I Hate to Steal Thunder From My Previous Post...

I saw this news video and couldn't see not sharing this awesome story that really touched me. It really brings home the important message about families. Here's the LINK.

The Results Are In!!!

I logged onto the computer this morning... are you all in a lot of suspense, yet??? Wait for it, wait for it...
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(see comments section for results)

T - 2 Days and Counting...

I officially find out where I will be spending the next three years of my life on Wednesday, December 17. It is just so exciting to finally find out my fate. I'm not really nervous, it's more just excitement. I mean, I could be on the West Coast, East Coast, Hawaii, or down in Texas. Of course I have my preferences, but I know we'll make due wherever we end up, and it will be such a fun day. On a side note, as an update about the Radioshack drama, I filed the complaint with the Better Business Bureau a week ago and a rep from Radioshack personally called and left a voicemail today and up'ed the offer to $20 off the original $129.99 price tag. They had previously only been willing to offer $10 off. So, while it's still not nearly good enough to satisfy me (the BF sale price was $49.99), it's a step in the right direction, and maybe it's a sign that they are willing to negotiate a more reasonable and realistic deal on the phone. If not, oh well, I haven't lost anything by trying, and it will only look bad for them, not me. Let's all hope this impacts their customer service policy in the future, so other people don't get taken for a ride like this, or maybe they don't learn from their mistakes and they go under, time will tell.

Dear Abby (Advice Wanted)

Okay, first you have to hear my story/rant then help me figure out what to do about it.

I was perusing the black friday sale items and found a new digital cordless telephone with answering machine I wanted for our house since our old one has been needing replaced for a long time. It was at Radioshack. So, I originally planned on going to the closest Radioshack when it opened and pick it up. Well, I found out that Radioshack made their deals available online Thanksgiving night. So, I thought "sweet, that will save me some standing out in the cold and early wakeup. So, I placed the order online instead of going to the store--same price with free shipping.

Well, I waited the three business days for order processing which in my mind was rediculously long to begin with--I'd never waited more than a day or two on any online order; something just smelt sour about this. I checked the order status several times online, and it kept saying "item located, in stock" which by clicking on it explained that this meant the item had been located in their warehouse and was just waiting for next shipment going out. I also called customer service Tuesday (2nd bus. day) during the day wanting to know why it had not been shipped and was fed the line of "we have up to three business days to ship, and that it was still in stock." So, I was a good customer, did not show frustration or anger at the agent, and simply told her that I would wait and if it had not been shipped by Wednesday than I would be calling back. Well, Wed came and went, still no change in order status and it had not been shipped. So, I called back, still being nice and cordial to the rep, and was told that "due to the high volume of orders on black friday, that their shipments were back-logged and it would be a few extra days." I asked if there was anything else I could do to get the phone sooner, and was told there wasn't. I asked for an estimate, and they told me that it should be shipped by Friday.

The happiness over getting such a good deal on the phone had long since faded after waiting this long. I had ordered something from Bestbuy a day later and had already received it a day before Radioshack was even planning on shipping my item-- very frustrating. So, I waited until Friday, and still nothing, so I attempted to call customer service again only to find out they were closed for the weekend--very convenient!

But wait, it gets better. I get an email this afternoon (Saturday) from customer service saying, "Thanks for shopping with us at http://www.radioshack.com/. Your business is important to us. We regret to inform you that we are unable to complete your order. The following item(s) are unavailable at this time and have been cancelled from your order... Again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We appreciate your business." They haven't actually charged my card yet because they don't do that until the item ships.

So, here I am. Frustrated, annoyed, feeling wronged in so many ways. I feel that they misrepresented their product and service by displaying that it was in stock when the order was placed, by their order status displaying that it was found in stock, and by verbally reaffirming that it was still in stock and waiting to be shipped. Had I know that ordering online from them was going to be an issue, I would have gotten my lazy rear-end up out of bed on Friday morning and picked it up from the store. But now, because they misrepresented their item, they have caused me to miss out on the sale price. I checked online, and the phone now says that it is not available online, but that it is in stock in several Radioshack stores nearby.

