Experimental Parasitology

Just a blog on some interesting things that have been said to me this past week:

(number 1 requires some background info. but I promise it's GOOD. So keep reading...)

1) Background info part 1: While I was doing my internship at Johns Hopkins, I was required to do a final presentation on my research at the end of the summer in front of the entire Stanley Division. In order to prepare for this, my PI had me do a journal article presentation at one of our lab meetings during the summer in order to practice my presentation skills and stuff. It went really well, and I just did a journal article related to some of the research that was going on in the lab. My presentation was about 10 or 15 min long, so it was legit, and I knew all about it.

Background info part 2: I'm in English 2010 right now. I was super bitter about having to take this class initially. Why? I hate English. But now, it's my favorite. The ENTIRE purpose of English 2010 is to write a persuasive research paper. So. At the beginning of the semester we had to choose a research topic. I chose laboratory animal studies (basically, I have a more specific thesis statement) because that is what I worked with over the summer. My stance on it is that it is good, and that it is better that the animals die for research than millions of people with disease. (You should read my papers, they're much much MUCH better than that last sentence I just wrote, because I'm really passionate about this topic, but you get the idea). So, this whole semester, we've had assignments revolved around this persuasive research assignment, which is easy for me, because I already know all about my topic.

Now to my point: Our most recent assignment, this last Tuesday, was to bring an article with us to the library for class. It did NOT say a news article, it just said an article. So...therefore, me having lived in the scientific community the last however long, immediately thought of a journal article before a news article even crossed my mind. And therefore, I was really happy because I had the article that I had presented to my laboratory group already prepared pretty much and neatly filed away in my bedroom ready to take to class the next day. I didn't have to look up anything at all. I grabbed the article, took it to class, and went on my way. I knew ALL about the article already. I had read, studied it, and PRESENTED it to my lab group at Hopkins. I knew my article inside and out.

I got to the library, and our class was being lead by the class librarian (yes, we have a class librarian...). The girl next to me in class was doing her research topic on whether or not facebook is a good or bad thing, and another kid was doing his on video games. Let's just say my research topic is a little bit...different from everyone else's. I'm pleased. The librarian asked if anyone's "news article" referenced any other articles. I sheepishly raised my hand (because mine was NOT a news article). And of COURSE a journal article references other articles. One other kid raised his hand. Oh boy. Later in class, she came around. (THIS is where the story gets good). She looks down at my article and says to me: "Are you sure you're ready to read 'Experimental Parasitology'??" Did she REALLY just ask me that!? REALLY!?!?!?! Yes. She. Did. Oh my heck. Ha! I looked her in the eye and said "Yeah, I think I'm ready." And then she walked away. That was all she lasted with me! But yeah. I can't believe she asked me that! If only she knew how much I knew about that article she wouldn't question me. Granted, it's not like I wrote the thing, but I'm sure most people in the class didn't even read their stupid NEWS articles, let alone present their Journal Articles at Johns Hopkins over the summer. Just sayin'.

Anyway. That turned into a longer rant than I thought it would.

2) Today as I was biking from the Engineering Building to the Institute across the TSC Patio, there was some sort of event going on. Like, there was a stage thing set up, and there was a dude standing on it with a microphone. I have no idea what for. But it was there. Back up. It was REALLY cold today. Like 35 or 40 degrees. And considering that on Saturday it was 90 degrees, jumping down that quickly, feels SUPER cold. And it was raining at this particular instant, and it was really misty and foggy too, and there was snow on the mountains. Now the scene is much better set :) Anyway, I'm riding my bike though this. And it's in between classes, so there are a TON of people that I'm going through, so it's like a maze. No one was riding bikes today because it was so cold and wet. Well. Right as I was going though, the guy with the microphone said something to this effect "Oh here come another bike rider, and she looks like she's super stoked to be riding her bike in this freezing cold rain today!!" Oh, you better bet I was! I'm super stoked to be riding my bike any day!! (Oh. note: this isn't my super nice bike that I wrote a blog post about before. I have two bikes. That nice bike, and a relatively crappy mountain bike that I usu. ride around campus that I can lock up and ride in bad weather etc.) And they better believe it too when the see me riding it around in when it's snowing too :)

Anyway, those were the highlighted things that were said to me this past week. The crazy librarian lady who thought I wasn't ready to read my journal article, and the guy who announced to everyone by the student center just how happy I was to be riding my bike.

Maybe I'll Switch Majors?

I should switch my major. I'm just throwing this thought out there. I don't think it would actually happen in a milllion years. Perhaps I'm just discouraged this semester?

Let me back up. This semester sucks. Lets just have a really honest blog post, yeah? I'd appreciate comments at the end. Here it goes.

At the end of last semester, the end of my sophomore year, it was the routine time to apply for the professional program. (oh, critical piece of info...in case you didn't know...I'm a Biological Engineering major). Well. My academic advisor was kind enough to tell me that I couldn't get in. I had not taken all of the required classes to get into the program. "Few students have" she told me, as to not make me feel left behind. Well, it made me feel like crap. So, now I have to take all of the classes that I so conveniently skipped the last two years of my college education in order to be able to get into the professional program of Biological Engineering and continue me on the track of graduation.

There are no other classes that I should be taking at this time. ONLY the classes that I need to get into this program. So. That leaves me, this semester taking the following classes: Electrical Engineering for Non-Majors, Computer Engineering Drafting (AutoCAD, aka a 3D engineering design class), Dynamics, and English 2010. I absolutely DESPISE all of my classes.

I take that back.

