Brent on Politics

Being home has provided us with a very unique opportunity to hear the thoughts of many people on the recent political goings on. One such person is the infamous political commentator, Brent Gilliland. Barely five years old, Mr. Gilliland has made a name for himself in the political world with his catch phrase "I'm not listening!"
Below is an interview with Mr. Brent Gilliland on the politicians, President Elect Barack Obama, and Senator John McCain. Please note that the views expressed in this interview are NOT necessarily the views of Bryan, Tanner, Barack Obama, John McCain, Brent's parents, blogspot, OPEC, the internet, the Whig Party, Walmart, or Taco Bell.

TB (Tanner and Bryan) : Brent, will you tell us about Obama?
BG (Brent Gilliland): Obama makes gas cost a lot.
TB: IN your opinion, what does Obama want to do?
BG: He wants to take over the whole city.
TB: The whole city?
BG: He wants to take over the whole city. And he just wants take over every house. And he is building mouses to get inside the house and light it on fire.
BG: Thank you Brent. I think we should move on. Tell us about John McCain.
BG: McCain just wants to find Obama. He doesn't like him. He just wants to put him in jail.
TB: Thank you Brent, I think we're out of time.

That Brent is the most intense 5-year old we've ever met. Other quotes from him include:
"[My sister] Tess is only 7 years old. My whole family thinks she's 8, but she's not"

"What's 9 plus 2?... 92!" and finally,

"They are not called Fritos! They are called Mac-neetos!"

Song of the Appendix

I sit here now, I can not walk
Yet about my story I must talk
It started some time Friday night
When my stomach hurt, 'twas no delight
The whole next day I lied in bed
"There is no peace in my gut" I said
Round six o'clock I think it was
I made my way through the city buzz
And stopped inside the emergency room
A solemn place of constant gloom
The doctor came and looked at me
Then placed his hands on my tummy
He smiled and said "It's sure enough"
I nodded back and acted tough
Appendicitis was the causation
The surgery room my destination
With an IV in for rehydration
And a gurney for my transportation
They prepped me for the operation
That would remove the inflammation
What happened next is hard to tell
I woke up feeling pretty swell
And since then I have recovered
No more problems were discovered
They sent me home, that's where I am
Instead of taking my exams

We're Not Doctors But...

We have a peculiar knack for accurate diagnoses. After exhaustive testing, keen observation, and countless hours of recording and analyzing data, we have come to the expert conclusion that there is an extreme case of SSFSS (Severe Stress From School Syndrome), commonly known as The Jenkins, rampant on campus. Our colleagues inform us that this syndrome is not confined to this campus alone, but is prevalent in many institutions of education around the world. Here is an excerpt from our scientific journal:
Monday, November 24
Test subject is rolling around the room. She(or he. We don't disclose the identity of our test subjects without written consent) is perpetually switching from an exceedingly giddy mood into a lugubrious stupor. The subject is always on the brink of tears, not particularly out of sorrow, but from the overwhelming feeling of inability to meet the demands of a rigorous schedule. Subject is very jumpy and scares very easily. Subject is aware of the need to do homework. Subject apparently finds doing homework impossible. Subject is overwhelmed by a clicking noise coming from subject's computer. Subject is getting frantic because too many people are trying to talk. End Journal.

Chances are that until this semester ends, you may see someone you love with The Jenkins. You can recognize the Jenkins by these common symptoms:

-restlessness
-severe lack of sleep
-overemotional
-extreme elation followed by extreme sadness
-feeling overwhelmed
-unfocusing or bloodshot eyes
-spontaneous spewing of memorized information
-fingernail sensitivity
-fear of getting called the wrong name
-Reading without comprehension
-Inability to do mathematical equations

One of Your Favorite Hymns

Today in Sacrament Meeting instead of talks, we had sort of a musical testimony meeting. Anyone could get up and talk about a favorite hymn and then the congregation would sing a verse or two from the chosen song. The meeting was very enjoyable and we thought how much we'd like to hear more about people's favorite hymns. We soon realized that our blog would be a perfect way for that to happen. So, here it is. Please share with us your one of your favorite hymns. If it's not too personal, you could also share the reason why it is one of your favorites (We say "one of" because we're sure that everyone has many favorites).

