Fighting Cancer. And Weakness.

9:13 AM. The air is charged with anticipation. To release my anxiety, I jump up and down a few times, and Brooke cranks some tunes on her iPod. Glancing up at the Wasatch Range, sunlight dazzles off the snow. You can smell the fresh black asphalt. A few dozen people stand in front of us, but behind us, a sea of runners fill the three lane street for an entire block. We're running the 5K, and I feel like we're part of something important, like we're making a difference.

i didn't take this picture. but this is what it was like.

At 9:15 AM, an actual cannon was fired - scaring the bajeezus out of me - and we took off in a thundering herd. After quelling my initial paranoia of getting trampled, we actually enjoyed a pretty good run.

my running number. i signed up late so it's kinda large.

It was so inspiring to see thousands of people crossing the finish line, knowing that for each person in the race, 15-30 dollars has been donated towards fighting cancer. I'm glad to have been part of something bigger than myself. And I'm really glad I kept up with Brooke.

Organic Chemistry.

I bet nobody even reads this post. I know I wouldn't.

Why? Because O-Chem is so boring. I wish we never had to learn it. I know I'm never going to use it in my job, and yet I spend my collegiate life sacrificing fun FHE activities, trips to the mall and quality time with my roommates, homies, and girls to practice it. I don't even like it!

Just look at this picture and see if it depresses you:


Yep. I do that. I put molecules like this together for class assignments. Practical applications? None. I mean, yeah yeah yeah, I can synthesize aspirin from minty wintogreen molecules. Who cares? I don't want to research it, I just want to fix people's teeth, okay?

I really do think that chemistry is a beautiful thing, and I wish I understood it and loved it as much as my professor (the legendary Dr. Nielson) does. I'd just rather kick a around soccerball or climb up a cliff than practice intramolecular nucleophilic acyl substitution of six-membered rings.

Can't wait until it's over. The end.

Midway - Utopia of the Rockies.

Indoor swimming pools, hot tubs, and the best restaurants in the state. Starry skies. Lots and lots of candy. Good company, comfy couches, maybe a smidge of acoustic guitar.

There just isn't anything like spending a little time in Midway on the weekends.


My parents bought the place a couple of years ago, and ever since, I've benefited from some of the most stupendous weekends I've ever had. This week included.

Collectively this weekend, we all consumed about 6 pounds of gummi bears, numerous burgers, a coupla pizzas, more strawberries than you can shake a stick at, half a vat of melted chocolate, and a medium sized mountain of m&ms (even a few of the gross brown ones).

Am I fatter? I wish. But there's no harm in trying.

The point is, I got to spend time with the people I'm crazy about, and I'm already looking forward to next weekend.

Breaking Habits - New Years Resolution #2

Hey. I just wanted to mention to you:

Sometimes old habits die hard, but I am really stickin it to the man (I love that phrase - see my 25 Random Facts Post) this year and ditching some old habits.

Two this year I have successfully kicked:

1) Facebook.
I deleted my account.
2) Carbonation.
I haven't had any since January 2nd, and truth be told, I don't even miss it at all. And I feel like I wake up better, get fewer headaches, and have better stamina when I'm doing any physical activity.

And the best part about it is, I don't think I'll ever go back. This isn't temporary, this is a new me. I like the feeling of eliminating little things in my life that suck time away from things I'd rather be doing.

So anyways, I was just being accountable to you - I'm taking my New Years Resolutions seriously this year.

And She Swears That She's Artsy...

I know I know, I should post more often.




If you love what I love, you'll love this.

Come Together... Over Me.

A very rare occurrence in Lafayette 11: we were all home at the same time without even planning on it! Cheers to our first roommate picture:

...of course to be followed up by a display of physical prowess:

Here's to my homies - friends for 15 years.

Sunday Walk

I went on a Sunday walk today and it felt better than ever. The lighting was superb and I fired off a few shots, so here's a few of them and I'll post some more later.

i have a secret to tell you:
My friends are beautiful and so is the sunshine.

Liz and Bods! Aren't they super precious? I really cashed in at the friendship bank when I made friends with these girls.

Andy in his element: surrounded by beautiful women.

Blue-eyed beauties.

Liz, Bods and Ali. They look like moviestars.

We had a good time. There's nothing quite like a good walk on a warm Sunday afternoon.

Bring on Spring!