Just Around the Riverwoods

I've said this before and I'll say it again.  I cannot never do a morning shift effectively.  Luckily, I didn't start until 8am.  The problem with the mornings is that it's very slow.  Nothing interesting ever happens and everyone looks deader than a Texas armadillo.

I ran some errands and ran into an old roommate of mine.  We had an interesting exchange.  If you want to know the details of the conversation, let me know.  I also visited Brother Fisher just to confirm the rumors of alien hieroglyphics (lol).  Rest assured, the only thing "alien" was his children's drawings on the whiteboard in his office; meaning, they are non-math symbols.

Anyways, my afternoon was meant to be productive in an academic sense, but it never did.  I ended up playing Phase 10 with Anna and Sam and somehow managed to get to Phase 9 before Anna claimed ultimate victory.  I've never made it that far before.  However, in a 3-player game, I suppose the difficulty was decreased.

The ward activity was fun.  I'm always up for free food and random activities.  It was great to learn a few new faces.  The highlight of it all was probably watching Bishop Hart and Brother V. making ridiculous noises as we played a game.

Ammon came around and left a few things in my safekeepings until the Fall.  We had dinner together and discussed a few things relevant to our plans.  I can't wait until the Fall semester when everything becomes interesting.

Finally, I just want to close with the fact that my roommates are crazy.  You wouldn't believe how hilarious Cameron and Keith can be despite of the apparent language barrier.  Adding me to the mix, it's chaos!  Now, just imagine having a fourth guy in here.  Poor Blake, he's in for some ridiculousness that might scare the daylights out of him.

And meanwhile, back to reading...

Fifth Sunday

That's a cute way to sleep.

Cam and I both felt kinda bad for not waiting for Keith to go to church this morning, but he came back to Provo very close to 11am.  Luckily, he was able to find the place no problem.

What I learned about what I should have known at 21?  Well, the biggest thing for me was being happy with who I am.  It's tough on most cases.  I have my own insecurities and shortcomings that I get annoyed with, but I do try to look at the bright side.

Fortunately for me, I am only 23, so there's still time to start good trends and habits that will benefit me later on in life.  It's hard to imagine what will life be like in the next 10 years.  I do know, however, that I am having a good time right now despite of the predicament I'm in at the moment.

I work on Sundays this Term.  It's not my favorite, but I do need some money.  I don't really do anything on Sundays anyways, so it's almost like free money.

The evening was spent at ward prayer and at apartment 32 with Sam, Anna, Jesse, and my roommates.  Phase 10 is a fun game when things are going fairly well for you.  Can't say the same for the other guys.  Keith was absolutely dominating, I have no idea how that happened.  Some intense luck he's got there.  lol

More homework coming my way!  I'll do them tomorrow after work.

Madness? This is PROVO!

And the weather goes wild!

Saturday was a somewhat tricky business, especially when I had a random one-hour shift in the middle of the day before I go back at 6pm to midnight.

In addition, Utah is being crazy again with that chilly weather at the end of April.  All we need now is some random snow in May to complete the madness.

Since I mentioned the random shift in the morning, let's just say that I had the rare opportunity to receive food from the production crew luncheon and had a decent lunch from Chick-fil-A.

With a slight lack of sleep, I managed to read people's blogs (by the way, you guys should really check out Ariel's adventures in Britain), did some homework, got to know some of the new people and found out that we actually have a fourth roommate coming in next week.  The new guy, Blake, is from Springville, UT and will be attending UVU as a freshman.

Ammon enlisted my help with moving.  I took a good look at the apartment we would be living at in the Fall and it was better than expected.  I may have to consider in investing a bunk bed to save space.  The other issue I might have is a place to put my punching bag once I get there.

In other news, I somehow got Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen stuck in my head.  Kelli totally approves.

The rest of the night was...blend.  That's all.  I did manage to get work done, though.  Nights without live events get boring real fast.  However, there are plenty of ways to get busy (or pretend to be anyways).

Week's End

That's it for the first week of Spring Term.  Class was good today.  I felt the MMBio241 Lab was fairly easy.  I guess that's what happens when you are past your Junior status and finally got around to the basic lab that was meant for freshmen or sophomores.  That's a space issue on BYU's part, not me.

