Revamp!

I didn't feel like going to recitation today because I feel like it's not helping me.  I learn more from doing the problems in the textbooks than spending time there.

I woke up this morning and did some homework before I headed into the weight room.  I met a mission buddy there.  We didn't know each other really well since we served on the opposite sides of the mission and then I left.  Fabiano, that's his name, and I became acquainted and we discovered that we had many similarities, etc.  He is getting married in August, though.  Hopefully, I'll still have a work out buddy.  He does the same exact routines as I do!  That was cool.

I did some errands and freshened up before I met up with Kelsie for the first time today!  We had a great time together with our friends Henry and Victoria.  That was the highlight of my day.

Went out for a drink with the Meng Sisters.  I have to hang out with fellow Pennsylvanians before they go back to the dismal state of the heathens.

I also started a mini-project on my blog.  You may have noticed the different tags I've put on each entry.  It's for fun.  I got nothing to hide.  It's actually quite fun to see how I've progressed over time and recall some of the memories I had throughout my experience here at the Riviera.

As for tagging of names, I will only tag people to remind me who I was referring to, so don't feel to agitated if I didn't tag you more than once.

Meanwhile, back to homework.

River of Time

It's Monday again!  You know what that means.  ;)  NOTHING!!  It's just another day hated by the masses.  Personally, I don't have a grudge against it since I'm a college student and my Mondays vary from time to time.

I went to class, did some work in the labs, and I went home and did o-chem homework.  During that time, Logan and I went out with Jim to celebrate his birthday.  There was one minor nuisance that prevented us from going to Wendy's...EFY kids!  They flooded the town!  They were everywhere and hijacking all the fast food places!!

We ended up going to the Malt Shoppe.  We were surprised that it was busy, too!  Well, we had a good time chatting as we waited for our food.  I did something embarrassing at the end when I chucked their tray into the trash bin.  Kinda awkward, but funny nonetheless.

The rest of my day was spent at work.  I had the opportunity to chat with many people.  Thus, my boredom was quenched.

Tomorrow will be awesome!  :)

PS - this is the 200th posts on my blog!  Hooray!!

Let Us Reason

Yes!  Let's reason together because I'm friendly.  :)

It has been a great weekend primarily because I had 8 hours of sleep both nights.

Church was good.  We had an engaging Sunday School lesson and great lessons taught by the bishopric.

Some of the main points I gathered from the lessons are that we need to remember how great men like Saul, David, and Soloman fell.  People can be so blessed and yet make horrible choices that cost their exaltation.

The other point I was gonna make was how the gospel appeared to bind men down in the eyes of Korihor.  It's true that some things are hard to hear at Church, but why focus on the things that make you uncomfortable?  Remember the things that didn't make you feel like that and think like this: I'm already good at this, now I can be better at this.

Don't treat everything like an offense coming at you.

The rest of the day was good.  I spent most of it in front of the computer screen.  It's all good.  I had nice conversations with people, and in particular, Kelsie.  It's always nice to get to know someone better.

That's my mantra right now.  Get to know as many people as I can for the fun of it.

Never Started

Look at all that SQUEE!!!

I felt like my day never started.  I came back at 6am in the morning and went straight to bed.  I didn't bother get up until past 2pm.

It took me a while before I entered the shower because my roommates and I were having conversations.

I decided to chill for the day and not do much since the fatigue was still plaguing me.  I sat around and listened to music while people texted me.

I feel a bit giddy today.  I will tell you later.  ;)

Work was good and I'm just ready for the term to be over so I can get on with life.

Wish me luck!

Awesome Friday

Today has been a great day!  Okay, so I didn't get lots of sleep, but class was good.  There wasn't any lab work for me, and I came home and had a nap.

I spent hours texting Kelsie while doing my o-chem homework.  That definitely kept the boredom at bay on both ends.  In between, I went to Wendy's with Ben and we spent a couple of hours workingon o-chem.  Unfortunately, we didn't go very far.  I still have 3 chapters of problems to do.

