December 8, 2008

When I started writing this it was still the 8th of December. Now it's not. It is now the 9th of December. I should actually be in bed right now, getting ready for a full day of studying tomorrow, but I can't sleep. Today was a rough day med-school app wise. I got two rejections in one day...tough day. Oh well, hopefully giving everyone an update on our lives at the moment will bore me enough to help put me to sleep.

I hope you like the little playlist feature at the bottom of the blog and if it got you in trouble at work because your computer volume was on, SERVES YOU RIGHT for looking at blogs at work!! Just kidding. I saw it on my uncle Jim's blog and I thought it was pretty cool.

Fran and I are still living separate lives to a degree, but it looks like the teacher that Fran has been filling in for will be back in February. It will be super-nice to have Fran home again. She really likes her students this year and the ratio of morons to non-morons is actually very favorable this year.

Thanksgiving was awesome at the Masino household. Once I figure out where I put the camera I will upload some of the pictures that we took. For those of you that have never experienced and, sadly, never will experience a Masino thanksgiving think about 2 huge meals simultaneously occurring...one very large Italian feast and a thanksgiving smorgasbord that would put Golden Corral or Chuck-O-Rama to shame. Yeah...there is that much food on the table.

As for me? I am trying my absolute hardest not to become a huge cynic and hold on to my beliefs that people on admissions committees are not the spawn of Satan...too harsh? OK, that they aren't Autobots. What is an Autobot you ask? For the love...go watch Transformers and then come back and finish reading my post. Anyway, I am nearly done with my Masters of Public Health. I have two more finals and a final draft of an NIH grant to turn in and that will be it. I have a few extraneous internship credits that I need to register for, but other than that I will be done. I plan to work until med school, earn some scrilla, and depending on where we go, we may have to try and pull off a quick move to get in-state residency. I wish I had awesome news for everyone about med school, but I only have some marginally cool news, and a lot of bad news. If you really want to know what is going on, you'll have to email me, because I hesitate to post important material like that on public forums on the off-chance that a rogue admissions officer googles me, somehow finds the blog, and makes some rash decision based on what is posted here!!!!!!

I guess since I already got denied by the University of Utah I can post this...

I hope Alabama rolls you like a...JD, you know what I'm talkin about.

Well, I think that it is working. I am boring myself to sleep. I am NOT going to promise to increase the frequency of my blogging, because that basically means that I am going to end up making a liar of myself, because I invariably forget for a few weeks, feel bad about it for a second, and then forget about it again until nights like this come around.

I hope everyone is doing well and that when you look in the mirror, you can honestly say that Chuck Norris would be proud of you.

Resurrection from the Dead

This may be short-lived (no pun intended) but if any of you are still reading this, I figured it was time to let you know how our boring (and separate) lives are going. Be prepared to be completely unimpressed. Josh and I are living apart again as I'm teaching in my hometown and he's finishing up school in Albany. We see each other on the weekends...sometimes twice a week if one of us has a break.

I'm teaching English to four 10th grade classes and one 11th grade class. I love teaching this year - it's wonderful when you make it past your first year and those seemingly distant voices of encouragement ("Don't worry, it gets better after your first year") are much more apparent and true! I don't have too much to say about my classes (this is a good thing for me) but I have had the (dis)pleasure of doing a few things so far - playing The Simpson's episode of "The Raven" for Halloween, watching a student recover from a spill, actually writing again, sitting through a completely useless staff improvement day (well only half of it was lame), and reading two of my favorite pieces of literature - Of Mice and Men and Macbeth.

Josh is still working as hard as ever putting in way too much time at work while carrying a full class load at UAlbany. He's excited to grow a mohawk (since I have banned the mullet) for our white trash family vacation in June. I can barely keep him from cutting off all of his jeans so that the pockets stick out the bottom (oh yeh, you know what I'm talking about)! That vacation will yield many pictures to post on here. I promise we won't disappoint come June.

Other than that, life is pretty normal - Bond, Christmas shopping, Twilight, Fringe, Grey's (for me only, Josh makes fun of it every chance he can), and LOTS of driving. Enjoy Thanksgiving if we don't get to talk to you before then!

