Anyway, I just wanted to comment on how much I love Spring. Growing up in San Diego there really wasn't much of a change in seasons. Our seasons consisted of Summer, not quite Summer, almost Summer, and Summer again. I should have appreciated it more I guess, but at the same time it's nice to see a change in your surroundings. In Utah I always looked forward to Spring, because it meant that the frigid weather was coming to an end (though it also meant skiing season was over). I loved how they'd show the flowers outside of the Conference Center during General Conference. Who doesn't love tulips?!? Well, for the past week or so on my drive to and from work, I've been noticing the gradual blooming of small green leaves and flowers on the trees. I love it! (This should be a warning to all drivers on the road, since I occasionally like to look behind me at the hills of blossoming trees when I'm driving. I could be a hazard.) I took this picture on our walk back home from a UVA baseball game on Wednesday, and I only wish I had a better shot of the entire street because it is really breathtaking. And though I have always thought of Autumn as being my favorite season, I'm slowly changing my mind.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Spring has sprung
Warning: this post isn't funny or meant to be funny. I'll leave the comedic antics up to Ben. He loves to spend his time in class and at home researching interestingly weird clips, pictures and stories... and although I have plenty of time on my hands at work to do this research, I like to be surprised by what Ben has found online.
Anyway, I just wanted to comment on how much I love Spring. Growing up in San Diego there really wasn't much of a change in seasons. Our seasons consisted of Summer, not quite Summer, almost Summer, and Summer again. I should have appreciated it more I guess, but at the same time it's nice to see a change in your surroundings. In Utah I always looked forward to Spring, because it meant that the frigid weather was coming to an end (though it also meant skiing season was over). I loved how they'd show the flowers outside of the Conference Center during General Conference. Who doesn't love tulips?!? Well, for the past week or so on my drive to and from work, I've been noticing the gradual blooming of small green leaves and flowers on the trees. I love it! (This should be a warning to all drivers on the road, since I occasionally like to look behind me at the hills of blossoming trees when I'm driving. I could be a hazard.) I took this picture on our walk back home from a UVA baseball game on Wednesday, and I only wish I had a better shot of the entire street because it is really breathtaking. And though I have always thought of Autumn as being my favorite season, I'm slowly changing my mind.
Anyway, I just wanted to comment on how much I love Spring. Growing up in San Diego there really wasn't much of a change in seasons. Our seasons consisted of Summer, not quite Summer, almost Summer, and Summer again. I should have appreciated it more I guess, but at the same time it's nice to see a change in your surroundings. In Utah I always looked forward to Spring, because it meant that the frigid weather was coming to an end (though it also meant skiing season was over). I loved how they'd show the flowers outside of the Conference Center during General Conference. Who doesn't love tulips?!? Well, for the past week or so on my drive to and from work, I've been noticing the gradual blooming of small green leaves and flowers on the trees. I love it! (This should be a warning to all drivers on the road, since I occasionally like to look behind me at the hills of blossoming trees when I'm driving. I could be a hazard.) I took this picture on our walk back home from a UVA baseball game on Wednesday, and I only wish I had a better shot of the entire street because it is really breathtaking. And though I have always thought of Autumn as being my favorite season, I'm slowly changing my mind.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
On Broadway
In a few weeks Amanda and some of her friends are going up to NYC for a weekend of fun and excitement. Part of their plan is to see the musical "Wicked" which appears to be a must see for any girl between the ages of 12 and 80. Amanda has been listening to the soundtrack and reading up on the plot to prepare herself for what one can only imagine will be a semi-religious experience. I'm sure the play is great and all, but I can't see myself spending that much money to see it.
On the other hand (and now we're getting to the point of this post), I would be willing to pay any price to see THIS play if it ever makes it to the stage.
I'm especially excited for the stirring musical number, "That's My Mom's Favorite Part."
On the other hand (and now we're getting to the point of this post), I would be willing to pay any price to see THIS play if it ever makes it to the stage.
I'm especially excited for the stirring musical number, "That's My Mom's Favorite Part."
