It's been way too long ...

Wow. I feel like the biggest blog slacker ever. When I was reading a friend's blog yesterday, I saw "Abram--updated 2 months ago." My name was at the bottom of the list.

When I started this blog, I never intended to be that guy. So on this day when I gain an extra hour, I will write instead of sleep.

I don't even know where to start except to say that I been doing a lot since I last posted. This semester is great but hectic. I feel like I don't have time for schoolwork because of everything else I have to do. Work at the Bradley agency has been crazy. PRSSA is awesome but time-occupying. I am still working for the museum in Springville. I am in a choir. And the list goes on...

Because even highlighting the last few months seems daunting, I won't even try. I will, however, tell you about last week and honor a good friend.

I have lived with Robison Sundell for a couple of years. He is one of the kindest people I know. He is always serving others and always focuses on people rather than tasks.

Last Thursday, Robi was longboarding down a steep hill with some other roommates. He lost control and hit his head really hard. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead the next day. He remained on a ventilator until recipients of his organs could be prepared for their transplants. Even in his death he continued to give. (Here is the KSL article: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8452265 )

We all traveled to Las Vegas Wednesday for his funeral on Thursday. It was a touching service with talks from friends and brothers and sisters. Everyone did a great job and I felt inspired to make my life more like Robi's.

It is still hard to comprehend the fact that Robi is gone. It is haunting to come home and feel the emptiness of his bedroom. It is surreal to look out my window and not see his beloved Jeep and truck.

It is amazing that God has a perfect plan for us. I am grateful for the comfort that can be found even in times of heartache and loss. I know Robi is doing great work in the Spirit World. He will continue to touch many lives.

I hope to be more like Robi. I hope to give precedence to people over tasks on my to-do list. I hope to take more time to enjoy life.

This week will be busy. I am going to San Diego for PRSSA National Conference. Me and a few classmates are making a presentation at the conference. It should be lots of fun.

My November resolution is to be a more consistent blogger. Wish me luck!

CAKE Week

Today is the beginning of an awesome week: the week we road trip to CA to see Cake. I am very excited because I love the band and I like the people I am going with.

Last year we went to Colorado two times to see the band. Both concerts were fantastic and fun. We decided the band needs do a concert a little closer to home, so we have kicked off a campaign to get them here.

The first tactic in the campaign: Idaho-themed shirts:

This was my first stab at Adobe Illustrator. I hope the printers do a good job. (The colors are kind of messed up here.)

The rest of our campaign is secret. Even if it doesn't work, we will have an awesome time. I hope we don't get lost again on a country road in the middle of the night.

Enjoy the music:

I almost died on the treadmill today.

Hey! I just signed up for my first 5K race—The Mr. Call Fun Run. I am very excited. I have been pretty faithful in my gym attendance since January and feel like I am in OK shape. But I have never run a 5K. After signing up I Googled “How to train for first 5K” and was disheartened to read that it takes at least six weeks. SIX WEEKS! I don’t have six weeks.

Oh well, I am sure if I run just a little more on the treadmill each day for the next two weeks I should at least finish. I hope.

But I am not just excited about the idea of running a race; I am excited for the cause I will be supporting. Mr. Richard Call is a dedicated drama teacher at Burley High School. He is very talented at teaching and directing and gives his all to his students. I had the privilege of working with him on a high school play (I was a citizen of Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz—a very important role) and admire his professionalism and passion for his work. He is also an amazing father to one of my good friends and a great community member. He has been courageously fighting cancer lately, and the race is to benefit him.

The race is the Saturday morning of fair week—the most important week of the year in Burley—and it should be lots of fun. I know that lots of people who grew up in Burley come home that weekend and I encourage you all to join me for the race. If I can do it, so can you.

For more information, visit http://burley99.blogspot.com/2009/07/mr-call-fun-run.html or click the button at the right.

P.S. The comment feature isn't working on my blog. Can anyone tell me how to fix this? If you want to ask questions about the race or leave comments about my physical fitness Facebook me or something. Ha ha.