I LOVE my English class. My teacher is great, and the entire semester is based around writing this research paper, and I'm writing it on all of the research that I did over the summer in Baltimore. The general IQ level in that class is pretty low (ask me about that some other time), there is hardly ever any homework if any, and the class usually gets out early. Yeah. Good class. But...I'm not an English major.

All my other classes are awful though.

The thing is this: I just don't know if I have a love for Engineering. (That's your cue to take a gasp if you haven't at some point already in this blog).

I have a love for science. But NOT engineering.

I hate physics.

Engineering is applied physics. Crap. Why the heck am I majoring in engineering then!? Beats me. That's why I chose Biological Engineering!!! I LOVE the biology part with ALL of my heart!! I really love all of the lab work that I do, and I love all of the research that I have done in the labs that I've been able to have experience in.

The part that troubles me is the requirements that the University places on Biological Engineers to get the stupid mechanical engineering emphasis all to pass the FE exam in order to graduate. If I don't want that particular backgroud in my education for my future career, then why do I need to take those courses?! I simply do NOT understand.

If I were to switch my major to something else, I fear that I would lose the parts of Biological Engineering that I so deeply love. All I want to do is get rid of the physics aspect, however I feel like I am asking for the impossible.

Even after this semester is over, I have two and a half years until I graduate, so switching my major wouldn't make that big of a difference. I have most of my generals done, so really any switch would add on about one semester to my schooling.

I suppose at this point, I should make a pros and cons list:


Why I should NOT swith majors:

1) I've already done 2 years (will be 2.5 soon) of Biological Engineering, and I have a pretty good base built up in it of knowledge, friends (study groups), and professors.

2) I will be accepted into the Biological Engineering Program after the end of this semester.

3) I would lose my job. You have to be a declared Biological Engineering major to work in my lab.

4) I think like an Engineer. Whether that came naturally, or they (meaning my profesors) have taught me how over the last two years... I'm not sure, but regardless, I do.

5) It would be kind of embarrassing at this point to have to tell everyone that I switched majors. You know...it would be like an identity crisis.

6) I would have to start a whole bunch of new classes with (hold your breath) FRESHMEN

7) I have no idea what major I would actually switch to.

8) I should learn to be persistent and do hard things

9) No one wants to be in school for forever. I would be nice to just get a degree. I'm half way done. I should just finish and get it. Maybe the second half will be better.

10) The obvious money issue with staying in school longer.


Why I SHOULD switch majors:

1) I think I would be happier...

2) I hate physics, and the FE requirements are retarded.

3) I'm having a really hard time in some of my Engineering classes as of late

4) Maybe a job as a teacher? or something would be a more practical career with a family????

5) Maybe I could actually understand my homework for once, and then get an A on a test. I don't remember exactly the last time I got an A on a test. (Keep in mind...getting an A on a test is defferent from getting an A in a class...usually teachers have to curve the points because the tests are so freakin hard). You might think this is an exaggeration, but I've serioulsy walked out of class a couple times in the last month almost in tears. I would have been in tears if I wasn't in the male-infested Engineering building.

6) I no longer feel like Engineering is my passion. I like it. I know what it's about. I think a little part of me is really giddy about it...but it's not my absolute passion. I'm not one of those people who can spend all night (and I literally mean ALL NIGHT...it's open later than the library for a reason...engineers need the extra hours) every night at the engineering building doing their homework. I honestly don't think that it's because I'm a lazy student. It's because I don't find a passion in the crappy physics. I need to find my true passion.

7) If I had a hard time with the first half, who's to say what will be thrown in my face the second half? Granted, great classes could be coming my way...but at the saem time... they could be terribly awful also.

8) I'm not sure how long it would take me to find a job. I don't want just some random job doing whatever. I want a research job! Esp. with the research experience I have a Johns Hopkins and everything, I feel like I could be a valuable lab worker somewhere here at USU. If I get onto work study they MIGHT keep me at the lab I work in right now, but I don't think my boss would be too happy with me...


Okay, well that's all I can think of right now. Knowing me, I probably missed some big, super, critical point, but regardless, I think you get the jist of what has been going on in my head for the last long while.

Please give me your advice if you have any! If not, I'm glad that I could just write about my troubles and that you got to read them. I came to no conclusions myself writing the blog post. I'll just continue sitting in misery staring at some circuits that I don't understand because supposedly I have to know them for the FE exam so that I can be a real engineer someday.

My New Road bike

Once upon a time, back in January, I had a crazy idea to participate in a triathlon. My brother Alan is pretty much a pro biker and he was kind enough to let me borrow his fancy cyclocross bike to train for the race, and I used it for the race in April. I slowly gained a small obsession for biking. During this time, I also took a spinning class, which added to my biking obsession.

Then I went to Baltimore. I obviously couldn't take my bike. I was way more sad than anyone could ever imagine. Seriously. I went though biking withdrawals. No joke. I had hyperactive legs, and I didn't even realize it until in lab meetings people would have to physically have to stop my legs from tapping. I didn't ever have that habit before in my life.

I wasn't earning a ton of money for my internship. I earned a lot of money relatively speaking, but it was by no means a lot. However, I was missing biking so much, and all that I wanted to get a road bike of my very own. I thought that I could save up and get my very own road bike. Not a very fancy one, but just a cheap sort of, used one off of the internet or something when I got home.

I contemplated this decision greatly, and I decided that I would go through with it. I hadn't told anyone about this, but right when I decided to do it, I called Alan and I told him. I was super excited. He didn't sound too thrilled. Well, he did, but I don't think he was thrilled with how I was going about doing it. So, then he said that he would help me look for some bikes that I could get, and help me get the best thing.

