Day 1

Today marks yet another "beginning".  Sister Schardt has entered the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC) and I am thrilled for what awaits her there.  It is a little strange having the position switched on me.  When I went to the MTC it was so easy to go, because I was so excited to get to work.  Being on the outside it is so much more bittersweet.  Huge waves of pride passed through me as she entered the MTC to do what God wants her to do.  At the same time a great deal of longing to be at her side crept within me.  In fact I even caught a glimpse of jealousy recalling the many adventures I had at the Missionary Training Center.

I remember Day 1 in the MTC fairly well.  Perhaps I can share a glimpse of what Patricia went through.  When you arrive you are issued your missionary tag with a colored dot indicating that you are new.  Then you are ushered through several lines, one to pick up your access card (this card is used for meals, getting into the correct sleeping quarters, etc.), another to pick up your teaching materials, and if you are lucky enough you get taken immediately to the immunization area just to make sure you took care of everything.  Missionaries are more than willing to help you no matter where you go, so consider it impossible to get lost, unless you suddenly lose the capacity to communicate with other human beings.  You and your luggage are shown to your quarters where you may or may not meet your companion for the first time.  In my case I did.  The rest of the day is already scheduled for you, except for a few personal hours they give you to "unpack" and "meditate".  You go to a few meetings to teach you basic rules and eventually you get food for the first time.  Thank goodness for the cafeteria.

While Sister Schardt was doing all that I was already feeling the blessings of supporting a missionary.  I received an invitation to present my research in Washington D.C.  If that wasn't good enough it was an offer that came with all expenses paid!  I am so excited, things are going great for both of us...at least from what I can tell.  I know she got mail her first day....I made sure of that.  If nothing else that should make it a red letter day.  I love her and I love the gospel we both know to be true.  She will do great!

T-Minus 1

It has finally arrived.  The hours we have left to share are very few.  Already my girlfriend is officially a sister missionary.  I have to admit it doesn't quite seem real, but soon it will be all too real.  I sent off her first letter already so that she will have mail at the MTC upon her arrival.  I'm so excited....I know she will be great.

Clear

What is the color we see most often?  Is it red, green, blue, white, or black?  Or maybe, what we really see the most is clear.  Think of all the void that seperates the blue and the green of sky and grass.  Think of the water we drink.  Windows, bottles, plastic wrap.....hmmmm, it makes me wonder.  I know someone whos favorite color is clear.  They are very fortunate....very fortunate indeed.

Big Boys Don't Cry

Growing up is an exciting adventure.  When we are young we long to be older so that we can do more.  When we become older we realize that with all we can do, what we must do is scarcely what we want to.  I am happy to report that my supervisor has returned to work with sufficient strength to continue experimentation.  Unfortunately for me, this came as my family decided to visit for a day.  They wanted to take me to a family fun zone to go play on go-kart, laser tag, arcade games, etc.  What I ended up doing was eating a quick breakfast, heading off to work, and returning in time to eat dinner with them and send them on their way home.  I don't always get to be with the ones I love, in fact I scarcely if ever do.  I don't get to play very much either.  Nonetheless I am content with being a hardworking young man.  If nothing else I have a sense of accomplishment?  Yes, I meant to put a question mark there.  I need to figure this out.

