michael jordan

So yesterday morning Hunter comes bounding into the room saying got a text from his friend Larson that Michael Jordan was going to be at the D-League basketball game in Orem last night. My initial reaction was a "Pfffftthahahaha okay, yeah, right, ha" but as the day wore on, rumors were flying that he really was going to be there to challenge Brian-whatever his name is, the ex-Jazz player, to a one-on-one game. The Flash owner had invited MJ to come and settle the score (whatever animosity they had between them) on the court and the winner would receive a $100,000 donation to the charity of his choice.

So 6:30pm rolled around and curiosity got the best of Hunter and me. We didn't want to miss out on a possible opportunity to see the big man himself, so we headed over to UVU. The traffic was HORRENDOUS around the arena. I mean just baffling, never seen anything like it. So our blood starting pumping...thinking there would be no other explanation for such an exodus to the lame Utah Flash basketball game. As we finally got a parking spot and headed into the arena, it was packed (probably 10x's more than I had ever seen at one of those games), and I overhead several anxious conversations about Michael Jordan possibly being there. At about 4 minutes until the half, a voice came on the loud speaker and the crowd went WILD as he announced that "BRIAN (whateverhisnameis) IS GOING TO BE PLAYING ONE-ON-ONE WITH MICHAEL JORDAN AT HALF TIME"....I was still in disbelief. Still skeptical, but Hunter was practically bouncing in his seat. 2 minutes until halftime, another announcement- "MICHAEL JORDAN IS HERE TO PLAY BRIAN WHATEVER!" People are going crazy. The guy in front of us was practically pulling his hair out. Then the clock runs out....its officially half-time...The lights go out...strobe lights and spotlights start swirling and Bulls music is blaring...I'm officially converted to being a believer. Every person in the arena had out their cameras and phones and were screaming, wide-eyed, waiting for the basketball legend to make a personal appearance for the good people of Utah Valley. After about 5 minutes of this build-up, Brian whatever comes out in his basketball gear and starts calling MJ out..."Come out come out where ever you are!" The crowd, as you can imagine, is deafening. It's unbelievable...Michael Jordan! Here!? Then suddenly...surrounded by 5 body-guards...OUT COMES MICHA--uhhh no> that is just a fat little black guy. Brian whatever: "Well, guess he didn't show up. See ya!" And the lights come back on, music stops, and the crowd goes silent. The court is cleared. Everyone is just standing there in shock, not willing to believe that the Flash would make such fools out of their patrons.

But well, it was true. Nothin'. And this story was just about as pointless as us going to that dumb Flash game and thinking we were actually going to see Michael Jordan. Bottom line: I am baffled how the Flash owner thought he could promote blatant LIES (the rumors were one thing, and I could understand if it stopped there, but the announcements? and the build-up? unforgivable) and get returning customers. You got me, Flash, you got me good. But are you going to get my business ever again? Most likely not.

It's funny because Hunter was SO excited I practically wanted to cry for him when MJ turned out to be a myth. But he cracks me up because he is still talking about how fun it was, even though we didn't really see his childhood hero. I do love this crazy husband of mine and his perpetual good attitude.

Everybody's Fine

I know that I don't write on this blog very often and I now Aubrey does a fantastic job of showing everyone what we are up to but I thought after last night I would post a blog for all to read. Last night Aubrey and I headed out across the street to the movie theater to watch what we believed was going to be a Christmas themed movie. We chose Everybody's Fine because Aubrey is a big fan of Drew Barrymore and it had a good cast (Robert DeNiro) and seemed to have a good trailer that we had seen from watching other movies. We walked in after getting our popcorn bucket filled and our Large Mr. Pipp (really enjoying the movies) and sat in our seats.