I'll start off. One of my favorite hymns is All Creatures of Our God and King. On days when I am filled with the Spirit the whole world seems to testify of God and His love for me and I feel like singing "Allelujiah" with the rest of creation. It is a triumphant song of praise.

It's not BYU, but...

We still get some amazing speakers here at EA. Craig C. Christensen of the First Quorum of the Seventy (He gave a talk in General Conference last April called A Book With a Promise) with his wife, as well as the Tucson Mission President and his wife, addressed the Gila Valley young single adults in a fireside last night.
Elder Christensen spoke about the importance of having the Spirit and being able to discern the messages we are given. Why does the Spirit have so many names? Because it has so many functions.
President Walker talked about passing The Test. It's not about lessons and it's not about meetings. It's about living the Gospel of Jesus Christ every day. What is good knowing about Christ if we don't know Christ?

I hope everyone in Arizona enjoyed last week's Stake Conference Broadcast. It made me grateful to live in THE Valley. Life is good!


We also visited with another noteworthy person yesterday. His name is Tom Rose and he is over a hundred years old. He is a billionaire who says he's going to die broke because he's giving it all to charity. He's told me twice that I should go to Hollywood and become and actor. I don't know. What do you think Mom and Dad? Should I quit college to make movies? :)
Here's an article about our friend Tom: http://www.eacourier.com/articles/2008/08/28/lifestyle/doc48b499e489fc8350853871.txt

Tanner's Poem

My Friend Procrastination

What sayest Thou is man's best friend?
If thou thinketh it the dog,
Thou hast better guess again
For of truth, says I
His greatest friend must be
The one that ever beckoneth
to man, both me and thee
It's name is Procrastinate
And a handy friend it be
Whilst burdened by my labors
It always setteth free
To me it speaketh good things
"Thou hast more time indeed"
And with my chores forgotten
I draw or sleep or read.
Yet always it becometh
That my time is somehow spent
And regretteth I that costly gift
That my friend so kindly lent

Men such as I spend their days
To entertain such friends as he
Blinded to that the fact that now
He hath become their enemy
They putteth off their work
to sleep and dance and play
Saying "I will save the work
for a far-off future day"
Yet much sooner than expected
The day at last will come
The bell will ring the fat lady sing
and their toes will all feel numb
Surely one amongst them
will with emotion say
"I had not time to do the work,
Please grant another day."

On and on the story goes
of men who procrastinate
Who setteth aside their labor
for chance to recreate
Their fields are never plowed
Their houses never cleaned
Their knowledge never furthered
Their vineyards never gleaned
Their dreams never realized
Their songs are never sung
Never are their fortunes found
Their races never won
Their repentance is delayed
Their good name is diminished
They leave this world without their mark
Their poems are never

A Fan Meets Tanner and Bryan

Tonight we got see Jon Schmidt, live in concert. Even our highest expectations were surpassed. Not only was he an amazing pianist with an incredible ability to improvise, he was also a quality entertainer. We thought we had seen the extent of his antics when he played a song whilst laying on his back with his arms crossed. However he surprised us by playing songs with everything from his head to his elbows to his feet. He danced, sang, performed a feat of magic and finished the encour with a backflip off the stage! What a guy. If anyone ever has the chance to see him, we highly recommend it.
On our way out of the building we noticed Jon signing cds near the doors. Luckily our friend Joyce had a camera. You know, a lot of people try to sneak a picture with Jon Schmidt while he autographs. It's not every day that he gets caught trying to sneak a picture with somebody else.

