Holidays

I'm well into my summer holiday - I've enjoyed my job and spending time with friends thus far.  In the meantime, several other holidays have come and gone.  Let's have a look:

The Pides of March
This actually happened before school got out.  As everyone should know, March 14th is Pi Day (get it? 3/14 and 3.14159...) and March 15th is the Ides of March (the day Julius Caesar was murdered).  I was speaking to a friend at work about combining the two into a "Pides of March" Party.  She loved the idea, and we started planning it.  It turned out great - ancient Rome decor, togas, and pies (along with other round treats) were all part of the festivities.

Notice the togas...

Notice the punny phrase...

We even did a reenactment...

Something I made to put on the wall.

(I would have kept going, but the next digit was a 0.)

May the Fourth / Cinco de Mayo

Here's another set of back-to-back holidays.  May 4th is Star Wars Day (get it? "May the Fourth be with you"), and is actually more official than you'd think.  And May 5th is obviously Cinco de Mayo.  On the evening of the Fourth, I went with a group of friends to the first of a series of free rooftop concerts in Provo.  The super-nice weather, great music, paper lanterns, full moon, and fun friends made it an enjoyable evening.  Afterwards, in honor of Star Wars Day, we watched Episode III.

On the following day, my new roommate threw a house-warming party for our apartment - it was "Old Hollywood" themed.  He spent a lot of time getting it organized, and it turned out great.  We had lots of good people, good food, and tons of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider.  In honor of Cinco de Mayo I came dressed as one of the Three Amigos, but quickly felt silly and changed into something else.  I think the party turned out to be a great success.

Here's the outside view of our place.  Notice the red carpet...

 Here's the inside.  Notice the record player in the corner (playing "Old Hollywood" themed music)...

There was a silent Charlie Chaplin film playing, which was cool.

Downstairs, we had a "speak easy" showing the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby.

Also, a poker table.

Paraguayan Independence Day

As most of you probably know, I went on a mission trip for my Church to the southern part of Paraguay.  A good friend in my apartment complex also served there, but in the northern part.  We decided to throw a party for our mission friends to celebrate Paraguayan Independence Day on May 15th.  It was a blast!  Among other things, we sang 'Happy Birthday' to Paraguay in Guarani.  There was traditional Paraguayan food and music playing, along with flags and other decorations.  We also had a good time passing the mate/ tereré around.  There were two real Paraguayos and my mission president even came!  I think it was a great success.

 From the outside...

 My friend made a map - we all stuck pins in the cities where we'd worked.

All the gente...

 Chipa, mandioca, chipa guasu, jugo de mburucuya, etc...

Here's a nice low-quality photo taken as the party was dying down.

There were lots of other fun things going on between all these holidays - I'll post about that soon.

Fun Fact

While serving a 2-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I had the opportunity to train Elder Lund.  ('Elder' is a title used to denote one's status as a missionary.  To 'train' a missionary is to be the first person they're assigned to work with - in other words, to show them the ropes and teach them how to be a good missionary.)  Elder Lund trained Elder Goodwin.  Elder Goodwin trained Elder Evans.  Elder Evans currently teaches at the Missionary Training Center (an incubator for missionaries).  And at the MTC, Elder Evans "may or may not" (wink) have taught American Idol star/pop singer-songwriter David Archuleta.

So, in a very direct and personal way, I taught David Archuleta everything he knows about how to be a missionary.

The Test

"Yeah, about the test.  The test will measure whether you are an informed, engaged, and productive citizen of the world, and it will take place in schools and bars and hospitals and dorm rooms and in places of worship.  You will be tested on first dates, in job interviews, while watching football, and while scrolling through your Twitter feed.  The test will judge your ability to think about things other than celebrity marriages, whether you'll be easily persuaded by empty political rhetoric, and whether you'll be able to place your life and your community in a broader context.  The test will last your entire life and it will be comprised of the millions of decisions that, when taken together, make your life yours.  And everything, EVERYTHING, will be on it."


-John Green (click here for source)

PS - I'm not posting this in a "being an arrogant jerk at others' expense" type of way.  Interpret my intentions in a "please don't let this happen to you or your children" type of way.

VC3

One of my first posts was about Eric Whitacre's virtual choir.  Well, the third one was released a little more than a week ago.  Here it is:

3746 videos uploaded from 73 countries - that's amazing.  Honestly I like the second one a lot more - not just because I like the song better, but I think the visuals are less cheesy.  But this one's still super cool.


The sad thing is that I could have been in this one - I was just too lazy/busy to get around to it.  I also didn't own a webcam at the time.  Oh well... I'm sure they'll do a fourth one.

The Niece

So I'm an uncle, and it's one of the coolest things EVER.  Especially when my niece is literally the cutest baby ever.  No, I do not just mean really really cute, and it's not just because "she's family and so she's the cutest to me".  I mean that my niece is actually the cutest baby that exists - period.  Her name is Evette Rose McQuay!


I'm a TA, and last semester I told my students I became an uncle.  Look what one of them wrote on his homework assignment!

I'm very excited for my sister and brother-in-law and their upcoming adventure moving to Dallas.  However, that means that Niece will be leaving, which is sad.  So I babysit her whenever I can before they leave this summer!


My sister is quite the blogger (see here), and Evette has been the star for the past six-ish months.  But the photos below are never-before-seen exclusives taken by me!  My sister doesn't even have copies yet (hee hee).  Here she is:

This was taken about 4 hours after she was born.

These are from Evette's first babysit - by me!  I brought some inflatable dinosaurs for a surprise.  She didn't know what to think!

 Another babysit picture - she's helping me do my genetics homework!

 Cowgirl

Mariachi girl

Here are some of my favorites from my sister's blog:

I gave this outfit to Evette for Christmas - it says "My First Jackson Pollock" with a picture of a blank canvass!

 Giggles with Uncle Dan!

 Niece + Dinosaur = The Best

 Probably my favorite picture of her!

 This looks like a face Calvin (of Calvin & Hobbes) would make.

 Another Calvin-esque face.

For all the single ladies out there, just remember that I've got half the DNA it takes to make a baby this cute!  The rest is up to you...