Monday

Mondays.....don't like me very much.  At least monday mornings don't.  This morning I woke up to my alarm clock feeling nice and refreshed, but I thought I would push the snooze and lay in bed for about 5 minutes.  As I lay there I started to hear a crackling sound.  I wasn't sure if it was a drizzle, a trickle, or a crackle.  Lately there has been a mouse issue so I automatically began to think that a mouse was eating my chocolates.  As I turned on the light I couldn't seem to see anything on the floor.  Then I looked on the bedside desk.  I had managed to knock over my water bottle, and it hadn't sealed completely!  Water was rushing all over!  It was already all over the wallet, dripping on the computer paper below, and a few drops were also landing on my laptop!!!  I never got up so fast in my entire life.  I whipped into action saving everything I could.  Then on the way to work I kept on getting stuck behind extremely slow people which made me arrive later than I would have liked.  When I found a parking spot, approximately 20 minutes after beginning the search I turned off the car only to realize I had forgotten my security badge.  Without that, I couldn't get into the lab!!  So I figured the best course of action was to walk over to the research offices, clear on the other side of the hospital campus.  When I arrived, guess what.....nobody was there.  Not my supervisor, not the administrative officer...nobody.  So I headed down to the lab hoping I could slip in when somebody swiped their card.  Eventually I got in....but only to discover my supervisor had gone to the ER over the weekend.  I was sent home.  From there things got better.  Ughhh, what a typical monday morning.  Thank goodness for Tuesdays. 

Dodgeball

Monday I think I made a terrible mistake.  After driving several hours to get home from California I attended the weekly FHE with the local singles group.  Among other things we decided to play dodgeball.  As athletic as I am, I really haven't been using my upper body lately.  So playing dodgeball it turns out uses a great deal of upper body muscles.  Long story short, my body hates me.  My muscles ache like never before.  It is a catastrophe trying to sleep or move, or well....really anything.  On the other hand, I had so much fun.  Its been a really long time since I played dodgeball and several chairs and tables were set up so it added an extra element.  On one of the games I was the last one on my team and three guys with very strong arms were left on the other team.  Fortunately they were also very arrogant and proud which worked to my advantage; I managed to get them all out and we won.  Its nice to see I still got the touch.  Well, even though my muscles ache now, at least I hadn't lost my accuracy and speed.  What is my conclusion?  Perhaps I should work on my upper body strength so I don't have to suffer the aches as much afterward.  Besides, its nice to maintain balance. 

Inside Jokes

Of all the things that are most universal among all cultures, surely inside jokes must be among the top.  Everywhere you go, and everything you do, its all so much more fun when shared with some but not all.  Think of an inside joke you have, if you told me....I would likely think you were silly or immature because I didn't understand (unless I''m on the inside of the joke).  Tonight I will share some inside jokes with you.  Enjoy my immature silly inside jokes.

"Hey, remember that one time when you told us a story.....the story about I don't know"

"I have small hands"......."Maybe you should get some burgers at Burger King"

"Hey, remember that time when we almost died, but we didn't.......scary car....who uses brakes anyway."

"They (Adam and Eve) were in a eternal state of innocence, happiness, and immorality"....."She meant immortality right?"

"Drama"

"I got these I-clickers for Mother's week"...."Did he just say you were my mom?"

"Twitter meets Pated.....and they were twitterpated"

"So do you remember the time you got pulled over by a cop at 3am?"....."You mean the 20 year old guy in wranglers, a baseball cap, and coat who pulled us over in a truck?  Yeah, I remember."

"MO"

California

Okay, its safe to confess now.  This weekend I took the liberty of surprising my girlfriend by showing up at her mission farewell.  If there has been an absence of blog posts, you can probably imagine that I may have been pre-occupied.  Anyway, the farewell is where a missionary prepares a talk  (speech, sermon, or whatever you want to call it) for the local congregation.  In a way it is to show how they have prepared for a mission and maybe excite the local congregation about missionary work.  She did a wonderful job.  I got to be there as she prepared her talk and I absolutely love her.  I'm so excited for the opportunity she has to learn, grow, and teach.

Let me tell you that surprising my girlfriend is nearly impossible.  We have a very strong connection and so we are very likely to sense that the other is up to something.  Believe me I had to jump through every hoop possible to keep it a secret, eventually even including a few white lies.  Even so, she thought I was up to something.  I distracted her by giving her an incomplete truth that some of her friends were coming to visit.  I knew who, and I was helping make arrangements for them.  This allowed me to slip in somewhat unnoticed.  I don't think I'll ever surprise her like that again even though she ended up being very happy to see me.  The flowers didn't hurt either.  Every time I see her though, it gets harder to go back to what I have to do.  I'm really going to miss her.  I already do.

