Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Are You Freaking Kidding Me?
I wanted to post a news video but I couldn't find one that was good enough. So, I'll have to explain what's going on.
The Oregon weather peeps have been predicting this "Arctic Blast," they call it, for about the last week or so. It was the leading story at every hour no matter what else happened in the news. It was an even bigger story than a bombing at a bank that killed two cops and critically injured another. Are you serious?...the weather is more important than the killing of two officers of the law by a bomb? Something is seriously wrong with that. Then again, it is Oregon and people here think when it snows in the valley all hell has broken loose...and let me tell you, after it snows here, all hell really has broken loose (or frozen over, whichever one you feel fit the situation).
The storm was said to hit sometime Sunday morning. T and I were assigned to give talks in church this particular Sunday and I was tempted, when given the assignment, to ask for a rain check because I knew it was finals week starting the Monday following and I knew preparing a talk would take away from vital studying time. I decided to accept the assignment putting my faith in the good Lord above that I would be blessed by my willingness to serve...maybe blessed with a few A's on exams. So T and I prepared and we showed up to church early ready to speak. The Bishop announced the proceedings of the meeting but strangely only announced up to the first speaker, which was a young lady in the ward. She gave a very fine 5 minute talk and sat down after which the Bishop stood back up and said the snow was picking up and he was going to error on the side of caution and cancel the rest of church. Now, we've lived in Idaho for the last five years and we've had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with a considerable amount of snow. We saw a few inches in Portland while in Idaho we often measure snow fall in feet. Never in my life have I ever seen church canceled. For all our Utah and Idaho readers, can you imagine if church was canceled because of snow? You wouldn't go to church for 6 mouths out of the year or more.
Oh, and as I was walking out of the chapel a fellow stopped me and said, "I don't know how many times I've prayed to have church canceled when I had to give a talk and it happened to you."
It's Tuesday night now. School was canceled yesterday, we had class today, another storm (can I even bring myself to call it a storm), another flurry is said to blow over us early tomorrow and I just received confirmation that school is now canceled for tomorrow. This is absolutely ridiculous. A few inches of snow falls, a little ice forms and mayhem breaks out in the Portland metropolitan area. Tons of snow could have fallen and thick ice could have built on the roadways in Idaho and business as usual.
Though Idaho schools do get out for Potato Harvest...that's another one I don't understand.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Are You Serious?
Well, have I got one for you. I have a class mate who is about 30 years old and originally from Colorado. I don't want to name names in case he may bump into this blog in the future. So I will call him RC.
RC dresses nice, is not a bad looking fellow, and seems to have an alright personality. He is not the brightest chap but he's not stupid either. All in all, RC is a good guy. However, RC has a serious hygiene problem. He blatantly refuses to apply deodorant or antiperspirant to the under portion of his arm pit. He happens to be in my cadaver dissection group and his B.O. is so horrendous that I would rather smell the formaldehyde of the cadaver than his pits.
I should also explain that RC is not absent minded of the issue. He knows he smells and he doesn't care. When he introduced himself to another friend of mine in the class he straight up told my friend that he didn't use deodorant as if he was proud of it. He also openly bragged to the guys in the lockerroom that he wanted to be "the guy" who doesn't ever wash is scrubs from dissection lab. Note: we have lab for three quarters. With three months to a quarter, that is nine months spending 6 hours a week in lab and never washing his scrubs. I wash mine, as does the majority of the class, every week; and the smell still doesn't completely go away.
I'm not sure if RC ever wants to be married or if he ever wants a girlfriend, but if so I guess he has come to the right place. Portland has plenty of hippies just like him. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can get RC to wear deodorant I would greatly appreciate the advice. For crying in the night, I think the cadaver can even smell his B.O.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Ode to the Hair
Not one of my finest hairstyles (but T looks cute)
Hiking hair with bandanna
Cowboy hat hair (looks pretty sweet, I'd say)
Shaggy, messy hair
Slicked back and parted hair (one of my favs.)
Straight hair, aka lead singer of a hit band hair
And here is the conclusion. That's a years worth of hard work. Compare the pile to the clippers and also realize it's a good solid 2-3 inches thick on the floor.
The result! I'm pretending to cry, but if you look hard enough you might be able to see a real tear squeezing out of my eye. I'm not to happy to have a cold head again.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Moving, Cruising, and Schooling
Moving
We moved from Rexburg late in September. We finished up our jobs, packed our stuff and loaded it in a truck in a matter of two days. I don't think I ever realized how horrible moving is. I've moved myself around but that consisted of only my stuff. Add in another persons things and a whole heap of other pointless crap and we had a mess of our hands. T and I really don't have much, for crying out loud, we only lived in a 600 sq. foot apartment. You can't cram that much in that space, plus if you've read our previous post we sold our couch. However, while packing it seemed the CRAP never ended and the packing never ceased.
