Transition

It has been too long since I last posted. I have been living a very odd existence for the last three weeks. I moved out of my old apartment on the 28th of June. I couldn't find a nice apartment until recently so I have been living at home with Mom since last we spoke. I finally found a nice apartment and will be signing the lease tomorrow and moving in on Thursday. I made a makeshift closet in the garage from dowel rods, hooks, and old lumber laying around since my college days. It actually looks pretty good. All of my worldly belongings are also in the garage melting away as we speak. I walked in the garaged today and my couch was sweating! I have been sleeping on a twin size bed which has been causing me to wake up with a stiff and sore back everyday. Good times. My mom still lives a simple life therefore we don't have the luxuries that most people living in the 21st century are accustomed to. I have been using Mom's dial-up internet to check my e-mail and naturally we don't have cable either, so it's pretty boring. Our DVD player has been acting up, so yesterday I watched Braveheart on VHS. I hate living in transition. I am transitioning into a new job (in contract negotiations as we speak), new apartment, new gym, new friends, new haircut (the mid-length gentleman's cut aka the Senator's cut just doesn't suit me, I'm going back to the buzz. It will definitely show my thinning spots, but I would rather that than cover them up.) I hate the fact that I haven't been able to work out. At least I have been playing tennis and/or running on a daily basis. Well, I will update/complain more when I am finally settled in my new place, sleeping on my full size bed, surfing the internet via cable modem, and watching PBS with 200 stations on standby.

End of an Era

I put some pictures of the graduation party up but my computer has been acting weird and it won't let me load the graduation and wedding pictures. As soon as I can figure it out, they will be posted. I am moving on Sunday (wipes single tear from cheek). I have lived in this apartment for four years! This is the longest I have lived anywhere apart from the apartment complex that I grew up in. It is very sad when you have to leave a place that you have spent such a significant part of your life in. It just wouldn't be the same without school or my friends anyway. BG has already started his program at UCLA, JB is back in Wisconsin, JC is still looking in Seattle, MJ is looking in South Carolina and Oregon, and others are spread out from Arizona to Florida. I suppose for the near future I will head back to Louisville. I'm still not sure exactly what I want, but a nice opportunity is available back in the Ville. The next time I write will be from a new apartment in a new place.

Party

Slow and MP at the grad party

Suma, JB, Slow, JC, BG, Wes, and Chad at the graduation party

I'm back

Well, it has been a month since I last posted, but I am back. I never really left, just convinced myself that I had more important things to do other than post. I am now Dr. Slowmar, but I insist that you still call me Slowmar, or just Slow. I will be taking my Jurisprudence exam in two weeks and that will be the last hurdle before I am given my license to kill/practice dentistry in Indiana. I will also take the Jurisprudence exam for Kentucky as well within the next couple of months. I went to BG's wedding in Santa Barbara last month and it was a great time (he honeymooned in Thailand, Maldives and briefly in Singapore). I also went to Chicago for Memorial Day weekend and have spent quite a few days in Louisville as well. I am in the process of packing everything in my apartment for the move. Where am I moving you ask? I have no idea. My lease expires on June 30th and I have submitted my move out day as the 28th. I'm sure I will decide in the next couple of weeks where to move. I have narrowed it down to Indianapolis and L.A. (Louiville Area). I am still very confused and conflicted with what to do both personally and professionally. I won't bore anyone with that mess though. I will finally be posting some pictures from the graduation party (April 22), graduation (May 14) and BG's wedding (May 20th).

Pictures

Another view from our Villa.
Our pool and view from the pool area
Marina during early morning. Really nice view of Pedgral, our place was on the left side of the mountain.
Not ours, but impressive, 14 feet, 820 lbs!
Wes fighting a marlin, lost it about 40 feet from boat. That's Luis (our captain) helping
Wes.

Taking a Break

Well, all my requirements are complete. I will turn in my school mailbox key on monday as well as my computer. Apparently they have to delete eveything from my computer and then reinstall any operating system and software that I provide. Although I am essentially done, I would guess that by wednesday the paperwork will be official and I will be cleared to graduate. A week from today I will be graduating. The school will have my computer for the next few days and I will be busy cleaning and preparing for graduation. I will then be retaking the operative portion of my board exam on the 19th and then head to Santa Barbara for BG's wedding. That being said, this will probably be my last post for a couple of weeks. I am putting up some pictures from Cabo but will put more up when they get sent to me. I am still waiting for my graduation party pictures and hopefully I will have some Santa Barbara pics as well.

