Genius Bar

This morning I noticed a crack on my macbook casing. It was an open wound, awaiting the next spill of diet coke. I told Anna about a protection plan I purchased with the original transaction over a year and a half ago. You know that feeling you get when you want everyone to feel exactly how you feel at that moment? That was the urge I felt, and still feel, when I calmly rode my bike up Campbell Avenue against "red flag" wind (I'm not familiar with this weather term, but the Tucson weathermen use it often) to the Apple Store. I walked in, straight back to the Genius Bar and handed my laptop over with nothing more than my name. No ID required. No proof of purchase required. Just a body, computer, name, and time to pick up. To make a long story short, which is what Apple is so good at in the first place, my laptop is back on my lap. All of this, hassle free, in one afternoon. Actually, I don't want everyone to feel how I feel at this moment, because all the mac users feel this way all the time anyway, but it makes me kind of want to create a home video of the experience and send it to Dell Corporation Customer Service. Why the rage? Just ask Anna how much fun we had setting up her new Dell these past few weeks. Sorry, I have to go now and figure out how to run "Activex" so I can get rid of the nagging fear that Anna's Dell is under constant threat of a virus. If that were a wise virus, however, it would house itself as far away from a Dell as possible because at any given moment that house of a laptop might go flying off a third-story balcony. Happy April Fools!!

Gary Larson in real life

Reported on the NY Times Health section today:

Repercussions for Sleeping Surgeon

A plastic surgeon at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center fell asleep during surgery last June, and no senior hospital administrators interfered even though a nurse reported the doctor's erratic behavior, a Massachusetts health department investigation of the case found. The Boston Globe says the hospital has fired the surgeon, Dr. Loren J. Borud, and the state has temporarily suspended his license.

The Chronicles of Sleep

I fell asleep early Sunday night, even before Anna returned home from work. I fell asleep reading, The Magician's Nephew. I finished the chapter following Polly and Digory into the In Between Forest, a place of transition. There was something about the CS Lewis magic of worldy transport that invaded into my personal rest. I fell asleep on the right side of the bed, where the reading lamp is located. I noticed Anna crawl into bed during the night on the left side of the bed. When I woke up, I was on the left side of the bed and she was on the right. She claims I gradually pushed her off the bed with my migratory sleeping habits, but I think Lewis had something to do with this...

We're going on a pigeon hunt...

This weekend Anna and I chilled, literally, up in Heber, AZ. We spent a fun weekend with four other couples in the ward playing games, shooting guns, collecting pottery (to Anna's delight) and laughing a lot. We stayed at a nice spread of fifty-five acres with two cabins. Each couple had their own room. On one morning Anna and I awoke to watch a sunrise from a treehouse. We went for a run in the forest after that and came home to make pancakes and omeletes for the crew. I thought the highlight, though, was on Sunday. We attended the Heber Stake Conference and listened to an excellent talk by a Seventy. He is from Japan. His father was killed by U.S. Submarines. When he was nine, missionaries contacted him and bore testimony of the Gospel. Expecting to feel malice for these Americans, he felt nothing but love from the Elders and was converted to the Church and has since been engaged in life-long service. He encouraged the Saints up in Snowflake to serve in the temple so much it would have to remain open 24 hours. I love pine trees...

When we were kings...

We all know sleep is a precious commodity. When inactive, because of sleep, we run around in REM, dreams, and restroom breaks. It's a wonderful rhythm; a dance of serenity. I feel, when you have the power to sleep, you can live the life of royalty. Outside forces no longer determine your mood, activity, or choices. The power now comes from within. Unless, of course, you have yielded this power through the act of marriage :) Please don't misunderstand, I think marriage is a celestial arrangement. But it still comes with sacrifice. Last night, during a peaceful slumber, Anna embarked on a restroom break. Upon her return, she tucked into bed and threw a right with her elbow, landing it directly on the forehead. I could hear the crowd yell outside the rings. Not to be outdone, I went in with MY right to stroke her hair and accidently jabbed her in the eye. With two thuds, we both fell down like potatoes, with the sounds of the crowd giving way eventually to our royal realm of sleep. The experience reminded me of one of the best documentaries ever produced. Entitled, "When we were Kings," it follows the famous Ali/Foreman fight in Africa. It's a story of courage, faith, and brute strength. Just as Foreman is replacing Ali as the world's premier heavyweight, Ali stages one more defiant stance, even though most writers already cast him into the sunset. He trains on a foundation of faith in his God, and faith in the people of Africa. If Field of dreams brought you an inch closer to the tissue box, this will bring you two inches closer. Here's a link to a clip from the documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N44vdCqI7LI

While amazing, the fight is not as intriguing as the story leading up to it in the documentary. It's worth your time, if you have any.

JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS

January has been such a fantastic month for us! Fantastic and busy...hence the lack of blogging. So I thought I'd cover a few highlights:
1-I STARTED NURSING SCHOOL! It's been such a funny roller coaster of plan a, b, c, d, e, f, g...I finally stuck with plan k or so and it is working out beautifully! I love it and I'm actually doing very well. True, our classes consist completely of learning the tasks I've done as a tech for the last year and a half, but I'm not complaining. Not at all.
2-Spencer is still breathing, walking, functioning, even smiling and excelling through one of the hardest blocks in all of medical school. Seriously, he has been incredible balancing all the studying with serving and making me happy. But spring break can't come too soon, that's for sure!
3-I got to go up to Utah to visit my family and meet our newest member, Alex (Carrie's third). It was a dream weekend packed with skiing, sledding, b-ball games, card games, a good movie, fabulous food, and of course LOADS of chatting and laughing. Thanks to all the fam for hanging out and making it so fun!
4-We got $50 of free groceries at our favorite grocery store, Sunflower Market. It just opened across the street from us. I guess it had a little bit of a price--we had to stand in line in the rain at 5am and read numerous Jehovah's Witness pamphlets given us by our neighbors in line for two hour...but who wouldn't for 50 bucks of goodness?
5-We got free Chipotle today for sporting our Cardinals' colors, which leads me to
6-Cardinals being in the superbowl! We are definitely band wagon fans, but how can you not be when a team like the Cardinals actually makes it? Wish them luck tomorrow!
7-Our blinkers work again after a year and a half long tantrum (and some magic mechanical work by Spencer).
8-We're a month strong without air-conditioning.
9-

Artwork

2009 is upon us. New resolutions and goals are made and determination rises like yeasty bread. I have not seen much of Anna lately, nor played with her, despite our holiday break, because I was busy preparing for a test. Two roads diverged, and we both seemingly took separate paths. I wanted you to get a glimpse of what we see on our paths. One path leads to beauty, the other to...I'll let you decide. So Friday night, I'm in the medical school, walking down the hallway. The lights are off, except for a few guide lights which cast a yellow, cadaverish glow on the floor. To compound my loneliness of a night studying hormones and prostate cancer, I looked up on the wall to see the artwork of Andreas Vesalius (this bottom piece on the left). But the grass in always greener on the other side of the hill, and that's where Anna's path has led. She has spent the last couple days painting and I wanted to post her artwork before she could protest. None of this is for sale so don't ask...