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
How To Save Television
I love my Tivo and all, but sometimes it makes me feel a bit guilty. See, from what I hear, the television networks are worried that with all the fast-forwarding and commercial skipping, no one will want to pay to advertise. With no advertisers, there will be no revenue. And with no revenue, no television. As much as I love skipping commercials, I don't want to drive the television industry out of business (although it would mean the end of those stupid MTV shows like "The Hills" and "Laguna Beach" that Amanda will sometimes watch).
Well, I've thought long and hard about the problem, and I think that I have found a way to save the industry.
The solution? Make commercials like this, and I will never skip forward again:
Well, I've thought long and hard about the problem, and I think that I have found a way to save the industry.
The solution? Make commercials like this, and I will never skip forward again:
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Speaking of geography...
As I was blog-browsing at work, I came across someone who had a link to a website that tracks where you've visited in your lifetime. Thinking that I've done a fair amount of travelling in my short lifetime I decided to see how many countries I've visited. Turns out I haven't been much of anywhere... I have visited 4% of the countries of the world. 
What's funny is that the majority of the red on the map comes from the United States. I know there are plenty of states I haven't been to (namely the ENTIRE mid-west), so I decided to check how many states I have been to. I included states I've driven through and had layovers at which technically shouldn't count, but I wanted to boost my numbers! This was the result: 
What's funny is that the majority of the red on the map comes from the United States. I know there are plenty of states I haven't been to (namely the ENTIRE mid-west), so I decided to check how many states I have been to. I included states I've driven through and had layovers at which technically shouldn't count, but I wanted to boost my numbers! This was the result: Pathetic if you ask me. I'm thinking maybe I should make a cross-country road trip sometime. Well, more like a half-cross-country road trip. I'm sure there's a lot that the mid-west has to offer.
Monday, March 19, 2007
On Anger and Injustice
When is the last time you got really mad? If you had asked me a few days ago, I don't think I could've come up with an answer. I tend to think of myself as a pretty evenly keeled person who doesn't tend to get angry about too many things.
Well, that changed a few days ago, and I'm gonna tell you why. I took a world geography test online where you have to identify countries on a map and got a 69. That, however, is not what made me so mad (although it may have been a little embarrassing for Mr. Lundy - my 8th grade Civics teacher who had us learn the name and every capital of every country in the world). See, after scoring the 69, I retook the test, and retook it, and retook it. I had to score 100. It was my personal quest. After a few rounds, I finally figured about which one is Guinea and which one is Guinea-Bissau. I even learned all the names of the ex-Soviet republics.
Well, finally, after several (probably over 50) attempts, everything fell into place. I had a few easy countries (like Australia, Japan and Germany), a few from Central and South America (my specialty) and some tough ones that I happened to figure out from my previous attempts (like Gambia, Azerbaijan and the Gabonese Republic). By the end of the game, I was 20/20 with no mistakes (where you click on the wrong country but then find the right one before time runs out), and was fully expecting to receive my first 100.
Instead, I got a frickin' 97, and I don't even know why. I can't believe how angry it made me. I felt like throwing my computer, but luckily I remembered that I'm too poor to buy another computer and that I need my computer to read the news during my Professional Responsibility class.
I'm not sure if the fact that this dumb game made me so angry is a good thing or a bad thing. On the good side, it shows that I value education and geography. On the other hand, however, if a map game can make me mad, I wonder what would happen if Hershey's stopped making chocolate syrup or something like that. Good thing we don't keep Amanda's shotgun here in the apartment.
I guess, all in all, it just shows that I have a good heart and cannot stand injustice. I answered all the questions right, but received an imperfect score!!! Like Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his letter from the Birmingham Jail, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere."
Why don't you take the map quiz? See if you can beat a 69 on your first try. Then try to get a 100. If you get them all right and don't get the 100, let me know. We can plan a protest march together.
HERE is a link to the game.
I have also included this picture of my 97, although it doesn't prove that I got everything right.
Update: I answered all the questions right again (that means no wrong guesses before you find the right country) and got a 98. ARGH!!! I guess part of the score is based on time. I'm officially tempted to break out the mouse and plug it into the laptop for a faster clicking potential.
Update 2: Certain achievements are so significant that they cause all of mankind to stop and take notice. Think of Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic, Yeager breaking the sound barrier or Armstrong walking on the Moon. Well, today, March 20, 2007, at 7:56pm, during a guest lecture by Alan Ryan from Oxford University in my Comparative Constitutionalism class, another monumental barrier has fallen.