The night kept getting better as I went to the theater to watch Dark Knight Rises with my friends.  Overall, it was a great movie.  I thought it was well-done.  It was a bit dark, but I'm okay with that.  I won't spoil it for you here, so please go watch it!

I'm tired.  But, I must keep going...

Burning Soul

For the first time in chemistry recitation, I had no idea what was going on.  I guess there's a first for everything.

Paulo and I had a little miscommunication as he passaged my stock of cells without letting me know.  I thought my stuff were gone!  I was planning on passaging them today and give him a part of the stock.  Oh well, it was amusing while the confusion lasted.

Went to the weight room.  I'm starting to increase the weights I use to get a better work out.

I felt tired, so I took a nap today.

I made plans for this coming Tuesday night, I hope it all works out!  :)

Lyn and I took the challenge to run in the middle of the heat today.  Let's just say that wasn't the smartest idea.  We stopped after about 1.5 miles.  The heat and dried up air tract were killing us.

Work...was work!

Tomorrow!  More studying!!

Revived

Four hours sleep doesn't sound like the best thing that could rejuvenate you, and it doesn't.  I somehow survived the first 6 hours of the day with it anyways.

I actually done some stem cell extractions today.  Since Dr. Berges has been going in and out of the town in the past few weeks, I haven't done much in the labs for some time.  It was good to actually do something for once.

During the break period, I had the opportunity to get to know a few folks in the iGEM team.  Like I always say, it never hurts to know too many people.

The rest of the night consisted of Institute and my terrible attempt to do homework and ended up not doing as much as I wanted.  There was a game night at Ben's in case you all didn't hear.  No matter, have a great night guys!

Pioneer's Day

I don't think I did anything special to celebrate this peculiar holiday.  While I recognize the importance of early pioneer stories, etc., it hasn't grown into me enough for some profound impact yet.

I went to work this morning, with a minor setback because I set my alarm to 5:30am instead of 4:30 when my shift started at 6am.  Luckily, not much was going one, so I dodged the bullet on that one.

I did some laundry and worked out in the afternoon and was determined to not do any homework tonight.  I succeeded...probably will regret it very soon.

The rest of my evening was spent talking to people around the ward.  All I can say is that people are interesting.  The good, the bad, and the ugly were all there.  Am I the judge?  No.  Does it amuse me that people who apparently have something against each other pretend they like each other and hang out together?  Totally.

The above mentioned situation is why I'm glad I'm a guy.  We actually duke it out or talk about it like bros instead of pretense in front of our fellow beings.  I'll probably receive some flak for this, but hey, who actually read this stuff anyways?  LOL

Anyhow, I'm kinda giddy tonight because of a few cool things that had happened.

Monday? Nah...

It sure didn't feel like a Monday today, especially when you have people like Audrey walking into class smiling and happy.  I guess a super great weekend can do that to ya.

I saw the average for the last chemistry test.  It looks like people did worse overall, but the performance of the top 20% remain unchanged.  I hope I didn't do that bad.  I knew that I had the "I swear I've never seen this in my life" moment when I took the test, but I hope I did well.

Went grocery shopping with Jim today and discovered a shortcut, but I'm not sure if I wanna keep using it just because of the smell.

Chilling around a bit and winded up at work.  I work again in the mornings, so I probably will head out now.

Early

Friends come in all shapes and sizes!

I know it's an early blog post, but I am still recuperating from yesterday's 30+ hour-extravaganza.  The only thing I am proud of is that I managed to stay awake in church for the most part.

I was glad that Bishop Lewis relieved me of my duties when I had to work.  He is a great guy!  Everything got done right and I'm just glad for a supporting bishopric.

Got most of my home teaching done for the month, minus the 2 persons that moved out.  I guess I can't really count them now since there's no way to reach them in-person.  There's always Facebook, though.

