NEW LUNCH BREAK

Jessie and i don't work together anymore.

kind of a huge massive bummer.

that means i don't take a lunch break.

plus, it would be more of a dinner break.

but i can't just give up lunch breaks!

so this is how i do lunch breaks now.

that is the best milk in the world!

cookies and cream.

MESMERIZE

sit back.

relax.

enjoy.

HE

seeing as we are in a single's ward,

tonight was family home evening.

we've worn name tags to every event so far.

i can't wait until the day that we just know everyone.

MONDAY AGAIN

i've been listening to nothing but nat king cole for the past four weeks.

i thought this song was for fitting for the day.

(why is there a picture of a space shuttle? i have no idea)

today was the (real) first day of college.

it was long. it was slow. but it was good.

tuesday, here i come.

I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DO THIS

hi,

i'm embarrassed. i shouldn't have to do this. i'm apologizing on behalf of my roommates/friends. they'll most likely be dead by the end of the night for it.

i'm clay, by the way. we've met, but just briefly. i was playing volleyball with my (now ex) friends when you walked by. you were on your way to eat dinner and we asked you to come back and play. i was the last one who introduced myself to you. and that's it.

well, i just lied to you. sorry. that's not it. i may or may not have (read: may have) talked, very frequently, about how i wanted to meet you for the next two days. the rest of the story goes like this:

we were having crepe night, and they decided it would be funny if they brought you crepes with my number and my blog's address on a napkin. one of my friends is in your ward, and knew what apartment you lived in. and the rest of the story you'll probably get from your roommate.

so.

here's my final thought: 

don't call. i'd rather meet you by chance than by being pushed together. and if we never meet, well- i guess we'll never know.

but if we do, well- i'd love to find out.

clay 

I'M SO PROUD OF THIS

one day i was at nate's house.

we really wanted to play with sam.

after ten calls, he still wasn't answering his phone.

so this was how i released my anger.

ZACH'S CORNER

and if you missed one or two,

worry not, i'll be saving them.

find them over on the right side.

and if you have any suggestions

for the topic, feel free to drop a line!

as in a comment. or an email. or both.

MODERN ART

in college, you do things that expand your intellect.

like visiting the modern art exhibit.

this is a stack of books.

BREAKFAST IN BED

i woke up to zach singing me this:

good morning beautiful.

how was your night?

mine was wonderful

with you by my side.

and when i open my eyes

and see your sweet face

its a good morning beautiful day.

and this:

i could get used to this...

minus the creepy singing.

SO FAR

college so far.

in pictures.

our sink spits up dirt. zach the plumber, hard at work.

yeah, we party.

recognize anyone? neither do i, it's refreshing to see so many new faces.

we went to the superhero shindig. weird name, good party. and a huge thanks to marissa, hero of the night.

don't ask, because i don't know. my finger got really phat all of the sudden. some people are saying staff... i sure hope not.

STEVEN PAUL JOBS

i wish i could put my feelings into words, but some things are impossible. today, he resigned as CEO of Apple. people tell me i'll be 'the next Steve Jobs', i try to believe them, but to even come close to what he has accomplished is one of those things that nearly impossible. goodbye Steve, you've done the impossible.

TRUMPET

my little brother, matt, just got a trumpet.

holy jealousy. i want a trumpet.

he's going to play in the junior high band.

i'm kinda glad that i moved out, though,

because seeing as i was in the room next to his,

practicing all day/night would've driven me nuts.

good luck with the trumpet, matt.

you'll pass up louis armstrong someday.

(by the way, that was my grandpa's old trumpet. even cooler.)

