I guess the question now is "just because I can post remotely with pictures, should I actually do it?"Right now the answer is a resounding YES...especially when there's nothing else to do and we're waiting on friends.Julie and I are at Red Robin, we're gonna have to come up with witty things to say sooner or later...but don't hold your breath.

Today Brandi Carlile came to the House of Blues. Yep, the Brandi Carlile who sings our song "The Story." We saw her in L.A. last year and Israel has been a fan for a long time. In fact, she was on the first mix c.d. that Israel ever gave me. Of course we had to be there. I gave Israel two tickets for his birthday back in April and of all the concerts we were looking forward to, this was the one we were looking forward to the most. The concert was amazing! If you haven't had the opportunity to see Brandi live, I would recommend watching for tickets in your area.

She played a few songs that we really enjoy and during "Closer to You" Izzy caught a guitar pick that she tossed into the audience:

Izzy caught Brandi Carlile's Pick

Finally, after so many songs that we love, the chords to our song "The Story" rang out of the guitar...

As Brandi began singing the lyrics that have been so close to our hearts these past few months, Izzy leaned over and said "Would you share all of your stories with me?" In his hand was ... a beautiful engagement ring. He was proposing marriage, in such a romantic way, during our song in the place where I first fell in love with him.

My (perfect) engagement ring (on my finger!)

Of course, between tears and gasps of excitement, I said YES. We listened to the rest of the song and it meant so much more to me standing next to my fiancee and future husband - "These stories don't mean anything, without someone to tell them to - it's true, I was made for you." I can't wait to share all my stories with Israel, and I cant wait to see what stories we make together.

Just after he asked me to marry him (and after I wiped my eyes and stopped crying)

SO - did you guess that we got engaged? (Bet you didn't...BUT WE DID!)

From reading the pages of others I've come to the conclusion that I can do one of three things here. I can either comment on life as I see it, share my own thoughts and feelings, or do a combination of observational and introspective writing. I'll try to do the latter, sprinkling in some of my own life along with what is going on in the world around me. This will be my attempt at being able to share what's going on in my head. Why? Well it's fun to put these kind of things on "paper" and I'd love to hear what others have to say about the ideas that I might throw out there. Will the grammar always be perfect and the ideas always poignant? I highly doubt it. I claim to be nothing of a writer or philosopher.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I invite you to venture into the undisclosed location.

While I was visiting Becka in England I did the "tourist thing" and went to Belvoir Castle with camera in hand. Well while we were there I saw a sign that I thought was classic, so I took a pic of it. Turns out that Becka's granny got a kick out of it too and decided to submit it to a magazine over in the UK. Today I got a package in the mail with said magazine.

LOL...My picture got published in "Woman's Weekly" magazine (29th April 2003 issue), page 7.

I figure that's only about one of the 15 minutes allotted to me. I better make the best of the 14 left...

Here's a link to the picture from my webpage picture gallery. It's the photo with the caption of "they didn't have to be so blunt."

Castle sign

While I was walking out of my finals last week I was sick to my stomach thinking that I had blown them. I had convinced myself that I was going to have to remediate at least one of them...I was SO sure of it.

Lo and behold, when I checked my grades this morning I found that I passed each and every one of them. I am absolutely certain that I did not pass those finals on my own. I learned the hard way about a year ago to leave my ego behind and bury with it the belief that all of my accomplishments were the result of my work alone. So many others have helped me get where I am today. God, family, friends, loved ones...without these I am only a shell of a man. I want to say a thank you now for all of these blessings in my life.

It's an amazing thing to finally start to see my future unfolding. I have board exams this summer, and after that I'll be in the hospital wards caring for patients. In three months people will put their faith in me, and let me provide them care. I will be responsible for the well-being of someone's mother, someone's husband, someone's grandfather. How scary...

...how exciting.

"Oh, and one more thing. None of them want to pay taxes again...ever."