We were finally off on September 18 and we were a bit sad to leave a wonderful place and many of our closest friends. To add to our moving woes we were not able to move into our apartment right away so we had to store our things at my parents house for over a week (by the way, we would like to thank my parents for storing our stuff in their house. It was not very convenient for them but very much appreciated by us). Finally, after over a week we loaded a moving truck for the second time and unloaded it for a second time at our new apartment in NE Portland. Our new joint is older than our previous place and still a one bedroom but it is 135 sq. feet bigger which is easily noticed...we are able to fit a couch, love seat, and recliner chair in the living room. In our old place we only had a couch and that barely squeezed in. All in all we are happy here so far and we feel it will be a good neighborhood to live in for now. It is quiet and surrounded by residential houses so it keeps the foot traffic away and gives the area a safer feel to it. Hopefully we'll enjoy our time here as much as we did in Rexburg.
Cruising
OK, enough of the boring stuff, let's talk about our cruise we went on. While my folks were watching our crap T and I went on a cruise to the Caribbean. We left from Florida and spent 7 days cruising to the Bahamas, St Thomas of the US Virgin Islands, and to St. Maarten. In general it was all beautiful, it was mostly relaxing and the food was delicious--at least the food that didn't make me sick--(I'll explain in a few). Cruises are definitely ALL that they are cracked up to be. And Carnival was awesome too.
The only downside was getting food poisoning. I'm not really sure why I couldn't win money through Bingo or win the drawing for a free watch but I could be the one person on the ship to get food poisoning. I let me tell you, did I ever get sick.
I'll begin to describe the situation by explaining that I have always wanted to try ahi tuna. So many people have told me it's good and cruises are the perfect time to try new foods because it's all free. So I have waited many months for this cruise and passed up many ahi tuna at restaurants so I could try it on the cruise. So, I did...and it was NASTY! It was served with a cube of watermelon and it did not satisfy any of the craving I had build up over the months. I didn't think anything of it considering I had never had ahi tuna and just figured I wasn't too partial to it. Well, after a nap and a small bowel of strawberry ice cream I was not feeling so good. Again I didn't think anything of it due to the fact that I had gorged myself the previous night at dinner by eating a New York strip steak, a full rack of baby-back ribs, some shrimp concoction, and a dessert or two. I just figured I had a bit of a case of indigestion...go figure. At this point all I was concerned about was feeling better before dinner so I could gorge myself again. Well, the uneasy feeling became a really sour gassy feeling and shortly after became painful. Dinner was rapidly approaching and I knew I had no chance of getting over whatever I had before dinner so I settled in for the night. T finally got hungry herself and went to get a bite to eat. Soon after she left all hell broke lose inside my digestive system. I had diarrhea every 20 minutes. Though it was horrible I can handle diarrhea every once in awhile. But of course that couldn't be it. About an hour after the squirts began I started to throw up. Remember, I had gorged myself the previous night, and in fact, the whole time we had been on the boat so I had a lot of food to barf up. Throwing up was so horrible that I would like to describe it as follows (if you are the least bit easily grossed out I would skip the rest of this discussion). As, anatomically accurate as I can explain it, it is a good thing my digestive system is attached to the outside of my body via the anus to the rectum or else I might have thrown up my whole GI tract. I was heaving so hard I was literally asking Heavenly Father to take me from the earth right then. I have thrown up many times in my life but no other time was even remarkably close to as bad as this. Anyway, enough of that. The rest of the cruise was good once I cleaned my system out and I recovered a bit.
Here are some pictures
T and I with our evening servers. Orlando (L) Antonio (R)
T about to dive in at a St. Maarten beach
Schooling
I started Chiropractic school at the beginning of October. It's crazy but awesome. I love that I am learning things that will pertain to me as a Doctor of Chiropractic. I also get to do a full dissection of a cadaver and I love it. I'm starting to think I would have been a pretty good surgeon. I am excited to meet new people and so far they all are fun and interested in studying and learning. I'll leave it at that right now and give a more in depth overview next time I post. This blog is long enough as is.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Update
Metcalf Family Reunion
T's family had a family reunion in Malad, Idaho the week after graduation. It was nice to see her family and especially her Grandpa. He came out from Virginia so see the family and it was nice to have him around. We played a lot of games including a lot of volleyball. The best day was when we went to Lava Hot Springs and played in the big pool they have with a three level high dive and water slides. Below are a few pictures of T and I jumping off the high dive.
Table Rock Mountain
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Graduation
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Hiking, Camping, and Updating
Chillin' out at our first campsite
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Dam Marathon
I dropped T and her friend off at the dam at 5:15 am for the 5:30 start. After the race started, I drove home and watched Sports.center for four hours. Than I drove to the finish line and picked T up. That was my view of the race.
T running the last stretch before the finish line
Finishing her first ever marathon...way to go!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
You Know You're a Poor College Student When...
This last Saturday T and I went on a little bike ride. First to Ta.co Be.ll to purchase 89 cent double beef burritos (best deal around by the way; they are so good), then to Snow.asis (a shack selling delicious shaved ice), and finally to the park to enjoy the goods. There, at the park, is where the inspiration for this post unfolded.
