Adventures in Rochester (NY)

Poor Natalie had to wake up at 5:15 on Sunday morning to take me to the airport for my flight 7:14am flight out to Rochester, NY via Chicago (and she even picked me up the following night at 11:45! She must like me a lot!). I got to my gate around 6:55ish, but sadly our plane didn't make it for another two hours. Apparently, it was having a rough time getting going in the early morning because it was having trouble getting out of the hanger. We were all wondering if it was going to have a hard time getting up in the air and staying there, too. Randomly enough, another BYU student (with whom I worked and knew pretty well) was interviewing at the same place on the same day! So we talked for awhile. Needless to say, however, that the beginning of my first experience with United airlines was not a positive one. Apparently, our flight was on a tiny airplane (at least it had jet engines) that looked more like a missile with wings. The flight crew consequently gate checked large carry-ons (my poor bag included). However, they told me (and nobody else this) to try and see if mine would fit. My seat was in the back of the plane, so I got to walk by everyone on my way to my spot. It seemed that everyone in the aisle felt obligated to tell me that my bag was too big and that I needed to gate check it (did they not hear everyone else chastizing me too?). Even one of the flight attendants had to tell me off. Fortunately, even the guy behind me started telling everyone that I was told to see if it would fit in the cabin. Sadly, though, my bag didn't fit in the overhead bin. The awkardness of this was compounded a thousand times by the presence of another flight attendant, standing five feet away from me and watching me. I was about to squeeze it under the seat in front of me (it would have fit) but she snatched the bag away from me and walked it off the plane. So I was not the flight attendents' favorite passenger. However, I felt much better about United when I actually got into my seat. The seat was pretty comfortable for one in a missle and the window was actually at head-level. While I love flying Southwest, I get a little annoyed that my shouler gets the best view while my head (where my eyes are located, strangely enough) gets a nice view of the airplane's interior. I had never flown east of Utah before (I flew west to get to the Far East), so it was fascinating to look down at the country below. I officially came to the conclusion that the midwest/great plains are flat, and it was actually pretty boring to fly over it (good thing we didn't apply to any schools there... :) ). When we were waiting to board our connecting flight to Rochester from O'Hare airport in Chicago, TSA workers were conducting random searches of passengers boarding our plane. We were in a later boarding group, so I said to the other BYU student (as we watched), "Oh sad! They're only searching minorities." (Which they were.) It would be just my luck, then, that they asked to search my bag as I walked by them (the other BYU student was just laughing at me). They looked through the lunch bag that Natalie packed for me (seeing all the Zingers at the top of the bag) and said, "Somebody packed you an amazing lunch." They were coveting my lunch. My wife definitely looks out for me!

In Rochester I stayed with a former BYU student (he was my MCAT prep teacher) and his wife. He picked me up from the airport and gave me a driving tour of campus, so it was really nice. The next morning his wife dropped the two of us off at campus, and my day at Rochester finally began! There were only seven of us interviewing that day (including the other BYU student). I had never heard of the majority of universities the other students were coming from. I had never realized how well represented and respected BYU is outside of Utah (eat that, Ute fans!). Rochester loves BYU students and pursues them pretty aggressively. Out of the 100 students in their class, they usually take about 5 students from BYU. Most of the other students interviewing had never heard of BYU before, so they were surprised that it seemed to be so well represented.

Our day started with orientation with the associate dean of admissions, and then we were turned loose to go visit a class in a lecture. We snuck into the back of the room (well, we "snuck" as best we could, seeing as how the doors were at the front of the class and all of the med students just stared at us). During the class break, all of the med students descended upon us. You can perfectly imagine this if you have ever seen (in a movie or real life) what happens if you throw a ton of bird feed to a bunch of pigeons in a park: the instant the feed hits the ground, all the pigeons just swarm around the food in a frenzy. That's exactly what happened with us (the bird feed) and the medical students (the pigeons). I kept hearing "Oh my gosh! It's interview time again!" "It feels like just yesterday!" "I didn't interview until December!" Several of the BYU med students came up and talked to me, and everyone kept asking me if I was nervous (which I wasn't, for the record). The break was a lot longer than usual because most of the 100 students in the class wanted a chance to see us up close. When class resumed, I went out to my first interview.

