader is spared anything too gruesome as the author avoids going into explicit detail of the killings (with most happening “off screen”), but you certainly get a feel for the terror of the participants and how twisted the world has become.
The second and third books, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, aren’t quite as good as the first, though they certainly have their moments.  Hayley and I disagreed on the quality of Mockingjay…  I enjoyed it and found it to be interesting due to its own contribution to the world found therein, but Hayley felt it was too significant of a departure from the two books previous.  Either way, we both agree that it’s a very good series to pick up and read.

Other Favorites:

Modern Family and Community (TV): if you’re looking for some really good comedy, these two shows are gold!  They’re very different in their approach to comedy, but if you give them both a little bit of time you’ll find some seriously enjoyable television.

Perbacco (Restaurant): This Italian gem, located in downtown Houston, is GREAT!  The owner is from Capri and makes a point to visit each table at some point during the night.  In fact, he’s usually the one who will give you the day’s specials and take your order.  I took Hayley here on our first date and it was a major success.  To quote Hayley, “You’re taking me to an Italian restaurant?  That’s a bold move!” … “I LOVE THAT PLACE!  Yeah Jeff, you did goooooood!”

That’s about it for a list of favorites.  Most of the other fun stuff is chronicled in other blog posts or somewhere else on the internet.  It’s been a fun and enjoyable year, but I’m honestly hoping for an even better 2011!

We have a wedding to look forward to, my first trip out of the United States for the honeymoon, a couple of additional open house events, a family reunion in November, hopefully some golf clubs and lessons, and an innumerable amount of adventure!  I have no major resolutions this year, other than maintaining my weight loss goals, focusing on becoming more patient, and developing myself spiritually.  I’ve never succeeded with resolutions; I work better with broader goals and themes.  Perhaps on New Year’s Eve I can sit down with Hayley and we can think of a really solid theme for 2011.

Until then, I’ll go with the first one I find by searching 2011 theme on Google: “Drunk Brits and Cleavage”!

Tangent: A quite humerous and adorable blog post about the rumorative power held by Facebook can be found here.  It may be of interest to frequent readers and those who know me personally.

I went and saw Scott Pilgrim vs the World on Saturday and I love, love, love, LOVED it!  It’s the kind of movie a comic book/video game/hopeless romantic/kinda stupid nerd would love, and I think that description defines me pretty well (except for maybe not the stupid part – you decide!).  If you grew up playing games in the 80′s and 90′s, and you love movies that make you laugh and are insanely different than anything else Hollywood does, do yourself a favor and see Scott Pilgrim.  I promise, you’ll love, love, love, LOVE it!  And if not, lie to me and say you did.

I’m saddened that the film is “failing” in the eyes of the movie industry, and I think there are 2 legitimate reasons why..  Every movie blog within the blogosphere has  come up with their own guesses, but I only really consider a these 2 to be legit:

1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is hard to categorize. This is one of the aspects of the story that I really love, but it has to be a marketer’s worst nightmare!  The posters with Scott rocking out on the guitar have been slammed for making people think the movie was about a rockstar, which is not the case, but they do make sense if you already know the story.  You also can’t sell it as a love story, because that’s only one component of the whole.  And an action movie?  With Michael Cera?  That won’t fly…  So, how do you categorize this film if you’re Blockbuster Video?  It doesn’t even fit in with the goofy punk/skateboarder movies I remember from the 80′s and 90′s (Gleaming the Cube, anyone?)…  Universal Pictures tried, but mixed messages left potential audiences confused, which is a shame.

2.  This movie was made for a small subsection of the population – the comic book/video game/hopeless romantic/kinda stupid (maybe) nerds of this world.  I honestly don’t see this movie having a strong appeal to the masses when you consider the ever rising barrier to entry for this kind of thing (e.g. the $9 movie ticket).  Those who have read the comic, which is supremely delightful and highly recommended, will be immediately drawn to the move.  Those who love Michael Cera (a dwindling fan base) might be drawn.  Those who love Edgar Wright (the director) may have been drawn…  Aside from some of those pretty small fan bases, you’re lucky to pull in the occasional straggler (like my buddy Spencer, who was a rockstar for coming with the lady and I).  Does the movie deserve a wider audience?  YES, but that doesn’t mean it will automatically have one.

