school of hardknocks

hello again from blogville. i have taken an unintentional leave of absence from my blog retreat. so sorry. the cause of my vacate is none other than something we like to call grad school. as you recall a while back i announced my acceptance to the New School of Architecture San Diego- or NSAD as it were- well, i have now been attending said institution for two weeks and must say "I Dig it."its kinda crazy to think that i would be all about goin back to school, and wanting to get in that proverbial ring again and go a few more rounds. i feel like i have been recharged and have a different outlook on my education. i feel like NSAD is totally the place for me, thus far, a kind of "artsy-fartsy" environment is one that i love. don't get me wrong, I loved my college experience at BYU- but the scholastic part of it was sub-par. i think i more enjoyed the people i surrounded myself with as mention in past postings. But i really feel excited to learn, excited to use the creative juices that i have been given. i will post later in greater detail about my inner thoughts towards the school, the teachers, my colleagues and fellow grad students. but for now, just know that i am a happy camper, folks.

tagged like the rest of them

my sis Jess tagged me with the following mind-bending questions to help everyone out there get to know me a wee bit better. here are the answers to appease all the fans world-wide:
1.)what were you doing 10 years ago? well, i was just learning how to drive-thinkin i was cool in my mom's jeep cherokee.i was terrified of girls, but might have just gotten over it thanks to EFY. if that was the case, i thought i was a pimp. i was skating a lot, basically killing myself and adjusting to the pressures, cliques and crap of high school.

2.)5 years ago: I was tromping through the streets of La Coruña, Spain on my mission. I would have just baptized (sept 7) one of the coolest converts ever-the infamous Juan Mosquera. I was at the top of my game, with my favorite comp Elder Dustin Naud, and lovin life.i was eatin Napolitanas and servin the lord.



3.)1 year ago: I had just celebrated my first wedding anniversary and started up school again at BYU for the fall semester. i was eating Cafe Rio, Bajio and J-Dawgs like it was goin outta style. i was surrounded by the most amazing friends anyone could ask for. i was enjoying the new addition of Buster in our lives, and loving watching Erika's eyes light up whenever anyone mentioned his name.(she still does)I was preparing for Erika's party, because hey--today is her birthday!!

4.)yesterday: i worked 8-5 at ADG and found out that one of my best friends in the world Ty is having a baby girl come January. I surfed after work and thouroughly enjoyed myself. the waves were decent, and the crowd was minimal.i took erika to Anthropologie and acted as her fashion guru-picked out a new dress for her that flatters her in all the right places! i also helped her clean the apt. so she could wake up to cleanliness on her b-day.

5.)5 snacks i enjoy: currently i can't get enough of Costco trail mix. i mack it everyday at work. Rico's burritos-- guess its not a snack, but i love 'em. dried mangoes. starburst. tortilla chips with guac or salsa!

6.)5 things i would do if i suddenly won $100 mil.: pay off my grad school, buy e-train a new car- Porsche Cayenne SUV and then drive her buggy off a cliff. get some upgrades for my Tacoma- wheels, tires, exhaust,lift, etc. buy a new house by the beach.invest a whole lot.



7.)5 locations to run off to: italy, hawaii, puerta vallarta, spain, costa rica.

8.)5 bad habits: leaving cupboards and drawers open. letting the laundry pile up. i mumble. being too laid-back.forgetting to clean the bathroom each saturday.

9.)5 things i like doing:surfing, eating fresh mex,chilling with my hot-a wifey, wakeboarding and hangin out on the lake in general.getting together with good friends and family..anything artsy.

10.)5 tv shows: Scrubs, La Ink, Ace of Cakes, Seinfeld, Arrested Development

11.)5 things i hate doing: laundry, cleaning the bathroom, looking at how much taxes get taken out of my paycheck, not being able to sleep at night, trying to find where Buster peed on the carpet and then cleaning it up.

12.)5 biggest joys: Erika, Bust-a Bus, free anything, surfing at sunset, new technology.(i am a nerd)

strokes of genius

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the Etrain's B-day wish list

Ladies and gents, boys and girls...
the mrs. loketsroke is about to turn another year older, wiser and more beautiful. some of you have inquired about what she would like for her birthday. according to her, she is boring, but here ya go:

Anthropologie Gift cards
Bloomingdales Gift cards
Bernardo Sandals Medieval stone (black sz. 7) check em out here:http://bernardofootwear.com/product_pages/spring_07/spring_07_m_const.htm

if any of you have questions give me a shot out.