My first interview was with a retired physician who was still closely connected with the university. We met in some sort of closet that seemed to potentially be able to double as a conference room for Smurfs. Space was kind of tight (but there was a relatively large table!), but it was enough for an interview. The doctor who was interviewing me was very nice and sweet, and spent the first seven minutes or so talking about himself so I would know him better. He then asked me such questions as "Why do you want to go into medicine? What experiences have you had in healthcare?" It was a really laid-back interview that was more of a conversation. He seemed to be familiar with our church, and said that he frequently drives by the temple "down the road" (meaning the Palmyra temple). He has a lot of respect for BYU and says that it is an amazing school that prepares students very well. Overall, the interview lasted for an hour, but it definitely seemed a lot shorter than that. After my interview, while I was waiting for lunch, the associate dean of admissions came out and chatted with me. He definitely likes BYU a lot (he came and visited BYU for the first time in March, and that's actually how I found out about Rochester). He even asked me how I thought our football team would do this year. When I told him that my brother used to play on the team, he then wanted to know everything about him. So it looks like he is slowly being converted into a BYU fan, too. : ) While there may be more Ute fans in the state of Utah, BYU definitely has a larger fan base outside of it.

After waiting around for an hour and a half after my interview, we had lunch with some medical students (who were actually kind of weird and spastic) . We then took a tour of the medical center. I felt pretty dignified and important walking around the hospital (like I was someone important) and didn't let people get too close a look at the big badge on my coat that said what I truly was. I felt that the big interviewing badge was analogous to the orange "dork dot" that I had on my MTC name tag for my first 10 hours or so in the MTC; everyone would just stare and smile at me.

At 2:00 I had my second interview (which was also one hour). I can only think of one word to describe it: "Yikes." My interview was with the associate dean of student affairs, so I showed up at the student affairs office and waited for her (the associate dean) to be free. While I was waiting, it became clear to me that I have seen way too many spy movies in my life. As I sat and waited, a custodian walked into the office, pushing a large cart with him. He could not speak English very well at all, and tried several times to tell the receptionist that he was there to change some of the uniforms in the locker room and needed to be let in. The first thing that jumped into my mind was, "Don't do it! He's a spy dressing up as a custodial worker! Haven't you seen any of those movies??!!" It would have been the perfect time for him to steal something or hack into some files or put a bug in their phones. But I don't think he did (I know, kind of boring). Right after that incident, I was called in to my interview.

My interview lady (she is an african-american) did not smile once throughout the whole interview! She did not talk about herself at all, but rather just asked me question after question. Some of the questions were the basic ones (Why do you want to go into medicine? What experiences have you had?). But then she brought out the bigger guns by asking questions such as "Talk about a time in your clinical exposure where you saw something that went against your personal culture/values. What happened?" or "How do you deal with stress/academic pressure? Give me a recent example of how you dealt with it;" "What contribution do you hope to make to medicine? What are your goals for medicine?" And also "We consider attendance and effort to be very important. Please talk about how you have shown your dependability to attend lectures and do your best in class." And she of course asked the classic question "Why would you be a good fit for Rochester? Why should we choose you?" Then, at the end, she asked if I had any questions. I knew that I would be toast if I didn't have any questions, so I thought of a couple at first, but she kept asking for more questions (at one point I even said, "this is my last question," and after that question she asked, "do you have any other questions?")! I eventually satisfied her quota, and the next thing she asked me was "So, when do you leave?" (Ah! What's that supposed to mean?!) I think she was just trying to make polite conversation. So we talked about random things for a few minutes, and then I left and was done with my day at Rochester! I'm not sure how I did overall as a result of that last interview, but I felt like I was able to deal with most of her questions pretty adequately. However, I keep kicking myself over an answer I gave that could very well be interpreted as a confession of depression (which I DON'T have). When talking about stress and pressure, I said that I am not affected by external pressures and demands. But to refrain from looking prideful or self-righteous, I further explained that the only stress that gets to me occasionally is internal stress, that comes when I don't think I'm doing as well as I should be doing or feel inadequate with low feelings of self-worth, which I haven't had recently or very often. Yeah, it kind of came out wrong in hindsight (which is always 20/20... 20/10 in my case, actually), but I'm pretty sure that she understood what I meant.

I wanted to explore a little bit of the campus before I left, but I ended up getting lost in the adjacent cemetary (I was told to walk through the cemetary to get to the undergraduate campus). The hospital has a huge cemetary right next to it, apparently making an accomodating place for all of those who don't survive a night in the hospital.... Supposedly the graves of Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony are both in that cemetary, but I didn't come across them. I did find a way awesome tombstone that was simply a large deck canon from a navy vesssel. Also, there were some small buildings that looked like the tomb where Aragorn (from LOTR) is probably buried.

I eventually did find the undergraduate campus, walked around for a few minutes, and then took a taxi from the medical school back to the airport ($13 for like a five minute ride! Forget med school, I should be a taxi driver!).

The flight back from Atlanta to SLC was a four hour nightmare (it took us forever to get off the ground... I think the pilots must get paid by the hour). My "window" seat did not have a window right by it and the wall was so smooth that I couldn't rest my head on it. But I needed to close my eyes because my contacts were hurting. So it was a very long flight. However, Natalie was there to pick me up on time and we traveled home safely! We will find out how I did on October 15!

