The Mrs. and my sister Karen are currently watching the last episode of this season’s “The Bachelorette” (however you spell it).  I am not.  Regrettably, Holden is also watching, which makes me want to throw up.  I bet my brother Spencer also watched, which is even more disgusting.

Oh well.  Life goes on. 

Here’s what you need to know for this week:

- I got in a car wreck last Tuesday.  Yep, it was a real doosy (I don’t know how to spell that word either).  I got five staples in my head, a completely ruined car, lots of brownies and cookies, lots of burns on my arms from the airbag (which, according to the Utah Highway Patrol person, saved my life, not the burns, the airbag), a concussion (from hitting my head on the windshield because I was, as the people say, “unrestrained”), a cut on my knee, my first ct scan, and several different medications.

- I’m almost excited for the Olympics.  If I hear the theme song a few more times, I think I might get there. 

- I think holidays in July are way overrated.  How am I supposed to celebrate anything when I’m about to die from heat stroke? 

- The Mrs. says I’m arrogant and that I’m too weak to have been a pioneer.  I humbly disagree. 

- Deep, deep, deep down, I kind of want USA basketball to lose.  Wouldn’t that be funny? 

- I would just like the world to know that just because Mitt Romney is a Mormon it doesn’t automatically make him a good president. (The opposite, of course, is also probably true.  As to which opposite, that’s for you to decide.)

- New movies to hit the “Wright’s Recommendation List”

            - Dan in Real Life

            - That Thing You Do

            - Blood Diamond (edited of course)

            - Invictus

- The Mrs. has finally come to the point where she no longer hates Goshen.  In her words, “I don’t like it, but I don’t hate it either.”  Such progress.

- Ichiro just got traded to the Yankees.  I hate my life.

- I’m Andrew Wright and I’m a Mormon.

When I Grow Up

I’m currently reading a book by Jim Abbott.  It’s really good.  Reading it made me think of what I want to be when I grow up.

10 Things I want to be when I grow up:

- A writer.  Preferably of short stories, maybe a few poems here and there.  And two novels.

- A college soccer coach.  Small college, somewhere back East.

- A major league baseball pitcher.  Starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves is what I’d like, but I think I’d settle for the Tigers or Royals.

- A gentleman.  You know, like Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird.

- One of those guys with the deep voices who announces movie titles on movie trailers.

- A high school history teacher.  Maybe in Utah County.

- A resident of England . . . or Scotland . . . or Wales.  I’d settle for any of those three places. 

- An actor in the musical Les Miserables.  Actually, I wouldn’t even mind being a janitor on the stage where Les Miserables takes place.  Basically, just associated with that musical in some way would be fine.

- An advisor to some big-wig politician.  Preferably at a national level. 

- A stocker in a grocery store.  Any grocery store would be okay as long it isn’t one of those health food stores. 

The Boss

Today’s the Day.

10 Things I Miss About My Dad:

1. I miss his church talks and lessons.  He was a great speaker.

2. I miss seeing him interact with little kids.  Before his sickness, I’m not sure there existed a better grandpa.

3. I miss his glasses.  I don’t think he ever got a new pair.

4. I miss his coming to my games.  And his yelling at my games.   

5. I miss our temple trips to the initiatory every Wednesday night.

6. I miss how he made everybody, especially the people who felt most out of place, feel welcome.

7. I miss seeing him take care of my mom.  Now that I’m a husband, I realize I have a long way to go.

8. I miss “That’s a good back”

9. I miss watching TV and movies with him. 

10. I miss him.

Dear People,

I have a few things to say

A. For the first time in my life, I'm going to cheer for LeBron James.
 Reasons why I choose the Heat:
1. After this series, I dislike LeBron a lot less than I used to.  He grew up and matured this last year and I can respect that.
2. I do not like Russell Westbrook.
3. The Thunder beat the Spurs and I'm still bitter.
4. I like Dwayne Wade and Pat Riley.
5. I do not like Russell Westbrook

B. Me and the Mrs. and Holden (plus all of my immediate family) went to the Disneyland and that other park this week.  First time in 23 years for me.  I liked it more than I thought I would.

Reasons why I didn't hate Disneyland:
1. Soarin was my favorite by far.  Screamin took second
2. I loved the old school Disneyland rides.  The Mrs. thinks they're boring.  She never made it to Neverland.
3. Playing in the ocean with the brothers, et al was very fun (the blisters from the sunburn weren't so much, but still worth it).
4. Holden likes me a lot more when I'm taking him on rides at Disneyland.  Crazy huh.
5. The Disney Jr. show and Bugs Life movie were way cooler than expected.
6. Eating McDonald's.  Not because it was in Disneyland, but because eating McDonald's is always a highlight in life and is an event to be savored.

C. Every time a major soccer tournament comes around I'm reminded of how much I love major soccer tournaments.  It's the Euro Cup this week.

Reasons why I love the Euro Cup:
1. I love England.  They never win, but I still love them.  When they played U.S. in the World Cup, I cheered for England.  If I had a choice, I would live there.  I lived there for a couple of months one day and I loved it.
2. Soccer games don't have commercials (except for halftime, but that's when I go get my snacks and use the restroom so I miss them all anyway).
3. I can watch it and rationalize that I'm working and receiving job training.
4. It's a beautiful game.