Villa de Blase

I got back from Cabo monday night and I'm finally rested up and back to normal. The Golden Dome was rented so we stayed at Villa de Blase in Pedregal. I don't have a digital camera yet but once I get pictures from all the guys I will post some. I will also put pictures from my graduation party up when I get them from my friends. Pedregal is really nice, it's considered the Beverly Hills of Cabo. It is a completely private community of Villas and mansions. Apparently Madonna has a place there, as well as Stallone, Micheal Jackson, and Steven Segal. I don't really know if Steven Segal having a place is a selling point but oh well. I went deep sea fishing for striped marlin and tuna on friday. We got some box lunches and breakfast from a neat little shop on the marina called Senor Sweets. Fishing was great except that I got sea sick three times. This was certainly better one of my buddies that got sick nine times! We hooked one marlin but it broke the line about 40 feet from the boat and got away. We spent a lot of time on the beach as well. Also, at a place further down the beach called the Office. At night we hit some of the usual spots: Cabo Wabo, El Squid Roe, and Passions. I had a ton of fun on Saturday during the day when we all went ATV riding. Sunday night was a great dinner at Nick San sushi restaraunt. It was all really fun, but ridiculously expensive. The only cheap thing was lunch every day from this cool little place called La Guardinas which had 1.50 fish tacos!

Graduation Party

This past weekend we had our graduation party at the Indiana Historical Society. It was a lot nicer than I expected. I didn't recognize half of the people there since they weren't in scrubs. Dinner was nice, the slideshow was excellent, and less people than I thought annoyed me. After dinner and the slideshow the event moved downstairs to the canal. I had a really good time. I wore my tux, but had to wear a straight tie because I still can't tie a bow tie. I will put a couple of pictures up when I get some. Graduation is now only two and a half weeks away. I can't believe who they are letting get doctoral degrees these days (case in point, me). I still have two small requirements left to complete. One next tuesday morning and one next friday afternoon. After that I should be officially cleared for graduation (barring any unforeseen hitches). I will also soon have to start the arduous process of cleaning my apartment in anticipation of the family's arrival for graduation weekend. Graduation for me is completing my requirements, getting my liscense, and finding a job. I suppose the formal ceremony is more for the family. Well I better start the clean-up process now.

Indiana Weather

The weekend was pretty laid back. I went to a get together at somone's place on Friday with BG. She had a chocolate fountain there! Everyone was quietly standing around socializing, and then we walked in. I made my way straight to the food which was at this point still untouched. My lack of manners apparently started a chain reaction and everyone began eating soon afterwards. The quiet gathering once again turned into the Slow and BG comedy hour once we started our routine (witty banter feeding off of each others comments). It was a pretty good time except the crazy weather we encountered on our drive up there. The rain was coming upwards! It hailed for about 20 minutes and at one point in time we were the only car on the road (everyone else was pulled into a gas station or under an overpass). Thank goodness we were in the Green Dragon and not in Sunny. Saturday was a lazy day of TV watching and so far sunday has been much of the same. Four weeks of school left, crazy!

Mr. and Mrs. Gunnar

Congratulations again to LB and Gunnar! The weekend was a fun and hectic time for all. It was good to see all the fam and meet new friends. LB's old boss talked to me for at least an hour on Saturday and sought me ought at least twice at the wedding. Uncle Jerry loves Oz solely because he was familiar with the Big Dig. I bro'd out with LB's co-worker's husband (i'll refer to him as the Greek). It was a good time. Baby bro forwarded me an article written about his article. Apparently the IDS has never run an op/ed on the front page of its newspaper and so they printed a follow-up as to why they chose to do so in the first place. I was also forwarded this article that proves baby bro is a fob and cares way too much about his hair. Before you go and think that the IDS is a paper run by all of baby bro's friends, here is a little info. It is one of the nations largest student newspapers, it is almost entirely student run, published daily, and it is financially self-sustaining. Well, fat boy has to lose 10 more pounds before the end of the month. Must drop bag of potato chips clinched in right hand...must stop eating double cheeseburgers at every eatery in greater indianapolis...must run more...must stop ordering off the menu at Bourbon Street...too late (opens mouth, inserts handful of mesquite bbq chips).

First Dentist

I just read this today and found it really interesting. Maybe I was desitined to become a dentist. Maybe I am even a descendant of this early Pakistani dentist (even though he/she was from Balochistan and not the Punjab).

Final Four

Indianapolis was packed this last weekend. The NCAA Final Four took place downtown and it was pretty cool. I went out with a bunch of friends on Friday and every place downtown had a line about 50 people deep to get in. It was nice to see downtown so alive. Usually the only place with a line downtown is Have A Nice Day Cafe, affectionately referred to as the HAND (if you are a female you will find more than one on your backside during the course of an evening). Lines are generally reserved for Broadripple (college bars and clubs). Anyway, on Saturday we went to Jillians and watched the semifinal games on any one of the twenty big screens downstairs. The line was too long initially to get in so we had to settle for watching the first half of the Florida game in a giant tent that was set up next door. This quickly became a nuisance because it was cold outside and I was tired of seeing drunk 21 year old girls with flip flops falling on their rears. I noticed also that all of my friends are ex college athletes. I wish I would have gone to a smaller school and played college sports (I had Division II and III offers for baseball and football<---tooting own horn!). BG played volleyball at UCLA, JB and JC were swimmers at Luther College, and JP played football at Wyoming. I played intramural Euchere at IU, just not the same. After UCLA won, BG was determined to get tickets for the championship game. He came through and we were able to go to the Championship on Monday night. Florida fans outnumbered UCLA fans at least 3 to 1. It was a boring game but still fun to be there and experience it all. Last night I ate a Bourbon Street Burger (with cajun spices) at my favorite hangout. I am now fatter and more unhealthy, but certainly more content.