CAN

i can't sleep. i can't focus. i can't think straight.

i don't know what's stressing me out. it's not the fact that i'm leaving tomorrow. it's not the fact that i'll be, figuratively, on my own. it's not the fact that i've never done this before. i don't know what to expect, but i do know that the unexpected is not what's keeping me from sleeping. i can't tell you what's keeping me up, because i can't tell myself. because i don't know.

i think it's the numbers. i think it's all stemming from those five minutes of pure worry. i think it's the fact that even though it'll all work itself out, i can't possibly imagine how right now. and that scares me.

but i know from my past, there's no need to worry or to be scared. He is in control. and what i can do, is leave it all up to Him. because when He is guiding me, i can work harder. i can learn faster. i can think clearer. i can make the right choices. i can do hard things. i can live on my own, without every being alone. i can do anything when i leave it up to Him. and that comforts me.

i can think straight. i can focus. i can sleep.

ZACH RUNS THIS

One time, i asked this kid named Zach Harris to be my roommate at BYU.
At first i was a little bit intimidated because of his huge muscles and Stripling Warrior- like stature.
But i swallowed my fear and asked for the privilege of rooming with this strapping young man.
He's pretty much unreal at everything, especially Michael Jackson just dance, and ping pong.
Right now we're meeting with all of our roommates trying to figure out who will bring all of the bare-necessities:

A Television
An Xbox
A toilet plunger
A shower curtain
Alarm Clocks
A waffle maker
Paper Towels
A garbage can
Some basketball shorts
My very special ointment

I'm pretty sure that is all you really need for college, we're prepared, no big deal.
I really shouldn't leave my computer out while i'm playing ping pong, or someone might post something on my blog......

Until next time,

Sincerely

XXOOXOXOXOXOXOXO-----CLAYTON ELLIS-----XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

SATURDAY/SUNDAY

saturday afternoon, i played two new board games with nate and megan.

(okay, so you see those pages on the right side over there  that have nothing in them, 

i swear to you that i'll fill them with stuff by the end tomorrow night. it won't be new stuff, but it'll be stuff.)
(i took them down so i could work on them)

this one's called key to the kingdom.

funny story about this one...

we played for about three hours.

no one won.

it was a three way tie due to a loophole we discovered.

so unsatisfying.

and this one is called lost treasure.

it's a really unique game.

i'll tell you more about it later.

today was a good day.

it was my last sunday in my single's ward. just as i was starting to feel at home there, things are switching up again. i really loved my bishop there. for those of you who went to pleasant grove high, do you remember mr. newman's student teacher, kacey? (i think that's how he spells his name, if not, sorry man) well, he is my bishop's son. they are both really cool people. bishop farnsworth is the bfg in human form. the way he talks to you makes you feel empowered and loved and cared about. thats a really good talent to have as a bishop. and kacey is my mission prep teacher. speaking of mission prep, kirsten dropped in today and payed a visit. she got picked on by kacey to tell about a missionary experience that she had.

today i also gained a stronger testimony of tithing. i don't have a cool story for you, just a thought. i didn't pay tithing all summer (so stupid, so stupid, so stupid) and so i wanted to pay it all today. so i did. here's what i learned.

one. if you wait to pay your tithing all at once, you aren't getting blessings that whole time. and in time like these, no one can afford to miss out on those blessings.

two. if you wait to pay your tithing all at once, you pay it all once. that means, the last paycheck you got all goes to tithing, which isn't a bad thing, it just forces you to set strict spending limits until your next paycheck, putting unnecessary stress on yourself. which is just that, unnecessary. pay it as it comes!

three. paying your tithing feels good. as hard as it might be to hand over an entire paycheck and then some, it's totally worth it.

tithing rocks. we're so lucky to be able to give back. that's all i have to say about that.

tonight, my whole extended family on my dad's side came over for our annual bbq. it was a really good time. i have the coolest family, on both sides. everyone is so nice and genuine. it was good seeing dale and cambria and their little girl (totally can't remember her name, but we share a birthday!). they are such a cool couple, i still consider them newlyweds.

well, kevin and sam and zach are coming over to do some last minute planning for our apartment so... gotta run!

RUBBER GLOVE HANDS

here's something super weird about me.

i've never been able to pinpoint when/why this happens.

but it does, and i notice it every single time.

my hands will randomly smell like rubber gloves.

like the kind that a dentist uses.

the ones that are powdered on the inside.

i don't get it...

right now, they smell especially rubber glove-y.

