Last night I helped wrap up some presents for kids that are waiting to be put into foster care. I recently read these statistics on KSL: "The Utah Department of Human Services found 37 percent of kids who aged out of foster care over their five-year study were arrested within three years. None of them finished college. Half of them received food stamps."

This morning, Flying J Inc - the parent company of the bank I work for- filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Shortly after we had a bank-wide meeting about this, I read an article about Dubai.

So all this has me wondering - what in the world is going on in this world? All these children without parents, company after company falling apart... And the building of an under-water "ten star" hotel? Such a strange imbalance.

I guess that's how it's always been. It's just never been so in-your-face to me before.

Blog.1

Never again will I sit in a classroom.

Holy crap. How depressing.

I love being a student. Going to school has been my profession for the past 18 years. Now, all that is left of my career is a capstone project. Then I'm a graduate.

Graduate. That's such a big kid word. And I'm just little, aren't I?

What on earth am I to do with myself?



Well, I know the first thing I'm going to do. London. Followed by Paris. Then Amsterdam, Heidelberg, Lucerne, Venice, Rome, Florence, Barcelona, Madrid, Provence, the French Riviera and Monaco.

Paid the downpayment on Sunday. And I was so excited about it being official that I screamed. Yes, out loud.


Here's the problem:

Life Plans
1. See Phantom of the opera on broadway in Manhattan: Check.
2. Get a bacholor's degree: Four months from now that'll be - Check.
3. Go to Europe: Five months from now and it's - Check.

. . .

Well shoot dang, there were only three.

The probable number four is to get married, but good heavens, I'm much too young- and, to be honest, too selfish- for that.
The only logical next step then is a career, but I have no idea what I want to do. Yes, even with a degree, I still have no idea.

Yet I don't want to return from Europe only to be an aimless floater.

I hope something will present itself.

And whether something presents itself or not, I'm going to have some big kid decisions to make.