I love this movie. LOL

Standardized tests...who likes these things anyways? Sadists, that's who. Tests are the bane of every student's existence...at least the ones who don't spend all night alphabetizing their highlighters and putting sticky tabs to categorize class notes. This is no normal test either. Not only is there a volume of information that puts the Encyclopedia Britannica to shame, there is also an element of stamina involved. I'll be in a room taking an exam that lasts for seven hours, all the while staring at a CRT screen that is so cheap the refresh rate will probably trigger me to have a seizure.

I know...cry me a river eh? We all have problems...

Anyways, even though I'll be doing obscene amounts of studying for next few weeks I will make an effort to keep this place going. Keep checkin in on me every day, because I'm sure I'll write some interesting things after frying my brain all day.

Sleep is so inviting when you're reading "High Yield Microbiology and Infectious Disease".

I'm supposed to get in around 5 hours a day, so I have to make up those 3 hours over the weekend. I'm planning right now to schedule my exam for the second or third week in july, depending on how prepared I think I am.

Here's the random piece of board information for the day: Actinomyces, Bacteroides, and Clostridium are three examples of anaerobic bacteria, while Pseudomonas, M. Tuberculosis, and Bacillus are three examples of obligate aerobic bacteria.

100 things about me:

1. I'm in love with my best friend
2. I'm into all things related to Apple Computer
3. Now that I've gone TiVo, I'll never go back
4. I'm a good listener
5. I've been told I'm a speed reader
6. I'm quite proud of my intuition
7. I'm a quick learner
8. I played summer baseball while in HS
9. I'm always up for a game of 1-on-1
10. I'm stubborn
11. I'm a politics junkie
12. I've been bilingual since childhood (Spanish)
13. I'm usually within arms reach of my Powerbook
14. I can't eat raw vegetables...the textures just bother me
15. I'm a loyal friend
16. When I say I'm going to do something, I do it
17. I sleep with the TV on almost every night (don't worry, it's on a sleep timer)
18. I do a majority of my reading on the "throne"
19. I take long showers whenever I can
20. I'm a channel surfer
21. I'm shy by nature, but outgoing when I have to be
22. I have horrible stage fright
23. I worry myself sick way too much
24. I'm a prototypical type A personality
25. I could watch movies all day long
26. I'm always wanting to expand my DVD collection
27. I'm a night owl and definitely not a morning person
28. My girlfriend is night owl like myself
29. I can argue my way out of a lot of things
30. I can BS with the best of them
31. Sometimes I'm so sarcastic people don't know when I'm being serious
32. I get along with most people...even if I don't like them
33. The people who I don't like usually don't know it
34. I love watching Food Network
35. I dabble in the kitchen and enjoy cooking
36. I get a kick out of doing favors for friends
37. I love rooting for the underdog, but yet I don't like the unexpected
38. I'm something of a paradox
39. I am many things to many different people
40. I'm always up for a good laugh
41. I'm a homebody
42. There are a lot of expectations that I try not to take on my shoulders
43. I have to wash my hands after playing with animals
44. I've been wanting an iPod ever since they were introduced
45. My student loans will equal a mortgage payment before I even live in my own home
46. I'm cheap with everything except the people that I love
47. I enjoy the idea but not the process of writing
48. The only group i've ever seen in concert is Third Day
49. I struggle with being a good Christian example, but I know God isn't finished with me yet
50. When I do things I do them 100%
51. Once I went to boxers I never went back
52. Some people think I have a baby face, but yet I've never ever been carded for anything
53. I'm not an outdoorsy person, but I can camp out with the best of em
54. I never did find out how many licks there was to the center of a tootsie roll pop
55. I have quite a few pet peeves
56. I see the glass half-empty, but I also see the faucet nearby
57. I love lists, rankings, and statistics
58. I love using the 1-10 scale
59. I know every useless fact imaginable, but have a hard time remembering important things
60. I have entire movie dialogues memorized
61. I love relating things in life to movie quotes
62. I appreciate subtle humor the most
63. Google Reader is my link to the outside world
64. I still lament the loss of Mr. Sterling on NBC
65. I think Conan O' Brian is the funniest thing on latenight
66. I could eat pizza pretty much every day
67. I think Reesecups are the very definition of delicious
68. I could live off of Mountain Dew and Chocolate Milk
69. I don't like drinking water unless it's out of a fountain because otherwise it just tastes like the cup
70. If I had a million dollars for every time a girl asked me out I'd still be poor
71. If I won the lottery I don't think I'd keep working
72. If my life were a book it would probably be out of print
73. Whenever I want to buy something I can't find it in any store
74. I've always wanted to play the guitar, but never thought I had the time to learn it
75. I think a lot of musicians are overrated
76. I never believe the hype
77. Sometimes I'd rather have people not expect so much out of me
78. I love dressing up and wearing suits
79. I love going to museums
80. I can put peanut butter on pretty much anything and love it
81. I'm a dairy fanatic
82. I try to practice what I preach, but I need a lot of practice
83. If I could, I would institute a 4 day work week
84. If not for my alarm clock I would sleep 12+ hours every day
85. When faced with a 50:50 chance, I often choose incorrectly
86. I'm a visual learner
87. I say a lot of profound things by accident
88. I'm in the first generation of my family born on the US mainland
89. I've been trying to grow a gotee for years
90. I never double dip
91. Random thoughts amuse me
92. Unlike everyone else, I don't love Raymond
93. I used to work construction
94. I don't really know how to swim
95. I'm afraid of heights, but I love rollercoasters
96. I know myself very well
97. I'm a realist
98. I've worn glasses since the third grade
99. I still have to wear my retainer to bed
100. I'm a very blessed man, not deserving of what I have

