This ain't no etch-a-sketch

So, I'm not the only one in this family that has had a recent ultrasound! But Deidra's was more exciting to look at than a gall bladder.

More information on Deidra's blog (she is carrying the little parasite, so she got the exclusive 'first blogging' rights).

The Gall (Bladder) of Bitterness

There is less than a month left in my first semester of doctoral school. I have a lot left to do, and not much time in which to do it. As Deidra's blog post, I went in to the surgeon on Monday, and he confirmed the diagnosis of chronic cholecystitis and that my gall bladder should be yanked. We have scheduled Tuesday, December 7, for the surgery. In my mind (and according to most 'best case' estimates), the laproscopic surgery will be quick, painless and with minimal recovery time - which I truly pray is the case. I have two 10-page final papers due on Dec. 15th, and a flight home for Christmas that night after the finals have been handed in. So I'm counting on my body to heal itself in a hurry.

_ _ _ _ L / _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Ok, so I was reading the latest post on Ken Jenning's blog (you know, the longest-running Jeopardy champion guy), and I saw this picture:

I read this first paragraph of the post, which told about a recent game show contestant who successfully solved this puzzle - with just the lone "L" visible.

Before I read any further, I decided to look at the picture and try to solve the puzzle myself. Honestly, it took about 10 seconds. So I agree with Mr. Jennings that there is no conspiracy going on here, just some great deductive logic by the contestant.

Anybody else want to weigh in? Did you figure it out?

How about the title of this post - can you solve it with only the "L"? (I had to put dashes in to mark the space between words, because Blogger kept combining them.)

P.S. If you can't stand the suspense, you can watch the video here.

Be Prepared

Remember how Deidra got called as the Cub Master of our congregation's Cub Scouts? I may have teased her a little bit, since she comes from a family of all girls and has never had much exposure to scouting.

I shouldn't have made light of it.

Because I just got called as the Scout Master over the Boy Scouts.

In the words of the Scout Oath, "On my honor, I will do my duty . . ."

Sorte Sua Contentus

Here is a picture of the Hartwell family crest. It looks pretty impressive. Kind of regal and stately. Especially that awesome latin motto, right?

"Sorte Sua Contentus"

Translation:

"Content with his lot"

Sounds like my ancestors were real go-getters, doesn't it?

Mortgage Payments

(this is the actual size of our house)

Who knew that scheduling mortgage payments were so much more difficult than rent payments?

Ok, so really they aren't. But between moving and getting started with school and not getting the automatic payment set-up correctly, our mortgage payment due date came and went without a payment this month. And in my attempts to finally get it paid, I seem to have paid it three times. I told Deidra that we're just paying for our house on a semester plan.

Our next payment is now not due until January.

33

I have always been a fan of numbers with the same digits (22, 111, 9999, etc.), so turning 33 naturally seems to be a good thing for me. In addition, some theologians in Christianity and Islam claim the 33 is the "perfect age" and that everyone will be perpetually 33 in the afterlife.

So here's to my "perfect" year ahead!

License to Move

I got my first driver's license when I was 15. Yeah, Idaho is cool like that. Hard to believe I've been driving longer than 15 years now.

Today, I got my fifth driver's license. And the funny thing is that I have never renewed my driver's license in the same state. Here is the progression of my licenses:

1. IDAHO - I think we've already gone over that.

2. OHIO - My initial license expired when I turned 21, when I happened to be serving as a missionary in Hamilton, OH.

3. WASHINGTON D.C. - My Ohio licence did not expire until I was done with college and working/living on Capitol Hill in D.C.

4. UTAH - The next expiration found me married and living in Utah, working and starting a Masters program at Utah State.

5. INDIANA - The Utah license hadn't expired, but since both Purdue and our mortgage lender think I need to officially become an Indiana resident, I bit the bullet.

The good thing is that this new license is good for six years, so we'll (hopefully) be done with school by then. Any predictions as to who will issue my next license?

Deez White Boyz Got Skillz!

There's a commercial at the beginning, but it's worth it!

Tips for Temporary Bachelorhood

I'm glad I have really smart friends like Tim. (Ok, so I've honestly never met Tim, but he married my friend Jean, so he's definitely smart.)

Tim struggled through a period of time being wifeless, and made it through like a champ, without any problems. I knew if he could do it, I could do it! So I've been following his example. Except we didn't have any peanut M&Ms, so I've been using Reese's Pieces. And we have possums instead of raccoons. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same.

