Monday, March 17, 2008

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!

Okay, so I've never been "tagged" before but at the risk of being smacked by Ashley, I'll do this. :)

What were you doing 5 years ago?
Well, I would have been 21 and it was March, so I was literally just getting back from my mission to the Texas Houston East Mission. I got home March 10, 2003, so I'm sure I was trying to re-adjust to life after a mission. It was a great feeling to have it done though and to know I gave it my all! I was also getting ready to go back to BYU which I did the very next month (April).

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Do laundry.
2. Pay bills.
3. Start packing for the cruise I'm going on in 4 days! (But who's counting right?)
4. Finish up classwork for the course I'm in that's ending today for my Masters degree in Secondary Education.
5. Taking a nap because my spring break has officially started!

7 snacks I enjoy:
1. Homemade chocolate chip cookies! (my Mom's to be precise)
2. Wheat Thins crackers
3. Oreo cookies
4. Yogurt (since I've been dieting, its my new favorite snack)
5. Doritos chips
6. Bananas, apples, grapes, oranges
7. Granola bars (all kinds)

3 bad habits:
1. Not saving money like I should! I love buying DVD's. It's an addiction. :)
2. When I get excited, I tend to talk louder. Gets annoying.
3. Forgetting people's (especially students') names. Not a good thing when you're a teacher!

If I were suddenly a billionaire......
I would buy my dream home complete with a library that would put the Beast's (from Beauty and the Beast) to shame, get a few nice cars, invest in several income properties, and travel the world several times!

5 places I've lived:
1. Santa Rosa, CA
2. Provo, UT
3. San Marcos, CA
4. Houston, TX
5. Lake Charles, LA

5 jobs I've had:
1. Concessions Manager for San Marcos Youth Basketball
2. Dental Assistant (not the kind that actually helps the dentist work on teeth, but the guy who sterilized all of his equipment, cleaned the lab/dentures, and made sure the office looked nice.
3. Ticket Clerk in the Marriott Center at BYU
4. Administrative Assistant at Psychiatric Centers for San Diego
5. Middle school substitute teacher
(You only want 5 right? I've had several others) :)

5 things people might not know about me:
1. I play the piano. I took lessons for about 6-8 years (I can't remember exactly) and quit when I was about 13. However, through occasional practice, I've retained just about everything I've learned and can still play fairly well.
2. I'm writing a novel. When I say writing, it's mostly in the past tense since I haven't even looked at it in over 3 months! I actually have over 600 pages of material and only have about a chapter and an epilogue left before it's finished so once I finish this darn Masters degree, I might actually get the thing done.
3. I'm a seminary teacher. I can't remember who all of my friends (and even some family members) I've told that I teach freshmen seminary but I have now for 2 years. I really love it but unfortunately this will probably be my last year since I'm going to be a full time high school history teacher next year and just won't have the time to do both. :( It's been really fun though!
4. I have the hardest time falling asleep. For as long as I can remember, I've always had to lay in bed for at least an hour before I can doze off. And that's on a good night. Sometimes it's even longer. On my mission, I started taking sleeping pills to help me fall asleep so I could get enough rest to wake up at 6:30 in the morning (or whenever it was we had to get up). Thankfully, I don't seem to need as much sleep as I used to because I get up at about 5:30 every morning now for seminary and I seem to be fine without the sleeping pills.
5. One of my best friends passed away the summer before my senior year in high school. His name was Chris Brown and he and his entire family (mom, dad, and two little sisters: Trish and Holly) were killed in a car accident just outside of Las Vegas. Not the most pleasant experience for a 17 year old kid to have, but I bet it's something some of you didn't know about me!

I tag Hyrum and Tiffany Andrews! And what the heck, in a feeble attempt to force them to start their own blogs, Meghan Merritt and Derek Porter!

4 comments:

Ashley said...

Yeah, I tagged you because I figured you needed something new to update your blog with. And I did know all those things about you so I must know you pretty well or something! Have fun on the cruise, you lucky duck!

Truly Earnest said...

Wow, Brandon how much fun catching up on your life. Hope you had a great time on the cruise and I believe you are the most awesome of seminary all seminary teachers. Also I bet the middle schoolers love you!

Cindy Earnest
Chris Earnest Stokes Mom

Amy Marie said...

I just thought about Chris the other day....

what a great guy.

Jessica said...

Brandon!!! Oh my gosh, I found you! I'm so happy to read about you and your family. This is Jessica Browning by the way. That cruise with your family sure looked like fun. How is you family? Tell your parents hello for me. They are some of my favorite people, other than you of course! My e-mail is jbarnum921@msn.com Hope to hear from you soon!