Four years of preparation, well actually five years of preparation went into this day. April 22nd I stood in blue cap and robe ready to graduate with my bachelors degree. My parents and Tiffany's parents came into town to celebrate this day with us. I graduated with a music degree in Saxophone Performance and a minor in Computer Science. I have learned a lot about music over the past several years and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I was lucky to be under the instruction of Ray Smith and many other faculty to help me develop my talents and abilities. I have also enjoyed the opportunities of performing in a wide variety of ensembles. It was a lot of fun and I have learned much about hard work, putting in the time needed to accomplish your goals, and dreaming big.

Now the fun continues in a new direction. I begin the Masters Program in Computer Science. I'm excited to be working with Dr. Ventura and doing music related research. Music is something I always want to have in my life. I plan to always be doing something with it.

I'm glad to have had the support of Tiffany this last year. Being married and always having someone there to support you is a wonderful thing. She has been a great voice of reason and encouragement this last year and I know that I married a wonderful person. I am lucky to have her as my wife.

A thing that made this interesting is that I was asked to perform a solo piece for the College of Fine Arts Convocation. It was the first time a person from the sax studio had been asked to do so and I worked hard to represent us well. You can check out a recording of my performance here (YouTube). I was a bit nervous having to play it memorized but it turned out really well and a lot of fun.

One funny aside to this whole thing is the conditions of my last test and the weather on graduation day. I took my last test on wednesday of finals week and as I walked out of the testing center, elated with the realization that I just finished my last final, it was raining. This wasn't just any rain however, it felt like, smelled like, and seemed like, Oregon rain. You think rain would dampen my spirits on that day but it only fueled them. The next day as well, when I got up in the morning, would you know that there was snow on the ground? I will take all the blame for that happening. The weather knew I was graduating and decided to make it all the more memorable.

Truth.....or April Fools?

These last couple of weeks seemed to fly by and I didn't realize April Fools was here until the night before while I was at work. Another nurse and I were talking about jokes we'd heard of in the past and I remembered one that I had heard about last year. I wasn't sure how well it would work, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway.

During my lunch break I walked across the street and bought a home pregnancy test. Toward the end of the shift I had asked one of the other nurses (about 6 months pregnant) to create a positive pregnancy test. When Skyler came to pick me up I didn't say very much the whole way home. When we got there I asked Skyler to clean the kitchen to create a distraction while I went into the bathroom for a few minutes. When I came back out I put the pregnancy test on the counter and walked away to wait for Skyler's reaction.

It took a few minutes, but finally Skyler walked back to wash his hands and I heard him pause. He then came out of the back room and sat next to me at the table while I pretended to be looking at something on the computer. He put his arm around me and said a couple of things like "that's pretty exciting" and "I know it isn't what we planned on but we can make it." During the whole one sided conversation I started to feel a little guilty, but it was cute to see him try to convince me that it would be okay while also trying to convince himself. I could tell he was totally nervous. After a few minutes I couldn't handle it anymore and burst out laughing. Skyler was completely confused until I asked him what day it was. He sat there for a few seconds and then shook his head at me. We laughed about it for the rest of the day.

On another side note we tried to tell Skyler's mom and sister about our day and ended up somehow convincing them it was real. We found it funny that we expanded our April Fools joke without even trying.

Easter Sunday

Here's just a few pictures of our first Easter Sunday together. We spent the morning coloring eggs and using those to make deviled eggs. They might not look too appetizing, but they tasted better than they looked. We spent the afternoon watching general conference and eating lunch with a couple in our ward. Overall we had a good day.

My New Hobby

My latest new project was inspired by Skyler's grandmother. When they flew out for the wedding in July his grandmother had made me this bracelet and earrings out of real crystal. Her mother had owned some furniture with beading on it so instead of throwing it away she made jewelry for her daughters and granddaughters. I loved it and have been wanting to learn how to make beaded jewelry for a long time. I'm not always the most creative person, but this seemed pretty easy.The other day Skyler and I went to the store and I was reminded of this goal. I got a couple of bead chains, pliers, and a simple pattern to try with the idea that I could bag it if I didn't enjoy it. It actually turned out pretty well for a first project and I've been waiting for an opportunity to wear it somewhere outside the apartment. I'm working on project number two right now and thinking maybe a few more posts might be warranted. It has been a great stress reliever the last couple of weeks.

Life: The Last Couple Months

Since Skyler posted earlier on school/grad school I thought it would be fun to update on what I've been up to the last couple of months. Work has been more busy than I could have imagined and I've definitely been getting my hours. I was told when I first started working that about every third year is a bad year for croup, bronchiolitis and viruses in general. This year was that year! Even though it was disappointing to see so many kids that were sick it was good to get more experience. Since not many people know what happens to sick kids at the hospital unless they have sick kids themselves it can be hard to explain. Although these aren't actual pictures from work it can give you a good idea.Until we figure out what type of illness a patient has or if it is contagious we have to wear isolation gowns like these which you can imagine are totally scary to anyone of a small age which usually causes screaming anytime we walk into the room.Most kids get an IV for some period of time with IV fluids if they are dehydrated and not eating. I've gotten so much better putting them in the last couple of months which can be a scary task when the kid is screaming, parents are frustrated, and the veins are so small and fragile because they are dehydrated that they immediately break with a needle poke. Usually when kids start feeling better they can become Houdini trying to break free of their cords and wires. I walked into a room because I heard banging in the hallway and found my 2 year old patient hitting his iv support against the crib trying to get rid of it in frustration.Another exciting part has been performing breathing treatments and suctioning. These can usually happen 2-3 times a shift and the nurses job is to try to hold the patient as still as possible while a long tube is passed in the nose and connected to suction. I can't count how many times I've been hit, kicked, and screamed at in the last 3 months. :)

The interesting thing about nursing is how the situation can change within minutes from manageable to scary. I can't count how many times I felt inspired to check on a patient or perform some task that maybe didn't seem necessary but ended up being beneficial. I've also learned how important it is to be in a position to receive inspiration even in the workplace. Many times the situation is beyond the control of the nurse or doctor and that is when prayer becomes the most important skill I've learned as a nurse.

Preview

The future decided

After taking the GRE, writing out the application, getting letters of recommendation, and asking several faculty members if it was even possible for a music major to get accepted to the program, it finally became reality. This spring I will be beginning my graduate studies as a Masters Student of Computer Science. I am really excited. To make this even better, the faculty adviser I will be working with is part of the Machine Learning Lab at BYU and does a lot of research into Computational Creativity. While that might not mean much to a lot of people it does mean that my background in music will be very helpful and I will continue to keep music in my studies. Now I just have to get past the last two weeks of school and finals and graduation. One positive side of the whole graduation thing is that I was asked to perform for convocation for the College of Fine Arts. Looks like that will be one of my last performances. Though I still have an itch to do another recital. Maybe at the end of my graduate degree I'll work up something for a "graduate" recital.

The newest member of the family.

Due to the many queries we have received about when our family would start growing, we decided to take matters into our own hands and dive right in, sorta. While having a baby at this time isn't exactly what was on our minds, we took the next best thing. We traveled to a local store and found the perfect fit for the newest and first addition to our family. A kid named Pluto. He is rather dark-skinned with some red around the edges. He loves to swim, eats flakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and likes to be left alone for the most part. On the flip side he is as quiet as a mouse, only needs his room cleaned once a week, and is always happy to see us.

Our new addition is of course, a Betta Fish named Pluto. So far we have been lucky and haven't killed him. Let's hope our luck continues.