"It's a great day for America everybody, yes it is!"

Jordan and I had 2nd row seats for a taping of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson a few weeks ago. It was awesome, we were only a few feet away from Craig. Neil Patrick Harris was the guest- he's okay, I was just there for Craig.

I love when he does his Prince Charles impressions.

I've been in Provo for the past few weeks...

Luckily the snow has almost completely melted. I really don't like snow. I am happy to be in Utah with my family and friends though.

My first semester in graduate school went well- at least I think it did. My two classes (cell bio and human genetics) didn't wipe me out. I ended up working in the lab that studies cancer. It could have gone a lot better than it did. I didn't really get along with the post-doc that was training me. I don't think she liked me very much, but that's okay, she's not my favorite person either. Next semester I am working with a professor that studies Alzheimer's disease. I think I'm going to like working with her a lot.

I've been watching so much football lately, I almost know what's going on. My dad has a thing for Faith Hill.

He never misses the Sunday Night Football song.

¡Sí se Puede! - Yes We Can!

President Obama spoke at USC on Friday. It was a really long day filled with lines and standing around, but it was totally worth it.

The zoom on my camera was pretty good. I wasn't that close to the podium, but considering it's the President of the United States I was in a good spot.

President Obama gave a really good speech.

President Obama's slogan of Yes We Can, was borrowed from the United Farm Workers' slogan- Sí se Puede. César Chávez helped come up with the slogan when he organized the Farm Workers in the '70s.

Jamie Foxx was at the rally too. He announced Barbara Boxer, and Jerry Brown. He was trying to get the crowd excited about voting.

It was a really neat experience and I'm glad I had the opportunity to go.

Nerd Speak

Last week at church they called me to the break the fast committee. Today (fast Sunday), I was in the kitchen cleaning up when a guy who is new to the ward (like me) came in to heat up the fried rice he brought.

This guy is also a new PhD student, but he goes to Caltech and studies math/rocket science. Before you know it he's asking me questions about my program and we are talking about genomes and stem cells. But we weren't just "talking" about it, we were engaged in full on Nerd Speak.

One of the bishopric members was also in the kitchen doing something else; I know that the small smirk he was trying to hide was aimed at us.

Because of the Nerd Speak.

Piled High Deep

So far school is going good. This week I have been meeting with professors to discuss their research. I have to choose three people that I would like to work with throughout the year; on Monday we have to submit our first choice.

Do I work with the guy that studies heart development? Or the guy that studies the genetics of Autism? Or the guy that is developing cancer drugs that will be going through clinical trials soon?

It's a hard decision because the topics are soooooo detailed. If I end up in the heart dude's lab, I could spend YEARS studying how some molecule affects this other molecule, that makes the outflow tract form correctly. Or how the defect of one molecule can screw everything up.

I don't know if I like hearts that much, or if I want to work with mice. I've worked with mice before and it made me feel guilty as hell- I wasn't even the one who had to anesthetize the mouse and then, well, you know...

I'm going out with my friend to get a Chinese foot massage a.k.a reflexology. It's only 15$ for an hour, and it's not just your feet, it's a whole body thing. (We went last week too).

I'm sure I'll be able to make a good decision after I've had a massage.

A good massage is the secret to life's problems.

Labor Day Weekend

My mom came to visit over Labor Day weekend. We had so much fun!

We started at the La Brea Tarpits and museum.

Then we headed off to Beverley Hills; we came across my mom's street.

Then we bought a star map to stalk Russel Crowe and Tom Cruise. They all have huge fences, hedges and bushes- you are lucky if you can even see the roof of their house. We did see Russel Crowe's trash and recycling though. Exciting huh?

A picture of my cat. It doesn't have anything to do with my mom's visit, but it's a cute picture.

"M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!"

Are you singing along? Come on, you know you want to.

I love Disneyland. We especially love the teacups in fantasy land.

Watch the video below, you won't be sorry!

Venice Beach

Venice Beach is awesome!

The drive was insane. I'm not used to major highways weaving in and out, ending and merging in every direction, and a bazillion cars trying to enter and exit all at the same time. I'll get the hang of it though.

Venice Beach is great for people watching. The Ocean Front Walk is hippie heaven.

No, I didn't go in...

There were fantastic murals painted by local artists.

There was a lot of touristy, manufactured-in-Asia junk that could be bought anywhere. If you looked really carefully though, you could find some really neat hand-made jewelry or hand-painted art.

I bought this really cute cat painting from the guy in the picture above. I LOVE it.

There are some good boogie boarding waves.

I bought another cat painting from the guy in the picture above. Can you tell I miss my cats???

I took pictures of these dudes at Muscle Beach for my dad because he is a bodybuilder too.

I had so much fun!!!

By the way, I start my Ph.D program on Tuesday. I'm thinking medicinal marijuana might not be such a bad idea after all.

Charlie bit my finger - again !

This is the third most viewed video on Youtube. I can't believe I haven't seen it before now. I watch it over and over again.

I love the look on the kid's face, and then how Charlie laughs.