The Church purchased Intel’s facility in Riverton (Intel has been trying to sell it for a while) several months ago and I have been anxiously awaiting the finishing of the remodel so that we could move out here. That finally happened yesterday. I jumped in my car Monday morning and made the 5 minute drive over to work. It was wonderful. The building is fantastic. The Church did a great job engineering the building to create a great working environment. I have included pictures of the building below to show what it looks like. I am excited to finally be located in the same facility as many of the people I correspond with. Previously we were spread out in 4 buildings downtown and one building in Orem. The move will ease a lot of communication issues that we have had as well as allow our teams to work together more cohesively. When I used to work for Intel it was a dream of mine to actually sit with the team that I work with – now here at the Church I’ll have that chance.
Front of building – it has four floors and each floor is 80,000 square feet – each floor of the Church Office Building (COB) is around 20,000 square feet so this building roughly represents 16 floors of the COB (the COB has 27 floors total I believe). We have a data center in there (not the data center though), lab space, plenty of storage, and a cafeteria.
the building is called the Riverton Office Building or the ROB for short – while ROB might seem a little odd – it was better than the alternative. There is a building near Temple Square called the North Office Building or NOB and since this is South some speculated it would be the South Office Building, but that acronym is worse than ROB so we’ll be happy with the name as it is.
Lighting is a little rough, but here you can see we have a cube bay which holds 6 people and then in the middle is an enclosed war room or team room with a projector and plenty of white boards for collaboration. On the other side of the team room is another 6 person cube bay and both sides share the team room.
My cube is on the left and on the right is my team’s bay (called Stack Town because all either work on our .NET Stack or our Java Stack).
this is what we call a Creative Work Area – it is a place to get away – relax, think, read, etc… – they are positioned strategically throughout each floor and our a great addition.
All in all – I love the new building and am excited to work in it!
“A familiar example of losing ourselves in the service of others—this one not unique to Latter-day Saints—is the sacrifice parents make for their children. Mothers suffer pain and loss of personal priorities and comforts to bear and rear each child. Fathers adjust their lives and priorities to support a family. The gap between those who are and those who are not willing to do this is widening in today’s world. . . .
“We rejoice that so many Latter-day Saint couples are among that unselfish group who are willing to surrender their personal priorities and serve the Lord by bearing and rearing the children our Heavenly Father sends to their care. We also rejoice in those who care for disabled family members and aged parents. None of this service asks, what’s in it for me? All of it requires setting aside personal convenience for unselfish service. All of it stands in contrast to the fame, fortune, and other immediate gratification that are the worldly ways of so many in our day.”
After getting the big news on Monday on what baby we were having I guess it was too much for me because later that night – or more appropriately early Tuesday morning Noel took me to the hospital for severe abdominal pain. I had the same symptoms about 6 weeks ago and a trip to the urgent care turned up nothing and so I came home and felt better the next day.
The doctors theory is that my appendix likely ruptured then (you can see a nice picture of how my body covered it up in the bottom right picture – your appendix is not supposed to have a bulbous mass on the end of it – it is supposed to look like a worm). The fluid in the two top pictures was sloshing around in there as well. They took it out yesterday and today I got to come home thankfully. I am glad to have things taken care of and hope that this is the my last visit to the hospital and to surgery for a good long while. This did throw a wrench in the plans to go canoe the Snake River with Dad, Brett, and Kevin next week which is a major bummer.
We went to the doctor on Monday and got the news that Baby #2 will be a girl. E couldn’t have been happier to be getting a sister. We are so excited and can’t wait to meet the little one when the time comes.
Today I lost one of my heroes. My grandmother, Lillian Arrington, returned back to her Heavenly Father. It happened unexpectedly – she seemed as lively and vivacious as ever. We’ll miss her dearly and deeply. Even as I write this it seems unreal to think that she is gone. We love you Grandma – oh how we love you! We miss you! I am sure that as she is reunited with her mother who died soon after she was born that she is happy and as busy as ever. I have pulled together some photos that I could find of her as well as a video of her leading us in the Arrington song from the 2008 Arrington Family Reunion. How I love and miss her!
