CP Exams didn't feel like they went so hot on Friday. It's Sunday night now and I am so happy that this is a 3 day weekend. Janae and I went out for Korean BBQ on Friday night with Danny Choi and the gang. There were 14 people in our group. I have never been to a legit Korean restaurant like that. It was all-you-can eat and you cook your own meat on little grills that sit on your table.

We could barely move by the time dinner was done, but it was so good. I met Dan who apparently also went to Madagascar, although he was there for a study abroad term. It was cool to talk to him about living there. Drew and Will Merlin were across from us and Janae was sitting next to Diana and some other girls. Jay and Erwin were there, too. There were several other people sitting at the ends that I never actually met. It was Marc's 24th birthday. Between all the people and the fact that we had all had 2 exams that morning, we were in a great mood and we ate and talked and ate and talked for three and a half hours.

Yesterday, Janae went to pilates and I hung around the house. We did a little shopping but didn't buy anything. We grabbed a chipotle burrito and some panera bread soup before going to a double feature at the theater. We saw The Dilemma (hilarious) and True Grit (slow and predictable).

Today, church was good but uneventful. We are going to hang out with a couple of couples tomorrow on MLK day. It should be good.

I am feeling crushed by CP. Janae and I had a lazy weekend and I studied a little, but the test is on Friday and I am going to have to focus in this week to be ready. We made a pot roast on Friday but didn't eat it until Saturday... Sometimes our eating habits make no sense, but in the context of our priorities sitting down and eating a well-prepared meal is never at the top. I felt a little tired and lazy this weekend. Saturday afternoon, I went with Taylor, Simi, and Derek to do our last community session, teaching taxi drivers about strokes. It was fun because there was four of us and we had lots of interesting things to chat about. The downside was that none of us planned appropriately for the fact that we were there all afternoon and we weren't close to anything edible. We were all starving by the end and ready to go home. I spent the rest of Saturday at the apartment relaxing with Janae. We watched Jersey Girl, the original, and it was pretty funny. They sure don't make movies like they used to, for better and for worse. The hair and fashions were predictably entertaining, but there was a simplicity of seeing life before everyone had cell phones (not to mention smart phones) and computers. The rich hero has a successful job in printing, which is interesting because there is no money in that anymore.

On Sunday, we were back in the Chevy Chase ward for the first time in a month, due to sickness and travel. We had an excellent lesson on John the Baptist and I feel like everyone was able to follow the lesson without as much explanation, now that we have moved out of the Old Testament. We gave them stickers that said "follow the rules" and "share". They thought it was funny and humored us, although the chocolate covered macadamia nuts were even more popular than the stickers.

The rest of Sunday was also spent at the apartment. It is cold enough outside right now that venturing out requires a real purpose. We are supposed to get some more snow tomorrow and I am not looking forward to it. I will try to add more later, but for now I had better get productive.

AA

I am double-dipping today. I just typed up a reflection of the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that I attended for a school assignment. I really enjoyed the hour-long meeting! Afterwards, I was starving and so I indulged in a hamburger from Five Guys. I love that I can sit there at the counter and eat peanuts until my burger is ready to eat. The AA meeting was right off of Wisconsin and if it wasn't so miserably cold, it would have been fun to stroll around Georgetown. As it was, I walked really fast and enjoyed the sights as I went. : )

AA Reflection Assignment

• What was your experience at AA/AL-ANON/NA like?

My experience at AA was like a breath of fresh air. They were welcoming, positive, intelligent, and eloquent. I had never attended an AA meeting before and I was unprepared for how advanced and committed this particular group was to maintaining their sobriety through the AA program. It was inspiring to hear many members of the large group relate how they had overcome their addictions. Everyone mingled well and seemed more like family than individuals from various walks of life.

• How was this similar to or different from your expectations?

I expected that I would enjoy my experience at AA, but what I felt, heard, and saw far surpassed my expectations. There were 40 people in attendance, which was larger than I had expected and people communicated with me and welcomed me. My reception remained warm after I identified myself as a Georgetown medical student. The group included me and made me feel right at home.

• How do you think AA/AL-ANON/NA could be helpful to your future patients?

The positive environment and strong commitment that I felt among the group would provide a powerful support network to my future patients who will be struggling with addiction. The group members were warm and welcoming to everyone and were honest about their problems and their successes. That environment could play a powerful role in helping future patients become sober, too.

Christmas in Hawaii was amazing. We stayed in Princeville, right next to Hanalei Bay on the north side of Kauai. We surfed, snorkeled, boogie boarded, and relaxed. It was perfect. Hopefully, we will live in Hawaii some day.

Being there in such a laid back environment was really good for both of us. I felt more at peace than I have in a while and I think that had to do with getting out of the city and away from school.

When I was younger, I always wanted to be where the action was. Now, I am much more concerned about being somewhere where I can hear myself think. For us, I feel like Hawaii would be that way.