FEELING BIG

i woke up this morning and realized, today would be a really great day to get stuff done.
i have so much to do before i move out/in on wednesday.
so today, i'm buckling down and getting as many things done as possible.
i'm filling out forms left and right, ordering text books (and hunting down better prices, seriously, $270 for a dead tree sliced up and bound together? get real...), filing address changes, getting my finances all together, building a tighter (read: waaaaay tighter) budget... stuff like that.
i've only got four days until i take my first baby steps in a grown up's world.
i've got so much to get done.
and it's not helping knowing that a large portion of my friends are now hundreds of miles away from good ol' pg.
i really hope i get to see most of them again.
like really really really hope so.
good luck out there guys.
you'll do great.

T BONED

in less than a week i won't have a car.

that means no chances for speeding tickets,

no more paying for gas,

and no chances of getting in an accident.

yeah, well, that's a week away.

i just got in my first accident.

it happened so fast, it was weird.

a guy (who just so happens to be one of my best friend's brother in law)
ran a red light just as i was going through the intersection and i hit him.

Jett is totally fine, nothing a little waxing won't fix.

his car has a good sized dent in the back corner.

japanese engineering...

german engineering...

(that hole was already there.)

just a scratch.

CHEESECAKE BREAK

i love this picture.

one. we are having a cheesecake break- we always talk about having one, and today, we actually did it.

two. joseph, the person who came up with the cheesecake break (and who was most excited about the idea of dedicating a break solely to the eating of cheesecake), wasn't here today, and so we were dishing it out on his desk... just to rub it in.

three. the real reason for the cheesecake is that daven is leaving. he got a job in dc and today was his last day. he taught me so many things about programming, development, and life. i'll miss him.

four. george is ominously staring over his screen(s), like always.

five. the green chairs... oh how i love them and their comfy backs.

OVERLORD

best. game. ever.

MONEY WELL SPENT

you'd be crazy not to buy this.

ninety nine songs.

nine ninety nine.

WUB WUB WUB WOB WOB WOB WUB WUB

URUK HAI

warning: you're about to see the best throw together recipe in c.m.n.'s arsenal. also, it looks pretty gross.

we call it uruk hai.

you know, like the advanced breed of orcs in lord of the rings.

because when you make it, it looks like a uruk being birthed.

okay that just sounds disgusting and i'll end it right there.

oh wait, right, the recipe:

six jumbo marshmallows

some butter

(i don't know how much,

we sorta just plopped it in)

chocolate chips

(we used chocolate pellets)

and cinnamon toast crunch.

THE BEST MAN

last night i went to hangout with my grandparents. i love them so much! i'm glad they've finally moved down to utah. my grandpa is the coolest man i know. he's brilliant, funny, spiritual, talented, cheerful, respectful... the list goes on. i want to be just like him when i grow old. we talked a lot about life, school, decisions, destiny, his/my mission. his advice is always gold. he gave me my patriarchal blessing almost two years ago. i'm proud to say that i got my (middle) name from him. and he had the same glasses that i have when he was on his mission in denmark. i wish every one of you could spend just an hour with him, then you would see what i'm talking about.

here's a little video i threw together about him, just some fun clips.

introducing Richard Vaughn Pedersen, the best man.

FANTASTIC NEWS

kevin fonseca is back in our room!

somehow he pulled some crazy moves on the byu housing department! 

photo credit: miss mandi call via facebook

this is fantastic news.

we move in in ten days... gah!

ON MY MIND

i want to say something, but i can't.
who wrote the rules around here anyways?

FASHION PLACE

today was the grand opening of the...

ah i'll just let this do the talking:

finally, utah has another Apple Store.

and oh boy, she is mighty fine.

those glass panels are sliding glass doors, and they don't touch the ground, they're just hanging from the ceiling.

nuts. organized chaos. see the guy in the green on the right? he was my line buddy. we were at the very front. i was third.

i absolutely love Apple Stores.

they are amazing places of community and learning.

everyone is friendly, and everyone is a friend.