I have read LDS Gems since somewhere right around 1999/2000 when I first developed an “online presence”. It has morphed over the years before finally falling into the Church’s hands to administer. It is full of great quotes an insights. Here is one from today that resonated with me!
Lifelong Missionaries
"We properly pray for the safety and success of the full-time missionaries throughout the world. And a common element in many of our prayers is a request that the missionaries will be led to individuals and families who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration. But ultimately it is my responsibility and your responsibility to find people for the missionaries to teach. Missionaries are full-time teachers; you and I are full-time finders. And you and I as lifelong missionaries should not be praying for the full-time missionaries to do our work!
"If you and I would truly pray and ask in faith, as did Joseph Smith—if we would pray with the expectation to act and not just to express—then the work of proclaiming the gospel would move forward in a remarkable way."
On Martin Luther King Day we headed up the Canyon with our friends the Cardons to get some sledding in and get out of the nasty inversion that had settled into the valley. It was a lot of fun and we found a really nice spot. I thought I would share a video of Eliza speeding down the slope!
We had a wonderful Christmas season. We enjoyed all the sights and sounds of the season, time with family, decorating our house for the first time, a trip to AZ for Christmas in the desert, and all the things that go with this marvelous time of year.
Festival of Trees with our friends the Cardons – a little bit of Grinch at Twilight
Our Annual outing to see the lights at Temple Square
The house decorated (not a great shot since it isn’t dark enough – I’ll have to try and take another one). It was a chore to figure out how to decorate the house for the first time. It came out okay though and should go faster and be easier next year (or so I tell myself)
Having fun in the snow!
Preschool Christmas party
Views of the Kaibab (first on the Fredonia side and then on the Marble Canyon side) from our trip down to AZ
Our Polar Express Arrington Family Christmas Eve Party in Pajamas (we loved being able to come home and go right to sleep!)
Surprise, Surprise – Look what Santa brought
A collage chronicling our 2008
Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Christmas season and a Happy New Year – we are excited to see what 2009 brings!
My wife has been educating me lately on the evils of high fructose corn syrup and has made me aware of how pervasive that little devil on an ingredient is in the foods that I eat. So much so that I found myself wondering when I am eating things, “Does this have high fructose corn syrup?” And I am not kidding you when I say that I honestly ask myself that. I just did that this morning as I ate cereal for breakfast. Even the stuff that I considered good for me had high fructose corn syrup high on the list of ingredients.
That set me thinking - for all the science and technology advancements that we make do we offset them by other advancements or inventions that zero out the resulting gain? For example dentistry has come along way from the pin them down and drill days, but we have added extra sugary sugar to everything that we eat and as a result are we any better off (now our mouths are filled with metal teeth instead of no teeth)? Email, cell phones, and webcams have made staying connected with people so simple yet studies show that Americans are more alone today (have less close friends and family to rely on) than ever. We have dishwashers, washers, dryers, robo vacs, non wrinkle clothes, and a thousand other conveniences to make life easier, but yet people are as stressed out and busy as ever (and perhaps even more so). We have BlackBerrys and computers to make work easier, faster, and more convenient yet those have done much to make home an extension of work. Medicine has made huge improvements in our knowledge on how to treat things, prevent things, and allow people to live longer lives yet Americans are fatter than ever before. So in the end what is our true gain or is there one?
Those were interesting things to consider this morning as I headed into work - all stemming from my wife’s commentary on high fructose corn syrup (not to be confused with normal corn syrup or brown sugar syrup which can also be found on your ingredient list). Deep down I don’t think it is a zero sum game I think life is better off because of the advancements that have been made, but we are likely not as better off as people would have supposed.