"Awe"some video

Our bodies never cease to amaze me. I am continually filled with awe at the beauty of the creative process of our Father in Heaven. This video was made by a group at Harvard and details a few of the inner-processes of our cells. The actual creators also have a version with a narrative.

The videos are terrible quality, but we had to try!

Coldplay

Some of you know that Josh and I were able to fulfill a life goal (and a really lofty one at that:) yesterday. We went to a Coldplay concert in Boston, MA last night and it...was...Awwwwesome. Instead of writing a witty and much more interesting narrative, I'm just going to list off some of the things we noticed (and when I say we, I mean me...Josh can enjoy things better). Let me first start by describing the people around us:

Couple #1 - located to our left. When we stood up, they were right behind me (think slanting in on the chorus risers). Well there are two things I have to say about them. 1) The dude stunk like he hadn't showered in 3 days. The worst part about it was that he didn't even look like a stinker, but WAS! Oh, wait, I lied...the worst part about it was that he was also ripping the entire night. 2) Stinky man thought he was Chris Martin. I listened to two front men last night - the amazing Chris Martin and Stinky McStink-pants.

Couple #2 - located directly in front of us. Picture crazy is an understatement. Wild-eyed is also an understatement. And mousy - you guessed it - huge understatement. Unfortunately, they had no rhythm either.

Couple #3 - located in front and to the right. They were the worst couple of them all. Picture Matt Muir's height and red hair blocking the entire show in front of you. If it were Matt we could excuse it, but the dude also had no rhythm and he stood up from the beginning to the end of the concert. He and his girlfriend had several "moments" throughout the night as well. And listen...all of you who know me know that I was an avid concert goer in my younger years and I'm totally for standing during a concert. In fact, my favorite place to be was on the floor in a mass of people. However, when you're on the balcony and everyone else around you is sitting...take a hint. I still had to give it to him for standing and enjoying himself, but next time it better not be at my viewing expense. Josh just reminded me...it wasn't just that he had no rhythm...picture a tall and lanky Elaine Benice. Oh yes, you read correctly...jerking and all.

Now that we have the company established...let's get on to the good stuff...

1) I know this happened before tonight, but cell phones have officially taken over the lighter. I did not see one lighter being waved during the entire concert.

2) Whilst I did not see any lighters, there must have been some because I smelled the inevitable aroma of cannabis setiva. Oh yes...it wouldn't be a concert if some kid (or maybe adult, who knows these days) snuck in some pot.

3) We paid a painful $28 to park...that's not right.

4) Tom Brady was definitely in the audience and Chris Martin dedicated the last song (Death and All His Friends) to him.

5) While Martin was honored to have Tom Brady there, he was surprised that there were so many people there on a Monday night missing out on Seinfeld and Home Improvement re-runs. Needless to say, they were very gracious musicians. And it was hard to miss Home Improvement...

6) Their drummer, Will Champion (awesome name), is one of THE most talented people I have ever seen. At one point he was drumming with one hand (working the pedal with a foot), shaking maracas with the other hand, AND singing all at the same time. Later he sang an entire song.

7)The lighting was pretty awesome - think lasers and white spotlights during "Fix You."

8) He let the audience sing a lot. My favorite times were when we sang the "Whoa-oh-oh" during "Viva la Vida", singing "Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones and I will try to fix you" during "Fix you" and the first line in "Yellow". It rocked.

9) So there was a big globe hanging from the ceiling that projected different things throughout the concert...it started off as just blue...draw your own conclusions. We had a good laugh.

10) They played two songs in the audience...freakin' awesome!

11) I could've gone with a longer set -list. I also could've gone without their little political blitz sideshow that flashed "OBAMA" four or five times before they came out and played an encore song - "Polotik"...surprise. Now, I loved the idea and the song but I'm not a fan of entertainers using their clout and ability to persuade when it comes to politics...especially when they're NOT FROM THE USA. It made a 10 concert a 9.

12) I say DOWN WITH TWO OPENING BANDS! Or maybe down with the opening band. If you say the concert begins at 7:30 please, please don't make me wait until 9:30 to see who I came to see. If you want to have two opening shows, start them at 6:00 or so. Especially if they're not great. So my conclusion...one opener.