I, Benjamin Mudrick, got a 100 on the World Map Quiz. I'm not exactly sure why I got a 100 this time when I failed before (despite getting all of the answers right with no mistakes). I guess that it came down to the time it took to complete all of the answers. I did take the additional step of moving my cursor to the center of the screen after every turn, just to cut down on time a little. I guess that's what made the difference. Like Alma once said, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."
Here's the proof:
Well, that changed a few days ago, and I'm gonna tell you why. I took a world geography test online where you have to identify countries on a map and got a 69. That, however, is not what made me so mad (although it may have been a little embarrassing for Mr. Lundy - my 8th grade Civics teacher who had us learn the name and every capital of every country in the world). See, after scoring the 69, I retook the test, and retook it, and retook it. I had to score 100. It was my personal quest. After a few rounds, I finally figured about which one is Guinea and which one is Guinea-Bissau. I even learned all the names of the ex-Soviet republics.
Well, finally, after several (probably over 50) attempts, everything fell into place. I had a few easy countries (like Australia, Japan and Germany), a few from Central and South America (my specialty) and some tough ones that I happened to figure out from my previous attempts (like Gambia, Azerbaijan and the Gabonese Republic). By the end of the game, I was 20/20 with no mistakes (where you click on the wrong country but then find the right one before time runs out), and was fully expecting to receive my first 100.
Instead, I got a frickin' 97, and I don't even know why. I can't believe how angry it made me. I felt like throwing my computer, but luckily I remembered that I'm too poor to buy another computer and that I need my computer to read the news during my Professional Responsibility class.
I'm not sure if the fact that this dumb game made me so angry is a good thing or a bad thing. On the good side, it shows that I value education and geography. On the other hand, however, if a map game can make me mad, I wonder what would happen if Hershey's stopped making chocolate syrup or something like that. Good thing we don't keep Amanda's shotgun here in the apartment.
I guess, all in all, it just shows that I have a good heart and cannot stand injustice. I answered all the questions right, but received an imperfect score!!! Like Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his letter from the Birmingham Jail, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere."
Why don't you take the map quiz? See if you can beat a 69 on your first try. Then try to get a 100. If you get them all right and don't get the 100, let me know. We can plan a protest march together.
HERE is a link to the game.
I have also included this picture of my 97, although it doesn't prove that I got everything right.
Update: I answered all the questions right again (that means no wrong guesses before you find the right country) and got a 98. ARGH!!! I guess part of the score is based on time. I'm officially tempted to break out the mouse and plug it into the laptop for a faster clicking potential.
Update 2: Certain achievements are so significant that they cause all of mankind to stop and take notice. Think of Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic, Yeager breaking the sound barrier or Armstrong walking on the Moon. Well, today, March 20, 2007, at 7:56pm, during a guest lecture by Alan Ryan from Oxford University in my Comparative Constitutionalism class, another monumental barrier has fallen.
I, Benjamin Mudrick, got a 100 on the World Map Quiz. I'm not exactly sure why I got a 100 this time when I failed before (despite getting all of the answers right with no mistakes). I guess that it came down to the time it took to complete all of the answers. I did take the additional step of moving my cursor to the center of the screen after every turn, just to cut down on time a little. I guess that's what made the difference. Like Alma once said, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."
Here's the proof:
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Food, Folks and Fun
Another year, another St. Patrick's Day party! This year we got together with some of our friends and had a potluck of sorts. We cooked the corned beef and cabbage. Because of March Madness I think the guys were more into what was going on on TV rather than socializing. Us girls took advantage of the situation and had a ladies night out at the theater. We saw "Premonition" which was a fairly depressing film. Just FYI. Anyway, here are some pics from our get-together.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Ben's First Post
I've struggled a little over decision on whether or not to contribute to this blog. The main excuse I give to Amanda is that I don't think it's a great idea to put every detail about your life up on the internet. The real reason, however, is that I really don't think I have anything very exciting to share with the six people who will read this blog.
Luckily for you, that all changed today. I am officially a celebrity, and I have to tell the world about it!!! But before I get into specifics, let me share a little bit of background...