My dad and I were talking about Prop 8 passing today and we couldn’t help but reflect on how quickly it seems the moral tides of our country have changed (although thankfully Prop 8 should stem it to some extent for a little while). In the 13 years between high school and now I am amazed at what is now considered acceptable in our society. We couldn’t help but wonder what that meant for the next 13 years. It is scary to consider honestly. As I reflected back on what I have heard as I have followed the arguments from both sides for Prop 8 and how nasty it got (the missionary ad and the constant rhetoric about hate and bigotry) made me wonder what would it be like when we revisit this issue in the years to come (because I have no doubt that this issue will continue to surface). My Dad shared the quote below from Elder Maxwell that was given in 1979 amazingly enough. It was absolutely what I needed to hear. The Lord knows what is ahead and stated as such through Elder Maxwell almost 30 years ago and did so again with the Proclamation on the Family that came out 13 years ago. Time to tighten the seat belt I think.
"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'"
This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . .
This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions."Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened....
Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself.
Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat.".there is occurring a discounting of religiously based opinions. There may even be a covert and subtle disqualification of some for certain offices in some situations, in an ironic irreligious test for office. If people, however, are not permitted to advocate, to assert, and to bring to bear, in every legitimate way, the opinions and views they hold which grow out of their religious convictions, what manner of men and women would we be?"
If we let come into being a secular church which is shorn of traditional and divine values, where shall we go for inspiration in the crises of tomorrow? Can we appeal to the rightness of a specific regulation to sustain us in our hour of need? Will we be able to seek shelter under a First Amendment which by then may have been twisted to favor irreligion? Will we be able to rely for counterforce on value education aided in school systems which are increasingly secularized?
And if our governments and schools were to fail us, would we be able to fall back upon and rely upon the institution of the family, when so many secular movements seek to shred it?
It may well be that as our time comes to "suffer shame for his name"
(Acts 5:41), some of that special stress will grow out of that portion of discipleship which involves citizenship."
Neal A. Maxwell, "A More Determined Discipleship," Ensign, Feb 1979, 69-73
I meant to get this posted before I left for my work trip to LA for Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference, but I didn’t so I am trying to get this out while here. We had a party with family and friends at our house last Friday. This is a take off of the Arrington Family tradition that has gone on for years. We had the Hubers, Goodfellows, Trammells (or part of their family at least), and Cardons – we missed out on the Stohls (they got sick) and we were bummed about that because we haven’t met anyone so in love with Halloween as Megan is, but we still managed to have some fun. Here are some pics from the party including from our donut eating contest!
Yep – BYU Football season is here. That means Saturdays are pretty busy, but we love it. Add E’s soccer games on top of that and we are struggling to find time with the yard. Notice the new video board in the north stands in the picture below. Before this year we always had to turn around and kink our next to see the replay board. Not anymore!
E is great at the games. She loves Cosmo and the cheerleaders and even watches the game every once in a while. Especially during the touchdowns and fight song! But we do find we have to humor her with a snow cone once a game to reward her for letting her father satisfy his addiction to BYU Football. I really love having Noel and E with me at the games. It is a fun to have the family together there. We enjoy meeting Mark and Stacey and Kevin at halftimes as well. Normally we are celebrating the Cougars destruction of the opponent by that time (we hope that keeps up) – I think the halftime scores have been 27-3, 42-0, and 20-0 if I remember right. Go Cougs!
I have been meaning to post these pictures for a while. E is playing soccer this year with a team in the neighborhood. It has been fun to go out and watch her. I have to be careful and not “encourage” her too loudly. She is adorable in her soccer outfit. The first game she was a little enamored with her shin guards and played with them when she should have been playing soccer. One time the ball came up and hit her shin guards as she was looking down at them/adjusting them.
Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey were in town this week! Noel can’t remember ever having been to a circus and I am pretty sure that I went as a kid, but that was a long, long time ago. So we decided to go. It was a lot of fun and quite the show.