13) Lastly...you know you're at a great concert when you feel like you can hear your heartbeat in every song that's played. The playing was inspiring and Chris Martin sounds as good as he does on CD, if not better.

I know this was incredibly long but if you're still reading...thanks for sticking with me!

Cleveland, HO!!!

Did you all catch the joke in the title? Instead of Cleveland, (abbreviation for state of Ohio), I put Cleveland, HO...as in westward HO, Thundercats, HO, etc. I didn't want anyone to think that I made a mistake!

Anyway, as the title states, my parents are leaving the Syracuse, NY for greener pastures in Cleveland, OH. (see, this time I did it right!) Mom is leaving tomorrow with Taylor and Ben, and Dad will follow two weeks later after he is done working at Upstate. Dad has accepted a postion with the Cleveland Clinic in the Department of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia.

At times I have struggled to come to grips with the fact that my parents are leaving. Fran and I have been lucky to be within a few hours of both of our families this year and the last few weeks have been sad for me. My parents moved to Tully, NY in the summer of 1990. In 1994 they began construction of our home in Jamesville/Manlius and the family has lived in that house ever since. 18 years is a long time, and I know that my parents did not think that they would have stayed that long when we made the move from California.

I know that my parents are anxious and at times concerned that the decision will end well for them. So, please keep my parents and two brothers in your thoughts and prayers as they make this transition.

Thanks,

Josh

VACATION

Yes, the pictures are finally up even though we've been home for almost a week. I apologize the delay in getting them up and in keeping up with our blog. The last little while was really crazy with graduation, a wedding, finishing teaching, vacation, moving back home, and more vacation...not to mention birthdays and more birthdays:)

Josh and I went to California right after I was done grading at school. We left on Tuesday from Philadelphia (spending a few hours in the city) and flew to San Francisco where the fun began. While in San Francisco we saw Fisherman's Wharf, I bought a cheesy San Francisco fleece because I underestimated how cold it would be, we listened to a Time Share pitch just to get over-priced tickets (tours and the such) for free, and saw the city from a double-decker bus. It was a whirlwind day and a half but it was a lot of fun. We'd like to go back sometime with more time.

From San Francisco we drove through Muir Woods and on to Lodi to see Great-grandma Hauser. It was an enlightening experience as she is quite the honest person...in every way possible. From Lodi we drove down CA through Yosemite National Park (the long way through) and it was some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen in my life. I actually wrote for the first time in a long time while driving through the park. Once we got through Yosemite we drove down to Big Bear Lake and visited with Grandma and Grandpa Beal. We watched the best fireworks we've seen in a long time.

From there it was on to LA and the beaches and good food. We found the best beach called La Piedra beach near Malibu. It was fun because there wasn't a lot of people there (it was a little difficult to get to). We visited Josh's old house in Pasadena, went to little Tokyo and had good (real) Japanese food, went to the LA Science Center, and finished it off with a Dodger's game.

Once in Anaheim, we went to Disneyland all day. It was a lot of fun considering the last time I went I was three and I got lost in line at Space Mountain. After spending the day at the happiest place on earth, I was able to have dinner with a friend from college I haven't seen in years. All in all, it was a BUSY but wonderful trip. We needed it and hopefully it will last us for a long time.

After we got home from California, we went on a quick trip to Boston with Josh's family to watch a Red Sox game, eat delicious Gelato, walk around Quincy Market, go to the Boston Aquarium, see an IMAX film, and eat cannoli from Mike's Pastry Shop...yum yum! We hope all of our friends and family are well and will forgive us for being bad bloggers:) We'll try to do better:) Enjoy the slideshow of vacation pictures!

VACATION!!

Everything else...

Josh and I have been doing a lot lately (contrary to our normal schedule) and this is the blog to catch you all up. It starts off with my sister Olivia's graduation and graduation weekend. This also involved my AP English class' year-end presentation and a gathering of the Masino clan. Below is an array of pictures from this time period (June 20-28-ish)...

