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It's so hard to say goodbye...

When one experiences loss, they immediately realize that the words once used to articulate that which you loved quickly become inadequate and even inane.

As the media mourns the losses of Micheal, Farrah, and Billy, I mourn the loss of another. Yes, my beloved Cruiser is no longer mine.


The time, which I never thought would, has come. In 1997 my Dad called home and told me to clean out the Caravan and meet him at the Toyota dealership in Fargo. This was weird, but I went with it. As I walked in I heard him say to the salesman, "Yeah, I'd like to take another look at the green one with leather." I asked him what one... He said the Land Cruiser, and it pulled up out front. We went for a spin and I was in awe. From that day forward I began to commit at least five of the seven deadly sins, day after day. In August of 2004, playing the card of a father/son bond manifesting itself in the passing down of the Land Cruiser finally paid off. My dear Father entrusted me with what came to be my first love (kind of exaggerating, kind of not). Low end torque, full-lockers, and a whole lotta room made for memories being created on and off road. I have cherished these past 5 years. The Cruiser and I experiences almost everything together, and for that I will always love her.

As I now approach a new phase of life with starting grad school, it seemed it was time to move on. The Cruiser is now 15 years old and had 217k miles on it. With a couple grand in potential repairs coming up it just felt like the right thing to do. As much as I hated selling it, it did feel right. The new owner is a former Cruiser owner who had to sell when his priorities changed a few years back. Not only did this make me feel better about who I sold it to, but also gave me hope. Land Cruiser...I will be back.

So long, my loyal friend. I love you.

RIP- July 6, 2009. 12 years and 160,oo0 miles of Olsen ownership.

New Toy

Introducing the MinoHD digital HD video recorder. Have a look here.

A number of months ago I heard about this little guy and instantly wanted one. Well, with a lot of other expenses at the time and trying to me more cost-conscious I let the interest fade. This past Friday night a guy named Blake Hadley (who also happens to be an incredibly talented designer and advertiser, See here) had one at the Human Slingshot up in Hobble Creek canyon. Here's some of the footage he shot.


Needless to say, when I saw him snapping video on the MinoHD, I had to have one! Within 24hrs I cruised over to Costco (who has them for $179 after rebate/before tax) and threw down for it! I am so happy I did. That night we were up in Hobble Creek again at a friends ranch and was able to capture some of the fun. Here's Rachael yukkin' it up on the zipline.



With the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back, vacation in Fargo with the fam, Kaiizen trip, and move across the country all coming up, I know this will be a purchase well well worth it!

Recent months...

Hey all... I've been slow to post recently so here's a recap of what's been goin' down since March.

GMAT
Most importantly this test is D-O-N-E! And I am so so glad. I have a few apps out to business school, so here's to hopin! Now it's just a waiting game. I do, however, want to thank good good friends for help studying, being a great support system, and for putting in a good word! I have seldom been so aware of how blessed I am by the people around me. I was absolutely overwhelmed by this realization as I drove to SLC to take the test (for the first time). In a very modest way, thank you all, friends and family alike, for tips, reassureing words, and many prayers! I am optimistic think that some doors will open for this fall. If not, I'll keep working hard and apply for fall '10. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.

Moab
For the second year in a row I headed down to run the half marathon. It was a gorgeous spring day along the banks of the mighty Colorado. I knew a lot of people headed down this year, so it was fun to hang the night before, run together, and then have some mother-jeepin-fun! I was able to improve my time over last year, which was a great feeling! Here are some pics from the Jeeping adventures.

Our rigs...

Friends and the scenery.
Annette, Jen, Jill, Katie, Me.

Matt, Dan, and a Jeep.

Arizona!
This trip was a blast! I give most of the credit to the Cook family. They absolutely rock! Steph's family entertained and put up about 10-15 of us at any given moment. It was a great weekend with friend to just...PLAY! We went to MLB spring training games, had a fiesta with a real mariachi duet, huge party with in-home ice cream parlor at full boar, swam, played volleyball, and wakeboarded (thanks Hoyts!!!).

Simply put, it was awesome!

Dodgers v. Royals game at Camelback Ranch.

Me and Steph at Saguaro Lake.

Friends from afar!
So remember how I've done a little humanitarian work in Brazil? Well, the woman on the right is the angel who makes it all possible. Her name is Tereza de Lima Silva. She is the teacher from the public school that helped us find the kids Kaiizen now sponsors in the private school. She does so much for these kids and we love her!

Her daughter (in the red hat) Louise married an American and just had her first child. So Tereza and her husband came to the US to see them. What a treat it is to have her close and show her a little more of what makes Kaiizen possible.

Me, Josh, David, Nathan, Dad, Louise, and Tereza.

Goodbye to a loyal steed.
The time came to say goodbye to Chet. He has been so loyal and so true. In a time when it's best to live a simple life I decided it would be best to sell ol' Chet. Bitter sweet, but we'll both be OK.

RIP Chet.

Kind of a big deal...pt. 2

There is a new blog on the scene in Mormon single-dom. It's called Why Mormon Girls Stay Single. It's the biggest thing since Seriously So Blessed. It showed up like the spring chickens often referenced...cute, glossy, coy, and strangely irresistible despite better judgment obviously steering one away from them. Let's see if it can keep up it's appeal and not "let itself go" like the accused audience it claims to "serve." Although there is some wit to many of the posts, I think, more than anything else WMGSS is fast joining the ranks of blockbusters like Singles Ward, RM, and anything else with Kirby H. (Hey...there's an idea, guest post by Kirby!) Niche humor has a shelf life, and it's short.

Now, I have spent a lot of time writing about the blog, when really I just want to talk about myself and how, once again, my place in the Provo/LDS singles patchwork has been established. Check this POST out...see the picture, in the middle, wearing orange... Yesterday alone I received 2 gchats, one email, one call, and one in person comment referencing my presence in the pic on this post. This either means a) I know the blogger, b) I know much of the readership of the blog, or both.

At any rate, its funny to me. I'll just take this as a chance to give a big shout out to all of my Santa B alum! Those were the days! And again, when you've realized your fate is making unsolicited appearances in marginally flattering mediums citing the subculture in which you can't quite seem to escape (not that I'm trying that hard), you don't let any of it go to your head.

Kind of a big deal...

As it turns out, my life is one that typifies life in Provo and on the BYU campus. Who knew!? Now I don't mean to feed my own ego here. You can only have one so big when you've been in Provo for 6+ years and don't have a graduate degree, claim any "dependents" during tax season, or even have an employer that requires you to stay in this cozy little valley. I am in Provo by choice and am not shy about it. I love my Utah life! The way I see it, someday there will come a reason to leave, but until then I'm going to stay. In some respects I guess you could say I've become a local celebrity. Here's a little clip to show you what I'm talking about. Be sure to watch until the very end (specifically 1:17-1:22).

(Props to Matt Eastin and Kineto Pictures for the killer video work!)

So as you can see, my presence (preferably with the company of a blond), impact (small carbon footprint with the scooter), and legacy (not quite being able to leave Provo) have now been etched into the annals of the interwebs. Thus proving that I have, in fact, left my mark on this campus.

PS- You know I'm kidding, right?

What is in that chocolate!?

Too funny not to share...