E and Bryan on the floor before the show – see the acrobat (or the part of her that you can see) in the background
E and Noel
E watching intently!
Tigers
Motorcycles
I missed this part while I stepped out to go to the bathroom and get some popcorn, but Noel and E said it was amazing.
Today I had to go down to the Church Office Building to take care of some things and I walked slowly back to the Triad Building through the Main Street Plaza and through the middle of Temple Square. I absolutely love that place. As I walk through it the history that it holds seems almost palpable. The beauty that is maintained there magnifies that feeling. Every time I walk through I remind myself to send an email to the Facilities department that maintains it to tell them Thank You for taking care of it so well.
The Book of Mormon teaches us constantly to Remember, Remember. Remember those that came before us, what they went through, and most importantly what the Lord did for them. That in so doing we might be humbled as well as understand the legacy that we all have an opportunity to build upon. I can’t help but remember the amazing actions of those responsible for building the Tabernacle, Assembly Hall, and of course the Temple. What great lessons of faith, perseverance, dedication, and love for the Lord are taught there.
I started getting LDS Gems by email probably close to 10 years ago before I think it was connected directly with the Church. It sends out wonderful thoughts on religious topics from LDS Church Leaders. At some point LDS Gems got picked up by the Church and is now housed at http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=eeb8813d71189110VgnVCM1000003a94610aRCRD&locale=0. You can subscribe by either email or RSS. I ran across this one the other day that has stuck in my mind and so I thought I would pass it along.
"In my quiet moments, I think of the future with all of its wonderful possibilities and with all of its terrible temptations. I wonder what will happen to you in the next 10 years. Where will you be? What will you be doing? That will depend on the choices you make, some of which may seem unimportant at the time but which will have tremendous consequences.
"Someone has said, 'It may make a difference to all eternity whether we do right or wrong today' (James Freeman Clarke, in Elbert Hubbard's Scrap Book [1923], 95).
"You have the potential to become anything to which you set your mind. You have a mind and a body and a spirit. With these three working together, you can walk the high road that leads to achievement and happiness. But this will require effort and sacrifice and faith."
As I ride the Light Rail into downtown Salt Lake today and thought on the significance in American history that September 11th has. The song "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood started playing on iTunes (I was working on my computer). That made me pause and look up and around at all the people riding the train with me (train has been very crowded lately) and marveled at this wonderful country. There were all types of people on the train and I was filled with gratitude for this wonderful country. We have problems to solve for sure, but I am so proud and grateful to live here. From that enterprising band of rebels in 1776 to the world power we are today. America is unique in world history - we sought to export freedom instead of slavery, democracy instead of dictatorship. We are not perfect and haven't been perfect, but we have tried and will continue to do so. I too pray that God will bless the USA!
I love the Olympics! There are so many memorable moments over the years. They signified so much during the Cold War it seemed - when we thankfully used athletic events instead of bullets and missiles to fight against Communism (or at least that is how it seemed to a young boy).
A couple of days ago as I was getting ready to leave for work I was carrying E down the stairs and she turns to me and says, "Dad, do you know what makes you so special?" I said, "What?" She responded with, "It isn't because you go to work for money - It is because you look good" I told her thanks and internally had a good laugh. The innocence and spontaneity of a child - wonderful things!
This morning Noel found a sliver that E had gotten in the bottom of her foot. E was not happy about Noel trying to extract it using tweezers. As I walked into the room Noel was trying to hold the foot and get the sliver out as E used the other foot and her hands to try and kick and claw her way out of the hold. She definitely wasn't happy. I jumped in to help and tried to lock down E's other appendages as best I could. Finally Noel was able to get it out. We let E up (she had basically been pinned down by that point) to see it and I gave her a hug and told her how brave she was. She promptly responded in between sobs - "No I wasn't Dad" - Noel and I both smiled and then I told E that she was right, but that I was still proud of her! Although E didn't leave laughing Noel and I did!
Herramientas 
Ayuda