I was somewhat bummed that I was not able to check out the mice today because I have not completed the animal training yet.  I was going to meet with Dr. Berges today, but I decided that I haven't read enough of his papers to have a discussion about his projects.

My afternoon was quite tranquil.  I did stretches today instead of work out because I pulled a tendon in my left leg.  Other than that, my night consisted of naps, dinner, and finally work.  And guess what?  That's the first time I worked this week.  Sad, eh?

The weekend will be filled with reading...hundreds of pages!   :(

The Wind

What can I say about today?  Well, I went to class.  Dr. Evan's in New York, so he managed to set up shop there and taught the class via teleconference.  It was a nifty way to keep things going.  After all, he was at Stephen Colbert's place.

I went into the labs and took some pics of the things I did.  I did as the professor suggested, so...we'll see what happens.

Women's Conference is here again.  It's the beginning of all the inconveniences we are about to face for a period of time.  They seriously clog up the parking lots and systems.

Cam and I spent some time reorganizing the apartment tonight.  We now have a ghetto shelf made of cinder blocks.  Other than that, we went along with Sam and retrieved some more info for the new ward directory.  Beyond that, I only visited apartment 28 and 22.

While I was on the net tonight, I found an old song I haven't heard in a while.  Here are the lyrics:

<<你是我鎖不住的世界>>

我彎著手臂當枕頭來睡　夜色把我包圍
我不願把燈熄滅　有人說夢會怕黑
我好想閉上眼　又怕你隨風飛
為誰為誰，我醒著睡了一夜

我溜溜的淚流浪在腮邊　冷冷把我吞淹
我不敢被人發現　我的愛那么明顯
我想逃，我想飛　又想多看一眼
纏綿纏綿　我醒著睡了一夜。

我每一個夜　盼等著你出現，
鎖著疲倦　鎖著眼淚　鎖不住思念
喔　你在我的心中　這樣一夜又一夜
外面天亮了　里面還是天黑

喔　我每一個夜　盼等著你出現
鎖著金殿　鎖著心碎　鎖不住情牽
喔　你在我的心中　這樣一夜又一夜
你知不知道　你是我鎖不住的世界

If you try to put this into the Google Translator, it's not gonna work out very well.  But yeah, I find random things on the Internet.

That's the end of the windy night.

Is This the Real Life?

Well, the first day of MMBio241 wasn't so difficult.  In fact, I don't think that class will be too much hassle at all if I just keep up with all the things I need to do.  Cell Bio, on the other hand, will prove to be a ridiculous amount of work...I think I'm going to break 100+ pages of reading within the first week of class.  Luckily, I already knew most of the stuff.  I am dreading the moment when we jump into a topic I've never touched on before...

I started my first day at Dr. Berges's Lab and I learned how to extract human hematopoietic stem cells from cord blood samples!  It's a 3-hour job and I got to know the famed Anne, the Masters student.  I think I got the gist of the technique down and I should be able to do it by myself hopefully within the next 3 weeks or so.  In the meantime, I do plan to observe what other folks are doing to understand the procedures a little better and hopefully make a few new friends.

The lab does involve some rather dangerous pathogens, with Dengue Fever being the scariest one of them all (aside from HIV, hepatitis, malaria, etc...).  Fortunately, I don't have to deal with that right now.  When I do, I will be prepared.  Dr. Berges also showed me how to operate a few equipment around the lab.  It's a flood of information!

Institute was surprisingly well-attended tonight.

I picked up 2 extra hours on Sundays from 2-4pm.  It will be a chill shift for me to accomplish the things I need to do.  That effectively bring up my total hours to 12 regular hours per week.

It's past midnight...and I'm barely starting homework.  This is not gonna end well in the morning...

That Moment When...

You are intimidated by the class you are taking.  In this case, it's PDBio360, also known as Cell Biology.  Just having Dr. Evans presenting data to us and have us understand what is going on from them is quite the feat.  Then again, it is the very first class and we are actually learning some real life application skills.

While I feel the amount of information is super-crammed this Term, it is probably better that way because this class involves a lot of group effort.  I highly doubt I would have been able to do well in this class if I did it during the Fall or Winter.  Making time for it would simply be impossible.

Apparently, the ward list received a major update, courtesy of the Riviera Office and efforts on Sam's part.  It appears to me that we'll have a full house this Term (or perhaps later in June?).