D. School ended two weeks ago.  I miss it.

Reasons why I miss teaching high school:
1. It's fun.
2. I don't get to hear the wisdom of Jeremy Chapman, Shawn Johnson, and Clint Peery every day.
3. Since nobody goes to church in Goshen, the high school is where I get to talk to all of my neighbors.
4. I get to practice my German (my wife just ignores me when I speak German and Holden just laughs).
5. Teaching is one of the few things I can do without embarrassing myself.  When I'm not teaching I'm basically useless (except I think I do a decent job of stocking grocery stores and vacuuming out dirty pools).

And that's all.

Hello, the Mrs. has gone to California so here I sit watching the Pacers play the Heat (and oh how I dislike those Heat). Anyway, since she’s abandoned me for the next couple of days, I’ve decided to write about the top ten reasons the Mrs. is so amazing

(Editor’s Note: These aren’t the only reasons, just the top ones).

The Mrs. is amazing because:

- She puts up with my being one of the biggest airheads in the world and forgetting just about everything of importance.

- She watches NBA playoff basketball with me and actually likes it (and if she doesn’t, she does an amazing job of faking it).

- She makes sure I don’t become apostate.

- She puts up with my being slightly crazy and a little bit weird (which, by the way, is a lot easier said than done).

- She takes the time to get to know some of my students (which is important to me because when my students get to know the Mrs., they realize that since she agreed to marry me I must have at least one redeeming quality, which may or may not be true)

- She’s incredibly nice to my family (which, considering the socially handicapped nature of my family, is no easy task).

- She does my laundry (and makes sure I dress at least semi-fashionably).

- She’s really, really smart (I was going to say “she’s smarter than me” but that’s really not much of a compliment).

- She puts up with living in the Goshe (no cell phone service, no shopping, no nothing).

- and finally, she’s really, really pretty.

Movies, etc

The Mrs., Little Chad, and I just went and watched The Avengers. It was decent. Although honestly, the way everybody talked about it, I thought it was going to be amazing. It wasn't. Anyway, it got me to thinking about movies. Here's what I have to say. - I watched Saturday's Warrior yesterday. I cried like eight times. Considering the era in which it was made, available funds, and available technology, I'm pretty sure it was one of the best Mormon movies ever. Really. No joke. I'll argue that point with anyone. - Speaking of Mormonified movies that I watched recently, Seventeen Miracles is also a great movie. I couldn't have been a pioneer. No way. I would have done one of two things: 1) Turned back 2) Not even started. No way are the things I have to go through as hard as that. No way (for the second time). - I'm still obsessed with Inception. - The Mrs. and I watched the Titanic the other week to celebrate the 100th anniversary (she edited it for me). It was okay. However, how it broke box office records is beyond me. Not even on my top 100 movies of all time. That said, I love Leo so it was worth it. - Just so you know, I hate the Yankees. - Do you know what Mormon movieette that I need to watch again? The Phone Call. So good. You can watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqU37SKPeVE. You most definitely won't regret it. It's kind of the story of my high school life. Anyway, that's all for now.

What I Miss

Disclaimer: The first thing you should know is that I really quite enjoy my life. The Mrs. is great, Holden is great (when he doesn’t hate me), and my job is great (when they don’t hate me). However, I, by nature, am a pretty nostalgic person. Thus, this is a list of things from my life that I sometimes miss (and probably underappreciated as they were happening)

What I miss . . .

From Elementary School:

Fourth and fifth grade basketball on the playground with the likes of Jason Ford, Isaac Watters, Kimball Rawson, Jonny Colbert, Jeff Richey, Jacob Jensen, and others. Weather permitting we were out there just about every day at lunch and afternoon recess.

Our old white house at 375 East 350 North Salem, UT. To this day I still have dreams at night about moving back there and I’m still depressed when I wake up.

Mrs. Castleberry’s class. She was one of the best teachers of all time.

Little League Baseball. I was quite the pitcher back in my day (I think the batters were just so focused on my big buck teeth and huge glasses that they lost track of the ball).


From Middle School and Jr. High School:

Absolutely nothing.


From High School:

Hanging out with the likes of PDC, Homedog, Rodubb, L-Train, Jeffrey, Dean, G-Kent, and Stephen. I tell you that those were some good times. I mostly just enjoyed the late nights and the music. We listened to some good music back then. How I was ever lucky enough to hangout with such a great group of people is beyond me. If my kids can find such friends, they will be in good hands.

Working at the Spanish Fork Community Water Park. I could vacuum the Spanish Fork Pool with amazing skill and accuracy. I still don’t think they’ve found someone to match me.

Utah Valley Children’s Choir. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed waking up on a Saturday at 7:00 a.m. as much as I did back in the day. Those were some good days sitting on the comfy white chairs while the women folk had to sit on those hard benches.

Mr. Francom and AP Biology. One of the top ten teachers of all time. Jaime Escalante has got nothing on him I tell you. If I’m ever half as good a teacher as the Franconator, I’ll be pretty pleased.

To be continued . . .