Long story short...I GOT A ROAD BIKE. MY VERY OWN. Alan had it ready for me by the time I got home. It was the very first thing I saw in my bedroom at home. AND. Alan even surprised me and put STARS on my bike, and my NAME on it, too!!! GAH, I WAS SOOOO HAPPY!!!! It is PERFECT!!!



Then, I got to buy all of the accessories for the bike. Including bike shoes, pedals, biking shorts, etc. I'll be honest, I don't have enough money right now (or didn't want to spend the money right now) to buy my own helmet, so I'm borrowing my brother's helmet for the time being. I'll get my own eventually.





So yeah. I LOVE my biking stuff.

I crashed once. I won't go into details on that. It's embarrassing. But I broke my cleats. I repaired them though. So they're fixed again as of yesterday. So I can go riding again starting tomorrow. I'm stoked!

My Baltimore Experience: A Day In The Life

All along I've been wanting to post pictures of my true Baltimore experience. True meaning, what I lived through everyday. I couldn't do this from the beginning because I didn't want to post pictures of where I lived for obvious reasons. But now, I can totally do that. Everything I have posted so far has been pretty touristy and not so much "day in the life", so that's why I've wanted to do this.

However, I have found that it is much harder than I thought it would be to capture the "true experience" in photographs. Much of Baltimore I didn't want to pull out my camera in. Maybe I just didn't stay there long enough to become comfortable. Maybe I just stay safe. Either way, I don't have complete photo documentation. Regardless, I will now post what I do have, and provide appropriate captions.

So below is my ATTEMPT to provide what is, what I consider, my daily life in Baltimore (outside of laboratory, because I already did a blog post on that :) )


These benches are ALL over Baltimore. Every single bench in Baltimore has these words on it: "Baltimore The Greatest City in America". By the time I left Baltimore, I truly believed what it said. This bench may be the best looking of all the benches that I ever saw in the entire city (it's right by Kate and Meredith's house). All the other benches are pretty...ghetto to say the least and I most likely would have gotten my camera stolen if I would have pulled it out. (Okay, maybe it's not THAT bad, but some of them are!)

MY APARTMENT:


Charles Towers. I lived in the one on the left.


The plaza to the entrance of the towers.


The front entrance to my apartment tower


View #2


Me and Kevin, one of the guys who works at the front desk at the apartments. I wrote about him before, he's the one who sings and has a CD out and is going to be famous :)


The door to my apt., #505


My bedroom. Yes. That IS an air mattress. Yes. That IS all that clothes that is brought and wore all summer.


My bookshelf and pictures of my family.


The other side of my bedroom (sorry, bad pic)


My herbs that I grew from FHE! Yes! There IS life in a little apt. in downtown Baltimore!!


Another view


A picture out my bedroom window. This window faces west towards Lexington Market (dun dun dunnn....). Pretty much every night I could look down and there would be homeless people sleeping on that street below by the bus stop. And yes. I would frequent that bus stop.


Our living room (aka Megan's bedroom)


The dining room


A view South West from the dining room


A view south from the dining room


The SMALL little kitchen :)






The bathroom. It kind of reminded me of a hotel sometimes.




Hallway entrance.


View #2.


The door to the trash chute


The trash chute for my floor


The elevators for my floor


The mail room


My mailbox. #505. I checked it obsessively for mail daily.


TRANSPORTATION:


The Hopkins Shuttle. This is how I got to work everyday.


The Charm City Circulator. It's free for everyone. That means you can find anyone and everyone on it. It's fabulous.

I wish I would have thought to capture a shot of the MTA...


CHARLES STREET

I walked up and down this street multiple times daily (I DID live on it after all). So why not take a few pics of it?


The intersection where my apartment is at. Charles and Saratoga.


A view up Charles Street. Right where I would walk everyday to get to work. Or anywhere else I would need to go most likely.


A classic row of shops on Charles Street.


Another view up Charles


Pretty much the best picture I have ever taken. This near the Washington Monument (the old one in Baltimore, not the one in DC) circle. That's an old church in the back ground. I love the stone road, and the church in the background. The sign on the post is one for the Mt. Vernon district, which is the neighborhood I lived in (or right on the border of technically). It's one of the nicer neighborhoods in Baltimore. This is right where the shuttle would drop me off after work every day, by the Peabody music school.

Welcome Home!

Two weeks ago today, I was on the flight home, writing that last, massively long blog post. It seems like that was sooo long ago, because SO much has happened since!! I really can't think of much to write about though (although my days have obviously been too busy to write, and I haven't gotten more than 6 hours of sleep any of those nights...maybe that's why I can't think of anything?)

I was happy to be on ground in Utah. Right when the plane landed, it felt nice to be home! It was the moment I had been waiting for for a long time! But then I knew that I was a long ways away from all my new friends that I had made that summer that I had been with just earlier that day. It was really a weird feeling. I didn't know when I would see them again. And I still don't. Hopefully soon. It was still good to be home though. It was super late though, and all I wanted to do was go home though. I had conveniently forgotten to eat however, so I was really hungry, too.

I got home. My brothers were there. They unloaded all my bags for me. My dog didn't remember who I was. I was heartbroken. My dad waited on me with everything I could ever imagine food wise because I was so hungry. Basically I was getting the royal treatment. And it looked like I was crying because my eyes were watering due to a mix of dry air and me being so tired. It really was a bizarre night kind of. But soo good. Both of my brothers, my sister in law, and my newphew were there. It was so great. I loved seeing everyone!