An interesting situation led to Lizzie paining my right ring finger tonight at ward prayer.  I think I'd rather have a sassy gay friend than being one.  Which ever one comes first I guess.

I wondered if I made a mistake tonight with my response?  That's all right, I think all is well.  I'll do it differently the next time opportunity arises.  Next time, there will be no escape.  ;)

Hull Critical

So tired that I'm tripping!

Goodness...I worked from 2-9am this morning and had to chat with my uncle with a few family business.  In the end, I think I was awake for 30+ hours and only winded up with 2.5 hours of sleep.

The good news, though, was the we passed out cleaning checks.  In fact, our apartment was the first one to pass on our checker's list.

Cam made some great banana bread today and I appreciated his efforts!

The rest of my night was spent working and dealing with various on-air issues with my coworkers.  I am totally going straight to bed after this...

No Rest for the Weary

You know, not having enough sleep last night was a bad idea.  I had about 4 hours of sleep and I was dying in class.  It occurred to me that most people didn't show up to class this morning.  The cause?  Probably the premier of the new Dark Knight movie.

Speaking of which, the shooting at Colorado, was a horrible feat.  I have no idea why someone would do that, but it was really sad.  Sometimes, I think we will bring the end of the world upon us instead of some mystical forces coming down to change everything.

Anyways, besides a meeting I had in the afternoon, I spent part of my evening cleaning.  I went to Kennedy's dance performance tonight, but the tickets sold out.  That was too bad...

Instead, I chilled with Ammon and grabbed giant Slurpees and played games for the night.

Now, I have to work at 2am...until 9am...so, I think I'll be an angry person for the rest of the night.  But don't get me wrong, I wanted to help, it's just that any overnight can do that to ya.

Passing Time

Today went by relatively fast.  I woke up to do some last-minute cramming.  Then, I went for a run.  After that run, I went into the labs to check on a few things.  Jason was there, not sure why.  Probably just taking a test from Dr. Berges or something.  Updated Anne on the stuff happening in my life and went take the test.

I'm starting to get annoyed by o-chem now, but I'm not done with them just yet.

Work was typical.  It's summer...nothing ever happens at work.

I should do something fun this weekend.

Stream of Consciousness

Had 4 hours of sleep.  Went to class and then to the labs.  Nothing happened in the labs because Dr. Berges was still out of town.  Went out and chilled on campus for a bit.

Came home.  Found out my RedKonnect account was working again.  Loads of chemistry homework and studying.  Chatting with friends on FB, Twitter, etc.

Went to Institute for the first time in weeks.  Had some drinks and headed over to Provo Canyon with Joe and Sam.  Walked around the park.  Switched cars, and left with Jim.  Bonfire with smores!  Met lots of new people!

Went to Seven Eleven next to the library.  Bought Dr. Pepper/Coke Slurpee and won a 1/4 lb. hotdog.  Had text conversations and talked with friends.

It's been a great day!  Now, worrying about o-chem test tomorrow...

Twist of Fate Revisited

Today had been an interesting day.  I went to class actually knowing what was going on in recitation session.  There was nothing to do in the labs besides checking on the cells.  For some strange reason, they are growing slowly.  I wonder if it's the medium.

I spent most of my day doing o-chem homework.  Then, the unthinkable happened.  A discovery that shook the foundation of my sanity.  Needless to say, I had a good time with it and figured out a bigger piece of the puzzle.  (If you could hear me laugh right now, it's the crazy evil guy laugh...almost.)

Went to DQ for a midnight snack and here I am, relating the tale of today to you on the Internet.

People, world, take care!  I was a happy man today.

Bittersweet

The bad news arrived today.  Brian passed away after a complication.  Sometimes, we wonder why and what was to be learned from the incident.  I was reminded of fragility of life.  I  know there are people who are annoyed with people in general, but it is the fact that life can change on you instantaneously caused me to place people first.