Test post

For some reason, things got really messed up on this blog. This is just a test post. I promise a good one is in the works.

I have ignored my blog. I am sorry.

I have completely ignored my blog. I feel like a bad person for doing so.

It's not like nothing noteworthy has happened lately. I just haven't taken the time to write about it.

I have been really involved lately in lots of things. I hesitate to say the word busy because I have banned it from my vocabulary. Everyone is busy. I made a sign to hang in the Bradley Agency that says "'I'm busy' is no excuse. We are all busy."

I'm working at BYU Grounds, then working at the PR lab or at my internship. I am having lots of fun experiences and making good friends along the way. I need to weave blogging into my schedule.

My commitment for the next week is to blog seriously at least once.

Faith of our Fathers

Happy Father's Day!

It is a blessing to reflect on those who have impacted my life greatly on this special day. It is a commandment to honor our fathers, and I believe we should do it much more often than on an annual holiday.

On this blog I recently shared my feelings about my dear father. Today I would like to tell you about how amazing my grandpa Harper, who passed away a few months ago, is.



One of my earliest memories of Grandpa centers on his decision to sell all that he had to serve the Lord on a mission to Fiji. I remember vaguely the process of hauling all the farm implements to a park with an old white building for an auction. From my earliest recollection, Grandpa had noble priorities.

During his decade of missionary service with Grandma, I have patchy remembrances of good times spent together. After their return from a mission, they had no car or other transportation. Grandpa quickly got to work and found something they could drive—a Chevrolet Panel truck. It was like a three-door Suburban. I went to pick it up with Grandpa from an old neighbor. When we pulled up I could hardly believe he was planning on paying money for the vehicle nestled in the Kosha weeds next to a cinder block shed. I honestly was scared to hop in one of the three doors because I was certain it was infested with Kamima Pack Rats (with big teeth).

I was wrong about that old rig; after Grandpa cleaned it up it took us grandchildren on amazing adventures, adventures we won't soon forget.

Every trip with Grandpa turned into a spectacular journey. Grandpa wasn't one to take the easy or common road to get places; he always created a path of his own—or at least got lost in the attempt. I loved when he took me on DuPont sales calls or trips to the back farm or to visit cousins, not necessarily because of the destination but because of the stories along the way. Grandpa had a unique way of sensing the times when I was especially concerned about my family (even when I was really young) and would lovingly assure me that things would work out and that he was there to help.

I remember one trip to the livestock sale very well. Before the big event, Grandpa and I got "hangaburs" at the auction yard cafe and discussed livestock. He acted like he valued my opinion about what he should purchase. When the sale finally started I got Grandpa in a bit of trouble, I think. I guess I talk with my hands a lot, because the auctioneer kept thinking I was bidding on animals. Grandpa taught me to keep my hands down and let him do the bidding because he was registered to do so. And he knew the difference between a cow and a bull.

I am not sure what Grandpa planned on purchasing that day, but I remember what we took home in the blue and white Ford with the livestock rack on back: a stubborn donkey and a silly "nana" goat. It was almost impossible to get that dumb goat to get down from her perch on top of the spare tire. I remember Grandpa and me laughing hysterically as we poked her and coaxed her to forego her mountain goat instincts.

Whenever I was with Grandpa, I knew he was respected. After eight of us plus our luggage experienced a long ride home to Philly from the Annapolis airport I was privileged to see Grandpa as a missionary for a few days. I remember walking down the streets of South Philadelphia with him one day and seeing him say "hello" to everyone. It seemed as if they all were his old friends: the lady at the dry cleaner, the CVS attendant and the mailman. His goodness certainly shined in his eyes.

In addition to his goodness I admire his strength. He battled with cancer in such an amazing way. One of my biggest concerns upon my return home from my mission was to see grandpa because I had heard he wasn't doing so well. When I first saw him with his new look, the "moon face" as he called it, he was still the same person I remembered and adored.