That night, when I looked up into the sky, I saw the stars. Legitimate STARS. It was the first time that I had seen the stars since MAY!! I couldn't contain my joy (I know...that's cliche, but it's the truth)!!!

The next day, I tried my best to sleep in. As in, I slept until 7. Which is 9am eastern time. That's not bad considering that's way past when I would normally wake up when I lived in Baltimore, but it's pathetic for a Utah "sleeping in" time. I didn't know what to do with my time. So I started unpacking. Later that day, I went out to lunch with my aunt and uncle.

One of the biggest traditions in my family is to have everyone over for Sunday dinners. When I say "everyone", I mean all of my siblings and their spouses (if they're married), and they're kids (if they have any), and my Uncle Jim and Aunt Angie and their kids Colby and Carson. Over the summer, I missed all of these dinners. This was by far one of the things that I missed the most about being home. Since I came home on a Sunday night, I missed the dinner by a couple of hours, and I was moving up to Logan later that week, so my parents postponed the dinner to Monday night! So everyone came over for dinner that night. It made me sooo happy :) Being with everyone in my family is one of my most favorite things things in life.

I got to spend time with my friend Julia the next day. We went out to lunch. It's sad that I missed the whole summer with her, but I'm glad that I got to spend one day of it with her!

One of the crappy things that I found out when I came back was that my car got sick over the summer :( I didn't take my car out to Baltimore for obvious reasons, so it sat in my driveway at home. Therefore, it got....ill. It now makes funny noises. My brother Darren fixed it up for me a bit before I came home. There was a hornets nest in the passenger side door, and he cleaned it out for me a bit. But it still sounded awful. My driving skills came back automatically, but my poor car... :( Basically we had to change the oil in it, and then we still added in more lubricating stuff into it and it still makes some weird noises. Whenever I first turn it on, it sounds weird. And, unfortunately, I can't rely on public transit in Logan like I can in Baltimore ;) It will be okay though. It still works.

The Thursday after I got home I got to move my first car load of stuff up to my apartment in LOGAN!! Never before in my life have I been so excited to take the drive from Kaysville to Logan.

I forgot that it's construction season in Utah. So the road in between Willard and Brigham City was awful. And I wasn't very smart when I packed my car. I still go there safe though. Driving into Cache Valley almost made me cry! Okay. Not really. I don't want to over use that statement. Last time I used that statement (when I saw Wicked on Broadway), it was true, and I didn't cry this time, but it was still a super happy moment. I am in LOVE with Cache Valley!

It was minutes after I got there until I began starting to see my friends. I love Darwin! (that's the name of my little neighborhood of apts). It's such a friendly place! I went out to lunch with a bunch of my friends to Firehouse Pizza. I can't really explain how happy I was to be with them! There were even some new friends there, but most of them were ones that I had been missing all summer! I was totally grinning the WHOLE entire time!

That night, I talked my friends into going star gazing. All last summer with my old roommates and friends I would go star gazing, and that is by far one of the activities that I missed the most this summer. I had been dying to go! We drove about 20 min. out of Logan and found a spot out in the middle of nowhere in the dark. Well...we were stupid and didn't look up the weather. It was mostly cloudy :) There were still some stars though! I was pleased! Most of my friends though were just happy to be outside in the dark I think. And then, lightening started! We watched a lightening show! So. Epic!

The next day I drove back home to Kaysville. I had lunch with my dad. We went out to Applebee's.

That's night I went to Lagoon with my brother Darren. It was pretty fun. Actually...kind of boring. Well...the Lagoon part was boring I mean. I have been to Lagoon so many times before that it was pretty redundant. It was a BLAST being with my brother though. Is anyone sensing a theme of this post yet? I don't really care what I do. I just love being with the people that I haven't seen in a long time!

The next morning I got to spend with my brother Alan. Alan is the one who helped me to get the road bike (see my upcoming post on my new road bike!!!). Alan and I went to various bike shops in order to buy me some biking shoes and some other biking accessories that I will need. I'll go into more detail on my other post.

Then I got to go to lunch with Alan and my sister in law Raquel and my little nephew. They have been faithful blog readers of mine over the summer, and caught onto my love of Indian food...so they took me out to the ONE Indian restaurant in Davis County. Taste of India. It was pretty expensive (seeing as it's a monopoly of Indian Food there). But let me tell you. It was DELICIOUS. My nephew even liked it I think!

Then I got to make my final trek up to Logan before the school year started. It took my whole car full of stuff, and Alan's car full of stuff, plus my bike on his bike rack. I seriously have too much crap.

I LOVE Logan. Have I said that yet? Because I do. It's my home! All my Baltimore friends say that Baltimore is my home. And it is, too. I think a part of me wants to not stay in Utah my whole life because it really is in this bubble, and I don't know if I really enjoy that. But I really really love Logan. It's my home for now. And I'm so glad to be home right now.

That's basically it for my first week home. Kind of all just a blur. Most of it was just all filled with unpacking from Baltimore, packing for Logan, and then unpacking once I was in Logan. Then all the other time was spent with all the people that I haven't seen all summer.

Oh, and getting my dog to remember who I was. That small story did have a happy ending. Buster DID remember who I was, no problem at all, the NEXT day. I just had to pet him how I did before after I had played frisbee with him for a while. And then I got to cuddle with him and life was good. He knows me now :)

Anyway. I'm glad to be home in Utah. I hope that I can go back to Baltimore SOON! Part of my heart was left there. I was only there for three and a half months, but that's still long enough to gain a love for a place, and especially people like I did.



