Two weeks into med school. Everything is quite fun and relaxing thus far, other than having to study all day long and knowing that eight exams are looming over the horizon. Quick highlights include; an obstacle course during orientation week where we got to climb a wall and pile 20 people onto a 5'X'5 squre, sweetcorn festival which was like a much smaller Del Mar Fair (much smaller), playing some pool and foosball, and getting to work with cadavers including this really big dude that it took 6 of us to flip over.

Fun quotes from our overly enthusiastic microbio professor who likes microbes better than humans:

"Bacteria are winning the war against humans, and I'm often on the side of the bacteria."

"All these animals are insignificant in the world compared to microorganisms"

"You are no different than a MUSHROOM!"

"Your genes are mostly TRASH!! ..... heh heh heh"

"When bacteria mate, it gets promiscuous."

"These bacteria are found in your VAGINAS!! Well, some of you."

"This bacteria is found in your VAGINA!" (he said vagina two lectures in a row, and he's not even an anatomy teacher)

Well, Mario had to go and not download the latest warcraft patch, so instead of gettin some online gaming going I have to wait 40 minutes for him with nothing to do. So, story time from the land of Urbana.

Since moving into my luxorious dorm three days ago, I have been without a car for the first time in 6 years (3 years if you dont count Reubens the Van as an actual "car"). It isnt that big a deal since I happen to live on campus and the med school is a 5 minute walk away. Plus, there are plenty of bus routes to transport oneself all over the busy and exciting town. I figure there arent too many places I'll be needing to go anyway, and if there are I can just bum a ride off someone else using my natural charm and charisma. But out of sheer boredom, I decided to go ahead and see how long the walk to my new orthodontist would be.

50 minutes later and after passing a weird old guy trying to impress some girl with his kite I showed up outside his office, wishing I had worn shoes instead of my flip flops. Lame. The one bright side was that I ended up at a Hooters which was close by. I briefly considered getting some "hot wings", but then I realized that I would feel even more foolish that I already did if I were to be having lunch at Hooters alone (the creepy old guy with the hooters bag of food played a part in this). So I decided to make the trek back to my dorm, which was just as fun as the previous 50 minutes except for passing the crazy kite guy again (asking someone which way was north) and when I made a wrong turn and somehow ended up walking through the graveyard that they keep on campus (likely to lure undergrads into and feed to zombies).

Here I am in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, sitting in my dorm room at the University of Illinois. The week was pretty interesting, starting with a few days spent in Chicago with the folks. We did lots of shopping, including several trips to costco as well as several cool malls. One of the malls downtown was 7 floors and pretty impressive looking, despite the fact that it didn't have any cool stores. The Navy Pier was fun too, and we got to enjoy some good ole fashioned Chicago style hot dogs. Lots of Chicago pizza along with some championship style ping pong made for a great few days.


Thursday we drove down to Urbana-Champaign, where we stayed at the campus hotel and spent the next few days shopping for me. In addition to the 7 trips to walmart, we also sampled the delicious local food at such places as China something Buffet (good but the wonton soup didnt have any wontons), Ruby Tuesdays (hot waitress), Real Hacienda (mexican food tastes just like San Diego), and Red Lobster (hot waitress). All in all I am quie satisfied with the ratio of hot waitresses.

My dorm is actually pretty nice with plenty of space, a microwave, fridge, and an exercise room right next door. I've also got a great view of the side parking lot and a lamp post that shines directy into my room. Props go to the folks for helping move in, including folding and hanging clothes and bedsheets and filling my fridge with leftover red lobster. Though they did lose my nail cutter twice, which is now a potentially disastrous situation.

Well, orientaton doesnt start till tuesday and the university doesnt officially start classes till next week, so there arent many people in the dorms right now. So I'm left here to sit at my computer and reflect on the past, ponder the future, and admire my Jessica Alba poster hung directly above and across my bed so that I can wake up next to her every morning.