1:00pm Traffic

Having lived in a somewhat big city for the last couple of weeks I've realized that traffic varies considerably with hour.  Rush hours really do exist after all.  Being raised in a small farming community, it was hard to judge if the rumors were true.  There are several tricks you have to learn in order to get where your going when your going.  Half the battle is finding a parking spot once you've arrived.  Today I got off work early.  Let me tell you that outbound traffic at 1pm is heavenly.  All green lights, nobody cutting you off, and no old folk doing 30 on the 55 portion of the highway.  Even the exit was clear, with only two or three cars ahead of me at the traffic light.  That same exit during rush hour is backed up at least a mile for 2 to 3 hours.  Thank goodness for an early start to a weekend.  I just might have a good weekend after all.  I know it could be better, but I welcome anything to make it better considering my circumstances.  Hope you enjoy your weekend too!!

Survival Tools

Survival is an interesting concept.  Survival is 90% preparation, 9% creativity, and 1% luck

PREPERATION-
   In order to survive there are several things you must learn before becoming stranded in any circumstance.  First on the list is to understand what is most important.  You can only go so far without...  Can you fill in the blank?  1- Water, 2- Shelter, 3- Food.  Because our bodies are such a high percentage of water that is first priority.  You simply cannot last long without water.  Shelter is the next priority to avoid illness, extreme temperatures, and protection.  Finally food, of course food in combination with the previous two items will make you a complete survivor because you need strength.  Strength is derived from food, believe me...I'm a biologist.  Remember there are several types of food.  Most important on the list for survival is meats.  Meats are so good because chemically they skip a few steps for you in giving off energy.  Yes, we need our greens, but if we are very malnourished, meat will help a lot.  Don't go too quick though, that can hurt just as much.

CrEAtiVItY-
  One of the things you can do to increase your chances of survival is to think like the locals.  By locals I mean the plants (in a forest, etc) or the people who live there (if lost in a Metropolis or somewhere else)  There are a few things you can carry around with you that may be of assistance.  A pocketknife is probably the most useful tool you can be lost with.  Next, consider the skill of using chopsticks (you probably won't find a fork in the wild) which can increase sanitation and double as a weapon if necessary.  I'd hate to be the one killed by chopsticks, can you imagine the embarassement of telling the others how you died.  Next, a mirror.  Mirrors have a variety of purposes.  Most importantly you can look in the mirror and estimate how many years have passed by wrinkle count, layers of dirt, or perhaps beard length.  Other practical uses include getting things unstuck from your teeth, signaling aircraft, and starting fires.  A quick word of advice on fires.  Remember that if you want a fire in a forest you may want to build something to prevent it from spreading too much.  The last thing you need is a forest fire.

"Remember only you can prevent forest fires."

LUCK-
  Sometimes all you need is a little bit of luck.  Getting lost in the right place, somebody chancing to see your fire, or a beautiful oasis that sets you up for life (making it unclear whether or not you want to actually go back).  I won't say that surviving depends on luck....but it certainly doesn't hurt.

I hope whereever you are and whatever you're doing, that you survive.  If you can learn how to survive, maybe...just maybe... you will finally learn how to live, not just survive.

Free

Free is an interesting term in the United States.  Any deals that offer something for free have some kind of catch to make them...not completely free.  For example, buy one get one free.  What they really mean is buy two for half off each.  You are more inclined to buy when you wouldn't have before.  Therefore, they make more money, besides...we all know that the markups are more than enough to cover the expenses to make the product.  Another trick I often see is the free soda, or free entree.  The favorite is kids are free.  Each of these will require either an additional person or an additional item to be complete.  Again  you are more tempted to buy when you may not have earlier.  It is a decent discount to those who already planned on making the purchase however.