Associating with Grandpa the past couple of years has been a tremendous blessing. I believe that the end of our life is sort of the last question on the test of mortality we are all presently taking. The last question on a test is usually the most difficult, but Grandpa didn't let it stump him. He truly "endured to the end."

I won't forget the early morning chats over breakfast. I won't forget the times he would call days in advance of my trip home for the weekend to schedule a Saturday lunch date at Charlie's for ribs--"Grandma, she don't like them ribs as much as we do." I won't forget the times we were in the temple together and he insisted I push his wheelchair, as if I were an expert or something. Due to that, I won't forget the dedication I saw in his eyes as he renewed his commitment to keep sacred promises he had made with the Lord.

I feel blessed for the time I had to spend with him in the hospital preceding his death. I learned how a real man and disciple of Jesus Christ acts during times of adversity. He never lost faith or treated others poorly even though he was visibly weary and in pain.

"Hate is a pretty strong word," was the first thing I remember him teaching me. It is probably one of the last things he taught me as well, and illustrates the complete lack of hypocrisy in his character. He didn't hate anyone. He didn't hate his difficult circumstances. He didn't hate the Lord for allowing bad things to happen.

In place of hate in his life was charity--pure and everlasting love.

Grandpa was pretty sick the last time I visited him. We were watching boxing and chatting while Grandma was out; she hated to leave him alone. Our conversation was light at times but became very serious when he started talking about Grandma and his family. I know that his love for her is the "highest, noblest kind of love." At that moment, I understood what pure love really is: what Grandpa had for Grandma.

"But Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him." (Moroni 8:47)

I am blessed to know that such pure love doesn't cease with death. I am blessed to understand better what charity is because of my Grandpa.

Reaching out

I loved seeing this video this morning. I am grateful for my membership in a church with leaders that inspire me to be a better person. I am especially grateful for the message of President Monson, who said the best gift he could receive for his birthday was for church members to

"Find someone who is having a hard time and do something for them."

On this memorial weekend, I am thinking of those who taught this message to me through their actions. Many of them have already passed on, but I am still inspired by their legacy. I feel so blessed to have known heroes who thought of others even in the moment of personal affliction and pain.

I pay tribute to those who sacrifice for the benefit of others. I am especially grateful for those who have given their lives in the service of this country. This "last measure of devotion" is greatly appreciated, and I hope to always respect that which they so nobly fought and died for.

Thanks, and happy Memorial Day tomorrow!

A busy week

This has been a crazy week. I started working at the BYU grounds crew. It is lots of fun because I work with two of my cousins and 3 of my roommates. The work itself isn't exactly fun and stimulating this week, but that is totally OK. We are dumping mulch on a steep hill that is behind the Richards Building. The hill is very steep, so the only way to get the mulch on it is to pack it in buckets and then dump it. It is a very arduous process and I will be glad when we move on to more exciting landscaping work. But as one of my co-workers says at least three times a day, "We're not just building a hillside, we're building a Wendy's." The sad part is that at the end of the task there won't be a Wendy's.

The amazing part of my job is that I start at 6 a.m. This allows me to intern at the Springville Museum of Art and also to help out at the Bradley PR agency.

At the Museum, we are holding the 43rd annual Art Ball tonight. It will be an amazing event. The museum is spectacular and features amazing artwork and architecture. A sculpture garden has recently been completed that is beautiful.

Here's a video about the event:



If you are free tonight and in the area, come check out the ball! Tickets are available at SmithTix and at at the museum's Web site: http://smofa.org/events_programs/art_ball.html.

I will give you a full report after the event! I had better head over there to start setting up.

A Holiday for Moms

Instead of exercising this fine morning, I decided I should blog.

There's also a holiday that is coming up tomorrow that gives me inspiration: Mother's Day. But it's not just the holiday that drives me to write; my mother is amazing and I want the whole world to know.

Mom is more than my mother, she is my friend.

(this is a photo of us on a road trip to a Cake concert in Colorado)

Now I know people say that's a bad thing. "You shouldn't be a friend to your kids. You should be a parent," they say. I think my mom has been a better parent because she's my friend. Although I look up to her and respect her in so many ways, I feel she views our relationship as that of peers who are equal.


