Life in Houston

Hey gang! I don't have any pictures that can compete with Rachel's, but I thought I'd throw up a blog to catch everyone up on my life and what's happening next. I've been having a great time in Houston and made several good friends that I enjoy doing random things with (mostly frisbee and water activities). The singles ward here has been awesome and full of life and activities to make this a fun summer - let's just say I'm not very far in my independent study class that I started!

They've got some great girls down here, and besides Mary (who almost caught me, but just couldn't hold on) I've managed to stay out of too much mischief. I guess you really can meet quality, pretty, and fun girls anywhere. Now I just have to fall in love with one of them, which is the part that's a little bit harder for me to control.

David, Lindsey, Zane and I went to an Astros game on Friday. I was given some tickets for a favor I did and took the cousins to show my gratitude for their hospitality this summer. The seats were great - club seats along the first base baseline, and we almost caught a fly ball! Unfortunately the Astros couldn't do much about the other pitcher, so we had a humiliating lost, but the atmosphere and evening was still fun.

I'm off this week for Orlando for intern training (Monday through Friday) and look forward to my first experience with Florida's humidity. I'm not sure what activities they have planned for us, but it should be fun. I'm enjoying the work some days, and others I really despise it. In any count, I'm sure that I want to do something else, but am still grateful for this opportunity (experience, pay, and fun!) but look forward to something else next summer.

As for other activities, I've really gotten involved with the World Cup and enjoy watching games during my lunch break. The USA had a great game on Saturday that I watched with friends, and despite some aweful refereeing, came away with a tie against a really strong Italian team. That's been a fun activity these days.

Also, my summer plans have solidified a little more: this last week I bought some airline tickets to get me around Europe for another experience I won't forget. Lodz to London to Dublin and back to Lodz, in all about 9 days. From Dublin I'll take a bus to Belfast to visit Darek. I'm excited to see the cities as well as my converts whom I'll be staying with. I also have an invitation to explore Ukraine with a member from Warsaw, and will be doing that over a long holiday weekend in August. So fun!

Any hoot, I'm having a good time. Sorry I missed some birthdays and holidays, but I hope everyone is doing well and having a good time without me. Stay in touch, and I look forward to hearing more from Utah!

Josh