Today I was offered a free lunch.  What was the price?  1 and a half hours of PCR training and marketing.  For those who are not familiar with PCR it is the replication and amplification of genetic strands.  This procedure is used for cloning, speeding up the growth of bacteria (or yeast, etc.), and DNA fingerprinting (forensic science).  The intention of the seminar was to present several problems many people face when doing PCR; problems due to temperatures, making sure the right genetic material is duplicated, etc.  Then after presenting the problems, a specific item from this company was presented as the solution.  Backed with research data that supports their claim that it is best to order the material needed from this company.  Classic example of marketing at its best.  Anyway, it was a good seminar and I learned a few things.  The food was ok, nothing special.  Considering the fact I was sent from work in a mandatory fashion it was good.  I did get to meet the representative who supplies the laboratories at my university.  That was a great opportunity because now I can feel a little more comfortable making an order from campus if necessary.  So, to recap....nothing is truely free so be careful, especially in the U.S.  Also, PCR is a fun thing to learn about if lunch is involved and you have to go for work anyway.  Have a great night!

Infiltration

Sneaky, sneaky.  I have infiltrated the system.  Of course when one normally thinks of infiltration there seems to be a negative connotation.  By no means do I mean bad, but I have successfully infiltrated the system at the laboratory.  I am trusted by all those I am in contact with.  We are actually becoming friends.  I think I like internships.  They give me a chance to be me and to work as hard as I can.  Then I get to look at the results, and even a failure is a success that teaches us all something new.  I love research.  Its so fun.  Today I needed my supervisor for just a little longer than his ride was willing to wait, so I took him home.  I took him home and ate dinner with his family.  Thats not something that happens for everyone.  I'm just so glad I get along so well with my "boss".

Fortunes and Food

Have you ever eaten at Panda Express?  Today I decided to give it a try.  I'm a big oriental food fan.  I'm especially fond of General Tsao and Orange Chicken.  The most fun comes from eating with chopsticks.  I  learned at a relatively young age how to use them, and I've kept trying ever since.  I like to eat anything I can with chopsticks, even jello and ice cream.  I knew that Panda Express was the equivalent of Chinese fast food so I didn't know what to expect.  On the one had the service was very quick...on the other it really wasn't that good.  It was decent, and food nonetheless, but it just didn't spell out chinese food the way I've come to appreciate it.  So....the pluses: quick chinese food, free chopsticks, relatively cheap price, and it will fill you up.  Minuses: Greasier, non-fresh tasting, harder or chewier than normal (from being kept over time), no authenticity.  I'm not saying I wouldn't go there again, but I would much rather find an authentic chinese food resteraunt.  Ah, don't forget the fortune cookies.  Fortune cookies are always good...or at least I haven't had bad ones yet.  Anyway, this time I got two fortune cookies, probably because they thought I was buying for two = - P.  One said, "you will receive some prestigious prize or award" and the other, "To reach distant places, you have to take the first step".  I think that if anyone is depressed the need a fortune cookie.  I've never seen a negative one.  Can you imagine a resteraunt telling someone they would die a terrible untimely death?  Its just not good business.  As for the prize or award...I think I already got it.  I am the proud owner of someone's heart.  Thats the biggest prize I could ever win.

Testimony Meeting

I've always wondered why testimony meeting in many family wards is a long dragged out silence.  I'm sure that its not because they do not have testimonies.  Perhaps its the fact that we are all fasting and therefore have terrible breath.  Then again it could be the fear of getting up and speaking to an audience, unsure of what we will say.  Maybe we think they already know what we believe.  Whatever it is, the same problem seems to be complete reversed in a singles branch/ward.  This is indeed a strange phenomenon.  I look forward to having a missionary who bears their testimony all the time.  Maybe I'll get to hear a testimony more often. 