Parkour

So my latest obsession is with this style of street 'jumping' called Parkour. I remember it was featured on a Nike commercial some time ago and that it was of french origin. I have been looking up tons of clips and recently came across a movie on a blog. The movie is called Banlieue 13 (District 13). Anyway, I think that this parkour stuff is amazing and just wanted to share it.

Simpsons

I just came across this earlier today and had to share with those who hadn't seen it yet.

Two Weeks

I am not a hardcore blogger but I have gotten very used to writing poorly on the events that take place in my life. I don't really know what I've been doing that has kept me so busy. I don't think that I have really been doing anything. I think that I am just very scared and unsure of what will happen in my life the next couple of months. I am still waiting for a sign from above to tell me what to do, still nothing. I guess I will keep waiting and praying. I do believe that everything happens for a reason and as long as I continue to believe that, everything will be okay. My fridge is bare again, more so than last time! Seven weeks of school left! Cabo awaits!

Virus v. Bacteria

I have been a little sick as of late. I was fine until thursday morning. I went to Patachou for breakfast/brunch and immediately after started feeling nauseous. I have heard that a few people in my class had a stomach virus, but I don't feel that it is viral because I fought it off in a couple of days. I suppose is could be bacterial, but I think I might have overexerted myself this week. I worked out a lot this week, played ball monday and wednesday, volleyball on thursday, and really didn't eat a lot. I didn't sleep much and I think my body is just a little upset at me, nothing a Big Ten from Pizza Express won't clear up. Only a half week in clinic this next week and then I will head home for a few days to hang with the fam. BG left for Mexico this morning, JC is studying for Step 2, so I will probably head to JB's and play Halo on Xbox live.

Great Clip!

Never mind that I feel that high school football is microcosm of everything that is wrong with America. Never mind that parents love to force their children to play sports and live vicariously through them. Never mind that golf, soccer, and tennis will always be sports that the rich and bratty will excel in. This is what makes sports great. It warms my heart everytime I watch it. Note the jubilation of his teammates and the fans.

Critical Deficiency

Well, I have finally regrouped after this weekend. I took my licensing exam this weekend and I did not pass one part of it. I was really upset on Saturday during the day, but after some words of encouragement from my family, friends, and almost everyone in my class, I feel a lot better. I know everyone in my class but am only close to a handful of them. After hearing what happenned to me on Saturday, the support and concern that has been expressed by almost everyone I have talked to has been surreal. Without going into details that non denties (as my med school friends like to call us) wouldn't understand, I got screwed over by a classmate. After I got screwed, I couldn't pull it together and perform at the level necessary to pass. The examiners decided that I had a critical deficiency in one of my cavity preparations (greater than 2mm from ideal) and I failed that one portion of my exam and will have to retake it in either late April or mid-May. No big deal, I hadn't planned on practicing until July anyway. I am very disappointed because not only did this person screw me over, but the way they decided to tell me was extremely unprofessional, tactless, and lacked the class I would expect from a fellow student. Anyway, like Oz said, "you can't control the situation, but you can control the way to react to it". So I am moving on and making the most of the cards I have been dealt. In all honesty I have had a relatively easy last couple of years. I haven't really encountered any obstacles or tough times. I suppose this is just another test that I have to prepare for and work harder to overcome.

The Early Man

I don't have cable, a home phone, and I steal wireless from someone in my building. So with my rabbit ears I only get about 6 channels, one being mtv2. I am obsessed with this channel. It has tons of videos and the shows on here are hilarious. The two shows that I watch the most are Team Sanchez and Wildboyz. The fact that I love the sophmoric humor in these shows just proves that I am the most adolescent of my brothers and probably always will be. Another site that I happened upon by watching a commercial on mtv2 was gamekillers. This site had me and oz laughing for quite a while. I am currently or have struggled against all of these characters. I'm hesitant to comment on which one or combination of these gamekillers I am.

Cabo!

Apartment is now clean, fridge is full (with water, juice, and condiments), clothes are folded and put away, and patients are in line for boards. My life has some relative order restored to it. I can't wait until Saturday is over with. I just got the official e-mail from BG's best man regarding the 'gathering' in Cabo. Among those invited are Will Forte (from SNL, BG's fraternity brother from UCLA), Taylor (UCLA volleyball buddy and former AVP player), Argent (Head of Marketing, Red Bull USA), JC, JB, myself (dental school friends), and a number of others that will make this trip a great time. One of the names on the list was a gentlemen by the name of Beavers. Beavers lives in Indy now but is from North Carolina originally. He is known in every pub in indy with a capacity of under 50 people. He has two personal cab drivers, Uncle Tom and Eddie! I have employed the services of Uncle Tom numerous times, but honestly, who has two cabbies? Here is my favorite picture of Oz, baby bro, and myself.