I currently have SIX word documents open (no joke) drafting six blogs to come. So stay tuned!
1) Day in the Life in Baltimore (LOTS of pics)
2) What I Miss About Baltimore (list)
3) What I Learned In Baltimore (list)
4) Summer Highlights (list)
5) My New Road Bike!!
6) First Week of School

The Baltimore Bucket List

So I finished work on Monday, and now it's Saturday night, and I'm still here in Baltimore. Everyone asks me "why are you staying in Baltimore!?" as if they are appalled at that fact that I would even consider staying longer than is needed. It's THE Greatest City in America, don't they know!?! Every single bench in the city even says so! Besides that fact, I thought that I would stay as long as I could because living on the east coast is something that I've never done before, and I don't just want to move back home for another week when I could spend it here just as well. Plus, there are SO many things in Baltimore that I still wanted to see that I hadn't done before because I was busy working. This summer I had compiled what I called "The Baltimore Bucket List". Every single thing that I had done on that list previously, I have blogged about, so don't worry blog readers, you haven't missed out on anything :) This week, however, was dedicated almost entirely to getting everything on that list done. I didn't want to leave Baltimore feeling like I missed out on anything. Not everything I did was on this bucket list, but the list did serve as my guide. Basically this week was just a whole week of vacation!!!

It all began on Monday evening. My friend Elizabeth from the ward had a farewell dinner at Broadway Diner (the same place I had my birthday dinner). A whole bunch of people from the ward came. The BYSA ward LOVES to do dinners together, and the Broadway Diner is definitely a favorite.


Everyone at the diner for Elizabeth's going away


Some cute desserts they had in their case! I could NOT get myself to eat one after working with mice all summer!

The next morning, I got to sleep in. Sleep in, meaning I slept until 7:30, not 7. It's all I could get myself to do. It felt nice for a weekday. Elizabeth needed help moving that morning, so I went up to her place in Charles Village and helped her move. For some bizzare reason it got me really anxious to move back up to Logan! After we were done, Elizabeth and Emily drove the truck full of her stuff to Elizabeth's new home in VA. My friends Sabrina and Christian, who also helped move, and I all decided to go out to lunch. We went to Chipotle! They're all over in Baltimore, and are seriously all the rave from some people. As far as I know, they don't have Chipotles in Utah, so I had to eat at one while I was here. It was kind of on a back-burner bucket list in my head. It was pretty good. It was like Qudoba. THEN, we went and got ice cream at a place that was actually on my bmore bucket list. Dominion Ice Cream. They make ice cream out of vegetables. For real. There is a whole serving of veggies in the ice cream! I had spinach ice cream, and sweet potato ice cream! And it was seriously sooo delicious. The spinach ice cream tasted just like vanilla with all the other spices they put in it to mask the spinach taste, and the sweet potato tasted like sweet potato pie.


Me and my veggie ice cream!


All of the delicious veggie flavors they have to offer! They didn't have them all out when I was there, only a few of them. I think garlic would be interesting...

Wednesday brought all new adventures. By far the day that I crossed off the most things from my list. The overall goal of the day was to get a collection of pictures called “A Day in the Life” (blog post soon to come!) which means that I had to go ALL over Baltimore, doing average stuff in order to gather the photos. I did that, and oh so much more!

As I began the day walking down Charles Street in Mt. Vernon (the neighborhood in which I live), I walked by the Baltimore Basilica. I walked by it each and every single day on my way to work, but not once did I stop and see what it was. It knew what it was from the signs, but not much else. From my previous knowledge, I knew that it was the first cathedral in America. Pretty cool, eh? I saw that they were doing tours for $2 in forty-five minutes, so I decided to wait.


The signs that I would see on my way to work everyday telling me what the building was

During my waiting time, I went to the Enoch Pratt Free Library, which was across the street. The Enoch Pratt Free Library is the chain of public libraries in Baltimore available to anyone and everyone. So what made this one so special? Well, this library happened to be THE first free library! Cool eh? Yeah. AND it’s huge! It might be the largest free library (but don’t quote me on that one…). It covers an entire city block. I walked in, and I wasn’t expecting much, since it was a free library in Bmore. Well, it was beautiful!! Hard granite floors at the entrance, nice gate entrances to each section of the library, and the movie section had a part with a way gorgeous ceiling. Not much else cool, the contents were just that of a library, but the structure of it was great.


Outside the library


Inside the library

Then it was time for the tour of the cathedral. It was me and the tour guide. Kind of awkward. It was an old lady with white hair. During this tour she found out that I was an engineer, and a mormon, so she totally tried to cater the whole tour to those two facts. Which, I suppose was nice, but it was seriously extreme. The cathedral was absolutely beautiful. I can’t believe that a place like that exists in downtown Baltimore! And that I passed it every day on the way to work! In this first pic, you can kind of see what it looks like on the inside, but it was just so spectacular. The dome was the best part.


The outside of the cathedral. This is the opposite side of the street from where I would normally pass.


Inside the cathedral. I'm standing right under the huge dome, so you can't see it in this photo. The small dome-ish thing in the back gives a hint of what the big dome is like.


Some of the bishops clothing

Next I got to go visit the Peabody Library. I had been wanting to do this for a long time, but I just have never had the chance. The Peabody Institute is the music school for Johns Hopkins, and that campus is located in Mt. Vernon. It’s where I would pick up the shuttle everyday to go to work at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. The library they have there is enchanting. The library in the movie “The Beauty and the Beast” was in fact based off of this library. I had seen pictures, and heard rumors, and I was yet still blown away when I walked into the room. G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S. So amazing. I wish I could be a student there so that I could do my homework THERE! The books there are only available from the first level. All other books are archived and have to be retrieved by an employee and can’t be removed from the library.







