A 6th time for Perfection

I'm referring (if you didn't guess) to bowling. Last night I shot my 6th 300 (aka perfect) game. For the most part, I threw all the shots pretty good. My 11th strike was the worst ball of all (got it really wide...but it got back). The 12th was a beauty, I really loved it right off my hand. I rolled this one with my High Rev by Hammer. In fact, a High Rev (the original 3D offset Hi-Rev and this newer High Rev) have been responsible for 3 of my 6 300's. A Hammer ball has been involved in 4 of the 6 (and 2 of my 3 800s). In other words, I think Hammer equipment is pretty good stuff. I thank God everytime I get the opportunity to bowl and use this ability He blessed me with. I get another chance to do it again tonight at the Derby Tournament in Louisvillle, KY.

Wish me luck.

Ready to Graduate...and a movie review

First off, I am now ready to graduate. I have turned in all required paper work, my application for graduation has been approved, and I am just hanging out until it happens. Now, aside from that I still have plenty left on the to-do list. I need to sign up for the NAPLEX review. I need to apply to get licensed and sit for the boards. I need to get hired by Walgreen's or Wal-Mart (no CVS's in Denver). I need to find a place to live next school year. I need to buy an I-pod (smart investment considering all the studying and lab work I'm going to be doing over the next 5 years). So see, still plenty to do.

Now for the movie review. Last weekend, I rented King Kong. I did not have great expectations going in. In fact, I recall telling my dad when it came out in theaters, "Who exactly was wishing that they would remake King Kong?" And after viewing the film, my thought still stands. It was visually stunning. I mean the film looks amazing and great, but the story line had nothing new. I knew the premise of the movie and know what happened in the original. Sadly, nothing new was really brought to the story. It was relatively predictable and uninspired. I actually was bored with it. So in the end, I would say aestethically (misspelled?) pleasing (it did have Naomi Watts in it....), but not very good. I give it 2 out of 4 stars and a thumbs down.

There it is. Thanks for reading stay tuned for more about me....

Only 3 things left do to...

well, 4 if you count the actual graduation...5 counting hooding...but I'm chalking those up as a given. I only have 3 things left to do to finish pharmacy school. I have a honors exam today for departmental honors (yahoo....1 test to cover the past 4 years of learning). Tomorrow, I have my PharmD presentation. And the final draft of my PharmD project manuscript is due on Monday (I'm pretty sure I have the final draft done, I just need to verify it and then print it out). That's it. Those are the only things that are left for me to do. It's kind of exciting almost being done. Also, a little scary to know that the way of life I've grown accustomed to over the past 6 years is going to change, but it won't be the first time for me.

That's all for now. I'm going to try and review a few of the big picture things that are likely to make an appearance on this test.

A decision made

After a week of thinking through most of the pros and cons of each graduate school, I have come to a decision. Next year (school year that is), I will be attending the University of .... you know, maybe I should make you wait.... build up the suspense... keep you on the edge of your seat... well, that's kind of mean... so I will be attending the University of ... on second thought, I think I will make you wait.... make you read a little bit more instead of just jumping in reading the first line and then move on... ok ok that's enough... I will be attending the University of... ok, honestly I just did that one for me...thought it was kinda funny.

In all honesty and reality, I have accepted the offer from the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver (officially Aurora). Classes start the end of August, but they have a few safety training sessions students must attend. So, if anyone wants to move out to CO, let me know and we can get together to start apartment/house hunting. In all seriousness, it's exciting and a cause of a little anxiety. There's a lot that I need to get done before actually heading out there, but it's tough to focus on. And by things to get done, I mean the Honors exam on Thursday, the presentation on Friday, graduation, sisters wedding, and getting licensed (both here and in CO). Oh well, I'll just keep plugging along like I always do. I'll keep you posted as things develop, but in the mean time, start thinking about a CO vacation with a stop in Denver (I'll let you take me out to eat).

A difficult decision

Ok, the time is coming for me to plan the next portion of my life. So far, my life has been easily broken into 5-6 year segments. 5 years in Milan, 5 years in Evansville, 4+ years in Ramsey for High School and summers, and 6 years in Indy for Pharmacy school. Now the next phase will be 4-6 years in a PhD program....in Colorado or Alabama. I have a self-imposed deadline of this Friday (officially I have until the 21st for UAB and I don't actually know about Colorado's final date). So, the decision lies in front and input from my reading audience is appreciated.

University of Colorado Health Science Center
Location: Denver, CO
Pros: New facility, interactive environment, state of the art equipment on site, very strong structure and signalling programs, "cool science"
Cons: Cost of living, 2-day drive from family, lack of interaction with pharmaceutical industry, non-encouraging of working as a Pharmacist on the side (still can do it, but have to do it sneaky like)
Overall: Very impressed with the program and the science, will allow me to work in industry as an integral part of the drug design and development teams

University of Alabama-Birmingham
Location: Birmingham, AL (I bet that was tough to figure out)
Pros: Supportive of pharmacist (2 on staff), cheaper cost of living, nice climate, 8+ hour drive from family, industry involvement, access to state of the art equipment, strong clinical pharmacology program
Cons: Older facilities, feeling of a more segmental department, less emphasis on drug design
Overall: Will allow me to work in industry as part of the new drug development teams, but less likely to have role in research and design of new drugs

So here's a bit of my dilemma. I believe UCHSC has the cooler science and may set me up to do that science better, but they are very much non-clinical, non-industry oriented and working part-time may be somewhat more difficult. Also, the higher cost of living and distance from anyone I know is not an easy decision to make. I believe UAB has the department that will allow me to do interesting work and ultimately work in industry, but not as much on the drug discovery side of things. The cheaper cost of living and slightly closer to home is enticing.

There it is, how I currently see things. Feel free to post a comment or give me a call with your thoughts/opinions on things. An open invitation to visit will be extended to all friends wherever I end up.

I have excuses...

for the reason I haven't posted in over a week. First, there was the hecticness that was the final days in Texas. Second, upon my return I have been sick. Over the past several days, the only thing I've done is lay in bed, sit on a couch, and play video games/watch TV/movies. Also known as recovering. I'm feeling much better, but still really short on breath (yeah Asthma).

Anyway, here's the finale of the Texas report: After poor bowling performances on Saturday and again on Monday morning, finally started bowling well. At the USBC Nationals, I threw the ball extremely well. 552 team event (bowled better than I scored), 660+ in doubles (1 open), and 560 in singles (similar to team event). 1778 for my all-events. I had 2 goals going in: 1) Average 200 (1800 for all events... I was very close); and 2) not be the low man (I was 3rd on my team and 5th for the 10 guys that went). So I acoomplished one of my goals, and was very close to the other. This will without a doubt be one of the things I most look forward to every year.

I also bowled well in the Bowlers Journal the second time around. I had 859 for my 4 games. That'll cash.

Finally, I am done with rotations and just have to finish up my project, do a presentation, and then graduate. It's coming up fast. Lots to do and a little time to do it in.

Alright, time for me to work on that project...and then fly to UAB tomorrow. Stay tuned...