I truly believe that the only things I'll have when I have moved on are the knowledge I possess and the people I've met.

With that said, I hope this "ending" is another beginning to changed lives for all those affected by the passing of Brian.

In other aspects of life, I think I did some productive things today.  There are still good happening in my life and the lives of others.

This morning left me with a smile on my face even though I was tired.  Got a haircut and chilled out with Jim and Logan.  Tucker delivered the bad news and the deep train of thoughts came around.

Be safe, folks.

Over The Fantasy

I swear that I ain't tripping.

If I could describe my weekend to you, I would.  The sad part is, I'm not sure what exactly happened besides the usual stuff.

You know, like working and church...plus homework because I have a test coming up next week.

There's one thing I'm sure of, though.  Is that I'm in a relatively good mood.  Everything just seems so peachy and wonderful.

Even the silly stuff and trails seemed hilarious.  Anyways, I think I should stop writing before something strange happens.

Remember, don't do anything I would do.

Missing My Headache

Ever wonder why penguins aren't all white?

Goodness gracious my head hurt for the most part of the day.  This was probably mainly due to the fact that I didn't get to sleep until past 4:30am.

Basically, I didn't get anything productive done today.  The weather was crummy, too!

Overall, it's been a very slow day and not much happened at home or at work.

So, here's a picture of an albino penguin for you to enjoy.

Take care world!  I need more sleep...

Poetry Revisted

My day has been the same old same old, so I decided to present you with my version of a translation of a poem.  Enjoy.

	Daylight breaking into vast land. Tells us the journey's start is at hand. Heading towards the future, And running into the wind As I breathe in the breeze. A dream engraved within our eyes; Presents a way to freedom for us. Fly to the Neverland, We are waken up by the Immeasurable courage of our hearts. Once the flower lived in our hearts, It is alluring also far apart. Carefree and serene landscape Along the banks of world's shape Is bound to be reborn once again. Infinity never ceases to prolong its spread. Filling our hearts with its token of love. Fly to the Neverland, While holding onto you, To whom my hands were given in faith. A dream engraved within our eyes; Presents a way to freedom for us. Fly to the Neverland We are waken up by the Immeasurable courage of our hearts.

It's Just That Simple

Let's see... a relatively straightforward day.  Went to class and then went running.  I did about 3 miles today, which is a relatively small increase from my usual 2.5.  Well, you gotta start somewhere in life.  Can't know everything from the beginning, then there's no point in coming around here.

It was a sweaty experience, but I think I'm getting better at it.

Had a quick meeting at work in the afternoon.  By quick, I meant it only lasted an hour.  Doesn't matter, still got paid.

I had the opportunity to finish a cup of ice cream with a knife today.  That's right, with a KNIFE!  Real man eats ice cream with a knife.  It totally irked me because there were no more spoons in the break room.

To-do this weekend: study!

7/11!

I didn't do as well as I wanted on my o-chem test, but that's okay.  I'll just have to try harder for the next one that's happening next week.  I might end up taking it on Thursday again.

To make myself feel a bit better, I went down and grabbed a free Slurpee from 7/11.  It only happens once a year, so I thought I might as well take advantage of it.  Food does make me happier for the most part, even if they are kinda junky.

The rest of the day was spent working on homework and then Shana hosted a zumba lesson in the evening.  I was surprised that I could stand it.  Looks like all the endurance training from my normal weekly workouts have paid off!  I still plan on running around 3 miles tomorrow, even if it rains.

Game night with Ben, Joe, and Sam was great!  I haven't been around there for almost 3 weeks due to work-related things I had.

And thus, we chug along in the merry waters of life.

Strange Happenings

The whole day had been slightly confusing.  It was probably the heat.  Amidst the confusion, I did get my work out done at the Smith Field House.

My email was being funky at the time, so I had to go into the labs to talk to Dr. Berges about what's coming up for the rest of the month.  I'm glad I did, actually.  I got a detailed explanation on a few upcoming operations.

