Summing it up

Well I'm on office duty at work right now, so I figured it would be a good time to post something before I disappear for another few months. Anyway this is my 4th week of EFY and so far each of them has been distinct...mostly for injuries and what not:

Week 1: knee dislocation week
Week 2: the flu epidemic week
Week 3: the on-stage seizure/first ambulance ride/15 year old fan week
Week 4: the lightning strike/MCAT week

I know I should talk about those in more detail, but I'm feeling a little too lazy to sum up all four weeks. But it's been so fun here! I thought I would definitely not be efy material, and not that I have become efy material or anything, but I've had a lot of fun and made a lot of friends. This week has been great, but it's been stormy! We had our games night at Kiwanis park yesterday which ='d pioneer trek a la 1846 hike from helaman halls to the park...it was so long! Luckily we have cars, but we had to hang out along the path and guide them up to the park, and it was windy and raining and lightning and thunder and all that fun. So then we did a few games in the wet and rainy park and then apparently lightning struck a gazebo thing where some of the counselors were and all the nearby kids ran under trees (aren't they boy scouts? c'mon!) so we reverse-trekked it back down to the dorms. Of course then it stopped raining. Anyway I wasn't near the park when the lightning supposedly struck but it sounded like a real interesting time!

Oh I got my MCAT scores back this week! I got a 32, which is a very average-accepted white kid score! So I think I'll be accepted somewhere! Sweet huh? I thought I could maybe do a little better than 32, but 32 is still very decent and like I said, is about the average score for accepted students. So no johns hopkins for me, but the real good news is: no trying to figure out other options besides med school either! Because for awhile now I have felt so so good about going; I've felt like it is really what I want to do in life. Now I have to finish my applications though, George Washington done, 11 (or maybe 14) more to go.

I also wanted to pay a little tribute to one of my sports heroes who just retired today - Paul Kariya. Kariya was my favorite player on my favorite NHL team, the Mighty Ducks (they were probably everyone's fav hockey team growing up, but at least I lived near Anaheim growing up). He retired after 15 seasons because of brain damage he received through multiple concussions, even though many teams offered him contracts to come back to play. Through his dedication to his rehab program, he "jumped from the 20th to the 80th percentile in brain function," which I admire so much. There are probably tons of people that would ignore the Dr's advice and just play, especially if they're feeling better, but it takes guts and a lot of wisdom to give up the more exciting life of playing a sport you love to focus on staying healthy. So admirable.


More stories to come? Yessir.

My new schedule

Now that I have devoted my summer to giving bandaids and claritin to emotional EFY-ers, Saturdays have become an interesting phenomenon in my life. Today we wrapped up the week at 930AM, followed by a Denny's run for breakfast with all of my great coworkers.(quick side note: Due to the marathon on University today, I slowed down and asked a cop where I could turn to get to freedom blvd. He asked, so I told him I was going to Denny's, to which he responded by asking if I was going there to eat. My possible responses: 1) "Yeah, why?" 2) "No, just going there to hang out." I was definitely in a tight spot there.). After Denny's, I pulled into the elms, and was greeted with that familiar musty smell of a 40 year old apartment complex in need of some serious renovations. After unpacking a few things, I jumped in bed and have been there ever since. And it's 6pm. And I feel great. Apparently the week of no sleep catches up with me every Saturday, and renders me immobile for the day. Anyway, I guess I've been here long enough. Time to enjoy my week off! On a super sad-for-Ross note: I lost my ray-bans. Yup, my fake, 7.5 euro favs from my senegalese homeboys living in Italy. Maybe that's the real reason I want to stay in bed.

Signs of things to come?

34, 34, 32, 34, 34, 36

Those are the scores I've gotten on my practice tests this spring, with the MCAT this THURSDAY at 1pm. I love all of those scores. I'm trying not to get too overconfident for the real thing, because from experience last year, the real thing is a little harder than the practice tests, but still, I'm averaging 34! Which means I might have to change the group of schools I'm applying to... Anyway, this week has been crazy, with the test on Thursday, and then EFY starting this weekend. Did I mention I'm going to be a health counselor for EFY all summer? Haha yeah sometimes I think I'm the opposite of EFY material, but I guess we'll see how it goes! It pays well, and I don't have any other plans, so why not right? Just wish I has a week or two after the McAT to relax!

Ps, anyone wanna go to Oklahoma and noodle with me?!

I have the best part-time job ever

Sometimes I think I should just teach Italian forever. But I feel like my favorite part-time job might not translate as well to a full time career. MCAT a week from today!

004 professor white is awesome
004 I just want to say that Professor White was an excellent professor. I have observed other student teachers before and he is one of the best I have seen.
004 Professor White is the best Italian professor at BYU! He is very good at what he teaches (he sounds Italian!) and is willing to help whenever needed. I would most definitely recommend him to everyone wanting to take Italian.
004 Good teacher. Knows how to explain things correctly and in an efficient manner for all to understand. A lot of busy work but I guess you need in a class like this.
004 I felt that you did a good job of explaining things even though everything was in Italian. You kept your explanations simple and basic which helped. Also, I'm impressed that you stuck to speaking 100% Italian every class; I thought you would stray into English explanations more often to help clarify. But you didn't so that also really forced us to pay attention and learn quickly. The activities and frequent interaction with classmates helped to clarify new concepts and instill understanding. I loved learning a little about the culture and country itself, too (as opposed to learning just the language).

I do have one small suggestion that may or may not be good. I know we can email or talk to you in person, but I think opening up Monday class with any questions students may have had about the previous week's on-line homework would be a good way to make sure we understood what we learned. I know after I did the homework I sometimes had a question about something but forgot to email or ask you. Following up on Monday might help, I don't know.

Other than that I can't think of any other improvements. I really enjoyed this class and learned a lot. Thanks for all your time, effort, and enthusiasm Prof. White!
004 Great job Professor White -- you handled the class wonderfully. Grazie!
004 Professor White was an exceptional teacher. Learning a language is very difficult but he made it as easy as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed this class!
004 This class was great. I learned so much but never felt overwhelmed by the subject matter. Professor White is an excellent teacher. I have taken foreign language classes before and Professor White is one of the best teachers I have had. This class is well organized, well taught, and a lot of fun. I am excited to take the next Italian class.
004 This was one of my favorite classes this semester, and I really learned a lot!
004 Professor White is one of the best instructors I have had at BYU. I decided to take Italian for fun, and did not have much background knowledge about it. Through his teaching strategies, I was able to understand the course materials and do well in the class.

The Dog Days of the MCAT

Because hanging out in the library studying for the MCAT all day saps all the fun out of life, here's what's trending at Sophomore Skyline :)

1) Jovanotti: So I heard about this guy a lot in Italy, but for some reason he never interested me much. Just recently I've been listening to him almost every day!


2) My car hit 100,000 miles! I was getting excited for it for at least a week. And then it passed and I missed it. Anyway, I've had my pickup truck for like 7 years now, and I love it. It's been with me for many good times.

3) Deciding where I want to apply to medical school. Yeah, it can be a little stressful, but there's a school in Bradenton, Florida, that I think would be kinda fun to go to. School by the beach? That would be a nice change from the cold Provo winters. Anyway, we'll see!

Here We Stay

Here We Stay: Keep the Kings In Sacramento from @kfippin on Vimeo.

Go BYU!

I love this. Brandon showed he's a real man and came to the game to support the team and cut down the nets after winning the MWC championship. Amare Stoudemire, don't be an idiot.