When I began to talk, I called my mom Ida. Why not mommy or some other pet name? Because no one else did! They called her Ida and so did I.

As I grew up I guess I learned from my peers and started calling her mom sometimes. But she still responds well to Ida. :)

I love many things about Ida, my mom.
I love that she has been completely devoted to her family over the years.
I love that she courageously took care of my father in his illness.
I love that she serves the Lord and follows His example of putting others first.
I love that she has been a friend to my friends. I think some of my friends like her more than they like me. I totally understand why.
I love that she has never lost touch with me or my interests and goals.
I love that she takes pride in what she has; she is a woman of class in many areas.
I love that she respects and serves her own mother, who I love dearly.
I love that she is optimistic for the future. I congratulate her on her recent re-marriage.
I love that she is amazingly talented. She cares for others.

I love that at the end of the day, we can chat like friends because we are friends. My best friend is Ida.

Happy Mother's Day to all women!

(Today's project is to get all these flowers plus a truckload more planted in Mom's soon-to-be beautiful yard)


p.s. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the grandmothers in my life.

Grandma Harper (my mom's mom) is amazing. I am so blessed to have her! I count the time we spend together (such as last night when we both got stomach aches from scarfing down a bag of popcorn) as precious. She is the most genuine person I know and I respect her immensely.

Grandma Bertha (my dad's mom) is pretty dang cool too. Her red-lipstick kisses are the best. When I'm with her I know she really cares. She's sick in the hospital right now so I am praying for her quick return to health.

Deb (my dad's step mom), is amazingly talented. I went to a play she directed last night and was blown away. She is always willing to sacrifice HOURS of her time to help others express themselves creatively. Most recently, she directed the Youth Cultural Celebration for the dedication of the Twin Falls LDS Temple. Her efforts with thousands of young people paid off; the show was amazing! In addition to all this she provided the cheese, bread, Miracle Whip and Lays for the "lazy man sandwich" that was the lunch staple for me and my friends in 10th grade. Thanks!

Wow. That was so much better than exercising. I think I left my running shoes in Provo anyway.

It's been a long time, sunshine

It is SO BEAUTIFUL here in Provo. As I was outside enjoying the sun with some friends, I mentioned how much I love Spring. I said, "Everything is like a baby." And they laughed.

OK. Maybe this is a funny way to look at it, but it works for me. All the flowers are new (and baby-like), the trees have new leaves and the birds sing in the morning again.

I love fresh starts. It's a miracle to see how the earth starts anew after a long season of dreariness and dormancy. The good news is that we have opportunities for new starts quite often.

At this time of transitions, I hope everyone I love ends up doing the things that make them happiest; I wish you all a great new beginning.

Working weekend

It felt so good to finish finals. This semester was very good for me; I learned many new things and expanded my skills greatly. After weeks of studying and working on projects it was good to get my hands dirty this weekend.

First project: unloading 3 Layers of Heaven

The house we've lived in for the last year has been really good to us. One benefit it provided was plenty of storage space. But ample storage space isn't good when it's time to move out. WHAT A MESS! I didn't realize how large the house was until it was time to clean it. It was especially hard because Mattheu from England, our property manager, is very particular in his cleaning inspection.

On my way home to Idaho I was able to help my friend conduct some focus groups. It was a good experience once we got "un-lost." Sometimes Google maps are wrong, I guess.

Second project: renovating Aubry and Trevor's new house

My sister Aubry and her husband Trevor just bought a house in Heyburn, ID. I'm so proud of them for their growedupness. The house was quite "fixer-upper" when they began, but with a week or so of hard work and lots of help, it looks AMAZING now. It was good to spend a few days helping them out. Here's a bead board wainscot I put up in the kitchen.



I didn't, however, touch the wiring.



It is good to be at home, but now it's time to head back to Provo and real life. I look forward to a fun summer there!