Pet Peeves:

1. People who merge onto the highway going 35mph
2. The maniacs who speed by at a 100mph to cut in front of me, then immediately hit their brakes and drive 5mph slower than me
3. Elderly drivers who know good and well they don't belong in the passing lane, yet decide to get in there anyways
4. Rubberneckers
5. Tailgaters
6. People who slow down 10mph below the speed limit when they see a police car
7. Drivers who ride their brakes
8. People who take up two parking spaces and/or park too close
9. Animal lovers who drive with their dogs on their laps
10. Small women driving obscenely large SUV's
11. Professors who can't understandably speak english, who give powerpoint presentations that don't follow the syllabus, and who refuse to answer direct questions
12. When my significant other DOESN'T LET ME SLEEP
13. Toilet paper rolls off of the toilet paper handle
14. Busy work
15. People who kiss their dogs on the mouth
16. People who don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom
17. Parents who let their kids dominate them
18. Ordering take-out, having it take way too long, and then getting cold food or a wrong order
19. Dell Computers
20. People who try too hard
21. Radio commercial breaks that last for 15 minutes
22. People who want to talk, but don't want to listen
23. Drama and the people who create drama
24. Basketball cherry-pickers
25. People who have no tact
26. The guy who's in front of me in the long line at a fast food restaurant, and after standing in line for 10 minutes still has to look up and the menu to decide what he wants
27. People who get into the cash-only lane and try to pay with a check
28. Incompetent customer service
29. Mothers who have to escort their kids onto the schoolbus and hold up traffic because they talk to the bus driver
30. Nosey people
31. Feminine product commercials
32. People who knock things before they try them
33. Boastful people
34. The fact that here in the States we have to pay for incoming calls on our cell phones
35. People who talk down to me or treat me like a child
36. Immaturity
37. Overreactors
38. People who don't vote but then complain about the government
39. People who do vote and complain about the government...but don't offer any suggestions
40. People who dish it out but can't take it
41. Those who treat animals like humans
42. Smokers who huddle around the entrance to buildings
43. Getting a seat right at the edge of the non-smoking section
43. Lawsuits against big tobacco and no mention of the alcohol industry
44. People who don't take responsibility for their actions
45. Movie theater concession stand prices
46. Cheaters
47. Those who don't help themselves
48. The fact that kids these days don't learn how to write in cursive
49. People who don't know when to shut their mouths
50. When people say "you'll be fine"

...and while I'm on that subject of studying, let me mention how incredibly expensive review materials are. If you thought textbooks were pricey, you "aint seen nothing yet." I bought three review books today, each of them about 100 pages thick. The final tally was almost 90 dollars. Lippincott and other publishers are making a killing off of poor saps like myself who need all the review materials we can get.