I feel that they should either (1) give me a voucher for the sale price to pay for and pick it up at one of their nearby stores, or (2) give me the same sale price on a comparable brand and model online. What do you guys think??? Is this not bad business? Do I have any bargaining power here? The only think else that I can think to tell them, is if I leave this transaction feeling sour, I will not be back, and I will tell everyone I know about this horrible business practice; and, I am true to my word-- ask buy.com (that was the fiasco 2 years ago with Cam & Crystal's christmas presents that got shipped to the wrong address, and they refused to do anything for us).

Making the Most of that Fruitcake this Year

'Tis the season where lots of traditions start to crop up-- for better or for worse. If you don't enjoy fruitcake, but hate to see it go to waste, then here's some alternative ways to put it to good use:

10. Use slices to balance that wobbly kitchen table.
9. Use instead of sand bags during El Nino.
8. Send to U.S. Air Force, let troops drop them.
7. Use as railroad ties.
6. Use as speed bumps to foil the neighborhood drag racers.
5. Collect ten and use them as bowling pins.
4. Use instead of cement shoes.
3. Save for next summer's garage sale.
2. Use slices in next skeet-shooting competition.
1. Two words: pin cushion.

This was taken from http://www.dezert-rose.com/humor/christmas/fruitcake_uses.html under "Top Ten Uses For Fruitcake"

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

So, it snowed last night and today. Not a lot of snow, but enough to coat the ground a little, so YAY, the snow made it here just before December. This was a holly bush just outside the Church building. I was walking past it after Church and saw that it had all the christmas colors and it seemed to capture the season appropriately. Unfortunately, I only had my camera phone with me so the picture's not the clearest nor the greatest quality (I'm a perfectionist, remember) but I still think it does the scene some justice.

In the spirit of Mary's latest post, I will tell my Black Friday story: I did participate...online at least. Last year I went all out. I went to www.blackfriday.info (there's many other websites as well, just google 'black friday') which has all the deals in one location and with a keyword search option for the item you're seeking and price comparisons...very helpful. I made my list, mapped my route according to which store opened at which time, which items were high priority in terms of selling out the quickest. It was VERY fruitful. I hit five different stores and got everything on my list. I'm telling you, it was quite the prep work. I rehearsed my plan of attack for driving and parking, and I knew my strategy cold. I even held an after-action review with Michelle when I was done. I started at 4am and was done with shopping and home by 7:30am. This year, I decided that I only needed one thing at Radioshack and was planning on getting there right when it opened. But, I was checking online to verify opening time, the item, and location and saw that those deals were already available on their website that night. So, I got to have my cake, and eat it too. I got the deal and got to sleep-in. I'm gonna try to do Black Friday online from now on--WAY EASIER.

Diary from the ER

I've seen quite the variety of people as well as cases this month: the good, the bad, and the insane. A disclaimer: my intent is not to poke fun at people with legitimate medical problems who can genuinely benefit from the medical care we provide, but the intent is to find some humor in otherwise disheartening and depressing social situations (ie. seeing people misuse and abuse medical care while others who need it can't get it). Besides, there's times when you gotta find ways to laugh to keep from crying or overly stressing yourself out.

In terms of types of patients, there's the ones that can't imagine a life without daily narcotics/sedatives/major tranquilizers and would like our help in legally obtaining these (wink-wink, nudge-nudge). There's others who I feel silly asking who their family doctor is--because DUH, that's what the ER's for (my mistake). Then, there's others who think we are McDonalds: if they've been waiting 15min then that's too long, and their knee (which seems to be hurting unbearably every time they visit the ER meanwhile they watch TV looking quite comfortable and walk around with ease) trumps the guy with a heart attack and the lady who can barely breathe. Still (it gets better) others audaciously demand to be fed during their 1-2hr visit the ER. There are those who have no sense of the cost of providing healthcare because they don't pay anything in the form of a copay or deductible and have no incentive not to abuse the system. There's others who refuse to accept any consequences to their behavior and see fit to accuse and verbally abuse others when their actions lead to unhappy outcomes. For example, a person came in complaining of abdominal pain, but not in acute distress, and had no medical indication that anything was emergently wrong with them. This person denied having any relief from prescription-strength tylenol or motrin, so was given a dose of strong narcotics which the patient finally said it helped. The patient became upset when the staff held onto her narcotic prescriptions while she went out "for a smoke" and just erupted when she was told that we legally could not allow her to drive her car knowingly under the influence of heavy narcotics (the equivalent of being sloppy-drunk)-- she would have to call and wait for someone to come get her. She was even offered a taxi ride free-of-charge. Neither of these options were acceptable to her, and she forcefully yelled and fussed at the staff about everything being our fault (which very much resembled a toddler temper-tantrum, quite entertaining to a small degree but mostly annoying and tiresome). The police were called to help talk some since into her and calm her down. Well, they ended up slowly chasing her around the parking lot for at least a half-hour until eventually hauling her away.