COMING

did you like locamo?

wait till you hear:

ske

dran

&

formålet

MYLO XYLOTO

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(i never do that, so obviously this is a huge deal)

WHY

why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why

do you always do that?

i'm still here.

LEARNING

so lately at work i've been doing this thing called:

kicking programming's butt.

i've made a personal point to become extremely good at it. 

i'm learning four languages right now, and so far,

i think i know and understand everything i've learned.

i've filled all of my free-time with reading coding books. 

i'm reaching outside of my work responsibilities right now

and trying to learn different skill sets,

like web, user interface, and content design.

at work i build the back-end services for all of byutv.org.

i hardly get to do any design, which i love, 

so i've been learning in my free time.

right now i'm sitting in the tanner building. 

(after work, and off the clock, of course)

i'm playing copycat.

ron (a guy i work with) is teaching me css.

we found a simple, but pretty, website

and i'm building it from scratch.

mine isn't as pretty as theirs, but it's close.

and the only thing that i took from them is

the picture of the newspaper and the wallet.

cool, huh?

thank you acrylic!

okay... so i still have a ways to go,

but that's as far as i wanted to go today.

this reminds me of last summer... good times.

THIS MORNING/ONE HUNDRED!

this morning was pretty good. well, if good means forgetful, then yes, it was good. i walked out the door, drove down the street, looked in the mirror and saw my hair, and turned around. when i dried my hair getting out of the shower, i left it standing up. it dried looking like this:

so i went back and did my hair. and then i drove off again. i looked over at the passenger seat and saw my scriptures and my phone, good i didn't forget anything. oh wait, what about my lunch that i just packed? two peanut butter and honey sandwiches, a bag of carrots, two clementines, and a minute maid. i turned around again, drove back and grabbed my lunch. hopped in the car and drove off.

but wait a sec. i had to go to the bank, i forgot my check. i drove back (mind you, i only ever got to the end of my street each time, so my neighbors must have been worried about me at this point) again and walked inside. grabbed my check and drove off.

crazy morning, right? yes. i forgot my drivers license. you can't do any transfers without ID. i had to drive back and get my wallet. and yes, i did check inside twice to see if my license was actually in it. i drove to work. end of story.

at least i remembered to put my pants on...

oh! also, this is the best thing ever. i was driving on empty all day yesterday. i absolutely did not want to fill the car up. but of course, i had to this morning. not!! hannah wants to learn how to drive stick, so my mom took my car, Jett the jetta, this morning and she filled it up. so i took the suburban. i love it when i don't have to spend money on gas.

also. HAPPY 100th POST! i was thinking about doing something gigantically awesome for my hundredth post, but this will have to do. maybe i'll draw a really cool picture (later) to celebrate.

LIKE CRAZY

i want to see this so badly.

'i thought i understood it,

but i didn't.

only the smudges of it,

the eagerness of it,

the idea of it,

of you and me.'

DELICIOUS TRIANGLES

does anyone know what today is?

today is the day that is sixteen days

away from moving out and moving in.

nuts! i'm really excited for it!

but at the same time i'm kinda sad,

i'll miss seeing my family every day.

i'll miss hanging out with my brothers.

i'll miss my room and bed and closet.

most of all i'll miss my mom's cooking.

i won't get these delicious triangles

when i come home from work or school anymore.

good thing i won't be too far from home.

you know, just in case i need a hug...

or a delicious triangle...

oh, also.

you need to listen to this:

soooo good. amiright?