Keith's friends did something really funny today.  You should ask him more about it.  Basically, his friends didn't realize they never properly introduced themselves to me before they started coming in and doing stuff.  It got a bit awkward, but it was all fine.

Cam and I went grocery shopping.  That was when I learned the bad news.  A friend in the ward, Brian Kelley, got into a motorcycle accident today.  From the information released, he is currently not doing too well.  Please keep him in your prayers.

I'm gonna turn in now because of early morning class.  Take care, world.

Sanity Regained

Nothing beats the reality back into you after starting another Monday in the real world.  I have to admit, I still feel kinda nutty.

Some people have asked me why I post in my blog so often.  The answer is that during Spring and Summer Terms, I have a bit more time to write down my thoughts than in Fall and Winter.  That's the short answer anyways.  If you want to know more, let me know.

O-Chem didn't seem too difficult this morning, but I was having a hard time to concentrate since I only had 4 hours of sleep.  Which reminds me, I am totally going straight to bed when I am done here around midnight.

I didn't do much in the labs today, actually.  I just autoclaved a few things for Wednesday and we'll see where we go from there.

A 2-hour nap was not the answer to my drowsiness, at all!  While I napped, I had the FFVI symphonic musics on the playlist.  Needless to say, the dreams were interesting.

Came to work and viola!  There went the rest of my day.  I missed another FHE...again.

Sanity Conflict I: Madness

How adorable!

Having had to work everyday this past week at odd hours, I feel like my sanity reached a transition point.  Note I didn't say breaking point because it's not breaking.  I'm just starting to become a tad nutty.  The fact that I had to skip church today helped the situation none.

As an alternative, I spent some time on lds.org and read scriptures for the majority of my shift.  Being a supervisor on Sundays usually means there aren't much to worry about, especially when the programs for CC checks were loading.

I winded up reading from the beginning of the Book of Mormon to 2 Nephi 25.  I made some annotations, etc.  I haven't done so much scripture studying for a while.  In addition, I managed to get half of my home teaching done.  I have some great folks for that and I'm grateful for Joe and Ben's help in Andrew's absence.

Anyways, Lance came visit me today and I had a good chat with him.  He's an awesome fella.  You guys should all befriend him.  We caught up some and I proceeded to visit some other friends.  I ended up staying over at Haley's and saw familiar friends like Laci, etc.

The rest of my night was spent in apartment 8 playing mafia.  Then, the rest is history.  To be frank, I haven't kept up with people very well this past 2 weeks, but I am busy...and it'll only get busier.

Fall of Sanity III: Ghostly Recon

There is NONE!

There's no escape from the world we live in today.  On the bright side, I was able to sleep for 8 hours and had a healthy amount of work out during the day.

I'm trying my hardest to figure out what else is worth mentioning, but I'm drawing up blank.

The remainder of my day was spent at work.  We had a few technical difficulties with the Spectre Logic device, but other than that, it was all under control, and of course, a relatively slow evening.

Now, I'm home.  I got nothing to do...but at least I've finished the plan that will make all the efforts I've put into recently worthwhile.

We shall see.  It's a long, but potentially very rewarding project.

Fall of Sanity II: Initiative

What?  Some sort of motivation going on in the middle of Summer Term?  That's full of nonsense and shenanigans.

Today certainly didn't feel like a Friday.  Considering I've been up since 6:35am and still at work tells you a lot about what I've been doing all day.  In other words, essentially nothing.

I have a few items on my agenda sorted out tonight.  I was surprised by my "recon" skills.  In this day and age, it seems like you could get almost any info you want.  A plan has been devised to work around the puzzle ahead and will probably be a long term project, which will either cause great joy or no sentiment at all when it is all said and done.

Besides studying, working, and various exercise routines, I wonder if I should toss in wife hunting just to add to the stress I already have in life.  Since I have about 1.5 more years left in Provo, maybe I should take a moment and look at the possibilities.