Then, there are those who I refer to as the "heart-break kids." Those who have a bad case of the "kids-raising-kids" syndrome. Those who are more upset about the inconvenience to their personal lives than the fact that their children are hurt or sick--which just breaks your heart (hence their title).

Other times, there are people that come into the ER because of what the doctor affectionately calls "a case of TMBD" (too many birth-days). These are the people who I'm sure at one point led fulfilling lives and contributed much to society, but who now can't control their bladder or bowels, can't tell you what day it is, who their are, or what they did that day, and a part of you wonders if they have come to the hospital for their final admission. (once again, not meant to be insulting, just a way of finding an ounce of humor in an otherwise depressing situation)

Then, their are the bright spots in your day. There are those who have come into the ER not because they wanted to, but because the ambulance or their spouse brought them. They are so appreciative of any care you provide to them, they are more worried about being a burden on your time than the concussion, deep cut, or heart attack that they are experiencing, their family and friends are supportive and grateful for the care they are receiving, and they keep apologizing for injuring themselves and making you take care of them.

I must admit that I've met both some of the nicest and easy-going people as well as the meanest, most manipulative people while working in the ER. All in all, it's been a great experience and one I will not soon forget.

A Hint...

I fear that this one may be a little far out there for most. So, these hints should help a lot:

Were all three people physically normal with full faculties of speech, hearing, and sight? -- YES

Had they ever spoken directly to each other? -- NO

Would they like to speak to each other? -- YES

Is there any physical barrier that prevents them from conversing? -- NO

Had they grown up together? -- NO

A New Riddle

Now that we've warmed up so quickly with the last one, here's a new one:

A woman sat at her kitchen table with her two sons. She spoke to each of her sons and they replied to her, but the sons never spoke to each other. The boys had not fallen out and did not dislike each other. Although they conversed freely with their mother, they never addressed a word to one another. Why?

Here's a Conundrum, a Riddle if you will...

Farmer Giles has four sheep. One day, he notices that they are standing in such a way that they are all the same distance away from each other. That is to say, the distance between any two of the four sheep is the same. How can this be so?

The first person to figure it out gets major kudos/props. Good luck!

Blast From the Past

Yes, maybe I do have too much time on my hands, but I couldn't resist...alas

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Weekend in Review

Since, I have several things to post about, I felt that title fit best. While getting ready for church today, I found a very cute situation developing in the bathroom and snapped a quick pic to share:

Michelle was doing her hair and makeup, Jacob was playing with his toothbrush, and Lizzy was enjoying a bathroom-floor adventure of finding new things to put in her mouth that at times can rival what you find in a toilet in terms of gross-factor. Isn't family life great!

Here's Jacob quietly looking at a dinosaur (which he affectionately calls "saucasores") coloring book on a relaxing Sunday afternoon -- too cute for words:


Here is something I saw today that sums up autumn in Kansas City pretty well:


This final picture tells the story of my weekend adventure:

It started Friday night on my way home from the hospital in Lexington, MO. I had just got done filling up my tank at $1.79 a gallon (jealous?--don't be, that was the only good thing about that evening). I had just finished a 12hr shift in the ER and wanted nothing more than to come home and enjoy a half-hour with the family before going to bed. Well, the Honda which I had been driving event-free for months decides it doesn't want to start. So, I thought "Fine, not bad, I'll call AAA and get a jump-start. It's probably just a bad battery due to leaving the lights on one-too-many times. I'll be set back about a half-hour. I'll just pickup a new battery tomorrow."