If you’re reading this and find anything I’ve said interesting, go see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and love yourself for it.  It will treat you to something wholly different than anything else Hollywood has produced in a very long time.  I thought the acting was good, the writing was witty, the transition from page to screen was handled marvelously, and I finally got to see a girl kick some butt with a giant hammer (+5 against girls).

K.O.

Once in a while I get into these really introspective moods, and I begin trying to figure myself out. For the longest time, I considered myself to be the humanoid equivalent to “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” – something that may or may not have multiple levels, but can certainly be easily deciphered by those with yet developing minds… These days I feel like Ayn Rand has risen from the dead (I’m assuming she’s dead) and decided to rewrite Atlas Shrugged with a new main character. Not that I am suggesting that I’ve even read Atlas Shrugged, but look at the size of it and imagine the complexity of an Ayn Rand novel that could even attempt to be that long!!! (That’s correct, I’ve never read Atlas Shrugged, though it is on my list of future titles to peruse… Along with the 10 books [I just counted] sitting on top of my desk that I’ve purchased in recent months.)

Now that I am fully disclothesed (this spelling makes you wonder…) on my history with Ayn, I suppose I have to apologize for defamation and continue onward with why I feel as though I’m all of a sudden complicated.

I am no longer predictable to myself. I can no longer walk into a situation and feel as though I know what emotions and thoughts I might be having once I exit. I have found myself getting angry over things that never would have angrified me, feeling passive towards things I am often passionate about, and saying things I would normally not. Perhaps this is an evolution of how I choose to interact with the world, but the interesting thing is that I’m not sure it is for the better!

For example, I am becoming increasingly passive with many of my friendships. Normally where I would have fought to maintain a friend, I am deciding that a friend breakup might be the better option. Instead of outwardly claiming that I have a ton of friends and declaring that I like everyone around me, I’ve become more selective of those I spend time with in realization that very few people in my area are just not the type of people I really enjoy being around. Perhaps we’re talking about different core personalities or different life ambitions, but either way I have become pretty apathetic. Does that sound like the Jeff you’ve all known for years?

I don’t want to paint like Goya and suggest that I am suffering from all kinds of inner turmoil that is ripping me apart from within, because that is simply not the case. I’m not particularly bothered by the way I am responding to daily stimuli; I’m intrigued by it! Some of the emotions and thoughts that have coursed through my veins in recent months have been novel and new – and I’m moving away from the version of Jeff that was somewhat of a pushover because I was so concerned about making everyone around me happy. I think I could be moving in the right direction, but I need to take consistent evaluations to validate that I have not veered towards some form of destruction.

This has mostly been running triathlons through my brain over the last few weeks since it is apparent that few people get me. I am consistently surprised by how those around me choose to interact with me based on some sort of social perception of what my character must be, given that others with somewhat similar personalities have preceded me. I don’t get the Chris Farley thing as much as I did in High School, but I certainly feel like I am compared to other individuals within my sphere of sociality.

Now, this could be that I am becoming increasingly more diverse in my individuality, or it could be a condemnation of the laziness of a society that feels it is easier to discern the soul of someone by creating Venn diagrams and going through the compare and contrast process that we were all taught in grade school. I am guilty of this as well, though hopefully to a lesser degree… It seems as though social convention is to now categorized people by specific predominant personality traits and then to interact with them, and all others within that category, in a predefined manner. As the world grows smaller, we interact with more and more people, and I would argue that our interactions become increasingly more shallow. No longer do we attempt to search the bottomless depths, it is more economic and productive to surf along the surface.

I find human psychology interesting… :)

Work is a little slow today since I’m transitioning to a new assignment and doing a lot of knowledge transfer (which requires I wait on other people to become available), so I figured I’d do a quick update on some stuff I’ve been looking at recently.

A buddy of mine sent me the following link: http://tv.nationalreview.com/uncommonknowledge/.  I recommend you check the Antonin Scalia interview, which starts on March 16th and carries on for 5 parts, and contemplate some of what he’s saying.  Whether you agree with him or not, I think it is certainly worth listening to and appreciating as a strong opinion on the Constitution and the role of the judiciary.