Above is my AP English class the day before the presentation...they did a wonderful job

My classroom workspace after I rearranged the room...it was usually much messier than this :)

The whole clan (minus our better halves) after Livy's graduation.
In order - Bry, Jessy, Jeannette, Livy, me, Veronica


Livy and the boys - LR - Josh, Livy, Dad, Kelly, Bry

Livy and Me - Sisters and Student/Teacher

Graduation weekend - Michael and Josh painting a train together

The cutest little 14 1/2 month old boy in the world, Isaac...with food on his forehead (strategically placed there by Josh)

Four of my grandfather's brother (missing is his brother Mike and sister Luiselle)
LR - Uncle Tony, Uncle Armando, Uncle Mario, and Uncle Fiore

The above picture and the following pictures were taken at my cousin's wedding. Weddings are a great thing in my family because they're like a family reunion. Since my grandfather died (the oldest of all the Scialdone children) family gatherings have been minimal. He was the glue that held everyone together. This wedding, though, was the first time we've seen this many brothers together in one room. It was great because each brother reminds me of my grandfather in some way or another. They all have the same thick hands that have worked years in delicious backyard gardens (only the kind Italian men can grow), the same storytelling eyes and hands, and the same smirk. It was a gift to be able to see all that again.

Wives and cousins included:)

Top Row (LR): Dad, Veronica, Josh, me, Kelly, Jessy, Sean
Bottom Row (LR): Mom, Uncle Paul, Aunt Marylou, Jeannette

Josh and me


After a little storytelling

Pics from my mom's camera

An Excellent Experience

This past weekend was an absolute treat. A good friend of mine and my family was baptized and confirmed a member of the church. Tom is very close to my two sisters Caitlin and Jessica and ran track and cross-country during high school with Jessica. He now runs for Stanford and is doing quite well. Just Google Tom Gruenewald and you will see some his accolades.

Tom is not just a runner. He is a kind, honest, and straightforward person. He was a regular visitor in our home, and we always hoped that he would join the church. As he was at Stanford he began attending meetings and began meeting with the missionaries. On Saturday, June 21 2008 he was baptized by my dad and confirmed a member of the church the next day by me.

Congratulations Tom.

It is on like Donkey Kong

That is one of my favorite sayings of all time. This time I use it reference to the fact that I am applying to Med School for a third and, probably, final time. We could use your encouragement and prayers.

This is quick, but I'll have more to post after this weekend.

Gotta get the Candy!!

For those of you who haven't seen or heard Jerry Seinfeld doing the Halloween candy routine, go listen to or watch it. Anyway, I rarely eat candy, especially now that I am trying to be a little more serious about my weight loss, but I found a new favorite candy bar.
Wow, crunchy peanut butter covered with coconut. It's awesome! Kinda like a Butterfinger sans the chocolate...

Anyway, I know this was a lame post, but it is a heck of a candy bar...go buy one...right now!

Exposure to the Son

I emailed a few of my friends about this yesterday, but on the way to work there is a church that generally has some pretty ingenious slogans on its sign. The latest one reads, "Exposure to the Son may prevent burning." I had a good laugh and am planning on stopping by later to snap a picture of it. It got me thinking though. Do any of you remember the article from Elder Ballard encouraging the members of the Church to use all forms of media, (electronic forms as well), to teach about the church? I have struggled to figure out how to use a blog to do so, as it is so informal and available for anyone to read. I would appreciate any comments on the subject, but I feel like I want to take an opportunity to share my thoughts on something that has been troubling me as of late, and I wanted to take a public stand for what I believe.

Governor Paterson has indicated in an executive memo to all state agencies in NY that all marriages legal in any state of the union are to be recognized, regardless of the fact that in NY, it is still against the law for gay couples to marry. California has now legalized gay marriage and has joined ranks with Massachusetts. CT, VT, NJ, and NH have civil unions, that while not technically a marriage, afford the same rights to those couples as those enjoyed, or endured, by legally wed couples. ME, HI, DC, WA, and OR also have varying applications of the same idea, that they can be a legal union, and enjoy many if not all of the rights of a legally married couple.

