100 Things About Me (Ryan)

I thought that I would parenthetically indicate that this is me (Ryan) typing. This is my first foray into the world of blogging. I hope I don't embarrass myself. But if I do, who cares? Only like 13 people look at this blog anyway.

I am also unashamed to say that I stole the idea for this blog from my sister, Rachel. If you want to read her list (and you probably should) you can click on her link on the sidebar. Anyway, here we go: 100 things about me!

1. I care WAY too much about BYU football

2. One of my greatest fears is that I will not be able to support my family

3. I was always nervous about the prospect of marriage, but getting married was the best decision I ever made

4. My good friend Steve got me into kung-fu/Hong Kong cinema. Some of my favorite movies of that genre include Shaolin Soccer, To Live, God of Cookery, and Hero

5. I like most vegetables, but I don't like peas

6. I always got along great with my siblings, but one time I got in a fight with my brother over a nintendo game (I punched him and he kicked me in the back)

7. I hate being late

8. I've never said a "swear word." At least not on purpose. Or out loud

9. TV shows that my wife and I record on our DVR: The Office, Heroes, Rob and Big, American Idol, The Biggest Loser, Dancing with the Stars, The Hills, and America's Next Top Model.

10. I'm not as embarrassed by the above list as I should be

11. Here's something I AM embarrassed about: the only concerts I have ever been to were Huey Lewis and the News, Peter Breinholt, Kirby Heyborne, and the last few songs of a free Diamond Rio gig

12. I have always been insecure about my height

13. The magazines that we subscribe to at my house include the Ensign, Newsweek, and GQ (accidentally)

14. I served a mission to the Philippines

15. I speak two languages: English (fluently) and Tagalog (balubaluktot na)

16. The last CD I bought (or rather that my wife bought for me) was Gnarls Barkley's The Odd Couple

17. Air-headed people REALLY annoy me

18. I would rather be hot than cold

19. I once read the entire Book of Mormon in two days

20. I care deeply about what other people think of me

21. I have been to the Taj Mahal

22. I have seen Mount Everest with my own eyes

23. I am too much of a perfectionist

24. I get nervous every Monday and Friday (the days I work in a local private-practice hearing clinic)

25. The first movie that ever made me cry was Edward Scissorhands

26. I prefer having a few really close friends to having a large number of casual friends

27. I've always felt that I was the ugliest of my siblings

28. Making big decisions is very hard for me

29. I liked the flowers I bought for Schuyler better than she liked them (I would check them every day to see if a new one bloomed!)