Raising Campus Awareness

On my way to class I saw a group of kids gathered in front of the AP Building. My insatiable curiosity brought me closer where I noticed a microphone, speakers, and a banner that said "Soap Box." Apparently the microphone was set up so that anyone could get on the "soap box" and say whatever they wanted. A girl recognized me and asked me to say something. I just couldn't let the opportunity pass. I grabbed the microphone and then started talking about the first thing that came to my mind: Dinosaurs. My speech went something like this:
"Dinosaurs are extinct, right? Wrong. Dinosaurs are well and alive but their existence is kept secret by our government who wants to keep us in ignorant submission so that they can keep their congressional funding for hoaxes like 'global warming.' Did you know that dinosaurs cause .013% of all fatal car accidents in the U.S. alone?
We CDRs, or Certified Dinosaur Wranglers (I know Wranglers doesn't start with an R. CDW already stands for Celtic Disk Wobblers, so we couldn't use it), are trying to raise awareness so that we can put a stop to dinosaur attacks on the general public. The other day I came across a wreck that had all the signs of a dinosaur attack: skid marks, broken glass, and twisted metal. I walked up to the Police officer in charge and told him, 'I know this looks like a typical wreck, but I know it was a dinosaur attack. I believe I have jurisdiction in this case.' I showed him my badge and he had me escorted off the scene. This is EXACTLY the behavior we CDRs are trying to get rid of. Everyone, please continue to raise Dinosaur Awareness so that we can protect our people!"
Special thanks to CDR Matt Loper who first brought the dinosaur threat to my attention.

I think the kids liked it.

We Know a Guy who knows a Guy

While we were in Flagstaff we had the pleasure of attending our home ward again. To keep with tradition, we went to Priests Quorum to see our friend and leader Brother Dillon. Apparently we aren't the coolest people who have visited him.

Looks Like Tanner's Going Fishing

On the way back from dinner tonight I recommended that we take the elevator instead of the stairs. I was singing and spinning my keys around my finger. Suddenly my keys flew off my finger and started sliding towards the open elevator. In the middle of saying "I hope those don't fall down the shaft" my keys slid through the crack in the door and down into the shaft.
My room mates, Joe and Ryan, were happy to help me out, providing me with yarn, a clothes hanger, and photo documentary of the event. After some quick preparations, including removing a magnet from the cabinet door beneath the sink, we set off to go fishing. At first it was hard because the magnet stuck to the shaft wall, but eventually I persevered and retrieved my lost keys. Hooray.

Helping Our Friend

Our friend Wendy fell asleep on our couch yesterday. We couldn't just leave her there all helpless and cold. So, we decided to cover her up. Has anyone seen the play version of Peter Pan? In the play, Peter and the Lost Boys sing a song while they build a house around Wendy. I couldn't resist singing:
"Let's be quiet as a mouse
And build a lovely little house
For Wendy
Oh for Wendy
She's come to stay"

We put all the community chairs around the couch, placed a mattress on top, and then draped blankets over the framework. To finish, we placed a sign that said "Do Not Disturb" on top.I think it was the heat inside the shelter that finally woke her up. Reports say that she awoke "confused, bamboozled, and bewildered."

Creative, or Just Plain Cheap?

Of all the expenses that college students have to pay, I think laundry outweighs them all. I just can't afford to do it anymore. So, after being ripped off by the broken clothes drier and then taking a look at my rapidly depleting treasury, I decided to take laundry into my own hands.... well, the drying portion of my laundry anyway(The chocolate river is no place to wash clothes, so I still have to pay to use our dorm's laundry facility). The result: an article of clothing hangs on every hangeable space on my side of room. I always wondered when that string would come in handy.

Resulting Story:
Clothes take a very long time to air dry so I have been very limited in my dress options. Today for instance, not having any socks, I wore some tan water sandals. Since I have no dry jeans, I wore blue basketball shorts. On top, I had a red shirt, and since it's cold outside (and inside) I had on my old faded flight jacket. The ensemble, I'm sure, is a hideous fashion No-No, besides the fact that shorts and sandals do little to keep me warm.
This evening we were walking with our friend Wendy in the chilly night air. Wendy, upon seeing me shiver with cold, said, "Well, what did you expect? You're wearing sandals!" I replied, "That's because I have no socks!" Suddenly Wendy burst out laughing. She realized that I was dressed this way because I had to. Apparently she thought my appearance was goofy because I had no fashion sense. It was really funny.

