-So this last week was pretty much amazing, it's probably what Heaven will be like. Hung out with family all week and spent several hours on the jet ski. Gosh I love that thing.

-LeBron made too much of a deal announcing on ESPN that he was leaving Cleveland to go to Miami. It is definitely insulting to the city of Cleveland to announce it that way. But the Cavs owner has been dumb saying he guarantees the Cavs will win before the Heat...yeah right! And then Jesse Jackson has to be dumb and bring race into everything. Pretty much everybody is acting dumb with this whole situation.

-Excited for college football

-Me and Em have both been trying to figure out everything- what are we supposed to be doing. Lotsa questions. You ever heard that story where the fisherman spends his time fishing in the mornings, hanging out with the kids and wife the rest of the afternoon and evening and then plays guitar with his friends at night. A banker comes along and says how he has a Harvard MBA and can help the fisherman buy giving him a loan to purchase a fleet of boats which will make him a few million. The fisherman asks how long that will take, the banker says 15-20 years, the fisherman asks and then what, banker: then you'll have millions of dollars, fisherman: then what? banker: then you'll be able to retire and spend your time fishing in the mornings, spending time with your family in the afternoons and evenings, and play guitar with your friends at night.

Lol, it's a funny story, our elders quorum teacher told the story this last Sunday and just got me thinking about things. A few months ago in a Priesthood training, the stake president told us to always remember that your job is just that...a job, it's not your life, it's not "your work." Your work is your family and doing the Lord's work. I'm trying to figure out a lot of things right now, one difficult part about running your own business is that it becomes more of your life. It's tricky to not let that happen. But the absolute best thing, I think, about running your own business is the flexibility. I'm able to just take off and do service in the middle of the day, or do random things because of that flexibility. Tons of tradeoffs! I've read quite a few biographies about Sam Walton, Jack Welch, and Walt Disney...all good guys who worked hard and really benefitted the world with the businesses they built up, but the downside is that their job was their life. Their family lives suffered in my opinion. That's a tradeoff I'm not willing to make. Balancing life priorities is tough, especially when you add in Church service and having fun. That entrepreneurship bug is definitely in me, and I can't go back to not trying to start up things, but sometimes I envy an 8-5 job because it's a job, not your life. Anyway, just some random thoughts as we are trying to figure out things. I doubt I'll have things figured out anytime soon, but I think day by day I'm figuring it out a little bit more.

America the Beautiful



America, Sweet America, God shed his grace on thee, and Crown thy good with Brotherhood, From Sea to Shining Sea



I'm excited to come home. I love America.

I feel like I have so much to do when I get back to Provo. I have a few businesses I want to start and either want to start a NGO or get HELP to do a teacher training program. I want to start something that can sponsor kids to go to school in Uganda. I also need to get two computers for organizations in Gulu and one digital camera.

So many things have happened the last two months. It has been one life-chaning adventure after another. Hopefully Provo won't be too boring. But there's a lof of fun things happening- rafting the Snake, camping adventures, family reunions, Zion's National Park, weddings, jet skiing, etc. So yeah, I take it back, Provo won't be boring. There's so much I want and have to do.

This trip has been everything I wanted it to be and more. I feel like it's springboarding me into what and how I want to become.

I'll write about the last couple days later when I'm back. There's so much to write about. I am so physically, spiritually, and emotionally exhausted right now. It's been a mini-mission almost the past couple days. I've visited so many investigators, new members, and members. It's just been a rollercoaster, some people doing really well, some people unfortunetely not doing too well. I feel really helpless for those that aren't doing that well. Sundays were always rough days on the mission because people wouldn't come and stuff....today was a lot like that. Yesterday was so special having family prayer and scripture study with a family I taught...and then watching Spiderman 3 in a slumber party.

Tot ziens Nederland, Mweraba Africa! Hello America!