30. I secretly like that new Miley Cyrus song (I st-st-stuttered and...)

31. I like Letterman better than Leno

32. My first kiss was on a beach in Mexico under a full moon

33. Ever since I was a little boy, I've been fascinated by reptiles

34. I get a high from public speaking/teaching

35. I don't really like carbonation

36. I am terrified of running out of gas in the middle of nowhere

37. Before marriage, I never talked baby-talk to my wife. After marriage, I do it all the time

38. I like rice WAY more than potatoes

39. I am officially certified to remove earwax

40. I'm kind of a movie snob

41. I have a hard time spending money (must be a Whitaker thing, Rach) -- even on necessities

42. I'm proud of the tan line I get on my feet

43. I prefer salty snacks to sweets

44. I eat cereal almost every morning for breakfast

45. I get embarrassed if my fingernails are too long (i.e. showing ANY white)

46. I despise running. I'd much rather lift weights.

47. I broke my ankle in high school showing off for some girls

48. I need SILENCE when I'm studying

49. A dream of mine would be to someday travel the world with my wife

50. I love to hike

51. Since beginning my graduate studies in audiology, I find myself checking out people's ears

52. I wish I could do a Pee-Wee Herman laugh as well as my brother-in-law Troy (or even as well as my brother Richie)

53. I am uncommonly bad at ice skating

54. While getting my hair cut last week, I was told that I have a "really expensive hair color to re-create"

55. I hate coaxing Schuyler off the couch every night to get ready for bed

56. I have a lot of fun karaoke-ing, but I do it way too loud

57. I feel like I make bad first impressions

58. I was recently asked by an old man at Safeway if I was my classmates' son ("is this your boy?" he asked Dan)

59. An old lady at the hearing clinic told me yesterday that my pants were too long and needed to be hemmed

60. I am a rule-follower

61. I easily get upset while trying to assemble furniture

62. I sometimes think swearing is funny

63. I was surprised how sad I was when I heard in January that our family dog, Kaipo, had died

64. I won my school spelling bee in elementary school

65. I have a small collection of pocket knives and swords

66. Apparently I follow my wife around the house like a puppy dog

67. I was so mad when Michigan's Fab 5 lost in the National Championship game (I was like in 4th or 5th grade at the time) that I threw my balled-up socks at the TV which caused the homemade craft sitting atop the TV to fall off and break

68. I believe the loudest I have ever yelled was after the Beck to Harline "answered prayer" in 2006

69. Going out to eat always makes me happy

70. "Your dentist's name is Crentist?" always makes me laugh

71. In 5 years I hope to be successfully practicing audiology with one (MAYBE two) kids

72. Schuyler was scared that I wouldn't cry on our wedding day. Well, I cried like a baby and she barely shed a tear

73. I was 11 years old when my daddy died

74. I come from a family of cartoonists

75. I have always assumed that, like most Whitakers, I will either live forever or die of cancer

76. When standing at the foot of the bed, I sleep on the left side and Schuyler sleeps on the right

77. I'm constantly worrying that I'm letting people down

78. I get along great with nerds

79. Watching Oprah usually makes me mad

80. I LOVE to go to the zoo

81. Most of my shirts have the color blue in them

82. I'm not really superstitious, except when it comes to the shirt I'm wearing on BYU's game day

83. I'm excited by the prospect of a Barack Obama presidency

84. I take pleasure in staying up-to-date on current events

85. I enjoy cooking -- especially with my wife

86. This past Halloween, Schuyler and I won a prize for our costume. I was Senator Larry Craig and she was a bathroom stall

87. I keep all of my spiral-bound notebooks from college (I might need that stuff someday!)

88. I like to sleep on top of the covers

89. I once wrote in my journal, as a kid, that my elementary school was lucky to have me

90. I have always been self-conscious about my teeth

91. I got my first cell phone a year and a half ago

92. I teach Sunday School in my ward to the 15 and 16 year olds

93. I don't like to be barefoot

94. My thesis project is on finding a neurophysiologic correlate of categorical perception using cortical evoked potentials (namely, the acoustic change complex)

95. I once participated in an all-day movie day with my friends

96. One of my best friends married one of Schuyler's best friends

97. I hate chewing gum because my jaw is funky (TMJ problems, I think)

98. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from BYU

99. My wife thinks I have a man-crush on David Beckham

100. I'm tired of looking like a teenager. Maybe someday I'll grow up...

Anniversary II

Here's how we spent our wonderful day. That's how Ryan wanted me to start this post. We had an absolute blast on our anniversary. The weather was perfect (mid 70s) and we used it to our advantage. I luckily had the day off and Ryan was done by 1. We decided to go on a picnic to a local park. We had a real picnic basket and we just chilled outside for awhile. Tucson parks aren't what you normally think of when you picture parks. The grass is more prickly and not usually green. The park we found was as good as we were gonna get. It was still just fun to be together and outside on such a beautiful day. I'm not sure we're ever going to have this nice of weather on our anniversary anywhere else.









We decided to stick with tradition and get each other "paper" presents for the first year. I got Ryan a really nice leather journal. Ryan got me "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" by Dr. Laura. It was something I asked for-I had it before, but lost it on our honeymoon.

After the picnic we decided to go cash in our change jar. We wanted to spend all the money that was in it. We went to my store to get our money-$25.72 is what we had. Ryan thought it would be fun to go to DI and see what they had for us. We found a really old fashioned video camera for $10. It's super little and heavy. We got it for a fun decoration. After scavenging through a picked over DI for anything else, we decided to spend the rest of our money at the dollar store next door. We got some candy and some other random items that we needed. We also rented 1408 from Blockbuster to watch that night. Here's what we brought home from our anniversary shopping spree.