P.S. What's funnier is that I don't have any fashion sense. I would probably dress like this anyway, on a warmer day mind you.

Family Pictures

Considering that we won't be able to have a complete family portrait for another three years, my mom thought it was appropriate to get our family pictures taken while we were up for the weekend. Those who are familiar with the ritual of "Family Pictures" understand the massive struggle it is to get a whole family in matching clothes, in the car, and then to the set all in one piece. And that isn't even the hardest part. The major conflict is attempting to get ten people to smile at the exact same time. Needless to say, the photo shoot session ended in tears for a few of us.

Homecoming Surprise

We were excited to come back to school after our weekend in Flagstaff. Our sojourn at our home in the north lasted 3 days and we were a little worried about how our room mates were going to entertain themselves. Apparently, they had more fun than we anticipated. We entered our room only to see that all our furniture had been entirely rearranged to our absolute delight. Our joy was only matched by the joy that overcame Joe upon discovering that I got Dax's old cell phone.

Due for Haircuts

This weekend we're going back up to Flag to see Dax before he takes off to the MTC and then to Boston, Ma. Sure, seeing Dax will be nice and everything. After all, we won't see him for another 3 years (we leave in a year. Do the math). But what we're most excited for is........ Hair cuts! Our hairs haven't been cut since the day we moved here. Our shagginess demands that we get haircuts ASAP! Gotta keep the missionary look ;)


Note from the Editor:
Dear Readers,
It has come to my attention that some will read the post above and be exceedingly astonished that we would claim to be more excited for haircuts than to see our soon departing brother. Remember that the nature of this blog involves a little bit of humor. We aren't actually more excited for haircuts than Dax. A beard trim maybe, but certainly not haircuts.

Case of Missing Blog Post

Here's a question for any blog-savvy folks. Why are some of our posts disappearing? Remember the one of us in our work clothes, Dax going on a mission, Dad's house, and the one of us as farmers? What is happening?! Is our blog world collapsing? Please let us know if you have any information regarding the matter, or if you have money or food that you would like to give away.

This is a couple of our friends at a volleyball game. Enough said. As you can tell from the video, I'm always thinking about the blog. By the way, Bryan was working in the concession stand. Thus, he is not in the video

WARNING: I just realized how shaky and not fun this video is. Don't watch it if you are subject to dizziness, nausea, under the influence of alcohol, prescription or non-prescription drugs, operating heavy machinery, taming a stallion, watching a Suns game, or eating a Big Mac.

A Batch of Heaven

Yesterday was a day unlike any other in the history of Eastern Arizona College. It's called, "Christmas came early!" How, you might ask? Well, we looked in the mailbox and to our delight we found a package. What was in it? Nothing less than heaven rolled up in cinnamon and covered in frosting. Yes, Grandma Gunnell sent us a batch of her famous cinnamon rolls. Since we opened them, we've hardly eaten anything else. Thanks Grandma!

Tanner Has Culture

I just got back from El Grito... not actually sure what that means. It must mean "The Fun" because it was so fun. There was delicious FREE Mexican food, Mexican dancing (which I participated in), and so much Mexican Culture! I know I'm a gringo, but I have dark hair and I'm small, so I can kind of blend in. Arrrrrriba! Sometimes I wish I weren't a European mutt, but hey, what can you do?Some people back at home laughed at me for my love of Mariachi and Burritos Fiesta and such. To those people I say, "Look who's having fun at El Grito." Buenos Dias! That's Spanish for Good Dias!

Environmental Adventure

Every Tuesday for our Environmental Biology class we go on a field trip. Our teacher reminds us of Mr. Ray from Finding Nemo. Today on our adventure we saw a Gila Monster! I called out to him, "Gila Hank! We go to your school! Come back with us!" He didn't listen. Anyway, I think that's really cool since not many people get to see Gila Monsters. We also saw a millipede, but that's not as cool.