I am a little bit of a nerd. I know what you're thinking - "How could such an incredibly good-looking, athletic and charismatic young man say that he's even slightly nerdy?" Well, I say it because it's true. One of the many reasons it's true is that I love to listen to NPR. Even worse, since I don't drive much (Amanda drives the car to work, and I walk to school every day), I listen to NPR on the INTERNET!!!
Some of my favorite programs are "The Kojo Nnamdi Show", "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", and "All Things Considered" (But don't get me started on "Whad'ya Know?" - Yuck). Of all the shows on NPR though, my favorite is easily "This American Life." It is one of the few things on television or radio that is consistently interesting, thought-provoking and emotionally moving (well, PTI fits in there too). Recently, I've been downloading the podcast and forcing Amanda to listen to it on long car trips. She seems to enjoy it too, but always makes sure to acknowledge that the host's voice is incredibly irritating.
Well, that host with the incredibly irritating voice is named Ira Glass. It turns out that "This American Life" now has a TV show on Showtime (which I do not and will likely never get), and Mr. Glass was online on washingtonpost.com answering questions about his radio show and the move to television.
Now we've finally arrived to the point of this whole post. I sent in question, Ira himself answered, and tens - if not hundreds - of people read it. I even made a screen capture to prove it:
I'm a little angry with myself that I left out a question mark, but that's what happens when you're confronted with celebrity.
For any of you who have a free hour, HERE is a link to the episode (you can also download it on iTunes for a buck). I (and Ira Glass himself) highly recommend it. It is one of the most powerful radio programs I have ever listened to (besides that one episode of "A Prairie Home Companion" where Garrison Keillor told that hilarious and heartwarming story about Lake Wobegon). It tells the story of inmates in a high-security prison who put on a stage production of Hamlet. Murderers putting on a play about a would-be murderer. It give an insight into the lives of people that most of us would rather not think about at all. It especially reminds me of Christ's words in Matthew 25, "in prison, and ye visited me not."
Well, that's enough nerdy stuff from me for now. If I ever decide to post again, get ready for an exciting post about the Washington Wizards' chances of making a run to the NBA Championship (Hint: Not very likely) or why 2% is the ONLY type of milk that you should use to make a satisfying glass of chocolate milk.
Oh, and if any of you happen to get Showtime, tivo "This American Life" for me.
Luckily for you, that all changed today. I am officially a celebrity, and I have to tell the world about it!!! But before I get into specifics, let me share a little bit of background...
I am a little bit of a nerd. I know what you're thinking - "How could such an incredibly good-looking, athletic and charismatic young man say that he's even slightly nerdy?" Well, I say it because it's true. One of the many reasons it's true is that I love to listen to NPR. Even worse, since I don't drive much (Amanda drives the car to work, and I walk to school every day), I listen to NPR on the INTERNET!!!
Some of my favorite programs are "The Kojo Nnamdi Show", "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", and "All Things Considered" (But don't get me started on "Whad'ya Know?" - Yuck). Of all the shows on NPR though, my favorite is easily "This American Life." It is one of the few things on television or radio that is consistently interesting, thought-provoking and emotionally moving (well, PTI fits in there too). Recently, I've been downloading the podcast and forcing Amanda to listen to it on long car trips. She seems to enjoy it too, but always makes sure to acknowledge that the host's voice is incredibly irritating.
Well, that host with the incredibly irritating voice is named Ira Glass. It turns out that "This American Life" now has a TV show on Showtime (which I do not and will likely never get), and Mr. Glass was online on washingtonpost.com answering questions about his radio show and the move to television.
Now we've finally arrived to the point of this whole post. I sent in question, Ira himself answered, and tens - if not hundreds - of people read it. I even made a screen capture to prove it:
I'm a little angry with myself that I left out a question mark, but that's what happens when you're confronted with celebrity.
For any of you who have a free hour, HERE is a link to the episode (you can also download it on iTunes for a buck). I (and Ira Glass himself) highly recommend it. It is one of the most powerful radio programs I have ever listened to (besides that one episode of "A Prairie Home Companion" where Garrison Keillor told that hilarious and heartwarming story about Lake Wobegon). It tells the story of inmates in a high-security prison who put on a stage production of Hamlet. Murderers putting on a play about a would-be murderer. It give an insight into the lives of people that most of us would rather not think about at all. It especially reminds me of Christ's words in Matthew 25, "in prison, and ye visited me not."