So, I got ahold of AAA and was told that it would take about 45 min for the person to get there. It got down to about 36 degrees that night, neither my car nor my heater were running, and I was still in scrubs from the hospital which don't hold in heat very well. I did have my winter coat however (luckily I park far enough away from the hospital that I felt the need to bring it that night). It was still pretty cold waiting for help to arrive. The guy gets there, hooks up the starterpack, starts the car, has me sign the form, and then bids me farewell.

I get into the car and turn on the headlights . . . and the car dies. Of course, the car had only been running a couple of minutes and the battery still didn't have enough juice to start. I was also kicking myself because we had a portable starter pack in the other car which I recently took out of the Honda. I figured at this point that it was most likely the alternator which was bad which meant that I wouldn't be making it home on my own that night. So, I called AAA-- again, and I had them call that person back out for a tow. So, I fought another 30 minutes of trying not to freeze too stiff until the guy gets there. Well, my membership only pays for the first 3 miles of towing, and I still had 40+ miles to go, so this was not a cheap option but it was one of very few. The other option was to have them tow it back to their shop and have it fixed there. I figured that I knew my way around the car engine enough to buy the alternator myself at more-than-likely a cheaper price than they would find, swap it out without having to pay for labor, not force michelle to pack up the sleeping kids at 11pm and come get me then drive back out there again at a later date, and come out better-off money-wise. So, I sucked up the initial cost of towing it back to the house.

I was relieved to finally get home and sleep in a warm bed next to the woman I love so dear. So, Saturday I had the privilege of figuring out how to get the car with a dead alternator into the garage so I could do the work without freezing into a perfectly shaped human popsicle. The alternator had barely enough current to keep the spark plugs working, so any other electrical item running would cause it to die. The problem I then had is everytime I closed the driver's door it would sputter and die because of the automatic shoulder harness (which I could not turn off).

Well, I now had the help of our portable battery from the other car which up until that moment I was using to start the car. So, I thought if it's got enough juice to start the engine it should have enough to give extra power to the electrical sysem to keep the spark plugs working while the stupid shoulder harness did it's thing. The problem was that I could not drive with the hood up-- kinda hard to see. So, I figured out a way to situate the portable battery over the engine so that I wouldn't get too warm nor fall out nor disconnect from the terminals and lower the hood enough to see where I was going. Well, I felt like Jed Clampett for a few minutes . . . but IT WORKED!!!

Well, I began to get on a roll, and things were working like clockwork. The alternator was easy to disconnect and dismount (socket wrenches are a God-send BTW, a must-have when working on cars), and this was accomplished within a half-hour. I was feeling pretty good about myself, until I realized that while I had gotten it loose from the engine, I had NOT figured out how to get it out of the engine compartment. I knew it would be a long drawn-out nightmare getting it out the top because of all the stuff in the way that I would spend hours disconnecting and reconnecting, so I then decided on trying from the bottom of the car which while still very cramped for space and still requiring the removal of additional hardware, it would be the lesser of the two headaches (much like the decision-making process for this 2008 presidential election...but I digress).

About 3 hours later of trial'n'error with battling very stubborn partially rusted bolts in a 18yr old car engine along with the purchase of $6 14mm 3/8" drive deep socket, the additional hardware was removed and the alternator slipped out like a charm! That picture is the old alternator that gave me so much grief this weekend. The car runs like a dream now -- like any rusted-out 18yr old car without A/C, power-steering, power windows/locks, and an annoying automatic shoulder harness would. Did I mention the annoying shoulder harness (that lovely contraption that came and left in the early 90's car models).

So folks, the moral of the story-- learn to laugh at yourself, don't take yourself or your situation too seriously, learn to enjoy the adventure while battling through trials, keep your stick on the ice, don't throw rocks at old people, and make sure you tell your loved ones that you love and appreciate them-- they can never hear that too often.

My Friday Outing in San Antonio

So, I decided since it was my last day in San Antonio before flying back to KC, I needed to get out and paint the town red (okay, maybe it was more of a pink-fuscia, urgh those paint stores never get it quite right, but I digress). So, I went to a cool place called the Rivercenter Mall. It was very scenic. Half the shops were within a indoor mall atmosphere and the other half were outside along the riverfront. The mall area was connected to a 1+ mile riverwalk that followed both sides fo the river and included numerous river tourboats. There were various restaurants alongside the river as well-- very scenic and splendid.