A Productive Day...Away From Work

Yay!  I did it!  I finally had a productive day without being at work.  This morning I woke up and got dressed up to go play soccer.  Then I drove to a nearby city where I had seen some soccer fields.  I spent the next three hours running, kicking, throwing, and juggling.  Luckily they had one of the straight "wall" goals so that I could kick it and use the rebound to kick again.  I never realized how much energy goes into each kick until I kicked repeatedly (about one kick for every two seconds) for several minutes.  Playing soccer by oneself isn't the most exciting thing however.  I'm thinking of trying to recruit some local people from the singles ward to come play each weekend.  It would give us all something to do and give us exercise...something I doubt the TV and computer are doing for us.  I know that most of the locals like soccer because we usually end up playing at the end of each FHE on Mondays.  Upon returning home from my work out (and getting a bite to eat) I focused my energy on cleaning up the yard.  This consisted of a lot of weed pulling, raking, and burning.   Initially I tried to burn everything in a barrel, but it was such a slow process that I knew I needed an alternative.  Conveniently placed to the side of the barrel is a big dirt pit...why it was there is beyond me, but it was full weeds.  I cleaned it up to the point where it was bare for several feet in diameter and then began a pile.  On one side of the pit was a dirt mound....probably from the dirt that had been removed to make the pit.  I stood there with a large shovel ready to pounce on anything I didn't like.  All in all it went pretty well....I saved some work for later (I admit to being exhausted) after cleaning up a good portion of the property.  I only singed a few hairs on the inner arm (looks like I shaved just below the wrist) and came away smelling like smoke.  When I came inside I took a shower, threw away my soccer socks (you should see the holes = - p ), and started laundry.  So, to recap....I worked out playing soccer, served my aunt by cleaning up her property, and finally did my laundry.  Final score: Anton 1, Lazyness 0.

2 Days, 2 Nightmares

Did you miss me?  I can't believe I went two days without writing....shame on me.  Just so you know I was punished though.  Every night that I didn't post something I didn't sleep well, the first night that included two nightmares...something rather uncommon for me.  I will try to be a little better about it.  Unfortunately I can't really get my creative juices going tonight.  I am extremely tired after staying up late last night.....hmmm....not sure I want to fess up to this........playing computer games.  It turns out that I am somebody that hates to lose.  I had to play until I won which was about 4 or 5 this morning.  Yeah, bad idea.  So I will get the sleep I need tonight and take a lesson learned.  Don't allow your pride to ruin your sleep.

Return of the Gremlins

Look out!!!  They may be after you next.  For sure these are the sneakiest most diabolic creatures known to man.  Our lab must have something they want, because we are constantly terrorized by them.  This time, they didn't even have the decency to wait until we were gone.

-------NEWS FLASH-------

The Boise VA Hospital had a security breach early this morning.  By 10:30am the saboteur had breached the research facilities located downstairs.  Somehow they managed to enter the ceiling panels without being spotted and found a way to cause leaks from the bathroom directly above.  Although it was intended to appear as an accident the scoundrel was not able to escape without being sighted by VA employees.  Unfortunately the gremlin was able to escape and thwart the attempts of local security to trace it.  In the mean time warm bathroom water began to fall from the ceiling tiles in large quantities.  An employee was heard to say, " It was like every 5 second another bathtub of water would completely drain through the ceiling tiles onto our workstation.  It damaged the chair, several papers, and compromised the sterile equipment of that entire section."  Emergency assistance was requested and promptly filled by the VA repairmen.  Due to the security lock down of the research area, an employee had to be posted at the door to swipe their card and allow repairmen in and out.  10 minutes, and 13 repairmen later the leak was finally sealed.  The employee of that section were all sent home while housekeepers spent the remainder of the day trying to salvage the lab.  The gremlin ambassador was unavailable for comments.  A repairmen stated, "This accident could have easily been avoided.  Someone will get in trouble for this."  For the time being, researchers are being asked to bring umbrellas as proactive protection against anymore mishaps.  Local authorites ask that citizens be vigilent and report any suspicious activity immediately.  Those who have information regarding the whereabouts of any gremlins may receive a reward in exchange for that information.  This is Notna the Suspicious signing off.