Add to all of this the tedious process that is filling out registration forms and federal student aid forms and you've got my spectacular day today. I guess I can't be exciting every day. Don't worry, if you hang in there I'll probably have some exciting stories from the hospital once I'm on rounds.

On a side note, you gotta love that my school has increased tuition AGAIN, even though they haven't added anything to the curriculum, buildings, or resources. I have a theory about this. The theory is that schools believe they somehow add prestige if they raise their tuitions. After all, if the school is reasonably priced how good can it be? These kids are going to be doctors right? They can afford it. Never mind that they will be over $100,000 in debt when they graduate.

I swear that sometimes I'm amazed at my own stupidity. As I was going into Barnes & Noble to do some studying I caught myself changing stride to avoid cracks in the concrete. We're talking about a 23-year-old student of higher education who shuffles to not break his mother's back.

Here's another theory I'm gonna throw out here (I have a lot of 'em, most thought up on the fly). I think everyone has some degree of OCD in them. Some more than others, but I'm almost convinced that everyone I've ever met has had some eccentricity that could be classified as a compulsion. Who says what's normal anyways?

...or maybe i'm trying to justify my own neuroticism

Head is pounding and cough forces me to hold my head so it doesn't explode. Itch in my throat, tissue always at my nose. The fog of my congestion is like constant earmuffs. I sound like a Disney character. Sudafed cold formula help me.

...don't feel like writing tonight

blech

*sigh*

I know I have to do it, but every time I try I get the same feeling that you get when you realize that you're 30 minutes late for something. It's the finality of it. It's the fact that there's no turning back once the date is set. I won't be able to wake up and not think about the day because it will be circled in red on my calendar...staring me in the face, burning a hole in top of my head when I look down to read, remaining visible at night by the light of my television.

Telling me I'm not ready yet...haven't studied enough yet...should have...could have...

Enough.

Tomorrow I'm going to get this done.

The countdown begins. I better get studying...

Anyways, I've been thinking about the relationship that my dad and I have. It's hard to explain because we really are about as different as two people can be while sharing DNA. I love sports, he makes me change the channel when I'm watching them on TV. I can't live without my powerbook, he couldn't send an email if his life depended on it. He always changes his own oil and I would rather pay the extra 8 dollars and have Jiffy Lube do it for me. He loves gardening and I don't know the first thing about soil pH. He's up bright and early while I'm still trying to catch 4 hours sleep waking up at 7 in the morning.

Me and the old man always see eye-to-eye though.

Everyone says that I look like my father and that I have his same temper. That we are both the most stubborn people in the world and can never admit when we are wrong. Whatever :-P

I guess now that I think about it...there is more of him in me than I'd ever admit.

Give your dad a hug today, even if he looks at you weird or tells you that you're blocking the TV. Chances are that deep down he's been needing one for a long time.

Happy Fathers day today to all those dads out there who don't get the nice Hallmark cards that mom does.

Becka and I spent an insane amount of time on the phone today. It's amazing that you can talk to someone as long as we do and never get tired of it. I guess we just have a lot to say to one another.

Funny thing is I'm not much of a phone person, which is evidenced by my cell phone bill every month.

Here's a snippet:

CALL..................NUMBER
received.............international
received.............international
received.............international
received.............international

...you get the idea.

Let me mention right now that I think it's a crime that we have to pay for INCOMING calls and that checking voice mail comes off of the total pool of minutes. Our cellular network still needs a lot of help.

I just couldn't help it. All of those teaser commercials, all of the constant studying...I guess I'm weak.

I started watching Real World Paris.

*hangs head in shame*

Maybe it's because the girls are hot. Maybe it's because I now have a soft spot for all things European. Maybe I'm getting the same thrill you get when watching a car accident.

Whatever it is...I can't stop watching.

You can berate me now if you'd like...I deserve it.

The things we do for love eh?