Sometimes We're Awesome

Although you might think your family is pretty cool, dear reader, you've got nothing on my family. You may think, "he doesn't know", to which I would politely say "you're drunk." Okay, truth be told, my family might not be as cool as your family, but I AM pretty sure my family could take your family. 6 efficient boys + 5 crazy girls + 7 spouses + a crop of grandkids = a world of hurt. I'm pretty sure my math is accurate (I got an A in calculus).

From now on, I'll post the proof in the form of awesome quotes that I don't want to forget. As our family reunion approaches, I get the feeling there's going to be plenty of material to go around. This one is from Hannah. If you haven't met Hannah, I'm sorry.

Hannah: Louis, I just wanted to tell you you're my favorite brother. And I love you half a jug.
Louis: What's half a jug?
Hannah: I don't know.
Louis: Well, thanks...I guess...

*Two Months Later*

Phone: ring, ring, ring
Louis: Hello?
Hannah: Hey! I miss you.
Louis: I miss you too.
Hannah: I love you a whole bucket full.
Louis: Wow, thanks Hannah! I love you too!

Nightstands and Sundays

"It is both relaxing and invigorating to occasionally set aside the worries of life, seek the company of a friendly book...from the reading of 'good books' there comes a richness of life that can be obtained in no other way." -President Gordon B. Hinckley-

I love reading, and I'm not talking about textbooks. Textbooks and homework can be interesting sometimes, but microbiology isn't what I would refer to as a "page-turner". So, in order to read more, I set a goal and formed a plan. This time, it has worked.

• The Goal: read more of the books piling up on the lengthy list entitled "someday". Read them now.
• The Plan: rent a book from the library, buy one from the store or borrow it from a friend so there's always a book on my nightstand. This friendly book gets read on sundays and, when I have time, before bed.

The last few books I've read: Three Cups of Tea, Man's Search for Meaning, The Screwtape Letters, Mormon Scientist. In order to keep a book on my shelf, today I invested in "The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics"! I'm pretty excited.

So, Mere Christianity...

Position Open

Needed: somebody to nurse me back to health by telling me funny stories and making me delicious soups.

Qualifications: applicants must be able to make delicious soups and tell funny stories. We reserve the right to discriminate against those of the male gender. Also, those who believe that Campbell's knows how to make delicious soups will immediately be shown the door.

Pay: blessings in heaven. Your monetary remunerations will be given in the form of imaginary "blessing tokens" which can be exchanged for more tangible things ("...that there shall not be room enough to receive it.").

Contact: interested (and qualified) individuals should look for the guy in the Genetics and Biotechnology lab who looks like death; I'm wearing a green shirt). Bring soup samples.

Desperate times...

Sometimes there are those weeks where it feels a little like everything is caving in on top of you. I had one of those weeks. It all started when I went to look at my research plants and they had all turned rust red. FYI, green plants should never turn rust red over a weekend. Then I got some really crappy news that almost made me give up on medical school. *Cue the avalanche of little and big things alike*

One day I was talking with classmates about PhD applications and I suddenly wanted to climb atop my desk and yell, jumping up and down, "I don't want to be a PhD!" I didn't do it, but the fact that I thought about it should tell you what type of week it was. Joking aside, I was just about to give up.

Amidst it all I felt the impression that it wasn't as bad as I thought. One by one the things that felt like they were going to crush me were slowly lifted off or made lighter. Sitting there at the end of the week I remembered how much I love life and love challenges. They make me try harder and be something more.

Every once in a while you have those dark moments where you are tested and tried a little, but if you hold on tight and do everything within your power to learn from it, the sunrise will be worth every moment of it. So I had a rough week, but I needed it.

The Church really is true and the sun always rises.

"If ye are prepared..."

This is an incredible story about one of the mission presidents from Santiago. The president and his wife head the Santiago East mission and were there during the earthquake. The president's wife woke up at 4:00 am with the distinct impression "There is going to be an earthquake. Prepare your missionaries." She and her husband followed that warning and prepared themselves and all of the missionaries. Here is the story.

Win-ing?

Ol' Man Winter seems to be doing what he does best - trying to ruin my life. In order to preserve his menacing hold on my love for the outdoors, he has now engaged in a tango with spring. In this delicate, and somewhat risqué tango it is almost impossible to distinguish winter from spring. Example: I go to school in the sun and I walk home with sleet and slush falling from the sky - on me. I'm angry.

As I walk home in the slush and sleet, my mind naturally drifts to creative ways of combining the words winter and spring. Spr-inter? No, that makes me think about the Olympics, which are good. Win-ing? Winning? It's ironic. I'm walking home from school in march while being bombarded with sleet and slush. It's ironic because nobody wins.

Take-home message: spring better get it together and find a new dance partner or she's going to get caught in the crossfire when I have ol' man winter offed. Also, dancing that close is probably against the honor code.

Me vs. Organic Chemistry

I would like the whole world to know that I just destroyed my organic chemistry test. If my test were Goliath and I were David, then I would have just hit him so hard that all of his posterity would have died along with him, his parents would have wept bitterly, all his ancestors turned over in their graves, and all his comrades would have lost 10 years of their lives due to the fear. Yea verily, there was a terrible cry as I lifted my sword to slay the beast and a deafening silence as my sword reached its mark.

I got an A on my last organic chemistry test but only by a small margin. I have not gotten this test back because I just took it and it's written. However, I feel confident in saying that I win. So, organic chemistry - 0, Louis Peterson - 2. Suck on that Dr. Savage (that is his real name :)

Warning: results uncommon without a healthy diet, regular exercise, and faithfully studying your brains out.