The Monster Mash

I know you've all been waiting for it, and so here I come to fulfill your hopes and dreams, and fill your little heads with pics from Halloween. As some of you know I've been growing a full beard for almost 3 months to get ready for Halloween. I made an epic Moses and gained a lot of respect from all the guys when I told them the beard was the real mckoy. With all due respect to Chad Riding (Moses was his costume last year) and Charelton Heston (the model for my costume), I made the best Moses ever. I went to a few parties and even danced The Monster Mash a couple of times. The cops even showed up at the last party so you know it was awesome, and it reminded me of when the cops showed up at my parties when I was an undergrad.

Miracle

So I've seen my fair share of miracles in my short (ha ha) life. But this week takes the cake. So I had to change my vehicle registration to UT. The emissions and safety tests were normal in that I failed and had to get something fixed; the miracle occurred the next day when I had to go to the DMV and get new plates. Expecting a long wait, I brought a textbook with me. I walked into a silent empty room! My number was called before I even had a chance to sit down! I couldn't believe it, it made no sense, it was truly miraculous. Adding to the experience was the fact that I got my "get out of jail free" card updated and renewed. I once again have the power to park right by the door in a full parking lot. As soon as word gets around I will be the most popular guy yet again.
"Huh, only one miracle this week," you say. "Not much to write home about." But, no! It doesn't end there. I went on a blind date that was actually really great! We went to a really cool charity concert/event thing. The MC did amazing impressions, the band was pretty cool, and the other entertainer was a great singing performer-his dance moves were amazing, his hips were awesome! Tori (my date who as it turns out is not blind, big plus!) and I may have had 1 slightly awkward pause all night, but that's it. For those who know me, especially post-cancer me, this is a miracle in and of itself. But I couldn't believe that she was short, pretty, and cool (she likes ACDC and the Red Soxs), that's never happened on a blind date before.
Two miracles in one week! I hope I haven't used up all my miracle karma; next week is key as I have several Halloween parties, an MRI, an internship interview, and plenty of other stuff going on and hoping for little miracles.

One Week

It's been one week since I've laid eyes or feet on the lush soil of Washington. It doesn't feel like home here in P-town yet but it's getting there. I've enjoyed old favorites (La Caretta, BYU football) and new favorites (The Parlor). A nice surprise was to see that Robbie Hamblin (an old friend) is in my ward, and they just finished reassigning all the big callings, so it looks like I'm destined to be a hymn-book coordinator.
Friday night I got to be a chaperon at a Halloween party for mentally disabled kids in Orem. We played Halloween bingo, Halloween pictionary, and pin the tail on the (Halloween?) donkey, We had fun, and I didn't have to sit at home alone on a Friday like a loser because I don't really know anyone yet.
I live in a 2 story 5 bedroom 2 bathroom duplex. It's fairly spacious, but with 5 guys in there it's kind of cramped. One of my roommates (Sean) just bought an old fridge so now we have 2 and that will help a lot. Our duplex is on the corner of canyon rd and 2680 N (222 E 2680 N), it's less than a mile from the stadium so I can walk down to football games. It's a pretty good location altogether, close to the dollar theater and Buy Low Market area, not far from University Mall in Orem, and right off of University Ave and Canyon rd so everything's pretty accessible.
If you come to town make sure you give me a shout-out.

Summer's Almost Gone

A few days ago on the last day of summer I woke up to Morison's words in my head, "Summer's almost gone...Where will we be when the summer's gone?" I looked out the window and knew where I would be; enjoying my brand new grass lawn. That's right, my landlord finally put down sod on the last day of summer. Winter may be comin' on but I have a lawn made of grass. No longer will I toil in the dirt and rock lawn that has been my only escape; now I lounge in the green flora God invented for man. The apartment kids are playing football on the grass as I type, too bad I am moving out in a week.

Take me out to the Ballgame!

Last night I basically lived the American dream. I went to the Dust Devils' game (Colorado Rockies short season A affiliate) with my dad and two of my brothers. I ate peanuts and cracker jacks, cheered for the home team, stretched in the middle of the 7th inning, and belted out the American classic "Take me out to the Ballgame." I am excited for the MLB post season and all the good things the next couple of months will bring. I will be moving to a duplex in Provo, UT on Oct. 1st (220E 2680 N). Here, I will once again enjoy ESPN during the best sports month of the year. I just finished my 1st year of grad school and I am excited about classes the next 2 quarters and then I start an internship for the last 6 months. I got Halloween, my 3 year tumorversary, and my birthday right in a row. Prognosis positive doctor!

Reunion

Had my 10 year high school reunion last weekend and I think TV has misled me for the first time in my life. The hot cheerleader and the football star didn't get back together (they didn't even show up), no one hired a stripper to be his/her date, and no one cared about anything that did or didn't happen in high school. We were just a bunch of working stiffs who hadn't talked to each other in 10 years, (in case anyone who went reads this there were some exceptions of course-you know who you are) Kind of anticlimactic, but fun to see old friends. Strange, I never felt like I was comin' home, maybe that's because I live less than a mile from the old high school and had to travel away from it to get to the reunion site.

If you're goin' to San Francisco...

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. Seriously, I forgot to wear one and the mean glances and impenetrable stares didn't stop until I got back on the airplane. Scott McKenzie knew what he was talking about.
So yeah, I went to San Francisco and had a blast with my old college roommates Matt and Chad. We saw the sites in the Bay area, watched Zito carry a shutout through the 8th inning (and be awarded the 1-0 win), went to the State Fair in Sacramento, and generally had a good time hanging out and reminiscing. The best part was probably going to church and finding out that the primary had a put together a long paper chain around a picture of Jesus. Naturally I assumed it was a "Jesus is Coming" advent chain. I was tempted to pull off a few chains to screw everybody up, but my nice guy instincts kicked in too fast.
The day before I left, I met with a replacement oncologist (my onc was on vacation) and wanted me to have a spinal tap that day and go to the hospital to see if the "smooth dural enhancement" on my last MRI was meningitis, metastases or something else. At first I thought it would be really cool like the band and its documentary, but then found out it's a potentially painful test that is somewhat risky for patients with a tumor in the back part of the brain. I don't need to endure any more pain and discomfort, or increase my risk of morbidity or mortality just because a doctor is jittery and prone to over testing and over treating. Turns out it's in the "something else" column, it has to do with my ventricular shunt. I'm glad I didn't go crazy and put off my trip to California, it was a good time.