I have struggled for weeks to determine where exactly I stand on this. I struggled with the idea of the state controlling who can and cannot be legally joined--call me cynical, but the government needs some serious help and I felt for a while that their efforts should be directed at more pressing matters. I have come to realize that it is not at all a trivial matter. I have gay friends and acquaintances here at school and work and I hesitated to take a perceived anti-gay stance. I am not anti-gay. They are people, just like you and me. They are my friends and colleagues and my beliefs on the issue don't make me value them any less. That being said, my stance is not anti-gay, but it is pro-family and I define a family, as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does, as a legal, binding union between a man and a woman. I firmly believe that the family as was, and is, ordained by God is a basic building block of society. Does that mean that all families are perfect? No. There are single parent homes, and single people in the world who abide by and stand for the beliefs engendered by this document, "A Proclamation to the World."

As unpopular as a belief may be, and as unpopular is this one currently is becoming, that does not mean that it is not right. I want my friends and family to know where I stand and what side of the line I am on. The upcoming election will certainly define a generation and propel us forward on an ever-quickening journey. Become informed, exercise your right as citizens on both the national and the local levels. Don't allow others to steal your voice because you chose not to act.

Wow, I stink at blogging (I had another word to describe my blogging...think negative pressure and vacuums...but mom doesn't like that word!!)

It's been what, almost 6 months since our last post? Wow. For those of you that care, I am sorry. Things have been busy, crazy, insane, whatever for the last few months, but that is no excuse for not emailing my friends in this country and others. I apologize and commit to be better at keeping people posted.

The end of June is right around the corner and that means that Fran will be back under the same roof as me. For those who don't know, she has been teaching at her old High School since January while I have stayed out here in Albany because of school. If any of you are fans of long distance relationships, you need to get your head checked. They are not fun. I have however come to appreciate all of the little things that Fran does. Take vacuuming for instance. I don't like to do it. It's boring, monotonous and doesn't it always seem like the carpet doesn't really need it? Well, try telling that to Fran. Your Highness of Hooverville, the Dutchess of Dirt-Devil, the Empress of Eureka, and the Oracle of Oreck will soon be back and my carpet will get a much needed vacuum...and since she is a little OCD about it, the carpet will be vacuumed every 1-2 days after that.

Since the last posting we celebrated a lot of birthdays. My parents both had theirs in the late winter/early spring and Fran's was in March and mine in April. I think all of our pictures from these days are on my parents camera, so I will have to get them up later.

Valentines day came and went and let me tell you, it was one for the record books. Fran and I both had winter break, so she came home to spend the week with me. She got there on a friday and saturday we celebrated Valentines Day. We spent the day shopping, hanging out, goofing off, came home, got all dolled up and went out to eat. It was nothing fancy, but we went to the Olive Garden because Fran loves their salad. After we come home, Fran says that she is starting to feel a little ill. I put her to bed and she gets really sick that night...the next day I am feeling fine, but then I start getting sick. I have never had the flu like this before. Fran was sick for a few days, but I think I got it the worst and missed over a week of school and work, went to the doctor and got a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia, and also got put on an inhaler to try and control some of my respiratory symptoms. It was an interesting valentines day.

We have had the chance to make it out to the temple a few times. That is always fun and we love to go to the boston temple...we just hate driving in boston.

There have been a lot of other things happening, but I don't want to bore you all...plus I need to get back to work. I am working in a Cancer Research lab this summer and applying to medical school again, and Fran is finishing up teaching and applying for jobs in the albany area for next school year.

To all of you we haven't seen in a while, we miss you and to those that we see regularly, we don't really miss you! haha

Enjoy the clips, they are some of my favorites.

Some good BYU Memories

Average Joe's won an Intramural championship during the winter semester of 2006, but coming back in the fall we fell a little short. That's not to say we didn't have some good highlights to remember. Here is a good one that some of you might enjoy.

Updates

School finally started back up for me. I was done around the 13th of December and just barely had to go back last Wednesday (Jan. 23). I am taking some pretty hard-core science classes and am also doing an internship at one of the NYSDOH labs working with West Nile Virus. It is a BSL-3 pathogen...if you are interested, read here and here.

Fran is teaching in Seneca Falls this semester, so we only get to see each other on the weekends when we meet up at my parent's house. It is definitely not very fun and when I am not at school, at the gym, or studying, it gets pretty lonely.

Other than that, not much has really been happening. Christmas and New Years were wonderful--It was good to be with family. I think Fran has some pictures that she wants to post, but I'll let her do that. Hope everyone is doing well. I'll try to put some more regular posts up.