Institute Dance

Friday night was our first Institute dance. The theme was High School stereotypes. People pretty much took that to mean: Any group associated with High School. For example, Joe was a teacher, Ryan was a foreign exchange student, Bryan was a Prom King (not Burger King) and I was a Lunch Man. Our other friends in the picture are Preston (the soccer shirt guy sitting down), Joyce in the black, Wendy as an Emo kid, Adrianna as a Cowgirl (who is getting baptized in October), and Shelby as a Gangsta. We had more fun getting ready for the dance than actually being there. We ended up leaving early to go play Ultimate Frisbee which can be seen below.

The Game of Choice

Ultimate Frisbee. Oh yeah. We play this game at least once a week. Unfortunately it's too hot to play in the day so we play at night. It gets pretty intense some times. Tonight we happened to have our photographer friend with us to capture us in epic pose. No cut and paste in these pictures.

By the way...

Since it's so hot in Thatcher, they feel that they need to keep all the buildings at freezing temperatures. Our dorm room is so cold. I do my homework wrapped in a blanket. Bryan is loving it.

The Banquet

I (Tanner) just got back from a fancy scholarship scholarship banquet. I had to sit at Table 1 with the man giving me the scholarship. The whole thing reminded me so much of "What's Up Doc?" When I was introduced to the man, I saw his comb over and thought to myself "By the way, I love your hair." At one point I said, "Oh my goodness, there goes my napkin" when I accidentally dropped it. It was so funny. Too bad no one else was there to share in such a beautiful moment.
And just so everyone knows, "semi-formal" does NOT mean a polo and slacks! That's what I was wearing when I first walked in. I looked around at all these people in suits and got really scared. Luckily, I had enough time to run back to my room and grab a nice shirt and tie before the dinner started.

Our Environment

Okay, if you didn't realize before, we don't have a camera down here so most of our pictures have been somewhat fabricated, except for occasional shots taken by our roomates, or the ones I have in my email. That said, here is a picture of the "chocolate river" canal that runs directly behind our dorm building. We don't play in it much anymore since the Augustus Gloop incident.

Eagle Scout

For those of you who are unaware, I, Sir Tanner Michael Gilliland Esquire, was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout a little while back. Knowing that I wouldn't have a court of honor before I left for college, the generous and beautiful Matt Loper arranged a surprise court of honor at his house, complete with a campfire and his famous homemade rootbeer. What sold it for me was seeing Matt in his traditional native garb. On my finger is one of those eagles that balances on its beak. I know, I was amazed! I too thought they were all lost after the 90's. I know this post doesn't fit chronologically, but felt it should be included.

What brings you on this fine day to the EAC?

Today was our first day of class. It was actually not that bad. We like the small class sizes where we feel like actual people rather than just numbers. Our professors all seem very friendly and one even managed to get us excited for Environmental Biology! WOW!

the Middle of Nowhere

We are officially moved to Thatcher, Arizona, a tiny farming community in the middle of nowhere. But hey, we like it. Everybody is really nice, the food is sometimes delicious, and it is super hot compared to Flagstaff. We'll soon update everyone with info on our room, our roomates, and classes.

Dad's House

Dad's house is officially finished. Don't get too excited. It's not sold yet so we still don't get to do all the fun things that were promised "after the house sells."

Elder Gilliland

Dax just put in his mission papers and the internet shows that his letter has been sent. His call could come any time. Congratulations Dax!

Off To Work We Go

August 2 is our last day of work at the Continental Country Club Golf Course. Sad Day. But who knows, we might have time to work there again before our missions. The course has been good to us. It has brought us namely money, but also laughter, tears, and the great feeling of satisfaction from doing the same thing every day, not to mention free golf . We'll miss it.

After Graduation...

Things have been kind of crazy since graduation. We're trying to get everything done for college, earn mullah, hang out with friends and still enjoy non-stop ninja action. The summer has been great but we're very excited to move on to bigger and better things... as bigger and better as Thatcher gets. I'm sure we'll love it. The poor tiny town won't know what hit it.