As the continual trailers for other movies played, I thought that we had come to a movie that might not be as good as I was hoping but I have to admit that I thought this movie was a top 5 for the year of 2009 that I have seen. I don't think Aubrey enjoyed it as much as I did but I really, really enjoyed it. Without trying to spoil the movie for others, the movie is basically about a widower father that has four children that live all across the country. He was a father that always pushed his children for success and always wanted them to have the best for themselves. Because of this they would tell their mother everything (bad things) and not him. One holiday when he all four of his children flaked on him he decides he will go to their homes and surprise them. He gets on a bus and train and shows up at his chilrdren's places hoping to surprise them. Each child acts excited to see him but then makes excuses of why he can't be there with them. He then leaves to go to the next child's house. While this movie didn't have the cheer and joy that I was hoping for from a Christmas movie it touched me in a way a movie hasn't in a long time. It was very heavy, even so much so that Aubrey said she liked it but likely would never want to see it again. The moral of story and what I got out of it could be entirely two different things but I thought the movie was attempting to portray that the most important thing is not how successful you are but rather that the most important thing is family. The movie had Aubrey and I walking out speaking how lucky and grateful we were for our family and how lucky we were to be put in a situation where we could succeed. I felt inspired enough by this movie that I thought I would even post a blog about it to publicly express my gratitude for my family and my new family. I am very lucky for the people that I have had in my life and for their influence on me and in this Christmas season, the most important thing is certainly family.... not items. Merry Christmas to all, and if you get a chance, go watch 'everybody's fine'.

marshall and buggies and murder mysteries

okay i figured i better post a quick update before we go to san diego, otherwise when we get back i will just be too overwhelmed with all the things we have done in my blogging hiatus and will just quit the blogging world all together. very quick update--here comes a poorly written, probably boring post.

i surprised hunter on his birthday and we drove down to mesquite, NV, where his favorite golf course Wolf Creek is. so we were there for the weekend, laid by the pool, ate crappy Mesquite food, and enjoyed the gorgeous golf course for like seven hours or whatever it was. i tried to be a good sport and kept myself occupied on the golf excursion by driving the cart, taking copious amounts of pictures, and chasing around chipmunks.

look closely at this picture!!! thats my little chipmunk friend Marshall, who looks like a little man. he ate out of my hand and even rode in the cart with us for a little bit. i miss him.

this golf course had just breath-taking views of the red rock canyon. i have a bazillion pictures.

of course our lives have also been filled with lots of football games. my dad and little brother came out for this game, which was lots of fun because we played Utah State, whose fans are as annoying as you can find anywhere. so it felt great to crush them, although not entirely satisfying because no matter what the scoreboard looked like they didn't get any less obnoxious

so then my birthday came around and hunter spoiled me! we went up to salt lake and checked into hotel Monaco, went on a romantic horse and buggy ride through a park, then went to dinner at the melting pot. it was the best day ever and he treated me like a princess. oh yeah- and did i mention he bought me a cruise for my birthday? !! its a mexican cruise in may of next year, so it will also be a celebration of our 1 year anniversary.

here is a pic of us on our cute little buggy ride.

my parents flew out to visit and look at some lots in Midway. it was so much fun to have them out here, i am pretty much obsessed with hanging out with my family- could NOT be more excited for Christmas. anyway, we went to this SUPER fun murder mystery dinner at a museum in Provo. my mom was a nerdy museum worker, hunter was a mexican government worker, i was an archeologist, and my dad was the museum owner. there were 8 other people playing the game, and i ended up guessing the exact people that were the criminals! no one else got it right. i am still very proud of myself.

i am also very proud of myself for fulfilling my goal of baking something new every sunday. this past week i made chocolate chip banana bread with walnut crumbles. it was very yummy, and so great because it stays moist and delicious for like 2 weeks after its made.

Okay that is about all that is new here with a&h. now i must go clean and pack. ciao.

they put rings on it.

Well it's official, this school semester has gotten the best of this blog. sorry! BUT I will take a break from my strict study schedule (imagine I pronounced that with an English accent, so "schedule" is pronounced "shed-yewl" because it sounds cooler that way) to announce and congratulate TWO dear friends on their engagements this past week!

Alyssa and Jake

Nate and Rachel

you guys are just really adorable couples and I am excited for you to join the world of marriage. get ready for adventure!