Here's me admiring the inside architecture of the mall through photography. I thought it was awesome how they built natural lighting into the roof, and how the steel rafters give it that nice geometric look.

Good Nonsensical Fun

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After a 98+ hour work week, I needed a break, some good honest fun. In the spirit of the heated political season, here's the latest and greatest from Jibjab.com (it's quickly becoming a favorite website of mine)

Educate about "Eight"

I feel the need to post about something near and dear to my heart-- marriage. I think it is every U.S. citizen's responsibility to get as well informed as possible on issues such as proposition 8 from several independent sources not tied to any one fundraising effort or campaign that may have skewed ideas and make be either misrepresenting the facts or not telling the whole story. Allow me to share some facts with you free from my 'religious bias':

1. Not once has there been a proposal brought to a citizen vote on the question "Should gay marriage be legalized?--Yea or Nay." In both the states of Massachusetts and California, it has been a handful of people called judges who have decided this, not the public as a whole.

2. There have been a few states recently (2-3 I think) that have passed initiatives by public majority vote to affirm and clarify marriage defined as between a man and woman.

3. So far, there is no clear evidence that gay marriage is something the majority of the American public support.

4. Under current laws, gay/homosexual couples currently enjoy medical visitation rights, have no additional tax burdens compared to married heterosexual couples, and are not prohibited from being in each other's wills or named on estates.

So my question to you is "What need is there for legal recognition/allowance of gay marriage?" I can list a host of reasons why I think it is an issue which many people could see as religiously biased and morally-skewed. But, in order to accomplish my original goal of this post to provide "unbiased" information about Proposition 8 and it's significance.

PLEASE ENCOURAGE FRIENDS OF YOURS IN CALIFORNIA TO VOTE ON THIS ISSUE so we can see what the majority of citizens feels should be public policy.

San Antonio Update

Since I've been here over two weeks now, I suppose I can give my take on this area of Texas:

THE GOOD: wide open 4+ lane freeways, traffic delays are minimal, 60-65mph speed limit on freeways even in the heart of downtown, some extremely cool shopping areas all of which have movie theaters nearby, they have SeaWorld and a SixFlags, the Alamo's here, and new homes start at about $100,000.

THE BAD: lots of one-way roads including the frontage roads (the ones that parallel the freeways) which can add a lot of extra backtracking distance to your trip and wasted gas, the traffic lights are not that responsive to traffic conditions which take FOREVER to change green even when no one else is on the road, there are only two entrances to Ft. Sam Houston open 24/7 which makes the trip longer getting onto and off of base, EVERYTHING is under construction (the airport, the freeways, the side roads, etc), and the residents (the people I interact with on a daily basis) are a little more type-A personality-wise than my last rotation which adds stress to my day.

Sarah Palin Rap (SNL)

Now that's just funny, I don't care who you are...

A Entertaining Musical Debut

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My Derby Car

The Elder's Quorum had a pinewood derby with two rules: (1) No open flames, (2) It has to fit on the track. There were various types of cars: some went for speed, others went for aerodynamics, and then there was me. I went for shear weight and some style. I was looking for ideas about derby cars and saw one for a humvee. The humvee they showed was way too lame and had no texture or fenders, but I like the idea and I decided to design my own. What's pictured is what I came up with. It was loaded as full as possible with fishing weights and weighed over two pounds. I cut out and painted pieces of milk jug for the doors, head lights, and grill. The bumper is actually a hanger that I cut-up, shaped, and later painted. The gun is from a army guy that Jacob had from a while back which was sitting around forever because Michelle didn't want small pieces around Jacob because of the potential for Lizzy getting it and choking on it. The guy is make from two fishing weights that I painted.

My humvee lost the first race, won the second, and lost the third. When I was dinking around afterwards with a friend, the humvee's front axle and gunner met their untimely demise as the car fell off the track. But that's okay--nothing a little hot glue can't fix. I had fun :)

10K Levee Run... Mission Complete

I came, I saw, I ran, I got a tee-shirt, woo-hoo!!
I finished the 10K in 45:51 (~7.5min mile pace). The fastest time was around 32 min which was too rich for my blood. It was so tempting to run fast at the beginning because most people were. They started the 5K and 10K race at the same time, so I had to ignore those faster runners doing the 5K at first because I was in it for the long haul and had to pace myself more than they did. My legs were really feeling the effects of the run after mile 3, then my left calf muscle began to cramp and hurt at mile 4. So, I accomplished my goal of finishing the race!!! Oh, and BTW, I did happen to get the 1st place trophy in my age division (25-29), so that was exciting as well.