Then I took the shuttle from Peabody the opposite direction than I would normally take it to work, and I went to the Homewood undergraduate campus of Johns Hopkins University. I didn’t have a goal in mind other than to just look around. I walked around their campus for a while, and it, along with everything I had seen that day so far, was beautiful. All the buildings were made of a red brick and looked nearly all identical. There were lots of trees, and the sidewalks were red brick. I found the Biomedical Engineering building, and I went inside. It was very prestigious looking. They had lots of photos of important people lining the walls. Lots of people walked by in lab coats and looked at me weird. I felt like I didn’t belong. Like they all knew one another, and I was the outsider. I didn’t stay too long. But I felt an urge to begin studying….Good thing school starts next week.






The Biomedical Engineering Building at JHU

I took the shuttle then to the hospital for one last visit. When I got there, I realized I had no purpose in mind. Which was totally lame on my part. I took some pics, which I guess was the overall purpose of the day, but that didn’t take too long. So then I left.


The Children's Center Tower, the building where my lab was located within the hospital


In front of the dome at JHH

I took the Hopkins shuttle, then the Charm City Circulator and went down to the Inner Harbor. The ONE DAY in Baltimore that I didn’t have my umbrella with me (literally, the ONE DAY, I took it to work with me literally everyday…East Coast rain is unpredictable. But the weather said 0% chance of rain. Usually it always says 10% due to the humidity alone! I totally thought I was for sure safe. WRONG!) IT STARTED TO POUR! Crap. I took shelter by standing by the side of a building that had a small ledge about 2 stories up that was covering me barely. It kept me mostly dry. I stood there about 20 min while there was a constant downpour. It sucked. Lesson learned. From that day forward, I will always have my umbrella with me in Baltimore.


The rain.

Once the rain died down, I went to the Gallery. It’s a mall in the Inner Harbor. It’s not huge, but it’s really pretty. I didn’t buy anything, it was more to just waste time. I only spent like maybe 45 minutes there while it rained some more.


The Gallery

Once the weather outside had mostly calmed down, I was safe to walk along the inner Harbor over to the Hard Rock Café. I had really wanted to go there for a while. And I got to go. All by myself  And I don’t regret it. The guy at the door when I told him it was just me, told me I could have a seat at the bar. I’ve gained an East coast attitude according to some in my ward, and it showed right then and I told him I wanted a table. And I got one. And then I think my waitress thought it was weird I was alone. But I didn’t care. I seriously had a great time there! I was so happy! I’m so weird. I ordered this really fancy drink to start off. It was the best thing I have ever tasted. It was a mango coconut thing, with strawberry syrup all around. SOO delicious. Then. A turkey burger (with sprouts on it!), and a salad. Then, for dessert, a mini cheesecake. Best dinner ever! I ate it all. I must have been starving because I don’t eat all of anything lately due to my decreased appetite. I’m glad that was on my bucket list.







Then I went shopping around to the little shops at the Inner Harbor. They’re always so cute. Super touristy. And I’m kind of anti-Baltimore-tourism because it creates SUCH a false impression of what Baltimore really is like, but it’s still fun anyway.

I was going to catch the Circulator home (it had kind of gotten dark…my mother would be upset if I didn’t…otherwise it’d be a toss up between the bus and walking based on my laziness profile). I had about 40 min before the Circulator stopped for the night. As I was walked to the stop, I saw this performer dude on the Harbor Place stage. He wasn’t super stellar or anything, but for some reason I was drawn in by his singing. That’s what creates a good performer though. I sat and quietly contemplated my journey here in Baltimore for the last few months.



It’s been three months since I’ve been home. That long since I’ve seen most of the people I love. Three months since I’ve been in a familiar place. I have changed SO much. I think maybe some of my friends will wonder if I’m a completely different person now than I was before. And the answer to that is a definite yes. I’m going to have a blog post whole subject coming up as well. I’ve been compiling a list of things that I’ve learned In Baltimore, and how I’ve changed. I’m excited to complete it, and to post it as well  I don’t know why this performer suddenly brought this out in me. I think it was because it was after such a long, busy day in the city that I had then grown accustomed to. I had gotten around that whole day with absolutely no problems, and nothing even seemed new or exciting to me Baltimore wise (like, culture and what not) because I’m so used to it by now. I’m scared for the culture shock going back to Utah!! Jk, I won’t notice a thing I’m sure. But this performer let me sit down for a moment and realize this, and let me think about how far I have come, and how Baltimore has helped me so much to learn and to grow. I’m such a better person now than I was three months ago.

At 8:40 I had to catch the Circulator. There was 20 min until it quit running, and it was totally dark by this point. (sorry mom!) I waited at the stop. No bus. I kept waiting. It HAD to be there any minute. It’s that feeling that you know that once you leave it will come. Well. I waited until 9:10. At that point I lost all hope. And I walked home. (super sorry mom!!) But I walked a safe route. Well lit and traveled. And it was only 9:10 at night. I made it home safe. Public Transportation fail.

Thursday rolled around, and I had planned to go the Maryland Science Center. It was the thing on my Baltimore Bucket List that I was looking forward to the most. I got there about an hour after they opened. The first thing that I noticed is that the main crowed that was there were children under the age of 12. Darn. Well. I was still stoked. There was “fun for all ages” available.