Summer 2009 Book Review

From Natalie:

Well Summer is officially over, and I started teaching school again this week. It's so sad that my summer reading time is over! Sure, I will still be able to read a bunch of books during the school year, but definitely not to the extent of summer reading (i.e. an average 1 book a day, reading for 5+ hour stretches of time). So here is a list of my favorite 2009 Summer Reads:

I read The City of Ember (by Jeanne DuPrau) to my students as a read-aloud book at the end of the school year (a movie was recently made), so I started the summer with the sequel The People of Sparks. (This title was especially funny for me, because Brian and I met when we were living in an apartment complex named "Sparks"). As soon as I could get my hands on it, I also read the third book in the series, The Prophet of Yonwood, and the last book, The Diamond of Darkhold. This series is EXCELLENT! It is a very interesting story about people surviving in the future. I can't say anything more without giving away the plot. But you should read these books!

At Brian's suggestion, I read most of the Redwall series (by Brian Jaques). Brian (my husband, not the author) had read these books when he was in 4th grade and loved them. I had heard of them, but never really was attracted to the idea of little mice running around waving swords. But, we have them in our personal library so I decided I might as well read them. I am so glad I did! I read Redwall, Mossflower, Mattimeo, Mariel of Redwall, and Martin the Warrior. There are several others in the series that I plan on reading. In these stories, the only characters are animals. The mice, rabbits, squirrels, moles, and badgers are "the good guys" and the rats, weasles, ferrets, and stoats are "the bad guys." Brian Jaques has written over 10 books in this series and each story delves into a new plot, usually culminating in a huge battle between all the good guys and all the bad guys. I laughed out loud quite a bit, salivated at the mouth (Brian Jaques spends a lot of time describing the feasts down to details), and even shed tears. I know, I know... but seriously, take my word for it, these books are worth your time!

I was devouring Redwall so quickly; I finally realized that I needed to give myself a break between books when I started dreaming about little animals every night. So in-between reading Redwall, I re-read one of my favorite series: The Enchanted Forest (by Patricia C. Wrede). The first book is titled Dealing with Dragons, followed by Searching for Dragons, Talking to Dragons, and finally Calling on Dragons. I love this series, because I identify with the heroine: a princess who would rather learn about fencing, magic, latin, cooking, economics, and juggling instead of the regular "princess-y subjects" like dancing, embroidery, drawing, and ettiquette. She finally finds a way to please everyone by moving in with a Dragon. Very funny and very witty.

Brian bought me two hardback sets for "Mothers Day"-- Percy Jackson (by Rick Riordan) and Fablehaven (by Brandon Mull)! He told me that he thought I would like books rather than flowers-- he knows me too well. I had already read most of the series, but this summer, I read The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson) and Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (Fablehaven).

Fablehaven is a series set in modern-day Earth, but (similar to Harry Potter), there is a magical community that the rest of the world is unaware of. Magical creatures are kept in sactuaries, and Fablehaven is one of these sanctuaries. Each book tells of a disaster that nearly compromises the safety of the sanctuary, and in each it seems hopeless until the two kids step up and save the day in a way that none of the adults could. These books are great for both kid and adult readers.



Percy Jackson is a regular kid living in New York with his mom.... until he finds out that his dad, whom he has never met, is a Greek god. (You know all of those Greek myths with humans finding out that one of their parents is a god-- Odysseus, Hercules? Same thing, in a modern setting) I love this series because it modernizes Greek myths in a way that kids-- and even I-- can understand. Aries (the god of war) wears a leather jacket and rides a motorcycle, Poseidon (the god of the sea) is a sun-tanned beach bum in flip flops, Aphrodite (the goddess of love and beauty) is a gorgeous movie star, etc. These books are hilarious, but could get a little scary for kids younger than 4th or 5th grade.

Of course, I had to re-read Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, in anticipation of the movie coming out. No, I haven't seen the movie yet (it hasn't hit the cheap theater yet!). I love Harry Potter, period. Each time I laugh out loud at how witty J.K. Rowling can be!



I also read another trilogy from the Shannara series. Terry Brooks has written this series in groups. We personally have 24 of his books from the Shannara series and I don't believe that is all of them. (I read the first trilogy, The Sword of Shannara, in middle school, as did Brian. Talking about this series really made us feel that we had a lot in common on our first date) This summer I read The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, which contains the books The Ilse Witch, Antrax, and Morgawr. Holy INTENSE! I would definitely recommend these sci-fi/fantasy books to more mature readers. The main characters go on a voyage, and most of their crew does not survive the dangerous (scary) things they encounter. Because each book doesn't really end, it just goes straight to the next book like chapter to chapter, I didn't put these books down for about 4 days!