1st part of blog:

Dear 2007,

Hello, I am going to own you! You are my year. I have to admit, you have a lot to live up to. 2006 was amazing! I had high expectations for that year and 2006 exceeded them. I have a lot in store for you, so be ready for a crazy time. Ya know, you will be my favorite if you help me with keeping my resolutions the whole year not just the first couple months. I have some other goals that I'm hoping you help me reach. Thanks for not letting me be that lazy so far, but it's only been 3 days so you can't brag too much. Thanks for the snow back home and for helping us get back to Utah so speedily. I'm liking you so far.

So here are a couple things you're going to do for me: run a marathon; write everyday in my journal; better and longer Gospel study sessions; going to Holland, Germany, Africa; lots of camping trips and going jet skiing; learn basics of Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic; straight A's; good GRE score; better of idea and plans of the future; I have a honeymoon package lined up, so any help in that area would be appreciated; stay in contact with people from mission and back home friends; a little help in the money area would be tight; a couple other personal things; and anything else that you want to throw at me.

Don't go by too fast, lately all the other years have and it's been driving me crazy. What do you have in store for the world? Is the Israel-Paletine situation going to improve? Is Mitt Romney going to be the leading presidential candidate? What's the situation going to be like in Iraq? I know you don't have complete control over this, but if you could stop world hunger, global poverty, international disputes and a number of other things, you'd make a lot of people happy.

Be good to my friends and family. So far nobody really close to me has died or been severely injured. I'm not always sure what my friends or family want from you, but can you give it to them? They've all been there for me all those other years, so do what you can to help them be happy. Do you take bribes?

Good start with the Boise St. game. Here's a list of things that I'd like you to do:
-Jazz with the NBA finals
-White Sox with the World Series
-49ers make the playoffs
-BYU basketball goes far in the NCAA tournament
-BYU goes undefeated in football and plays for the National Championship.

Wow, if you allow all these things to happen while you're around, you'll be all-time favorite.

Sincerely,
Kasey Beck

PS- If you see your buddy, 2006, tell him thanks again for a great year.


2nd part:

I really don't have that much to say. We got in yesterday around 2. We drove all night after the Boise State game. Holy cow! That was amazing; I became a Boise St. fan! I can't believe they won it on 3 trick plays...all of them when the game was on the line. Well, I'm not sure if I'm going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. The company that I was going to go through up'd the price by $200 more than what's on the web site. But some people I'm going with are looking into climbing Mt. Kenya, so we'll see. So I've gotten a couple syllabi for my classes, I'm already stressed about next semester, I'll have several 12-14 pg. research papers.

It was good being home- being with family, seeing old friends. We played lots of basketball and dodgeball and then we got snow on new year's eve...it was awesome, even though it kept some people from coming to our party. Mallori and Laci came over, we talked for hours with them. Me, Sky, Trevor, and Travis played basketball. It was like old times, Dragons vs. Eagles. The Dragons (me and Travis) once again reinforced our superiority by beating them 2 out of 3 games.

I'm auditing Spanish this semester so I gotta start practicing Spanish again. Me gusto jugar al futbol americano. Mi llamo es Kasey, mi familia es loco.

I'm in Councilina's office right now. Nobody came today. She thinks that nobody likes her anymore.
Had practice with my 8th graders last night. I ran them all night! They're cool with it though, cause they understand that they need to be conditioned because there's only 7 of them and they have 40 minute games. We'll see how it'll go, I'm kinda worried about their season though cause a few of them don't know how to play basketball.
Plutonium 210 is popping up everywhere in Britain. It killed the former Russian spy and now a former Russian Prime Minister is very sick and some think he was poisoned as well. Scotland Yard is speculating that there is a Russian hit team doing all this. Russia has really struggled with democracy since the fall of communism. It kind of depends on the next election. Will Vladimir Putin give up power? Will he continue the trend and try to appoint his successor? It's all very intriguing.
Holy cow that was a good game!! 33-31. I still get choked up thinking about it.
I don't think I've ever rejected candy in my life. Nor brownies. Nor ice cream.
I'm thinking about taking Arabic next semester. It would be really sweet.
Carrie's laptop is playing a Kalai song. Whenever we hear it we think of when we drove through Dixie State Forest when we took a trip to the Navajo Indian Reservation about a year and a half ago.
I have to watch Malcolm X and Red Dawn for my history class. Both should be exciting. I also really want to see Paradise Now, a movie about Palestinian Terrorist bombers and their motivations. I've heard good things about it.
Agent Jane: the chicken is in the pot.

