Don't Ask Me!

What would Abraham Lincoln do if he were alive today?
Probably try to claw his way out of his coffin.
Credit:  Brock Holman

Uh Oh...

My life is out of control.

This happens every semester (but on the bright side, it usually happens a whole lot earlier).

Also, SOMEBODY keeps calling me a Pollyanna.  What does that mean!?

The Dirty Dash!! (and other things)

I've been waiting until I had a picture!  We were so filthy:

Lucky, D-Luxe, A-Ham, Crave, and G-Money

The Dirty Dash was held at Soldier Hollow, the cross-country ski track of Olympic fame.  We braved obstacles such as bales of hay, 9-ft walls, tunnels, muddy sludge up to our thighs, and a slip-n-slide over 100' long.  Though we were the last to cross the starting line (Lucky was late - it couldn't be helped), we were far from last to finish.  Our team, The Pervy Piglets, completed the 10-K "race" in a little over an hour, blinded by muddy spray, and legs burning with fatigue.  We blindly stumbled across the finish line, and I peeled my gritty eyes open for this photo.

Also, General Conference was amazing.  Nothing compares to the renewed hope and peace I feel after such a wonderful meeting with the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Lastly - I'm sure all my avid followers have been dying to know my MCAT score report.  I can't actually tell you my score, because I am working for Altius, who requires that we not divulge our scores.  So I'll get as specific as I can contractually tell you:  I scored above the 90th percentile!  I've got the score I need for med school, but call me crazy, I might actually take it again next year.  (I can promise you, Altius is the way to go.  My money was well spent on this course, and between group sessions and private tutoring sessions, I'm sure it's also the best value out there.)

So that's it for now.  Have a great week everybody!

MCAT Scores Release Tomorrow!

The tentative score release date for the Tuesday, August 24 MCAT test date is tomorrow, September 28th, at 5PM ET.  My heart is leaping from my chest.


* By the way, I cannot give specifics about my score to the public because I have signed a contract with Altius promising not to.  Sorry.  I'll let you know how I did in generalities! *

Win Free Contacts for LIFE!

HEY.

Remember your friend that always has sweet hookups?  Owns 5 of Kobe Bryant's signed jerseys?  Stays at the Marriott anywhere in the world for free?  Gets a brand-new motorcycle every year because a vaguely-defined-relative is "sponsored" by Kawasaki?

Well here's your chance.  You can win free contacts for LIFE.  It's not a house in the Bahamas, but what good is the ocean view if you can't even see it?  Click the link, enter the info, live the dream.

http://www.1800contacts.com/FreeContactsForLife/1760776

Recent Artwork

Well it was quite a crazy summer, but in my small bit of free time, I managed to read Three Cups of Tea, finish the Old Testament, and render this portrait of Starlee:

Starlee Holman 2010

(Sorry about the slightly awkward angle - I neglected to get anti-glare glass for the frame, so if you take the picture "head on,"  you see yourself in the glass.)

This is the first formal portrait I have attempted in a few years, and since her father happens to be an artistic director for the LDS Church, the pressure to do a good job was a little intense.  In the end, I'm really happy with it.  I had a lot of fun doing it, mostly because I chose the subject matter myself and there was no real deadline for its completion.  All in all, I consider it the finest wax pencil drawing I've done.

The final product was compiled from a few photographs, mainly in sepia tone.  I "cheated in" some additional color (reds and blues, mostly) to add some vibrance to the piece.  Isn't it lovely?

Back to School!

If you're grumbling a little bit about it, read this for some validation:

"No man who worships education has got the best out of education... Without a gentle contempt for education no man's education is complete."

G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) British author

I've been a little bit absent from my blog recently.  I've been hiding behind my MCAT preparation and not telling you much about my life outside of that:

I just went through quite a fiasco with my housing arrangements at BYU.  I was renting at a place near campus called Sommerset, but my landlord ended up being more of a slumlord than anything else, and was unwilling to fix up the place.  Though he always spoke kindly to me, he was also adamant that I accept his squalid living conditions.  I think the crooks that smile at you are more dangerous than the ones that grimace.

So I ended up selling my contract (much to my parents' relief), and moved in to a place called Windsor Park.  It's really nice here.  I have an east-facing window, so I wake up to the sunrise every morning, and my roommate is a way cool kid named Scott.  He's from California, attending UVU as a Communications major.  I think we're going to get along great.  There is an unrented room in our unit which we are both hoping remains empty - our freezer is already full with just the two of us!

I'm jumping into my final year at BYU with a research program under the direction of Dr. Kooyman.  I'm training now to perform microsurgeries on the knees of rats, as part of a series of experiments attempting to discover a link between Osteoarthiritis and BBS (I don't actually know what BBS stands for yet, so don't ask).  I never thought my first experience with surgery would be under a microscope, but it's looking like that's how it's going to be!  I'll also be working with some tissue cultures and other microscopy equipment.  I'm a little nervous, as I've never taken part in a research lab before, but it should be fun.

Altius has offered me a job as a tutor.  I have accepted the position with a promise to start in January, possibly earlier.  This is quite a blessing as the pay far outstrips (by almost 300%) what BYU offers their MCAT tutors.

Other than that, I'm just trying to get all my books, schedules, and other things I need to live on while down here at BYU.  It's alarming how the expenses add up so quickly!  Good luck everyone as you start your new semesters!

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer.