So long Big Red

I have attachment issues with inanimate objects. I have been like this as long as I can remember. When I was five years old, I would go to bed every evening positive that our house was going to burn to the ground. I would clutch my tape player and pink blanket to my chest so I could be ready to jump out of bed as soon as the fire alarm went off. I couldn't leave them behind to burn up!

I got a little stuffed black bear from a gift store in Yellowstone when I was about twelve; "Paws." For a while I took the bear everywhere and pretended to feed it.....yeah I was twelve. I guess I also have developmental issues. When I moved off to college and Paws got stuffed on a shelf, I would feel guilty every time I came home and saw him. After my first semester, I packed him up and took him to college with me. I just felt so bad for him!

Fast forward five years, and thankfully my attachments aren't to toys anymore. Well I guess they are, just a different kind of toy. Brandon keeps trying to get my to sell my old mountain bike "Tess," so I can get a nicer newer bike. No way! Tess was my first real bike. I have so many memories with her, and to sell her would feel like betraying an old friend. I got a new road bike, and I feel like I have to divide my time evenly between the two so no one gets offended.

We have been talking about selling our Red Truck for a little while. It just won't be practical in San Francisco, where gas is approaching five dollars a gallon. On a whim, Brandon decided to put the truck on ksl to see what would happen. Fifty views in two minutes. Over twenty phone calls within 24 hours. Yeah we sold it. And yeah I did, for reals, cry. Then I went back and looked at all the pictures of all the fun places we went with that truck, and I was sad. Brandon couldn't believe it. "It was MY dream truck!" He said.

I still look for a red Toyota Tacoma on all mountain tires when Brandon comes to pick me up from school and I wonder how Big Red is doing with his new family :(


All dressed up for our wedding:


In Moab:


Camping:


Skiing: took the icy canyons like a champ

Lately

So.... I haven't posted for a while because I haven't been doing much except for lab work. And honestly who wants to hear about that? Not me. I submit my thesis in three weeks and have a bunch more genes to quantify from my 12 week prostates before I can write my discussion/conclusions. Also, I found out that I have to give a presentation at the Experimental Biology conference in April in San Diego. It is a great opportunity but I am really nervous!

Updates from the past month:

Valentine's Day we didn't do much because we were both busy until the late evening, but I did make us a steak dinner, and we ate lots of chocolate. That is the important thing.



We spent Presidents Day at Snowbird. We were nervous because the forecast called for wind chills down to -6 F, but it turned out to be a beautiful bluebird day with a few fresh lines. Brandon threw some of the biggest cliffs I have ever seen him do, but I didn't have the camera out to document.


This last Friday we ditched school and skied at Canyons with Nelson and his friend Adam. Even though I have a ton of work to do, I didn't feel guilty the whole day. That night we came back and went to Red Robin with Nelson, Summer, Laura, and Jake.


Yesterday was my 25th birthday. I don't know why but for some reason it seems old to me. Should I start worrying about wrinkles? Probably not because I think a huge zit is trying to make its appearance on my cheek. TMI and yuck. Anyways, Brandon and I went for a pretty miserable bike ride in the morning. Riding into the wind felt like we were moving backwards. Our efforts were rewarded by endless french toast from Magelby's and Red Iguana that night with my family. We celebrated with Brandon's family today. I had such a great weekend! I honestly have wonderful friends and
family.

Antelope Island - We saw no antelope

What do you do on a day that is cold and snowy, but not snowy enough to justify buying a day pass to a ski resort? (Our season passes have blackout days on every holiday) Well we went to Antelope Island. Brandon had never been before, and January is a great time to see birds and porcupines.

On the lookout


Our little coyote friends playing on the ice-Brandon named them Samuel and Jessop


Bison burger anyone?


Dream truck at Garr Ranch




Riding my bike on the frozen Great Salt Lake

Christmas Break

So..I pretty much haven't done anything productive since my oral exams. Okay, I did take care of my mice every day, but other than that...nothing! Here are a few pictures of our Christmas break:

Our tree


The one and only time we skied together during the break. There is NO snow! None.


Pre-Christmas mountain biking at Bobsled


Christmas (Brandon secretly put a little money away every month for five months to buy me a road bike. He is the BEST gift giver)




Hunting for snow with Rob. We found none.


So even though it has been the warmest and driest Christmas I can ever remember, it has still been wonderful. The warm temperatures have just allowed me to spend time on my new bike! (I'm still praying for snow) It was SO fun to spend time with both of our families and with each other. I am starting to realize how much I will miss being close to family when we move to San Francisco. Better make the most of the few months we have left in Utah!

One semester left! Then I am done with school forever and ever. I hope I make it.

Coursework Orals

After I presented my prospectus to the department in April, Dr. Fullmer asked me how I felt about my presentation. I answered, "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." She replied, "Nothing is as bad as you think it will be, except for your oral exams. They will be worse." She was so right.