We finally replaced that burned out light bulb in the front porch.  It seems to be brighter than the lights in our apartment.

It's going to be a challenging 4 months all right.  We'll see.

Day One

As promised, I will update my blog daily during Spring and Summer.  The only difference is that only my weekend posts will have random pictures.  I simply don't want to exhaust all the "creative" energy (or the lack thereof).

My day started with errands.  I went to Dr. Berges's Lab and he gave me a general run down of the place and papers I should read.  I am so grateful that I am now part of his team!

I also bought the rest of the school supplies I need for Spring Term.  It cost me a little bit, but nothing I can't handle.  The big bills will come in the summer.

I also got a haircut today.  At the time, I received a call from Nicole and she asked if I could help her and her dad to move her piano into her new place.  It was a somewhat tricky business and we witnessed an unfortunate car accident along the way.  After the deed was done, Dr. Nielsen treated us with frozen yogurt!

I met my roommates today.  One of Cameron who got back from his mission in Brazil.  Another one is Keith who is trying to study English.  I heard he's a good barber, we shall find out.

Grade-wise, I am not sure where I stand because I am somewhat afraid of how things will turn out.

We actually had a FHE tonight, courtesy of Lyn, Kennedy, and Ashtyn.  I think I spent a little too much time over there tonight, but it's all good.  Not much to do before school starts anyways.

I think my classes are getting harder and harder.  I hope I have what it takes to do well in them.  Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a doctor.  Who knows.  We'll see how everything works out in the end.

End Game, New Game

This is the last post I'll have on Winter Semester of 2012 and the last one for this school year.

Overall, I felt it went pretty well.  There are things I wish I could have done better, but I did learn a lot about people and about myself.

Believe it or not, these are albino elephants.

A few things I learned about myself:

1. I have the tendency to be overcritical about myself
2. The self-pity bit does get on me every now and then
3. I finally understood what David meant (at least a better understanding) when he said that I'd done much for him; through experiences this school year
4. I enjoy spending time with people more than the actual activity
5. I spend money where I shouldn't
6. Sometimes, little things I do annoy people

A few things I learned about other people:

1. Sometimes, people may not give the benefit of the doubt and assume the worst
2. The more you talk to someone, the more interesting the person becomes
3. There will be at least one lazy son of a Bulbasaur who just won't do anything in a group project
4. If you have pre-professionals in your lab group, that's good news

A few notable experiences also happened this year:

1. Getting turned down on a first date at BYU for the first time
2. Decided that I wanted to study medicine as a goal
3. Started a regular work out routine

The experience I've had at the Riviera so far has been most refreshing.  It may not be the most social ward, but I feel it is probably the most spiritual, by practice, and the most kind comparing to the other ones I've been a part of in the past.  I'm not saying that other wards were crummy, but each ward had its ups and downs and even meh's.

Life is not perfect, but I have it pretty good.  There are some struggles I have to overcome in the next few months, but I know I'll be able to get over it.  The worst thing that can happen is me spending more time in Provo.  Other than that, I do not have any major concern in regards to myself.  For those around me?  That may be another story, but what can you do, but pray and hope for the best?

The most important thing I came to realize this school year has been that the people and the relationships we built in this life are one of the few things we can take with us into the next life.  In essence, people mean more to me than material goods.  Sure, goods can be nice, but they won't mean much in the long run.

Last Fast

Today was the last fast Sunday of the semester.  It felt good to be done with the semester (almost).  At the same time, I kinda hoped this school year didn't end so fast.  I have that feeling before, but this is probably the first time I felt it somewhat more intensely.

The heavy-weight guinea pig champions!!

The 76th Ward has been the 1st ward where I actually tried to get to know as many people as possible.  Something I've never tried in the past.  I'm not saying that the wards I've been in the past are horrible, but I never spent the time immersing myself with its people like I did with this one.

One of the main reasons was my work schedule.  This school year is the first time where I didn't have to work on Monday night or most of the ward activities.

When I moved into the Riviera, I totally played the roommate lottery.  I didn't know any of my roommates, etc.  I'm grateful that things have worked out the way it did and for the people that I've met here.

With four more finals before I am officially done with the semester (and starting Spring and Summer Terms), I still have much work to do.

It's amazing how life just fly by you and soon we are left with memories.  There had been good times, bad times, and even tearful times; however, the trials we face in life are somehow worth it at the end.