HAHA... HA

ME AND CHRIS

everyone has their own web routines.

some of you just hop onto facebook and that's all.

others have their blogs that they read every morning/night.

some catch up on news on sites like cnn or nyt.

here's mine:

engadget.com

gizmodo.com

9to5mac.com

macrumors.com

macstories.net

facebook.com

cuzwearefriends.blogspot.com

yennafer.blogspot.com

xaxtwistedxfairytalex.blogspot.com

callmekirsten.blogspot.com

kyleerowley.blogspot.com

iwastesomuchtime.com

dearblankpleaseblank.com

minimallyminimal.com

uccu.com

us.etrade.com/e/t/home

coldplay.com

yup. every single morning and night.

those are my sites.

i hardly stray away from them.

and i was just reading through the oracle

and i found this question.

me and chris have something really cool in common.

chris loves table tennis.

i love table tennis.

i heart coldplay.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WWW

today is the world wide web's twentieth birthday.

and still, to this day, we are questioning why we chose w's...

LOCAMO

some things in life just happen.
you don't have much say in them,
or much control over them.
all you can do is sit back,
watch,
and enjoy them as they come.
and come, they will.
all it takes is a little time,
a little looking,
and a little luck.

i got lucky.

i sat at the piano and closed my eyes.

i put my hands out and let them go.

this is what happened.

HERE'S WHAT'S UP

no i'm not dead.

that would be silly,

i would've blogged about it.

that little gap there from tuesday until now is the longest that i have ever gone without blogging.

i'll be totally honest, i was thinking about lying and telling you that i wanted to see how it would feel to not blog for a while so i could compare it with how good i feel when i blog,

therefore justifying this obsession of mine.

but.

that would be lying.

here's the truth.

i just haven't posted these.

or, i just haven't gone out and taken pictures

of the things i wanted to post about.

so i just went and snapped a bunch of pictures.

these were all the posts in my head,

i just never fully wrote them out.

so you can just have the drafts.

grass grew out of the top of my toilet.
kidding, we painted the bathroom.

spent a lot of time on these five keys.

looked back at a younger version of me.

we got new towels. cool- just as i'm leaving.

one of the adventures of the mighty c.m.n.

dear drafts,

you could've been posts.

if only i had taken the time...

clay

TIMP

the first week that we had moved here, i hiked timp. it was a lot of fun, as specially as an eleven year old. i went with all of my extended family that lives around here. i've always wanted to do it again, and just now, like literally right now, i've just decided that i'm going to do it before college is in session. how fitting is that, i hiked it the week we moved here, and we'll probably hike it the week i move out. who's in?

and youbetcha i'll take be taking a panorama at the top.

one from here.

two from here.

RAINY

i think this is fitting for the day.

rain by breaking benjamin.
video by travis hall.

OLDER WOMEN

so get this. last night i went over to nate's house to play acquire with his dad and grandpa. but that's not what i wanted to tell you. after the game, i went downstairs because nate and i were going to geek out and play computer games, and his sister is sitting on the couch watching tv. you'll never believe what's on tv.

side story.

when i was helping build the byutv app, i had to check the live stream codecs and keep a close eye on bit-rates and sampling, aka i just had to watch whatever was on byutv and make sure that we weren't pushing out a terrafloppagigabyte stream to a tiny iPod touch screen. or in simpler terms, knowing that i had coded it right and nothing was going to flip out or go wrong, i just watched what was on tv. i was in testing mode. and there was always one show on when i was testing. anne of green gables. i really started liking that show, and at the same time, i really started to love megan follows, the girl who plays anne. i don't even know where to begin with her. she's got the perfect amount of sass, demands respect, and is polite as a princess. her face.... oh that face.... her nose, her eyebrows, her eyes, her eyes, her eyes.... and that hair! oh my, that hair... i even love her earlobes. she is my dream woman. so....

back to the main story.

i turn to the tv and i'm met with the sweet and refreshingly beautifully gorgeously perfect face of megan follows. i melted. everyone around me immediately realized that i had "a thing" for her. i was very proud of the fact that i have an über crush on anne shirley. (i think i like anne shirley- her character- more than i like megan follows, but hey, i'll take either one!) and then nate's dad said, "isn't she like seventy now?". no way is she seventy, she's forty three. i'm in love with a forty three year old woman. and the best part? nate's dad made me this:

thanks, anne.

love you, too.