After partaking in the cheap meal we decided to take a stroll around the park. The night air was welcoming and the park was bustling with people. Before we started our walk, we needed a place to lock up our bikes lest another poor college student tried to take them. We found a covered eating area and locked our bikes up to a post. On one of the tables I noticed a bag of chips and made a joke to T to try one a see if they were good. I should inform you this was a bag of already opened chips that was obviously left there after a big party of some sort. T refused and told me to eat one. Normally I would have said no, but these were BBQ--one of my favorites--and I wanted to see what T's reaction would be if I ate one. So, I opened the bag, grabbed a chip, examined it to see if there were any ants on it, then put it in my mouth. It was good; not stale or anything. We determined they were fine and decided to eat the rest of them as we took our walk around the park. It's a bit embarrassing to admit but we figure they had only been sitting there since that day. No harm no foul, right?
Three 89 cent burritos, $2.67. Two snow cones, $4.50. Finding a half eaten bag of chips at the park and finishing them off...priceless.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Going Green!
JUST KIDDING, I hope you could read right thought all that rubbish. We aren't interested in saving the environment...well I am a little bit, but not to the extent of some Oregon dwellers. Anyway, the real reason we purchased the bikes is to save the green...money that is. With the astronomical gas prices, driving is becoming a serious burden. Filling the car with gas is honestly depressing. So, T and I brain stormed one night and determined we could save a ton of money if we rode bikes around Rexburg. So far it's been good, except for T likes to use every excuse in the book to not to ride her bike and to use the car. I, on the other hand, have enjoyed the exercise and the fresh air.
Hopefully we'll keep up the riding and save some green, as well as pick up a new hobby.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Welcome the Newest Member of the Family
I just fed him in this picture and he is at the surface looking for more food.
In this picture he's looking out one side of his tank, probably trying to watch TV.
I'm not sure what he's doing here...I think he's working on his dance moves.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
March Moustache Dubbed a Success
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Are You Serious?
My first post in this series of blogs is about cell phone ring tones. Now, I will be first to jump on sweet ring tones and I don't rag on others about theirs, that's not what this is about. What I can't stand is the volume at which we feel we must keep our ringers.
I was sitting in a quite building on campus the other day trying to get some things done before I moved on to my next class. Everyone around me was doing to same, enjoying peace and quiet and the ability to focus, and some even use the silence to catch up on a few Z's. Then, as if the fire alarm had been pulled, this girls phone starts blaring, so loud in fact, the poor fellow napping next to me sat up like he'd awoken from a horrid nightmare. Even while to phone sounded away the owner decided to finish the paragraph she was reading before answering it. Are you serious?
This is not the first encounter I have had with loud cell phone ringers, this is just the frosting on the cake. Why do we have to have our ringers so loud? The darn thing should be in your pocket, in your purse, strapped to your belt, or in some other bag. It's like people want to announce to the world that someone is actually calling them. "Hey everyone, I'm getting a phone call on my cell phone, I am so popular!" What would it be like if every time I got an email I shouted at the top of my lungs, "I got mail!" or "I got an email, I must be popular!" I don't think that would fly so well, in fact I'd probably have less friends than I have right now. No one gives a flying crap when you get a phone call. Let's make a resolve and try to keep our cell phone ringers on low, please.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Starvin' Marvin
Saturday, March 1, 2008
March Madness Moustache Mayhem
I would encourage any readers to grow a moustache during March and spread the mayhem outside of BYU-Idaho. I will also post a picture at the end of the month to show everyone the progress of my sweet stache. I would encourage you to do it as well. By the way, this is a male event only...sorry ladies.
Happy growing season!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Rexburg, Idaho Temple Dedication
It is interesting how much the temple has changed this area. It has change not only the landscape of Rexburg but the feeling of Rexburg as well. People seem to have change as the temple sprung out of the hill. Even for myself, seeing the temple watch over the city has increase my love and appreciation for this small town. During the last summer, when I would walk to where I would catch the van for work in the very early hours of the morning, I would stare up at the construction site. It would be difficult to see in the fog and darkness, however, it really brought an extended peace in the already quiet morning.
I heard someone say about the Rexburg Temple that it is unique in the fact that it can be seen for miles in any direction, 360 degrees around it, without any interference. It truly is a "light and a beacon" unto this area.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
So, So Cold!
After finally prying the frozen car door open, I got in and made a horrible attempt to start the car. It took 10 minutes just to get the darn thing started and another five or so, holding down the gas pedal, to keep it alive. If I let completely off the pedal then the car would die and I would be back to square one. By this time, I swore I had been outside for 15 to 20 minutes and I could barely feel my hands and feet. I decided to head in without scrapping the windows for worry of losing a finger or toe.
Once safely inside and beginning to feel the blood warm up in my extremities I got on my computer and saw the temperature was 20 below zero. I was shocked! I found out later that all the surrounding area schools had been canceled because it was too cold, of course BUY-Idaho was still in session. I guess they realize we have already reached our educational pinnacle so if one of our student body wasted away to hypothermia or blood freezing within the vessels it wouldn't be that big of a loss.
I'm pretty sure when it's that cold even the icicles are screaming for a warm coat.