Being married to Janae is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I read an article online today that said you should marry someone who expands your personality and exposes you to new experiences. Janae has done a great job of that for me already and we have only been married a year. She has invested lots of time in getting me to learn how to dance (an ongoing process). One time she surprised me with peticures. My wardrobe and grooming have improved greatly. She has more common sense than anyone I know. I have to confess that the exposure has been more one-sided than it should be. I am not sure what new things I have exposed her to. I guess I read to her and tell her about the things I learn in school. But I think she shares more with me than I do with her because she is a better verbal communicator than I am. I could write until my fingers fall off, but my words come much slower. We are well-balanced in that sense because she doesn't like to write, but she could talk to anyone all day long and never run out of interesting things to talk about. That is just one of the millions of things that I love about her. Isn't she cute?

Time Lapse

So I forgot about my blog completely. I guess I am repenting as I get back on here. Cozanne did some energy work on me before we left Chicago and one solution to help me fight my internal battles was to keep a journal. Ha! I used to be so good at recording my life. Back then, I didn't have anything interesting to write about. My life was simple.

So much has happened since I stopped writing in my journal. It is much harder to write when you have something worth writing about. Now that I am in medical school, I don't have much time but I am resolved to try again to record my thoughts. I'm not going to make this blog public, but I will try to write in order to maximize my positive energy. I want to resonate at a high level so that I can soak up medical school. It really is like trying to drink from a fire hose.

Janae and I have been married for a year. We celebrated our anniversary in Cleveland, OH. It just happened to be a convenient halfway point in the drive home from Chicago. Janae and I stayed in the Marriott on the 24th floor, with a killer corner view of downtown. We had one of the nicest spots in the city and despite that, we are both decidedly uninterested in living there. In fact, we have our eyes on Hawaii right now. I think we could have a great life there but I don't want to try until we are in a financially stronger position than I will be as a resident.

I am studying for my pulmonology. I am working hard, but having difficulty wrapping my head around the equations and the graphs. There are too many variables and they are all blending together. That being said, I had better go sort some out. Actually, I am reviewing radiology slides right now and that is going much better than the equations. Hopefully, there won't be another major gap between this post and the next.

Sleep deprivation

So I got about two, maybe three, hours of sleep last night. I still woke up at 6:30am and went to the gym. Somehow, I do not think that my experience is normal, but maybe it is. Going without a full night's sleep puts me in the strangest moods. I feel dreamy and disconnected. Time moves fast and then slow and then fast again. Attention Deficit Disorder sets in and my mind wanders. But most of the time, I am over-focused, so it is a nice vacation for my brain.

I'm going to the Provo temple today. I went on last Tuesday and last Saturday so that makes three times in two weeks, a personal best. I'm not feeling particularly spiritual or charitable, but things have just worked out that way.

So this week I discovered that both Cobra Starship and Owl City have new music out. It is a good thing that Jason keeps me updated about these things! It has been great living with him this summer. We have had some sweet adventures, sprinkled between work for both of us and school for me.

Here's two:

1. One Saturday night, we took a group to the hot springs in Spanish Fork Canyon. Jason brought glowsticks and they were the perfect thing. They gave us enough light to see each other but the stars were still bright. We had a big group: Nate, Jason, me, Brittany H, Matt, Myke, and Marianne Olsen. We didn't get back to Provo until 2:30am so I was starving! Me, Jason, and Brittany hit Rancherito's at their new location across from DI. It was a sweet night. Oh, and I was pulled over for drunk driving by two cop cars. That was definitely a highlight! It took them about 30 seconds to realize that I was level. It was all gravy afte that.

2. Last weekend, we went hiking in Zion's National Park. It was gorgeous! We drove up with Tiffany and Tanya (from Ukraine, a friend of JJ's) and arrived in the canyone after dark. The moon was almost full and it was beautiful to drive up the switchbacks, dodging deer and a fox as we went. We were the last people to arrive so dinner was ready and camp was set up when we arrived, which was a nice perk. We slept under the stars and woke up with the sun. On Saturday, we hiked Angel's Landing in the morning and the Narrows in the afternoon. Jason and I ended up hiking on our own: we move at a fast pace. We had a backpack with all of the water and food and we traded off with that. Swimming in the Narrows was freezing but refreshing after the day's adventures. We met up with the rest of the group at the visitor's center and drove home. Just being out there and laughing and exploring nature all combined to make a weekend that I will always remember.

inspired

So I have done a really great job keeping a journal all the way from Freshman year of college up until a couple months ago when I was feeling overwhelmed with life. I want to get back into it but, I'm bored with keeping a journal for myself. Maybe I will get back in the spirit if it is public!

We'll see how long the experiment lasts.

Today I took my CHEM 353 final. I am officially done with my pre-Med courses! I have been working on them slowly but surely since Jan '07 so this is kind of a big deal! For fun, I am going to go smash things with my friend, Brittany. I'm not angry, but somehow it just seems like a fitting way to close that chapter of life.

I also just realized that I forgot to eat lunch today! I posted a bunch of my books online. I hope I can sell them because I will never read about the history of creativity or organic chemistry EVER again! : )