Just Took the Plunge!

I just signed up for a 10K race (6.25mi) on Sept 20! It's the 12th Annual Riverside Riverfest Levee Run. Scary, I know. I don't quite know what I've just gotten myself into, but it's exciting. I ran a 5K (3.1mi) my senior year of college (2004). I haven't entered a running event like it since. I get into running off and on. I really like running and I would be more consistent with it, but I allow my schedule to get the better of me and it edges out the time for running. Just today, I was thinking that I would like to get entered into another running event-- something more than I did last time but within reason. I found a cool website that tracks all local and national running events (www.runningintheusa.com) and my eye caught onto this event. Then I thought, that's way too soon, I just won't have enough time to train for it, and I began to talk myself out of it. But I thought, there's never going to be a super-convenient time, I just have to set my mind to it and go for it. I ran an 8mi stint for PT one morning for ROTC during my junior year of college, so mentally I know I can run that far. I am by no means nearly as aerobically fit as I was in college so I won't be setting any records or winning any trophies or prizes, but my goal is to finish it no matter how slow. Wish me luck!!!

Rain, Sleet, Hail, and Snow...Something for everyone

As you may not have guessed, we are not back in Kansas City yet. We woke up so tired Sunday morning in Boise that we decided to stop in Logan, UT at Michelle's sister's place for the night. It was a welcome relief. Today (Monday), we traveled to Cheyenne, WY. Tomorrow, we will finish the journey to our humble abode in Missouri. We have had the worst travel weather so far. We ended traveling through a severe thunderstorm in northern Utah Sunday which had straight-line winds of 40-70mph. We found out later that area was under a tornado warning at the time that we were driving. Today, we continued to drive through rainy conditions which we assumed was part of the same ugly weather system. We drove through what started as a constant moderate rain, then an hour or two later added hail to that, then once we were in the mountain passes of western Wyoming, we were greeted by sleet. We then stopped for gas and food, during which time the sleet turned to snow. All the while, the wind was relentless. While pumping gas, I had to huddle behind the pump to avoid the wind blowing sleet and snow and cold into my face at a remarkable rate...so much for the roof over the gas pumps which doesn't work very well when the sleet is blowing sideways. I did not have my good winter coat with a hood (I didn't get the memo that winter in wyoming starts promptly on labor day!), so I suffered through the ordeal in my old fleece jacket. Once the receipt printed, the wind without missing a beat caught ahold of it and carried it away into oblivion...oh well, I guess I didn't really need that receipt :) As I type this, it continues to rain, lightning, and thunder. On the bright side, we saw a complete rainbow (the whole arch) and Michelle got pictures. We also got to go swimming as a family in the nice heated pool at the hotel here. We then soaked in the hot tub. It was nice. Jacob played with the foam. It would be our luck if this storm follows us all the way to Kansas City. Oh well, pray for us and wish us luck that the weather doesn't pick us up and carry us away...lol.

And We'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun...'til we have to make the drive away

I just finished up my active duty military family medicine rotation at Madigan Army Medical Center in Ft. Lewis, WA. It was an amazing experience!!! I loved it. I loved it even more because I was able to take my sweetheart and my two mini-me's along for the trip. It really felt like a vacation for the most part- even during the actual rotation. It didn't feel like work most of the time. I was doing something I really enjoyed and finally in a favorable position with the Army. It's been a long-haul getting the Army to accept me into the scholarship program, and it was such a sweet feeling being on active duty status (even if temporarily) with the military and training at one of their best facilities in the specialty field I've come to love and adore- family medicine. The staff physicians and residents had fantastic, upbeat, genuinely friendly personalities which made the rotation such a fun and non-pressured environment to learn.

Now, I have to travel back home, and it's sad because no matter how much I want to train at this facility and no matter how much the staff want me there, it is ultimately up to the Army to fill all of their programs as proportionately as possible meaning that getting to train in family medicine won't be a issue, but getting to go to the location I would like the most (Madigan) for residency could be.