But, I have learned some valuable lessons since Deidra has been gone. And, since I am in a giving mood, I will share them with you. Hopefully these tips will help you as much as Tim's blog post has helped me:

1. Meat is a must; fruits and vegetables are overrated - Eating meat helps to maintain your primeval instincts. Fruits and vegetables make you lose your edge and turn you soft.

2. Do laundry only when you're out of underwear - But the trick is to leave the laundry in the laundry basket when it's done. No use putting it in the drawers when you're just going to wear it and then throw it in the hamper, right?

3. Do not make the bed - Like putting the laundry away, it's an unnecessary expenditure of energy. Just move all of the fancy (but useless*) decorative pillows over to your wife's side of the bed.

4. Making a "To-Do" list helps show you what could be done - You won't do any of it, but at least you had good intentions.

5. If you tell people at church that your wife is out of town, they just might invite you over for dinner - Two days in a row now!

6. Maximize your cleaning time - And by that, I mean you shouldn't waste time cleaning every day. Just do one round of extreme cleaning the day before your wife gets home.

Ok, well that's what I've learned so far, halfway through the absence. I'll be sure to keep you posted if any new inspiration hits.

* Actually, I recently realized that the pillows aren't useless. If you want a fan going for white noise, but don't want it blowing on you, just build up the pillows as a wind barrier. (You could also turn the fan so it's not blowing directly on you, but that requires getting out of bed.)

When I'm my only company

This is what I do when my wife is gone and I have a whole Saturday to myself:

Some may say I wasted my Saturday away (though I did go see Purdue lose both their football game and their starting quarterback today also), but I count it as a learning opportunity. I finally got to fiddle around with iMovie '09 for the first time.

And it was definitely worth the $3 investment in lime green wrapping paper. 

Looking forward to Friday!

Since I have started this PhD program, I have looked forward to Fridays each week for a few reasons. First of all, I have no classes on Friday, so I can spend the whole day planning for the upcoming week, doing research and catching up on schoolwork and reading.

But the main reason I look forward to Fridays is FREE FOOD!

Yeah, that's right, PhD students are no different than undergraduates, in that we will do almost anything for free food. Each Friday morning, a wide variety of bagels, pasteries and juices are waiting in the kitchen for PhD students in the business building. Luckily, its a locked room and you need the right access on your student ID card to get in. I usually grab a pastry in the morning and, depending on what is left later in the afternoon, a bagel or two to bring home for later consumption.

In addition to that breakfast, I also take advatage of the LDS Institute Friday class where lunch is included. So that's two free meals (and sometimes extra bagels) every Friday! It definitely makes for a good end to my school week. In fact, last Friday, there was a dinner BBQ for all graduate students at Purdue. So - you guessed it - I got three free meals last week. Score!

T.G.I.F.T. (Thank goodness it's Friday tomorrow!)

Update on Purdue

I'm now four weeks into my new life at Purdue (if you count the weeklong orientation before classes started). Things so far are going well and I am excited for the road ahead. As Deidra alluded to, I made some seemingly random decisions at the outset of the program:

1. Wear a tie to school everyday

Putting on a tie kind of helps me focus and take things seriously, and I think can help others (students, professors, etc.) to take me seriously as well. Unfortunately, this goal lasted about a week and a half before I came to the realization that I don't have enough slacks or enough tie-friendly shirts unless I want to look like a missionary and wear a white shirt and suit multiple times per week. I have settled for wearing a tie at least once a week, and at least a collared shirt every day.

2. Never spend money on lunch

I don't make much money as a student, and the money that I do make can be much better spent than by buying a $8 burrito or salad every day. This decision was tested in the first week of school, as a number of students wanted to get together every Wednesday and go to lunch. I made my voice heard and everything has worked out for the best. We still meet for lunch once a week, but some of us bring lunch from home while others go out and get their lunch. We then meet together in the Krannert building to eat.

3. No schoolwork on Sunday

This is a holdover from my Masters program, as I have seen the benefits and blessings that come from keeping this goal. Sundays provide a much needed respite from worrying about work/school. In addition, I am trying to keep Monday and Friday evenings available for family home evening and date night.

4. Treat school like a job

Even though I only have classes Tuesday through Thursday, I go in to school Monday through Friday from morning until late afternoon. I am often the first PhD student to arrive in the morning (even though I don't get in until 9am, usually), though I am not usually anywhere close to being the last one to leave when I walk out the door around 5pm. I use Fridays to plan out all of the textbook readings, articles, assignments, etc. that are coming up for the following week. And Monday gives me a chance to get a head start on the rest of the week. Hopefully, keeping to this schedule will help me keep a majority of my nights and weekends free.

