2). A week later, I flew to Charleston, SC for work. Everything was paid for and I had the best, most expensive meal of my life. It was like I was on Iron Chef: America. I also walked into a praline shop by my hotel--the smell emanating therefrom was the probably the best smell I've ever smelled. Charleston is an awesome city.
3). A few days later I flew home to Utah and spent 5 days there. I interviewed at the U and both of the interviews went (I think) really well.
4). I went home teaching in rural Vermont and had to use a pair of waders to get across a small river to the man's house. Epic.
5). I played intramural soccer. We lost the first game 0-8 (losing to the "Math-holes", which made it even more embarrassing). The next game we lost 1-3 (they scored our only goal--still counts!) Our next game was cancelled and then...that was it. Surprisingly, we didn't make the playoffs. We managed to go the entire season without scoring a single goal on our own. Oh well, fun while it lasted.
6). I went to the Harpoon Oktoberfest in Windsor Vermont with my co-workers. It was my first time being a designated driver! It was also my first time touring a brewery. There was a lot of beer. A lot...of beer.
7). I ate dinner with a family in the ward in Norwich. They have the coolest yard I've ever seen. It stretches to a forest and the hills behind them and they have a pond...yes, their own pond. They swim in it in the summer and skate on it in the winter. Not too shabby.
8). That same day, I saw the Michelle Bachmann bus parked in front of the HOP at Dartmouth.
9). The next day was the Republican Presidential Debate. I saw Charlie Rose walking around. I later learned who Charlie Rose is. I would have gone to the Debate...if I had won the lottery to get a ticket.
10). I went to a corn maze in northern VT--rated the 2nd best corn maze in America. Took us 2.5 hours to get through it. Epic.
11). The next day (Sunday) I was walking across the Green to meet up with friends for dinner and I got a call from an unknown number. I listened to the message and it was from the OUWB. I excitedly called the number back and the Dean of Admissions answered and told me that they wanted to offer me an acceptance for the OUWB class of 2016. I was shocked! And happy. I was one of their first acceptances. I felt very blessed. It's nice knowing that no matter what happens with the other schools I'm waiting to hear back from, I got in somewhere. I'm going to be a Medical Doctor. And I might be moving to Rochester, MI next summer. Stress relieved.
12). I witnessed the annual Homecoming Bonfire on the Dartmouth Green. The fire was HUGE! The freshmen run laps around the fire till it burns out (or they do). We stood in a circle around them and yelled at them to "keep running!" and "stop walking!". Afterwards I went to a frat in the hopes of playing my first game of beer pong (but with water.) It didn't work out. There were a lot of people and the floor was sticky with beer. There was a lot of beer. A lot...of beer. (So this is what non-BYU college life is like). After that we went to an 80s dance party at the "Christian Impact" fraternity--much more tame. And fun.
13). 5 hours later we woke up (all in our own beds) and drove down to Boston for the New England Education Conference. After we arrived we were surprised to learn that it wasn't a YSA specific event--it was for single adults of all ages. We felt...young. We listened to a couple of really great speakers (including Clayton Christensen) and then we spent the morning/afternoon in different classes on MIT's campus. It was a good day, but by the afternoon we were all pretty worn out. To add to the fun, we had to get to the Harbor and we had just purchased T tickets, when it was announced that the inbound Red line was down. Oops. We scrambled back up to the streets and tried to figure out a bus to take but all the buses were full and it was mayhem. Finally we had to just flag down the taxis and go for it. After a short dinner at Legal Seafood we boarded a ship for a Boston Harbor Cruise. It was a good time. It went on for about an hour longer than it should have but...that's how it goes. We got back on shore at 11 and then we dashed up to Mike's Pastry to buy some cannoli before the shop closed at 11:30. We barely made it. Definitely worth it. We then took the T back to Harvard, where we split up to stay with different undergrads. Yeah, I spent the night at Harvard. They were really good kids. The next morning we went to church and then drove the 2 hours back to Hanover. Good, good times. Still love Boston.
14). The next weekend was a half-marathon. So sometime back in September, Sage and Kate convinced me to do a half-marathon with them. We trained (sort of) for it and we knew that it would be difficult but we'd make it out OK. So we got up early on a Saturday morning and drove up to Lyndonville, Vermont. It was a cold morning but, after a few miles, it wasn't a problem. The race went much better than we expected. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, even though there were lots of hills in the course. We finished in a pretty good time and we felt like we could have kept running. It was really great. I hope to run a marathon soon. I'm really glad they talked me into it. Running rules.
15). A few days later I got an interview invite at Dartmouth. I guess having connections really makes a difference (it certainly wasn't my C in Chemistry that got me the interview).
15). That afternoon we got our first big snow. Not cool. We crammed 7 people in my car and we drove to the church for a trunk-or-treat. It was a pretty scary drive--dark and blizzarding. We were fortunate to make it there and back without any problem. We dressed up like characters from Clue. I was Mr. Green solely for the reason that I have no plum or mustard colored clothing.
16). Last Saturday we had a YSA temple trip. We all went and it was pretty swell. I'm grateful for the good friends I've made here. I'm also grateful for my car and that it's holding up like a champ.
17). A few weeks ago I got to watch a brain surgery for Parkinson's. I wasn't allowed to get too close, but it was cool to put on scrubs (1st time) and be in the room.
18). I finally got the go ahead to put up fliers for the study we're working on. A few people have called in, and we had our first patient come in today. It was great. I got to spend nearly 2 hours asking him pages and pages of questions about his psychiatric history. My job just keeps getting better and better.
19). Last night I went to "Voices of Faith" at Dartmouth. Sage spoke about her faith and why she is a member of the Church. After some other student speakers and dinner, I got to talk to some Dartmouth students about our different faith and beliefs. The subject of BYU came up and the assistant to the Chaplain at our table mentioned Brandon Davies and how he was so impressed by BYU and its commitment to upholding its standards. GO BYU! Afterwards we went to the HOP (Hopkins Performing Arts Center) to see Amy play with the Wind Symphony. The music was great but what impressed me most is that they played their last note at precisely 8 o clock. An hour-long concert is the perfect amount of time.
Well, that's about it. Lots of good things happening lately. I am grateful to be where I am.
-Upcoming cool event: for Thanksgiving (about a 90% chance of happening) we are renting a Dartmouth cabin in northern NH and staying there for a few days. Awesome. Chase had convinced me to go turkey hunting with him for our Thanksgiving feast but then he found out that turkey hunting season has already ended. Better luck next year.
Other good news: it's been surprisingly warm the past few days (like getting up to 60 degrees). Bad news: the sun sets at 4:30 here. Live Free or Die!