NIca continued...

ok. so its not that exciting of a reveal for the cliff hanger. the horse-drawn buggy: preety much saw everyday in the streets of the dirty Nica. it never got old, nor failed to surprise us that they rolled that way. the flaming car: well, that was kinda crazy. we were following the local missionaries (thats where the Guatemalans, Costa Riqueño and gringos come in) to dinner. we were following the assistants and all of the sudden we came across a flaming Jeep in the middle of the road. no ambulance, no one trying to do anything accept by-standers jumping around the car dancing. i saw one kid pushing around a flaming tire, like it was no big deal. maybe it was some kinda protest or manifestation for Ortega and the FSLN party. who knows really, and it probably was an old tune for Nicas. Unfortunately we didn't get a pic of the disaster, but like the car itself, that image is burnt in our minds forever.

our dinner with the missionaries and mission presidente Fraatz was pretty sweet. It was cool to jive with young elders again, and share my wisdom and their excitement for the work. One elder was from Murrieta and when he found out that i was from the ENC he nearly foamed at the mouth. "i love Swami's" he kept saying to me. we talked about encinitas surf spots for a bit, but i tried to divert the trunkiness and lead the chat toward the mission. i ended up moseying down to hang out with the "nativos," the elders from south america. we bonded over mission stories and futbol over a nice meal. the elders were shy and timid at first, but opened up once they knew that they could get whatever hey wanted thanks to daddy-warbucks Randall. it was pretty sweet, and i know that those kids had something to write home about- as if baptizing the country wasn't enough. the Managua Nicaragua mission is the highest baptizing mission in the church. preach on brethren!

recto, recto, recto...

¡que dios bendiga a los estados unidos! well folks, i am back from the motherland II Nicaragua. a week long journey that took me and the old man across the spans of time. last Wednesday we arrived in the late evening in the capitol of Nica...Managua. it was poring rain, and we got our first taste of "directions" to our hotel at the car rental: "turn left, go two blocks, and straight, straight, straight. can't miss it!" we later learned to grow accustomed to ambiguous directions, that changed depending on who you asked, and calculating at least 2x long to get anywhere because we would inevitably get lost. not a single sign to guide us on any corner, instead a broken down car, perhaps a malnourished and maimed dog and a man with a toothless smile eager to help an american. an adventure to say the least. a typical vacation it was not, but definitely one that will never be forgotten.

highlights of the trips of trips are coming shortly....heres a cliffhanger to keep you on the edge of your seat:

it involves a donkey-drawn carriage, a flaming car, 3 Guatemalans,1 Costa Riqueño, 6 gringos and a chase. to be continued...

stung out on Strung Out

so for those of you who don't know me and the mrs. celebrated 2 years of wedded bliss on sunday(aug 5). YEAH US!!its crazy to think that it has already been 2 years..i guess time flies when you are having fun. the past 2 years have been awesome and i am more in love with mrs. lokestroke everyday. i think she has earned a few stripes or some angel wings for putting up with my stubborn, passive aggressive ways. i guess you can say that we celebrated in a not-so-typical way. Erika has been obsessed with the punk band Strung Out for the past 10 years. I know, I know, you are saying to yourself "what about Hanson?" Thankfully she does like other music, thats not so Hanson-esque.I for one have to be compltely honest- i wasn't the biggest fan of Strung Out...i listened to them occasionally in highschool, but never really jumped on the train. Erika on the other hand, dreams of lead singer Jason Cruz
on a regular basis, and would consider leaving me for him if the opportunity presented itself. i was quite impressed by the end of the night though, and have rekindled my interest in the old punk band. they definitely know how to put on a good show. since saturday i have been listening to their cds on my ipod non-stop. there is something about going to a concert that makes you appreciate and enjoy music better. i felt the same way about the Strokes, Wolfmother, the Shins, Motion City...just to name a few.

Viva la Rock!