Chris Banyas
Staff Writer
A parking booth nestled between the Administration Building and the Rendezvous may seem an unlikely place to encounter someone radiating positivity and warmth, who goes out of his way to make sure others walk away with a smile on their face.
“Just to make it more entertaining for me, and to make everyone’s day brighter, I just be goofy and upbeat. Plus it’s more fun to be goofy and upbeat,” said Theoden Swaby. “It makes life more entertaining for me; it makes life more entertaining for the people going by. It makes everyone happy.”
Swaby, a junior in the electrical engineering program at Idaho State University, moved many times in his life before coming to ISU and the parking booth.
“I move around too much to be from anywhere but I’d say northern Utah or southern Idaho, but I also lived in Florida one year,” said Swaby. “My family moved an average of twice a year for most of my life, so I don’t have a home per se.”
Originally born in Oregon City, Ore., Swaby’s name has been a constant source of attention, especially since “The Lord of the Rings” films were released.
“From my understanding, my name came from some obscure old boxing game,” said Swaby.
After reading the stories that most people would expect the name Theoden to be taken from, Swaby had mixed feelings.
“Seeing my name in print without it referring to me was the weirdest experience ever, like beyond weird,” said Swaby. “I’m not going to lie, I thought the way King Theoden died was lame. He was crushed by his own horse, which wouldn’t be lame for anyone else, but he was the king of the people famous for having awesome horses.”
He likens King Theoden’s demise to that of a sword swallower being killed by a paper cut.
Swaby lived with his mother and sister growing up; one of his only male role models was his uncle, who he still looks up to today.
“He introduced me to video games more or less. So you know as a kid that’s the coolest thing ever, and he’s a linguist which I think is awesome,” said Swaby.
Eventually Swaby reached high school, and, despite several relocations, attended Pocatello High School the entire time.
Swaby participated in the robotics program, which went to the world championships in his junior year. The team did, in his words, not terribly well.
“The guys at the world championships didn’t appreciate the defensive nature of our robot that year,” said Swaby.
After spending time at Utah State University, and then briefly attending ITT Tech in Florida, Swaby returned to Pocatello, where he moved out on his own for the first time.
“Just being on my own, moving out of Mom’s house or Grandma’s house, that’s exciting in and of itself,” said Swaby.
One aspect of living alone that has been interesting for Swaby has been learning to cook. He created something that he dubbed the “ramen miracle.”
“There was this nasty off-brand of beef stew. I had like one can left and I had to get rid of it and I don’t like throwing things away,” said Swaby. “So I mixed it with ramen noodles and I think parmesan and ketchup and mustard. Basically everything I could get my hands on to make the beef stew stop tasting horrible. I keep telling everyone it’s a miracle I’m still alive.”
Swaby participates in the campus anime club and cites “Steins;Gate” as one of his favorite shows.
He also creates video games in his spare time, and is currently working on a game similar to “Super Smash Brothers.”
“I decided that I should learn one new thing a month, not school stuff, just something that needs to be learned,” said Swaby. “This month’s goal was music. So I got a keyboard. I haven’t had much time to practice lately but I can play the first half of the ‘Punch-Out’ song.”
If you happen to find Swaby in the booth, ask him to show you the sprites he has created so far for his game.