I found most of my excitement through the planetarium shows. I went to three of them throughout the day. One about the constellations in the sky right now, a cool laser show, and one on dark matter. I went through every single exhibit that the Science Center had to offer. I atleast glanced at every single scientific thing, and read most of them. I did some of the hands on stuff, but only the super cool ones. All the lame ones I let the kids do. I went to a 3-D show about the ocean, and that was cool too. Overall, it was a great experience, but not nearly as great as I had hoped.


View from the Maryland Science Center


The Maryland Science Center


So excited to go inside!!


Laying on a bed of nails


The questions in front of the cell section of the science center that I was happy to know every single answer to. Atleast the basics anyway.


This is why the science center is so cool.




Waiting for the 3-D IMAX show







I met up with my roommate Megan after the Science Center and we went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory! It was our last outing together as roommates. I love Megan SO much! I don’t know why I was so blessed to get her as a roommate, but I was. We had lots of fun being together. And of course, we had excellent cheesecake to top off the evening. I got White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle. It was to die for!!

Friday!! Art day. I went to the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) with my friend Heather! It’s a free museum with LOTS of really great artwork in it. It was cool to see…don’t get me wrong, but let’s be honest, I’m really not the artsy type. I appreciate art (I really do!) but I’m not an art museum type. I like to look at bright colors and stuff, but not sophisticated paintings like we saw in the museum. We went through the whole place really fast.






Some paintings by Claude Monet


"The Thinker"



Then we went out to lunch together (are you sensing a theme of this week yet….LOTS of eating out) at a place in Charles Village that has pita stuff. I don’t remember what it was called. But it was good 



Later that day, I decided to take a bus (the #11) up to Towson and go to the mall up there. I heard that the mall there was really big and was super great! The bus ride up to Towson from my place is almost an hour long. I figured it would be a good time to get some last MTA experiences in, so why not? I got on the bus, and the money machine wasn’t working. Free bus ride for me!

When I got to the mall, everyone was right…it was HUGE! Four stories tall of store after store after store! And the length is about twice that of the Layton Hills Mall. So, if you do the math, that’s four times the size of the LHM. And about 1000 times the size of the Cache Valley Mall ;) I don’t know what was wrong with me, but I totally wasn’t in the mood for shopping then. Which sucked since that’s what I went there for. I did have a purpose in mind however. I REALLY need a new purse. I thought for sure I could find one in that mall. Nope. I’m too picky. I didn’t look for anything besides purses. Which makes for a boring mall trip.

BUT I did find one golden gem in that mall…a LUSH store! I found a Lush store years ago, I don’t even remember where. They make handmade cosmetics, but mostly bath products like bath melts, and bath fizz things, and soaps, etc. I LOVE their stuff. It’s way expensive though. When I found the store, I was super excited! The store employee was laughing at me because of my excitement. I ended up buying two things, and it cost me almost $15 just for those two items.


The LUSH store!!

I decided it was time to go home. I had only spent an hour and a half in the huge mall. There was a #11 bus scheduled to come soon, and they only leave every hour, so I decided to catch that bus. Knowing my luck, it was pouring rain outside. I had my umbrella, and I ran to the bus shelter thing. I sat there for about 10 min. I saw a #55 bus drive up. When that bus drove away, I saw a #11 on the back of it. It must have changed numbers while it was stopped (Towson is a main bus stop, and the beginning of the #11 route), and I MISSED the #11! I didn’t want to wait another hour. I sat there because I was so angry and I didn’t know what to do. Then. The #48 drove up. Because I am proud of my knowledge of the MTA, I knew that the #48 route went by my house, so I knew that I could hop on that bus! I would have to walk about 5 blocks home from the stop in downtown, but that was okay. At that instant, I was very happy that I knew my MTA bus routes  Granted, I’m not nearly as good as Emily Clay. If I were to live in Baltimore longer, I would aspire to become like her in that particular skill, but alas, I no longer have a need for that skill anymore.

Then Saturday came along (it is now Sunday (and has been most of this time that I’ve been writing), so I am speaking of this as if it was yesterday…because it was). I had one big, major thing left to do still. And that was to PACK to go home! Packing was an adventure. I thought it would be super easy because all I had to do was to pack every single thing that I had. None of it was to be left behind. Well…easier said than done. I had to pack most of my things on Saturday, because I wouldn’t have enough time today to get them all packed, but at the same time, I use most everything that I brought every day. I couldn’t pack my bed for instance until this morning after I had slept on it last night. The activity I thought would be brainless definitely was not. I worked on that most of the day. Which included getting rid of my furniture to some of my friends, and cleaning up the apartment some.

I took a break from cleaning in the middle of the day to go down and accomplish one last thing on my bucket list. The World Trade Center. The World Trade Center in Baltimore is the spot where you can go up to the observation level and see views of the entire city. $5 to go up. And let me tell you, it was totally worth it! There are windows all around, so there is a 360 degree view of the city and of the Harbor. It was absolutely spectacular. I loved it so much because I knew what everything was. I sat up there for a long time just looking at things. It was almost another one of those tender recollection moments. You could even see a small corner of my apartment towers from there, which I thought was fun!


On the elevator up to the top of the World Trade Center in Baltimore!


From the top of the Tower! You can see a corner of my apartment building right by my head :)

Later, after more cleaning, was something very special that I had planned. My very last farewell dinner with everyone in the ward. Like I mentioned before, the ward loves doing dinners together, and my friend Bree and I had planned one for me on Saturday night for my last night in Baltimore. It was at Golden West Café.

