Welcoming James to Houston

One of mine and James' many adventures (Ragnar 2012)

Welcome to post number two of what will undoubtedly be a long lasting and epic blog.

Some exciting things have happened in the past month. First and foremost, the roomie arrived from Salt Lake and is all moved in. I am a bit sad that I won't be needing a cat to keep me company, but I guess that James will do. He is a good chap who is starting work at a consulting firm in Houston. Seeing as we grew up neighbors and roomed with each other at BYU, we get along quite well. And although he says his being here swayed my decision to come to Baylor, I maintain that I made the choice in spite of having to room with him for at least another year (He is currently blasting the Prince of Egypt soundtrack in the next room--need I say more?). Nah, but we really are good buds, and it has been fun having someone to hang out with. He is a bit low in the friends category on facebook, so if you have time and want to send him a friend request, here is a link to his page:  http://www.facebook.com/jfmckean.

Okay, enough about James. One of the biggest changes in my life came about a couple weeks ago when I said goodbye to my little brother for two years. He accepted a call to serve a mission for our church in Montreal, Canada. He is currently at the Missionary Training Center where he is learning more about the scriptures, how to teach effectively, and how to speak French. I had the opportunity to fly to Salt Lake City just before he left to see him one last time and to hear him speak in Church. In his sermon, he spoke about how trials in his life have helped him develop faith in Jesus Christ. I am so proud of him. He has an incredibly strong testimony of Jesus Christ, and I know that he will do amazing things for the people of Montreal. It has been nostalgic to think of the beginning of my own missionary experience in Romania, which began over five years ago. And although I will miss talking with Taylor and watching him lift more weight than me at the gym, there is no place else I would rather see. To read more about what missionary work entails, and why we do it as a church, visit this link: http://mormon.org/missionary-work.

Just before Taylor (very left) went on his mission. The last time we will all be together for two years!

With our first test just around the corner, school has really picked up in the past month. It is not necessarily that the material is difficult, it is just that there is SO MUCH of it. Sometimes I feel like the dog on the right, trying to absorb all the information that is thrown at me. It is easy sometimes to feel overwhelmed and to lose sight of the big picture. In those moments, I try to take a step back from the names of all the obscure diseases and random metabolic enzymes, and remind myself why I came to medical school--to one day be able to apply scientific knowledge to alleviate the pain and suffering of others.  I really do love school. It is an amazing privilege to learn in such detail about God's greatest creation.

 In between school and studying, I have been able to explore a bit of what Houston has to offer. There are some great restaurants, an amphitheater with free concerts and plays, a pretty sweet waterpark called "Splashtown", and a pretty sweet NFL team called the Texans. Another POTENTIAL highlight was a trip with our church group to a beach at Galveston last weekend. On the drive down, I had hopes of the large curling waves of Newport Beach, California. Or the white sand and clear water of Thailand. But if you have ever been to the Gulf of Mexico, you know that it wasn't meant to be. Let's just say there was a lot of wind, rain, and brown murky water

And for this posts "fail of the month", we have my hand. I wish I had a cool and heroic story, but I cut it while taking out the trash. How does that even happen? It is really quite embarrassing. I was pushing the trash down to be able to make room for more (I want to say because I am eco-friendly, but I was really just to lazy to get another bag ), and sliced my hand on an empty can of pinto beans. When I could see down to my tendon, my feelings were a mixture of fascination and fear of living with one of the many chronic hand injuries I had studied in class just a few days later. But thankfully, a short emergency trip and several stitches later, and I was good to go.

I will end with just saying that taking out the trash isn't the leisurely activity that I once though it to be. It is dangerous business with potentially disastrous consequences. I light of my injury, I think it wise to turn all future trash disposing responsibilities over to James.

Beginning Medical School

I have taken a break from studying histology and biochemistry to write about my first three weeks in Houston. It has been an amazing journey thus far. I have met some fantastic people and had some great experiences. 

But first, here are some of my first impressions of the city: 

• It is more humid than I ever could have imagined. A five minute walk outside means needing to change into a new (and dry) shirt.
• Everyone here speaks spanish.
• The roads in Houston are terrible. My Pontiac has been taken a beating from all the potholes. 
• It is SLIGHTLY more diverse than in Provo, Utah. 
• Texans really do speak in y'alls and all y'alls.
• Everything really is bigger in Texas, and Texans really are proud to be Texans. 

Three weeks ago, my amazing mother and I arrived in Houston after a grueling twenty-four hour drive.  We listened to several audio books, ate lots of trail mix and sunflower seeds, and enjoyed the scenic views of New Mexico and northern Texas (not really, it was actually baren with the occasional sighting of a tumbleweed). The picture above was taken fifteen minutes into our journey. We were all smiles and didn't know what laid ahead. But fortunately, the G5 took us smoothly there without any major problems. 

My mother was amazing enough to spend the next three days unpacking, shopping, cleaning, and organizing my apartment.  I was shocked on several occasions to see how much money lots of 10-dollar items from Costco can add up to. Thankfully, the project was made infinitely easier because the condo came furnished.

I am grateful I have such an incredible mom who was willing to spend nearly a week helping me move (not to mention, she flew here to search for condos while I was in Thailand). Without her, I would probably be living in an extended stay hotel right now, and certainly wouldn't have towels that match the shower curtains and three different kinds of rags with which to clean. A "shout out" to my Dad would probably also be appropriate, as he spent this time by himself at home (or rather with Kayla and Isabelle, our dog and cat), eating buttered noodles for four straight nights. Love you Mom and Dad!

Well now to the reason I came to Houston- school! The auditorium to the right is where I spend at least four hours a day trying to soak in lectures of anatomy, histology, physiology, and biochemistry. It is then expected that, by the next day, we will have internalized that information, as well as material from any required readings or labs. It truly is like trying to drink from a fire hose. We cover in one hour what it took half a semester to learn in undergrad. It is intense, but I love it! It is exciting to learn material that one day, I may actually be able to use to help somebody in need. We have a great mix of professors, some that are organized and straight forward, and others that are scattered and find ways to make learning about cell staining microfilaments the most interesting thing in the world.

Despite how great the past three weeks have been, what would moving and starting school be like without a couple bumps in the road. Here they are:

• I missed the overnight retreat that kicked off Baylor orientation week because I came down with terrible flu-like symptoms. What made it worse is that while I was at home throwing up, my family was in Newport Beach (a vacation I was missing so that I could attend orientation). It felt like the ultimate slap in the face not being able to attend either! When I finally did recover, the Dean of Student Affairs made me come in front of the class of 180 and explain why I missed the first part of the week! At least people knew who I was, even if it was as "the kid who missed the retreat."
• A mysterious drip started forming in the ceiling of my bathroom yesterday, supposedly from the air conditioning unit of the apartment upstairs. The joys of home ownership!
• It has been fairly lonely without a roommate. If James wasn't coming soon, I think I would have to get a cat or something to keep me company.

I have only been in Houston for three weeks, but it feels like I have been here a year. I have met so many amazing people, both in the Houston Ward and at the medical school. It has been such a blessing to have Jon, Liz, and their family living only three short miles away. It makes all of the difference for me to have family close. It is scary moving to a new location and out of my comfort zone. It is a definite leap of faith. But I am so glad that I chose to come to Baylor. I know it was the right decision for me. It has been a great start to what I know will be an amazing adventure. I am excited to see what the next four years will hold!