Bucket List

So, I promised you a little more excitement in this week's post, and I will deliver.  However, I want to tell you about this week's other happenings first.  So, here goes.

Monday, our intramural co-ed flag football team had its first game.  It was so much fun.  I never really had the chance to play intramurals at BYU, so this is kind of a new experience for me.  Let me tell you, the outcome of this game was so much better than it ever was during intramural basketball this summer.  We won 29-0!  They had to invoke the mercy rule.  Here we are after the game.

Naughty Bears

On Tuesday, we had our first Pharmacology exam.  It covered pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and Antibacterial drugs.  I wasn't too sure how I would do one, but it turned out just fine.  I got a 91%.
We also started our Hematology/Oncology section in Clinical Medicine.  This is proving to be the most difficult section yet.  There's about a hundred different kinds of anemia.  Then there's the whole coagulation cascade, which is a fairly complex biochemical chain reaction whose end goal is to clot off your blood so you don't bleed to death when you get a cut.
On Thursday, we had our ENT exam and, unfortunately, this was my lowest grade yet.  Barring any favorable point adjustments, I scored somewhere in the high 80s.  (Official scores should be posted tomorrow).
Then on Friday, we had to endure the WORST lecture since school began.  I think it was a combination of factors that made it so terrible.

1. It was the last lecture of a very long week. 
2. It was a 2 hour lecture  
3. The lecturer was incredibly boring AND talked way over our heads
4. The material was complicated...or at least he made it complicated

I mean, if anybody can decipher this diagram, let me know.

OK, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the awesome stuff.  I was able to check two things off my bucket list this weekend!  The first one is kinda nerdy, but I don't care.  I have wanted to learn how to fence for a long time now.  It's just a really elegant sport that requires calculation and quick reflexes.  Shane, a member of my ward has been fencing for about 5 years and is now the co-owner of a fencing club here in Gainesville.  So, he brought a bunch of equipment to the church on Friday night for an Elders Quorum activity.  He taught us about the history of the sport and how that influences the three different styles (foil, epee, and sabre).  Then he showed us some simple footwork and how to lunge.  Since there wasn't enough gear to go around, half of us suited up and the other half learned how to poke us with swords.  After being a pincushion for a few minutes, we switched sides and I got to do the stabbing.  Then, he would officiate while two people dueled (or whatever they call it).  It was a ton of fun and a great work out for your legs and butt.

Me acting the pincushion.

My turn to do the stabbing.

Look at that form.

My first point...right in the throat.

This is me scoring a point.  The first shot got him in the shoulder, which doesn't count.  But, the next shot is picture perfect.  I won 5 to 3.  Shane actually asked me if I had fenced before.  Not too bad for my first time, huh?

Then, on Saturday, I was able to do something that I have wanted to do even longer than I have wanted to learn to fence.  This wish began when I was really little.  I would have these fairly regular dreams that I could fly.  Not like a bird, but like Peter Pan.  But, my dreams were as close as I ever got to flying.  Then yesterday, I actually got to fly in real life...well, kinda.  I went SKYDIVING!

My friend from class, Laura Beth, is a member of the UF Adventure Club and they were going skydiving this month.  She invited anybody that wanted to to come along.  Well, I had been putting it off for years for various reasons.  The time wasn't necessarily "right," but I didn't see it ever being perfect, so I took her up on her offer.  I was not disappointed.

We left Gainesville at about 20 to noon to make the 50 minute drive out to Palatka.

Sorry, these first couple are out of order. We took these on our way out.

We got there just in time for our 1:00 appointment.  Turns out that whole "appointment" thing is a load-a-poo.  We had to wait 5 HOURS before we got to jump.  I guess they had just sold their big plane a few weeks ago, so they were using these 2 little tiny planes that could only hold 4 people max.  Well, when you do a tandem jump and have a photographer, that means that only one paying customer can go up at a time every 20 mins.  There was another group ahead of us plus a bunch of regulars that, for some reason, got to go in front of us.  It was a bit frustrating but totally worth the wait.

Laura Beth and me

Next up!

Getting strapped in.

Jairo trying to proposition me.

Yeah, it's my middle name.

Kinda surprised this tiny, rickety, old thing made it to 10,500.

Both feet back on the ground.

 It was seriously one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had.  You spend 20 mins cramped up in this tiny little plane.  Then they open the door at 10,000 feet.  There's this blast of cool air (but I barely registered the temperature...my mind was elsewhere) when they open the door.  The camera man climbs out, then you and your tandem instructor scoot toward the door.  That's when your brain starts screaming at you that jumping out of an airplane will lead to your certain doom.  But, you're strapped on to somebody else, and once you step out on that step, there's no turning back.  After rocking forwards, then backwards, we launched ourselves out into nothingness.  Back on the ground, I had asked Jairo if we could do some extra flips on the way out, and he didn't disappoint.  We got a good 3 or 4 in before flattening out.  I cannot describe to you how loud it is.  It was like nothing I had ever experienced before.  I was kicking myself for forgetting my earplugs.  The free fall only lasts about 50 seconds, but it seems more like 5.  It's all over so quick, then you're under canopy.  But floating down under your chute is almost better than the free fall.  Once he pulls the cord, everything goes silent and you can see for miles around.  Jairo was cool enough to point out landmarks as we were coming down.  He then gave me the toggles for the chute and totally let me control the turns.  I was a little tentative at first, but he reassured me that I wouldn't break it and told me to really give it a tug.  I sent us into some great turns...at least they felt pretty awesome to me.  Then after a couple minutes, we were back on planet earth and it was all over.  I wanted to get right back on the airplane and do it again.  It was such an amazing experience.  I got video taken, so when the DVD arrives, I'll be sure and post it.  Someday, when I've got the cash, I'll definitely do it again.

So there you have it.  All-in-all, it was a pretty amazing week.