In Loving Memory

Today I’m thinking about my amazing father. This day marks the fourth anniversary of his death. Dad was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when I was twelve years old and fought a courageous battle with the disease for ten years until he eventually could fight no more.


Although I admit I occasionally felt sorry for my situation when I was young, I am truly grateful now for the experience of watching my father face his trial with faith and determination. The positive attitude he maintained, in spite of his tremendous struggle, taught me more than I could have learned from him had he been a “normal” dad in good health.

When someone we love dearly passes on, they are not completely removed from us; there’s a part of them that remains as part of who we are. Although our faith teaches our hearts they are spiritually alive in a place superior to the earth, we still long to be with them again. The miracle in all of this is that as we emulate the qualities we admired in our loved one we help their legacy continue. We can help do the things they desire to have done on the earth--the things they would do if they were permitted to stay here longer.

The other day this song randomly popped up as I was listening to Pandora Internet Radio (this is just a version I found on YouTube):



I think it’s important for us to remember that those who have died aren’t gone to us. They live on in the world of spirits, waiting anxiously (as are we) for our joyous reunion. They are doing important work.

I know we can have special moments that help us feel connected to them. I love the quote from Scottish Poet James Barrie that President Monson always says:

“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.”

During the hard times—the “December”—days I hope we can all remember our blessed memories that we hold sacred. I am so grateful for the memories God graciously allowed me to create with my inspirational father. I hope to use those memories of his strong character to pattern my life after.

To do: blog

I've been a bad blogger lately.

With final exams and projects, it's hard to find time to post. I guess I should put my blog on my to-do list.



I know that some people are huge fans of making lists. I'm usually not one of them. But lately I have had to to keep track of everything I'm supposed to be doing. Hint: Gmail has an amazing to-do list; look in labs.

The downside to making lists is that at the end of the day, sometimes you are dissatisfied with the number of items you checked out that day. Some days, however are super-productive. Yesterday was one of those days.

Because hardly anyone was on campus, I was able to focus really well. I love my newsroom friends and buddies from the Brimhall building a lot, but sometimes I spend more time chatting than working. Whatever.

It feels great to tie up loose ends. It feels great to reach the culmination of a semester of learning and growth. I feel blessed to have learned from amazing professors this semester. I also am so privileged to have made some wicked sweet new friends.

I guess I can check another great semester off my list of things to do. (If I survive finals, that is)

Weekend Eve

The day before Christmas = Christmas Eve.
The day before the weekend = weekend eve.
The day before the start of Easter weekend = today. Blessed day.

I can't tell you how excited I am for it to be the weekend. This has been one of those crazy weeks.

And it started on Sunday. It was great to be inside the Conference Center to hear the inspired messages from amazing leaders.

Here are some of my favorite quotes, as written in my article:

“One of the greatest consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path alone we do not have to do so,” Elder Holland said. “His solitary journey bought great company to us for our little version of that path.”

“Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are,” Elder Holland said.

It was great to have the transcripts of the talks to follow along with because I could hear and read the messages simultaneously.

Monday turned out to be a crazy day too. It all started when I picked up a copy of the newspaper and saw the worst possible typographical error on the front page. Under a picture of the Quorum of the Twelve it said, “Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostates and other general authorities raise their hands in a sustaining vote. . . .”

That's right. "Apostates."

Now that would be a relatively minor mistake on any other campus, but here at BYU it was a big deal, considering the relationship between the people whose title was misspelled and the university.

Immediately the thousands of newspapers were pulled off the newsstands. The department wanted to take quick action so I was assigned, with my good friend, to write a story to be posted online as soon as possible explaining the situation.

Here's the link to the article: http://newnewsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/72090

I hoped, for the sake of the department and university, the story about the mistake wouldn't spread. But it was picked up and written about by many news outlets and is now all over the web and other media.

The week has been crazy since then. The end of the semester is a hectic time. On this day of Passover, I am very excited for Easter. And not just because it is on a weekend.