Michelle and I are currently in Boise, ID again, but now on the way back to Missouri. We plan on stopping in Cheyenne, WY tomorrow night, and then Monday will finish the last leg of the trip. As sad as I am to leave Madigan, and my extended family in WA, it will be nice to sleep in my own bed and no longer fishing for clothes out of the suitcase (instead I look forward to fishing for them from the hamper and floor like old-times ;-P)

I'm Going to Boise, Idaho!!!!!!!

Well, actually, we got into Boise last night on our way to Washington. We had a fairly uneventful trip. As expected, Jacob is STILL not a fan of being in the car for hours. Lizzy did better than Jacob. She slept quite a bit and was happily playing with the tag attached to Jacob's travel tray the rest of the time. Jacob, on the other hand, fussed for over an hour before finally falling asleep in the car towards the end of the trip, then he woke up after 45 minutes only to fuss the rest of the way to Boise. The kid's a turkey! He did get some wrestling time in with Dad last night. I think it helped wear out some of the pent-up energy in the boy. He slept well last night.


But hey, gotta run. We gotta checkout and get on the road to Washington today. I'll leave you with a picture that Michelle took at one of the rest stops yesterday:

Family Outing

Monday afternoon, we went to Monrovian Park, part of Fishlake National Forest for a fun family outing. Michelle was elated because she play with her new toy, the new camera. Jacob, of course, just loved being outside in general doing his usual: scooping up the gravel/dirt, lifting it overhead, and letting it run out of his hands.

Here's the family in our attempt at a self-portrait. I used the tripod and 10 sec timer. The downside was that there wasn't enough shade to soften some of the shadows, although the fill-in flash helped somewhat:

Michelle got some awesome shots, she's a real natural:

I got some too:

Safe in Utah

I made it safely! There was horrible traffic in Denver (on a Saturday afternoon of all times), and a nasty thunderstorm while going through the Rockies, but I made it here safe and sound.

Here's a couple of cool cloudy sky pics I couldn't resist taking while in Colorado.

Here's a pic of Jacob and I playing the puddles after the rain storm today.

Made it to Hays, KS

I finished taking my boards yesterday. Hopefully that means I'm done with that for a couple of years. It was a worse experience this time. The questions were worded more poorly than last year's exam. There were some questions whose answer choices didn't provide enough information to distinguish which one was the right answer. Plus, they had a billion Chapman's reflex points questions (AKA someone who has illness A supposedly should have a musculoskeletal tenderspot on point X2 on their body; it's simply easier, quicker, and more precise to listen to their symptoms and do a good physical exam than rely on these spots, they add nothing diagnostically to the health visit). First of all, learning these is a complete waste of time because they are NOT used in the area of medicine, even with those specialized in OMT. They are merely osteopathic trivia questions perpetuated by academia and placed in national boards for questions in attempts to validate the teaching and learning of them. This Step 2 of the boards which I just took is intended to supposedly test more on the clinical side of medicine, where-as step 1 was more basic sciences. I've never muddled through a more clinically irrelevant set of testing before in my life. There was a hugely disproportionately high number of UTI and OB/GYN questions and low number of cardiopulmonary and GI questions. I swear 50% or more of the questions asked either about women's health or chapman's points. I'm not saying that women's health is not important, but in terms of real-world numbers of cases seen in clinic, this testing does not accurately reflect the proportion of knowledge base of a physician who should be able to recognize heart disease, lung disease, and GI pathology which are way more common, deadly, and more of a negative impact on quality of life than chapman's points. Two thumbs WAY down on this one.

Whew! Sorry about that rant. Had to be done. I just hope I passed so I don't have to muddle through that again.

I left KC, MO last night. I'm in Hays, KS. Only 12 more hours of driving and I'll be in Richfield, UT with my sweet wife and beautiful children! I'm excited.

Cryptoquote Challenge Time

ZOQ CLDG HQDDLA ZLLI V CLLI LM YVHVNF VMG ZNFQG ZL NQVG CQZAQQM ZOQ DFLMY.

Hint:
G = D, Z = T

I'll post the answer in the comment section later on. If you figure it out, feel free to post the answer as a comment.