I’ve been reading the book Outliers recently, and I’ve really enjoyed it.  I think Gladwell can be a bit verbose with his books, but I appreciate his thought process and ability to break things down.  I haven’t finished yet, but I’m working through the final couple of chapters and would certainly have to recommend the book so far.  I hope I can take some things from it and apply them to my specific circumstances, but again we’ll have to see what my overall opinion is once I’m done.  I’ve already had a couple of spiritual insights that I’ve pulled from the book that I may share as well.

In other news, I’ll be moving out of my office at the Baytown refinery and heading down to the ExxonMobil building at 800 Bell St. in Houston.  I’m excited for a change, and I’m already pretty confident that I will be working with a really solid team.  And I’ll be honest, a shorter commute is certainly an exciting proposition!

I’ll add more in the coming days - I always have a lot to ponder.

Oh, and I’m having dinner with Dad tonight, which is exciting!  Not everyday I have family in town…

I’m getting more and more frustrated with the “stimulus package” stuff that Washington D.C. is going to be passing within the next 4-5 days. I would recommend that people contact (either through email or phone calls) their state senators to let them know you don’t agree with the spending package and you want something more permanent like tax cuts that will actually stimulate the spending within your family.  (The number for the Senate Switchboard is 202-224-3121 – just call and ask for your Senator.)

Here‘s a great article by former Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney.

For more information on the stimulus, I recommend checking out the following websites:

• NoStimulus.com
• The Heritage Foundation
• StimulusWatch.org

As much as I know some of the projects are the stimulus package are probably worthy of funds and could really help create jobs now rather than later (once money frees up within these states and cities), there is a ton of junk in there that looks like political payoffs for democratic supporters.

Instead of doing my Oh-Bah-Muh chant, I think I’m going to just start chanting TAX CUTS!  I pay Nordstrom prices for Walmart quality, and I’m sick and tired of it.

A couple months ago I had a really fun conversation with Jason Malwitz about government spending and how things have gotten out of control.  One of my strongest opinions is that there is no need for the government to spend anywhere near as much as they do because it only means we have excessive programs and bureaucracy that probably doesn’t need to exist.

Well, it looks like things are getting better, huh?  Big corporate bailouts haven’t worked at all, yet we continue to thing the bailout mentality, or the idea of pumping more money into the system will fix things.  Now we’re talking about Obama’s “Economic Stimulus” plan, which is nothing like a stimulus and everything like an excuse to grow government.

Even if you agree that spending needs to occur, did you know that this is the biggest spending bill ever presented and that it hasn’t gone through a single sub-committee in congress?  Normally these kinds of spending packages are talked about ad nauseum for months before they are approved so that we know we are doing thing properly and responsibly…  I know that Obama says this needs to happen quickly so that we can start healing the economy, but did you know that hardly any of this money will be spent in the next couple of years, and that only a small percentage of the plan has anything to do with economic stimulus?

This plan is all about growing the size of government and performing political favors for people who helped get Obama into office.  This is incredibly irresponsible and it is bankrupting our American future.  It is immoral to put this burden on the younger generations, and I am pretty certain that Ronald Reagan is turning in his grave…

Check this out:

Email your local senator and demand that they vote against Obama’s spending bill.  We can still stand up as voices of opposition!  I don’t think anyone out there who really understands what is going on can feel warm and fuzzy about how much tax payer money is going to be thrown down the drain!

And how will this all be paid for?  Expect higher taxes for the rest of your lives!  I don’t know about you, but I already pay enough money for a service that sucks…  I’m paying Nordstrom prices for Walmart quality, and I’m sick and tired of it!

So, before I start my really cool blog postings that I have had a bunch of time to think about, I really need to develop my own WordPress theme.  I have a really cool idea in mind, but I can’t get the internet to play nice and work with me, nor do I have the patience to learn how to develop said WordPress theme.  That, my friends, is a very subtle hint that I need some encouragement…

I may even rename the blog, give it a sexy new title.  That will be the major secret of the unveiling of whatever theme I develop.