Aufwiedersehen, au revoir, hasta luego, tcau, tot ziens!

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving" -W.T. Purkiser

I feel like I should write in here although I don't really know what to say. Maybe I'll just say what I'm thinking right now. I was invited to participate in a program/conference on diplomacy in China this summer. It's really expensive but it would be an incredible experience. It would be good for my resume and I think it would help me jumpstart a career in diplomacy, government, international development, or whatever it is I want to do with my life. Lately things have been happening with my major, classes, and other things that are kind indicating the direction of my career. I think it would be incredible to actually be involved with something where I could help improve the world cause that's what I want to do with my life. But things could happen where I'd have to live in a big city and possible 50-60 hour work weeks. There's kind of two sides battling in my head: do I want to have an intense political career? or do I want the simple life? I wish I could have both where I do world-changing work from 8-5 and then go to my simple home in the suburbs, and play with my family the rest of the night. I really just want to be an awesome dad, always coming home with a flower for my wife and candy for the kids, wrestling with them all, etc. I think my marriage prep class is getting me to think of all this now more than anything. But I still feel like Heavenly Father has given me certain talents that He expects me to use to help others.

A recent survey was released that only 30% of people our age in the U.S. are happy, while nearly 80% or so of the people are happy living in Africa and other third world countries. Here are some other stats:

800 million people go to bed hungry every day.

Over 1 billion people live on less than $1 a day with nearly half the world's population (2.8 billion) living on less than $2 a day.

20% of the population in the developed nations, consume 86% of the world’s goods.

There are so many people with so little. My problems are nothing compared to theirs, and yet I complain everyday about little things. I've been blessed with so much. I personally need to do better at being grateful for what I do have. I need to do better at showing God and others my love for them. I have lots of good examples in my life of people who give selflessly. All God wants is for us to love Him and His children. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

BLOGGING IT UP!!

First of all, how do I publish a title?

I have a rule that I will try to always abide by in my blogging action: If I have a problem with someone, I will talk to them, I'm not going to post it on my blog. So nobody should ever think that I'm trying to hurt them or that I have any other hidden meanings in my blog. I'm going to try to live up to that 100%.

"Having said that"... <~~~~nobody ever told me what the ... is called.

Apparently R22 thinks I know nothing about girls...although I proved last spring that I knew more than my sister did about a certain girl subject. Maybe they should give me "lessons on girls."

The next two weeks I have a couple blinde dates lined up, maybe I should ask out one of Chelsea's friends. In my defense about not having called her, when I try hooking people up, I arrange a double date or something and then I make sure it's cool with the two people I'm hooking up and then I have the guy call the girl a couple days before. That's how I thought hooking people up should happen. There are a couple of girls I'm interested in. I'm a pretty private person though, so I think that's why I don't really tell people about my life.

I'm a big planner and am always planning my life. Here's the latest plans: go winter semester, take French, go spring semester-take fun classes and Spanish, do an internship in Africa, come back for Fall semester, Winter semester of 08 do the D.C. seminar, graduate in April 08, get a good summer job and then go to graduate school (hopefully out East) and get a masters in public administration and another in International Affairs, and then land a D.C. government or interest group job, and then after 10 or so years move back to Iowa and get involved in local politics.

Jared should get back together with Erika. I think we should plan a little ahead and go camping in southern Utah in November-Decemberish when there aren't any good football games. We should also plan on going to Temple Square during Christmas season.

I actually really enjoy this whole R22-F6 thing. I hope everyone else does too.