When we visited Bend, Oregon for the Wright reunion, I purposely did not bring a book to read on the plane. I know myself-- if I have a good book, I tune out to the world. My sisters-in-law are women after my same heart, however, and when the boys went to play golf, they handed me The Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins) and we had "reading time." I finished the book that day (after acting like a recluse, hiding in the upstairs bedroom with my book all day...)! Previously, I had heard a lot of commentary about this book. People either seemed to love it or hate it. It tells of a futuristic society in which the rest of the world is destroyed and 13 "districts" band together to survive. The Capitol district has all the latest crazy technology, and is extremely oppressive to the other districts, each of which serve one purpose. There is the coal mining district, the agriculture district, etc. People in these districts barely have enough to scrape by, and many die of starvation every year. Before the time when the book begins, district #13 rises up against the Capitol, and is immediatly crushed. To remind the other districts who is in charge, each year the Capitol requires each district to pay a "tribute" of 2 teenagers, a girl and a boy. These 24 "tributes" are put in an arena and hunt each other until there is 1 survivor. Their arenas are huge, sometimes wastelands, sometimes forests, and the "Game Masters" control the environment: weather, wild animals, natural (and un-natural) disasters. The Hunger Games is about a girl who volunteers herself as a tribute to save her little sister. The concept is a little disturbing, but fascinating. I highly reccommend this book for older readers!

Well, there it is: my favorite reads from my Summer 2009 reading frenzy. I read quite a few more (I taught a summer school reading program), but these are the books that I would most highly reccommend. On your marks..... get set...... READ!

A Tale of Two Cities

Brian's update on Medical School Applications:

This story begins back in the middle of July (July 21, to be exact) when, to my wonderful surprise, I received an invitation to visit the University of Rochester (in New York). Upon reading the e-mail, I put my little chick embryos on hold (they know they're already low enough in the pecking order) and immediately started looking over the interview dates so I could make travel arrangements. The university requested that I know in advance if I needed to leave early from my interview because of travel arrangements. So, like a good little medical school applicant, I looked for flights first BEFORE signing up for an interview time (can anyone else already see where this mistake is going?). After spending nearly an HOUR consulting cheap flight gurus such as Expedia and Travelocity, I finally found the ideal flight that wouldn't cause Natalie and I to sell off the car that isn't ours and our violins. I checked on the university's website and saw my interview date was available. I then called Natalie and made sure everything would be alright if I bought those tickets. When I went back to sign up for that date, it was gone! All my stellar sleuthing for the best ticket price became useless. It was a sad day in America, but fortunately I learned my lesson (no, not the one about never asking your wife for permission to buy stuff...). In order to prevent getting screwed over twice in a row, I signed up for an interview date FIRST and then just e-mailed the university later, informing them that I would indeed have to leave early in order to travel back home (leaving the Finger Lakes area and eventually ending up in the Salt Lake valley... does that sound familiar?). Anyway, despite the little drama that occured, I was very excited to get invited for an interview (and so early!) and am preparing to fly out 8/23 for my interview 8/24.

Exactly a week later (at about the same time of day), however, our tale took a turn for the worst. I checked my e-mail in my lab and noticed an e-mail from the Mayo Medical school. I naively thought to myself, "Yay, another interview!" However, the words of the subject "Not selected" soon reverberated down my Cranial Nerve II (i.e. optic nerve, for those of you who don't habla physiology) and I eventually pieced together that I had been rejected. Ironically, the Mayo school is in Rochester, Minnesota, giving this tale of two cities its exceptionally exciting and propelling plot: on July 21 I was invited for an interview by a school in Rochester, NY, while exactly a week later I was rejected by a school in Rochester, MN, making it "the best of times" and "the worst of times"....

However, the tale gets better when two other cities come into the picture. While they are not connected by a common name, they both share a common feature: having a university that wants to interview me! In the beginning of August I received an invitation to interview at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. I don't know how I would feel about going to a private instituation named after someone often associated with greed (quite the opposite from Brigham Young University) and whose name sometimes reminds me of that of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (Harry Potter's sworn enemy...). It's a nice school and medical center, however, so maybe I could warm up to it. : ) Then this past week I was invited to interview at The Ohio State University (can't forget the "The"!). I even got a personal phone call from the dean of admissions. My interview at Vanderbilt is 9/15, and I am hoping to be able to set up an interview in Columbus, OH on 9/16. I am excited to visit both of those schools!

Thus ends the first act of A Tale of Two Cities: A Modern Legend. Will our hero (aka me) be able to shrug off the evil blow delt by Rochester, MN? Will it end up being better he got gypt out of his first interview date? Will he end up at one of these four universities? Stay tuned to find out! : )