First you threaten my HvZ, and now you take away my Longboarding. It’ll be hard to consider USU when I return based on what has happened today.
Trick long/skateboarding is against the rules on campus. You’re only allowed to “commute to and from class.” Really? That is absolutely ridiculous. I just got a warning from a campus cop after “several” people complained against me. I was practicing my stand up slides on the beautiful new sidewalk in front of the AGSC building near the quad. I was wearing a helmet, being respectful, and waiting for people to get out of collision distance before I tried anything. But sure enough an, very nice and respectful I might add, officer showed up and told me the policy, while writing down my information. Long story short, if I get written down again, my board gets confiscated with a $25 fee, tacking on $25 for every subsequent offense. Thank you USU for being a giant buzz-kill.
Also, people are stupid. By themselves, they are wonderful and at the heart very nice, minus a few exceptions here and there, but as a whole, people are stupid. Why can’t I do what I love while being respectful at the same time? Oh because people in the past have caused problems and crashed because of their own negligence? You cannot prove that I will be the same. You cannot prove that I will crash and hurt some random person.
I also found that it is against the law to skate on the streets of Logan City. Great, now I get to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year to replace bearings from crappy sidewalks, not to mention pay for injuries sustained from the cracks in the cement (you may scoff, but until you skate or longboard, you are naive to the dangerous aspects of sidewalk cracks). So the question remains, WHERE AM I GOING TO LONGBOARD!?
There is currently no Longboard park within walking, skating, or bus distance. There is a skatepark, but how am I supposed to longboard in there? I’ll get thrown out by the skateboarders, not to mention it’s flat. My progress is almost completely halted by those who know nothing of the sport and community of longboarding.
So there is one ultimatum, continue on. By making something illegal, you create a monster. It goes from being a sport of love, to a sport of spite. We continue to skate because we love it, and because we want to. We don’t care about the consequences, we care about the sport.
So there you go USU, you have lost my faith in your relaxed, fun, and accepting campus. Good luck getting my attendance when I get back from my mission.
And speaking of missions, I know this isn’t the best way to prepare to be a missionary, but I’ve had enough of people taking away the things I love because they don’t like it, or don’t understand it, I will not be pushed around when I can speak.
Now on the silver screen, the new movie from the critically acclaimed Mockboarders! This daring trio has one goal and one goal only, to mock all those who ride under the Razor Crusader banner. Filmed onsite at Utah State University. Enjoy.
Enjoy our trip to the “suburbs” in Stanley, Idaho for the Baldwin Family 2011 Reunion. The sped up video, lens flare, and stills all convey my memories of this event. Enjoy.
Feeling a bit of nostalgia I felt the need to make a movie about our fun times in Moab this past summer. Love the lens flare, love the music, love the Priest’s Quorum and its leaders. Enjoy
A little adventure I had with some new friends the Saturday after EFY 2011. This same day I dislocated my shoulder on the longboard. Oh for the love of the sport.
Also, take into consideration that I stretched out 2 minutes of raw footage (so roughly 1 minute of actual footage) into 3 and a half minutes of movie time. Enjoy
Junior participated in Cavestock again this year. His band was Half Ginger. The name is derived from the fact that three of the members are dark-haired, and three members are ginger-haired. Clever. The kids did a great job. They were chosen to be the closing band, which is a coveted spot.
Junior is graduating from high school this year and embarking on his college adventure in the fall. Our neighborhood plans a Senior Recognition Night every year for the graduating high school class. Part of the program is a slideshow showcasing the kids through the years. This is Junior’s slideshow.
Junior worked long and hard to earn his Eagle Scout. We are very proud of him. He was honored alongside his two buddies, Davis and Christian. They had a special treat when Senator Lee accepted an invitation to participate. But Mike knows the boys, so it was a treat for him too.
We recently celebrated Junior’s 17th birthday. Time is flying too fast. All I need to do is look in the mirror for confirmation. But the question is: Do I want to stay young forever, or do I want my children to grow up? Hmmm…I’ll get back to you on that one.
Tonight Junior participated in his high school’s Choir Concert. He is a member of the A Cappella Choir this year. For their Fall performance, they chose to sing some Elvis favorites: Blue Suede Shoes, Love Me Tender, and C’mon Everybody. Our Elvis was lucky enough to be a part of the show. You can see him at the far right top row during the first song, and he is brought back out on stage at the end of the third song. Oh, and Junior is six from the right on the first row in his Dad’s high school leather jacket. Grandpa immediately spotted Junior, since it was like looking at himself 66 years ago.
The other day I was at my Dad’s house. He showed me a picture of himself from his college yearbook and asked me who I thought it looked like. It didn’t take me long to respond “Junior.” I have been going through family photos and found further examples of how much Junior looks like my Dad. Even from boyhood.
Here’s a short clip of video that I forgot I had. It’s Junior teeing off on the Koolau Golf Club in Hawaii, ranked the hardest golf course in the United States. And boy, was it tough with all the carries over ravine after ravine in the fairway or all the trees and vegetation.
Junior made the local High School Golf Team again this year as a Sophomore. He worked hard practicing and getting his score down to make the cut. He was sweating bullets, but pulled through. Dad got him some new clubs this year, which helped lower his score and make his game more consistent.
Dad created a website for the team. It’s got lots of fun pictures and videos on it.
A few days ago we, being my friends and I, went on a hike to a nearby cave and filmed our experience. We like to call it our Cloverfield wanna-be movie. So I was documenting a lot of the trip. I now know why the camera in Cloverfield is so shaky. It’s hard to hold a camera still and hike, let alone walk, at the same time. Jordan and Kurtis decided that they were going to spelunking into this thing. I didn’t find the idea very smart, though I did go inside a small crawl-space to get some footage of the inside…