5. Take the bus

We have two buses that pass within a block of our house and Purdue students ride the CityBus for free. So there is really no reason not to take the bus to school and save on gas, especially as a one car family. Alternatively, about once a week I take running clothes to school and run home at the end of the day, which takes approximately the same time as riding the bus.

So there you have the low down on my initial school-related decisions, whether you really cared or not. :-)

Taste the Rainbow

What do you do when you have 40+ bottles of various flavors of Powerade that you are trying to fit on a shelf?

Arrange them by color into a Powerade rainbow, of course!

Iris

My newest recording, a cover version of the Goo Goo Dolls song "Iris," is now available online (iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, CDBaby, etc.). It's only 99 cents! You can listen to the 30-second clip on any of those sites, or you can check out the whole song on YouTube here:

The sound levels aren't exactly the same quality as the downloadable version, but at least it gives you a general idea.

(And sorry it's just a picture, and not an actual "video," but I'm not that talented with iMovie as of yet.)

Landed in Lafayette

We arrived at our new home in Lafayette, IN, on Wednesday. In less than 48 hours, we have managed to to the following:

• Get our city utilities switched over
• Fix a closet door
• Purchase a reel lawn mower
• Mow our back and front lawns with previously mentioned reel mower
• Consider returning previously mentioned reel mower (we'll give it one more shot now that our grass isn't out of control)
• Purchase a shovel, hose and sprinkler
• Plant numerous perennials that made the journey from Idaho/Utah and water them in hopes of bringing them back to full life
• Install a programmable thermostat
• Get my Purdue ID
• Figure out the City Bus routes and take the bus to and from Purdue
• Lose my cell phone on the bus
• Retrieve my phone that was thankfully turned in to City Bus
• Get garbage and recycling set up 

You'll notice that a couple of things not on this list are "unpacking" and "unboxing." Our good friends at ABF/UPack were estimated to arrive today, but apparently are "running behind," which means that a vast majority of our stuff will not arrive until Monday, which is also when I start school. Thankfully, a member of the local church congregation has already come to our rescue in providing an air mattress for us until our bed gets here.

Life in Lafayette has been good to us so far.

P.S. Another item that has yet to happen is getting home internet service set up. So until that happens, blogging and other internet activities will be rare to non-existent.

Box Elder Bugs

These bugs are pretty much my arch-nemesis. They are all over around our fourplex. I kill about 50 a day, and I think I am still losing the battle.

Everywhere I look online, it just tells me that box elder bugs aren't anything to worry about - they won't mate indoors, they won't bite, they don't carry diseases, etc. Basically they are supposedly harmless. But I don't believe it; I think it's all a conspiracy, so I am continuing the fight.

A couple of years ago, the bugs were all over in the Business building at USU. One of my classmates decided to jump up and smash one on the wall with his feet. He successfully got the bug, but lost his balance in the process and ended up with stitches in his head after a run-in with a table on his way to the ground. Not fun for him - but at least we got to postpone the Labor Relations test we were supposed to have that day.

So my only rule for fighting box elder bugs is to keep both feet on the ground.

The Best Pitch of the Year . . . (and maybe of all time!)

(I actually like this version better, but I can't get it to embed.)

Fantasy Football - WEPCO League, version 6.0!

For the sixth year in row (which is weird since Deidra and I have yet to celebrate our 5th anniversary), the WEPCO free fantasy football league is back on Yahoo! Sports. Click on the image below to join in:

You will need to create a profile, if you don't have one already. Once you do, here is the league information:

League ID#: 146846
Password: roxor

15 Years!?!

Last weekend was my 15 year high school class reunion (go DHS class of '95!).

It was a low-key, potluck dinner and I think I counted about 20 class members (along with spouses and kids) in attendance. That may not seem like many, but it's not a bad percentage when there's only 69 people in my graduating class.

The evening started out a little rigid and formal, as we all went around and took turns telling about where we live, what we do, our families, etc. But it was good to hear about everyone and learn what everyone has been up to.

Once everyone got their dinner and sat down, the conversation was a lot of fun. Hearing stories about classmates' children and spouses, remembering memories from our school days (from elementary through high school) and learning about other classmates who weren't there was really enjoyable. It was like old times again, and I remembered how much I really enjoyed school in Declo and the classmates that I graduated with.

It was a little bit strange being the only one there without kids. And when someone mentioned "Hey, do you realize that we've been graduated long enough to have started over at Kindergarten and graduated all over again?", I had a dose of reality as to how old I really am. But, for the most part, it was a great time and made me feel like a young buck again.

I certainly looking forward to July 11, 2015. 20 year class reunion, here we come!