Ah, United

I come to you today from Gate 7 in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota airport. With a population of 150,000 people (for comparison, Provo/Orem has about 200,000 residents), Sioux Falls is not a huge city. The airport is likewise of diminutive stature. Knowing this, this morning I woke up at 5:45 a.m., showered, grabbed my things, and headed to the airport for my 6:57 a.m. flight. I was a little concerned about cutting it close, but I had no checked bags, so I wasn't worried.

When I got up to the ticket counter, the ticket agents asked if I was flying to Denver. I said yes (as I tried to use the self-service check-in machine). They then informed me that I couldn't check in, because I didn't do it at least 30 minutes before the flight. I got there at 6:30 a.m. I said, are you serious? I can make it to the gate. They said the reason for this is that at 30 minutes before the flight, the gate agent can give away your seat to standby ticket holders. Okay, but then she informs me that this WASN'T THE CASE THIS TIME! And then says I STILL COULDN'T CHECK IN FOR THE FLIGHT!!!

She then made me pay a $75 fee to change my flight to 1:30 p.m. So now, instead of arriving in Salt Lake City at 10 a.m., I will get home at 6 p.m. I walked (slowly) through security (I was the only one there), then to gate 7 (they only have eight gates), and then watched as my plane (that I wasn't on) sat at the gate for a good 25 minutes (it was late leaving).

Thanks United for being so courteous to your customers. Normally I would say the moral of this story is to leave a little earlier for your flight (which is still true). But in this situation, I'd say the moral of the story is NEVER FLY UNITED.

Do you find it hard to do your duty?

It's been a rough couple of weeks. Several people from work have been out of the office, leaving the rest of us to take care of their work. I also have a new client who is a bit more demanding than...well, any other client I've ever had (especially for the amount of revenue they bring in).

But basically, I've been exhausted for the last two weeks. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep, I haven't exercised at all, I sometimes don't have time to eat lunch - it's just been rough. Even at home, I constantly check my phone for any emergencies that could have cropped up in the last fifteen minutes. That makes me feel bad for my wife, whose husband seems to always be on call.

So, after feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, I spoke with my dad on the phone the other day for a while. He helped me to see things that I hadn't seen before, and helped me feel a lot better. One of the things he told me was a quote from Gladiator.

Maximus: "Cicero."

Cicero: "Sir?"

Maximus: "Do you find it hard to do your duty?"

Cicero: "Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to do."

Those are my feelings on the current situation. I can't control how someone treats me - I can only control my reaction. Sometimes I will get to do what I want to do, but I have a family to provide for, so for the most part, I will do my duty. I will do what I have to do to provide support for me and my family. I will persevere.

Elder Zach

I'm very proud of my "little" brother. Right now he is serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Charlotte, North Carolina. I call him my "little" brother because he's actually bigger than me. I remember the days when I was the tallest member of my family. Those were good times. All two of them. I've gotten used to the fact that the only sibling I'll be taller than is my sister, but I remember when Zachary passed me up. It was a little disheartening. Then Jacob passed me too. It's only a matter of time before Lucas shoots past all of us. Oh well - that's life.

It's so funny to see the physical differences of Zach then and Zach now. We dubbed him "Stick Boy" when he was younger, because of how skinny he was. Now he could take any of us in a fight (except me, because I have the older brother psychological advantage...and because I've been working out).

Zach is a about seven years younger than me, so when he was younger, he was the pesky little brother. You know, the one who followed you around, wanted to be just like you, got into your toys, etc. The one who, although you didn't know it at the time, could be your best friend if you'd let him. I still have regrets for not being as kind to him as I wish I was, because I love him so much. As I've gotten older, I've realized how similar our personalities and senses of humor are. I think in all my family, aside from my Dad, he and I are the most alike.

When he was at BYU for his freshman year, we would hang out just about every week. We would usually do some kind of activity (movies or racquetball), then go get dinner. I let him pay once, cuz he wanted to. :) Towards the end of the school year, we didn't do it every week, because of all the wedding plans and whatnot, so I'm excited for him to be back, so we can resume the fun times.

I'm not the best letter writer. For the first few weeks I wrote every week, but I've slacked off a bit. I hope he knows that doesn't mean I've forgotten about him, or that I don't miss him. Because I think about him a lot and miss him a ton. Come home soon Elder!