Anniversary

I remember the first time I ever hung out with Ryan Whitaker. Ryan and his roommates came over to my apartment to play Skip-bo with my roommates and me. We had an absolute blast as a group and all quickly became friends. One night of games led to many, many more memorable nights and events. The Night of Lists, All Day Movie Day and our weekly trips to Burger Supreme were some of the fun times we had together.

I remember our first trip together. My roommates and Ryan's roommates all went on a camping trip to Capitol Reef in Southern Utah. I don't love camping, but we had such a fun time. Robbie Glazier made us a delicious dinner, our Pixie Sticks got eaten by a raccoon and I drove the bi-polar car. We hiked and we shot guns. The trip was a success and set the right tone for the other trips that Ryan and I enjoyed together.

I remember the first time I ever had an inkling of feelings for Ryan. It was on Halloween in '05-a long time ago, I know. We were at the Bean Museum on BYU Campus with a whole lot of people. We were there to watch Shaun of the Dead on the big screen. Ryan was up fiddling around with the movie plugs and I was just down in the seats with my roomies and friends. I remember thinking-"I hope Ryan sits by me." Then I was weirded out and didn't think about it anymore. He did sit by me.


I remember the night Ryan and I started dating. We were in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Ryan and I went for a walk on the beach on our last night there. We ended up sitting on a pier over the ocean and talking. The conversation lagged, so I asked him what he was thinking about. He just chuckled and said "nothing." More time passed and he said "do you want to know what I was thinking about?" He proceeded to share his feelings for me and told me he wanted to date me. Then he shocked me by asking if he could kiss me...

I remember when Ryan proposed. It was his birthday. We were sitting in my bedroom waiting for our friends to come over to eat cake and ice cream. While we were waiting, he opened his presents from me. After he finished, he said, "I've got a present for you." That was when he pulled my ring out of his pocket and proposed. I knew he would propose eventually, but for some reason, I was still surprised when it actually happened.


I remember one year ago today. Our wedding day. The happiest day of our lives. The day I married my best friend. The day all our many memories came together. I can't believe it's been a year. It's been a great year. We absolutely love marriage and couldn't ask for more. I can't wait to create so many more memories with my husband and best friend.

Home Sweet Home

We took some pictures around our

apartment complex the other day.
Here's what turned out!

Ryan loves his truck and his BYU Sticker on the back!

Pusch Ridge

The view directly across the street-isn't the desert pretty?:)

Ryan just wanted this picture on the blog.

Wal-Mart: Save Money, Live Better

The day finally came. The day I didn't want to happen. The day I said would NEVER happen. It happened. I have been with Wal-Mart for 5 years now. (Not sure why they put my maiden name on my certificate.) I never thought I would have reached this anniversary. I wasn't supposed to get sucked into the Wal-Mart system. I started as an evening cashier. Just a small job to hold me through the last little bit of college. It was only supposed to last a year-maybe a bit longer. But five years, wow! I remember my first day going in. I could not decide what to wear. What really matches those ugly blue smocks they used to have? I even remember asking my roommate Katie (I hope you remember this Kate) what I should wear and tried on different shirts with the smock.

In just a short time, I was able to move myself up through the company. I always said that I would quit or I would find something better. That pursuit has continuously failed. Five years is a long time. It's been a huge part of my life. The other day I was in my store on my day off (yep, working on my day off) and I heard all my associates doing the Wal-Mart cheer (yep, we have a cheer). For some reason, it brought some sort of comfort to my life. The hours aren't the best-I despise working on Sundays- it gets hard dealing with customers and some associates, and don't even get me started on my store manager. Even though it's not that fun all the time, I've realized that this is where I'm supposed to be. I'm even starting to think about moving up some more-just until Ryan graduates and I get to quit:) We have been truly blessed with this job. Being able to transfer so easily from Utah to Tucson was great. Wal-Mart even paid for the whole move. This is the perfect little set-up that Ryan and I have. Ryan doesn't have to worry about working or debts while he's going through school. He can just concentrate and learn all that he can someday support the family. We have been so lucky. Who would have thought that Wal-Mart could be such a blessing?