The last few months I just kept thinking about the previous master's student who they failed. He is at Ohio State Medical School right now. If HE failed, how was I supposed to pass? What I didn't expect was that I would break down in the middle of my exams, in front of three professors who I am supposed to be trying to impress. The one professor who I know I don't communicate well with was my first examiner. He asked me a few questions, and then one that I didn't know the answer to. More like I didn't get what he was trying to get me to tell him. But he kept pushing and pushing. Hello! I still don't know the answer, just like I didn't five minutes ago. I started to tear up and that's when everyone jumped in and said it would be ok. That's what got me. If I am crying, the best way to get me to stop is to ignore me. The best way to turn me into a waterfall is to coddle me. I have never been like that. I am not some fragile creature who needs to be treated nicely and had pretty words spoken at her. It must have been all the stress.

After that is kind of a blur,.....I answered some questions about a transcriptional mechanism that I had never heard of until yesterday...did some damage control. Then they excused me and I had to wait for the decision. Pass! What? I honestly don't know how that happened.

And yet, I still don't feel good about it. I feel like I looked like an idiot in front of all of my professors. I studied SO much material that wasn't even brushed on. They maybe asked me questions on maybe 7% of the material that I studied. Even though I passed I don't feel like I have accomplished anything, and I am certainly not proud of my pass.

San Fran

This last weekend was the weekend of long car rides. Thursday we headed up to Twin Falls to see Kaeleen get married on Friday. It was SO fun to see my old roommates again and to see Kaeleen on her big day. She looked so beautiful! After the reception there was a luncheon at a delicious Italian restaurant. Her reception was in Washington the next evening, and we had to head to San Francisco on Sunday, so we decided to head back home after a quick stop at Shoshone Falls-Beautiful!



We left for San Francisco early Sunday morning to get to Brandon's interview at University of the Pacific on Monday. We stayed with Ellisha's brother Joe and his family. They live in a former military barracks on a beautiful park called Presidio. They can see the ocean from their window and live less than ten minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge. This is where most of the married dental students live that go to UoP.


Monday morning I drove Brandon to his interview in downtown San Francisco (from his school you can also see the Bay). I stayed in the library for a couple of hours to study for my oral examinations. When I got tired of studying, I drove to Fisherman's Warf. The first thing I did was pick up a Starbucks smoothie so I would fit in with the locals...or just because it sounded tasty. I walked out on the warf, saw the sea lions, Alcatraz, the Maritime Museum, and the old ships. I stopped for a cup of clam chowder and then bought some chocolate at Ghiardelli Square. By then it was time to go pick up Brandon, and after a quick dinner we began the drive home.



Brandon had a wonderful interview at his dream school. He loved the school and the faculty, and his faculty interviewer told him to expect a call on December 1st. So it's not official, but we are planning on San Francisco next year and couldn't be happier. UoP is such a great school and Brandon has worked so hard to get there!


In other news, my final oral examinations, the oral test where your graduate committee can ask you anything about everything you have ever learned in college, are three weeks from today and I am pretty panicked. I have a LOT of studying to do.

Grandpapa Schofield

My Grandpa Schofield passed away this last week. It was hard because it is always hard to lose someone, and it is heartbreaking to see my Grandmother alone, especially because she doesn't always know what is going on. My Grandpa, or "Grandpapa" as we call him lived a full, amazing, and long life. For his funeral, he didn't want any eulogizing. He only wanted a short biography, two spiritual talks, and lots of music. My uncle Robert gave the biography, but Grandpapa didn't want anyone else in the family giving talks. Maybe he thought it would be easier; and I respect his wishes. However, during the talks at the funeral I couldn't help but feel that the speakers didn't know Grandpapa like our family does. I started to think what I would say about my grandpa.

Some of my earliest memories of my grandpa are at their beautiful house in Alpine. He would always take us to the creek across the street where we would cross the narrow plank bridge and play with the little tube plants that grew on the banks. I remember we held races in their backyard. Grandpapa was a senior Olympian and we always wanted to beat him. In the early summer we would drive the rocky road out to the old pioneer house in the poppy field. There we would explore all the old rooms and romanticize earlier ways of life. He took us to hunt for fossils and see old Utah historic sites.

A few years ago, a friend told me that I was only happy when I was on adventures. At the time I was really hurt, but I have since realized that statement is partly true. I am happiest when I am with friends and especially family out on some great adventure, whether it is a day trip to southern Utah with Brandon or sitting in a crowded airport with my whole family for six hours, waiting for our plane to Rome. I have always credited most of this characteristic to my mom, and I still do. But I think for her, it came from Grandpapa.

I loved what I learned about him during the funeral, and I have always loved hearing stories of him during his years in the CIA, tramping through Machu Picchu, exploring the Galapagos Islands, and hiking through the Andes.

Grandpapa loved books and learning, and although I didn't always pay close attention to his frequent talks and lectures, I learned to appreciate the importance he placed on education. I also learned that he was a man of great faith.

I didn't always agree with my grandpa, and I think he knew this. I wish that I had let him know better how much I really do love and respect him. I have been blessed with such amazing grandparents on both sides; each of them have qualities that I want to emulate and pass on to my children. I want them to know that Grandpapa Schofield was a man of, as my uncle Alex put it, "determination, idealism and energetic advocacy for the causes he believed in."