Fall of Sanity I: Crack Down

I didn't even bother go to recitation this morning because we haven't started a new chapter and I doubt Gledi was going to start something different.  Instead, I used the time to go into the research lab and studied for the o-chem test.

My uncle chatted with me as I reviewed my notes, etc.  A few hours later, I set out to take my test.  It wasn't bad.  I hope I get at least into the 80s.

When I walked out of the Testing Center, I received texts from the bishopric about how to write out a check.  I was glad that I could show them where the official checks were and thus dispelled the sense of panic in the clerk's office.  I'll have to remind them to deal with the expense report this Sunday.

The rest of my night were spent working.  This is a 40-hour work week for me, so I'm glad I'll rolling in the dough for immediate future expenses.

Happy 4th of July!

BOOM!

Today marks the 236th birthday of USA.  Granted, I spent half the day working, but I still had fun today.

A number of friends and I put together a barbecue and we all had a decent meal in the early afternoons.  Afterwards, we played games in the pool until 4pm.

I really hope I can learn to swim properly.  I can't seem to kick my legs up in the water without feeling pain in my lower back.  I wonder if the slipped discs injury had something to do with it?

I didn't get to see any fireworks this year, but I don't mind.  I've seen some preludes to the big ones a couple of days past.  More importantly, there hasn't been any fire spawning around Provo...yet.

Although I don't agree with everything our politicians do in this country, I still love our nation.  I can only hope we put the right people into power, so our prosperity will be preserved for generations to come.

Two Hundred Some Years Ago

My day has been pretty chill.  Went to class and swung by the labs to see what Dr. Berges and Anne were doing with the humanized mice.  I'm always reminded how lucky I am to be able to work for him whenever I see him.  Life just doesn't happen that way all the time.

Ty and I went and bought the goods needed for the party tomorrow.  That's another $20 some I sank into the economy this week and it's only Tuesday!

Other than that, I just talked to people and did my homework along the way.  Roamed around with Brother Westover for a bit and saw the bishop.  They have high opinions of us and I'm actually somewhat embarrassed by the positive feedback.  I'm not used to them.

Anyways, I have a long night of work ahead of me.  I'll let you know how things turn out tomorrow.

Different Perspective

I didn't have work today because of the Independence Day mix up and trades between operators this week.  It was the first time I attended FHE this Term.  We took a simple walk down the temple grounds.  The tranquility around it certainly calmed the souls.

Other than that, my day was spent on o-chem homework as I have a test this Thursday and I want to have some time to study.

The evening was great!  I spent time with friends at apartment 22 and played Catchphrase.  We worked out a holiday plan for the next 2 days and I'm looking forward to it.  We will definitely invite people as the schedule fit.  Who knows?  Maybe a lot of people have the same idea as we do and will tag along.

Paradox Equation

Cutey!

Just when you think you've got freedom all figured out, guess again.  The concept of freedom is like economics, many factors contribute to the direction and state of existence of this abstract concept.

Obviously, with freedom comes with responsibility (oxymoron?).  This got me thinking, especially after the Freedom Fireside tonight.  On a completely unrelated note, we were lost on UVU campus for about half and hour before we figured out where the heck we were going.  Despite of being tired, it was totally worth it.

Fast and testimony Sunday was great too!  I bore my testimony and had the chance to listen to others as well.  Break the fast was always welcoming because of the food and the people.

Jenn taught us a rather interesting game after break the fast.  It was amusing.  Ty also introduced an old favorite, which left me somewhat sore in my left leg.

I may not be the man I was 5 years ago, but I'm still far from where I want to be in life.  There have been many things on my mind, one after the other, and I had to confide them with some friends.  When you are in my situation, friends seem to be the most logical source of comfort.

The good news is, I think I found myself work out buddies and maybe even for martial arts routines.