"TAG" I'm it...

Alright Carrie, I've finally gotten around to it. (Carrie "tagged" me to answer the following questions). This is a very very very long post, so I totally understand if most of you don't attempt to read it at all. I will not be offended. Upon Carrie's request I have to tag 5 friends, which I will get to later on...Gabe is a supportive husband so he will be participating as well.

Joys,
Brooke) 1.Fountain diet pepsi. One of New York's greatest downfalls is the lack of fountain drinks. I have only come across 3 places that supplies pepsi fountain drinks; apple bees, taco bell, and ikea. Gabe and I are seriously considering installing a fountain drink machine in our apartment.

Gabe) 1.I also have take joy in a delicious fountain drink but for me it's the good Dr. that holds the key to my heart. The problem is that New Yorkers haven't yet figured out that Dr. Pepper is the greatest drink in the world. In fact, most places that actually have fountain drinks are missing Dr. Pepper and it's replaced by Fanta. Fanta? Seriously?

Brooke) 2.Sitting in our living room on summer nights with the windows open, listening to the sounds of the little Jewish children playing and the faint sound of the subway. This is my favorite part of the day.

Gabe) 2.One of my favorite things comes right after that moment Brooke just mentioned, when we close all the windows and turn on the air conditioner. It's hot here...really hot. And it's usually about a million percent humidity. I spend lots of time on activities like wiping sweat of my face and moaning about the heat so when we turn on the AC, my whole world comes into perfect balance.

Brooke) 3.Exercising to the point of exhaustion. There aren't too many things better in life then puking after working-out. And I truly mean that! The O'Neil's are known for their overactive gag reflect and I am no exception. My work-out only proves success if I end with some good dry heaving.

Gabe) 3.I love making the walk from the subway to our apartment often passing kids playing baseball on the sidewalk or the firemen hosing off their firetruck. It really hits me that I actually live in Brooklyn New York.


Fears,

B) 1.One of my greatest fears right now is starting my new job. I'm not afraid of the work, I'm actually really excited but I am truly afraid that the students will not respect me.

G) 1.I'm afraid of French people. Well maybe not all French people, just one, The senior designer who heads up my team at work. She's terrifying.

B) 2.Sewer rats. They are the devil incarnate.

G) 2.New York city bums. They don't just sit around drinking and not having homes here. Though they do plenty of that, they also do plenty of getting in your face and lots of smelling like excrement right next to you on the subway.

B) 3.Riding my bike on busy streets, I'm only afraid of the busy streets. I think as long as I am afraid I will be safe. Three more months till my insurance kicks in, pray that no harm will be done till then, I mean ever.

G) 3.Being shot.


Goals,

B) 1.Become a "real" adult while living in New York. Being a "real" adult means having a career, be taken serious (at least by the kids that I am supposed to be guiding), manage finances without calling Dad for every decision, and try not to screw up. That sort of thing.

G) 1.I want to become a senior designer before we leave New York.

B) 2.Wake up at a decent hour on my own. I have not adjusted to eastern time yet, simply because there has been no reason for me to and as a result I sleep in till noon on a regular basis. I am shooting for the stars on this one, but my goal is to work-out before work which means waking up at 6am. I have high hopes here in New York.

G) 2.I love not getting mugged. In fact, it's pretty much one of my favorite things ever and so far I have a perfect streak going of not getting mugged. So my goal is to keep that streak alive and running while living in the big apple.

B) 3.Try to translate what the people in our ward are saying. On a good Sunday I might understand 40% of what is being said. Our ward is made up mostly of Jamaican's and Haiten's and I simply can not decipher what is coming out of their mouths. Most of it is either incoherent or inaudible. It's pretty bad, so we've gotta do something or at least should do something.

G) 3.It's really hard to think about goals right now since for so long I've had the goals of finishing school and finding a way to get to New York and get a job with a top interior design firm. It's so crazy to stop and think that I've actually won those things (with a lot of help from my beautiful wife). So I guess now I'm just focused on not screwing it up.


Current Obsessions/Collections

B) 1.Making our apartment feel as much like home as possible. Being in an unfamiliar city, so far from home makes it that much more important to create a safe haven.

G) 1.I am totally obsessed with New York street vendor blueberry muffins. I have one every day for breakfast.

B) 2.Figuring out how to organize all of our stuff in such a small space. New York living is a true challenge for anyone that prides themselves on their organizational skills.

G) 2.I am collecting the calories from those wonderful blueberry muffins. But in my defense, I walk a lot more than I used to so I'm burning them off as well as putting them on.

B) 3.Fighting the urge to put myself in danger for the sake of good blogging material, for example; asking bums to sing happy birthday to Brandon(it was really hard for me when Gabe didn't let me), videoing subway acts, taking pictures of freaks on the streets, etc. It's all in the name of good blogging!

G) 3.Well It isn't much of a collection yet but I'm working on it and I'm always on the lookout for more, but I'm collecting original art. I have a piece that I bought in Paris and a couple that I bought from an art student back at Utah State. My small collection may not be worth millions but I love it and thats all that matters. So if any of you more artistically inclined people (Jed) are wondering what to get me for my birthday...


Random/Surprising facts.

B) 1.I'm pretty sure that I'm lactose intolerant. At least partially. Maybe it's just that dairy is never fresh here, but lately I get sick whenever I eat a lot of it. I'm thinking I am going to adapt my diet similar to that of a vegan, for awhile at least.

G) 1.I am a lone heterosexual male in a sea of gay guys. Thats right, I'm the only straight guy in my office. It's quite a different experience but I don't mind. Everyone is very nice. They all treat me with respect.

B) 2.I really wish I could sing. Like, I'm seriously sort of bitter that I wasn't born with a good voice. The fact that I don't have a good voice doesn't stop me from giving it my all in church. I think it really embarrasses Gabe.

G) 2.I have never ridden a farris wheel!! That's right, not once in my 26 years on this planet have I gone round and round on the iconic "Farris Wheel" and to tell you the truth, I don't really feel like I've missed out on anything special. It looks kind of boring to me.

B) 3.I've got a nickname at work that I'm really happy about, "Utah"....except I'm not happy about it at all.

G) 3.I've read the entire Twilight series which I believe classifies me as a fourteen year old girl. Brooke made me do it. You all know how ruthless she can be. I had no choice!!!


Tag you're it!...Brian &/or Wendy, Krystyn, Mikell, Tara, and Rachel. Here are the rules: Post these rules on your blog. Answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog. List 3 Joys, 3 Fears, 3 Goals, 3 Current Obsessions/Collections and 3 Random/Surprising facts. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Thank you for participating friends and family! I love you guys so much!