Busy and yet not

Med school starts in a month. I can't wait. I'm ready to get on with this next stage of life. Until then, God has seen fit to give me a time of respite. While I'm soaking it in as much as I can, I know that this is probably the calm before the storm and God knows that I am going to need a little extra rest in the days to come. During the month of July, it is looking like I will be spending lots of time with my wife putting together our new apartment, enjoying God, working for Bios down at Paradise Bakery, and playing basketball. 

Working the late shift at the Donor Network has been most excellent. I go to bed at 10 or 11 pm, sleep for a couple of hours and then I usually get paged in around 1 or 2 in the morning. I work for a couple of hours and usually make it home by 6 or 7. I sleep for another couple of hours and my day begins around eleven. I spend some time with my beautiful wife before she leaves for work and then crack open my new study Bible (more on that tomorrow). After spending some quality time with God, Turk and I play outside for a bit and then I head down to Paradise. I work there for a couple of hours and then head to LA Fitness for some basketball. In the evenings, my bride and I work on putting together our new apartment. It's a pretty sweet life right now. The only downside is the lack of acquaintances on this side of town, but we're trusting God that they will come...

Pinky swear

There has been no posting the past three weeks due to vacations and moving. Regularly scheduled posts will resume tomorrow, pinky swear. A quick update is in order however. My beautiful wife and I moved from Central Phoenix to North Glendale this past week. It was an excellent move, no issues or problems arose. My father, mother, brother, FIG, and MIG were all crucial to everything going so smoothly. We love our new place and there will be more in the future about it. Really. Posting resumes tomorrow. Probably.

Wow, you talk a lot

First of all, be prepared. This is a long one. But by the end, I discover what is most important (after God).

On July 3rd, my beautiful wife and I are moving. We are leaving the place we have called home for the past year and a half, and are traveling to the west side. It was a difficult decision to make, but in the end it seemed the best by far.

We approached the moving decision process from a number of different angles, and finally narrowed it down to three main points: cost, location, and proximity to friends and family. As far as cost goes, the new place, Sagestone, won by a landslide. We save almost 25% each month by moving. Now that we are going to be poorer students, we decided that saving money was a good idea.

Since Sagestone is located right across the street from my new school, it is strategically located. Where we live now would entail a 20-30 minute drive every morning and every afternoon. Closer is better.

The main downside to Sagestone is that it is far from our family and friends. Really far. This left some serious doubts in our minds for a long time. My in-laws always say, "People are more important." Was saving money and gas more important than being close to those we love? The answer is a resounding no.

So why are we moving? Because in all our calculations, I forgot the most important thing: I am married. (I didn't actually forget that I was married, I just forgot that in the decision process) You see, if I spend an hour a day on the road, and I spend eight intense hours at school, and then I come home and study, and then I go to sleep, and then I wake up and do it all over again, where does that leave my marriage? But if we live across the street from the school, that affords us much more opportunity to spend time with each other. Even if I just have a quick 30 minute break, I can run home and spend time with my wife. 

Some friends of my family talk about their med school experience. Like me, the husband went to school, and his wife stayed home. She says it was an incredibly tough time in her life. She never saw her husband. I don't want that for my wife. Now that we are married, my ultimate loyalty is to her (after God). She must come before my parents, my siblings, and my other friends. When all is said and done, if I have to choose one or the other, I will always choose her. Since this seems best for our marriage, we have chosen to move.

The good news is that the decision is not an all or nothing one. We can still have friends and family. We will just have to work a little harder at keeping those relationships healthy. But, in the long run it should be easier on our marriage. I should be able to better love my wife and take care of her. And that's what is most important.

To the graduates

This is an excellent commencement speech. Take notes.

Recessions bring out the best

This is just messed up...

We're moving & Africa (not related)

Busy day today. Sorry for the late post. My beautiful wife and I spent the morning packing and then while she was at work I signed the papers for us to move into our new apartment. Wahoo. Anyway, this video is pretty sweet. Even to my untrained ears, some of the voices seem a little off, but the sound effects are nifty. Enjoy.

Dancing Koreans

School just got out for summer and today is my first official day off. Sort of. I am still working at the Donor Network on the 10p-6a shift, but during the days I am a free man. To celebrate, here is a video. Two caveats. First, I did not title this video. The views expressed in the title are not necessarily shared by me. Secondly, give this one a chance, it gets better. You will be amazed at how much free time this office has.