Abbreviations

          I remember when I was on my mission, and even now, we were (or are) told to stay clear of using abbreviations or initials to describe something that unless you are a member of the Church and are already familiar with the lingo, most non-members are not going to get that RS stands for Relief Society, YW stands for young women, etc. 

         

          I know I have been guilty of this in my blog - abbreviating.  Occasionally I do try to explain myself or refer to sites that will.  Back then (on my mission) the top initials used were D&C meaning Doctrine and Covenants (which is not what the majority of the population will think D&C means;  even many active church members I had met would first think of Dilation and curettage) and GA for General Authority.

          I suppose I appreciate the advice more now to steer clear from using abbreviations without interjecting the full meaning at least every now and then.  Currently I am taking my last accounting class.  My last one!!!  Talk about being initial happy.  The Church never had anything on the accountants as far as initial goes . . . and yet it seems there are always more initials to be had.  What a pain in the . . .  well, you know.  GAAP, IFRS, FSA, FASB, LIFO, FIFO and now a brand new one to my ears GASB - come one people !!!!  Why, you ask, have I never defined any of these?  Really?  My brain is so confused.  When I talk about my traumatic experiences with accounting, I want the reader to feel my confusion.  When I use the initials without explanation, don't you feel confused?  And even if I defined them, I promise, it does not make any of them any more exciting.  Accountants are boring!  Okay, maybe not all accountants, but the subject certainly is.  I think reading a math text book is more exciting.

          So why I am I even majoring in this, you ask?  I was hoping to straighten up my own personal finances and I've gone to tell you, NONE of those initials apply to anybody's personal finances.  They all have to do with business.  Early on I had learned that "accounting is the language of business"  - maybe that's why I hate the term "business" so much.  Why is it that I am having so much trouble sleeping?  Seriously.  You would think this stuff should put anybody in a coma for a year at least.

          To all of my readers who haven't been familiar with any lingo I've used in regards to the Church, my apologies.  I will try to do better.  For all of my readers who may not be familiar with any of the lingo I've used in regards to the accounting classes that have caused me attitudes of frustration, welcome to my world.  It's unforgivable lingo . . . but I'm certainly not the one who came up with it.  I think it was invented by those who are in a state of comatose.   Why would you purposely wish to make yourself sound dull?

Oh, and just for the record.  YW was the only Church term that spellcheck did not recognize.  Only two of the boring accounting abbreviations were recognized.

Presidential Trivia

(this post is about presidents past and NOT the current election)

         

        Jenna and a classmate are going to give an assigned PowerPoint this week.  I haven't seen any of it as it was a project they worked on it at school.  The first PowerPoint that I remember Jenna doing for her current school was a presentation on one of our former presidents.

        Before she had been assigned this task, I had told her that if ever she was to do a report on an American President, to pick either William Henry Harrison or Gerald Ford as William Henry Harrison was Pres. for only one month and Gerald Ford is the only President that hadn't been voted to be president (or vice-president) by the public.  I just like interesting facts that set apart from others.  But I suppose they all have something interesting about them.

        She did get an opportunity to do a power-point on a president, but not totally of her choosing.  Presidents' names were written on a paper and placed in a hat or box.  Students could draw two and make a choice between the two names drawn. 

        She came home one day and asked what I knew about  Martin Van Buren.  Not much.  I know that he was president during the time when the members of the church were being harassed in Missouri and Joseph Smith went to the white house to talk to the president and was not impressed with Martin Van Buren and decided that he, himself, would run for president.

        Jenna thought that was a cool story and wanted to use it, but the story has more to do with the Prophet Joseph Smith rather than the  Van Buren - except to say that Van Buren was arrogant and did not want to interfere with Boggs order of extermination as elections were coming up and he did not wish to lose the vote in Missouri. (Stevenson, 2013)

        Though there are some names that stand out for us more than others, there is tons of information about each of our past presidents if we but look.

Abraham Lincoln was the tallest president while James Monroe was the shortest. (Fun Facts, 2003)

Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest President to take office (at age 42) while Ronald Reagan was the oldest (age 69) Taft was the largest president and had to have a custom made tub.

Franklin D. Roosevelt served more terms than any other president.  Grover Cleveland was President twice (#22 and #24)

James Buchanan was the only president to be single throughout his term.  According to the History Channel, Cleveland is the only president to have his wedding ceremony in the White House (Siese, 2015)

though John Tyler was the first to marry while in office

For more fun facts and scandal, you can visit the following (or click on cite dates in post)

AMERICAN HISTORY: Presidential Trivia, Fun Facts and Firsts. (2003). Retrieved from Legends of America: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-presidenttrivia.html

Siese, A. (2015, June 3). These 2 Single U.S. Presidents In History Prove There's Precedent For Candidate Lindsey Graham's Bachelor Status. Retrieved from Bustle: https://www.bustle.com/articles/87904-these-2-single-us-presidents-in-history-prove-theres-precedent-for-candidate-lindsey-grahams-bachelor-status

Stevenson, F. (2013, May 20). Top scandals and controversies of each United States president. Retrieved from Deseret News: http://www.deseretnews.com/top/1512/8/Top-scandals-and-controversies-of-each-United-States-president.html