WOW! Sorry it has been so long since I blogged, but I actually have a very legitimate excuse. We have been internet-less. Tragic, I know, but also slightly refreshing. But now that the internet is back in my life, I owe you many updates as lots has been going on in the Hartman household. Surprise birthday trips down south, football games, haunted houses, murder mystery dinners, parents visiting, and Huntskie turning the big 2-5!!! So be looking for those to come soon.

In the meantime, I am currently working on an advertising campaign for a client that I cannot disclose, but one you have all heard of! It's a huge international client that produces products that I can guarantee most of you have in your home. Cool right?

Well I need your help. We composed a survey to get a little insight into the mind of the female consumer in regards to sunscreen. Just take 5 minutes out of your precious day and you will be entered to win one of several gift certificates to yummy places! Not to mention I will be forever indebted to you.

Go here:

https://byu.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_e5mfUZqCZY7jZNW&SVID=Prod

THANKS!

Terrible terrible terrible

Hunter is on the phone yelling at Comcast right now. They have wronged us is many ways and I am proud of him for standing up for us, poor victims of a cable monopoly. Go baby go!

Hunter

When Aubrey originally started this blog (which she has done a FABULOUS job on) she said that when either her or I posted a blog we would label our posts with either "Hunter" or "Aubrey", depending on the person that posted it. Well, considering this IS the first time I have posted on Aubreyandhunter.blogspot.com I will label my first post as "Hunter".

I know I am not a frequent poster here and I certainly am not as talented a writer as my beautiful wife is but I wanted to share an experience I had while I was in Phoenix this past week for work. As you know, I work with geriatrics and mobility related handicapped people. I was in Phoenix this past week working with a couple rookie reps that we have recently hired. They both are good reps that will have success. I went the second day with Cathy, a 57 year old woman that has been in the industry for awhile and is one of the most entertaining, crazy ladies I have EVER met. Anyways, she had a patient she got a referral for named Jose. Jose was an elderly man that only spoke spanish, and broken spanish at that because he had a stroke a couple years ago. Get this, everytime Cathy called Jose he would say he didn't speak english and hang up on her. Me, being a spanish translator in my day, called Jose. It just so happened that the Jose we continued to get was a DIFFERENT Jose than the one we were trying to reach. We had the wrong phone number. We had to talk to this guy before I left town because no one else speaks spanish in the Phx office. So we decided to just drive to the guys address in hopes of finding him.

Cathy and I managed to find the correct apartment for Jose. We talked to one of his neighbors who showed us where JOse lived. We knocked on the door and waited for 3-4 minutes for Jose to answer as we spoke to one of his friends Miguel in spanish. Cathy this entire time could not understand what we were saying. When Jose finally answered the door I started talking to him about what we were looking for him for, helping him get a new motorized chair. He said that his old one was not working and had hopes that he could get a new one and had been trying for a very long time. I started speaking my spanish with him, (which was the second time in months that I had done so, the first being the day before with another patient of the other rep). He told us how he was having such a hard time getting around his TINY apartment as he pushed his manual wheelchair to get to and from his bedroom to the living room we were in. The manual he was pushing must've been 10 years old and was something you would find at DI. When I told him that we could get him a new power chair he could use in his home and get around. He mumbled some broken spanish to me as he walked to his room to get me a phone number of a friend of his. As we continued to talk a little bit I told him that we would work through his dr to get him a power chair coverd competly through his insurance. This was when it really hit him, as he began to cry and cover his face with his hand. He was SO happy that we could get him a new manner of get around his home that he began to cry! As we said our goodbyes I realized how great of a job I really have. Not only do I have a stable, flexible job in this struggling economy but I have the opportunity to REALLY make a difference in people's lives. Hard to believe this comparison, but I felt that I was on a mission again and was leaving after a great discussion because of the way Jose reacted to what we had to say. I hope this isnt' taken the wrong way but it really hit me how lucky I am to have this great job and how lucky I am to have the many blessings that I have in my life. Jose was a 65 year old man who worked hard through his life and now lived in an apartment the size of my bedroom. He could hardly get from his bedroom to the front door and pushed his manual wheelchair as a walker to do so. An influential experience for me to see how the majority of America lives. Not only was it a good experience but it made me feel good that we could have an influence on the life of Jose. Que Bueno!