Utah ETA - 3 Days!!!

Less than a week before I get to see my beautiful wife and kids again. Yay!

A Thought for the Sabbath

I thought I would be fitting to include a couple of excerpts from my talk in today's post as a "thought for the day":

"Every one of us has times when we need to know things will get better. Moroni spoke of it in the Book of Mormon as “hope for a better world.” For emotional health and spiritual stamina, everyone needs to be able to look forward to some respite, to something pleasant and renewing and hopeful, whether that blessing be near at hand or still some distance ahead. It is enough just to know we can get there, that however measured or far away, there is the promise of “good things to come.” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland)

"The Lord never said that there would not be troubles. Our people have known afflictions of every sort as those who have opposed this work have come upon them. But faith has shown through all their sorrows. This work has consistently moved forward and has never taken a backward step since its inception.

"This is an age of pessimism. Ours is a mission of faith. To my brethren and sisters everywhere, I call upon you to reaffirm your faith, to move this work forward across the world. You can make it stronger by the manner in which you live. Let the gospel be your sword and your shield. Each of us is a part of the greatest cause on earth. Its doctrine came of revelation. Its priesthood came of divine bestowal. Another witness has been added to its testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is literally the little stone of Daniel’s dream which was “cut out of the mountain without hands [to] roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth” (D&C 65:2).

“I invite every one of you, wherever you may be as members of this church, to stand on your feet and with a song in your heart move forward, living the gospel, loving the Lord, and building the kingdom. Together we shall stay the course and keep the faith, the Almighty being our strength.” (President Gordon B. Hinckley)

Enjoy your sabbath and God bless.

Sunday Talk

I have a talk to give on Sunday about "enduring to the end" and/or "stay the course." I thought: what a fitting theme based off of what Michelle & I have been through with the military and past finances. I originally was scheduled to give it last Sunday but a member of the stake presidency showed up, so I either could cut it short/reader's digest version or delay it for a week. I thought I'd need more than five minutes to share my personal story about the military as it relates to staying the course while trusting in God through much prayer and counsel to endure to the end.

Wish me luck.

My New Uniform

I finally got my complete Army uniform together. The only thing I was missing was the beret which I finally found after looking around the house for the past two weeks. This is what I'll be wearing most of the time in August.

Textures, Color Accents, and Nature

Kansas City Evening Shots

I took the camera and tripod out to a park high on a hill near the city center and snapped a few slow shutter shots. I'd like to have a vote as to which one you like the best, or if you don't care for any of them, I'd also like to know. I'm not easily offended :-)

#1:


#2:


#3:

Med School Update

Between all the photo shoots, I guess I should throw-in a mention about medical school. I just took the clinical skills portion of my 2nd step of National Boards at the national testing center in Philadelphia on Saturday. They rotate you through 12 different standardized patients (basically, amateur actors faking an illness, sometimes very poorly). You have to conduct a focused history of illness, perform a focused physical exam, and then write a doctor's note about what the history told you, what you found on physical exam, what you think it might be, and what you plan on doing about it. They give you 14 minutes for the history and physical and 9 minutes to write the note. It was really stressful with the first 2-3 encounters, but after that I found my groove and worked my way through the rest. I know I didn't ace it by any means. I left each encounter thinking about what I forgot to ask or write down in my note, of course, because hind-sight is 20/20. Luckily, they are grading pass/fail based on MINIMAL competency of your history, physical exam, and note writing skills. I'm just glad it's over. As far as how I feel about my performance, I think I did okay. I just hope my 'okay' is good enough. You leave each one of these board examinations just feeling drained, unsure about your performance, and wondering whether you're going to have to come back to take it again.

Macro

Trying out yet another feature of the camera...

Uncle Loren's New Chickens

Here's the newest additions to Loren & Penny's farmstead

I just think babies are adorable in general. Even baby chickens.

The latter-half of the video is pretty dark (there wasn't a lot of light to begin with), sorry about that.

More Fun Photos...

And, because I just couldn't resist:

(I really didn't realize a full moon was out ;-)

Fun Sky Pics

I recent purchased a new camera since our old one was showing its age, and I've been a little camera-happy every since (it's a Canon Powershot S5 IS)

For these, I used a polarizing filter: