Long-Awaited Update

Hello everybody!

I am still alive!  I have been largely absent from my blog recently, mostly because I have taken up a couple of extra jobs.  Life has been pretty crazy this and last semester.  Here's an update:

I now work for Altius Test Prep as a private tutor.  I have 8 students that I am personally responsible for, and I also proctor two group sessions per week.  I am still working on memorizing everybody's names, and I think I've just about got them all down.  It's a lot of fun, and keeps me on my toes.  I do so much studying on my own that it's a blessing to have a job in which I am interacting with other people.

In school, I am taking quite a few classes, the big ones being Orthopedic Impairments & Therapeutic Exercises (that mouthful is just one class), and Functional Anatomy.  Both of these classes have been lots of fun.  It's easy to do well when I love the classes so much.  It looks like I'm on track to finish my last semester with a 4.0!

In addition to paid work and school, I'm also volunteering with Dr. Kooyman in his research on osteoarthiritis, on the histology and sectioning team.  Mostly I operate a machine called a Microtome which slices joint segments of mice (6 nanometers at a time), which I then transfer to glass slides.  After we make a bunch of those we find the best ones, dye them with special indicators, and look for signs of osteoarthiritis.  I know it sounds pretty boring, but we actually have a lot of fun.

Though usually I've been volunteering Sunday afternoons at Primary Children's Hospital, I've decided to switch over to Saturdays, which I have been really happy about.  My Saturdays are a little more fun because I can spend them in either Salt Lake City or Provo, and my Sundays are more relaxed.  Playing with the children at the hospital is one of the highlights of my week!

This weekend I'll be returning to full activity after having an umbilical hernia correction some weeks ago.  I'm going to celebrate by going climbing, I think.

And that's it!  I hope to buy a camera soon to better document my fun times - without photos to supplement the text I feel the blog becomes dry and boring.  Happy February everybody!

Last Semester of Undergrad

You know you're working hard in school when the stars are still out as you're walking to your first class.

You know you're working harder when you're walking home and the stars are out again.

You also know you're working hard in school when your professor says "Turn to the table on page 53.  We don't have time to go over this so I want you to memorize it for next class."  Everybody sighs a little sadly when they realize he's actually not joking, then turn the page so as not to fall behind.

Lastly, you know you're working hard in school when you don't even get ONE DAY of Spring Break!

This is Spencer's Winter 2011 Semester.  When do I have time to do my homework?  When do I have time to take exams?  I have no idea.

But people have done it before, so I'll figure out how!

Just So You Know

I'm fully aware that I have been a very VERY crappy blog poster recently.  These might be considered the DARK AGES of my blog.  Pop Quiz:  What followed the Dark Ages?

a)  The Pitch Black Ages  (which we have no history of because nobody could see well enough to write)
b)  The Classical Era  (and thus my blog will soon become quite classy)
c)  The Mesozoic Era  (because you have not even an inkling of history
d)  The Renaissance (a rebirth of awesomeness!)
e)  The Modern Era  (obviously, since it came AFTER the Dark Ages)

Okay okay okay.  I'm sure you all know the answer.  (But if you got it wrong, leave a comment so I can publicly shame you)

What I'm trying to say is, my blog used to be really really awesome, and it will soon be really really awesome again.  But I don't have a camera, see, and so I don't have great motivation to do great posts because I cannot supplement my blog with sweet pictuers.

I am buying a camera soon (as in, within the next 6 months), and then, we will witness the RENAISSANCE of my blog!

...

No more drama please and thank you.

2011

Happy New Year!!

Hawai'i

Can you believe it?  Right now I am sitting in an airplane, about 10,000 ft above the ground west of Hinckley, UT on my way to LAX, then Hawai'i.  In-flight wifi internet is blowing my mind!  Thank you Delta Airlines.  This is amazing.  :)

MeRrY cHrIsTmAs EvErYbOdY!!

Double Edged Sword

Hulu I don't know whether to bless you or curse you.

I get to watch Glee instead of paying attention to my boring boring professor!

but then again...

I'm watching Glee instead of paying attention.