Spring Break

This time of year is great for many reasons. The weather is starting to get nicer (or at least that's how it is supposed to be), the grass is getting green and school is wrapping up for the semester. But with the end of the semester comes lots of work and stress.

Most students have a spring break that lets them get away from the stresses of school for a bit and provides a renewed energy to finish the term. BYU doesn't.

These last few weeks have been hectic at school and I was going CRAZY! But a couple of things the last few days have been a mental spring break of sorts and helped me get my sanity back.

On Thursday, my roommates and I decided to go to Salt Lake. We went to the temple and the film "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration."

It was so good to be in such a place of serenity and beauty for a couple of hours. I turned my cell phone off as I entered the temple, and was completely free to focus on spiritual things. It was a great opportunity to re-evaluate my priorities in life. Of course, after it was all over it was a drag to turn my cell phone and see missed text messages and voice mails. I'm in the middle of a fund raising campaign right now and am constantly contacted by confused students. Aah!

The movie was fantastic and helped me realize my trials are pretty insignificant compared to the ones my ancestors faced. I am truly blessed.

But the "spring break" didn't end on Thursday. The LDS General Conference started today. I spent 6 hours listening to inspired messages that helped me feel closer to the Lord.

For the Priesthood session, we went to a nearby church building. Because there is such a high concentration of Mormons in my neighborhood, the place was filled to capacity with people watching the satellite broadcast. The only seats we could find were in an interesting place.

This place was the one room we knew wouldn't be full of men: THE MOTHER'S LOUNGE.









I guess you can tell from the pictures that we had "filling" experience, both spiritually and physically. The talks were amazing, and so were the chairs. I am excited to be at the Conference Center tomorrow to cover the event for The Daily Universe. Yes, the fun continues.

A good day

So, today started out as "one of those days." When my alarm went off at 5:45 this morning, I had little motivation to get out of bed. But I put on my gym clothes and headed to my car.

And it was covered with snow.

I really am not anti-snow, but at this time of year? Come on! While cleaning off my windows, I broke my little scraper thing.

"Dangit," I thought. Today is going to stink.

But things got better. I was able to spend lots of focused time in the newsroom and knocked out a few articles. I'll have one tomorrow about Obama's trip to Europe and another about a book drive a student is doing. (newsnet.byu.edu)

I also got my media credentials to General Conference. I am so excited to have the opportunity to have unique access to the amazing event, and report on it for students to read in the newspaper. I hear there's a special media room backstage along with opportunities to get pretty close to the action. Don't worry; I'll blog about it Monday.

After not eating all day, I was so glad that I ordered TONS of pizza for our Public Relations Student Society activity.

Tonight, we had our elections for next year. This past year I served as vice president of fund raising. I ran to become the president of the organization for next year--and won.

I'm excited to have a chance to serve with a great group of people on the executive board who were elected tonight. It feels like I am in high school again because I have lots of friends in my major who I work with very closely.

Best news of all: I'm going to San Diego. That's where our first conference of the year will be held. As I sit here in my now wrinkled shirt and loosened tie, I'm glad that a day that starts out snowy and miserable can turn out with sunny and warm prospects.

Taking the plunge

"Do you have a blog?" my friend Courtney asked the other day.
"Do you have experience monitoring a blog?" a potential employer inquired.
"How's your online presence? Do you have a personal blog?" a mentor wondered aloud.
"Do you write and publish your thoughts often?" an author of an advice article posed.
"Do you keep a journal?" someone asked at church.

The answer to all of the above: NO!

I'm sick of saying, "No," so here it is. My very own blog. Yes, Abram is blogging.

Now everyone has a different concept of what a blog is to be used for. Some use it to showcase their "cute" babies and family happenings.



Others use it for business.



And some people use it to promote a cause.



Even though I'm not married, don't own a business, and am not promoting a cause, I still have something to write about: LIFE.

I hope you enjoy my debut in the blogosphere, what I think is an important part of our social media landscape. Stay tuned for random thoughts, social commentary and maybe some fun. I promise I won't post any more ugly baby pictures. At least for a while.