Anyway, I’ve gotta get back to work on figuring out how to grab stuff off my TiVo and make it edit happy on the Mac.  I may or may not have to pirate software to figure it out…  (Don’t worry, if I find a solution I like I will pay for it, but I don’t wanna blow a ton of money on something I end up hating.)

If you have any good tips on theme creation, offer some support – jeff at rosenbaugh dot com.

No, I’m not making an LDS version of I am Legend (though I’m curious what that would even be… Any thoughts?), but I want to do a better at being a bit more vocal about who I am and what I believe. No worries, I’m not going to be doing any preaching to try and convert everyone I see, but there are plenty of people out there that have misconceptions about what I believe and so I guess I’m responding to that more than anything else.

What surprises me is that there is such animosity toward members of the LDS Church and that it is OK in the public sector to say whatever you want about us. I thought this article was particularly interesting (and yes, it’s written by someone who is LDS). I was shocked at the attacks people made on Mitt Romney throughout the Republican primaries, and I’m really sad to see him out of the race – he is by far the best republican candidate on paper. Honestly, he’s one of only a couple people I would feel comfortable voting for (McCain and Obama are NOT on that short list by the way).

I’m not trying to talk about politics, but rather my feeling that the United States is full of hypocrites. We love to pontificate about the importance of being open minded to homosexuality, different races, foreign religions, etc…; but the nation refuses to respect a group of over 6 million American people who live by their faith in what many scholars proclaim to be a truly American Religion. This doesn’t even seem like a stretch, to be perfectly honest – we’re talking about American people who live clean cut lives, that are general good members of the community, and that are some of the first to respond with humanitarian aid in an emergency. What’s the problem?

Well, people don’t like to be bugged by LDS missionaries, and some member of the LDS Church are pretty obnoxious when it comes to sharing their faith – but aren’t a lot of other religions like that as well? I’m OK with LDS missionary jokes on occasion, because I can see how that is obnoxious to some people, but what’s with the straight hatred?

OK, so you don’t agree with our beliefs, but who cares? Just because Mormons believe that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct and separate beings that are one in purpose rather than one in physical form does not mean that we are less Christian than the next person. In fact, the LDS Church is only one of many Christian groups that believe in that same doctrine!

Again, I’m not trying to argue specific points of doctrine, rather I hope to point out how ridiculous the prejudice is when you consider that we are pretty much your prototypical Americans. Yeah, we do some things differently (e.g. we don’t drink alcohol or smoke), and we certainly are cheesy when it comes to family time, but does that make us ripe for ridicule in the public square? Does that make us un-American?

If we are so concerned about being an open and accepting society, why are most Americans playing the role of hypocrite when it comes to LDS folks? Going back to the election (and I’m totally stealing this from the article I referenced above), we have a black man, a woman, a baptist, and a Mormon that were all running in the primaries… Do we hear much criticism of the black man? Goodness no! Have I been called sexist for suggesting Hillary would be a bad chose because I disagree with her politics? Oh yeah! Do we make fun of the former baptist minister who says his religion defines him? No, no, no!

What about the Mormon? Well, he’s weird…

On this past Fourth of July I stood up and proclaimed myself to be proud to be an American – but that doesn’t mean I don’t think we have a lot of room for improvement.

So, I really wish I had some great hobbies… As I’m getting into the summer, I’m realizing that I spend a lot of time on the computer (partially work’s fault), watching TV, and reading. Now, reading is generally pretty productive and stimulating, but the other stuff really doesn’t do a whole lot for me. So, in the spirit of self-improvement, I am on a search for hobbies and/or things to fill my summer months with…

I don’t think I want to build a fancy, schmancy Nintendo Controller Coffee Table like the guys in the above video, but there has got to be something I could spend some time mastering and enjoying. I could always try photography again, but if I do I will need to talk with some others who are really talented or start reading a bunch of books (which only slows down the process of me getting involved).

Web development and things like that are totally out of the question, since I essentially hate programming. With that in mind, I’m always up for playing with new technologies, I just wonder if I really have the money to invest in things like that. Building computers makes no practical sense, and it also screams NERD pretty loudly. I would much rather find something universal that I can enjoy with or without a bunch of money, and something I can do with other people.

Anyone have any good recommendations? Seriously, I could use some help… :)