Well, that's enough nerdy stuff from me for now. If I ever decide to post again, get ready for an exciting post about the Washington Wizards' chances of making a run to the NBA Championship (Hint: Not very likely) or why 2% is the ONLY type of milk that you should use to make a satisfying glass of chocolate milk.
Oh, and if any of you happen to get Showtime, tivo "This American Life" for me.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Loving life in weather above freezing
So we made it! Our visit to Rochester has come and gone and all we had left to show for it was a black car that looked like it drove through a drum of white paint. It was actually so bad that I had to take a picture to prove it. We almost didn't even make it all the way down to Charlottesville without driving through a car wash. I was pretty embarrassed to be seen driving such a dirty car yesterday and even our neighbor who we never speak to said to Ben, "What happened to your car?" I took care of it late last night, and it's back to normal.
Back to our trip...we honestly had a great time. Despite the frigid weather, the 30 mph winds and a couple white-outs driving we loved it. Rochester is kind of an older city where the homes have a lot of character. Good character too. Different colored homes, porches, balconies... what more could you ask for?
So we spent most of our time the first day checking out homes and getting acquainted with the area. It's almost impossible to get lost in that city it's so easy to navigate. We checked out the downtown scene (pretty ghetto in some areas, but really cool in others), the suburb scene and surprisingly liked both. Of course we made it to Wegmans where we saw where I will be doing all my future grocery shopping. It's honestly unbelievable to shop there. They even sold truffles in the produce section where they were priced for $699.99 a pound!
On our second day there we attended Church (just the first hour since we were on vacation) and made the short trek out to Palmyra. It was my first time to see the historic Church areas though I didn't get quite the full effect since all buildings were closed. We did see the Hill Cummorah and even got to drive to the top. I was so excited to take a picture from up there, but when I tried to turn on my camera the battery died. I guess that's punishment for not attending all 3 hours of Church. We had so much time to waste before we could check in to our hotel that we hit up some open houses, the mall, and Sam's Club (where milk is only $1.77). Who knew that they have the best samples on Sunday?
Our last full day was spent checking out the downtown apartments. We saw about 5 in total and our favorite by far is the Temple Building. An old Baptist Temple converted into loft apartments with exposed brick walls and maple hardwood floors... gorgeous. Hands down our number one pick in where to live for our first year out there. Ben would be able to walk to work, and I would get my one and only downtown living experience. We're just crossing our fingers that something will be available come August when we are planning on moving.
When we got up the last day before we headed out it was 1 degree outside. Yeah, Fahrenheit. It had also snowed about 5 inches so there was snow everywhere. We went to visit Ben's office and decided to park on the street. Well, the people we met there were all really nice but kept us a little too long so that we got a parking ticket. Maybe not the best way to end our trip.
So anyway, we headed out around noon and it was so cold that our washer fluid was frozen and we couldn't wash our windshield. Not very helpful when you're driving on the freeway and snow chunks and salt are coming off semis and the road and splattering on your windshield. For about the first 5 hours of our trip home the weather never got warmer than 20 degrees so that washer fluid stayed frozen until we stopped at Ben's parents house for dinner. A delicious home-made dinner made up for all our travel troubles and we even made it back to Charlottesville for my bedtime.
All in all, we had a great time and are looking forward to life in Rochester.
Pictures from Rochester
A view of downtown
Wegmans = Amazing
Most expensive musrooms I've ever seen
Dinner at Wegmans
Who wouldn't want to live here?
Friday, March 2, 2007
Spring Break!
Now when most people think of Spring Break, they think of Cancun, the Bahamas... somewhere tropical. Not us. Ben's spring break is this week and once again we've decided to visit one of the coldest areas in the U.S. Last year it was Boston (which we loved, and didn't regret walking all day in slightly above freezing weather), and this year it's Rochester, NY. This is going to be my first visit to Rochester and what better time to go than the middle of winter where the current snow accumulation has been 81.5 inches! Plus it's going to snow every day we're there. Weather aside, I'm being optimistic and hoping that I'm really going to like it out there. At least I better since we're moving there in just 5 short months!
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