In order to get there, Heather and I had to take the MTA. It would be my last MTA experience of my stay in Baltimore…and let me tell you, it was a good one! It was the #27. A bus I had never taken before, so I didn’t know what to expect. The bus stop was close to Lexington Market, so it was slightly sketchy in the first place. We didn’t have to wait long because the bus what actually on time (what…!?). We got on and there were three other people on the bus. A black lady near the back, and two black guys near the middle. Heather and I get on, and immediately, one of the guys shouts out in a loud voice “HEEEEYYY!!! How’re ya doin’!!!” I glanced at him, kind of glared at him so that he knew that I knew full well what was going on, paid my money, and then sat down near the front. Heather sat near me in a seat where I would have to look in their direction in order to talk to her. As such, I didn’t talk to Heather during the bus ride until they got off. The whole time, this guy and his friend were trying to talk to us. Clearly talking to us, and swearing every other word. I didn’t respond. The guy closest to us (the dominant one who was talking most the time and talked to us when we got on) had a large cooler with him). He kept opening it and pushing it towards us. I could only see this from the corner of my eye. I once decided to take a glace over at it, and the cooler was full of live crabs! And this dudes friend had a whole bunch of crab catching equipment with him. At one point, the dude said “I wonder how much it would hurt if I threw one of these crabs at somebody” (with a few more vulgarities than that, along with a bunch of mocking laughter). At that point, I was scared. I still didn’t look at them. Luckily, these guys decided to get off. As they got off the bus, they said goodbye to us, and I looked them in the eye with my new strong east coast glare letting them know I didn’t appreciate what had gone on. When the bus drove away, they flipped us off. I love Baltimore  And even more so, I love the MTA  What a great last MTA experience! Here’s the best part: Heather was totally oblivious to almost all of this!! All she caught onto was when they said hello to us, and goodbye to us! Oh goodness. She REALLY shouldn’t be in a big city ;) This was just as bad as when we got invited to the frat party when we were waiting at a bus stop once!

[SIDE STORY: (because I don’t think I blogged this. And I’m sitting on an airplane with nothing better to do, and this deserves to be blogged.) So. It was after institute one night. Me, Heather, and Emily all had to take the MTA # 3 home. The neighborhood that the church is in isn’t the greatest. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. Institute gets out pretty late, and the bus that comes next is at 9:26pm. We waited in the church until 9:15. We figured this would be an ample amount of time to get to the bus stop, exp. Since the MTA is always late. We wanted to go to the stop down the street (rather than the one across the street) because it was well lit and in a well traveled intersection (Alameda and 33rd). As we were walking inbetween the two bus stops, the #3 came speeding down the road! It was EARLY! What the!? We missed it!! The next bus wasn’t until almost 10pm. We had no other choice but to wait. So we did . At a sketchy intersection. Late at night. In the dark. 3 white girls. The locals behind us were having a bonfire in their BBQ, and playing Red Light Green Light with their children. Every 10 seconds a car would come through that would have the bass loud enough to make my heart pound a bit. A car even sped through the intersection, lost a hubcap, and kept going. Classic Bmore. The highlight of the evening by far though, was when a bunch of young black college aged guys pulled up in a car blasting hip hop music with their windows rolled down. They shouted to us. Emily and I looked away. They called out and invited us to the frat party they were going to that night. We didn’t respond, and they eventually drove through the intersection. Once they were past, Emily and I cracked up!! Best ever. Heather was oblivious to what had just happened. Haha! We constantly refer back to this story. END OF SIDE STORY]

Anyway, we made it to Golden West Café 20 min early because the bus was actually on time. The plan was to be right on time because I expected to the bus to be late. But we were early, so we sat and waited for everyone to arrive. Lots of people came! It was seriously tons of fun! And the place was totally cute and quirky too! I’m glad I chose that place. Totally hipster, but I really liked it! Don’t worry, we got a ride home that night, so we didn’t have to ride the #27 back home :)


Everyone at Golden West for my farewell dinner


Me and Sabrina! We both got tres leches for dessert :)

After that I just had to pack, pack, pack! I didn’t sleep much last night because after this last week I have an awful habit of staying up late. And then I woke up early so that I could get ready for church and then pack everything that I had to do day of.

It’s been such a stormy day today in Baltimore. I like to think that it’s because Baltimore is crying because I’m leaving 

My last day at church was sooo sad! I’ve LOVED the BYSA ward so much! I never ever EVER thought I would say this, but I really don’t want to go back to my Logan ward! Gah! I said it! And I LOVE my Logan ward more than anything!! I’ve just grown so fond of the BYSA ward. It’s incredible how much love can grow with people in such a small amount of time. I feel like they’re my family. They were my family for the summer after all. I’m apart of them! I don’t want to leave! Saying goodbye was hard. But I know I’ll be back to visit them, so it wasn’t as hard as it should have been.

I frantically finished packing when I got home. I hope I did everything right. I’ve remembered since that I didn’t wash out the drawer in the bathroom that I used. Oh well. I hope Megan will forgive me for that. Heather came over and helped me finish things up, which was SO helpful! And then Sabrina drove me to the airport! I love her so much! Thanks Sabrina!!

I met my mom at the airport. She flew out here (yay for free flight benefits!!) to help me check all of my luggage and get it all home for free as well. So nice of her. I love my mother! I’m now on the flight home. I don’t have internet access though, so this will be published AFTER I actually get home (WAY weird to even think about at this point). I’m excited to go home though! I’m excited to get a breath of dry air, see the mountains, and get a face full of kisses from my dog!

P.S. This blog WILL continue after I get home!