I will definitely miss a lot of the good people that are moving out of the ward this Spring and Summer.  I know I'll probably see them around campus and even visit them from time to time, but it won't be the same again.  I've learned a lot from each person I know here.

When next Saturday hits, I'll be playing the roommate lottery again.  I'm looking forward to a fun 4 months with new people and some of the ones that are staying.  The real party starts in the Fall when most people will be down south of campus.

It's weird to see how everyone is moving on with their lives.  I mean, Ryan is gonna be married in August!

My BYU time is also coming to a close.  1.5 years (2.5 if I decide to find a job around Provo before medical school) may sound like a while, but that will soon pass and I don't want to miss a moment.  With that said, this is probably the 2nd to last entry I'll write for this school year.

When Spring starts, I shall try my best to put up a daily update that's more narrative like the ones you've read last Summer.

Just to end, you guys rock!  Thanks for reading this little blog.

The Past 72 Hours

Yes, it was Easter and a holiday in most Christendom.  Most people expect good times alongside of friends and family, but this year didn't turn out this way for most people here at this spot in Provo.

Just to warm your heart a little.  :)

The week composed of mostly unpleasant news.  I thought it was the stress that was getting to me near the end of the semester, but later developments in the week quickly changed that view.

The Friday night dance party was originally supposed to be a fun event for all...until it was right outside of my apartment.  Call me a killjoy, but I certainly did not enjoy not being able to sleep when I had to work at 2am.  In hindsight, I probably overreacted by calling the cops.  Then again, I didn't know what else to do since there are other people who were annoyed beside me.

Sunday proved to be a trying day for some of us here in the ward, especially those close to Greg.  I figured that something terrible happened, but hoped further revelation would prove otherwise.  Unfortunately, that was not so.  I can empathize somewhat for his roommates because some similar events took place during my high school and freshman year in university.  So, if I seem somewhat unaffected, that's probably why.

The only consolation we have out of all this, at least for me, is that he is in a much better place and nothing illegal took place.  This had to be hard for the family.  It was an indescribable strangeness when I helped Craig move his stuff out.  He only spoke one sentence the whole time.  I wish I knew Greg better.  I was only starting to get to know him as I started hanging out for a bit at apartment 38.

Rest in peace, Greg.  My condolences to all those who knew him.  (Just for those of you who care to know, when your roommate passes away, you don't get straight A's.  It didn't work for me.  In fact, it became worse.)

It certainly was a busy weekend for bishop and somewhat traumatizing for others.  Bishop Hart was there for hours and came back Monday morning when a "fight" took place in our ward.  He probably felt the world was falling apart.

Speaking of which, I got an email notice that my boss, George, his sister passed away this weekend as well.  She was in her early 50s.  We are reminded once again how fragile life is.  Hence why I spend time with people whenever I can because life can come at you fast.  Change will make a simple gesture impossible as it takes over.  Luckily for all of us, this life is not the end.

When Your Mind Wanders...

Then, all the sudden, you miss little details in your daily life.  I can honestly say I don't remember most of the things that happened this week.  That's a bit sad, isn't it?

I was going to have four tests this week, but my professors moved two of them back, so I wasn't overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that had to be done.

I did okay on my o-chem test this week, but I think I did horrible on my genetics test.  Oh well...no way for an A in that class now.

This is my "I got owned" face...

I had the opportunity to go to the England London South Mission reunion.  It was great to see people I haven't seen in a while.  Other than that, it's not some glamorous fancy party.  Sorry to burst some people's imaginations, but it isn't.

As always, it was nice to hear some inspiring words from President and Sister Swinton.

I think the strangest mystery this week is the missing physics textbook.  I can't remember if I brought it up on campus one day to use it for homework.  I only noticed it missing today, so it can't be far, right?  I'll probably check out the labs, etc.  Otherwise, I'll just spend $15 for a new one.

The better moments this week were the time I spent watching General Conference.  I'm not going to write down everything I've learned from there.  If anyone wants to read or listen to these talks, go to: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2012/04?lang=eng

I've found myself to be very busy.  I still have to survive 2 more tests before the finals.  I can't believe I've been so absent-minded about things lately.  It must be the end of semester.  Sadly, I'll be taking classes throughout Spring and Summer.

Grrr...I swear, some people...